“What happened?”
“He was eighteen. Too young by standards; but, as I’ve said, very determined. Arturion had passed the admittance test but he was put in probation for three years because of his age and inexperience. After a while, it was shortened to a year. He was—”
“Good at finding people,” Karina interjected.
“He inherited his mother’s talents,” Kala confirmed. She gave her patient a quizzical glance and started rearranging the bedclothes and fluffing the pillows. Armed with a broom and dustpan, she swept the floor, regularly checking on Karina’s progress with the medicine.
When the cup emptied, Kala still diligently pursued imaginary dust in the four corners of the room. Karina was about to voice her curiosity when the former briskly collected the tray and cleaning materials with a promise to return.
The light outside gave her room an orange glow. A small brown bird twittered by the window sill, a few inches from her. Birds normally kept their distance from human beings. This one flew towards her, dropped a berry on her lap and departed. Three more came in separate intervals bearing small tokens: a flower, a tamarind, and a black plum.
The tap by the doorway sent the last one zipping out the window. Male feet peeked by the ends of the beaded curtain.
When she didn’t answer, Arturion asked: “Kristina, are you awake?”
Why does he keep calling me by that name? Isn’t he breaking a rule or something? she wondered. “Yes. You can come in.”
His long fingers lifted the beads aside. His dark curly head came into view. Arturion sat on the space Kala had occupied.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better.” He checked her temperature with the back of his hand.
“You still have a slight fever.”
“I think it was an overload. There was this downpour of energy coming through my crown chakra…”
Arturion grasped her hand in his big ones, the touch comforting and strangely familiar.
“Your hands are warm.” He reached for the soles of her feet. “Your feet, too. They are warmer than the rest.” He shrugged. It was one of the ascension symptoms. Certain parts of the body varied in temperature.
“Healer’s hands, Mamá used to say,” Karina smiled wistfully.
“Have you healed anyone before?”
“Occasionally. I heal people secretly when the urge comes to me. I used to heal openly in Mamá’s classes.”
“Why did you stop?”
“Mamá’s friends stopped coming to our house. Then, when she and Papá separated, we moved. She didn’t bother reconnecting with her students. She said the office she worked in was taking a lot of her time.”
“Was there an incident in the last session you participated in?” It was a leading question to a subject that mattered to him. She could almost see the wheels turning in his head.
“I remember healing someone…and the surprise on everybody’s faces afterwards, except for Mamá. She looked so afraid back then.” She frowned as it dawned on her. “Does this have anything to do with the Zertans?”
“It could be. Can you recall how you healed the person?”
“No. It happened more than ten years ago. I’ll tell you if it comes back to me.”
“That would be helpful,” Arturion agreed.
They fell silent. Both were reluctant to break the peace; yet, felt the need to rush their next words. “I’m sorry,” they said in unison. Then: “You first.”
Karina inhaled deeply and began again.
“I’m sorry I’ve been behaving selfishly. It’s like my whole world turned upside down ever since I got here. I shouldn’t have run off,” she finished lamely.
“You should be,” Arturion said in a dangerously quiet voice. “Imagine the drama you would have caused were it to occur that the Sentries came a second too late, or a deadlier beast managed to swallow you whole. Our world is more peaceful than yours. Nevertheless, it is fraught with its own dangers.”
“You’re trying to scare me.” She cocked an eyebrow at him.
“I might be.” He leaned back, shifting to a more comfortable position. “It would be easier to keep an eye on you,” he said wistfully.
“What are you? My jailer?” she joked.
“A friend.” His eyes were solemn and intent on her.
A cough on the other side of the room interrupted them. Kala had returned carrying a bowl of soup and a basket.
“You’re awake,” Kala greeted Arturion. In vain, she spied on Arturion’s and Karina’s faces for signs. She had felt something earlier that made her decide to offer Karina a gift.
Have I guessed wrong? she mused.
“Presents,” she said happily, angling the basket to show them the food inside it. “The animals have been leaving it at the front door. I see you’ve gotten a few.”
“The birds gave them to me,” Karina replied. She placed the fruits in the basket.
“Have you told Karina of the new arrangements?” Kala asked Arturion.
“About what?” Karina looked at the two people, who seemed to have forgotten that the subject of their silent discussion sat next to them. She repeated the question.
Finally, they faced her.
A moment passed.
Kala elbowed Arturion.
“Kristina,” he started.
Kala stared at him in disbelief.
Obviously, there is a rule, Karina thought, seeing the girl’s expression.
Arturion ignored her and continued to fill Karina in with Sara’s strategy and the new regimen of psychic and physical exercises to reduce the symptoms of her ascension. In addition, to prevent another imbalance, he would be exchanging male and female energies with her.
“Is there a likelihood that I’ll become a psychic vampire?” Karina knew of people who unconsciously sapped a person’s energy when they suffered a low in theirs. Usually, an older person who feels invigorated after being near an active child had unknowingly absorbed some of the latter’s excess energies.
