by A. R. Cook
The Syphurians nodded and murmured in agreement. They brought the victims to sit beside them, sharing what little they had. Some had medicines to share, but it did little to ease the Ulominians’ pain. A small group of men lifted the mangled Ulomin man and took him inside the Elumni temple, to either rest or have the Eternal Deep release him of his pain.
Desert Rain was shaking terribly, even after things had calmed down. Chiriku was not looking well herself, despite the display of leadership she had presented earlier. Desert Rain
figured that paralyzing the deranged man was something the Quetzalin had not wanted to do. But the Hijn knew all too well that everyone had a last resort – Chiriku just wasn’t afraid to use it when she had to.
The Quetzalin approached Desert Rain, who was standing off by herself, looking out over the desert sands, painted gray by the night. “You look like you climbed out of the Eternal Deep,” Chiriku commented.
Desert Rain sighed, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. “Thank you for saving my life. It’s…I never meant for this to happen. That mother was right. I am responsible for this.”
Chiriku rolled her eyes. “If you’re looking for words of wisdom, you won’t get any from me. Go ahead and feel bad about yourself, for all I care. Unless you do have some freaky-deaky magic powers that could help us out, I think you should get over yourself and start thinking about what we’re going to do next.”
“I am impressed that you have taken charge over these people. For one so young, you are very brave.”
“Not really. Everyone else can’t figure out a thing for themselves and they follow whoever, and I was one of the suckers who happened to be in front.”
“Chiriku, where’s your grandfather?”
The Quetzalin look away from Desert Rain. “We got separated in Syphurius during the chaos. He can take care of himself.” Before the conversation could continue, she quickly retired to her area of the camp.
Desert Rain’s eyes traveled over the camp, and came to rest on the mother with the distorted hand, who was receiving aid from a family of elves. Desert Rain, after a minute of thought, walked over to the mother and sat down a few feet from her. The mother glanced at the Hijn for a second, and then wrapped her blanket tightly around her shoulders.
“I pray that someday you will be able to forgive me for what has happened,” Desert Rain eventually found the courage to say. “I promise you and the others who Katawa has hurt will be avenged.” This last sentence slipped from her mouth so unexpectedly even to herself, Desert Rain was not quite positive that she had said it. She felt that it had come from some other conscience inside her, a fleeting breath from another being.
The mother did not respond right away, but the anger that had dwelled in her face faded away. She finally looked deeply into the eyes of the Hijn. “All this time, when you would come to us as the Charmer, you have always been so gentle and caring with the children of our city. They look up to you. Someone like that would not be capable of the evil we witnessed here. Perhaps I am the one who should be apologizing.”
“It is understandable. I too have been hurt by Katawa. What is your name?” Desert Rain asked.
“Laui Zjona. Some call me Laje.”
“Laje, please, if you can tell me, how did this come about?”
Laje sighed. “I was in the marketplace a few days ago. I heard whispers about a stranger in town, someone who had the appearance of the Hijn, but was a man and had no dragon marking. We saw him trying to bargain with a horse-seller, but he had nothing with which to trade. I went home, hoping to put the stranger out of my mind. I, as most here, assumed he would leave soon. When I got to my door, he had followed me. He asked me if I would be kind enough to grant him a night’s lodging. I was hesitant, for it was just my sons and I, my husband having passed away some time ago. He seemed decent enough at first, although his eyes…those eyes…” She closed her eyes and shivered. “He asked me questions, mainly about the fastest routes to reach Syphurius. He then offered to do some chores, insisting that my hands were too delicate for such work—” Her face paled at the memory. “He took me by the hand, and said something about…I had the potential to be unique, but I was a blank canvas…” Her voice trailed off.
“A blank canvas…” The words were stale on Desert Rain’s tongue. Ever since Katawa had stolen her artistic spark, the whole world seemed a blank canvas, every color sapped dry. Even the red and gold of the campfire had the vibrancy of caked mud.
“He said that he had the power to make others truly unique, to bring out the most secret part of the inner self. He said he would make me a…work of art.” Laje could barely squeeze out the last words.
Desert Rain’s fingers tightened into fists. Katawa thought his magic was an art. It lit an odd fire in her, not the brilliant flame of passion or inspiration, but the dull heat one feels when something they love is used as a tool of wickedness.
“All I remember after he said that was the pain of this curse he put into my arm. My screams reached the ear of a passing guard on the street. He rushed in to help, but the monster
poured all his evil into that poor man’s body. It gave me enough time to grab my sons and rush out. It did not take long for the monster to start spreading his curse all over Ulomin. The guard was the same man who attacked you.”
Desert Rain took a deep breath to prepare herself to ask the next question. “Where…are your sons?”
“They went with the others.”
“The others?”
“I suppose I should say it is fortunate that just a few of us had to suffer this curse. Those who were not touched by that monster saw the buildings changing, and saw him take on his horrible beast shape. They immediately ran from the city, grabbing what they could in the panic. My sons went with my brother and his wife. I assume they all went towards the mountain city, where we always go in times of need.”
