This week eye am going to share with you, where the story is going in The Sacred Blade Of Profanity series. At least, for one character. Some of you have been introduced to her in The Scarlett Curse, and eye think more than a few might agree with me, when eye say that Dera Harke is my favourite character in this series. She plays such a pivotal role in the story overall, and more happens to her, eye think, than to any other character. Here is Dera's first appearance in The Scarlett Curse III - The Battle For Sarls Bend. Enjoy :)
...Dera still sat by her mother's grave, The Mirror placed on the ground between her feet. She rested her chin on her knees and gazed absently into the glass. All the many years that Dera had spent, playing with her friends unseen, visiting wonderful realms and bending reality to her intent, began to elucidate for the child. These weren’t mere games. These were lessons in Power. When the time had come… Dera’s moment of reckoning, everything she had learnt went straight out the window. The Sacred Blade Of Profanity had been too powerful in its imposition on the child. Dera had been reduced to not much more than a frightened little girl. She hadn’t thought once to use The Mirror, nor any of her learned skills, to direct events to a more fortunate outcome. The vile Blade Of Power had taken hold of Dera, but it wasn’t able to retain its command. The Mirror had protected her. She didn’t have it with her when she collided with Scarlett in the dark, nor when The Blade made its way into her hand and then into the flesh of her dear mother. Dera turned her head at this realisation, and let her gaze fall to Phenoluh’s makeshift burial plot.
The little girl’s vision degraded into a glistening blur, as her eyes filled with tears. Only hours before, Phenoluh was nothing more than a fading memory to the girl… a passing stranger. Dera was now re-living the events in her mind, all the way back from the Mills Wall marketplace to the present moment. Everything that had happened. Everything she had done, presented Dera with a clear, unblemished view of the reality that she had effectively eluded up to this point. The Prii remained in shadow. It was crucial that Dera faced this trial alone. In a most cruel and unfortunate way, this was Dera Harke’s coming of age.
The Prii watched intently from the shadows of Dera’s mind. This was to be a pivotal moment in the child’s development. She was either going to break, or find her resolve, and all they were consented to do in this instance, was observe. Dera was now completely alone. A reality which, as it dawned on her for the first time in its entirety, pushed the young girl into an abyss of overwhelming isolation. She wondered anxiously where The Prii were, and why they weren’t there to reassure her, as they normally would be when she needed them most. Had it not been for the unwavering discipline of The Prii, they surely would have shirked their responsibility as teacher, and given Dera the companionship her soul so desperately cried out for. Their collective heart ached for their dear friend, but to interfere now would only jeopardise their young apprentice, and leave her ill equipped for what lay ahead. She picked up The Mirror and searched the depths of the enchanted glass for her friends, but they remained unseen. Instead, images began to swirl into formation within Dera’s awareness. The images transposed onto the surface of The Mirror, and pulled Dera into a vacuous expanse of uncharted mind. The Prii silently applauded this feat, watching the child in earnest as she abandoned her earthly woes, and set about exploring this new realm that existed within her psyche.
A solitary light within an infinite darkness, Dera Harke was like a beacon announcing her presence to The Harrilluin. This was a precedent in the history of The Mirror. None before her had successfully navigated their awareness to this extent. Dera and The Mirror essentially became One, which re-established a link with the ancient sorcerers of Harrilluin, that had been severed from the time it had first changed hands. None before Dera were in possession of The Mirror long enough to form a bond like the child had accomplished. Dera had the distinct notion that the darkness in which she found herself was in fact, the inky black pupil of a ridiculously immense eye. At this thought, she felt herself getting larger by the moment. Light began to creep in from the periphery, bit by little bit. The child let go of her focus and instinctively allowed herself to go mentally limp, resulting in an accelerated expansion that made Dera feel ill. A chill raced through her and she felt her body returning to physical form, as the darkness that surrounded her shrank rapidly, and seemed to retract to a pinpoint in her left eye. In an instant, Dera found herself once again standing, only metres away from the mysterious figure she had encountered in her meditation, back at the tree in Mills Wall. Only this time, instead of the spongy, incorporeal realm, Dera was standing on solid earth.