“No.” Arturion’s mouth twitched at the corner.
“How do we exchange energies?”
Kala looked at him expectantly.
“We will do it after the morning’s exercises. I will guide you through the steps,” he said, confidently.
When Kala felt that the important details have already been discussed, she bade Arturion to leave. She further justified that their patient needed to rest.
He frowned in puzzlement at her strange behavior but acquiesced.
Believing him to be out of earshot, she riffled through the contents of her basket. Her eyes glistened triumphantly as she slipped a wooden ring in Karina’s forefinger.
“If anyone asks how you came by this, I gave you the gift as a token of friendship.”
“Thank you.” Karina admired the exquisite curving of leaves and vines on the ring’s band.
“The ring has a special purpose,” Kala added conspiratorially. “There is a spell engraved inside the band. “You can read Merleinan script now, yes?”
Karina nodded.
The girl finger-wrote the function of the spell on the blanket. Karina’s eyes widened.
“But – I don’t –” she sputtered.
“It wouldn’t hurt to wear it. Everyone receives an accessory with the same inscription when they come of age,” Kala stated practically.
Chapter 15
Arturion
After Atlantis and other cities sank into the depths of the oceans, humanity regressed to a primordial era. Humans turned to planetary beings and called them gods. Those who shifted to higher dimensions as Merleina had done quietly observed the rise and fall of civilizations, particularly the development of humanity.
Travel between the third and fourth dimensions had not been uncommon in Merleina. Unofficially, they became the eyes and ears of the Council. The unspoken rule was strictly to observe and not participate in human affairs.
Young explorer Dorme, however, left Merleina for good
. It baffled his family and friends that he would choose to live in primitive conditions.
Eight years had gone by when a civilian, who had incidentally passed by Sinta Lake, discovered a man and a child at the center of it. They were obviously outsiders by their garb. Humans. Protocol demanded that such an occurrence must be reported to the authorities. Still, the Merleinan who had found them was surprised at the similarity of their auras to his people. He brought them to the nearest temple. Both were covered in soot and smelled of burnt hair and clothing and greatly in need of a wash. By their thin faces, they sorely needed food and rest as well.
The temple priestess identified the man carrying the girl. Dorme had returned bearing news from other dimensions. He had been busy gathering data. Planetary beings were less inconspicuous and have humans with authority working for them. Souls from other galaxies were being seeded in Earth. Born as humans, their purpose is to uplift humanity from ignorance enforced by those in power. Members of the Galactic Federation were close at hand, ever watchful of the human race.
Mankind was not far behind from awakening to the Truth. Dorme had married a healer with psychic gifts. She was advanced for her time, accepting him for what he truly is and sharing his more modern views about her world. Yet, it did not save her from the Plague that spread in her country.
Dorme had been gone from home for a few days. The house that greeted him in his arrival was boarded up. The neighbors would not come near it for fear of contracting the disease. He broke down the door and discovered his daughter still alive. His wife lay on the bed, her corpse smelling of rot and decay. The person who had anchored him to the third dimension had passed on, which decided his next course of action. Dorme torched the house seeming to outsiders to have included himself and his daughter in the fire. He then subsequently returned to Merleina with his child, vowing to help humans like his wife ascend to the higher dimension.
The priestess sympathized with his loss and offered them shelter. It was weeks later that Dorme would approach the Elders with his proposal to form the Gate Keepers Order. The presence of his daughter in Merleina became his strongest defense to sway the Council to his cause.
Five hundred years after the Order’s establishment, its headquarters lay at the northern borders. A huge complex built on sun-bleached gray stones. Offices were situated at the east, conferences were held at the west end of the main building. The northern part of the complex was reserved for Gate Keepers residing within the base. Arturion made a mental note to drop by his quarters after his meeting with Sola and Reno.
The crystal he carried on a twine round his neck flashed as he passed through doorways. The frequency emitted by his identification stone would be transmitted to a larger centralized crystal that would register the identity of the bearer and check if it matched with a profile in its records. It was an efficient way of identifying available personnel who has the necessary expertise that can be called upon to aid a colleague during a field assignment. The simplest task it performed: tempered glass doors of the HQ automatically slid open for the bearer of the stone.
The last door held a clay tablet with Sola’s name engraved on it. Arturion entered the office expecting his commanding officer to be seated at his desk working on various reports and documents. But it was empty except for the shadow of a man with a larger build standing by the long table near the window. Reno wore the severe navy blue uniform of the Guards and kept his hair braided down the back of his head. The four-leaf clover embroidered in gold silk on his right breast proclaimed him as Commander of the Black Guard Order. The uniform meant he was on official business with the Gate Keepers’ Commander.
They acknowledged each other with a nod. Reno had arrived just as Sola had been called away. The Council of Elders had arranged for an emergency meeting, requiring Sola’s and High Priestess Sara’s attendance.
“You look worried,” Reno observed.
“Shouldn’t you be worried, too?” Arturion reached for the decanter and poured water to two glasses.