“Yes. Vaes Galahar is a safe place. It has good fortifications. But why did you and these few others stay behind?”
Laje hung her head. “They would not let us come with them. They thought we had a disease. They did not want it to spread to them. They wouldn’t even touch us.”
The deepest chill penetrated Desert Rain. She could not imagine such a lack of sympathy from the Ulominians, but fear could lead even the kindest to do selfish things.
“I remember what he said, what he cried out to us all. He said that the one we called our Hijn…you…would follow him, that you would finish what he started.”
Desert Rain was quiet. She stared straight ahead, into oblivion.
Laje made a weak smile. “But now I know he lied. You are not with him.”
The desert Hijn turned to face the mother. “Katawa was right about one thing. I will finish what he started. I will finish him.”
***
Desert Rain could not sleep that night. She wondered how anyone could. She rested her head against Kurl’s side, staring up into the clouded sky. Mac slept on the other side of Kurl, yet his snoring, what sounded like mumbled crooning accompanied by a grunting boar, could be heard as if he was lying right next to Desert Rain.
She thought about what Chiriku had said, and knew she was right. Desert Rain had done enough self-pitying. She needed to help these people. She could not allow this to keep going until more people she cared about were hurt.
She watched the sky, finding the hazy light of the moon, Ia Ternaut, peeking through the midnight clouds. Ia Ternaut meant the “Travelers’ Lantern” in the mutual tongue, the steady
light to guide the way for nighttime wanderers. It was a hope in the darkness. Even when the dark clouds rolled in, there was a pale face looking down on them all. She still saw beauty in that, with or without her creative soul. Desert Rain would tell herself that part of Grandma Luna still traveled those moon beams, that she was part of that silver-blue lantern of the night.
Desert Rain remembered the Blueshine. Grandma Luna had shown it to her, the way it was meant to be. The feelings it
invoked, the secret words that summoned it, the images it revealed—it was all so beautiful. It was the menagerie of light and dark essences intertwined, and it instilled the wisdom that anything tainted could be made pure again. Anything done wrong could be made right.
She would make things right, even if it meant she would pay the ultimate price for it.
Interlude: The Test
The web of rope encompassed the entire room, a weaving that crisscrossed in a deliberate design. Hanging along the ropes in random spots were small clay jars, tied in place with ribbons. It had the artful appearance of a festival tradition, but this was no special day—at least, not special to anyone other than two people. This was one of the rare days that Desiree came to visit Grandma Luna, and although there was never warning ahead of time of a visit, the slender old woman had the web ready when the dark-haired girl of twelve years came down the steps into the cool underground temple.
“Grandma Luna…” Desiree was startled by the web. “What is all this?”
“A test,” the elder replied, her gentle smiling face radiating from under the hood of her blue robe.
“A test?” the girl echoed, dumbfounded. Grandma Luna had never given her a test before. They had always had friendly chats, told stories, shared some milk or tea, but Grandma Luna had never tested her. “What for?”
“Some lessons are best taught through doing, not telling.” Luna glided across the floor as gracefully as a disciplined dancer. Even though her body seemed old, there was nothing old about her movement or gesture, nor were there signs of age in her bright green eyes.
Desiree gave the ropes a good, long look. “I don’t understand the point of this. I was hoping we could do what we always do.”
“You will understand,” Luna said. She pulled back her hood, her long tresses of moonlight-pale hair sweeping down almost to her waist. “You do not need to start the test right now. I know you are tired from your journey. Come, let us have something to eat, and you can tell me all about what you have been up to.”
The girl dusted off her dusty green tunic and brown shorts, relatively dull clothing compared to the bright minstrel’s outfits her family wore for their traveling shows. She was covered in grains of sand, and she was quite worn out from her trip to this place. This time, she had come by foot, for her family was staying in Ulomin, and she hadn’t enough money to rent a horse for the day. Her boots were almost worn through, and her pale-peach skin was shaded red from being out in the hot sun.
She and Grandma Luna shared a lunch consisting of cactus milk, desert honey and a strange crispy bread that Luna had made. Desiree spoke of recent events with the artists’
company, but the tales were somewhat listless this time, due to her anxiety over the mysterious “test.”
Luna sensed her apprehension. “Do not worry yourself. There is no negative consequence if you do not pass the test. It is for learning, for experience. Are you ready?”
Desiree grasped her cup of milk tightly. She thought for a moment, and then looked up at Luna. “I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“There is something special in one of these jars,” Luna explained. “You must select jars and open them to find it. But you must stay on the ropes at all times. Fall off, and the test is over.”
Desiree rubbed her hands together, then firmly grasped onto a rope and lifted herself up, her feet climbing onto the bottom-most rope that was about a foot and a half above the floor. The jars wavered slightly as the ropes vibrated.
“I’m afraid this might take some time, seeing as how I’ll probably have to open every jar,” Desiree said with a small grin.
“You can choose three,” Luna said calmly.
“What?” Desiree almost lost her balance, but clung to the ropes. “There must be about…fifty jars! There’s no way I can find the right jar if I can by choosing three. I don’t even know what it is I’m looking for.”
