Image: Jaguar Spirit by Moises Josue Avila

Soundtrack: Instrumental Music Peru - The Land of the Incas 2 (medley)

***

Flint

"I should have asked this before, Tuco," Nessie inquires in Spanish, "but where is Utu?"

The Serpiente shakes his head. "Utu has left us for a time. We do not know when he will be back." He stares wistfully at a distant mountain.

"Who's Utu?" I whisper to Nessie.

"Uturunku is an Apu, like me," she replies. "He used tae reside there." The spirit points at the mountain Tuco had been gazing at. "Monte Uturunku. There are many Apukuna – mountain spirits – in Incan legend. But three of us were bestowed with the power of the natural world in order tae keep the balance. We are equivalent tae yer three Spiritborne."

Now I remember. Nessie had mentioned Uturunku's name after the battle at Conwy. She'd said there were three Apukuna: Yacumama, Inti, and Uturunku.

"Of course. The spirits are arranged in threes."

It's true – in the last few centuries, I'd left the U.K. to explore the world. Though I don't quite remember their names and personalities yet, I'd come across other Earth spirits. Many of them worked in threes to achieve balance in their respective areas. A trio for each major land mass, perhaps.

The Great Spirit had expertly arranged us so as to keep the planet healthy and safe. He didn't, however, anticipate so much violence between races and species. Not to mention, one of those Earth spirits – Patercius – had forgotten his past and turned against us. He believed us to be demons. And I believed him to be mortal – I thought he'd died centuries ago, like his human followers. Little did I know Patty was the reincarnation of the Peruvian Sun God, Inti.

"Nwyfre?"

"Oh. Sorry. Go on," I mutter, smiling apologetically and wincing as my cheeks heat up.

The Serpientes are staring intently at me. Nessie blinks impatiently, shaking her head at me before turning back to the others.

"There are three main Apukuna. They represent the three realms of this civilization."

Tuco nods vigorously. "The first is Hanan Pacha. The upper realm. This is Inti's area of expertise," he tells us.

The young man's accent is strong when he speaks Spanish, but the others seem to understand him perfectly. They instinctively glance skyward, their eyes wistful.

"Inti is the Sun God. Spirit of the skies. He has been gone from our world for as long as we remember, but when the sun comes out and brightens our world, we think of him and await his return."

I snort. "You should instead be doing a rain dance. A word of advice: "Here Comes The Sun" should not be your tune of choice."

Nessie glares at me while the Serpientes meet my gaze with confusion.

"What Nwyfre means tae say," the spirit begins, "is that Inti has...become rather misguided. He has spent too much time away from these mountains and he's forgotten he's a spirit."

A round of gasps and whispers emits from the gathering, which has grown since yesterday's group. There are nearly a hundred Serpientes now, huddled together on the terraces and cloaked in fabrics of vibrant hues.

Tuco stands abruptly. "He's...forgotten us?"

"I'm afraid so," Nessie says sadly, and for the first time since we'd rescued her from Patercius' hideout, the light leaves her dark eyes. "Through no fault of his own. He's been through some hardships and has forgotten what it means tae be Apukuna."

Tuco whispers, "Nunca se te olviden tus raíces."

"Never," Nessie agrees. "We will never forget our roots. I have not, despite being gone for so long. But Inti has, somehow. And that's why I need tae speak with Utu."

"Who is this Utu, anyway? What does he do?" I inquire.

Nessie sighs softly. "Uturunku represents the middle, or human, realm. Kay Pacha. Anybody have a statuette of the Three?"

"Un momento, Yacumama," Tuco says, departing towards his stone hut. He returns a minute later with a small figurine. The Serpiente delicately places it into Nessie's awaiting palms.

The Loch Ness Monster holds up the statuette. It depicts three animals – the top a bird with outstretched wings, the middle a catlike creature, and the bottom a snake.

"Here is a physical representation of the three spirits. Ye'll see the similarities between yer Spiritborne as well, Nwyfre."

Tuco nods. "The condor represents Hanan Pacha – the upper realm and the Sun God, Inti. The puma represents Kay Pacha – the middle realm and the spirit Uturunku. And the snake represents Uku Pacha – the underworld, or perhaps, the underwater world. The river serpents and their guardian, Yacumama," he tells me, nodding towards Nessie.

"I see," I say slowly. "The three realms equate to Ru-Yeva as the raven, Mac Tíre as the wolf, and me as the dragon."

"Now yer gettin' it," Nessie says with a grin.

I stare off into the mist below the terraces. It feels amazing to be this far above the rest of the world. There's a sense of power about it, but also a sense of mortality. The world is so much greater than we are, even us spirits.

