He was alone again.
Tenashar went back into the cave to find Cadica. She stared intensely at Tenashar as if reading his mind. “What have you been doing down there? I hope you finished your deep thinking.”
Something told Tenashar that Cadica knew what he was doing in the cave. He believed Cadica had drawn the images in the sky. She laughed and brought out the glass buffalo and wolf that shone with their own light. Tenashar could faintly see star-like shapes inside each, similar to those he had seen in Nainashari’s flasks.
“Tell me what happens when each piece is put on the tablet of smooth stone. Does it control a person’s destiny?” He wanted to believe that by arranging a glass figure on a tablet he could control his future.
Cadica said, “You are looking for an easy way to change your life. This is not what these things are for. I don’t interfere. These glass figures go wherever they want on the tablet. My hand only moves them to where they choose to be. I can warn people to turn away from errors, but that is all I can do. In the end, they must decide what is best for themselves and turn away from evil by their own choice.”
Cadica’s smile made Tenashar suddenly realize that even after he continued his journey, he would have someone to watch over and protect him.
She showed him some of how the tablet worked, how it had the power to follow a person’s life regardless of the distant time and place he or she lived in. It was connected like the roots of a tree to all worlds and times. However, the tablet spoke only to those trained to listen to it. Cadica was a controller of the tablet; she knew how to listen to its words, which existed only in her mind. The glass figures represented people on their journeys through life, and the designs represented branches of fate, the paths a person could take in life.
Tenashar hadn’t forgotten the path he had to take to care for the dying lands in his world. He began to feel he was wasting time in this world, but he also realized the skills and wisdom taught by Cadica and Ilaythesia were part of this journey. Many things started to connect, like the pieces of a puzzle. It had been no accident that Tenashar and Etutsha had stepped into this place.
Cadica presented Tenashar with a glass figure representing a tall human holding in its transparent heart images of itself receding into infinity, each of which held its own galaxy. Tenashar admired its translucent properties even before Cadica showed him the proper way to bring out its special qualities. She turned the piece, which she called a Sharzeen, to the proper angles against the sun, and it gave off a sunset effect. Another turn showed an eclipse and then a full moon. It was a true work of art.
“Think of this as a guide as well as a thing of knowledge. It will be your teacher and show you many things,” said Cadica, putting the Sharzeen in his hands. It became clear to Tenashar that the Sharzeen was a portable library.
When he went to sleep that night, he saw Eirshiquanai for the first time in a long while. She spoke in his mind. As your time in this world draws to a close, you’ll leave friends who have become like family. Hold tight to what you have learned in this world, for once you are back in yours, you may need the counsel of Cadica and Ilaythesia.
Eirshiquanai faded. Tenashar’s dream merged with the faces of stone that looked like guardians, and then they whirled around him. Suddenly, he found himself floating in the sky, staring at vast expanses of land below.
Tenashar woke up from his dream, knowing it was time to leave.
chapter 22
Family of the Shifting Sands
For the whole next day, Tenashar didn’t see Cadica or Etutsha, and Ilaythesia hadn’t been around for several days. He searched for them in the desert, calling to them. Though he had awakened from his dream, it seemed he was still dreaming. He walked until he was a great distance from Ilaythesia’s dwelling and discovered a tall monolith similar to one Cadica had told him about in a story. Nearby, there was a dome-like dwelling, similar to the one Ilaythesia and Cadica lived in, except its colors were bright blues in various shades and oval patterns.
In the hot sun, the dome and monolith seemed to move, to waver. The heat waves grew thicker. Tenashar tried to run from the dome and monolith, but no matter how hard he ran, he still found himself the same distance from them. He could see he had moved, because the ground around him was different, but the dome and monolith had stayed with him.
Something called in his mind. Sit and wait for the distance to shorten. Let the dwelling and monolith come to you. He wondered if it had been a message from Cadica. He had the Sharzeen she had given him and had even slept with it. He stood and waited, watching in amazement, as the distance indeed became shorter. He walked to the colorful dome but was disappointed to see no sign of occupants. As he was about to walk away, a man with a walking stick and beautiful, white, flowing hair came around the side of the dome. He wore a long, tattered robe of faded colors that covered an elaborate tunic hung with machined parts and tight leggings.
Out of the dome stepped a tall woman and a girl about Cadica’s age. A couple of older children, a boy and a girl, followed. They all had dark hair and were dressed the same. They all smiled curiously at Tenashar, and he began to feel embarrassed. They seemed to have been expecting him. The man stepped up to Tenashar and asked, “Did Cadica send you? Or did you come on your own?”
“I don’t know.” Tenashar felt truly lost. “Where am I? Who are you? When I woke up this morning, I was alone.”
The people just smiled as if they knew something he didn’t. Finally the man spoke. “Friend of Cadica, we saw you coming. We simply weren’t expecting you quite so soon.”
“I was trying to find my friends.”
“Come inside.” The man’s smile grew wider, if that was possible. The man explained that he and his family had seen Tenashar with Cadica and knew he was not part of their world. The little girl immediately grabbed Tenashar’s hand and pulled him into their home.