Tummel advanced towards the girl, with more than a hint of curiosity. When he had intuited the arrival of a being in this realm, he had half expected it to be the young girl. He was nonetheless surprised when he found it to be so. This was the cloaked realm of The Harrilluin, and nobody outside of their order had ever found their way in, let alone knew with certainty of its existence. Tummel slowly began to realise he had found the bearer of The Mirror. Dera stood fast and watched him approach. She felt extremely weighed down, as though gravity was magnified tenfold. The ground beneath her feet felt painfully hard, sending a dull ache up her legs, which continued throughout her body. The man advancing towards her seemed to move with ease, as if gravity was of no consequence to him. The sorcerer saw Dera’s energy waning and hastened to her.
“Avert your eyes, girl”, he said. “Don’t hold your focus on anything here for more than a few moments. This is not your world and your energy body is not accustomed to its ambiance. Keep your attention in fleeting motion or you will die. To die here is to die in your own world”.
Dera obediently looked down at her feet. The ground seemed to pulsate with energy and she became transfixed. Tummel rushed to the child and caught her, just as she began to collapse.
“Look at me, child”, said Tummel urgently. Grabbing her shoulders, the sorcerer held Dera upright. “Look into my eyes and empty your thoughts”.
Dera tried with all her might to raise her head, but her energy was draining at an alarming rate. Tummel lifted her head and caught her gaze, holding it with a fierce intent.
“You must remain empty, child. There are worlds within worlds within my eyes. Search for your Power, but don’t become obsessed. There is much you don’t know about this realm, and I am still at a loss as to why or even how you have come to be here. I can help you but you must remain empty”.
Dera looked into the strange man’s eyes. They glowed with Power and indeed seemed to hold within them, an untold number of layers. Each layer, a doorway to another, which Dera found to be soothing and energising. Tummel continued to hold her gaze as the child searched for, and began to find her Power. Her inexperience however, caused Dera to involuntarily obsess. No sooner had she begun to regain her energy, her internal chatter distracted her from her purpose, and it would once again slip back towards oblivion. Dera knew exactly what the man meant by ‘remain empty’, but that seemed impossible to the child. As she struggled to keep her strength, her thoughts began to dominate the silence that her mind required to survive this place. Dera was losing this battle as each moment passed. Tummel had to act fast. He smoothed one hand down Dera’s face, coaxing her eyes to close, and she began to fall for what seemed like forever, though it was but an instant. When she opened her eyes, Dera was once again in the world of form, but not where, nor when she had been when she left.
...Dera still sat by her mother's grave, The Mirror placed on the ground between her feet. She rested her chin on her knees and gazed absently into the glass. All the many years that Dera had spent, playing with her friends unseen, visiting wonderful realms and bending reality to her intent, began to elucidate for the child. These weren’t mere games. These were lessons in Power. When the time had come… Dera’s moment of reckoning, everything she had learnt went straight out the window. The Sacred Blade Of Profanity had been too powerful in its imposition on the child. Dera had been reduced to not much more than a frightened little girl. She hadn’t thought once to use The Mirror, nor any of her learned skills, to direct events to a more fortunate outcome. The vile Blade Of Power had taken hold of Dera, but it wasn’t able to retain its command. The Mirror had protected her. She didn’t have it with her when she collided with Scarlett in the dark, nor when The Blade made its way into her hand and then into the flesh of her dear mother. Dera turned her head at this realisation, and let her gaze fall to Phenoluh’s makeshift burial plot.
The little girl’s vision degraded into a glistening blur, as her eyes filled with tears. Only hours before, Phenoluh was nothing more than a fading memory to the girl… a passing stranger. Dera was now re-living the events in her mind, all the way back from the Mills Wall marketplace to the present moment. Everything that had happened. Everything she had done, presented Dera with a clear, unblemished view of the reality that she had effectively eluded up to this point. The Prii remained in shadow. It was crucial that Dera faced this trial alone. In a most cruel and unfortunate way, this was Dera Harke’s coming of age.