Nessie clears her throat, bringing me back to the present. "Ye know o' the Celtic knots and symbols – the triskeles and trinities. There's a reason your culture understands the significance o' the Three. The sequence repeats itself throughout the world."

"And yet there is solely one Great Spirit. Where does he fall in all this?" I ask, spreading my arms wide.

"Pachacamac is Earth itself. Terra, Gaia, Mother Earth...whatever ye want tae call it. Last time I checked, there was only one of those," she chuckles. "But there are planets elsewhere in the universe with life such as ours. Perhaps there are other Pachacamacs and similar spirits out there..."

"I don't mean to interrupt your pondering, Yacumama and Nwyfre," Tuco says cautiously, "but what are we to do about Inti? Is he truly lost?"

Nessie releases an exaggerated sigh. "Not forever."

"I will help you to commune with Utu," Tuco declares. "Tonight we shall have a banquet, and perhaps he will speak with you from wherever he currently resides. He has all but abandoned us."

"Understandable," Nessie grunts, causing Tuco to award her with a puzzled glance. "I know what it's like tae return tae the same old loch year after year. He wants tae explore the world, I'd presume." The spirit gives me a wink.

Tuco fiddles with a loose thread on his tunic. "I pray that Utu doesn't go the same way Inti did."

"Damn," I say under my breath, switching automatically to English. "We'd better not have two rogue spirits on our hands."

***

As soon as dusk is upon us, the Serpientes set up a fire pit in the centre of their town. It can't really be called a town, however. The dwellings are spread out across many ancient terraces – small stone huts draped in brightly-coloured tarps similar to the one I'd woken up in. The huts must have had thatched roofs in the past. The Serpientes spend their lives here, farming, fishing, and enjoying themselves. They live apart from the humans just like the Lycans, Ddreigiau, and Yeva'si do.

It's sad, the way the spirits of Earth brought these races to life in order to bring understanding and balance to the lives of humans. Yet we have only divided them. There are certain things the majority of humanity will never accept.

My thoughts are interrupted as Tuco begins chanting in Quechua. The other Serpientes soon join in, their voices blending together beautifully – almost mystically. One of them presses his lips to panpipes, blowing softly the melody to accompany the poem. Another pounds upon a tiny drum.

"Puman hamun tutayaypi punaman

Chakillampas upallallam

Yawarta maskaspa puma hamun"

<Here's what they're sayin',> Nessie offers, and I smile at her in gratitude, swaying along to the drum beat.

<Comes the puma through the night

Across the highlands on feet of silence

Seeking blood comes the puma>

I shiver. <Seeking blood?>

She snorts within the confines of my mind. <'Tis an expression. Pumas kill tae eat but Utu is peaceful, or at least he was the last time I saw him. Now open yer mind tae the puma spirit an' perhaps he'll respond.>

The Loch Ness Monster shuts her eyes and I do the same. I reach out towards the spirits around me and seek out the one they call Uturunku.

<Are you there, Great Apu?> I inquire. <We seek your guidance. Inti has gone astray.>

Nessie repeats my thoughts in Quechua, and I feel a wild, primal insistence in her mind. A kind of love, it would seem. A pang of jealousy hits me in the chest and I force it away. She loves me, now. Anything of that sort is far in the past.

A rumble of thunder ensues and we all glance up. It begins to rain – a few drops at first and then it's pouring. Some of the Serpientes rise from their posts in the circle, but Nessie motions for them to sit down again.

"It's Uturunku," she calls out. "Be patient." <Utu? Do you hear us?> she asks.

The Serpientes begin to repeat the first verse of the puma spirit's poem:

"Puman hamun tutayaypi punaman

Chakillampas upallallam

Yawarta maskaspa puma hamun"

<Why?!> a sudden voice booms.

The words seem to echo across the sky like thunder, yet they're only in my mind. The Serpientes flinch in surprise, and I know they heard the spirit's words, too.

<Why,> the voice – which I now recognize to be female – continues. It speaks in Quechua, but the words are accompanied by images and scraps of thought that betray their true meaning. I can understand perfectly. <You choose to call upon me now, Yacumama, when you require my aid. Why have you not spoken with me for nearly twenty wet seasons?>

<I was taken prisoner. Kept from the world by—>

<You have abandoned your people, Yacumama!> Utu continues, unbridled rage in her words. <And you return centuries later. The rainforest has been slowly dying and you have frolicked about, oblivious. You and Inti have left me to deal with everything on my own.>

<Utu—>

<There is no reason why I should help you.>

And then Uturunku severs her connection with us.

The rain does not stop. It pours harder and faster. We seek shelter, swaying and slipping as the relentless wind buffets us and thunder booms against the backdrop of our little island in the sky.