The Children of Calm

by Smith, J Michael

  After finishing both his meal and his father’s, Rylek also hurried outside, but for a different reason: it was a beautiful morning, with a crystal clear blue sky. As he walked down the street he breathed in deeply. The wind was coming from the southeast, and it carried the scent of the pine trees that rose from the eastern shore. He felt invigorated. There were birds chirping as they were returning from their winter migration. Striking out with no particular place in mind, he eventually realized he was wandering down to the lakefront. As he rounded the corner of the Hall of Knowledge, he found himself being drawn to the spot where he had overheard the late night conversation between Celek and the scarred man. But then he found Tresten and Selenor standing at the base of the front stairs, talking in low whispers. He walked up to them and said, “Good wonderful morning to you both!”

  They both turned to face him. Selenor smiled and replied, “Well, good wonderful morning to you!”

  Rylek’s arm tingled again, as though from a reflex. “What are you doing here so early?” he asked.

  Selenor sat on one of the stairs. “Your dad came by our place not long ago and told us to meet him here. He then went off to fetch Elder Caenar. I’m guessing they want to talk to us about Celek.”

  Rylek nodded. He still felt unsure about including the others on what he had seen and heard. “Yeah, he seemed pretty surprised when I told him at breakfast,” he said. “All I know is he left in a hurry; he didn’t even finish eating. There must be something going on that we don’t know about.”

  “Obviously,” Tresten said. “The forecast for today is rumors with a slight chance of muddied factual basis. Unless of course I can pry something out of either your father or Elder Caenar.”

  “Good luck with that!” Rylek said, laughing. “As though they’d ever indulge you in things that aren’t any of your business.”

  “A man’s got to try anyway, doesn’t he?” Tresten asked.

  “So who’s the man we’re sending in?” Selenor jokingly asked as she elbowed her brother.

  Tresten glanced at her. “You hang around Lana too much,” he said. “You sound just like her.”

  “Sorry, little brother,” she said as Rylek chuckled.

  A very loud sigh came from Tresten. For the space of a moment he looked torn between making a pithy retort and ignoring her slight dig. He chose to ignore her. “Look, we’re entitled to know something,” he continued. “Celek claimed he had the right to raise us. We’re involved. I want to know what is going on.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that,” Rylek said. “Did he definitely say it was the two of you he supposedly had the right to raise?”

  “What do you mean?” Tresten asked. “We told you what he told us. He implied…”

  Rylek interrupted him. “Did he imply, or did you assume he meant the two of you?”

  Tresten and Selenor grew quiet for a moment. “Well,” Selenor finally said, “I guess we assumed he meant us since it was us he told. But technically speaking, he didn’t specify that he meant us. However, if he didn’t mean us, why would he tell me? I mean, I’ve never been close to him.” She nodded to Rylek. “You’re a lot closer to him than I have ever been. Why would he tell me and not you?”

  “I don’t know, maybe he figures it’s not my business,” Rylek said. “But I hesitate to jump to conclusions about anything. Maybe there’s a chance you can get some kind of answers from my dad and Elder Caenar.”

  “Isn’t that what I just said?” Tresten mumbled.

  As though on cue, Faltir and Caenar turned the corner together and approached them. Caenar smiled and said, “My dear children, the most blessed of mornings to you! Come, let us step inside and talk.” He walked past the golden statue of Kael and stopped. “This was a great man,” he said proudly, pointing at the figure. “Because of our founding father we are able to live peacefully here in our wonderful home. To think that all of the villagers melted down their gold coins to erect this lasting monument, this beacon of hope that reminds us of the equality of all peoples. Let greed and malice forever be vanquished from us!”

  Tresten caught Rylek’s eye, then made a face that almost had Rylek laughing out loud. But then something began to buzz in the back of Rylek’s head.

  “Now, Tresten, Selenor, please follow me and we will discuss some important matters,” Caenar said, and started towards the stairs.

