"A Tale of ??nilthain"

Oh, and if anyone sees this story here and takes it, you die. I shall send my minions from my poetry site after you and they have promised me that the thief will die a painful, hideous death... 0:-)


???A Tale of ??nilthain???
As Recorded by Heather

?????nilthain????

The now near-adult ch??ld peeked up from her book to greet her mentor, friend, and ???personal??? Dalha. She shook her head ever so slightly and brought her hand over her mouth to signal for quiet.

???Just ??nil,??? she whispered softly, moving her hand back to the book in her lap to turn the page. ?????thain is sleeping... sweet ??thain, he feels so peaceful when he is sleeping...???

The Dalha nodded and settled into the space next to her on the ground. She sighed, leaning back against the moss-covered slab of stone and looked around. The stream where she had played in as a ch??ld had now changed, coming closer to the forest than it had in many monthas. The forest had also endured change, having become overgrown with moss and clinging vines, constantly entangled in an endless knot that blocked out most sunlight. And yet here was the ch??ld that the Prophesy had spoken about, the one who would mark the beginning of change, so perhaps it was to be expected.

Catching a glimpse of what ??nil was reading, she smiled slightly and shook her head. From her view over her shoulder, Nadia Imbleth could read the title at the top of the book???s pages. "The Impossible Dream" by Darken Linto was perhaps one of the most popular romance books among the Dalhas, usually the only ones who were able to read fluently. But Nadia had insisted on teaching her student every little thing she could, and so, against the wishes of ??nilthain???s pada, her studies had begun. Now ??nilthain had become the most fluent reader and writer in the entire area next to herself. Again Nadia sighed, knowing that she would sooner or later have to inform the two Yannas of her discovery, the actual purpose of her sudden visit.

Silence endured between them as the minutes floated by like the clouds above them on a breezy day. ??nil sat in wonder: her friend never came purposeless and she was usually one to get straight to the point. The only reasonable explanation would be that there was something wrong that she did not want to mention. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, ??nil mustered up enough courage to confront her.

???Nadia, what???s wrong today? You seem even more thoughtful today than usual.???

Nadia opened her mouth to speak, but the words she had come to speak wouldn???t come no matter how hard she tried. She chuckled to herself and smiled as ??nil turned her head to look at her with questioning grey eyes.

???You know me too well ??nil, I should probably stop spending so much time here with you or I shall not be able to hide anything from you.???

???You would do that???? she asked, her eyes growing wider in fear. She didn't know what she and ??thain would do without her, as Nadia appeared to be the only one who knew or even accepted that ??nilthain was really two and not the one they could see. They had been teased by others when they were younger, and it appeared as if age had done nothing to remedy the situation. Except give them Nadia, that is.

???Of course not, I was only speaking in jest. It???s peaceful here, and this is where I did most of my thinking when I was your age.???

???You are avoiding my question Nadia.???

Nadia smiled once more, this time the sun around them brightening as she did so. ???So I am! It seems that I will be forced to tell you after all. Do you recall the conversation we had concerning ??thain a few monthas ago????

The ch??ld frowned, attempting in vain to recall what they had talked about. After what seemed a long time to both of them, she shook her head, looking both confused and thoughtful.

???Then let me remind you,??? Nadia said softly. ???You came to me when ??thain was sleeping and asked me something. It was a very complicated question, and I had to think about it for a while before I gave you my answer. And even then I still was not sure. Now, can you call to mind what it was that you asked me????

???Yes, I...I asked you if it was correct to say that I loved ??thain. I also asked if there was a way for him to come out of me, a way for us to be together... to be able to have a ch??ld of our own one day...???

???Do you still want that???? Nadia asked softly, another smile growing on her face. She knew the answer; she knew in her heart that this was what they both wanted. The same conversation had occurred between herself and ??thain not more than a montha ago, and his answer would be the same as his Yanna???s would be, she was sure of this.

