Part 2. - Chapter X. Tirren

Cabris greeted the girl and the boy, and then saw Costa and ... Princess Nea with them. Cabris bowed to Nea and said:

"Princess Nea, I apologize for my brother's actions. He had no right to harm you."

"Oh, come on!" - Nea blushed. – "It's my fault. I wanted to come here myself. Your brother is not to blame. I hope he wasn't severely punished?"

Cabris looked at the girl in surprise. "What is she even talking about?"

"My brother was condemned and punished with eternal banishment to the world of Limbo."

"What?" - Nea was startled and looked at Costa, who was looking at her with undisguised mockery.

"Well, Nea, was it worth your trip here? Who else needs to get hurt before you finally calm down?" - Cabris said cruelly.

Nea turned away from everyone, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Actually, the movement of Anna is not a major misconduct Jeremiah. This was just the last straw that revealed the entire story of his misdeeds. Nea wasn't the only one my brother sent here, but she was the only one who survived. Now I am trying to correct the wrong he has done."

"Cabris, I'm so sorry," - Nea said softly.

"Don't feel guilty. Jeremiah knew he was doing evil, but he did it anyway. Evil - is his choice."

Cabris looked at the young girl with the scythe and the young boy he didn't know, and didn't see the one who had called him.

"What happened to grandma Pavlina?" - Cabris asked. - "Why isn't she here?"

"She's here, Cabris," - Costa said. - "Grandmother Pavlina and my grandfather have found, so to speak, a second youth."

"What do you mean?" – did not understand Cabris.

Costa pointed at the young men and introduced them.

"Cabris, meet them again. This is my grandfather Vadim and Princess Pavva, who was once my grandmother Pava."

"It's not natural!" - cried Cabris. - "This can't be happening! This violates the basic laws of Existence! Time does not go backwards!"

"Don't be afraid, Cabris," - Pavva said. – "It's not really magic. We shouldn't even be alive. It happened here in Whiteaqua, where the three of us ended up. It's a miracle that we're alive, but we can't figure out what exactly happened. I think the elves of Tirren will explain everything to us. Did you bring the Multiverse Crystal?"

"In a way, Yes..."

"A-a-a-a..." - Even Princess Pavva was taken aback. – "In a way? How do you understand this? Do you have the Crystal or not?"

"Yes and no."

"Go crazy," - Vadim couldn't stand it, - "What Are you doing? Hit your head somewhere on the way here, huh? What the hell are you talking about? You either brought the stone or you didn't."

"The crystal is here in this world. I couldn't bring it here because I'm not that strong. I'm not a wizard or an elf. The nature of the crystal is incomprehensible to me. These crystals only grow in the Midlands of this dimension. This morning I was summoned to the citadel Proctor, the Archmage told me the mystery of the Crystal in the Multiverse. Therefore, you can say that I brought the crystal, you just need to go and get it."

"You've been composting our brains, haven't you? You don't have a stone! Again, we will have to stomp far away lands..."

Cabris laughed.

"Not so far away, because the milk river, the jelly banks keep a secret. To find out the secret, each of us will have to endure a test. Those who can stand it will understand everything at once. Shall we begin?"

"Right away?" - Nea asked. - "And prepare?"

"What do you need to prepare for?" - Cabris replied with a question.

"I don't know. To what awaits me..."

"What's waiting for you?"

"Don't you know?"

"No. And no one knows. Everyone has their own test. I'll meet you on the other side... with those who will pass. By the way," - Cabris said, turning around, -"those who don't pass the test won't get into Tirren..."

And the Guard was gone... Nea looked around and saw that Costya had disappeared, and Vadim, and everything else. She was alone... again. And suddenly she heard shouts from all sides and saw that the Kamarian were approaching her. She just didn't have time to hide from them. They swooped in unexpectedly and captured her. The leader was not yet in sight. Nea's heart was racing, she realized. That she was very stupid, that if she didn't escape now, then there would be no point in saving Tirren, and so everyone would be doomed. Nea was thrown into the grass, no one searched their Parking lot, and Nea fell right on the sword. The two warriors considered the girl harmless and turned their backs on her, discussing with the other warriors their next plan of attack on Tyrran. Nea could easily grab the sword and kill them, but instead, she desperately tried to cut the ropes.

