Eirshiquanai sat, picked up the Rock and the Mushroom, and studied them. She smiled, and the Rock lit up, as if smiling back. The Mushroom was quiet, but when she gently blew on it, it lit up as well. Setting these two mystical objects down, she brushed her hands over the mushrooms growing around them. They lit up as if her hands were talking to them.
Tenashar sensed that Eirshiquanai wanted him and everything around them to be at peace. His fear returned, however. He knew that if the Orbs came, the mushrooms and the tree would be destroyed just as the plants and trees by the village had been.
With no words, only a smile, she somehow told Tenashar that the mushrooms shouldn’t worry and that the tree wouldn’t be harmed. When she spoke, her voice was almost a gentle laugh. “Tenashar, don’t look so amazed. You can do these same things. It is in your heart. Just call to the spirits on the hill, like those within the tree and the mushrooms, and you will see what no ordinary eyes can.”
To Tenashar, her words had depths of meaning not readily understood at first, as if they needed to be lived out. Tenashar wondered if he would ever see the way she saw things.
Eirshiquanai read the question in his eyes. “You do not need to see things the same way I do. It’s finding your own way, not mine, of understanding things that is important.”
Tenashar gazed at the Rock and asked, “Are you one of the strangers who will come over the sea—the folk my father spoke of?”
“I am not of the people you think, those who came from across the seas. In my time, these people no longer exist, just as your world no longer exists in my time.”
“In what way is your world different from mine?” Tenashar preferred to be curious about her world—distant and safe—than about the turmoil in his own.
“In my time, trees no longer live in fear, they live in peace. Our villages and cities spread under the earth rather than stealing the space the trees need. Our many tribes are all in our hearts as friends and neighbors, so there is not much conflict and no wars. We have made peace with time, and as such we age slowly and live in the past, present, and future at once. My world is as it was in the beginning, before humans started to change it, and yet we live eons after all the damage was done. We have gone back into time to copy a very ancient, untouched world and bring it back to model our lives on.” She stared at the horizon, smiling faintly, “Even when we leave our underground cities and visit the surface, we do no harm. We move through the world while not being in it.”
Tenashar didn’t completely understand what Eirshiquanai said, but her words were calming, and he suddenly felt drowsy. She seemed to know this. She had caused it! She gestured for him to stretch out on the grass beside her, like a child safe in the shadow of its mother.
Tenashar’s mind drifted swiftly into a dream in which Eirshiquanai took his hand and led him to a tall body of water that rose into the air, flowing endlessly into the sky, like a tree. She led him into the water, and he was lifted far above the ground. The dream took Tenashar to many places unknown to him or his tribe, to worlds far beyond his experience or knowledge. Time seemed to contract and stretch, lights danced, and strings of brightness spread in all directions around him.
Eirshiquanai guided him through the many branches of a strange labyrinth, showing him astonishing things such as men wearing helmets and even whole garments of glass. He saw entire villages constructed of a similar transparent material as well as gigantic ships he at first mistook for islands until he remembered the tales his father had told him. He saw in quick succession many other things his father had spoken about—vehicles that traveled at high speeds and huge aircraft.
At one point, Tenashar found he was walking among the clouds. Far below lay beautiful and vast cities. It made him wonder if this was the world of his guide. “What is the name of that city?” he asked in a voice filled with wonder. “Is it Cashmakil? My father told me about that city and how it was destroyed.”
Eirshiquanai seemed interested in his father’s wisdom but simply replied, “No, that city beneath us is far in your future. It will occupy the land that is even now being destroyed by the Orbs. That is the land your descendants will call home. It does resemble Cashmakil, but that was in the distant past.”
“So my father is right. There truly was a Cashmakil.” Tenashar’s words came in a whisper.
Eirshiquanai heard his words. “Yes, there was, but the people who will build these cities lack the wisdom to maintain them—just as it was with Cashmakil. This beautiful place will also die, for its people do not bother to remember.”
