by P. G. Thomas
“Earth Daughter, Alron does talk much this morning. I does think I hath misspoke. Mother Chosen thou does be, thine purpose does naught be to guide, it does be to lead.”
“Pardon?”
“Mother does want thou to lead. Find, save her children. Only to one that Mother canst speak to, would she bequest such a charge. Thine task does be great, that does be why Mother does choose thou, and does be why, thine staff she does gift to thou. It does be thou that shalt push back the shadows, expose truth, does what thou must, to save her children.”
“Do you want me to raise an army and lead them into battle? What the…”
“Mother does want thou to act as does be necessary to save her children. What thou does, how thou does it, it does be up to thou. Mother wilt guide and help thou. But it does be Earth Daughter, Mother Chosen that her children wilt listen to, follow. Mother does see this, when thou does get answers many. Earth Daughter does take action, and action does be what Mother does need. Shadows enough we does hath, it does be thou that does push them back, push them back with action.”
Lauren thought back to when John had spotted the circling vultures, and how she had forced her pony into the field first with the others following her. Crap, “When you say lead, what do you mean?”
“Where thou does go, others does follow. When thou does speak, others does listen. When thou does command, others does act.”
“Who are these others?”
“All that thou does find. It does be thine words they does follow. Mine elf friends, Ironhouse also, follow thou they wilt. Then others shalt believe in thou, join, follow where thou does lead. When others does see thou, they will see Mother, follow thou. And thou wilt push back the shadows, expose truth, lead the children to freedom, and reclaim the lands.”
Lauren could not believe the words she was hearing. Guide is one thing, just point. Lead, that is something else. Lauren went to the end of the wagon, stepped over the back, and called to Logan who circled his pony around.
“What’s up Lauren?”
“The Earth Mother wants to talk to you.”
Logan shrugged his shoulders, slid out of the saddle, and handed Lauren the reins. As he ran up to the wagon, Lauren climbed into the saddle, and before he realized the stunt that she had just pulled, she was trotting past the wagon and up the path.
Alron had witnessed the strange events transpiring, unsure of what was happening. When he saw Lauren ride ahead, he quickly made his stag bolt after her.
“Get away from me Alron!”
“What does be thine problem Earth Daughter?”
“Lead. Is she joking? How long was she an Earth Daughter when Mother asked her to do something like this, to rouse the people, raise an army? How long Alron?”
“Earth Mother hath naught done what thou does describe. Naught any Earth Mother or Earth Daughter hath.”
“I have been one for what, fifteen days? Your lands are a mess, invaded, and everybody has fled. Now you want me to find them, tell them everything is going to be okay? Just form an army, go fight the invaders? It will all be okay. Oh, and by the way, some of you, maybe most of you, are going to DIE. But it will all be okay. Are you people freaking crazy?”
“Does let us return, with Earth Mother we canst talk.”
“She wants me to send innocent people to their death? How can somebody even ask that? Do I look like I have fought a war? Do I look like some sort of general, able to find a way to defeat another army?”
“Please does calm down Earth Daughter.”
“No, if you wanted me to receive Mother’s messages and forward them to you, that’s one thing. But if you expect me to look down on a crowd of fathers, sons, and brothers, ordering them into battle, commanding them to die, that I cannot do, will not do. I don’t know anything about battles, and that lack of knowledge will mean even more deaths. You want to saddle me with that burden, stuff those images into my pillow every night, and hope they don’t invade my dreams? Pick somebody else. I will not kill innocent people for your Mother.”
“Please does calm down Earth Daughter.”
Lauren was on a roll, “That is probably why she brought me here. None of the other Mothers or Daughters would do it. They probably said ‘find somebody else.’ When none would, they just grabbed somebody from somewhere else. You’re special, you’re great, and by the way, kill half the people that believe. Alron, do you have any idea how many people die in a war? Thousands, hundreds of thousands.”
“Earth Daughter does please calm…”
“Mother didn’t bring me here to help. She brought me here to be a bride, and wants me to share a bed with death.”
“Earth Daughter, the lands, death does stalk already.”
“Where I come from, we have had lots of wars. You didn’t see us pull somebody from your world to fight our battles.”
Alron was Earth Guard, protect and serve was his oath, and nowhere did it mention verbal abuse. He grabbed the reigns from the pony, pulled it to the side where he had spotted a deadfall. After he tied the pony to a tree, he lifted Lauren off, and set her down on the deadfall, pulled out his flask, took a long hard drink, offered it to Lauren. She thought of Zack, his ability to use beer to generate logic, and took a long drink as well.
“First this privilege does be great. Second, before this trip does end, thou shalt understand Mother, does believe in her as I does.” Alron took another pull from his flask, hoping to find more answers, “Now, as for lead, thou does have many options to choose from. If an army thou does need, thou canst also find those qualified to plan, and lead thine battles. Mother does naught expect thou to walk into battle, though it would not surprise me if thou does. Second, possible it does be that thou does raise an army larger, surrender invaders does.” Alron pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket and fanned them out, “Future does be like these cards, many possibilities does I hold, but only one wilt actually happen. Until one does be pulled from mine deck, we does naught know what does oppose us. Should thou fret about all, thou does be right, we does lose. But only one does we hath to worry about. Now does pull one from mine deck.”
