“Lilish, go find Thex. He wants you to go over the hill with him”
“Again?”
“Yes — now pick up your tail and go, and may the seven lords guide you both”
“Yes, mother”
The little reptilian girl did what she was told, she picked up her tail and roamed about the place, packed her things into a bag…double checked to see if she had everything.
“My necklace!”
The little girl picked up her necklace of stone and crystal off from her bed. She had laid it there, earlier. She checked again; food, drink, cowls, binoculars, a map and the necklace.
“Good, got everything”, she thought. Then proceeded outside where a bright sky became too much for her sight to handle.
Lilish raised a hand to give her eyes a moment to adjust. A warm, soft sky greeted her, where two suns hovered and gave there light to lush land she stood on.
A shadow climbed over her, blotted out the suns, and gave her eyes respite.
“Hello little one”
“Oh, hey Thex”
“Are you coming with me?”
“I am”, Lilish left the cave behind to set off across the idyllic fields along with Thex, a man who’s tail had fully grown, dressed in a loincloth and a simple leather shirt. Lilish also wore a simple leather dress, patchy, yet comfortable. At least it was to her. Thex held a wooden staff so that he could, at the least, walk. It was his right hip. Ever since Lilish met the man, he always had that waddle.
She chuckled.
“What is so amusing?”, his yellow eyes were upon her.
“It’s nothing, really”
He turned back without a pry.
“Yes — now pick up your tail and go, and may the seven lords guide you both”, her mother’s words were spoken inside her head. It was something earlier. Something she wanted to ask Thex.
“And may the seven lords guide you both”
“The seven lords” — there it was.
“Thex?”
“Yes?”
“Who are…were the seven lords?”
The man’s tail rose, caught off guard by her sudden interest in things that he believed. Besides, Lilish knew Thex was as much as a storyteller, just as much as he was a gatherer.
“The Seven Lords, you ask…I suppose it’s a tale I can tell you”
—
Thex stretched out his arm and pointed in a direction, Lilish followed. At first she did not know what he pointed at. Could have been a tree, something in the stream that was in there path (fortunately a bridge arched over it), or a thing in the sky. Though then it dawned on her. In it’s vagueness, it peeked over a collection of crags, lit partially in the light of the suns. At night it would glow bright.
“Over there little one, is Jah, the closest lord to our world”, Thex announced.
“Oh?”
“He is the youngest, and his heart always desires blood. Jah possesses the Qorwraath (the Destroyer), a spear of great power. The lord has fought in many battles, both in the higher realms and here, on Drakko — adorned in silver armour and aided by beast he rode on; Nazareeth!”
“Wow!”, Lilish’s green eyes gleamed with envy. She wanted a pet…a beast of her own.
“If you look closely, you can see Melavakiish, just behind Jah”
So she did, Lilish saw the another curvature that poked out from behind Jah.
“She rules the lands, the seas, the skies and the very creatures themselves. Gentle, kind yet firm, when angered or upset she would cause destruction in a blink of an eye. Oh, and she was, voluptuous”, Thex chuckled at that.
“What does that word mean?”
“Nevermind. Now, where…ah, up there, is Bakkesh. The stern lord that had built the halls of Jovia — where honoured ones feasted and slumbered. He also made the homes of every lord. Except for Melavakiish, as they shared the same home. Bakkesh is her mate. He designed the foundations of our world, along with his wife. His favoured tool is a hammer…suitable in his case”
“Who’s after Bakkesh?”, Lilish skipped by Thex with her head tilted back. She looked up at the sky, and searched for the next one. Thex looked around too, yet could not find the next lord. However, he knew who it would be.
“Akkava — a bubbly lord, and for good reason! As he owned the treasury. Always dressed in gold, was the master of fortune. To those who earned his favour, were lucky indeed, and to those who were not…paid a price. He carried a sceptre to encapsulate his power. Akkava, also has the shortest tail of the bunch”
—
They were at the bottom of the hill Lilish’s mother had spoke of. A steep one at that. The two began the climb. Thex gripped his staff tight, and pulled. Lilish caught the moment and dashed over to him. She held onto his leg. Luckily, her support was enough, and prevented the worst.
“Thank you, little one”, he ruffed her head-scales. They carried on, upwards, and found intervals where the hill smoothed itself. This allowed Thex to catch his breath.
“Why do the lords need a treasury?”, Lilish asked.
“Why do you wear a necklace?”
She pondered on that for a while.
“Velesh…hrrgh…is the lord of thoughts, dreams and imagination. Arrogant yet wise. He knows the inner-workings of the higher realms, the world, and our souls. Which brings me to the next lord”
They reached to the top of the hill. A group of crags waited for them ahead, and this group was an opening, a cave where light shone through. Strangely, the skies began to darken.
“Thel, along with Velesh, together — they made our souls. It was Thel who created its form, however, Velesh provided the know-how. Thel, mighty and proud as he is, created the stars…which are our souls. Waiting to be plucked by the Saha-Hareth (the Soul-Bearer), a gauntlet that Thel uses to give and take souls, and to control the flow of power in the higher realms”
—
Lilish and Thex entered the cave and were welcomed by a long narrow tunnel of where a light shone down. This light blinked endlessly. It was damp and the smell was no longer of the pleasant idyllic land they had traversed. Thex stopped and looked down at Lilish. His lips curved upwards. They were covered in shadow albeit from the exit ahead of them, where the light was.
“Who’s last?”
“Haki…she is the furthest one away from our world, yet she is around. The lord likes to tend to herself and remain unseen. A lord who dabbles in mysteries that Velesh himself may not even know of. Her fingers flick and pull at the tapestries of life. Her item of choice is a cowl and cloak. Capable of hiding things as well as holding unknown, darker powers. Haki is also Jah’s mate. Yes and…that is it”
“Really, what about the sun’s? I remember mother told me they’re Drakkatosh and Va…vay…”
“Vayla. Yes. Drakkatosh is the Father, and Vayla is the Mother. At first it was only Drakkatosh. He faced the consuming darkness alone, until, Vayla found him, or he found Vayla — either way, together they bonded and shared there power. Our God and Goddess then birthed the seven lords, each one possessed a shard of there father’s and mother’s power. Then our world was made when the lords decided. Each lord offered a contribution in the making of Drakko…Bakkesh and Melavakiish had the greater hand. After that, us mortals were made…each contributed as well”
Thex placed a hand on Lilish’s shoulder, and they carried on to the light. They felt a heavy draft that came from the direction they headed for, along with strands of dirt that were blown into there faces.
“So, there you go. That is what many people had believed…before the world collapsed. People like me, we have kept the faith, so to speak. Who knows what the seven lords are up to now”
Thex kneeled down, they were right at the entrance to the other side. He placed his hands on her arms.
“Right, do you have our cowls?”
Lilish nodded and laid her bag out on the hard ground, then whipped out two cowls. They outfitted themselves. There faces were hidden with only there eyes exposed. Thex took the first march toward the light. Lilish watched him waddle.
“Come on little one, lets go”
Lilish followed.
“What will we be looking for?”
They left the tunnel behind, a surge of wind smacked against them as there eyes gazed across a wasteland of ash. Miles ahead a storm boomed. The sky was so dark and clouded that neither Drakkatosh or Vayla could shine through. Cities of old cropped out from the ash — a glory attained and then lost. As did many things from time.
“Something truly special”, said Thex.
Together, they journeyed across the wasteland.
Back to the Nav-System