Prologue

I felt the snow shift beneath my bare feet as I ran through the blinding blizzard; it fell like an omen of death around me, blinding and masking the sounds around me. The snow made crunching sounds as I made my way to the closing portal; I knew it resided in the mountain before me. I had been there when it was first discovered 300 years ago; my toes had long since lost feeling, struggling to find traction in the dense ice beneath them, and my breath misted before me with the cold. My earlier vision of my world, my tribe in chaos, plagued my every breath. They should have listened to me. God, I wish they listened to me.

I had long since known that something bad was coming but couldn’t see through the fog surrounding the event; the details were murky, as if someone purposely hid their decisions or didn’t set their plans into action until the last minute. I knew there was no way to stop what was coming, and the truth behind that sense of helpless foreboding had kept me up at night this past week. The fact that the vision had now become clear in my earlier dream, on the first decent night's sleep I had had in days, told me I had run out of time and all I could do was run.

I reached my destination as the first sounds of screams began to echo off the looming cliff face in front of me. The thick woods behind me shielded me from visually witnessing the brutality of my loved ones' slaughter, but my vision had already shown me everything. I wished the trees would dampen the heart-wrenching sounds so I wouldn’t hear the pain-filled cries for mercy. My family, my friends, everyone I loved would die in this attack; I knew this, just as I knew there was nothing I could have done to save them.

I looked down at the baby in my arms, a tear sliding down my cheek, Aislyn's innocent face cradled tightly against my chest, fast asleep without a care in the world; she would be the last of my tribe. I felt relieved knowing my baby was warm within her blankets wrapped protectively around her.

The knowledge crystal strung around Aislyn’s neck glinted in the rays of the first sunlight rays of the morning as the snowstorm began to dissipate. I realized the cries I previously heard had also grown still and silent; time was slipping by, and I had to move faster.

I searched the cliff face frantically for the secret entrance to the cave with the portal; I had only been here once prior, and it would be my only chance at an escape and at life for Aislyn.

I knew one day my daughter would understand and forgive me; she would know that the power our people had developed could save lives instead of destroy them the way the elders had done today. Greed had crept into the elder's heart, and my helplessness in eradicating and bringing it to light still hung heavy around my heart. I had warned the rest of the council, but it was no use. The lead council member had passed my concerns off as those of an overcautious mother-to-be; they didn't believe me, and their accusations had cost me credibility among my own tribesmen to fracture and splinter away. That was why I had to get away and protect Aislyn.

My numb fingers found the latch as I fumbled to release it and rushed into the cave. The portal now before me was still far larger than I would have liked; my vision had shown it smaller. Its mirror-like surface reflected the woods beyond it with a single moon providing light. Alien and strange but my only hope.

Turning towards the entrance once more, I focused her energy on moving some of the looser boulders in the cavern in front of it, my free arm outstretched while I used all my concentration, being as silent as possible. Gently lowering them in front of and on top of one another. It wouldn't hold long when the door was found, but any time bought would help us and give the shrinking portal time to close.

I now stood in front of the portal with a sense of crushing sorrow. It was law that only the chosen could travel through unscathed. I knew traveling through would be a death sentence I would not be able to escape; still, I had to save Aislyn.

I smiled, knowing that Aislyn would not suffer the ill effects of the portal, barely two days old and already blessed. When I had first seen the birthmark behind her ear, marking her as chosen, I had been furious, worried that this would be what took my daughter away from me. I concealed the mark so no one would see it. Now I rejoiced, knowing this would be her salvation. I had kept the mark secret knowing the elders would want to take Aislyn the minute they saw it. 

This decision had kept Aislyn safe; she would survive and grow. I couldn’t hold on to that anger anymore; it had now turned to hope. The other chosen had slowly begun to vanish, no doubt a direct result of the council and the control they began to exert. No one noticed at first, but I saw it happening; I tried reporting it, but no one listened. They all believed it was an honor that their children were to be raised in the main city and that they would go on to be heroes of their tribe.

The ground began to rumble as a pounding sound began on the front of the mountain. The lamps inside the cave began to flicker as dust and smaller stones fell loose; they were trying to find their way to the entrance from outside, thinking this was merely a safe haven, but it was too late for them. 

The portal was a closely guarded secret of our tribe, and very few knew about it, not even the elders. I knew she would wait until the last moment to bring the entire room down before moving us both through the portal. It was the only way to stop the Elders from pursuing if the portal had not closed in time.

We had kept the portal secret when it appeared at the beginning of the month. We knew it would only open again in 25 years, but the elders had never been told about this portal, and this was the only one that led to a place called Earth that we knew of.

The pounding became more aggressive as dust, disturbed by the vibration, shifted in the air around me more fiercely. Aislyn's tiny sneeze let me know it was time. I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes. I began to focus on my surroundings and the particles they were made up of, and I began to agitate them and pull them closer. The first chunk of ceiling fell close to the entrance, further barricading the room from the outside. Aislyn had already begun to stir, and the loud banging of the collapsing stones had tears running down her chubby cheeks. The next large piece fell a few steps away from them Aislyn's eyes were closed tight as she didn’t cry and she didn’t scream. It was almost as if she knew that any sound would let people know where they were. I curled her body protectively around Aislyn, and the debris began to rain down around us in earnest.  

I knew the time had come; I smiled down at her greatest joy and greatest love, kissing her forehead gently. “Remember me, little one; I did this so you would live." I stepped through the shimmering surface into a different night, warmer and heavier; I was finally through. The structure previously around me was crumbling in on itself, and the scream of rage was heard through the sliver of open portal, "Alathora! Is your life really worth this?” as a few rocks and boulders fell through as it sealed shut.

I took a staggering step forward and fell to my knees as blood began to pool beneath me; the jagged rocks had done their damage, slicing into my body as I had used it as a shield to protect Aislyn from falling debris. My healing ability had been the sacrifice taken by the portal, and in my condition, I knew my end was now near and there was nothing that could be done to save me.

The campground was empty except for the young caretakers cleaning up the area. On hearing Aislyn's cries, they ran toward us, not understanding where we had come from. The state of the two of us in front of them was completely out of place for the peaceful surroundings.

I looked at the woman before me; I smiled despite the pain I felt. I could see into her life and saw her struggles and pains of not being able to have a child of her own. I carefully stretched my arm towards the lady, hand extended, which the woman gently took in her own. "Love her as your own," I simply said as I placed the only thing that had ever held meaning in my life into the arms of a stranger that I prayed would love and cherish her the way I would. "I love you, Aislyn." I looked at the little defenseless baby one last time, tears sliding down my cheeks. She was our hope, and the burden I had placed on her shoulders was more than any one person should carry.

The couple stared at the baby in their arms in complete shock as I collapsed to the floor and my chest no longer rose with breath.