Journey Through the Soul Window - The Caregivers: Part 1

Journey Through the Soul Window
The Caregivers: Part 1

   The celebrations at the Druids lasted for a couple of days. During that time, several other Reoseans from the topside world found their way there, being either escorted or followed by some other Haedians. Orvillos and Heldanau, together with Eislynn, had had such a wonderful time they probably forgot to sleep for roughly one night as it was impossible to tell or sense the passage of time down here. As they were refueling themselves with the delicious snacks provided by the Druids, their attention landed on a completely white Empyrian excitedly talking about something with a cheerful Haedian. Leaving Eislynn to eat more, Orvi and Helda approached the two to hit them up with a chat. Turns out the Empyrian’s name was Abreanna and the new Haedian introduced himself as Cailu, part of a clan called the Caregivers. He congratulated Orvi and Helda for their new titles, and filled them in on the plan to take Abreanna and them, if they wish, to the Caregivers’ territory for a soul-searching experience. The pair of Pullers agreed, and when they found Eislynn again to inquire whether she’d also be interested in it she politely declined, claiming she’d be staying with the Druids from now on. She was happy and content here, and after gathering some supplies for the long journey they exchanged goodbye hugs before Helda, Orvi and Abreanna headed further on to the depths of the Beneath, where Cailu was leading them.

   The journey was indeed long, passing by and through plenty of other Haedian clans where Cailu managed to convince the locals to let them stay and rest before heading on. Helda and Orvi definitely would’ve wished to learn more about these clans, but they were busy with their own tasks and doings, while Helda and Orvi were already heading elsewhere. Instead, they learned more about Abreanna and Cailu, which eventually formed a bond of friendship between all of them.

   The last territory before the Caregivers made Cailu nervous. He assured everyone they need to be perfectly silent and keep out of sight. When Abreanna asked him to briefly explain why, Cailu said that the Order clan had formed a dislike towards the topsiders already, so if they were to get through here, they had to use secret side tunnels to sneak past them. Fortunately, Cailu was an excellent leader in this situation so after an adrenaline-filled sneaking and a couple times of nearly getting busted, they reached the edge of the Caregivers’ area. There they all breathed deeply from relief and everyone was glad they were successful with this task, getting to keep their hides in one piece.

   After a small rest and snack break at the ledge, the bunch moved on. They went into a spacious tunnel, which was laden with glowing crystals of different shades, lighting their surroundings up nicely. This magical path led them to a large cavern with even more shining and shimmering crystals decorating its walls, ceiling and floor, while there were a few pools with perfectly clear water in them. The topsiders weren’t sure how far up the cave ceiling was from them as it glistened like a starry night sky, making them almost feel at home. They could sense that there was something else in this room, but they couldn’t quite tell what.

“Ohhh, Cailu, your home is absolutely beautiful!”

   Helda let out a gasp as she took a few steps further in, then remained still to admire the sight around her. Orvi and Abreanna did the same, but they stayed at the entrance, leaving one happily smiling Cailu between them.

“Thank you! We indeed have many crystals here, even though they’re not as bright as the Depthstriders’... but in my opinion, this is better.”

   While Cailu was chattering, Abreanna also stepped past him near Helda to peek around the corner. This cave seemed to be enormous, thanks to the crystal placement and how they seemed to glow dimmer and dimmer, depending how far away they were from the pools. Orvi’s brows had furrowed as he was closely observing one crystal cluster on his right, which was growing out of the wall. There was something… odd about it. Then again, Orvi couldn’t think much of it as the crystals the Tranquil had were also powered by a whole different kind of magic, and based what Cailu told them on their journey here about the Keepers and their methods of preserving knowledge Orvi realized he basically knew nothing when it came to the details.

“Cailu? Uhmm… I don’t mean to sound rude, but what is this strange energy in here?”

   Abreanna was the first to speak up regarding this unusual sensation. Fortunately, Cailu was expecting them to inquire about it, so he sat down before he started to explain.

“This is the magic we have in this part of the Beneath. I believe I told you how you can take on a voyage deep within yourselves here, and this is what you sense around you. Helda, Orvi? You can feel it, too, right?”

   Helda nodded towards Cailu with a rather serious expression on her face. That look was just something she did when she was carefully listening to new interesting information. Orvi seemed lost for a second when he heard his name, but fortunately he’d been listening to what Cailu was saying so he nodded in confirmation.

“I can indeed. How can we tap into it or connect with it?”

   Orvi decided to head to the others, so that Cailu didn’t have to separately look behind him when talking to the orange Vayron.

“Well, that’s why we have those pools over there.”

   Cailu pointed at them, to which everyone else instinctively looked in said direction.

“You just need to relax, descend in a pool of your choice at your own pace. They don’t contain… regular water, per se, but rather a conduit between your mind and yourself.”

   Taking a moment to witness the topsiders’ showing their confused faces, Cailu tried to think how else to explain something that was so trivial for him. Helda was the first to break the awkward silence.

“So, we go in, relax… and then what happens?”

“You float in there and… well, trust yourselves to the embrace around you. It feels similar to falling asleep, except everything will feel extremely real. Your subconscious will pick a memory and the pool will land you there. That’s why you can’t panic even for a moment, otherwise you might end up in a strong and unpleasant one.”

   Then Cailu’s eyes shifted to something in the distance. When the topsiders turned to look, they could see how several veiled Haedians had gathered around the pools, eagerly waiting for something. When Cailu spoke again, he seemed just as calm as before, meaning the new figures were no threat. He stood up and walked to his guests, a wide smile back on his snout.

“Oh, and they are the handsmaids, my fellow clansmates. Only the Caregivers can see the visuals the pools display when someone’s connected to them.”

   To this new bit of info, both Pullers and the Empyrian stared at Cailu with wide eyes. They understood what Cailu said, but this time it was Orvi who requested an elaboration with a short, classical phrase.

“Wait, what?”