Frozen Seas

The wind chilled Lord Trel to his bones. Blood from festering blisters had begun to pool in his soft boots. An internal force guided and drove him steadily north. He pushed through the dense forest following an unseen path. Smooth whispers hued with sweet laughter cut his soul. In his torment he did not walk alone. The spirits of his daughters clung to him on his mad journey to a final destination.

What surprised him most was their lack of anger. The light touches of the young, coy and feminine, played with the thin robes he had donned in his exile, and invited him into the game. From the corners of his failing eyes, he glimpsed the fleeting phantoms of cubs and kittens who used the trees for cover and sport.

The icy rain that had started to fall gathered in muddy ponds. Tiny footprints appeared before his own. Lord Trel sank to his knees and wept.

*****

Shaktar'ri huddled beside a dead tree. The tigress that he guarded slept fitfully in the cavernous opening of its trunk. Like the point of a compass, she had steered them north over the rough landscape. From his brief study of the area's geography, he knew that they would soon reach the sea, and possibly Lord Trel, the one she hunted. That Kalyn'ri had chosen to follow after the disgraced lord, he could only attribute to love. The emotion gave her the strength to relentlessly go forward when he, younger and stronger, had tired. That she had stopped to rest had surprised him. She gave no explanation, and he expected none. She barely acknowledged his presence. He had become a guardian shadow for whom she had little concern.

The warmth of the temple from which he had traveled seemed far removed. The night deepened with cold, clouds and mist. His thoughts drifted to his lover, and the temptation to touch his mind grew. Wrapping his cloak tightly about himself like a cocoon, the white tiger quickly dismissed the selfish idea, much as he desired the comfort of Sri'rin's familiar presence. He prayed that the Goddess of Healing would unveil the sun at dawn.

*****

Trel studied the sea. The surf crashed violently against a shore made of rock and sand. Those that he had sired had finally left him to face his fate, their voices fading to silence. The cliff that ringed the cove only funneled the wind and the rain. His wet clothing clung to his freezing body. His mind divorced itself from the discomforts of his flesh, and reached for the waves. He could dive into the sea, and the turbulence would swiftly pull him under, for he was too exhausted to fight. Yet, he preferred to walk slowly to his doom, and reflect on his failings as the waters consumed him. To walk into the sea would give him the time to apologize to both his daughters and their mothers.

The wind shifted, bringing with it a tinkling sound. A tiny figure floated before him, despite her apparent solidity. Little Mia. She was always very brave. Of all of his daughters, she alone had pierced the hard shell of his being, and in rare circumstances, he had found himself laughing at her antics. He smiled at her, and she returned the favor. He did not deserve this small act of mercy.

*Do you wish forgiveness?* The voice that spoke to his mind came not from the youngster. Its ancient tones held the power to grant the request.

"Yes!" he shouted to the wind.

*You must give yourself to the rocks, not the waves, accepting all that is to come, until you are cleansed.*

"Should I do it, Mia?" he asked his daughter. She nodded gravely. "Then, so must it be."

The tiger lord climbed down the cliff along black slabs that resembled ancient steps. The final shelf split into two paths. One ended at the sea; the other emptied onto the sand.

His daughter drifted closer and pointed to the sea slab. Trel quaked. What he had thought was a monolith at its apex was Rum'ni, Mia's mother. She had become one with the stone, her mouth contorted with fear. To balance the universe, Ni'tara had extracted full payment for his consort's prayer for revenge. Though death and flame had freed her body, her spirit remained imprisoned within the consequences of her wrath.

He had caused the offense she committed because of his pride and his arrogance. He must take all the pain before his courage failed completely. He shouted to the grey sky, "I take her punishment!" His clothing dampened with his urine.

*Is that your wish?*

"Yes," he said in a voice made small by his mortality. "Yes."

*Until the tide wears down stone, you will be here."

Trel went to his consort's side. Rum'ni disappeared. Before he could feel relief at her release, the transformation began. Rising rock replaced flesh. His agonized screams echoed along the cove, only stopping when the stone silenced his throat.

His daughter approached. In that instance, he knew what she planned, and he had no voice or movement to stop it. *Mercy for her!* he pleaded with his mind.

*It is her choice.*

He felt warmth. He would not be alone, and that would add to his suffering.

The rock devoured him. The pain ceased. How he still saw the endless sea he could not explain.

*Mia?* His daughter did not answer, but he knew that she rested by his left side. In life she had been too young to experience her mind gifts. He expected no answer. The limitation had followed her in death, a fact beyond his comprehension, but all in the plan of Ni'tara.

*I will talk to you, my daughter. I will--* A wave struck him. The amplitude of his torment made the cliff vibrate. Darkness engulfed him.

*****

Under a pale, watery dawn, the sea appeared sickly and green. Shaktar'ri scrambled over the slabs that Kalyn'ri negotiated with ease. He stopped abruptly, and prevented himself from bounding into the older tigress, who now stood as still as a pillar.

The wind whipped her mane of orange, black and white into wild, serpentine tangles. "There," she said softly, the sound of her voice weighted with the burden of her choices.

Shaktar'ri followed the line of her outstretched arm. "Merciful Goddess!" he cried with recognition. His astonishment almost plunged him off the shelf into the sea. He started to move toward the figures bound in rock, but a hand against his chest pushed him back.

"This is where we part," Kalyn'ri said firmly.

"There is nothing you can do for them but pray!" the mystic exclaimed.

A brief smile flickered across her face. "Wait here but a moment."

"No!" he shouted. His legs refused his command to walk. "Stop this!" he begged the divine presence that restrained him.

*It is her wish.* The psychic voice was resolute and supremely calm.

"Kalyn'ri!" The tigress never looked back His words vanished in the roar of the surf. A wave crashed over him, knocking him to his knees. The air vibrated, making his body tremble with fear. *Sri'rin!* he called frantically, desperate for the strength of his companion.

Unnatural quiet descended. A prayer to the Goddess of Healing fell from his lips. He stared long at the three stone beings that looked to the west. His sanity drifted away with the tide.