???With all of my ??rune, Nadia,??? she replied confidently. ???I want this and I know that ??thain has thought of this too for many monthas, many more monthas before I came to you to ask for your help. But...??? here she faltered, her voice becoming pitiful and melancholy. ???How can we do this? If we are the first like us, then how can there be such a thing that you know will work? Can we create flesh from nothing for him? Is such a thing even possible Nadia????

???No... not from nothing, there must be something to start from. This is why I came to find you: I need your help if I am to make any attempt. And I believe that I may have found a way to accomplish such a task as you have set before me...???

??nil???s eyes grew wide, and her mouth opened slightly in surprise. ???Really, Nadia?! Are you sure? Oh, I hope that this is for real, that this is not a dream! If it is, I do not wish to wake up from it, for this is the best one by far!???

???You are awake; do not trouble yourself about that,??? Nadia replied solemnly. ???However, I only said that I thought I may have found a way. I am not entirely sure that it will work; it is more of a hunch and many well-thought guesses. But if you are willing to give it a try...???

???Anything! I???ll do whatever it takes to do this, just name it!??? ??nil cried, her voice becoming both excited and desperate. Suddenly she froze and stared blankly, as if talking to something beyond what the normal mind could comprehend. Suddenly ??nil???s voice deepened, and ??thain spoke.

???Nadia... is what ??nil tells me true? Have you really found a way to separate us into two beings????

???I believe so???but I???m not absolutely sure.???

???That???s fine; just tell us what we have to do...???

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???Oh look ??nil, a little deer ch??ld!??? ??thain commented as they walked down the dirt road into the forest the next morning. They had come looking for several ingredients Nadia had said that they would need, and, excited, they had left at dawn to search. ???I wonder where its mada is...???

???I don???t know...it seems as if perhaps he were lost,??? ??thain sighed, a feeling of pity for the small creature filling his ??rune. The poor thing would not survive long without any way of learning what to eat and take care of itself. ??nil could sense this too.

???We should do something; maybe take him back home with us and??????

???No, we can???t. Pada would be furious and would kill him for food,??? ??thain reasoned, and the last phrase echoed in ??nil???s mind as he finished.

???But... we have to do something! We can???t just leave him here! He???ll die!??? ??nil whispered out loud, and the creature lifted its head from the grass and looked up at her with wide black eyes. Slowly it wobbled forwards and stepped onto the road towards the two Yannas. It stopped just to the side of them and seemed to look them up and down, from the straw hat they were wearing, the flowing off-white dress, to their bare feet against the road. ??nilthain reached out their hand and touched the soft young deer, amazed by its trust of them.

???Please ??thain? Can we at least try and help him???? ??nil begged, and ??thain sighed.

???Sure... we???ll take him with us when we search for those herbs and flowers Nadia asked for, and then, if he???s still following us, we will take him home with us and put him in Pada???s barn, okay????

??nil smiled and started forward down the path once more. Sure enough, the little deer started right behind them, trotting at their heel. Within four hours they had found almost everything they needed by the side of the road. Unfortunately the hardest item to find, a small lavender colored flower called ???Rhana???s Folly,??? was also the most important.

???It looks like we???ll have to wander off the road then; we???ve almost reached our territorial boundary,??? ??nil remarked with a heavy sigh. She didn???t like the dark, and while there was sunlight on much of the path, it all but disappeared a few feet in on either side.

???Don???t worry??? I???ll protect you as best I can. It will be easier when I have my own body though...??? ??thain admitted. ???Then I won???t have to worry for the both of us, only you.???

?????thain...??? she smiled, suddenly comforted with his words of affection. Confidently they stepped of the road to their left, the small companion they had made slowly following them, but this time with care.

The lighting was far from what they had grown accustomed to, and for a few moments the sun seemed to have gone out completely like a candle being snuffed out. And then their eyes adjusted to the change and they could see once more. Deeper and deeper they traveled, their eyes shifting this way and that in hopes of glancing the special flower they were hunting. Suddenly the forest seemed to brighten, and they stepped out into a small clearing.

