The Unmarked Girl (The YaraStar Trilogy Book 1)

by Jeanelle Frontin

  Grandam looked at her intensely.

  “I don’t think you’re a Ka-Eld. I think you’re THE Ka-Eld… a lifeforce from our ancestral creators, the Eld. What I can’t figure out is why you are here. You cannot be here if you do not have markings…”

  “So… you’re saying that all of the Eld were marked? How do you even know? Perhaps, some of them were unmarked… like me.”

  “Dear child… all living things upon Mira are sacredly marked. How can an unmarked creature be alive? Such a creature would have no birthline…”

  “What…? What are you trying to say?”

  “You don’t belong here, Ka-Eld. You don’t even belong in the world of the living! You must go back to where you came from!”

  “I don’t even know where I came from!” Yara responded, exasperated.

  “But I know someone who would…”

  Yara gasped.

  “Who!?”

  “Someone who dwells on the other side of this mountain… on the edge of Sunstar’s rays.”

  “But we have always been taught that everything on the other side of the mountain is dead. How could anyone survive there?” Yara questioned, eyes narrowing.

  “Yes, an entire Tribe may not find enough sustenance to survive there. But one man can survive…”

  “And why do you think that he will know what you clearly do not?”

  Grandam beckoned Yara across to the ancient manuscripts she had in her hands the day before. They were filled with strange markings laid out in circles and spirals. Yara felt a peculiar sense of comfort seeing them.

  “These are both the history and the prophecies of the Eld. They tell the history up to just before the Eld were annihilated, and they tell the prophecies of what would come thereafter. It has always been meant to guide our people, both the Skotads and the Photaks. When the Photaks decided to deepen the chasm of hate between the two Tribes, they tried to destroy the manuscripts. We did all we could to get as many of them back. Ever since, it has been passed down to generation after generation of my ancestors, and eventually to me. We have done our best to preserve and protect the knowledge within it.”

  “But… how can both the history and prophecies be in one script?”

  “Because the Eld always saw life in a pattern… always two as one. They believed all things had duality, two powerful sides… and only when they were joined together could the deepest truth be revealed. This was how they saw all things. History and prophecy, light and darkness, right and wrong.”

  Yara glanced up at Grandam upon hearing those words.

  Right and wrong…

  This may have been what Guidestar meant.

  “But… this script is in two pieces,” Grandam continued, raising it to reveal a tear along the center of a spiral of symbols. “The man on the other side of the mountain has the second half. It was split to protect the knowledge within it from falling into the wrong hands.”

  “So… it’s incomplete. What does your half say? And how do you even know which symbols speak to history and which to prophecy?”

  “All the symbols speak to history and prophecy. It simply depends on how you read it. History is read along the spiral, from the furthest point to the center. Prophecy is read from center to the furthest point. Markings have greater meaning depending on which come before and which come after.”

  Yara balked at Grandam, feeling even more confused and discouraged. She knew now that Toler’s script might only help to identify what the symbols meant but not what they implied.

  Yara sighed.

  “And the man who has the other half… he can read these spirals too?”

  “Better than I can, yes.”

  Yara looked down, shaking her head. She felt overwhelmed. She didn’t know how Grandam could expect her to journey through the mountain’s tunnels to the other side. Even if she did consider it, Yara didn’t know how she would find him and if he would even have the answers she sought.

  Grandam reached out and touched her hand.

  “If you want to find out where you come from, Ka-Eld,” Grandam said softly, “you will have to trust me. You will have to make the journey through the mountain. And you will have to make it alone, because if anyone knew you were going, they would stop you. Going deeper into the mountain is restricted by Skotad Law… it is considered dangerous. It is easy to get lost in the maze of tunnels. I will give you the map to get there, of course, but even I don’t know how long it would take you to reach the other side, or what you would face. The only thing I know is that this journey will give you the answers you seek, Ka-Eld.”

  Yara stared at her silently for a little while.

  “Tell me this much,” Yara said slowly, “and I will consider trusting you. Why do you even think I am an Eld or Ka-Eld?”

  “Because you stopped the arrows,” Grandam replied matter-of-factly.

  Yara shook her head, looking away. As she could tell that Yara wasn’t convinced, Grandam turned to face her with an intense gaze.

  Grandam smiled slyly.

  “And,” she continued, “because you hear a voice that speaks in a language that only you can understand.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  As Yara walked back to her room, she felt an unusual mix of emotions. Most of all, she was astounded by the knowledge she had gained. She knew she had promised Toler that she would come to see him after her visit with Grandam, but she felt unable to face him. She knew she would not be able to explain any of what had happened. She also knew she could not tell him where she was considering going, or why she needed to do this.

  Yara opened the door of her room and gasped in astonishment. Laid out all around her were beautifully woven and sewn Skotad clothes of all kinds. There was everything from warrior garbs and shoes to pretty dresses that made her wince uncomfortably. The Skotads had been hard at work to make her feel at home.

  I don’t deserve any of this…

  She saw a little note on the top of the most glamorous dress she had ever seen. It was from Lema, welcoming her into the Skotad Tribe and offering her a place among their warriors.

