The light of Yalvio

Under the snow the sound of a voice escaped, inside a large marble hall at the bottom of the mountain of memories a taciturn figure dragged a heavy cloak covered with large stone scales.

After passing a threshold of light, the creature repeating a kind of mantra slowly approached a chamber covered with mirrors. With his gaze on the ground he raised a black metal lantern in his hand and from it a small spark of green fire rose sharply towards the ceiling piercing it, then he bent down to leave the lantern and clasped both hands together causing the mirrors around him to begin to recede into infinite nothingness; all except one. So, waiting for the future, this being remained motionless and silent.

On the other side of the mountain in a small village was a boy named Alnix with red hair and big green eyes, playing with some small pieces of wood on the edge of his bed.

-We have to jump to the other side of the waterfall, only then will we make it,-he said as he moved one of the pieces with his fingers simulating that it was leaning over a cliff.

At that moment he heard an irritated voice approaching the room.

-What did I tell you, don't make me tear your things off, leave that where the firewood is and get ready to go to sleep, but this instant!

It was his mother who crossed the room like lightning, extinguishing one by one the candles that illuminated the place while from her face hung an expression of concern, this woman called Eliz had lived in the village with her family for 8 years, and was there when an extensive snowstorm covered the region months ago, something never seen before in that place and that brought a series of misfortunes to the village.

The slender woman dressed in a large cotton coat paused for a moment as she reached the window at the side of her son's bed.

-Is daddy home yet? -asked the boy with a tone of excitement.

-No, but I don't want him to come and you're awake, go to sleep now.

Eliz said coldly as she drew the curtains and left the room closing the door in the process, Alnix then left the pieces of wood under his pillow and lay back between the sheets looking up at the cabin's ceiling, thinking solemnly of his father and wondering:

When will I be the one going on an adventure into the forest?

At the other end of the hut the mother was sobbing nervously at the side of the entrance as she peered out of one of the windows to see the neighbors, her husband Yalvio who was a very skilled warrior among the men of the village had been sent to the frozen spot in the morning to fulfill a rescue mission on the other side of the mountain.

Within the thick fog that surrounded the large land formation a group of men were walking along the edge of the cliff towards a remote cavern, the villagers carrying their large rustic coats and backpacks were aggressively pounding their boots against the snow as they made their way through the giant boulders that covered the surrounding area, The Village Warden Velonius who led the group slowly moved away from the rest to reach into a small thicket from which he extracted a torn cloth bag, which appeared to have been violently torn from its bearer.

-It's here! Here it is! Quick, extend the rope! -shouted the guardian, taking the bag with force and extending it in the air at the same time that the rest of the group approached and then together they extended a long rope of thick fibers and tied it to the side of their wool backpacks.

Baltras, the scientist of the group, took out a map of the area tucked in his backpack to verify the location and when he opened it, it immediately flew out due to the intense wind that was whipping against them.

-It's an unstable stretch! If the storm continues we could get stuck on this side! Proceed with all caution! -shouted Baltras while the rest who had already tied the rope around a large rock began their descent down the cliff.

Yalvio, who was at the beginning of the formation together with Velonius, looked at the rest of his companions while holding the rough rope tied to the side of his backpack, they would have to descend hundreds of meters down the ledge to find that cavern, where Vlatus, the missing man, had been sent to recover his brother the day before.

Meanwhile the people in the town called an emergency meeting; in the square one of the emissaries of the governor made an announcement.

- Since the men sent on the expedition were expected to have returned by now, the celebration we have prepared has been cancelled and we ask that all men and women of legal age report to the town hall building immediately!

The crowd of mostly worried people discussed the situation heatedly while the governor's men told them where to go, Eliz was there along with several neighbors expressing their anguish for Yalvio, thinking about his safety and wishing they could see him again.

Inside the small wooden hut Alnix watched from his bed as across the square a multitude of lights moved through thin embroidered curtains, the square after a while began to empty into total darkness.

Alnix got out of bed and walked to the other side of the house, he slowly opened the door to his parents' room and when he peeked in he found no one, in the living room, the fireplace was still giving off small sparks among the ash, the house was empty.

Alnix thought about going back to bed for a moment until he remembered the celebration his mother had told him about hours ago.

