The Twins - NaNoWriMo '07

Chapter 11: Rebirth


Ana and Stefan ran for their lives. For the first couple minutes, they ran on adrenaline. Ana risked a glance over her shoulder but apart from the cloud of sand settling from their run, there was no sign of pursuit. Still, the twins didn’t lower their guard.

>Believe in yourselves as I do in you, and you will do what you must< Elena’s voice sighed in their minds >Seek the power lines with your auras. By now, they will be calling to you. May the Goddess be with you< her voice faded from their minds.

“She’s done everything she can for us,” Ana said, looking at her brother.

“Yeah… we owe her,” he answered.

“No! You can’t think like that, otherwise its going to affect the outcome of the prophecy!” Ana said forcefully. Stefan looked startled and actually stopped still. Ana took his hand again and pulled him forward. He stumbled then righted himself and forced his legs into a walk.

Ana walked determinedly. She didn’t stop. She didn’t feel tiredness, nor thirst, nor the heat of the sun on her dark hair. She was following her feeling. Behind her, Stefan cried out as he tripped on a sharp stone. Startled, she stopped and turned around. Ana sat down next to him and rested for a minute.

“Let’s find those arches,” she said, and twined her fingers with his. They closed their eyes, and suddenly, the interlocking arches appeared in their mind. They pulsed with the energy of the power lines. The view retracted, and then the twins could see their own auras, not too far from them. In a flash of blinding light and urgency, the vision disappeared and the twins opened their eyes. Ana looked around as they stood and glimpsed gathering dust. She pointed it out to Stefan.

“They’re coming after us!” She grabbed his hand and they tore across the sand again.

Stefan didn’t know if their pursuers were part of Them or if they were the mysterious Riders Elena had mentioned. Unless they were both.

>Stop thinking and keep running!< Ana shouted in his mind. Right! Stefan gave a small shake of his head and pumped his legs.

Though both twins were athletic, running had not necessarily been a forte of theirs. A piercing stitch appeared in Ana’s side but she ignored it. It grew persistent and seemed to spread across her whole stomach. Stefan’s lungs were on fire, and he thought he was going to pass out from the lack of oxygen when Ana jerked his hand again. A rush of adrenaline he didn’t know he had surged through his veins and he ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Ana. Their breathing was laborious and out of synch, and they both stumbled more than once, nearly bringing both of them down. But they would not let go of each other. Stefan looked over his shoulder and what he saw caused him to try and redouble his pace: at the head of the cloud of dust were two horseback figures. Even at the distance between them, Stefan could see that they were Them. Probably their captors too. He passed his sister and pulled her behind him. She too glanced back, and increased her pace.

It seemed that an age had passed. Then, Ana saw their objective in the distance. Excitedly, she pointed out the blurry structure to her brother and, with their last ounce of strength, sprinted the distance that separated them from the arches. Behind them, they could hear the horses muffled thundering hooves on the sand increase their pace.

Fear made them discover resources they thought they had spent. Reaching the arches, Ana and Stefan threw themselves in them, rolling on the sand, and yelling,

“Sanctuary!”

“Safe!”


Ana rolled closer to the center of the arches. She noticed that the wind was virtually non-existent in the arches. In fact, they no longer found the sun’s heat oppressing either. Stefan crawled to his sister, and they shakily stood in the center of the arches. They interlocked complexly – there was not one that was over or below the other, yet there were five distinct arches. Holding on to each other, the twins watched as They came closer on horseback. Closer and closer, and they didn’t know what to do. It seemed that they were going to die, or be at the mercy of Them, before being able to complete the prophecy. Fearing the worst, Ana turned into her brother’s chest – she couldn’t watch.

What Stefan saw surprised him beyond relief: They could not pass beneath and through the arches. Nudging Ana, he pointed at them.

“They can’t get through,” he whispered, smoothing her hair, “We’re safe.”