  Yara shook her head in awe and dropped back into the swaddling. She sighed, gazing at the markings on the ceiling. She had spent a few hours with Grandam after the old Skotad had revealed that she knew Yara’s secret. Those hours had served her well. She recognized many more of the symbols now than ever before. She reached up and touched the pendant that she had whittled for her chain. Toler had been the one who first taught her that it was marking for Sunstar.

  “Why am I here…?” she muttered, directing her rhetoric question to an always-silent Sunstar.

  She thought about the true history of Mira that she had just been taught. Grandam’s words and stories repeated over and over in her head.

  “It was a different world before the Great War of the Planets stopped the turning of Mira,” Grandam had said. “Our world was the home of the Eld, a much more powerful race than the Photaks or Skotads. Their markings traced back to a mystical lineage that has never been understood. They were not just the first people of Mira, they were also the only people. They were both ruthless and joyous in nature. Fierce warriors, passionate lovers. They dwelled in both light and darkness. They lived mostly in peace, but they had ancient enemies from a shadowy planet far away from here. War, however, was not of great interest to the Eld. They preferred to dwell in the depths of their thoughts and to enlighten themselves in their own consciousness. Still, they knew they needed to protect themselves. They had great planetary defenses, but they needed watchers.

  “As a result, they created the Skotads, the watchers by night, and the Photaks, the watchers by day, who would also hunt and gather food for the Eld. They were not slaves, but the Skotads and Photaks were not seen as much more than the fauna that once existed in the time of the Eld.

  “So, the Eld did not converse much with our kind. They thought it to be beneath them. At night, however, Skotads would at times sneak into the glowing communals of the El
d to learn at their feet. The Eld soon felt a sense of care towards the Skotad creatures. Little by little at night, they taught us about their ways.

  “Hostility began to form between the Skotads and the Photaks, as the Photaks felt excluded from these night rituals. Instead of humbling themselves and seeking out the Eld by day, they became a bitter people. Soon, the Photaks viewed the Skotads not only as their competition but also as their enemies. The Photaks stopped keeping watch. They concentrated instead on attacking Skotads with light by day. Before the Eld could put the grievances between the Photaks and the Skotads to rest, the day came when Mira was attacked. Because the Photaks were so distracted by their plots against the Skotads, they didn’t warn the Eld in time to ready the defenses. Half the planet was destroyed, and all of the Eld were wiped out… Mira’s core was so damaged that the planet no longer rotated. This was how life as we now know it first began.”

  Yara had listened, feeling a sense of great sadness. As she lay in her swaddling, she wondered what Mira was like before the Great War. At the end of Grandam’s sharing, and her teachings of the manuscript markings, Yara felt like she understood why the Photaks and Skotads became what they were. Still, Yara did not entirely buy Grandam’s theory about her being a Ka-Eld. She was, however, convinced that she needed to strongly consider taking the journey through the mountain.

  Yara took out the halved, ancient manuscript that Grandam had placed in her care. Rolled within it was the map of the mountain’s tunnels.

  “I entrust you with this half of our most valuable manuscript as proof of my belief in what I know you are,” she had said. “You have seen the symbols for yourself… You have seen that the prophecy speaks of a powerful Eld who will return one day with a voice that guides… but what should happen if such an Eld returns is held within the second half of the manuscript. If you decide to go to find Makeba, you should leave tomorrow morning before the Skotads rise. I believe time is of the essence.”

  ***

  Yara spent the rest of the day among the Skotads and their offspring. She had decided that she wanted to appreciate all that they were, and all they had given to her. It was important to her to do this before she left the next day. She knew there was no guarantee that her journey would bring her back there.

  Toler eventually found her in the communal area as she played with the Skotad children. They ran up to him excitedly when he entered, giving him hugs and asking him to play. Toler agreed, and they cheered.

  Yara smiled to see how much they loved him and how much he also cared about them. He sat opposite to her, eyes blazing with concern.

  “Yara, when did you get back from Grandam? And what happened when you were there?”

  “I’m so sorry, Toler. I was so exhausted from all that I learned… I had returned to my room to rest after the few hours I spent there. But, guess what? I can read a few of the markings now.”

  She pointed to a few that lined the walls, calling them by name and explaining their meanings. Toler looked so proud of her that she found herself blushing.

  “Well, I’m glad that you’re okay… because I have something to tell you.”

  “Well… what is it?”

  Toler grinned widely.

  “Tomorrow afternoon… you’re going to be inducted as a Skotad warrior!” he exclaimed.

  “What…?” Yara responded, her mouth open.

  “Yes, didn’t you get my mother’s note? I had told her that you would be out of your room so she could surprise you.”

  Yara gave him a mock glare as she embraced a Skotad toddler who had just run into her arms.

  “I did… but I thought they would want to test me in some way, or… at least, I didn’t think it would be so soon or so… easy? I don’t know…”

  “You’ve already proven yourself, Yara… a thousand times over. And truthfully, I would love for you to be the warrior I have by my side.”