Though the dome was no larger than Ilaythesia’s on the outside, the inside could accommodate hundreds of people, and it even had a forest and a stream. Tenashar had thought only Ilaythesia had such a garden because of her special position, but it appeared that such dwellings were not uncommon.
Tenashar found out that the man was the head of a community, a father and grandfather, and someone skilled in art, engineering, and science. On the walls of his home were murals that represented scenes from the daily life of those of their tribe. Though they looked at first glance like normal paintings, the pictures shifted—one scene becoming transparent as it was replaced by another. The ceiling had spirals arranged in fantastic lines and forms, much like the designs found in snail shells. As was the case with so much he had seen in this world, everything about the dwelling fascinated Tenashar.
The family took Tenashar into a white room with walls as smooth as porcelain. On the floor were five mats next to a multilevel table protruding from the wall.
The man gestured to one of the mats. “Please sit, and don’t worry about your friends—they will be all right. You’ll find them when the time comes.”
His kindness comforted Tenashar. Once Tenashar was seated, the man sat, as did his family. The man quietly began. “I am known as Una-mear, but you may call me Saitha, as it is simpler.” He gestured to the tall woman, whose beauty and strength reminded Tenashar of Eirshiquanai and Ilaythesia. “This is my daughter, Sainabar, and your little friend there,” he winked at the little girl who still held Tenashar’s hand, “is her daughter Uamar-nei. Sainabar’s husband’s spirit has departed this world, as has my wife, though she left me three wonderful children—yes, these two are mine.” He gestured eloquently to the adolescent pair and introduced the girl, Harvai-quay, and the boy, Inaium-torvor. They nodded to Tenashar while the small girl simply grinned.
The man continued, “How did you come into our world? Your appearance tells me you come from a very different time or place.”
Tenashar spoke with great respect and eloquently recounted his quest; he also asked them about the monolith.
>
Sainabar said, “Your words say much in terms of the sadness and hardship you’ve come across. You’re interested in the monoliths? These are metaphors for guardians, though some people call them pillars.” Her words were heavy with sympathy, as if she had been through something similar.
During dinner, Tenashar learned a great deal about Cadica from the family. She had been lost in the desert, trying to find their house, which she could see but never quite approach, and finally sat and cried in frustration. While she was crying, the blue-painted dome had drifted right up to her, and she looked with wide eyes to find Saitha’s family smiling at her.
Sainabar, a mother herself, developed a strong rapport with the young Cadica. Seeing the potential in the small girl, Saitha had put Cadica in Ilaythesia’s care, though the family thought of her as a close relation and held a deep love for her. Cadica was a very special person, and her abilities were extremely valuable to their world. No one else who had trained under Ilaythesia could match her talents.
When it came time to sleep, Inaium led Tenashar through a narrow, decorated passageway to an alcove where he slept and dreamed of nothing but stars.
After a restful night, Tenashar found himself lying on sand, out in the middle of the desert again. He looked up to find the monolith in ruins, as was Saitha’s home. What happened? Tenashar thought, confused. He didn’t want to be out in the desert alone. He wanted to be with Saitha and the other people of their community. Tears started to run down his eyes, and words escaped his mind. Like so many times in the past, he wondered what had happened to him and why people kept abandoning him. In anger, Tenashar punched the sand. Nothing ever happens the way it should, he thought.
Exhausted by his anger, Tenashar propped himself against the shady side of the monolith’s ruins to rest. He fell asleep. As dreams took him, he felt a hand soothing his shoulders and strong arms picking him up and laying him on a soft cushion.
Tenashar opened his eyes to find Sainabar and Harvai. He realized his awakening in the desert must have been a bad dream.
Sainabar spoke gently, smoothing his hair. “We forgot to tell you that if you are not familiar with this part of the desert, you will have a tendency to drift in time and place. Sometimes even we find ourselves in another part of our home or outside in the desert. Please don’t be alarmed by this. It is normal.”
“I thought all of you were gone. When I woke up, I thought this, and you, were just a dream. I was alone, and I don’t know where my friends are.” Tenashar began to feel sick and exhausted, brought on by his feelings of anger, sadness, and resentment.
Sainabar explained the natural laws of this strange desert. “You must understand that thoughts or even dreams can cause you to drift like the water in the ocean. In your sleep, you might drift to other parts of the land or a time in the past or future, and controlling it is not so easy. Simply thinking about home does not always return you there. Danger can come when you are not thinking the proper thoughts. Thoughts are like ocean waves. Some will carry you out to sea, while others will bring you to shore. If you were tied to a friend on shore, she could draw you back to safety. Here in the desert, it’s best to control your thoughts or you may be lost.”
With this deeper understanding of the desert world, Tenashar was able to calm himself.
Saitha entered the room and gave Tenashar a hug—embarrassing him, since he was not accustomed to such affection. “You may stay with us for a few days. Cadica has arranged it.”
“But why would she wish me to be here?” Tenashar was still too tired to understand.
Saitha peered intensely into Tenashar’s eyes. “In our world, perhaps unlike yours, different levels of existence exist. An example of this is how, unless you know the technique of getting to my home, you’ll never be able to arrive here. It is only when your mind is connected with ours that the level we live on can be entered.”