  Tresten leaned in close to Rylek’s ear. “He is so random!” he whispered softly, then followed Caenar and Selenor up to the Hall of Knowledge’s door.

  Faltir turned to Rylek and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you wait down by the Old Sentinel,” he said. It was not a question.

  Rylek obeyed his father and walked the block down to the lakefront and sat under the ancient tree, with his back against the old gnarled trunk and his eyes towards the lake. The giant oak shaded his eyes from the morning sun shining on his left. No one was out on the lake. In fact no one was around at all. He heard nothing but the breeze in the branches and a few birds singing. It was too perfect a morning to worry about things he could not piece together, so he decided to empty his mind of all its questions, close his eyes, and soak in the sounds and smells.

  After some time he heard footsteps behind him. He kept his eyes closed as someone sat by his side. There was a loud exhalation of breath, and then the other person said, “Well, that was very one-sided.” It was Tresten.

  Rylek did not open his eyes. “How long were you in there?” he asked. “It didn’t seem very long.”

  “About twenty minutes, I guess,” Tresten said. “They went over our conversation with Celek several times, checking and rechecking certain points. And for all of the answers we gave for their questions, they sure didn’t offer any answers for our questions. They seemed to be rather anxious of the fact Celek told us to find him in Maeon.”

  Rylek glanced at him. He said it again, he thought to himself. Maybe Selenor didn’t catch Celek saying that. Odd…

  “I don’t see what the big deal is,” Tresten continued. “If someone wants to leave Calm of their own accord, shouldn’t they be allowed to?”

  “As long as they’re fifteen,” Rylek said.

  “Yeah,” Tresten said, “and then there’s that. I’ve never understood the real purpose of that rule. Why isn’t anyone under the age of fifteen allowed out of the village proper?”

  Rylek shrugged. “I guess to protect the children.”

  “From what?” Tresten asked incredulously.

  An uncomfortable feeling arose in Rylek’s stomach. This was something he had wondered himself for a long time, but had been too afraid to discuss with anyone. Why was this rule so important? What was in the Outside that could pose such a hazardous threat to children? “I honestly have no idea,” he said after a pause. He finally opened his eyes to look at Tresten. Tresten was looking out at the lake, and his face was a mixture of several emotions. At that moment Rylek felt a sudden unexplainable fear, as though something were about to be revealed to him that he did not want to know.

  Tresten reached down and pulled some grass out of the ground. “I need to leave,” he said in a low voice. “I have to get out of here.”

  The unease in Rylek grew. “We’re leaving on our Finding in just a few days,” he said. “Then we’ll be on our way to the University in a couple more months.”

  Tresten shook his head and then looked at Rylek. “Yeah,” he mumbled. He stood up and after a moment walked away. Rylek watched him and knew that what he had said was not what Tresten had meant.

  ***

  Things were relatively quiet over the next couple of days. Nothing else was discovered of Celek or of his purposes. However there were plenty of rumors that ran rampant throughout the village. It was whispered by some that he had left to rekindle a secret relationship with an old lover from his University days in Maeon. Others claimed the military needed his skills for some confidential mission and had discreetly asked him to reenlist. Still others said he had a falling ou
t with Caenar and was actually told to leave Calm. But in the end it was all speculation, as his house was searched by Faltir and Ronas and yielded no answers or clues.

  Tresten spent a lot of time by himself, often wandering along the lakefront, meandering through the grain fields, or sitting atop The Balcony. Rylek knew his mood would change once they actually left the village for The Finding.

  The rest of the village was meanwhile finishing the preparations for New Year and the children’s birthday. The final touches were put on the decorations; cakes, cookies, and all sorts of confections were baked; gifts were wrapped; celebratory candles were handed out. The little children of the village were giddy with excitement, and could hardly sleep the night before New Year’s Eve.