  Yara blushed again. She felt a renewed sense of hope surge through her. She couldn’t believe that she was being offered everything she had ever wanted since she was a little girl… to finally become a real warrior.

  The thought of the mountain journey ahead flashed through her mind. She felt a sense of uncertainty. She didn’t want to risk losing the opportunity to be a warrior for the Skotads. She also didn’t want to lose the trust of the Skotad Tribe. Breaking their laws and leaving in secret would cause too great of a disappointment. Suddenly, the journey through the mountains didn’t seem worth as much as the happiness she was being offered.

  Perhaps… not having all the answers is okay… It’s not like knowing is going to change anything… but it will surely destroy all that I now have…

  As if in complete opposition to her thoughts, Guidestar whispered into her ear.

  “She will lead you…”

  Yara shifted uncomfortably as she heard it. She looked up at Toler. He returned her glance with a perplexed expression.

  “Is everything okay? I hope this isn’t too much pressure after everything you’ve already done for us…” he said with a hint of concern.

  “No… it isn’t. It’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me… Your people are extraordinary, Toler. I am honored to even be here.”

  He reached out and squeezed her hand softly.

  “Not your people… our people. You are a part of this Tribe now, Yara. Now, and always.”

  ***

  Sleep took longer to come than usual. Yara found herself tossing and turning, unable to calm her mind. The hour was nearing for her to leave if she did decide to go in search of the answers to her lifelong questions. If she stayed and gave her warrior vows to the Skotad Tribe, she would be choosing to give up those answers for her lifelong dream.

  Yara looked towards the stocks and bag she had prepared while contemplating her choice. She groaned. There was no easy way to decide. Both were significant to her. She couldn’t figure out if seeking truth was more crucial than respecting and giving back to the Skotads for all their kindness. Plus, the call of the warrior was all she had ever felt. She genuinely wanted to be a part of everything she had found in their mountainous haven. She wanted to finally belong.

  But I am not a Skotad… Even if they accept me, will I ever truly belong here…?

  Yara sighed and rose from the swaddling.

  “Please forgive me, Toler…” she whispered.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Yara hadn’t seen anyone when she took the tunnels that led to the deeper path into the mountain. As she came to the fork in the path that Grandam had mentioned, she pulled out the map. It was from this point the map began. The marks upon it indicated that she should take the tunnel to her right. After that, however, there seemed to be hundreds of twists and turns in what looked like an impossible maze. Yara, face set with determination, walked on.

  The air seemed to change as she walked in. Her eyes, while accustomed to seeing easily in darkness, felt a little hazy. The tunnels were old and a little musty, but there was a scent within them that made her senses tingle. She didn’t know why but something about the smell felt oddly familiar. She shook the feeling off—it was impossible for her to have been here before.

  As she made her way deeper in, she was relieved to find that everything written upon the map was there with exact precision. The markings along those tunnels looked ancient and untouched. They seemed to even have hints of color in them, faded away by many millennia. Sapstreams flowed freely around her, finding their own paths from which she would at times have to jump quickly away. It seemed strange that they were mostly stable in the Skotad territory but nowhere else. The thought of the Skotads brought only one person to Yara’s mind.

  I hope he doesn’t hate me for this…

  Yara knew that by the time her note to Toler was discovered, she would be too far gone to be found. She could only hope that Toler would trust her decision. She hoped he would understand, and even if he couldn’t, she hoped he would forgive her.

  ***

  To
ler wondered why Yara had missed the morning meal in the communal area. He pondered if she was nervous about her orientation although he couldn’t imagine her feeling that way. She had seemed happy after he told her. He smiled when he thought about the warmth that had filled her face.

  Perhaps, she just needed some time alone…

  Still, as the day went on, he felt like he should carry her a meal so that she would have her strength for the afternoon’s activities. He put some mushrooms and sensopa in a wooden bowl, and filled a wooden jug from the Sapstream.

  As he walked towards her room, he felt a sense of gratitude for the time he had first seen Yara. He grinned, remembering how she had tied him to the tree. Shaking his head, he knocked at her door.

  “Yara, I brought you some things to eat. Your sustenance is important for today.”

  He heard no response. He wondered if he had missed her on her way out. He opened the door and carried in the food, setting it down on her table. His eyes fell on a note folded in half with his name on it.

  Toler’s heartstar skipped a beat. He grabbed it and opened it, reading quickly.

  Toler,

  I need you to know that this was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make… but I needed to know the truth about what I am, about who I am, and where I came from. That truth lies on the other side of this mountain. Grandam provided me with a map to get there so that I could put together the ancient manuscript that speaks of my real purpose. A man named Makeba, who dwells on the other side of the mountain, has the missing half. She entrusted me with the piece that she had and taught me how to read it. Please know, it was my decision to do this—she didn’t force me. I’ve lived my entire life without any answers… and as much as it is my life’s dream to become a warrior, I can’t give up the opportunity to finally get the answers to even one of my many questions. I can no longer ignore who I am, or rather, who I’m not. I hope I will still get the chance to fight alongside you and the Skotad warriors, should I return. Please forgive me for leaving like this. There was no other way to prevent you from trying to stop me…