Shaking, Ana had to acknowledge that Stefan was right. They beat at the invisible wall that denied them access to the arches. Intrigued, the twins walked closer to the edge of the arches, until they were just on the other side of Them. Still though, they could not see what magic retained them. Stefan pushed his toes beyond the arches, and it passed easily; yet directly above them, one of the ugly and twisted creatures was beating on the invisible wall.

Ana and Stefan turned back to the center of the arches, and gasped. A rectangular stone slab had appeared, raised on four shorter blocks, resembling a table. It’s edges were worn smooth, as though with age or weather. As the twins walked closer to it, they noticed that the air had a slightly sparkly quality to it, kind of the way dust motes float in the sunlight. They turned their attention back to the table. It seemed large, and not arranged in any way: and was slightly off-center. But in the center of the table, there was a scroll, with a seal of wax pressed into it. Ana picked it up, and looked at the seal.

“It looks like these five arches…” said Stefan, who was looking over her shoulder.

“Yeah…” she glanced at him quickly, “Do you think it’s meant for us?”

“It must be. It wasn’t there when we arrived, and we are the only ones who have crossed into here. Go on, open it!” he urged.

“Alright…” Delicately, Ana pulled the seal upwards, without breaking it. Even more carefully, she unwound the scroll. The paper was thick and dry – rather like parchment, although Ana could see some weave, and thought it might also be akin to parchment. Before their eyes, the symbols and lines rearranged themselves to a language that wasn’t English, but that Ana and Stefan knew as well as English. Understanding the Old Tongue, the Language of Magic, was an innate ability that was woken when Ana and Stefan had their powers awakened in the forest clearing in Siberia, so long ago. Naturally, they didn’t quite realize that what they were reading was far from their own language.

It was a letter.


To the Twins of this Era,


Ana Maria and Stefan Perwinkle. If you are here, then you have already been through several obstacles. Other prophecies are on the move, on the brink of being completed or have already been completed, by your presence alone in the Land of the Goddess. Undoubtedly you are confused. Undoubtedly you are wishing that this were nothing but a bad dream. Unfortunately for you, this is reality. You have been thrust in the Great Game of Life. Now, you must play your part.

Let your magic guide your steps within these Arches. I am nothing and no one but an observer of Time. Your hearts will decide together what you must do. But above all, never forget to believe in yourselves, as do so many people out in this Land. As do so many who do not even know yet that you have arrived, and are on the brink of perhaps changing their lives.


With these words of uselessness I leave you. You may not seek me, you will not find me. In any case, you cannot leave the Arches now.

The Eye of the Sun will soon be closed by the Moon. At that moment, History shall change.


Be strong, Twins, and most of all, be true…


The letter was unsigned. As Ana and Stefan reached the end of it, the words faded away from the paper, and the paper itself disintegrated to dust and then nothingness in Ana’s hands. When they looked up, the table too had vanished: In its stead, a circular dais of stone.

Stefan looked up at the sun. Shadows were starting to creep up on them; the moon was moving to take her place across the Eye. But there was still at least an hour. The twins didn’t speak immediately, and not at all about the puzzling letter. Instead, they were absorbed with observing the Arches. They were intricately carved: as Ana examined each one of them, she came to the conclusion that there was one for each of the Elements, plus one.

“What can this one be for?” Ana murmured, wondering.

“I think it is the Goddess’s Arch. Or at least one that represents a higher being,” Stefan answered, from where he was examining the other end of the arch, “Nothing is truly represented – no flames like on that of Fire, no leaves like on that of Earth,”

“Yeah…” Ana answered vaguely. Strangely, her mind wasn’t thinking so much about her family life back in Arizona. It all seemed so far away now, that it was disembodied. ‘To think that we’ve actually only been gone just over a week,’ she thought, but her thoughts slipped away from her again. Instead she observed the fine architecture and talent that had built these arches – if they were even built by Man. Or maybe some other mythical creature that roamed the Land of the Goddess. She drifted over to the Earth Arch. Though all five arches were of medium gray stone, they were very clean and seemed to sparkle with iridescence. At the touch, they were warm, and pulsed slightly: they felt alive.