The Prii watched intently from the shadows of Dera’s mind. This was to be a pivotal moment in the child’s development. She was either going to break, or find her resolve, and all they were consented to do in this instance, was observe. Dera was now completely alone. A reality which, as it dawned on her for the first time in its entirety, pushed the young girl into an abyss of overwhelming isolation. She wondered anxiously where The Prii were, and why they weren’t there to reassure her, as they normally would be when she needed them most. Had it not been for the unwavering discipline of The Prii, they surely would have shirked their responsibility as teacher, and given Dera the companionship her soul so desperately cried out for. Their collective heart ached for their dear friend, but to interfere now would only jeopardise their young apprentice, and leave her ill equipped for what lay ahead. She picked up The Mirror and searched the depths of the enchanted glass for her friends, but they remained unseen. Instead, images began to swirl into formation within Dera’s awareness. The images transposed onto the surface of The Mirror, and pulled Dera into a vacuous expanse of uncharted mind. The Prii silently applauded this feat, watching the child in earnest as she abandoned her earthly woes, and set about exploring this new realm that existed within her psyche.
A solitary light within an infinite darkness, Dera Harke was like a beacon announcing her presence to The Harrilluin. This was a precedent in the history of The Mirror. None before her had successfully navigated their awareness to this extent. Dera and The Mirror essentially became One, which re-established a link with the ancient sorcerers of Harrilluin, that had been severed from the time it had first changed hands. None before Dera were in possession of The Mirror long enough to form a bond like the child had accomplished. Dera had the distinct notion that the darkness in which she found herself was in fact, the inky black pupil of a ridiculously immense eye. At this thought, she felt herself getting larger by the moment. Light began to creep in from the periphery, bit by little bit. The child let go of her focus and instinctively allowed herself to go mentally limp, resulting in an accelerated expansion that made Dera feel ill. A chill raced through her and she felt her body returning to physical form, as the darkness that surrounded her shrank rapidly, and seemed to retract to a pinpoint in her left eye. In an instant, Dera found herself once again standing, only metres away from the mysterious figure she had encountered in her meditation, back at the tree in Mills Wall. Only this time, instead of the spongy, incorporeal realm, Dera was standing on solid earth.
Tummel advanced towards the girl, with more than a hint of curiosity. When he had intuited the arrival of a being in this realm, he had half expected it to be the young girl. He was nonetheless surprised when he found it to be so. This was the cloaked realm of The Harrilluin, and nobody outside of their order had ever found their way in, let alone knew with certainty of its existence. Tummel slowly began to realise he had found the bearer of The Mirror. Dera stood fast and watched him approach. She felt extremely weighed down, as though gravity was magnified tenfold. The ground beneath her feet felt painfully hard, sending a dull ache up her legs, which continued throughout her body. The man advancing towards her seemed to move with ease, as if gravity was of no consequence to him. The sorcerer saw Dera’s energy waning and hastened to her.
“Avert your eyes, girl”, he said. “Don’t hold your focus on anything here for more than a few moments. This is not your world and your energy body is not accustomed to its ambiance. Keep your attention in fleeting motion or you will die. To die here is to die in your own world”.
Dera obediently looked down at her feet. The ground seemed to pulsate with energy and she became transfixed. Tummel rushed to the child and caught her, just as she began to collapse.
“Look at me, child”, said Tummel urgently. Grabbing her shoulders, the sorcerer held Dera upright. “Look into my eyes and empty your thoughts”.
Dera tried with all her might to raise her head, but her energy was draining at an alarming rate. Tummel lifted her head and caught her gaze, holding it with a fierce intent.
“You must remain empty, child. There are worlds within worlds within my eyes. Search for your Power, but don’t become obsessed. There is much you don’t know about this realm, and I am still at a loss as to why or even how you have come to be here. I can help you but you must remain empty”.
Dera looked into the strange man’s eyes. They glowed with Power and indeed seemed to hold within them, an untold number of layers. Each layer, a doorway to another, which Dera found to be soothing and energising. Tummel continued to hold her gaze as the child searched for, and began to find her Power. Her inexperience however, caused Dera to involuntarily obsess. No sooner had she begun to regain her energy, her internal chatter distracted her from her purpose, and it would once again slip back towards oblivion. Dera knew exactly what the man meant by ‘remain empty’, but that seemed impossible to the child. As she struggled to keep her strength, her thoughts began to dominate the silence that her mind required to survive this place. Dera was losing this battle as each moment passed. Tummel had to act fast. He smoothed one hand down Dera’s face, coaxing her eyes to close, and she began to fall for what seemed like forever, though it was but an instant. When she opened her eyes, Dera was once again in the world of form, but not where, nor when she had been when she left.