Even as a boy, Thefis had felt the call of stone. His piercing gaze would reveal to his mind’s eye the essence that lay within an unhewn piece. Ravens he hatched from obsidian eggs; trees grew from amethyst roots.
When Lenalia had first entered his presence, the electricity between them had been palpable; together, the world had felt brighter, more alive. Eyes that seemed to penetrate to the core of one’s being, were framed by hair that sparkled with a seemingly inner light. Full lips, quick to smile, fostered a confidence in himself he had never known He had never wanted to grow old, until he found someone he looked forward to growing old with.
True to his art, Thefis travelled the world, seeking out the master stone worker who could reveal the stone from his vision. He learned of the whispers they heard from the stone, and honed his mind’s eye with their secrets. Their gifts of stone were among his most prized possessions. More than just objects, they embodied his memories of the joyous times with those people, but still he never found the glowing stone from his vision.
A mysterious southern tribe had been the first culture Thefis and Lenalia had encountered together. They had first shown Thefis obsidian. Seeing his reflection in its mirrored surface kindled a fascination, and created a memory that persisted with all the vividness of color and scent it had held upon that day. Fresh fruit and succulent roasted meats had been accompanied by the fermented essence of the strange spiked plants that littered their landscape. Xichaltec had given Thefis visions that night that would shape his future. He had seen a stone, blue-green at its core, which sparkled with all the colors of the rainbow. Like an eternally shifting landscape, it glimmered in the light of the sun. Thefis swore on that day, he would find that stone before his time on this earth was through.
When he had been weak, Lenalia had been his strength. When she had grown sick, he had travelled the length and breadth of the kingdom, searching for a cure. He had heard travellers speak of The Sacred Waters of Aketros; a place that could cure any illness, but always demanded a price.
The journey to those rumoured waters had taken months; the worst of his life. Lenalia’s mental state had worsened daily; screams of terror filled her nights, and cries of madness persisted through her days.
Tremad, the Eternal Guardian of the Sacred Waters, awaited their arrival. Thefis had begged, pleaded and wept for Lenalia’s health to be restored. He had prayed to gods he had sworn were not real, he had pledged to pay whatever the price. Tremad had granted his wish, in a way. Lenalia had been restored, as radiant as the day they met, but slowly her health began to fade, and he knew too, that all the carvings of his life were but training for this moment. The day of her restoration he had carved her face in jasper, but it could not encompass the silkiness of her hair, the softness of her skin. Each day they had spent together had felt like an eternity, and Thefis had carved her face anew. A walk down any hallway in his obsidian palace would reveal Lenalia’s perfect features, carved in carnelian, agate and amethyst. All a testament to his skill, but no solace to his heart.
Though her physical body had decayed, her eyes were as bright as ever they had been. After a month of bliss, Lenalia breathed her last, Thefis was left with his price. He was now the Eternal Guardian of the Sacred Waters of Aketros; alone, but for his carvings and his memories.
Since his true love’s death, Thefis searched for the stone; still as clear in his mind as the day Xichaltec had shared it with him; that captured the exquisite essence Lenalia had possessed. Anxious, desperate, Thefis sent for the one who had shared his vision.
When his messengers returned, shortly before the winter’s first snow, flasks of the sacred liquid known as pulque accompanied them, along with Xichaltec himself.
Seeing Xichaltec’s unravelling mental state, he knew his mentor’s time on this plane was short. He spent the days learning all he could from his teacher and friend. Thefis shared with him the fruits of his labors, the countless renditions of Lenalia’s stunning visage that awaited merely the stone that could express such beauty.
With Xichaltec as a guide, Thefis wove in his mind’s eye the most intricate image of which it was capable, of the stone he sought. Its shifting, sparkling essence, its blue-green core, and mind-bending radiance. Closing his eyes, Thefis evoked the astral spirits of his stone creations. Though his oath prevented him from leaving his obsidian palace, Thefis’ minions scoured the kingdom for the stone that would satisfy their master. Though many of their offerings spoke silently to his crafter’s instincts, still none could capture Lenalia’s splendor.
In his mind’s eye, he continued to focus on the image of the stone, slowing his breathing, until the world around him felt secondary to the slow hiss his breath produced. He could hear distant echoes he knew to be from his astral servants, still persevering in his search.
As the host of spirits grew closer, he could feel a change in their essence, but could not isolate its source. Calming his mind, Thefis returned to the present moment and the company of his teacher. There was no need to share his experience, for he could always feel Xichaltec’s presence with him in astral realm. Thefis opened his eyes as the amorphous & translucent colored forms of his astral servants returned. There was one among them he did not know. It was like a symphony of colours; blue and green sparkled with reflections of red and yellow. It glimmered like the reflection of Lenalia’s eyes in the firelight. It was the essence of his vision. At last he had found his stone.
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