Ana trailed her fingers on the delicate leaves and flowers that had been carved into the Earth Arch. Closing her eyes, she looked at the Arch with her magical vision, and was half-surprised to see it pulse with green sparkly light. It lived. It contained the essence of the Earth magic – that’s why this line was so powerful. Ana opened her eyes again, and went to the Fire Arch next to it. Closing her eyes, she saw the same pulse, but in fiery reds and oranges. To the Air and Water Arches she hurried to next, and saw a pale yellow and shiny life force for Air, and a radiant dark blue and azure one for Water.

Her hands trembled as she placed them on the Arch she suddenly viewed as the most sacred. The Goddess’s Arch. She closed her eyes and was flooded with the softest and warmest silver light. It swirled around her, pulling her in and allowing her to retain her individuality at the same time. Ana reeled as she made herself pull back from it. Glancing at the sun, she saw that it was half covered by the moon now.

‘No!’ she thought, ‘I want more time! I want to examine the dais!’ she hurried to the circular stone and threw herself down on it. Stefan was already there. Their fingers traced the spiral together. It had not beginning, and had no ending. Its edges were worn smooth yet razor sharp at the same time.

Steadily, the Arches were overshadowed by the eclipse.

Unsteadily, fingers trembled over the dais. It too, pulsed with life. Ana looked at Stefan, and she grasped his left hand with her right one. Her golden-range eyes bore into Stefan’s brilliant blue ones. Both could sense the power each possessed. But they also felt something else: they completed each other. Their power was incredibly similar but different; but it was just as incredibly different as similar. Her left palm was flat on the dais. Staring into his eyes, he too put his right hand palm flat on the dais. Blinding light engulfed them for a moment before subsiding. The Dais too was alive. But unlike the Arches, it had Dark as well as Light. The Dais resembled the Chinese Yin-Yang symbol without being so clear-cut. There, energy was liquid and the dark and light were separated. However, the light included dark, and the dark was also light. Like two sides of a coin, light and dark, good and evil were inseparable.

Within an instant, it was over and the twins were just staring at each other over the circular stone again. The shadows continued to creep over the Arches. Stefan and Ana pushed themselves up and looked around. They stepped off the Dais and moved close together again. They walked the inner circumference of the Arches. By now, dozens, if not hundreds or thousands more of Them had come, and They obscured the desert. Their ugly faces pressed against the invisible wall and Ana fleetingly wondered if it might break. Her mind was immediately soothed by the knowledge that it would not. Where did it come from – her brother? Or the Arches themselves?

Instinctively, Ana and Stefan moved back to the Dais as the time of the total eclipse approached. They didn’t notice the frail figure of a beaten Elena push her way up to the invisible wall and beat on it with as much fervor as Them. The only difference was that she didn’t want to change the twins’ minds or force them to do anything against their will – she wanted to say good-bye, because no matter what the outcome ended up being, she would never see either one of them again.

But the Arches were adamant. Only those who had come through with the Twins could have the freedom to feel the full force of the magic that was about to take place. Seldom had anyone come through, and even if they did, they were consumed by the raw energy the Twins wielded.

Steadily, the moon crept over the sun. The twisted features of Them faded into shadow until only their glittering eyes stood out, pupils dilating wide to accommodate the dimming light. Elena, though at the forefront of the mass, could hardly see anything more than a blur in those arches.

Ana and Stefan stepped on to the Dais on opposite ends. They were in a trance – their minds were empty as they took a step nearer – the Sun was just a sliver now. Slowly, they mirrored each others’ actions. Ana brought her right hand up and crossed it in front of her face, so her palm faced Stefan’s right shoulder. Her left hand was lower, beneath her elbow – palm up. As the Moon ate the Sun, their poised hand, in an ancient pose no one knew the meaning of any more, inched closer. At the exact moment the total eclipse began, the Twins’ hands and eyes met.