Lauren understood that she was only considering the worst case scenario, and that there was a chance that she could push the war onto Eric, and that sword. Other things may happen as well, but the possibility of bad things occurring, seemed much greater than good things materializing, and she reached to pull a card from the deck.
Alron was not worried about which card she selected, it meant nothing, as he just needed a way to demonstrate his point. The deck he carried was for training new recruits, a game as old as the Earth Guards themselves, used to teach novices strategy with limited options. A chance to test them, so senior members could see how they would think, plan, strategize, especially when they were dealt a less than favorable hand. The cards represented threats, offenses, defenses and more. In most cases, a winning hand did not exist—how you played the cards, decided who won.
Lauren pulled a card, held it up to Alron. While he didn’t react on the outside, he could not believe what he saw. The Death Card, one of the most powerful cards in the deck, which represented a hand that once played, guaranteed your victory— in most cases. He then instructed Lauren to pull out a second one. He would lie, tell her the stronger card represented her, the weaker one represented the black-clad forces.
Lauren pulled out a second one, the Fool, the only true wild card in the deck. Normally removed for most matches, instead reserved for advanced games, and he had forgotten that it was in the deck. It could change the results of the last card played, took a lifetime to remember all of the rules for this card alone, and was the only card able to nullify the Death card. If both were played at the same time, the match would end in a draw. To watch Lauren pull out the two most powerful and feared cards, Alron felt like it was a message, but was unclear what it was trying to tell him.
“Thine first card does be the black-clad,” he said calmly, “It does be weaker than thine second c
ard. Thou would win.” It does be true, “But in mine hands, I does hold many other possibilities. Until we does find thine opponent, we does naught know how thou does need to act.” Alron then quickly handed his flask to Lauren, to celebrate her victory, and hoped the silver wrapped contents would calm her down. She drained it, and Alron prayed that Panry’s flask was still full. Lauren, still on edge, thought that maybe she had overreacted, went to her pony, climbed into its saddle, and headed back to the wagon.
Alron took a minute to look at the two cards she had left face up on the deadfall. He would have felt better if he had said, ‘the first was thine opponent, second does be thou.’ There were some, who used the deck to foretell the future, but usually after they had emptied the silver flasks, and nobody ever took it seriously. Alron held up the remaining cards, pulled one out, looked at it. The Grave Card, it symbolized a single death. When dealt to you, there was one primary hope, the Chaos Card, which caused the cards in play to be shuffled, then re-dealt. In that process, you hoped the Grave Card would end up in your opponent’s hand and not back in yours. When played, it symbolized your own death, not your opponents. Its purpose, test the new Earth Guards, see how they would strategize, try to control the game, and see if they could figure out an option. Each card had at least one card that would counter it, but this one was different. If it was in play, the key was making your hand last long enough, to find the Chaos Card. The Grave Card was always the last card played, when no other options were available, and it was better to lose the match than to play this card on yourself. In addition, the rules stipulated, that when a match was done, if any held the Grave card, they had to play it. For it was possible to win the match, but still lose with this card. Alron re-boxed the deck, and tucked them into his pocket. He would have liked to ask the Earth Mother if what had just happened meant anything, but she was too close to her tree, and he did not want to trouble her. Death, Fool, Grave, good omens or bad? Alron put away the cards, went in search of Panry’s flask.
Chapter 22
After they stopped for lunch, Logan managed to reclaim his pony, leaving Lauren to ride in the wagon. This time, instead of climbing into the back, she sat beside Mirtza. They rode in silence for twenty minutes, and when he could no longer bare her quiet presence, he finally spoke, “Does something trouble the Earth Daughter?”
“Everything, and in fact, there is nothing that does not bother me. Strangely, this does not bother anybody else.”
“Well, what is your biggest concern?”
“They want me to lead them. I have no idea on where we are going, or how we are going to get there. Even stranger, the Earth Mother thinks they, whoever they are, will trust me. How can they trust me? Mother could have sneezed when she opened the door, went to grab somebody else, and instead ended up with me. How can I lead them?”
Mirtza smiled, “That reminds me of a story. When I was younger, I found six scared children stranded in a field. All of a sudden, the forces in the lands tasked me with leading them to safety. Some of them trusted me, others did not, but in the end, it seemed to work out.”
Lauren rolled her eyes, “I don’t think this is the same thing.”
“Well, when I found you six, I was worried, didn’t really know what was going on. I knew something was up in the Newlands, enough that it was not safe. You even came around to trusting me a little, and the same will happen with others. Some might hesitate, some might resist, but others will follow. They will follow simply because you lead, and they will want somebody to help show them the path. From there, you take it one day at a time, until you can find others that will help, just like what happened with us.”
“It’s that simple. Just start walking and everybody will follow?”
“Well, I did have to do some convincing, but in your hearts, you all knew that you had to let me help you. The same will happen with others, and you are forgetting one other thing, Mother.”