  Finally it dawned the last day of the year. As the morning progressed, the village air was filled with the scents of all types of food roasting and baking: corn, potatoes, fish, nuts, and bread. Vegetables were prepared, some fresh and some cooked. The aromas of stews and soups wafted along the breeze, and the little ones found their mouths watering as they ran and played in the streets. Caenar had declared a two-day festival of community gaming and feasting, and had tables and chairs set up on the lakefront to serve as a large outdoor dining room, for the weather was immaculate. Lanterns were hung in the branches of the Old Sentinel in anticipation of the night. Some were even talking of sleeping there by the water.

  When evening arrived, and the children felt they could not possibly wait any longer for the feast to begin, the tables were set with all the food. The lanterns were lit and the people feasted, toasting each other with blessings for the coming year. Old stories were swapped, old jokes were retold, and much merriment transpired. After awhile it was announced that Selenor would sing and play for everyone, so nearly three hundred people quieted down to hear her strum her lyre and sing several songs. Some were old standards that she asked the village to sing along with her, others she sang by herself. The ones she sang alone were especially mesmerizing and spell-inducing, and Rylek found chills constantly running up and down his spine and the back of his head.

  Then the village clock informed the villagers it was somehow already midnight and New Year had come. Shouts of “Happy New Year!” and “Happy birthday!” echoed in the valley, along with some blasts from horns several boys were blowing and the barking of the village dogs. Faltir then led Ronas and a few other men in carrying crates of starpods to the shore, where they then handed them out to each person.

  Once everyone had a starpod, Caenar stood between the lake and the people. “Friends and family, it is now time for the Ceremony of First Lights,” he said. “I trust each of us has our own starpod. Now we shall observe a few moments of silence as we offer our prayers to The One for this New Year.”

  After awhile Caenar lifted his starpod above his head and spoke:

  “Out of darkness came light,

  From the spoken word came truth.

  For all that has been given we now freely return:

  Blessing for blessing,

  Trust for providence.

  Grant us grace for this new year.”

  Then the people replied, “May it be so,” and one by one placed their starpods on the water’s surface. Instantly they lit, and slowly the lakefront became ablaze with warm yellow light. Families huddled close and shared hushed whispers.

  “May The One receive our prayers and bless the people,” Caenar said.

  Then slowly the crowd of people began to trickle away as they left for their homes – with the exception of the ones who had decided to sleep under the stars.

  Rylek had stood with Lana, Tresten, and Selenor throughout the events of the night, and as the others who stayed on the lakefront prepared their blankets and pillows, the four of them nestled down under the Old Sentinel, parallel to the lakefront. Rylek lay down next to Selenor, so that he was facing the old tree and she was facing the lake. There he watched her as she slept, her face lit by the starpods. At some point during the night she woke briefly and looked into Rylek’s eyes. She smiled silently and fell back asleep. The warm shivers erupted all over Rylek again, and he thought to himself that he could not have asked for a more perfect ending to the night.

  As he was finally falling asleep, he was overwhelmed with a feeling of déjà vu: the exhilaration of contented peace settling on him like a soft blanket, just as it had five years previously on The Balcony.

  ***

  After waking the next morning, they left the lakefront and the shelter of the Old Sentinel to go to Lana and Rylek’s house. The plan was for them to have breakfast there, then to have lunch at Penephoni’s. Supper was a community event again, like it had been the night before. So there was much eating, gift-receiving, and ceremonial activity to experience. Rylek could hardly stand himself because he was so excited about the food. As he devoured breakfast like a man who had not eaten for several days, his mother watched him in wonder.

  “It is absolutely amazing and confounding to me,” she said, “that you are not twice the size you are. I have never seen anyone put away so much food.”

  Rylek stopped long enough to smile at her. “Aren’t you proud of me, mom?” he asked with a full mouth.

  Clarina merely smiled and shook her head.

  After breakfast, she and Faltir handed out birthday gifts. Faltir handed each of the boys a sword. “You both have proven you are worthy of these,” he said. “Use them well.”

  Rylek looked questioningly at the blade. “But isn’t this your sword?” he asked.