Nea did not even think about that to deprive someone of life, not least because one of her best friends was Kamarian... Nea missed the rope twice, and the sword sliced through her skin. It was very painful, but she was finally able to cut the thick rope. Suddenly in the center of the camp began a scuffle and two of her guards rushed to separate the relatives. Nea saw the bales of garbage that were planned to be thrown out, and she hid in the largest bale of dirty rags. The fight was still going on, but the soldiers had already returned to their duties and began to throw the bales into the pit. Nea was found missing 15 minutes later. The girl heard the alarm horn. She started running, toward the white water. Suddenly the Milk river surged and Nea saw a secret passage under the river. The girl did not think, ran into the mysterious grotto and the water fell as if it was not there. Cabris was already standing in the grotto, smiling.

"Well, Nea, you've passed your test."

"What do you mean? These soldiers weren't real?"

"Probably. You did it first. Let's wait for the others."

Pavva was alone in the fog suddenly she heard screams and evil laughter of Namdilia, his former servant. Pavva ran in the direction of the screams and found the Dark Queen, who cast a death spell on Nea.

"What are you doing, Namdilia? This is your family! It's your granddaughter!"

"I'm not Namdilia! I am the Queen of Namdi! I am the Queen, not you!"

"You, as was the maid Namdilia, so it will die! I will never accept you as my Queen!"

"Oh, you! Wretched girl! Gaar would like me, and you still go after him like a puppy dog! Get on with your life and don't mess with my family. As you say, Nea is my granddaughter! Mine, not yours! I want to give life, I want to take it away. What can you do about it?"

"But I love Nea as if she were my own, since you can't love her!" - Pavva exclaimed.

"Then what would you give to save her? What will you give?"

"Anything!"

"Give me your youth, which you so unexpectedly received as a gift. Give it back? Would you give your youth for Nea's life?"

Princess Pavva began to cry:

"Give away... I'll give you everything.... I don't mind giving my life for a girl..."

The Queen laughed, and held up her hand with the magic ring, which lit up with a dark purple light. Pavva felt a network of wrinkles cut across her face, and her skin dried like parchment. Tears rolled down Pavva's cheeks, but she did not think of herself; she was weeping for Nea. Suddenly Nea disappeared and Pavva fell into a dark grotto, where she saw Nea and Cabris.

"Nea, dear, you're alive! I'm so glad!" - Pavva ran and hugged the girl, she looked down and saw that the skin on her hands was snow-white, and the face remained young, without wrinkles. Then Pavva realized that it was all just a Mirage, a test...

Vadim is so used to feeling old that he still doesn't understand that he is young. His bones no longer ached, he could straighten his back without pain and immediately grew a couple of centimeters. There was strength in his arms, impatience in his legs. He could walk for miles without resting, just because he was young. A strange oval mirror suddenly appeared in front of Vadim. It seemed to float out of a white river. In the oval mirror, he was old, but then suddenly the surface of the mirror rippled, as if someone had thrown a stone at the center, and when the mirror water calmed down, Vadim was no longer looking at an old man, but a young man with white skin, brown eyes and brown hair on his face.

Turning his head to the right, grandfather Vadim saw a brush and razor, he grabbed them and shaved off his mustache, in the mirror began to reflect quite a boy, no more than 18 years old. Vadim grinned. Suddenly, the surface of the mirror began to circle again, and he saw his wife Bazhena, who had not changed at all since he left the Veil. Bazhena just woke up, rubbed the stove and separated the embers from the extinct ones. She raked out the ashes and began to put more wood in the stove. Grandfather Vadim remembered that yesterday he had collected several buckets of coal, they were standing in the hall. Vadim stretched out his hand through the mirror, and it smoothly entered, as if into water. Vadim held his breath, jumped into the mirrored water, and found himself on the other side.

"Bazhena, step back, I'll bring you some coal myself," - he said importantly, and just as he turned to the entrance hall, Bazhena began to wail.

