In The Chamber Of The World

1

In The Chamber Of The World2

The peregrine falcons were the first to arrive, swiftest of all messengers, relaying news brought from afar by the albatross. In a cleft cut from a mountain side they met Clemis, the wood man, and adviser to Her. He stretched his arms wide in the time-honoured tradition of trees and, though their talons were sharp, their respect for him ensured that he felt not a point as they landed on him. Immediately the cave was filled with the din of their urgent screeches. Clemis listened intently until they had conveyed all they knew then encouraged them to spread the word as far as their strength allowed. With sharp shrieks they rose into the air and sped from the cave into the mid-day sunlight. He watched them for a moment, already rising from the valley.3

“All speed” he whispered after them before turning and striding further into the cave, deeper into the darkness until he reached the cavern, a vast empty space some hundred feet across, and more in height. In the centre stood the Arbitrator, the oldest tree on Earth, and the only means of an audience with Her. Briskly he approached, breaking stride only to bend to the floor of the cave and pick up a small piece of rock. The Auld One greeted his approach with the merest rustle of what leaves remained in its repertoire. A hush filled the cavern as Clemis stopped dead before its knarled bark. 4

“Take me to Her” he said solemnly, and drew the sharp edge of the rock across his left arm, leaving a trail of sap. In response the Arbitrator lowered a branch and, wasting no time Clemis eased the stone over its bark as tenderly as necessity allowed. When a trickle of green ran from the darkened skin he discarded the stone and brought his own arm parallel to the branch until the two wounds lined up, then he pressed them together. 5

Instantly there was a sensation of his entire essence being sucked into a narrow confine, followed by an intense claustrophobia that raced alongside him down a narrow, fluid-filled tunnel. Flashes of imagery burst the darkness, allowing him glimpses of the various visitors the Arbitrator had entertained throughout its lengthy existence, Squirrels mostly, alongside numerous other rodents and, on occasion, himself. As he travelled down the great tree’s root system and its time-line, the scenes he was presented with grew less and less familiar and, as with previous bindings he found himself wondering at the strange and curious creatures that had entered the cave over the centuries, none more so than the very first which he caught no more than a fleeting glance of. He had only a second to make sense of the distorted, shimmering being flooding the cave with light before he reached the chamber, Her chamber. 6

With as much care to detail as possible the Arbitrator hastily fashioned him from the roots that hung from the chamber ceiling, taking time to house all of his senses into a rudimentary head while the last of his being was poured into the form. A heartbeat later and he was, for all intents and purposes, within the chamber of the world, and in the presence of the Goddess. Above him dangled the long, puppeteer roots with which he was partially governed by, and though he had full awareness within this wrought construct his true vessel still stood miles upwards in the cavern with the Arbitrator. None of these factors reckoned though, for the sight before him arrested his full attention. Sitting cross-legged in the centre of the earth-formed room was Gia, in the form of a woman, her outstretched arms, explosions of tangled roots which wound their way into the dirt walls all around. It was told by those who served her before him that these roots spanned the earth and fed many of the great forests of the world. The trees are in good hands his predecessor would say, and upon meeting her and gazing into her eyes for the first time, he knew it to be true. Earth Mother, Life Bringer, Feeder Of A Thousand Mouths, Mother Nature, Gia. Troubled was her expression this day though, Her eyes clenched tight, Her brow creased in a grimace of pain. 7

Clemis dropped to one knee in the cavern several thousand metres above, an act mirrored by his representation in the chamber. With his head bowed to the floor the smell of ancient growth filled his make-shift nostrils. He drew in deeply, holding the scent for as long as he could before releasing it back into the air.8

“There is conflict above” stated the voice of the Goddess, a sound of wood being manipulated into words, and though it was no question, a response was expected. 9

“Many vast mushrooms of smoke cover the over-world” Clemis replied gravely. “Our forests fall.” “As do their own” he added as scant consolation. 10

He raised himself to the feet the Arbitrator had provided him with, little more than clumsily formed stumps, swaying slightly under the great tree’s creaking roots. The Goddess’s eyes flashed open suddenly, two portals of rage, and sorrow. 11

“Their wars have spiralled beyond all boundaries” She hissed bitterly, Her eyes clenching momentarily in agony. “They destroy without regard, their petty squabbles causing monstrous destruction to that which gives them breath. But no more will this will go unpunished. Arm the storms! Send forth the great quakes! Like the giant lizards before them they have had their time. They have spent it unwisely.” As She boomed the air visibly shook “GIVE THEM THEIR REVELATIONS!”12

Clemis bent forward, his arms outstretched and his hands clasped in besiegement. “But all will perish” he exclaimed over Her still reverberating voice. “The trees, the indigenous life, everything.” He stared pleadingly into Her eyes, hoping against hope that they would soften, that Her judgement would lessen, but instead they closed, squeezing a trickle of sap from beneath Her right lid. Clemis followed its course down Her cheek to the tip of Her chin where it dropped through the air and exploded on the earth below. Her lips opened, quivered slightly, and exhaled a weary sigh.13

“We will reseed.”14