My dad is back, he thought.

The party will be outside of town and my mother didn't want me to go was the last thought that came before the little red-haired boy ran to his room to change his white pajamas for a red striped coat, black cotton coated pants and rough looking boots.

The boy ran quickly to catch up with the others through the wooden archway that marked his exit into the unknown.

Back in the cave Yalvio was attentive as he went with the rest into the darkness, sounds of rustling and small flapping could be heard bouncing off the walls at the same time that the fearful men who moved along with Velonius held two torches in each hand.

First a crackling sound, then a strong blizzard impacted their faces accompanied by a loud sound reminiscent of a teapot, Baltras went out strongly shot towards the beginning of the cavern while the rest scattered towards the walls of the cave, the torches had gone out and to guide only the noise of their own voices remained.

-It's a dragon! -cried one of Velonius' companions.

-We are lost! -replied the other companion.

Yalvio then heard the sound of men's footsteps moving off into the distance, his mind was thinking of how to stay safe when he felt the cavern begin to shake heavily from top to bottom.

-Hold on to what you can! -shouted in a clipped voice Velonius who felt overwhelmed by the situation.

Shouts were heard along with the crunching of the rocks until suddenly silence came.

Once the movement was over Yalvio holding his head began to move slowly, he searched with his hands for one of the walls without success.

Waiting to hear the voice of one of his companions to orient himself, he began to see small green flashes in the distance, the man blinked for a moment and suddenly the emerald fragments disappeared so that other crimson ones appeared on the sides of the cavern illuminating the path that was completely empty.

Yalvio, unable to believe what he was seeing, froze for a moment, the lights floated like fireflies but aligned as if they were torches in a dungeon.

In the snow the villagers were walking towards the cliff carrying large bronze lanterns and wielding makeshift spears they had made moments before setting out to rescue Velonius and the rest.

Alnix was following the footsteps left by Eliz and the others when suddenly he saw some sort of glowing green insect begin to descend from the top of a tree and approach him.

As Yalvio walked in search of his companions he noticed how the walls of the cave separated from each other more and more, he began to feel like he was stepping on a different ground when suddenly the lights moved off into the distance.

Suddenly he perceived the movement of an object, he stepped back a few steps ready to react and then a scent invaded him, it was the smell of prepared food, like a banquet full of delicious dishes being served, then in front of him an image was illuminated, a large black framed mirror with carved marble finishes covered with colorful flowers appeard.

In it he was shown a green landscape in which there was a large wooden table filled with hundreds of dishes, there were gigantic custards on silver trays, three-tiered cakes covered with jelly in the center, large trays full of delicious fruits and endless desserts of all kinds of shapes and sizes.

Then he saw Velonius stood there smiling and as he held a fruit in his hand he gestured for him to come in and eat with him.

Yalvio, stunned by what he was seeing, remained motionless while Velonius sat at the table and began to devour the delicacies on the table, it was then that Yalvio made a desperate gesture to Velonius to come closer with the intention of both escaping from the cave.

Velonius began to laugh with his mouth full and continued eating incessantly, then another image appeared on the side, another black framed mirror with the shape of a spearhead had approached undetected which began to project an image, it was a colorful illuminated cave full of gold and precious jewels.

Yalvio could not believe it, there was a treasure of the magnitude of a king in front of his eyes, a mountain of coins in which were scattered gold and silver chalices of different sizes, rubies, diamonds and emeralds scattered among necklaces and rings of elegant appearance.

Among the gold two heads were peeking out, they were the followers of Velonius, each wearing a crown and wearing gold chains around their necks, swimming among the riches of the cave.

The stunned man upon seeing them approached the mirror slightly, they ignored his presence and continued in their amusement, then the warrior looked around the treasure room until his sight focused on the pile of gold coins, then, his mind slowly led him to think of himself taking part of that mountain.

Several thoughts arose.

Maybe it would be a good idea to take some of the gold, it could be of use to my family he said to himself as if justifying a possible action on his part.

After all, this way they would not leave empty-handed in case they did not find Vlatus and his brother, in fact we could sta…

Yalvio, who already had his hand outstretched towards the mirror, quickly pulled it away.

What am I doing? he asked himself mentally and then gestured to the followers of Velonius who had already begun to fight for a diamond necklace.