Tenashar awoke alone on the hillside. A strange, fading light was emanating from the ground next to him. He wondered if Eirshiquanai and all she had showed him had been real or only a dream. The Rock and the Mushroom were lit up. For a second, he looked at them and remembered how the lady of his dream had stood where the grass was bent.
“Was it only a dream?” Tenashar rolled onto his stomach and grabbed the Rock as if to look for some answer. It said nothing, but the glow wavered, showing it had heard his question.
Below him, in the valley, there were not as many Orbs as there had been. The dwellings of the village were almost completely destroyed, but the land around was a powdery gray. The destruction might have even gone unnoticed to an outsider since no fires or smoke could be seen, just a stillness that spoke of desolation.
Even at that distance, Tenashar had an uncomfortable feeling deep in his stomach. What should he do? What could he do?
chapter 7
The Council Meeting and the Warriors
An overwhelming sadness overtook Tenashar as he gazed at the ruins of his village, but he could also feel anger rising in him. He understood the Orbs would return and felt frustrated that Eirshiquanai and her visions hadn’t taught him how to get rid of the Orbs. He turned his eyes to the sky’s spiritual depths and wondered how something so beautiful could exist amidst the fear and anger his tribe was feeling.
His people felt the loss keenly, not knowing what the coming days would bring. They would have to start all over again, making a place for themselves in the mountains. It was hard to leave what they knew. It would not be difficult to build new homes, but it was hard to leave the place their people had lived for hundreds of years—many of the dwellings in the village were centuries old.
The sun warmed Tenashar’s face and made him sleepy. When he again opened his eyes, he found that the day had advanced. Something has woken him. In the distant trees, he heard shouting and arguing; people were debating what to do. He listened. He wasn’t sure if he should be hearing it, since it was a council meeting and he was not considered a man.
Some of the voices said the tribe must leave this place, while others said wait until the spirit men from the stars tell them their next move. Still others wanted to fight, and some wanted to rebuild the village. Others pointed out that crops wouldn’t grow there. Sanashei, as did some other council members, believed the Orbs would return. A senior council member countered that since the land around the old village had been drained, the Orbs would not come back. Another warned that they should be on guard, that the Orbs could come into the mountains to drain its life.
The arguments went back and forth, solving nothing. Before the argument reached a vote, one said, “We have seen weapons of these Orbs, and it would be foolish to stand against them. They are able to burn large areas of land, and we have seen them kill our people. Those warriors who stood against them turned to ash before our eyes. We are defenseless against such power.”
Tenashar recognized the speaker’s voice as that of Eisnai, an elderly warrior who had been a great hunter in his youth. He heard Aogana, a younger warrior, reply, “How can you say such cowardly thing? You were once a great warrior.”
Many of the council members remained silent, considering this. Eisnai replied with great dignity. “I have seen fighting, and the only thing it brings is misery. Nothing is ever accomplished by war. Every side loses. Fighting the Orbs would have gained us only deat
h.”
Aogana snorted. “We should fight even if we can’t win.”
Eisnai shook his head sadly. “So you would fight to the last man?” When the youth nodded vehemently, he continued, “And the last woman? And the last child?”
“We can win.” Aogana replied in greater fervor and pride.
Tenashar noticed his father was remaining neutral. He knew Sanashei would be amused at Aogana’s ignorance if it hadn’t been so dangerous.
Soarta, a council elder, spoke. “At what odds are we to fight? We have seen what the Orbs can do. They are not like anything we have seen before. How are we to deal with them? Can’t you see we are defenseless for the present?”
“You talk as a coward,” the sneering Aogana replied.
“I am just saying there’s nothing we can do to gain the advantage.”
