Neron no longer lingered on Amalteron where Nomra
made her abode. All of his days were spent with Onera in the forests. In
jealousy, Nomra reached out and cursed the shadows of the forest and thorns
grew. Brambles and thistles, stinging nettles and poisonous plants of various
natures were thus created.
“What is this new plant?” Onera asked, reaching
into the briar to touch the strange growth. The thorns ensnared her hand and
lacerated her skin. Drops of her blood fell among the thorns roots. With care,
Neron extracted Onera’s hand using a sharp rock and took her to Nemrus who knew
where the balm grew. Nemrus treated her wounds and Neron led him back to the
briar to curse it, but when they returned to the briar they saw that it was too
beautiful to destroy. For Onera’s blood had made the briar bloom with lush
roses. Thus bedecked, they could not bear to curse it and so it grew wild and
thick throughout the forest near to Amalteron.
Nomra’s jealousy grew. She rarely left her aviary
upon the mountain, Triona, Phiron, and Ariaj were afraid of her and did not
visit. Neron and Onera seemed to have forgotten her. Only Nemrus would come,
and rarely, to ask the secrets of the plants.
At last, Neron formed a brilliantly colored bird
and sent it with a message to Nomra.
“Sweet One, Creator and Mistress of Earth, join us
today upon the shore. Your daughter would see you.”
“She is not my daughter,” said Nomra. “Neron has
made her on his own. She is his creation and he loves her more than me.”
Nevertheless she went to the shore, for she still
loved Neron and could not help but be charmed by the sweetness of Onera. It was
no wonder that Neron should prefer her company to the brooding of Nomra and her
birds.
Nomra saw only that Onera was better than her, she
saw not that Neron still loved Nomra above all. She returned to Amalteron
bitter. She knew Onera could not resist any new thing.
The mountain next to Amalteron was called Aleris
and it was second only unto Amalteron in height and glory. Nomra planted an
orchard upon the peak of Aleris, an orchard unlike any before it. The fruit of
the trees was translucent and sparkled in the light, varying in hue from blue
to purple. The trees grew long and twisted boughs of great delicacy. Their
leaves were bright and sweet of scent, but the trees’ roots were weak.
Nomra called to Ariaj and told her, “Go unto Neron
and my daughter. Tell them I wish them to join me for a banquet here on
Amalteron.” Ariaj sped away and Nomra smiled. Neron and Onera would pass over
Aleris on their ascent. And if they did not, they would no doubt see the
orchard as they left her banquet. As she prepared cakes for the meal, her being
shivered at her hidden intentions and her shadow broke from her and fled down
the mountain.
Neron and Onera were delighted by the invitation
and turned immediately towards Amalteron. They went up beside Aleris and when
Onera spied the orchard she wished to go and see it.
“It will not take long,” Onera said. “I have not
seen these trees before. Mother must have planted them but recently.” So Neron
and Onera came to the brow of Aleris.
“What fruit is this?” Neron asked in awe, plucking
a ripe blue orb. He tasted it. “Tis good!”
“We should gather some to bring to Nomra’s
banquet,” Onera said, taking a violet orb from a beautiful tree. Neron agreed,
and began to gather the sweetest he could find. Onera wandered off through the
orchard. The trees and fruit grew fairer the further she went and she took the
loveliest fruits and cradled them in her skirts. At last she came to the edge
of Aleris, where a cliff plunged down to the sea. She dropped her collected
fruit, gasping in wonder, for here was the fairest of all the trees, with the
most splendid fruit in all creation. It grew from the cliff and curved out in a
fantastic swoop over the cliff, sparkling in the open air, its bark iridescent,
its fruit marvelous reflective orbs of silver.
Meanwhile, Nomra’s shadow hastened to the orchard,
wailing in the tones of Darkness. It found Neron picking fruit in the midst of
the orchard and startled him with its strange affectation.
“What art thou?” he asked, hiding behind a tree.
“I have never seen anything like you. A shadow alone.”
“I am Nomra’s shadow,” said the shadow. “She has
wicked designs in her heart. We must find Onera and leave this orchard at
once!”
“Why?” said Neron. “Nomra?”
“She would harm your daughter!”
“Harm?” Neron said, scarce able to understand.
“Hurry!” begged the shadow, tugging on his arm. At
last, Neron followed it through the orchard, confused and afraid.
Onera walked out on the strong trunk of the tree,
like a sturdy path, and reached for the silver fruit. She picked one and threw it
back to the earth and stepped further out. She came to where the tree curved up
and caught a low branch to pull herself up into the lush canopy.
Onera found clusters of budding fruit and touched
them. They ripened and grew for her, gleaming brighter than all the others. But
the roots were weak.
Neron and the shadow burst out of the trees, which
seemed to cling to them and try to hold the back from the edge.
“Onera!” cried Neron. “Come down!”
“These fruit are sublime!” replied Onera.
The tree
shuddered and dipped. Onera screamed and Neron cried out. Roots snapped and
tore from the cliff.
“Onera! Come back!” Neron wailed as the tree
dipped lower. Onera tried to climb down, but the tree shuddered harder and she
slipped.
“Ahhh!” she screamed as she fell. She caught a
passing branch and jerked to a stop, dangling over the void. But the jerk
dislodged the last roots.
The tree fell away.
“Noooooo!” screamed Neron, throwing himself at the
edge. The shadow caught him and he screamed over the precipice, calling for his
falling daughter. “Ariaj!” he cried. But she had returned to Amalteron to tell
Nomra that Neron and Onera were on their way and Nomra had detained her with a
sleepy drink. “Triona!” he cried. Triona hurried to Aleris but too late.
There were rocks at the base of Aleris. Onera
struck the rocks and the tree struck her and Triona’s cushioning wave was too
late. It washed over the rocks and cleansed them of the blood. It swept away
the fatal tree and the cursed fruit. It lifted Onera’s body and gently bore it
away on a bier of foam.
Neron turned on the shadow and cursed it. “You
vile spirit! This is your doing.” And he ran to Amalteron, to the arms of
Nomra.
But he found her arms cold and when he looked, he
saw that she had no shadow.
“Your warmth and your love have fled,” he said.
“You have done this dire thing and our daughter is dead. You have killed her
and with her, our love.”
At that moment, her shadow clave unto her again
and she was wrapped in remorse. But Neron left her and went to Onerae, where
Triona had borne the body. Nomra realized the horror of her deed wept.
Amalteron rumbled and erupted with grief and all living things avoided that
place. All save for Ariaj, who though she had been used and tricked into aiding
the horrid deception, still had pity upon Nomra and tried to comfort her.
All of creation gathered at Onerae to mourn the
death of Onera. Triona and the fishes of the sea, Phiron, and the reptiles,
Nemrus and the furry creatures, Ariaj and the birds of the air.
Their wails ascended to Amalteron and Nomra vowed
to right her wrong.
