The transformation + Natura Humana Quest (ENG)

The waters split open as she emerged to the surface of the lake. The crystalline droplets that remained dancing suspended in the air for a few seconds made her shine. Her new fins, colored like the reflection of papyrus in the water, shone under the sun, while her new scales gave off an iridescent glow.

Sacred felt the gazes of three little Esks fixed on her. They were hiding in the bushes at the edge of the lake. All three of them were small, and none of them belonged there. Maybe... One of them resonated only with the Egyptian temple behind it, maybe the little one was used to human buildings, and probably also resonated with some flowers, like Sacred. Of the other two little guys, she couldn't say much. They came from forests that were far from their home, where moisture makes the moss grow, and where the sun is incapable of penetrating the density of trees that constitute them. But they soon stopped admiring her, and turned their faces towards the gigantic entrance to the temple, whose stairs connected the hall with the clear waters of the lake, or perhaps it should be called wide riverbank. It was not the impressive building which disturbed the three little ones, but the presence which stood at the top of the stairs, which was so black that it almost blended in with the darkness after crossing the very high arch of the entrance.

Sacred was now familiar with that presence, since she had just been transformed by them, that same spirit had given her that push her soul needed to manifest her inner change, her growth, as they called it out there... Sacred finally turned in his direction, and she felt how the creature was waiting for her. She dove again to reach the shore more quickly. The deeper she dove, the temperature of the water was lower, which seemed to want to wake her up enough to face what was going to happen next.

When he was about to reach the first step, she pulled her head out of the water, and covered the distance to it with two tail movements. She remained by the lake, at a much lower level than the creature that looked at her with golden eyes from the top of the stairs. Every step up would make her weaker, and then she wouldn't know how much she could take.

The three little ones had followed her around the shore, keeping their distance. One of them, a greenish white face esk with a circle painted on it, was rocking up on top of a papyrus, trusting in his stealth. Meanwhile, the little white boy and the little pink girl snuggled up so tightly so as not to be detected. Sacred had known a few small esk, and the size did not imply that they were less powerful or less deep; but in this case, all three were far from where their souls resonated, so it is not surprising that they did not even notice that she was watching them.

"Please, come in."

This time the voice, though it echoed in his head, Sacred knew that it belonged to the esk before him. And like her, he had been watching the little ones out of the corner of his eye. The three flinched, but quickly moved closer, keeping the same distance that Sacred was keeping.

"You should come too." That sentence was addressed to her.

The esk turned around and went into the palace. Sacred climbed each step with the elegance of a queen, for this had been her home in life. When she had climbed up and made sure the little ones climbed up safely, she crossed the threshold.

What Sacred had believed to be gold was apparently molten glass. The different droplets of the material at high temperature emitted a little light, and the glowing eyes of their guide illuminated the room, aided by the rays of the sun which slipped in here and there. The three esks squeezed into Sacred's tail, looking around with great curiosity. They probably didn't understand the language of her people, but maybe they knew how to listen to the story told by the engravings...

"Are you familiar with this place?"

The question caught her off guard. It seemed like the room itself welcomed the esk in front of her. Of course she was familiar with it!

"That's right. During my other life I was anchored here."

"Ahhh, but now... Now you're anchored to the world. You couldn't bear the change, so I widened your vision, so you wouldn't mourn the loss of this civilization... And you could admire those rising..."

The esk paused, while Sacred ruminated on that truth.

"Humans change, they change constantly. They remake, learn, create, invent... Forget... Destroy... Aren't they wonderful?"

"I don't mean that life before you woke me up... but much further back."

The esk turned to her. "Oh, yes. But you were there when it was just finishing. You never saw it being built. This empire was glorious for hundreds of years before you were born... I saw it grow. And it saddens me much more than it saddens you to see it end..." 

"But still..." He went on with renewed enthusiasm. "Yet they have left us much, very much..." And at every word, their little drops of molten glass scattered more and more, shining, illuminating the corners of the room, as if they wanted to find something, as if they wanted to see everything.

The little ones, less afraid and excited to play with the distorting, light-emitting substances, came out from behind Sacred's tail and peeked around. One of them, who had apparently managed to flourish while in human territory, stopped for a moment to look at the face of the black esk. The latter, though totally centered in the temple, greeted her with a slight nod. "So you too..." The little girl tilted her head in confusion, returned the greeting and went to look for the other little ones. Sacred was left pensive, now distracted by the sight of her. She didn't understand what this esk meant, until... Seeing the little girl look at the hieroglyphics so carefully made her understand. Like Sacred, she too... She too had been human... But she did not seem to belong to Egypt, and Sacred knew nothing beyond the dunes...

"Focus." It echoed back inside her head.