Tenashar was playing with an agate stone as he listened to his father. “We have no advantages—yet—in dealing with the Orbs. We are more likely to survive as a people if we do not try to battle these Orbs. Even if they leave here, they will simply drain the life from the lands of some other tribe—some other people across the great seas or the mountains—and if we don’t find ways to work together with these other people, no one will ever be able to stop the Orbs from draining the land.”
“Perhaps they can be persuaded to leave,” said a council elder.
“Persuaded?” Aogana spat back. “No, we must drive them away. My son, Etutsha, shall drive them off and reclaim our nation. He is strong, very strong.”
No one doubted Etutsha’s strength, but they thought the Orbs were beyond ordinary human’s strength.
Eisnai spoke calmingly. “He is a growing into a fine warrior, but his abilities must still be honed. Right now, his arrogance won’t permit him to be a good warrior.”
“You say such things because you are jealous,” snarled Etutsha’s father.
“No!” said Eisnai. “I was arrogant too, long before you were born.”
Tenashar listened intently to Eisnai’s words.
“Let me tell you of my youth, when it seemed the world were at my command. Everything came easily for me. I had great skills with all weapons, and nothing seemed beyond my talents. Beautiful, young girls were always competing for my attention. One day, on a quiet, sunny morning, my friends and I decided to seek a group of hunters who had been gone for three days. The village wondered what had happened to them. We followed their tracks deep into the forest, watching for movement of either our hunters or any game we might catch. Suddenly, beams of light that resembled ancient arrows came flying toward us, hundreds of them. Before we could take cover, one hit the arm of one of my companions and burned it off! All that remained was a burned stub! Some tribe was attacking us, and though I called out to them, saying we had no hostile intentions, no answer came, only more deadly beams of light. We couldn’t comprehend where these people came from, as the forest had never been claimed by any tribe. Most of you here weren’t born when this happened and may never have understood why our tribe, in fact, no tribe, hunts in that forest to this day.
“From where I had taken cover, I saw strange figures running about but could not make out much. They seemed to be dressed from head to toe in a type of protective armor that reflected light like glass. Though we could see the armor was transparent, we could not see enough to make out much about what was within, but we did see hideous, glowing, red eyes in faces that seemed to be those of monsters.
“With pride I got up to fight. I charged, but I was hit and fell back. I lay on the ground in agonizing pain while my friends charged and were slaughtered.
“Many were reduced to ashes, just as the victims of the Orbs. Others were knocked over as I had been. Those who ran were chased down. I watched the armored feet run past me as I lay motionless and helpless, unable to help my friends.
“For two nights and three days I lay on the forest floor in the rain. Finally, I was able to pull myself to my feet and slowly found all the others who had survived. With great effort, we made our painful way to one of the many scattered Senetha villages, but we were too late. The armored men were there, and the village was lost. Those who hadn’t fled were dead. My companions and I, still weak and ill, froze with fear and were captured along with many of the villagers. I was lucky to get loose, and I’m ashamed to admit I ran in fear.
“None of those captured—men, women, and children—were seen again. When I reached the main village and returned with great numbers of warriors, the men in armor were gone, never to be seen again. Thereafter, I realized how foolish arrogance and pride are. They certainly accomplished nothing that day.”
“Nice story,” sneered Etutsha’s father.
“It is true,” said Sanashei, but without censure. “You wish to send your son to fight forces so powerful?”
“Yes!” the warrior replied. “Eisnai was once great, but if he still has courage, he would choose to fight these Orbs.”
All the warriors at the council shouted “Yes!” in a roar.
Eisnai spoke again, his loud voice ringing through the commotion. “One in this tribe can help us regain the living entity of the land. He is Tenashar. He will achieve things beyond all of us, even me.”
An uncomfortable and long silence was broken by laughter.
“How could this boy save them from the Orbs?” one asked.
Another young warrior angrily rose from his seat and addressed Eisnai. “This is crazy, sending a cripple to fight the Orbs. How ridiculous, you crazy old man.”
Etutsha’s father chimed in. “Besides, you are the one who said no one could fight them.”
