Tales of Reginnis
The Discovery of the Oracle
Scene 1: The Shore of Reginnia-Many Jahrens Ago
Two figures hurried down a darkened alley in the city of Reginnia. The wealthy, prosperous capital, which was once the envy of the world known as Reginnis, was now aglow from the fire that was blowing up from the south of town, quickly engulfing the wooden cabins of the farmers and their fields. It would not be long before the evil hand of Solrach brought devastation to Reginnia, as he had to the Outskirts, the small towns scattered around the land mass surrounded by a deep ultramarine blue sea. This sea was known as the Sea of Desperation because one would only journey upon it when all other hope had vanished. Many fearful stories kept the Reginnians bound to their city and land, for every tale told ended with the traveler’s death at sea, therefore never returning to Reginnia.
The women figure in the alley reached out for the brick wall, her other hand on the protruding belly that safely kept the unborn child within protected. She gasped for breath as her husband, the other figure in the darkness, held on to her, slowing their pace. “We must keep moving,” Riekada urged. “This is the last ship and our only hope.”
His wife, Maranica, nodded her understanding. They quickened their pace and turned the corner that led them to the shores of Reginnia. A chaotic sea of people screaming and fighting upon the beach met their eyes. Riekada gasped as he watched people being beaten to death as others ran wildly into the waters known as Sea of Desperation. Panic among the Reginnians was rampant. He had to be on that last vessel which sat just offshore. He stood, his arms holding his wife. “You go,” Maranica said. “I understand.”
He looked at his wife, “You carry the bearer for the next generation. You must come with me if there is any hope for our future.” He looked at the frenzied crowd. “We will make it to the ship.” Riedaka grabbed hold of an object below his shirt, took in a deep breath, and calmed himself. He took a confident step forward. Then a few more.
A man grabbed him and Maranica. The action startled them both, and Maranica expelled a quick screech. With all the raucous around them, the cry went unnoticed. It was one more scream among many. “I have been waiting for you,” the man said. “Now I can flee this forsaken place.”
Riekada looked over his shoulder at the man. It was the captain of the vessel Riekada had secured passage from yesterday. Riekada nodded. “How are we going to get to your ship?”
The captain smirked. “Follow me closely,” he cautioned as he stepped between Riekada and Maranica. The captain, a stout, muscular man, pushed and shoved his way to the gangplank of his ship shadowed closely by the couple. He ushered his last two passengers aboard a small skiff which had been guarded and was now manned by three of the captain’s crew. The four men quickly paddled to the ship where they all climbed a rope ladder, a feat proving quite difficult for Maranica who heaved a sigh of relief when she was hauled aboard by a few of the crewmen.
Now safely aboard the ship, Riekada looked back at the city. The fire had now engulfed it itself and was swiftly moving toward the shore. All of Reginnia would vanish this night. His eyes scanned the desperate people shrieking in terror, knowing their fate. More waded into the water, trying to swim to eluded their certain death. They soon disappeared beneath the water never surfacing again. Riekada bowed his head in despair. He clutched the object beneath his shirt and said a prayer asking for the swift, merciful death of those stranded. Maranica buried her head in her husband’s shoulders as the fire swiftly engulfed Reginnia’s town center. As the ship unfurled her sails and the wind filled them providing a quick getaway into the midnight blue night that set upon the ultramarine Sea of Desperation. As the ship cleared the sandbar, the only sound coming from the shore was the crackling of the fire that licked the salty waves of the sea. Reginnia and all its people save those on the ship, had perished.
Linda Riesenberg Fisler 