"Oh, you damned thing! How did you get into someone else's hut?" - And Bazhena rushed with a hot poker at the stranger who had invaded her house. In vain Vadim tried to explain that it was him, he just got younger. In vain he recalled the memorable dates of their common life, Bazhena only became more heated:

"Oh, you! Pervert! Well, I'll show you how to molest old ladies! Look, I found "Vadim" here. My Vadim is old enough to be your grandfather, and you are clearly not him!"

Vadim with fright flew back into the portal and fell headlong on the grass. He got up and looked in the mirror again. Bazhena somehow calmed down and sat down again to heat the stove. Vadim suddenly realized that there was no way back for him. No one would recognize him when he was young. No one would believe it was him. They will probably decide that a distant relative or grandson of some kind... And Vadim longed, because only now he realized that he would never return home again...

As soon as Vadim realized this, he ran his fingers over the surface of the image, where Bazhena was, as if saying goodbye to her. Then he took a step back and turned away from the portal. A stingy tear rolled down his cheek, but the river lifted its canopy, and Vadim entered. He decided not to meet his grandson's eyes for fear that he would immediately understand. But the grandson was not there yet.

Costa, left alone in the clearing, suddenly saw Nea sneaking away with a bundle. He called out to her, and when she didn't hear him. He caught up with her and roughly returned her to the Bank of the white river.

"Nea, what are you doing?" – he was indignant. – "Have you decided to run away to his grandfather? Are you crazy? Haven't you done enough mischief already?!"

"But I missed my grandfather!" - the girl excused herself.

"Pavva told you she would arrange a meeting!"

"How can she arrange a meeting when my grandfather is holding a spell there? He's like a dog on a chain! I know he wants to come back with me!"

"No, it's not," Costa said. It is true that he is being slaughtered in Avernas, but he went behind the Veil himself. He wanted to go back to his own world ... home."

"But I want to hear it from him!"

"You'll hear it when the time comes. I'm not letting you go anywhere right now. If necessary I'll tie it up!" - Constantine said sternly. – "I'm tired of treating you like a baby."

Nea pouted and said to him:

"Nothing will change! I will always be like this! So why does she babysit? Let me go now, and that's it!"

"Aha! I was dreaming," - Costa replied.

Nea suddenly pushed him away and threw herself into the white water.

"Are you crazy?" - Costa shouted. - "You're going to die!"

"Don't save me! I will always bring you only problems and troubles. Let me perish now and let this world perish with me. But nothing will happen to your world. You will return home and everything will be as it was before. Everything will be as it was before you met me. Don't save me! Let me die!

"You fool!" - Costa shouted. – "What a fool you are!"

He threw himself into the water, which was acrid as acid, and began to drag Nea to the shore, although the skin on his hands was melting and he screamed in pain. Suddenly the pain abruptly passed, Nea disappeared, and Costa fell into the water and found himself in the coveted grotto, completely whole and dry. He looked around and could not understand what was happening.

"It was a vision, Costa," - Cabris said. - "This is the test you passed. That's all right."

Costa looked at his hands, which were completely normal, and at Nea, who was dry and had no acid burns either.

"It's terrible, these trials of yours," - Costa said. – "Where are we?"

"We are in the secret cave of the elves, where crystals grow. Each of us received a portion of the crystal during the trial, which we will carry to Tirren. There we will be able to combine all our parts into a single Crystal in the Multiverse."

"When did we get these crystals?" - Nea asked. – "I don't have any crystal."

"It is already there, and you have received a portion of it by passing the test. These fragments are already inside us. This is the only way to carry the crystal and preserve its power. Follow me."

It turned out that there was a whole underground labyrinth behind the grotto. Cabris threw a blue ball to the ground. Which quickly rolled through a network of intricate secret passages and corridors. These secret corridors were equipped with traps and deadly traps, dead ends and false passages. This was the labyrinth that guarded the secret entrance to the Tirren. Even the people of the Middle Kingdom did not know of its existence. However, The guardians of the worlds had their privileges, they knew everything that was needed to complete the mission. This is Guardian magic: knowing everything you need, at the right time. If the Guardian comes to some world for the first time in order to save a person, then the moment of transition the Guardian receives all the information about the world and ways to save. If you need a Guardian to have magic, he will have it, if you need a guardian to change skin color or gender, he will change it. This is the essence of the Guardians of the worlds, they adapt to the visited world in order to successfully complete the mission that brought it here.

