Halyn's+Gate

Halyn was in her office preparing to do rounds when her letter appeared in front of her. She read it through, largely confused. This couldn’t possibly be her letter. She wasn’t a hero. She was a nurse. The Fox knew that. He couldn’t possibly want //Halyn// to do whatever it happened to be that she was supposed to do. Halyn puzzled over this until she thought she may have figured it out.

“Of course!” She exclaimed to herself. “Izel! She’s a diplomat! He must want me to deliver this note to my sister!”

Halyn took leave to go find her sister at once, but Izel wasn’t having it. “Halyn, there’s no time for me to go find a gate, I don’t even know this Fox guy, and it was sent to you in the first place. If it really is meant for me, then you can just go pretend to be me for a while. I can’t go.”

“Izel, you have to. I can’t disappoint The Fox, but I highly doubt I’m the hero he’s expecting to show up in this forum thing,” Halyn retorted.

“Well, I guess he’s just going to have to make do. I have to go on a trip to Cvetonia.” Izel kissed her sister on the cheek and promptly left.

“That’s no help at all,” Halyn sighed. It was up to her now. She would just have to pretend like she was some kind of hero.

Inner grappling aside, there was a bigger problem for Halyn to face. How was she going to go through the gate? For one, only Tristan had been through the gate before and he had never been seen again. For two, how was she going to survive the shock of dry land?

She went home and hugged her son. She couldn’t go through the gate. There was no chance of convincing her to. Oddly, though, as she went through the motions of her night, she felt more and more guilty. There was something inherently wrong feeling about not following through, even if it was for the sake of her family and of her life.

At dinner, Halyn sat in front of her plate and fiddled with her ring nervously. Her husband, Bayle, noticed and decided to bring it up. “You look nervous tonight. Is something wrong?”

“Well, yes. I got a letter today from The Fox asking me to- well, I’ll just let you read it.” Halyn handed over the letter and glanced at Elio. He was too busy playing with his food to notice what his parents were talking about. She smiled softly and looked back at Bayle.

“You have to do it, Lyn,” Bayle finally said in a low tone.

“I can’t. I figured you’d realize that. I can’t leave you guys,” Halyn replied calmly.

“This seems important. If you don’t represent Saqui Salvi, who knows what could happen?” He asked gently, trying to maintain the level of volume they were discussing at.

“This could be life or death, Bayle. What if I don’t come home?” Halyn responded in a hushed tone, asking her own question.

“You’re not thinking of that legend are you? They only tell that story to keep little kids away from the gate. You know that.”

“Bayle. Do you see the ring on my finger?" Halyn held it up as if he hadn't. "It belonged to Queen Revana herself. That’s not a legend.” Halyn frowned.

“You’re right. You should probably stay home with me and Elio. You deal with enough danger as it is and I don’t want you risking it for some guy who named himself after some woodland... critter.” Bayle’s face was perfectly straight. “Besides, you probably couldn’t handle it anyway.”

Halyn jolted upward and left the room swiftly to prepare for departure. Her husband had successfully used reverse psychology on her. She put a land outfit in a bag, a nondescript purple dress with a simple cut that she could move well in, along with a few healing remedies and some other things, then left to get food for herself.

“What are you doing?” Bayle asked as soon as she had emerged from the bedroom.

“Leaving. I won’t stay home just because you tell me to.”

Bayle hid a satisfied smile. It was weird for him to have to trick his wife, but he knew it was for the better in this case. “Fine. Elio.”

Elio, who was thoroughly distracted, snapped to attention. "Yes, Dad?”

“Go hug your mother goodbye. She’s going on a trip, but she’ll be home soon.”

Elio followed orders and Halyn hugged him tightly before leaving. The only thing she could do was pray that she wouldn’t be gone for good.

Halyn took no time getting to the castle in the center of Ectro Salvi, but didn’t bother going in this time. She went straight to the garden’s unusable entrance.

For the longest time, Halyn just stared at the gate. It was beautiful, yes, but terrifying. She recalled what to do with the shock of land and hastily crafted a bucket out of tough but pliable seaweed. Hopefully, the water would translate through the gate. Hopefully she would translate through the gate. Halyn didn’t even stop to think of what she’d do if she couldn’t get through.

Halyn braced for impact and finally convinced herself to go for it. She went at the gate as fast as she could and phased through instantly. The overall shock was nearly enough to make her pass out. She had landed in the stiffest air she’d ever felt, on top of a rather sharp area of floor. That couldn’t be tended to. Halyn had to focus. She forced herself to pour the water onto her tail in a slow trickle. It was the best option for convincing her body that this was a gradual transition. Fortunately, it worked. Her legs grew in and she put on her land clothes.

Standing up was hellish. Her legs were stiff and sore. They would almost definitely bruise over. It was nothing, though, compared to the awkward allover pain of laying on the floor. Halyn glanced back and noticed the slightly crumbled skeleton of a half turned merman where she had previously been.

“Tristan.”

It couldn’t be. Yet, it clearly was. The skeleton had a ring identical to Halyn’s own. She knelt on the floor next to it. “Tristan,” she repeated. “Why?”

What was she to do? She couldn’t ignore the fact that he was her own kind. She had to at least push him through the gate so he could be found. She tried to gather him up as wholly as possible and sent him back through the gate, crying softly at the amount of shocks that seemed to have gathered for her. She turned around to look at the room she was in.

Halyn didn’t recognize anything about the room. Anything, that is, except for The Fox. She quickly swept the droplets from her eyes and stood up straight. “Hello.”

"Hello, Halyn," The Fox replied. His amber eyes were very serious as they gazed at her. "That was very bravely done of you. Welcome to the Forum." He gestured to the round room with a dozen or more alcoves dotting the walls. Halyn could only assume they were more gates to other regions. In the middle of the room was a grand table, also round, piled high with books, maps and papers. She could not see anyone else in the room. "I am sorry about your kinsman. When I discovered him I thought it best to let one of his own people return him to the sea. I wish I could have saved him, but..." The Fox's voice trailed off.

"He was long gone before I was born. There was nothing to do," Halyn replied quietly. She felt a little dizzy, but it was oddly comforting to know The Fox was there. She trusted him; he gave her reason to.

"Well, that is no matter now. Come, we are expecting more guests and we have much to discuss." He held out a hand to her and steadied her as he escorted her to a small comfortable chair next to a table on which stood a pitcher of a fruity wine, citrus fruits, olives, soft cheese and crusty bread. "Please, refresh yourself as we wait for the others. They will be along shortly." He smiled at her and his eyes seemed to light up with a golden glow. "Oh, and little sister, be aware, it was //you// I sent for, not your sister. You are the one who is needed."

Halyn was just about to take a wine goblet when he said this. She pulled her hand back and just looked at him for a moment. "I- okay." She reached behind her head to feel her still damp hair and mustered up a smile.

"Not sure?" The Fox chuckled, looking at her face. "I assure you, //I// am sure. Now please, help yourself..." The Fox straightened up suddenly, and cocked his head to the side slightly. Then a grin spread across his face. "Of course," he murmured, "I should have expected." He turned back to Halyn. "We have another guest!"

Halyn looked around in confusion, but saw nothing. "But..." she began.

"Oh, he's not here yet, but he will be momentarily. This should be interesting." Somehow, Halyn thought that when The Fox said "interesting" it didn't mean the same thing as when she said it.