And what a sight met their eyes! There were hundreds of multi-colored flowers and plants, each seeming to be blowing in the wind this way and that, and yet no breeze could be heard or felt. A large mass of blowing fall leaves it appeared to their eyes to be at first, and yet these leaves did not move. Suddenly they realized what it was, and they laughed, wondering how foolish they had been. They walked forwards and there in front of them was the flower that they were seeking, its lavender bud releasing a sweet smell of potent nectar.

???Now we can see if this plan of Nadia???s will work...??? ??nilthain said, stooping down to dig up the plant.

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Later that night Nadia and ??nilthain sat at her kitchen table talking softly next to the small pot that was simmering in the fireplace. A sickly-green color, the potion that was inside had been cooking for well over an hour and was almost ready to be taken. ??nilthain could barely contain their excitement, and was eager to tell Nadia of everything they would do once they had separate bodies. The first thing that she was asked was if she would be willing to bless them and give them a proper marriage.

???I think that we should wait a bit; see what things are going to happen with this. Besides, you can???t get your hopes up too much; we don???t know if this will work yet. Like I said, I???m not completely sure that this will work.???

???But there???s a chance that it might, you can???t deny that. I refuse to give up hope!??? ??thain proclaimed, his grey eyes shining. ???No matter what, we???ll keep on trying things until we manage to find a way to do this!???

???I agree,??? ??nil added softly. ???But it???s not like we didn???t accomplish anything today. We did save that little deer ch??ld, so we can???t call today a complete loss if this potion doesn???t work.???

???Speaking of it, where is he right now???? Nadia asked suddenly. ???You mentioned something of it earlier, and I???m still a bit confused by this whole thing.???

?????nil and I were walking down the forest road in search of ingredients this morning and we found this small young deer ch??ld. He ended up following us until we got back to where we were just about to leave the forest when a mada deer came bursting out after us. It stopped when it saw the ch??ld, who was standing right next to us, and then the two of them ended up going back into the forest. I guess that the little guy had just gotten himself lost.???

???So he found his way home in the end, that???s wonderful,??? Nadia exclaimed, the smile she was so famous for appearing on her tired face. Suddenly there was the sound of hissing, and Nadia???s head shot over to look at the pot on the stove. It was boiling over and sizzling against the hot red coals, sending up an arced smelling smoke into the air in small gusts.

There was the scrambling and scraping of chairs and feet, and the room entered total confusion from the lack of visibility. Nadia rushed in the direction of her door and threw it open, letting the vile-smelling air leave within minutes. In the meantime, ??nilthain had managed to rescue the small pot with most of its contents still intact. Setting the small potion cauldron on a hot plate on the grainy wood table to cool, everyone settled back down in their handcrafted chairs.

???I hope we still have enough of that potion?????? ??nil said with a sigh as she glanced at the cooling pot.

???It???ll be close, but we should have just enough. When it cools, I???ll put it in a small container for you to take home. Drink it right before you go to bed. With any luck, there will be two of you in that bed in the morning,??? Nadia told them. ???Just lock the door, your pada and mada do not need to walk in and find a ???strange ch??ld??? sharing the same bed with you ??nil.???

??nil and ??thain both smiled, and for that brief moment, it was hard to tell which one of them had control over ??nil???s body, as both were insisting on smiling physically. And yet instead of arguing over it as they might have done in the past, they accepted it, loving the other all the more.

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???You ready ??nil????

??nil sighed and nodded, pulling off the stopper to the vial. The once snot-green color of the potion had disappeared, leaving it a canary yellow color as it had cooled. Suddenly remembering, she scrambled from bed and headed to the door. She listened for any sound from outside her room and then slowly and with stealth she drew the bolt shut.

???I???m as ready as I???m going to be. I just hope Nadia knows what she???s doing,??? she whispered as she crawled back under the warmth of her covers.

???So do I, ??nil, so do I. But whatever happens, whatever we wake up to in the morning, know that I will love you no matter what, and that nothing can change that. You are my dearest friend and companion, and I would not trade you for anything anyone could give me.???

???To us???? ??nil asked softly, raising the vial up in a toast.

???To us...???

And in one gulp it was gone, ??nilthain falling against the soft feather pillows and disappearing into the unconsciousness of the Beyond...