That is why, when Cabris came to the world of the Midlands, He already knew about the secrets of the crystal, its nature and location. Unlike other participants, Cabris did not pass the test, he immediately went to the grotto. The guardian does not need to be tested for loyalty, he is a symbol of loyalty to the good. If the Guardian is not pure in heart, he loses the power of the Guardians, this is protection from the forces of evil.

Cabris led the entire party directly to a Golden gate on which hung two silver masks. The masks seemed to Wake up, with two slits for the eyes and a slash for the mouth. They are not without emotion, said:

"Welcome, friends of the elves. Feel the power of the crystals, go to the left corridor and rise to the surface. You are already expected."

The gate opened noiselessly, and beyond it was a dark, high-ceilinged hall, and the corridor to the left was lit by a string of blue crystal torches. The whole party went into the corridor and climbed up the slope to the surface for a long time.

The corridor ended abruptly, and they emerged into the open air, filled with the scents of magical flowers and trees. The whole party alighted on one of the hills of Tirren, but the city was plunged into an uneasy darkness. The city of the elves was located on and between the hills, forming a smooth circle that was encircled by a wall of Beloyar, a metal of unearthly origin. Through this wall, the enemy could not penetrate, but Beloyar needed to feed the crystal to remain active. Without feeding the crystal, Beloyar is just an antimicrobial metal with potentially limitless possibilities.

When Nea, Costa, Vadim and Pavva came out of the tunnel, they were met by two elves. They were very tall, broad-shouldered, and had straight Golden hair with a few strands of green that were obviously artificial. A traditional elven tiara made of gold was placed on the forehead, and just below the tiara a green pattern was applied, as well as a patterned pattern was made under the eyes. Men-elves, as well as women, decorated their ears not with earrings, but with kaffs. The clothing was more conventional: a white shirt with a high collar that was fastened with a jeweled agraph instead of a button, a patterned waistcoat embroidered with beads and colored threads, and brown corduroy trousers.

The elves bowed and introduced himself:

"I Dara Aelrond control the city."

"And I am Ogneslair, the Chief mage of Tirren. I can feel the fragments of a Multiverse Crystal. Let's go quickly to the Crystal Hill, on the top of which is the storage of the crystal."

Both elves were young, and their voices were clear and clear. The travelers could scarcely move their feet, and the elves flitted from stair to stair.

"What Dara Aelrond is the name?" - Nea asked.

"No, my name is Aelred and I Dara Tirren."

"Dara means king?"

"No," - laughed Aelrond. - "Dara means the second. I am second only to the governor of Tirren, and I am deputy in His absence."

"So the Governor is out of town, and you're filling in for him?"

"Yes, that is true," - Aelrond agreed.

"How old are you?" - Nea asked.

"Dara Aelrond is 80 years old, and I turned 140 yesterday," - Ogneslair replied proudly.

"Wow! You don't look your age. Do you have any old people?" - Nea asked curiously.

"Nea!" - Costa said sternly. These questions seemed inappropriate to him, but the elves were disposed to chat with the bearers of their precious crystal.

"It's all right, it's a normal question," - Aelrond laughed. - "We have an old age, we just get old at 500 years, but none of the elves live to that age. Here is Ogneslair surpassed the last record holder, who died in 139 years. Now he is a long-lived man."

"How so? Why don't you live to be old?" – do not let the Nea.

"Well, it's partly our nature, or rather who we are, that's to blame. Our magic, wealth, and accumulated inexhaustible knowledge attract all kinds of evil to us. Everyone wants to get something without earning it. And we have to defend ourselves. We constantly improve our defense and magic, but sooner or later we are forced to engage in a direct battle. And in the heat of battle people die, and we with them." - sadly said Aelrond.

"Are you being killed by evil people?"

"No," - replied Ogneslair. – "We are killing the evil people die themselves. This is our nature. We have no right to take the life of another being, even an evil one. If this happens, and the elf kills someone, he dies along with his victim. That's why we don't live to be old. And that's why we have such serious methods of protection."

"Oh, that's sad," - Nea said sadly. As always, she asked a lot of unnecessary questions and upset good people.... Or rather, elves. Trying to make amends, Nea asked about Tirren. It was night now, and they were climbing endless staircases in total darkness, and they could not see the city at all.

