3.70 Fertile Souls

         The Crystal Temple, once a brilliant white pyramid was now blackened like the world outside. Even still, the dead scenery and icy cold winds couldn't stop new lovers from stealing some private time down Memory Lane. Bria was in love for the first time, she clung to Nesh's side, hardly noticing the cold at all. She was embracing the Lemurian way of life with ease, it was healing, she hoped to start a family she could call her own just like they did some day.
         And Nesh was learning to love someone who was new to his world, it wasn't so easy. They stopped at the new shoreline to look out at nothing.

         "I still can't believe it’s all gone…" He still struggled to grasp the loss of the land.

         "Poor Bella" Bria sighed, gazing out across the smoggy grey grave that stretched before them. "She should never have left the ship."

         "She let fear take control of her Free Will" Nesh replied. "You decided to come here even though you were afraid. You were brave. Your Free Will was stronger than the fear."

         "I wasn't afraid" she lied, leaning in for a kiss. "I knew you would take care of me!"

         "What if I didn’t?" He replied curtly, returning the kiss with tender passion. "What if I didn't take care of you?" Unsure if he was joking and lost for an answer, Bria merely shrugged. "What if Medel had taken me from you?"

         "Shut up!" She punched him playfully like lovers do. But quick as lightning, Nesh caught and held her wrists tight, capturing her playful spirit.

         "I'm serious!" Nesh was serious. "It's criminal that you’re allowed to mature without being taught how to take care of yourself! None of you can! That you can't even feed yourselves is incomprehensible!" Bria gulped, his words were painfully true, she had no idea how to fend for herself, she didn't even know what a potato was before she came to Lemuria, let alone how to find one. "It's wrong!" He erupted with passionate anger. "I'm going to teach you everything you need to know" he assured. "You'll never need anyone to take care of you Bria, no healthy grown human should have to go through their lives dependent on another to feed them! Good grief!"

         That night, the survivors in Anur looked through the few books that were left. For a while, the cold and barren reality of their world was forgotten as they leafed through the colorful illustrations of the past.

         "This one is about seven hundred years old" Mina handed Dena one of the books. Small, it was still heavy. Dena rested it on the table and began to leaf through the pages. She had taken an interest in the Lemurian books, not only because of their unimaginable value, the ancient knowledge of the Lemurian tribes had captured her imagination. There were many references to some of the Vine Secrets that she knew, they simply applied and perceived their powers differently. Suddenly she spotted an image from her own text books.

         "Look, it's the Golden Egg!" Now everyone knew that the egg on the altar wasn't made of gold, the question was raised once again.

         "Where's the real Golden Egg?"

         Mina pointed to the altar.

         "That's not gold!"

         "It's not the type of gold that is mined from the rock" Mina explained, without explaining at all.

         "What?" Dena scoffed in disgust. "So it's just a story? Fool’s gold?"

         "Only to those who haven't seen the gold" Mina replied, dousing the rumors of a golden artifact once and for all.

         Bell tried to ignore the silly banter and pondered the books value in trade. Yet as Dena turned the pages, he noticed many of the symbols of the Atlan Empire were reappearing in the pages of the books. He had seen symbols like that used in coded correspondence, he thought they were just some illustrations. Were they in fact, Firmary communications?

         "Look" she pointed to another familiar image. "It's almost the same as the sign outside The Green Serpent!"

         Dena and Bell were old friends even though they didn't openly advertise it, Nepheus could tell. He pondered his new relationship with the golden haired goddess as he sat on the edge of the stage, trying to get a decent sound out of his battered pipes. The spark had faded, she had apparently lost interest in their love, was it something he said? He knew the name of the game before he got involved yet it didn't help his runaway feelings, he was beginning to regret the trap he had placed himself in.

         Hoping for a tune, Nel noticed Nepheus struggle with his pipes at the edge of the stage, she knew what was troubling him, she too had noticed Dena's obscure friendship with the officer. Surely it was a Vine Goddess thing, maybe she could help. She made her way across the temple and took a seat beside him.

         "Dena?"

         "She's not trying to hide it, is she" Nepheus replied, eyeing the couple as they poured over the golden book.

         "Do you love her?"

         "I hardly know her..." Nepheus thought about it for a moment. "Love doesn't work that way" he tried to explain. "I love the way she looks, the way she smells, I love her smile yet these loves are merely loving seeds, they can't blossom and grow fruit if they don't take root. Love is a plant that grows, but it will only grow in fertile souls."

         Nel sort of understood his poetic philosophy, the concept of love was something she had only imagined, she had secretly pondered the magic of the human heart many times. Even though love was a foreign concept to the refugees, any one of them could see that Dena wasn't in love with Nepheus.

         He took Nel's hand, comforted by her care and concern, he had noticed her before amongst the refugees although they had barely met, that she was Zara's friend was all he knew. She had a special kind of beauty about her, she didn't seem to have found a companion yet.

         "What's your story?" He asked. "I don't remember seeing you at the Farewell Celebration, nor did I see you on the boat. Where did you come from?"

         Suddenly there was a commotion outside, a dog barking. Mina glanced up from her book, for a moment she didn't recognize the broken and battered invalid being carried in from the cold, but she knew right away who it was. She leapt to her feet, overjoyed!

         "Neter...."