The Light in Aquala

Mara opened her eyes. She was standing in a completely new world, somewhere she hadn’t even dreamed possible.

The sky was a deep, rich purple that seemed to have its own light in it, layered with faint bands of pinks and silver that drifted slowly across the upper atmosphere. The air was warm and smelled like honey and crushed mint. She breathed deeply, enjoying the deeper undertones of warm earth after rain, and it was so amazing that she took a second breath just to be sure it was real.

Trees with silver leaves towered above her, reflecting the light as their branches swayed in the gentle breeze. The leaves were narrow and long, and every time the wind moved them, they chimed softly against one another, sounding like little glass bells. The trunks were pale and smooth, and thin lines of blue light ran up them from their roots to the highest branches and glowed brighter once every few seconds.

The ground beneath her feet was soft and covered in glowing purple mosses that were alive with tiny vibrant pink and green lights that flickered occasionally. The moss gave gently under her boots and sprang back, and wherever she stepped, the glow brightened under her weight and then slowly dimmed behind her.

Small flowers grew up through the moss in clusters and were the color of warm amber at the center with pale gold at the edges. They opened as she watched, closing again when she moved away.

Above her, something moved and she looked up to see a large bird drifting by on wide translucent wings that were pointed in a ‘v’ formation. Its body was covered in deep teal and silver bands, and it left a &trail of faint light behind it* that hung in the air for a moment and then faded.

Another one followed, and another, and they moved in a slow loose line toward the silver trees, where they decided to settle on the branches, watching them. They folded their wings loosely and their teal bands of color brightened gently, keeping time with the blue lines running up from the trunks of the trees.

Lena was now standing beside Mara, staring with unblinking eyes, afraid to miss anything. Her orange Neon had brightened on her face, moving faster than Mara had seen it since the waterfall, and every time she moved, the purple moss under her boots lit up and the tiny pink lights glowed brighter.

Rivia was nearby, a knowing smile on her face, watching them. Her Neon was brighter here than it had been on the island. The purples and golds had deepened, swirling quickly and when they reached the edges of her face, the colors bled faintly into the air around her and left a soft glow on the silver leaves closest to her.

Jaxx was running through the glowing moss, his tail wagging with pure joy. His paws kicked up small clouds of light with every stride, and the moss behind him glowed brighter and then settled. He ran in wide circles and then cut back toward Rivia before spinning away again. Once when he stopped running, he stuck his nose deep into a patch of the amber flowers and came up with a puff of gold dust on his muzzle that he tried to sneeze away.

“Where are we?” Lena whispered, her face lit up in absolute amazement and wonder. “And where is everyone else?”

Rivia laughed, a sound full of delight.

“I'm not sure exactly. But that is the beauty of following the threads. Sometimes it’s a surprise, you never know for sure where you will end up or who will be there when you arrive. Sometimes when people travel together, we end up in slightly different places, depending on each person’s Neon gravitational pull. Fortunately, we arrived here together. ”

Lena looked around at the strange and beautiful world. To her the air smelled sweet and unfamiliar, like flowers she had never encountered. The ground was warm beneath her feet, and she could hear the gentle rustle of leaves, the songs of birds and the distant sound of water flowing in what could be a river. Somewhere past the trees, a low steady hum rose and fell, like the sound of a large animal breathing deeply in its sleep.

She turned in a slow circle, her gaze stopping beyond the first line of silver trees where the ground sloped down toward a shallow basin that was filled with a pale blue mist that moved like water and never quite settled. Small lights drifted inside the mist, rising and falling, and every so often one of them would climb above the surface and hang there for a moment before sinking back down.

Beyond the mist, the land rose again into low hills covered in tall silver grass, and far in the distance were rocky mountains that reached high into the sky.

The explorer in Lena couldn’t decide where she wanted to go first and the scientist in Mara was already cataloging everything, noting the unusual plants, the unfamiliar sky, the strange but not unpleasant warmth in the air.

But the feeling they both shared was gratefulness. Grateful for the chance to see something new and grateful for having the courage to go with Rivia and Jaxx in the first place.

Mara pulled out her scanner and checked the readings. The numbers were unlike anything she had ever seen and the Neon levels here were off the charts, far higher than anything she had recorded at the Academy.

The energy patterns were different too, more complex, more alive. The readings kept a steady rhythm that matched the blue lines running up the trees, and when she turned the scanner toward the distant hills, the numbers climbed higher still. As she recorded the results, her mind drifted back to the old woman’s story, which seemed so long ago now.

“Rivia,” she said slowly. “Do you think the accounts about the Queens of Neon are actually real? What if they are not just stories?”

“I believe they are real and I think we will find them here.” Rivia replied, with a look of seriousness.

Mara looked up at Rivia quickly and Lena's eyes went wide. “Find them? Where?”

Rivia gestured around them. “Somewhere in this world. I can feel unusually strong gravitational Neon pulls from the threads. The Queens of Neon must be here, waiting.”

Lena felt a shiver of excitement run down her spine. This was what she had always wanted. This was the discovery she had been searching for. The Queens of Neon were real. And they were waiting.

She looked at Mara, who was grinning ear to ear. She looked at Rivia, whose Neon was glowing brighter than ever. And she looked at Jaxx, who had found a stick and was proudly carrying it toward them. The stick glowed faintly along one side where he had been carrying it, and Jaxx couldn’t have looked prouder.

“Well,” Mara announced, a smile spreading across her face. “I guess this is where our adventure begins.”

As she spoke, she noticed a flicker of doubt in Rivia's eyes, a slight hesitation before she smiled.

Mara wondered if Rivia knew more than she was telling, that maybe there was something about this world that she hadn’t shared. Or perhaps she was just tired from harnessing the Neon threads and bringing them all through.

She would ask her later, since the look was fleeting and Rivia had already started playing with Jaxx, throwing the stick and laughing as he bounded after it with the enthusiasm of a brand-new game he just discovered he could play.

Mara laughed, she was too overjoyed with all of these new discoveries, the research she could do and measurements she could take to worry about much else. She looked over at Lena, who had also noticed Rivia's slight hesitation and was looking back at her, a slight concern briefly showing on her face.

For now, they would both keep their eyes open and stay aware of their surroundings. Because if the Queens of Neon were real, then facing a bit of danger was well worth finding them.

Which was a good view to have, since unbeknown to them, two red and purple porcupine-like creatures were watching them from behind one of the bigger silver trees. They were Veywathi scouts and they were on a mission.

Their spikes glowed red at the tips as they communicated with each other. Their huge black eyes were glowing in intensity as they appeared to argue.

Finally, the smaller one looked at the newcomers once more, then quickly headed off towards the hills in the opposite direction, away from the visitors. The tall silver grasses faded briefly as it moved with surprising speed through them, disappearing from view. Only a slightly different movement of the grasses swaying gently in the wind gave evidence of something scurrying away.