  Faltir nodded. “It was my sword. Just as it was my father’s, and his father’s, and so on. Faldrahil it is named; a most worthy blade for a deserving swordsman.” He smiled and looked at Rylek proudly. He then turned to Tresten. “And this sword,” he said, “belonged to my great-uncle, and his father, and his father. He named it Silran.” He paused and put a hand on each boy’s shoulder. “I could not be more pleased with how the two of you have matured and developed. My hope is that these blades will serve you well in whatever tasks are set before you, just as they have served their previous masters.”

  Smiling profusely, Rylek examined Faldrahil closely. Its blade was of the finest wrought steel, and there were engravings on its base. In a fine script were these words:

  for the children of Calm

  He noticed the same words were engraved on Silran also.

  His father caught his silent observation. “A small, ever-present reminder,” he explained to them, “of the only reasons you should ever use these swords: to help the helpless, to defend the defenseless, and to protect the innocent.”

  Below the etched words was a picture of a sunburst. Glancing quickly towards Tresten, Rylek noticed there was a picture of two crescent moons on Silran. One was sitting mirrored within a larger one. The scabbards likewise were marvels to behold. Rylek realized his was not the same one that his father had used. It was dyed black, and woven from a very tough but flexible material. Emblazoned on the mount was the same sunburst that was on Faldrahil. Likewise another was on the shoulder strap. He looked at Tresten’s and saw again the two crescent moons.

  “What’s with the engravings of the sun and moons?” he asked.

  Faltir smiled. “If you do not know now,” he said, “you will discover soon enough.”

  Tresten was playing with his scabbard. “What is this made of?” he asked.

  “I wove it from dried starpod skins,” Faltir said.

  Tresten groaned. Lana and Selenor laughed. “Tally one more point for the starpods!” Lana said.

  “It’s still not a medicinal use!” Tresten stressed.

  Faltir picked up Rylek’s scabbard. “Starpod skins are amazingly endurable,” he said. “They are light and thin, yet when dried and treated are tougher than leather. Of course the steel throats and tips will help reinforce the most worn areas, but these scabbards should outlast the two of you.” He paused for a moment as Clarina politely coughed. He took the hint. “Well, I probably shouldn’t be discussi
ng your deaths on your birthday…”

  Clarina interrupted him again. “Moving along from my ever pragmatic husband, I now have gifts for my two lovely ladies.” She produced two small white packages, each tied up with a deep purple ribbon. Inside Lana’s package was a short-length necklace with a pendant. The chain was of white gold, and the pendant was small, consisting of a round jewel set in intricate latticework. The jewel itself was a brilliant ruby, which caught the morning sun and sparkled in Rylek’s eyes. He thought he made out a sunburst design in the ruby, but figured his eyes were playing tricks on him.

  “Oh mother!” Lana stammered.

  Meanwhile Selenor had taken a ring out of her package. It too was white gold, with a solitary deep-blue sapphire set in it. Rylek again saw some shapes in the gemstone that reminded him of the double crescent on Silran. He figured either someone must have etched the shapes in the stones, or he was going crazy.

  “Aunt Clarina…” Selenor started.

  Clarina sat down between the two girls. “These pieces of jewelry,” she said, “are likewise old heirlooms, passed down to the oldest daughters from their mothers, starting many generations long ago. And now they are yours; beautiful gems adorning my beautiful women.” She hugged them both tightly. “You can see what looks like a sunburst inside the ruby, and two crescent moons inside the sapphire.”

  “I thought I was going crazy,” Rylek said. “I saw those shapes in the stones. How did they get there?”

  “They are natural occurrences,” Clarina said, “which make the value of these gems immeasurable. The ruby has traditionally been called the Dawnstone, and the sapphire the Twilightstone.”

  Lana was dumbfounded. “But how did our family ever get jewelry like this?” she asked.

  “That is a long tale that deserves to be told in its entirety when time allows,” Faltir said. “Sadly, it will not allow us to do so presently. For now I must leave so I can help Ronas set up a few things for tonight.”