Eisnai replied with a voice filled with dignity and understanding. “Did I say fight? I think you have misunderstood—those words never passed my lips. Weapons are not the answer here. We must find another way. I believe this problem can be solved only by the power that resides in Tenashar. He has knowledge that could help us to survive. Tenashar does not yet understand his powers, but he senses them. One day he will have full command of these abilities. A limp is not a crippling limitation. No. Limitations exist only in the mind, and only a person’s negative thoughts create limitations. Some in the council seem crippled in this way.”
Eisnai’s head rose and fell in a single grave and stern nod, silencing all argument. The whole council quieted, their thoughts concentrated on Tenashar.
Finally a voice spoke. “We have no real choice in this matter. We have thought and tried everything. Our weapons cannot prevail. The council has reached no decision and offers no plan. Why not take the advice of the venerable warrior even if we don’t agree? Doing something is better than doing nothing, is it not?”
Another council member said, “I wish to ask why it should be Tenashar. It seems some of you favor him. Why?”
Eisnai selected his words carefully. “We are all born with abilities. Yes, Tenashar has no skills of a warrior, but that is a dead way of life. Tenashar represents our future, the future of the Senetha, because he has the wisdom of a village chief. He may find a way for not only our people but other tribes as well to survive the Orbs.”
chapter 8
Tenashar Meets A-amar and Una-sei
Tenashar felt terribly sorry for all the people and animals killed or displaced by the Orbs, but he didn’t feel comfortable being chosen as the one who should drive the invaders away. Who am I pretending to be? he thought. I am not some great shaman of the ancient days who can make everything better. He looked at the Rock and the Mushroom, but they remained silent. Tenashar had given up listening to the council because its talk went around in circles. Each member wanted his own way, so they argued endlessly. Only Sanashei and the Aura-Laei-I ever brought purpose to the council, for they would choose what was right and not what they themselves wanted.
A strange noise from behind a tree caught Tenashar’s attention. A strange figure slowly stalked out of the shadows. As it came out into the partial moonlight, it frightened Tenashar. It had a head resembling a wolf�
�s, a mane and hair like a lion’s, but a body like a man’s. Tenashar saw it had two seemingly normal eyes but an additional one high on its forehead. Three yellow, large eyes glared at Tenashar.
Overall, its appearance was very ferocious, but slowly the feeling came over Tenashar that it hadn’t come to harm him. He thought it might have been sent to him by Heitac or perhaps even Eirshiquanai. As it moved forward, he realized what he had taken for stalking was only a slow walk—the creature seemed shy and cautious. The Rock and the Mushroom lit up, and something in his heart told Tenashar to speak. “Who are you? Can you speak?”
The wolf creature looked intensely at Tenashar, then, with some hesitation, it spoke in a low, gruff voice. “I’ve come to be at your side.”
“Where did you come from?”
“I don’t remember. Must I come from anywhere? I am just here.” It stopped walking, facing him. “I am known as A-amar.”
As A-amar spoke, another strange figure slid out of the shadows and into the moonlight. This creature was something like a buffalo, but it stood on two legs, as a human did. Fear and astonishment once again gripped Tenashar’s heart. The buffalo creature looked like a match for the wolfish A-amar; its two eyes were red and piercing. Its voice was deep and booming though not loud. “I am known as Una-sei.”
Unlike A-amar, Una-sei answered no questions but sat silently next to Tenashar. A-amar dropped to his other side, and they contemplated the dormant Rock and the Mushroom on the ground before them. Tenashar found their company, as well as the grass where he sat, very comfortable. A slight breeze began to blow, bringing with it a faint glow, which grew and grew until Eirshiquanai was there, smiling and pleased. She said, “You starting to understand now. It’s difficult to accept, I know. You must understand that you require training to undertake this task. As a warrior must, you must develop your skills.”
A Journey of a Thousand Seasons Book 1 (Journey Series) Page 4