Brilliant blue against golden-orange, their hands fused together as energy, raw, wild, and untamed, rose up through the Dais, coming from the ten branches of the Arches, to rush up through their bodies at a dizzying rate. It coursed, alive and burning, through every capillary, until it exploded between the strange space their hands made. It was pure and crude, colorful and colorless, beautiful and terrifying. The Arches were immovable, but their power and vivacity rolled off of them in waves. The Twins were in a trance, but only Ana’s mind was entirely empty and focused on the magic. Stefan’s mind slid back and a name and a face floated in his inner eye: Elena. He didn’t want her to die. Why should she die? She didn’t do anything! He loved her! Her beautiful soft hair and pale, vibrant eyes. Try as he might, his mind would not stay completely focused on the magic, and on the powers he was now controlling the Ana. All he could think of was that he didn’t want to die.

On the Land of the Godless, strange things were happening. A thick beam of white light had appeared out of nowhere and had firmly impaled itself on the exact center of the Earth, at 0°00°, 0°00° of latitude and longitude. Its force had shaken the entire planet with earthquakes mountains off the Ritcher scale. Cities were crumbling, people were dying, and nobody could explain what was going on. Fanatics fell to their knees as the sky rained fire and debris, believing that Armageddon had finally arrived, that this was Judgment Day, that aliens were coming to enslave the human population. No matter what their belief, they hoped to be spared.

But the Light spared no one. Stefan’s prediction and decision had been made long ago, and his tilted the balance. Long back when he spoke with Sha’Djenda and passionately exposed the problems the Land of the Godless was facing, and if there was a choice, why destroy a Land where Elena lived – in his reasoning, anything that Elena touched was sacred – when Earth was in the throes of suicide anyway? And so Stefan, one young man of seventeen, came to affect the world as no one thought possible.

He and Ana were rebirthing Earth.

The seabed dropped in every ocean, and the backlash caused the deadliest tsunamis the world had ever seen since the time the asteroid had hit and wiped out the dinosaurs. Volcanoes spewed millions, billions of tons of ash and rock, both solid and molten. The lava devoured the mountains and engulfed the villages, towns, and cities, anything that stood in its way. It was Nature rebelling herself against centuries of mistreatment and abuse. It was the Giants that lived beneath the crust of the Earth rising to live again. It was the demons of Hell coming to drag everyone under to be slaves for all of Eternity.

People died. They died suddenly and without knowledge. They died without enlightenment.

And on the other side of the beam of light, Ana and Stefan were still interlocked in their strange position, beneath the Arches of Nature. The energy flowed between them, around them, and through them, ever drawing on the seemingly endless reserves beneath the Dais. The Elements’ energy roared around them; they heard nothing else. They didn’t hear the screams of the agonized human population. They did not realize the pain they inflicted on the Element Masters as they drew on their knowledge. They did not realize the migraine they gave every magic-wielding entity in the Land of the Goddess as the Twins drew on their reserves to complete the rebirth of their planet.

The Land of the Godless, which would now need a new name, was nothing more now than a mass of molten rock, of fire, of crashing waves, and of cyclones. Viciously, the Elements were unleashed from the Land of the Goddess onto the Land of the Godless, and they raged against the population that had forgotten about them, suppressed them, and tried to control them. Assuming humanoid shapes sometimes, they reared and destroyed every vestige of civilization, be it above or below the ground. The planet churned, as eventually, the hot molten core spilled itself entirely on the surface. The atmosphere was burnt off, and the extreme freezing conditions of space attempted to freeze the Earth’s surface. However, the Elements were too rallied up for that: they never stopped their destruction. They reshaped the planet.

Ana and Stefan felt the pull of the energy needed to continue the rebirth. They were tired, so tired, and wanted nothing more but to give up. It was easy, all they had to do was let go of each others’ hands, and the link would be broken, halting everything in process. Unfortunately, it would be a definite stop. There was no opportunity for a break in the exhausting process of rebirthing a planet. But the Twins didn’t let their own personal energy, and ultimately life force, be taken yet. That was needed for the final stages.

The Elements continued to rage on Earth, but their energy was dimming. The freezing conditions of space were making their actions sluggish. At long last, they no longer reared their heads, and settled calmly in an array of hardened molten rock and frozen water.

