HavenGuarde

Chapter 21 - Elixir

Chapter 21

Elixir

- The sparkling wines of recovery flow through the veins, rousing a weary spirit -

In the beginning the earth was unformed. And darkness ruled the earth.

'And God said, let there be light!'

Thonavar's consciousness flickered.

'And there was light!'

With a rush, Thonavar surged into the well of his being, his thoughts and senses hurtling forward as his mind tried to keep up and make sense of what was happening around him. Something formed within his thoughts. A distant and faint memory.

Images formed in his head and he saw his mother, Mirya, reading to him as he lay, half-tucked under blankets, in bed. She was reading from the Bible. And as usual, he leaned against her, transfixed by the stories, feeling the close warmth of her body. Gradually his eyelids became heavy as her voice, like a sweet and soothing lullaby, sang him to sleep.

There was a buzzing in his ears. Now there was another voice. It sounded strange. Something electronic. Like a computer.

"Vital signs are normal. Heart-rate slightly accelerated. Blood pressure normal. Water loss minimal."

All was still dark and he struggled in panic. Then, as if a screen of white was placed upon his eyes, suddenly, all he could see was white. Gradually, his sight returned and he realized that he was staring up at a blank white ceiling. Groggily, he turned his head sideways and saw the black-robed woman. She smiled sweetly at him. He seemed to be lying down upon an elevated chair. Bright lights from above almost blinded him. He tried to move but he found his hands and legs strapped to the chair. "Be still child", said a voice. "It will be worse if you stuggle."

Then, with a groan, Thonavar remembered everything. It was like standing still in one spot with a thousand sky trains rushing at you in full throttle. Memories attacked him savagely, as he lay limp, his mind taking blow after blow. His head throbbed and he moaned in pain.

"This usually happens child. It is what we call the 'vacuum-refill' effect". It was a familiar voice of a woman. Thonavar's vision cleared and peering through the thin eyelids, he saw a woman, her fingers tapping meticulously and dexterously on a large keyboard console.

"It is the mind that suffers the most. After a Testing, one's memories usually come rushing back with a vengeance", said the woman. Her black robes swirled about as she continued tapping her consoles by the side of the room. She appeared nonchalant and uncaring toward his painful plight. Thonavar recalled her strapping him to the very chair he was lying in now.

She had mentioned something called a Testing. Yes! He remembered now. It was the examination that Felix had desired him to undertake, though he had no idea that it would be like what he had just experienced. A fleeting memory of jumping from a great height, with a waxy candlestick between his teeth, formed in his head. The candle had burned with a red-flame. He shook his head in disbelief.

But had he passed? That was what he most desired to know, especially after going through all that he had gone through.

But where was Felix? His mind was full of questions and buzzed, throbbing painfully, as though it was going to burst. He wanted to ask but he felt too weak to even open his mouth. Suddenly, the image of a smiling man with a white painted face and long red hair expertly twirling a strange scepter leapt to his mind. He banished it almost immediately with a shake of his head.