We have to escape from here he thought when suddenly a third mirror on the right side appeared.

This mirror had an engraving on its round pink frame that simulated a vine covered with roses, from it the image of a beach at sunset emerged, a scenario that Yalvio had never seen before.

Blurry shadows in the distance slowly approached him making him react by adopting a guarded position, the shapes began to be clear revealing themselves as three women with sharp features, a redhead, a blonde and a black-haired woman, all of them with the complexion of an hourglass and all of them completely naked.

Yalvio averted his gaze, thought of his family in an instant and then returned to the image seeking to remain attentive, they began to pose in front of him and laugh as he watched them, then the three ran into the sea and began to play throwing jets of water at each other like shadows in the distance.

The solemn warrior then closed his eyes and thought strongly about his wife and the deep love he has for her as well as for his little Alnix, he opened his eyes and saw how Baltras came out completely naked from a plant running desperately towards the sea.

Finally a fourth mirror came into view behind him, a voice began to be heard, Yalvio turned around to discover the man they had been looking for, Vlatus, standing inside the mirror with his brother in what appeared to be a copy of the village.

Inside the square mirror with a white frame Vlatus occupied the role of the governor while his brother carried a similar clothing and weapons to those that Yalvio usually carries in his expeditions, both were in the square at the side of the well, while Vlatus with a superb demeanor and both eyes half closed read a scroll aloud his brother ignored him playing with a knife as if he was attacking a beast in the air.

His intuition told him that he should not try to go through the mirror, something else had to be happening, magic that he could not understand, if he made a false move it could be his downfall, he turned around again and found that the images of the other mirrors had changed radically.

Velonius looked inflated like a big bubble, in the folds of his clothes leftover food was moving to the sides of his huge belly which looked like it would burst at any second, with a mouth full of food Velonius was writhing in the grass which was now dry when some small goblins approached him with food which they pushed inside of Volonius's mouth aggressively.

The followers of Velonius were fighting fiercely for possessing the crown of the other, they had rips in all their clothes and serious injuries in their arms and legs, one of them whipped the head of the other against a wall while the other tried to stab him with a sharp ruby and without realizing it both were sinking among the gold coins.

Baltras was being pushed aggressively by the three women who did not stop laughing when suddenly one of them grabbed his head and introduced it repeatedly to the sea to which the other two decided to join in pushing each one of his shoulders and then the three climbed on his puny back submerging him completely under the water.

Seeing this, Yalvio was completely horrified and immediately ran away from the place when suddenly a fifth mirror emerged before him making him fall on his back.

In it was projected an image of his son Alnix being lifted up by a crowd of people cheering him as a hero, his smiling son was raising his arms in the air when without realizing it he was thrown into the town well.

Yalvio watched in desperation as his son held onto the edge of the well calling for help and immediately jumped towards the mirror impacting against it cracking it in the process.

His barely audible throat released a shriek as the man whipped the mirror hard with both fists until it finally cracked in its entirety, a loud bang and a bright light appeared and Alnix appeared.

-What? Where... where... am I? -said Alnix as he slowly got up from the ground to be embraced by his father who had tears in his eyes.

-I love you daddy, I love you so much -continued Alnix as he began to cry, joining his father in tears.

Taking Alnix by the hand, Yalvio approached the rest of the mirrors, he created a distance between him and his son and grabbing a mace from inside his backpack he started to break each one of the mirrors in the room, more mirrors were present and he broke them one after another releasing the people inside.

Those who came out were confused, Velonius who was no longer a ball began to group the crowd of people, when there was not a single mirror left there were more than 20 people, all of them had disappeared from the village.

The cavern began to shake and a large stone wall was present which showed an exit to the surface, the people led by Velonius' group began to leave when Yalvio saw a green fire lantern light up in front of him.

He felt how in his hand the lantern was deposited and in his mind a voice began to be heard.

Yalvio came out with his son from the cavern to discover the rest of the village waiting for him along with the freed men, his wife approached and together with his son they embraced.

The brave warrior then took the lantern and extinguished it, causing the snow to dissipate from the mountain, they had a great feast in celebration and peace came to the small village in the mountain of memories.

END.

Prompt used: Lantern

Special thanks to you! -Dax Guerrero