The Cycles of Revelation Series

Artifact of the Dawn: The Aria’una (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)

Episode 3: Ardyn finds himself in the heart of forbidden woods. In his haste to leave, he’s nearly killed by the very beast he had been hunting.

Ardyn awoke to the sound of chirps and cries of wildlife coming from outside the cave. Based on the light filtering in, it was still early morning, and the storm had finally passed. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, Ardyn sat up and reached into his pack to break his fast when his fingers brushed over the strange object he’d found the day before.

Gingerly grasping the thing, he took it out of the pack and contemplated it once again. It made little sense. The words on the face of it were an archaic form of Athla’naa script; he was sure of that. They only taught those destined to become elders how to read it. Most of his people never even learned how to read. Those who learned were taught a simplified form.

Why were these ancient Athla’naa words glowing at him from something that seemed so technologically advanced? His people only created the tools they needed for survival. Anything as advanced as metalworking was strictly forbidden. Trading for metal tools with the athla’maakh was enough to be shunned. The Athla’naa favored wood, bone, or stone for everything from weapons to eating utensils.

For generations, the Athla’naa elders taught their people to do things the same way as the ancestors, to uphold their traditions. Innovation and invention were the product of weak and lazy minds that had no patience. The elders would not tolerate any deviation from those time-honored traditions, always reminding their people it was a slight against the ancestors.

When he was younger, Ardyn had always wondered why the elders were so strict regarding these edicts. He’d found himself punished often for daring to speak out and question their wisdom. Ardyn’s curiosity never abated, but he had learned the hard way to keep his questions to himself.

Looking at the strange glowing object in his hand, he worried about how the elders would react upon seeing it. Ardyn was certain he’d seen this script in the ancient tomes the elders were often reading. However, knowing their aversion to technology, he imagined they would likely take it from him and possibly destroy it without explanation. Not being able to reconcile the conflicting evidence he held in his hand, Ardyn once again shoved the thing back into his pack.

Once Ardyn had eaten and pulled on his still damp clothing, he packed up his bedroll and left the confines of the small cave. In the storm’s wake, Ardyn would have to pick up the beast’s trail again. He was certain he had strayed beyond his usual range, possibly into athla’maakh territory. After running blindly through the storm the day before, he wasn’t sure where he was.

The best way for Ardyn to regain his bearings was to go up. Making his way toward a suitably tall tree, he climbed into the lowest branches before taking off his pack, bow, and quiver. He left them secured to a branch before continuing his climb unhindered. Ardyn carefully picked his way through the branches until he could look over the tops of most of the surrounding trees. As soon as he scanned the horizon, his heart jumped into his throat. Oh no.

This wasn’t athla’maakh territory he had wandered into, as he’d originally feared; this was much worse. He’d crossed into the Aria’una. Ardyn could clearly make out the red leaves of the bhath’laa’ar trees that marked the border, and they were south of his location. He had to get out of here. Now.

The elders would already know of his transgression, so he was in a near state of panic as he descended the tree. He wasn’t sure how, but they always knew when someone accidentally wandered into the area. They had a specially trained group of hunters they would send whenever anyone entered the Aria’una.

Ardyn’s heart raced, and his breath caught in his throat as he climbed even faster down the tree, nearly slipping on moss-covered branches. Once he made it back to the lowest tree limbs, he grabbed his gear and dropped to the ground. As he shouldered his pack, he oriented himself towards where he’d spotted the perimeter of the Aria’una before running in that direction. His heart thudded in his chest as he realized that even running at top speed, it would take at least a half-day to reach the perimeter.

How did I get so deep into the Aria’una? I know I could not have run that far through the storm. I must have been so intent on tracking the beast, I didn’t notice how far north I had wandered. Still, how did I miss noticing the bright red trees lining the perimeter?

Ardyn was a seasoned ranger; he shouldn’t have let himself become so distracted by his prey that he had missed seeing the bhat’laa’arh. Now, as he fled through the trees, he felt like a complete fool. After running until he was out of breath, Ardyn stopped to rest. He knew he had to make it out of the Aria’una as soon as possible, or face even worse punishment than he knew he was probably already in for.

However, at his current speed, he’d pass out from exhaustion before he’d ever reach the border. Trying to calm his nerves, he took stock of the situation and slowed down, pacing himself. It would be nightfall by the time he’d reach the border this way, but that was better than pushing himself and the risk of lying on the forest floor, passed out for who knows how long.

After traveling at a more moderate pace, Ardyn reached a natural spring by mid-afternoon. He had made good progress, so he sank to his knees by the spring to slake his thirst. He decided it wouldn’t hurt to take a few moments of rest as he pulled out his rations and sat himself more comfortably on the ground.

Exhaustion crept up on Ardyn, dulling his senses. He sat idly by the spring, lost in thought, almost missing the sound of a twig snapping behind him. Turning around more slowly than he normally would, he saw the beast that he’d been tracking. The sar’ora was now hurtling toward him, fangs bared. An instant later, it was on top of him, knocking him backward on the embankment and lunging for his throat.

Ardyn dodged the first lunge as he twisted to one side and tried to clamber from beneath the beast. As it lunged forward again, Ardyn heard a yell and the distant twang of a bow as it loosed an arrow. In the next moment, the sar’ora collapsed onto him, dead. Pushing the massive beast off him, he scrambled free, only to look up and see a tall, dark skinned athla’maakh walking toward him.

Standing up slowly, Ardyn remained wary. The athla’maakh walked up to him brazenly and greeted him in the Athla’naa tongue. “Yawen ior’uthera. Kerros’nor Jevan.”

Ardyn was stunned for a moment, not expecting to hear his own language from the man. Taking a moment to compose himself, he returned the greeting in the athla’maakh language.

“Greetings, Jevan. My name is Ardyn. I owe you my thanks.”

Jevan’s gray eyes sparkled as he regarded him. “You’re welcome,” Jevan said with a charming smile, his hand extended in greeting. “It’s always nice to meet such an attractive elf.”

Thank you for reading. If you enjoy my writing and are not yet a member of Medium, for a nominal fee you can join and support me, to unlock more of my articles and all the content on this platform.