“Often times, we do not know the form of the thing we are looking for. We may not know what it is we seek until we find it.”
Why on earth would I be seeking something that I don’t know what it is? Desiree thought to herself. She figured that whatever it was she was supposed to find would probably be close to the top of the web, figuring that it would be too simple for the correct jar to be within easy reach. She began to make her way along the ropes, creeping slowly and carefully, cringing a little when she made her way to a higher rope and caused the jars to sway precariously. Reaching for the next rope, she found it a bit out of reach. Taking a risk, she made a slight jump upwards, but undershot her goal and missed her footing on the way back down. Instinctively, she reached out and grabbed onto a jar to regain balance, but the jar crumbled under her tight grasp. She had a fistful of clay pieces in her hand, and nothing else. The jar had been empty.
“That’s one,” Luna said.
Desiree managed to regain her balance before replying. “But I…I didn’t mean to…”
“You must keep your head if you lose your balance. Reaching out for a loose rock in the cliff face will do you no good. It’s all right. You still have two more.”
The girl blew at a strand of hair hanging over her eye in annoyance. She continued her way up the web. Her foot stepped upon the knot of a ribbon, which came undone, sending the jar attached to it to the ground. It shattered, revealing that this jar, too, was empty.
“That’s two,” Luna said.
“Wait, I didn’t mean to choose that one! It fell by accident.”
“You must watch where you step as well as where you reach. Pay attention to both what is above and what is below.”
Desiree was not sure if she was liking this lesson very much. “I still don’t understand the point of all this. I technically haven’t even picked a jar yet. Both the jars that broke were mistakes.”
“There are no mistakes, just results from our actions.”
“I really hope that’s the lesson you’re trying to teach me here, because you realize that this is impossible.”
“Yes, if you see it as impossible. But perhaps it is not seeing that you should be doing. You have other senses.”
“What, should I be smelling?”
Luna smiled. “When you first saw the web, you allowed doubt to overshadow your thoughts. One can be defeated before even beginning the struggle. But if you block out what it is that makes you doubt, you may find the secret to discovering what it is you must find.”
Desiree knew Luna’s speech oftentimes was cryptic, but she was baffled this time. Perhaps it isn’t seeing that you should be doing… her doubts had come from looking at this massive web, so she guessed that she needed to block out the image. She closed her eyes and clutched the ropes, dangling like a helpless fly stuck to a strand of spider silk. She tried to visualize the web as something else, something smaller, something simpler. It was not easy, and finally she gave up, taking a minute to clear away her headache by taking in the pure silence of the room.
But there was not pure silence. There was a sound, not far away, but it was very soft. It was something like a tiny tapping, like a needle on glass. Desiree concentrated on the sound, and determined it was coming from her right, a little ways below her. She opened her eyes, and began once again to make her way along the web, monitoring where she placed her hands and feet. To each jar she passed, she leaned her ear close, until she came to the one where the tapping was coming from. Gently she cupped the jar with her hand, feeling the vibrations from the tapping. She pulled the jar from its ribbon, and carefully began to press her nails into the jar. It began to crack, and she was able to break off the top. A small yellow bird popped its head from out of the jar, and then flew out and settled down in Luna’s open hand.
“Was that it? Can I come down now?” the girl asked.
“You passed the test splendidly. Much better than I expected for your first time,” Luna replied, as she extended out her hand and let the bird fly out of the temple.
“I heard it tapping the jar with it
s beak,” Desiree explained, climbing down off the web.
“You found the right jar because you listened,” Luna said. “There is always more to our lives than what we see. How something appears to the eye can intimidate us, but there is no test
so great that it cannot be overcome. It is all a matter of seeing past the outer skin, and listening for what is within. This is what I ask you to remember… Whenever you are in doubt, you must listen to the world around you, and also to yourself. Remember, Desiree, to always listen.”
Remember, Desert Rain, to always listen…
CHAPTER TWELVE
A Lizard, a Hijn, and an Elf
The sky was a swirling sea of dark clouds, swallowing every patch of celestial blue that attempted to peek through the gray curtain. It was all disturbingly calm as Desert Rain made her trek across the desert. Tied at her shoulder, she bore a blanket as a make-shift pack, carrying some food, a water skin, and whatever little else she had found amidst the leftovers of Ulomin that might help her. She had left before dawn and had already been traveling for quite some time, but the day was temperate, and Desert Rain was used to making long trips on foot. She used this time to think about what she would do once she arrived at Syphurius, or if there would even be an option for her if she could not get into the city.
It was about mid-day when she heard someone calling her name in the distance behind her. Turning, she saw Mac and Kurl trailing behind her, gaining rapidly.
Desert Rain couldn’t for the life of her figure out why Mac was following her. She had assumed he had left with the rest of the refugees to Vaes Galahar.
“Now where do you think-kk you’re going, heading off all by yourself?” Mac asked as he rode up next to her. “You
snuck-clk off without even saying goodbye, and then you’re going in the wrong direction.”
“I’m going to Syphurius,” Desert Rain replied. “I’m going to find Katawa.”
