The Realms of Ethair (30 page)

Last night, I found myself in the most unlikely
company. Liyanna stood at the shores of the lake with her bespelled
falcon and cat and the mythical chimera. The last news we have had
of her came in the form of a Devarian courtier announcing her
engagement to the mysterious Prince Kelor. It was a strategy to
strengthen the relationship between fourth dimensional humans and
Devatas. Yet, when I saw her looking at the distance, I felt her
longing. I rather wish that I had remained unnoticed for I was
close to deciphering the puzzle she presented, but Liyanna turned
and looked at me with silver eyes. The connection I felt with her
was abruptly severed. Her falcon took to the skies as she walked
towards me. Her four-footed companions stayed where they
were.

She spoke to me in Merleinan, mostly questions
about my foster family, Reno and the Council. I answered as best as
I could while suffering her unrelenting gaze.

Arturion lifted his stylus from the
rectangular crystal tablet. He was unsure if it was alright to put
into writing something which felt very private. He gazed outside
the window in the direction of the lake. What was it he said to her
again?

“
Do you know me?” Arturion
asked
,
frowning. It wasn’t the proper way to address a Liyanna, but he
felt unbalanced with the intensity in her eyes. She also seemed to
know a great deal about him.

Suddenly realizing what
she
was
doing, Liyanna looked to the stars. Smiling, she said: “You are
Reno’s friend and Sola’s foster son.”

Those were details that most people in
Merleina knew about him.

“
Do I know you?”

She did not speak immediately
and fiddled with her necklace. Liyanna removed it from her neck and
stretched out her hand to him. The necklace dangled between them.
“I believe this is yours. Reno found it when he was searching for
you. He gave it to me for safekeeping.”

Taking it from her, he examined the crystal.
It was his mother’s. “Thank you.”

“
No. Thank you.” Liyanna
embraced him, catching Arturion off guard. The moment soon passed
and she stepped away. “Farewell, Arturion.”

She rejoined her friends and made their way
towards the forest. As they neared the edge of the woods, she
looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. Then, she was gone.

Arturion took out the necklace from his
pocket. The shaft of light from his window illuminated his mother’s
crystal. He had not unlocked its secrets yet. Perhaps, it was time
for him to know who his real father is, see if it held answers to
his mother’s death, and maybe – just maybe – understand the
connection he had felt with
Liyanna.

At the age of six, I saw my grandma's spirit staring
back at me in the mirror. I realized then that I could see what
others couldn't. Ever since that incident I have tried to
understand the mysteries of the world. I've read about Atlantis,
Lemuria, Agartha, Celtic magic, auras and chakras, fortune-telling,
palmistry, Astrology, the Holy Grail, nature spirits/the Good Folk,
extraterrestrials and - to date, Ascension. I own a crystal ball
and tarot cards which I use occasionally.

I was born and raised in the Philippines, a
country rich in its folklore. Although I live in the city, my mind
is always in a world where magic and enchantment dwells and what
you see is not always what it seems.