Lauren shook her head, “I have seen the things I have done, heard the words I have spoken. I clutch this odd piece of wood as if it’s a security blanket, and don’t even realize that I have it with me half of the time. I know things that I can’t know, have been proclaimed an Earth Daughter, but Mirtza, to be honest, this whole Mother thing still has me confused. She could have made so many better choices. I really don’t know what she has gotten me into.”
“Well, to begin with, it’s not just you that she has involved. I had a talk with your friend Zack, interesting fellow. Most days I could not get him to speak, but some days, it comes out of him like water from a broken dam, just can’t stop him.”
“Was he drinking beer?”
“Well to be honest, I think his body rejects anything else.”
“What did Zack say?”
“I don’t remember his exact words or his ‘train of thought’, or how it was ‘de-railed’, as he called it, but he thinks Mother got me involved in this long before you arrived. He believes that I got lost because of her, so that I would come out at the bottom of the Newlands, and arrive at the same time as you six did. He explained that it was only through Mother’s guidance that I could wander through an invading army, and avoid bumping into any of them. For me to be within a day’s ride of your arrival seems more than coincidence, but Zack’s telling of it is much more colorful. You might be leading Lauren, I mean Earth Daughter, but I think that Mother controls your compass.”
“If I had time to warm up to the idea, could better understand anything, knew the people, but I don’t. I was here two weeks and they made me an Earth Daughter. Leap forward two more weeks, ‘as long as you are here Lauren, can you find the people, even though you don’t know where they are? Then lead them into the unknown?’ How do you wrap your head around something like that?”
“Earth Daughter, I remember that night back at the covered forest when I went looking for answers. I told you that everything happens for a reason—be it fate, destiny, or something else. In your case, I think that something else might be Mother. Sure, you do not know what is happening, where you will go. The same was true when I found you six. Like you, I felt that those powers could have made a better choice, but they have reasons for the selections they make, reasons that they will never tell you. I accepted the burden, though I am still unable to find a better word to this day. My best advice to you is to accept it, do not try to fight it, or try to understand it, but instead embrace it. I think these lands are different from the lands that you come from. If you try to apply your reasoning and emotions to this foreign place, it will only create friction. It took a few days, but you trusted me. I think you just need to extend your trust.”
Laurens response was simple, “I need to think right now.”
Mirtza remembered the words he had spoken so often. Quiet for so long, when he finally had somebody to talk to, he had too much to think about. So it is quiet again. Mother are you trying to punish me?
It was after the meal that night that Lauren climbed into the back of the wagon, “Well Earth Mother, it seems that everybody thinks I should lead. Find the people, tell them the truth, and maybe even raise an army. Do you have words that can help me?”
The Earth Mother’s voice was tired, “It does warm mine heart to hear thou shalt embrace thine quest from Mother. Thou hath brought us answers that we does wait for. Now, truth, darkness hidden thine will release. Her children thou shalt save.” The Earth Mother smiled, “My duty does now be complete Earth Daughter.”
Before Lauren could continue the conversation, the Earth Mother fell asleep. Lauren could not believe it, as it was not as if she was expecting a playbook or an instruction manual, but surely some advice, guidance, or words of wisdom seemed reasonable. Dumbfounded, she grabbed a bedroll and headed to the edge of the camp. I’d even settle for a job description, something, anything.
*******
It was late in the morning when Lauren woke, the Earth Mother and Alron were talking again, and Panry was running interference. It only fueled her resentment that was
building, the Earth Mother cannot advise me, but she can advise Alron. Mirtza brought some breakfast and tea over to Lauren, advising that they had made good time, and that Alron wanted to rest the stags for a while longer. Sure, they can advise Mirtza, but not Lauren. She just watched the Earth Mother and Alron in the back of the wagon, hoping that an expression from either would provide her a hint about their discussion.
The Earth Mother let out a sigh, “Alron, Earth Daughter does embrace Mother’s quest with words, naught in her heart. She does say she wilt lead.”
“What does thou mean?”
“First, thou does know, when I does be with Mother, thine Earth Guard shalt protect Earth Daughter. Protect and serve her thou shalt.”
“As thou does command, protect and serve Earth Daughter we shalt.”
“We both does naught know that which does be ahead, neither does Earth Daughter. Alron, greatest of Earth Guard, challenges great does wait for thou on thine travels. Mother does try to show me thine path, but it does be dark. Naught even she does know what dangers thou wilt face. Alron, great may naught be enough. Rise to thine challenges thou hath to.”
“I does be Earth Guard. Protect and serve Earth Daughter we shalt.”
“One special command I does hath for thou. Naught until mine tree hath I gone, canst thou tell Earth Daughter of this. Command Earth Guard, Earth Daughter canst naught. I does think her fire burns strong, her gift naught fully bloomed, talent hidden she does hath. Her life or Earth Guard, to safety she would order thou. Command Earth Guard, I does forbid. Advise, guide, serve, thou canst act as thou does need. But above all else, naught matter how great threat does be, reason does naught matter, thou will protect this force known as Lauren, called Earth Daughter, Mother Chosen.”