Saitha explained that once there had been chaos in the desert lands. “Groups of scavengers were always looking for both food and shelter, and people had to find a way to keep them away from their homes. Defense with weaponry was out of the question, for the community did not have enough warriors. Another solution had to be found. They devised a clever way to hide themselves, whereby someone had to walk on a certain, exact path to get to a home.”
With his mind finally awakened, Tenashar stood, walked to a window, and stared into the distance as if in a trance. His eyes were drawn inexorably to the desert landscape. Even if he wanted to turn his eyes, he could not have.
Saitha asked, “What is wrong, my son? Have my words caused you trouble?”
Tenashar slammed his fists into the window and said in anger, “Why am I here? I have accomplished nothing for the people in my own world!” His voice dropped to a whisper as he realized something terrible. “I feel bad for your people, but you have to be unimportant to me. My people have to be my only concern, just as you had to care for your family and tribe and let the desperate scavengers starve.”
A long silence ensued. It seemed to Tenashar that Saitha had left the room. After staring blankly into the expanse outside for what felt like years, he turned and saw that his host was still there. “Am I a prisoner here? Am I unable to leave your home?” Tenashar was not happy with the harshness he heard in his words.
The only reply he got from Saitha was that same simple smile he always seemed to have. “Tenashar, my friend, you can return to Ilaythesia’s home whenever you desire. It is up to you. All you have to do is think of where want to be—nothing more.”
Tenashar suddenly realized the man’s smile seemed familiar—he had seen the same one on Cadica’s face. “You never said this, but I think Cadica is your daughter. You seem to be fond of her, yet you sent her away. Why is this?”
Saitha nodded. “Cadica is sister to Sainabar.” The older man sat. “You ask why Cadica was sent away. The only answer is that she’s special. Our family was descended from a very ancient family that had roots in this land long before it turned to desert. They may have been the first people to be part of the land.”
Tenashar turned to the window and watched the sun fall below the horizon. Something was different—the sun seemed weak, as if it were dying of old age—and he suddenly realized how old the desert world was. Its people didn’t have much of a future. Tenashar glanced at Saitha and was sad for a world and people he wished could be saved. He hoped if he accomplished his journey, everything would be good in Saitha’s time, but he wasn’t certain. Perhaps Saitha’s desert world was his own, merely thousands of years later. If this was true, then his village must have been long forgotten, and everything about his life had long since passed.
“I think you comprehend why your journey is so important. For in this time and the world we inhabit, you never returned to your village and people, and the entire planet continued to be sapped of its life force. Many tribes tried to call out to you in their own languages, but their voices became faint, and you failed to respond. Please continue on your journey,” Saitha said, tears trickling down his cheeks.
Tenashar thought that if the world had changed, if all that had led to this time had never occurred, these people would not be alive—not as they were. The world would be entirely different. Do I have the right to change the future and make it so my friends will never exist? he wondered.
Nothing was orderly. He realized that circumstances shifted and changed like the sands and that nothing was simple. He knew he had to return.
chapter 23
A Gift from Cadica
After the sun had advanced into the sky, Tenashar woke again to find ruins around him, as if Saitha and his family had never existed. He wondered what had happened. He called out, but no one answered. It remained for him to figure it out on his own. He thought it had all been a dream, but he found the Sharzeen that reminded him of Tansatei sitting on the sand, as if it had been put there. He knew it had not been a dream!
Saitha and his family were real and were still there, somewhere, i
n some form. A spirit awoke in him. Tenashar decided it was a sign from them that he had to go back to Ilaythesia. He asked himself if the family was in the past from where he was. The ruins around him were deserted. The only evidence he found that it had ever been inhabited was some dried plants.
Clinging hard to the Sharzeen, Tenashar walked off in the direction to find his way back to Cadica, wishing he could at least know what had happened to Saitha’s family. Yet, Tenashar felt that he would meet them again.
For a short while, he concentrated on doing what Saitha had told him, shifting himself through time to find Cadica and Ilaythesia’s level. When he stopped and opened his eyes, he saw the dwelling that had become so familiar to him.
“We saw you coming from a distance,” Cadica said with a grin. “Etutsha said you appeared as if out of nowhere. I’m not surprised. I knew where you were.”
“Did you miss me?” Tenashar asked. “I was unable to return for several days.”
“You were gone for only a day. No, half a day. The sun is only just starting to go down,” said Etutsha, confused and curious as to why Tenashar was smiling.
“Etutsha! Tenashar was somewhere else with my family. He was gone for several years.” She had a mischievous grin on her face.
“What do you mean? He’s been gone for only a short time.” Etutsha didn’t quite believe Cadica. He thought it was a joke.
“It’s true, Tenashar,” replied Cadica. “You have been with them for years, according to their time. Most of the time you slept. Then you woke up, never knowing several months or years had passed.” She was filled with solemn wisdom, such a rare quality in a playful child.
A Journey of a Thousand Seasons Book 1 (Journey Series) Page 13