Then, as though in fast-forward, the planet began it’s rebirthing process. Particles zoomed through the vacuum of space and came together. With the little sunlight available, for the eclipse was still total for the entire duration, chemical reactions began, and the beginnings of an atmosphere began to knit itself around the Earth, her gravity keeping it near. Like a blanket, Air knitted itself. Once the planet was completely enveloped, the true rebirth could begin.

Once again, the Elements poked their heads through the solidified crust, and broke it open. But now, their actions were gentler. It was with an artist’s hands that the Elements began shaping the Earth’s features. It was with teamwork and patience that they created soft, rolling hills, and with care that the oceans were deep and plentiful. Air and the position of the sun began influencing the climate, and Water froze solid again at the northern and southern Poles. Millennia in fast-forward shaped themselves beneath their eyes.

Now, there was only Stefan and Ana’s life force left, for energy. The Life force that would allow Life to live on Earth again, giving a second chance to the planet. The Twins’ arms rose slightly, and without warning, their feet gently left the ground. They floated in the middle of the arches, the light now not only coming from between them, but from them, from their hearts as they poured their passion for Life into the rebirth of their home planet. Their own life force was colored with their auras, and so a solid thread of brilliant blue and golden-orange twisted into the large beam of white light that still connected them to Earth.

The Elements felt it when Life hit the newborn planet. All of a sudden, what they had created began to move on its’ own, to procreate, and to have their own minds. They were no longer dependent on their creators. And so the Elements left slowly, one by one, by the way of the white pillar of light. First Fire and Water, the two opposites that are never far from each other, then Earth, and lastly, Air. With his departure, he sealed the atmosphere he had created, although this was more out of kindness, for the atmosphere would have sealed itself within a hundred years if left alone. One by one, they traveled quicker than the eye can blink, and slower than one can think. One by one, they came through the interlocking point of the arches and fell through Ana and Stefan’s now lifeless bodies – held there by the magic alone. Fire passed through first, burning them from the inside, followed by Water, who extinguished the trail. The two returned to their respective arches, which glowed fiercely before settling. Earth followed, leaving a trail of crumbs and leaves, and passed through the Dais, and back to her Arch – reluctantly, for she would rather burrow in the sand forever. And finally, Air. Air swiftly cleansed them from the inside, before breezily returning to his Arch.

Lastly, there was the pillar of light. The pure energy needed to complete such a task. The Goddess herself had allowed a portion of her power to be held in her own Arch. She was the last to pass through. As the pillar disappeared and all that was left were the standing figures of the Twins and a steady glow of Light between them, the Goddess Selene struck outwards. All of Them, every one of the thousands of Them creatures that had gathered in the hope to sway the prophecy and turn the planet over to their complete power, dropped dead at the touch of her power. It flicked between each segment of the Arches, and exploded into the exact number of tendrils needed to kill Them. As they all fell in heaps around the Arches, only Elena was left standing, trembling, and pressing against the invisible wall, her stained face streaked with tears, her eyes bloodshot.

>My Daughter…< said Selene, her voice resonating in Elena’s mind.

>My Lady…< Elena implored >Why continue living when one has seen what I has seen?<

>No matter the hardships, no matter how unfair they might be, Life is always worth living. All you must do is find a reason< A thin tendril of power wiped Elena’s cheek tenderly, the way a mother would.

>Stefan…< Elena hardly dared to utter the name, even mentally.

>…was never a part of your world, and never could be< said the Goddess softly.

>How can you understand!< Elena’s face contorted angrily and in frustration and sadness. Her throat was too raw to speak, although she wanted to scream.

>Because I too, once had a human lover… My Daughter, it is time for you to rejoin me now<

Elena didn’t understand what was happening. All she knew was that Stefan would never be hers. Never.

The glowing ball of power slowly faded, disappearing through Ana and Stefan’s bodies and back down through the Dais. It rejoined its Arches. The Twins crumpled to the ground as the pulse signaling that the Goddess’s power had returned to her Arch was gone.