"Tirren is an eternal city," - Aelrond said with a smile, - "And it is beautiful and does not obey the basic laws of physics, chemistry, alchemy, or even magic. Our city is located on five hills. Four hills encircled the fifth in a circle. Even the name of the city of Tirren is derived from the first letters of the name of all the hills."

"T" is the hill of tyre, which means Sentinel in your language. It is on this hill that the city Council, all city services and departments, and the city's army are located.

"I" this is Ilfirin hill, which means "Immortality". On this hill there is an elven health resort, a Royal tomb, a place of memory and burial, as well as sanatoriums, parks and squares. Places where you can rest, think, retire, heal, or mourn the dead.

R and R is double the Elvish name of the Central hill - Rieena-Rimirin that the universal language is translated as "Crowned Crystal". This is the Central hill we are going to. For simplicity, this hill was simply called "Crystal". It takes a long time to pronounce its full name.

"E" this is Ellar hill, which means "home, family, clan". This is a residential hill, where our houses and the Palace of our Ruler are located, which has been empty for many years.

"N" this is Nibel, which means "Game". – This is a Holiday hill or Hill of Arts. Here we hold city festivals and rituals, and here we create art. All workshops are located on this hill: art, jewelry, sculpture. They also create music, poems, stories, dances, and performances. Perhaps this is the most favorite place in the city for all the elves.

This is how the name of the city of Tirren came to be. By the way, I'm not usually addressed by my first name. Call me Dara. This is a respectful address to the Governor.

"Okay, I get it..." - Nea smiled.

"We came," - said Ogneslair and stopped. – Do you see the faint outline of an empty jeweled frame?"

The travelers nodded; they could clearly see the empty silver frame.

"Stand around her and hold hands."

Nea, Costa, Vadim, Pavva, and Cabris stood around the frame and held hands. Ogneslair raised his hands up and uttered in a whisper the secret slaughter of Elvish language. The wizard's whisper made the air vibrate. Nea saw elven magic for the first time. From the empty frame suddenly appeared patterned gold twigs with flowers and petals. These flexible living twigs surrounded the bearers of the shards of magic crystal and took on color. Costa turned Golden, Golden sparks began to radiate from him, and a yellow fragment of crystal floated out of his heart.

Vadim suddenly shone with snow-white light, and sparkled with snowflakes. A transparent fragment floated out of his heart, glowing with iridescent facets.

Pavva turned red like the setting sun, and around her flew the scarlet petals of an unknown flower. A red fragment of crystal floated out of the Princess's heart.

Cabris suddenly flashed a soft green light and even looked a little like an elf. Its green vine surrounded the Guard and leaves began to grow out of it. A green fragment of crystal floated out of the Guardian's heart.

Nea looked at herself, her vine was blue in color, it surrounded her body and Nea saw blue-blue flashes of the heavenly radiance of the stars. A blue fragment of crystal floated out of her heart.

The fragments began to crawl slowly along the vines and soon joined in the center of the frame in a single crystal. As soon as the crystal became one and filled with power, there was a bright flash, the city was covered with an electric dome and it was illuminated by a scattering of colored lights.

Tirren was saved, the Crystal restored the shield, and the city disappeared from The Midlands dimension. The Multiverse Crystal hid the city in other worlds. Now everyone was safe and the Bright Prophecy was still valid. The elves laughed and cheered, and then there was magic music and a wonderful song in an unknown language. They went to one of the magic laboratories of unknown purpose, which were located below the tier.

"We will give each of you a gift, such as he needs now," - said Dara Aelrond. - "Nea, I have been told by the Princess Pavva of the purpose of your journey here. Now elsen-people folk will create a disturbance in the spell of the Dark Queen and your grandfather will be able to move here for a few minutes. Go to this room and make the most of your time."

Nea, her heart pounding, opened the door of a room with a protective field, and a tall, broad-shouldered old man suddenly appeared. Nea rushed into his arms:

- Grandpa!

Dara and Ogneslair turned to Pavva, Costa and Vadim.