“I’m not. This is the first real interference we’ve had from those Ancients.”
“You shouldn’t call the Elders that.”
“Suits them fine to me. Half of them still uphold obsolete ideals.”
“The Traditionalists, you mean. Your opinion is biased because they’re always the last to approve on your organization’s projects. They are the foundation of our society. Without them, our heritage would long be lost to us. They consider the implications of more novel ideas to society before they give their support. The events leading to Atlantis’ fall remain fresh in their memories. They cannot bear a repetition of the past.”
“Point taken.” Reno studied the light bouncing off his glass. “Would you still be taking their side when your full-blooded human friend becomes the object of their scrutiny?”
“Touché.” Arturion winced, his hand coming up to his chest.
They both grinned. The Commander noticed that his friend’s smile did not reach his eyes.
“You’re regretting your career choice, aren’t you?”
“Reno,” Arturion said, exasperated. “I will still refuse your invitation even if I decide to leave my Order.”
“Well, the invitation still stands.”
The Commander has always looked out for his childhood friend. When they were young, they were mischievous as the Forest Folk despite that fact that Arturion was smaller in stature and more serious. In addition, unlike most half-humans in Merleina, he didn’t know the identity of his biological father. Reno suspected that this was partially the reason why Arturion pushed himself to catch up with the older children.
When they grew older, the latter faced the pressures of a foster child to Sola. The Commander of the Keepers had been newly installed in office after Dorme’s sudden disappearance. Elders had been skeptical of Sola’s competence. The founder’s grandson did not have the same devotion Dorme gave to the Order. Arturion supported his foster father as any son of his age could; he became an exemplary student in the academy. Despite being the golden boy in the eyes of many, he exuded restless energy whenever he traveled to the third dimension. It prompted Reno to take his friend with him whenever he collected data in the human world. This research would eventually result to the formation of the Black Guard Order.
In a sense, Arturion co-founded the Guard. His sense of honor, loyalty and duty were the only things tying him to the stoic and strait-laced Gate Keepers. Reno believed the Keepers’ Code was not designed for half-humans. His kind has a tendency to be influenced by their human emotions than others and more passionate in their interests and convictions. It was impossible to deny one’s nature as Arturion has done. Reno feared that his friend would not be able to control the torrent of his emotions once it was loose.
There have been cracks in Arturion’s mask. Feelings he kept bottled up were leaking all over the place since the incident in Karina’s house. Reno had sensed another emotion lurking behind the calm façade with the mere mention of the young woman.
“Speaking of the mortal woman–”
“Kristina,” Arturion said.
“Yes. Karina.” Reno corrected, eyeing his friend. Arturion’s persistence on using her real name was odd. “The Devatas’ acknowledgment has quickly spread in our neighborhood. The Merleinans who are learned of the Devarian Tongue would surely have heard of it and reported it to the Council of Elders.”
“That’s why Sola and Sara have been called, isn’t it? They can only confirm its truth. Kris – Karina’s health is still unstable. She is ignorant of the title.”
A vertical line formed between Reno’s brows in confusion.
“She thinks the Forest Folk gave her a Devarian name.”
“Then, she hasn’t accepted the position yet. That’s a bit of a tangle. Would she willingly bear the burdens of Liyanna?”
“I don’t know. Parts of the forest she visited have been said to thrive in her presence. She is more popular than Kelor-dan.”
�
��Where did you get this information?”
“A tree-spirit told me.”
A friend. Reno did not have friends with Devatas. The relationship he has with them was limited to work. The Forest Folk, especially the Sentries, have a low regard for humans in general, including half-humans whom they call Halflings. It was safe to assume that Arturion’s friendship extended to the gentler folk of the Devatas.
Come to think of it, if Arturion loosened up a bit, he could be devastatingly attractive. With a small enchantment – just to change some of his features – he could pass off as a Devarian noble, Reno thought.
“What are you thinking?” Arturion saw an idea form in the Commander’s eyes.
“I could really use you in the field. You have nearly all the qualities of my ideal Guard.” Reno fiddled with the tiger’s eye bracelet around his wrist. “Looks like your superior officer won’t be joining us.”
The Commander untwisted the bracelet from his arm. He removed a disk, a centimeter in diameter, and tossed it in the air. It hovered three inches from the table, spinning non-stop, sucking the light in the office. It glowed twice; then, lit up the room. A simulation of the Guards assigned to the Torres case (Karina’s file) surrounded both men. Reno uttered a command in the Old Tongue. The disk slowed and the Guards vanished, encrypted messages taking its place.
“Her social circle is diverse for her age. Karina’s mother is the root cause of that. Mrs. Torres offered sessions to the working class up to the elite when New Age became a trend. Then, she transferred the sisters from a specialized school to a parochial one after the divorce. Afterwards, Karina enrolled to a public college.
“There isn’t much to go on. The people she has had contact with in the past twenty years has no connection to the Zertans’ direct assault.”
The Realms of Ethair Page 9