"We saw the incident through the "Eye of the past", a magical crystal ball that can display all the events of the past that took place near Tirren," the Archmage said. Whiteaqua should have taken your lives and in a sense it did. Nea is a special girl, kept by some special magic that did not allow her to change. You can't go back to your old life. Nea really has the gift to neutralize some of the magic of this world, because she was able to wash away the White water from you, and keep you alive, but you have changed. To maintain balance and observe the magic law, the White water washed away part of you, creating new identities. Now you are different and your worlds are closed to you forever.

"What does that mean?" - Costa asked, growing vaguely uneasy.

"It means that your grandfather will not be able to return to his home world, just as Pavva will not be able to live in the Midlands. They don't belong there anymore. The laws of physics are such that for their worlds they are dead forever. We can open the gates to any world they like, or they can stay here... forever.

"What?" - Costa exclaimed, startled. – "But you can't do that! Grandpa must come home!"

"No, Constantine." – said Aelrond. – "Should not. And we saw that Vadim understood this and made a choice. Right?"

"Yes... What is there, " - said Vadim, upset. – "I'll live with you. Maybe I'll see my grandson again, if he knows where I am."

"Grandfather! No! What will I say at home? - Costa shouted. He suddenly realized that this was a parting, and perhaps forever. There was a sudden ache in his chest, and his eyes filled with tears, even though he was fighting to hold them back. His lips were trembling so much that he could hardly speak.

"Costa..." - said Vadim, whose eyes were also wet. – "You figure out how I'm going to come back as a kid? This magic cannot be turned back. I can't be myself again... grandpa... and like my Bazhena... how does your grandmother recognize me? How does my daughter recognize me? They won't believe our stories. And what am I going to do there alone ... one? I guess it's my fate to stay here. I told you in the barn that I didn't remember the Prophecy. I remembered it all my life. The well told me: "Greetings to you, future resident of Tirren, and you are told not to miss your chance to get here as soon as you hear the word 'Veil' from a loved one. It will not be soon, but when old age comes. You must cross the Veil, or disaster will befall both worlds. Remember this Prophecy! Save us all!"

Costa and Vadim embraced and both began to cry.

"Costa. You will have to do something terrible. You need to trick them... Our family... So they wouldn't look for me... we didn't miss it... Can you do it?"

Costa nodded and began to cry again. Now he couldn't hold back the tears. They hugged each other again, and Vadim whispered his plan to his grandson. When Costa and Vadim agreed on everything, they again summoned the Dara Aelrond. He gave Costa a magic bracelet with green stones.

"It's a bracelet with malachite plates. If you ever find yourself on this side of the Veil again, the bracelet can transport you to Tirren. Only you need to activate it. Cast an elven spell. Can you remember?" - Dara said.

"Yes."

"Remember: "Iniye yesta Tirren". Repeat!"

"Iniye yesta Tirren," - Costa repeated.

"These words activate the bracelet and it will take you to us," - explained Aelrond.- "Use it only as a last resort. After each move, one malachite plate disappears. There are three of them in your bracelet."

Meanwhile, the Archmage drew The Guardian of the worlds aside.

"Cabris, we know you're in trouble." - said Ogneslair. - "We can make your search a little easier. Here, this is a search crystal."

The elven opened his hand, and there lay a small round crystal with many facets.

"It will help you find your brother's hiding places and help you find his victims or their graves. The crystal itself will light up and point the way with a beam. Follow him."

Cabris took the crystal and sighed heavily. Nea came out of the room, and it was already empty. Her grandfather returned to Avernas, and she went to her friends, wiping away her tears.

"We will open the portals to your home for the three of you," - Dara said, and a white canvas appeared in front of them, with circles running from the center like water.

"For three?" - Nea asked.

"They'll explain it to you later, Nea. Go!" - said Ogneslair.

"Costa," - Vadim called out to his grandson. – "I told Cabris what to do so that they wouldn't look for me... there... d... at your place. It will help."

Vadim hugged his grandson and made the sign of the cross.

"All right, go with God!"

Nea caught a glimpse of this, but before she could understand or ask what was going on, she had already entered the portal that took her back to the village of Genghis through the Golden tunnel, followed by a sullen Cabris and a tearful Constantine. The portal closed and disappeared.