Lyric's World

by Nancy Richardson

  Voices that told him he was just like his grandfather, and goaded him to

  use the Force to strike out in anger. Voices dripping with menace and

  warning that whoever tried to break through the field surrounding the

  golden globe would fail, would die. He shrugged off the memory as he flung

  thick brown bangs from his eyes.

  "Do you know anything about the strange symbols carved in the rock

  walls of Sistra?" Anakin asked Sannah.

  "Yes," she replied matter-of-factly. "Some of us have seen carvings in

  the mountains. They're in the lower tunnels and several of the caverns and

  caves. Some say they're a message from an ancient race."

  "Do you think they're right?" Anakin asked.

  "Yes, I think they are," Sannah replied.

  "How many changelings are there?" Tahiri asked the girl who crouched

  beside Anakin. Sannah stared down at the pool.

  "Lyric is one of a spawned group of seven," she replied.

  "How do you know if they're all right down there?" Tahiri asked with a

  nod at the pool. Except for a few ripples and splashes, the water remained

  calm.

  "We check on them every few hours," Sannah explained.

  "But if you're not a changeling or an elder, how can you breathe

  underwater?" Anakin said in surprise.

  Sannah pulled several long rectangles of green material from a pocket

  on the tunic she wore.

  "We weave this material out of the stems of the trico plant," Sannah

  said. "Then we sew it together to form a large pocket. We pack the pocket

  with the blue-green algae that floats on top of the pool, and tie it over

  our nose and mouth. The trico repels water, and the algae allows us to

  breathe oxygen beneath the surface for several minutes."

  "Can we go see Lyric?" Anakin asked.

  "Er, Anakin, have you forgotten that I can't swim?" Tahiri whispered.

  Anakin hadn't forgotten. He'd never forget watching Tahiri struggle

  beneath the waters of the river on Yavin 4. He'd never forget that she'd

  almost drowned.

  "Tahiri, one of us has to stay on the surface to help the Melodies

  fight if any predators attack," Anakin said. "So if it's all right with

  you, I'll go see Lyric."

  "It's all right with me," Tahiri said in a relieved voice.

  Sannah helped Anakin scoop algae out of the pool and pack it into the

  trico filter.

  "It may be difficult for you to breathe at first," Sannah warned.

  "Until your body relaxes and gets used to breathing oxygen from the algae,

  you will try to struggle for air. Once the filter is on, sit for a moment

  before you enter the water."

  Anakin lifted up the filter and Sannah helped him tie it. He moved

  toward a rock and sat down. He realized he was holding his breath, and

  slowly exhaled. However, when he went to inhale, his lungs struggled to

  pull in air, struggled for the type of oxygen they'd always processed.

  Anakin felt a dull pounding in his ears, and his vision blurred. I'm not

  going to pass out, he instructed himself. He forced himself to remain calm,

  to inhale and exhale. Moments later he was breathing the oxygen from the

  algae. Tahiri's concerned face came into view. Anakin reassured his friend

  with his ice blue eyes. Then he moved to the edge of the algae pool and

  slipped in. It took several moments to adjust to the murky water below the

  surface. The algae filtered out most of the sunlight from above, and only

  narrow shafts of light lit his way.

  Anakin swam through the water, breathing shallowly and searching for

  his friend. The pool was roughly two meters deep, and he passed several

  changeling forms in the water. They all wore the same pale green tunic that

  Sannah wore. As he swam, Anakin noticed that most of the changelings still

  had partial legs, although they were beginning to fuse together with thick

  webs striped with pale blue, green, orange, and pink. The Melodies didn't

  take notice of him as he passed them. They slowly rolled in the water as

  the currents sent from his movement washed over them, but their eyes were

  closed. It was almost as if they were asleep. Anakin had still not seen

  Lyric. A flash of orange caught Anakin's eye. He moved through the bodies

  toward his friend, still dressed in her academy jumpsuit.

  He reached Lyric and saw that she, too, was sleeping. Her jumpsuit now

  hung in tatters around her legs as they fused together and broke the seams

  that had once made pant legs. Thick red hair floated around her still face.

  Anakin almost let out a cry as Lyric suddenly opened her yellow eyes and

  met his gaze. She must have sensed his presence, he thought. Lyric's look

  told Anakin what he needed to know: she was all right. And she knew that he

  and Tahiri were still there protecting her. Slowly Lyric closed her eyes.

  Anakin reached over and held her hand. He would stay with her until his

  oxygen began to run out.

  Something was wrong!

  Anakin wasn't certain if he'd heard Tahiri cry or if he'd sensed her

  fear. Gently releasing Lyric's hand, he shot through the murky waters and

  burst through the blanket of algae. It covered his eyes in thick strands,

  and for a moment he was blinded. Then he saw it. An enormous reel, deep

  violet in color, was hissing furiously before Tahiri, who stood between the

  snake and the pool of water.

  "Throw me a spear!" Tahiri cried over to a Melodie. But the young boy

  couldn't seem to move. He was terrified.

  "Throw me a spear!" Tahiri yelled again. The snake's black forked

  tongue flicked toward Tahiri. It was tasting its prey. Anakin could sense

  the frustration and fear in Tahiri's cry. Sannah tried to move to grab a

  spear for Tahiri, but at her movement the snake turned as if to strike her,

  and she shrank back.

  "I'm right behind you, Tahiri," Anakin called softly.

  "Wish you were in front of me," Tahiri called back. "'Cause I'm not

  sure how to fight this thing. I tried to copy its hissing, like Lyric did

  to save Tionne, but it doesn't seem to like my voice." In a lightning

  strike, the snake leapt at Tahiri. She sprang sideways and it just missed

  grasping her in its thick coils. Tahiri lay sprawled on her back as the

  reel circled its prey. When it struck again, she rolled sideways. This time

  it didn't circle, but lashed out immediately. Tahiri couldn't get to her

  feet fast enough to evade the serpentine creature. Instantly she was

  trapped within half-meter - thick violet coils.

  "Help me, Anakin!" Tahiri screamed. "It's crushing me!"

  The Melodies around the cove came to life and began to pummel the reel

  with their rocks. Several attempted to stab it with spears, but their

  weapons fell to the ground, unable to pierce the creature's thick scales.

  It seemed impervious to attack, and continued to constrict around Tahiri's

  body.

  "Anakin!" Tahiri gasped. Anakin leapt out of the water, grabbed a

  spear, and launched himself onto the reel. He stood on the creature's slick

  body and tried to stab through its thick scales. With a sharp crack, his

  spear broke in two. The reel began to roll, bearing down on Tahiri. Anakin

  was tossed to the rocks. There are all kinds of strength, he
thought as he

  got to his feet. He could see Tahiri's face, barely visible within the

  snake's coils. It was a face contorted with pain. Soon, the reel would

  crush her. Anakin closed his eyes. He reached out with the Force and pried

  into the snake's body. The creature was cold-blooded, and Anakin

  immediately felt chilled. He felt the reel's cartilage, its muscles, even

  the beating of the creature's heart. He focused on the heart. Focused on

  slowing its beat. He felt the constricting coils begin to relax, to loosen.

  Slower, slower, slower, he thought, until he opened his eyes,

  startled. The heart had stopped completely. Tahiri lay in the relaxed coils

  of the dead reel. Anakin climbed over rows of coils to his friend.

  "Tahiri, are you all right?" he asked. Slowly Tahiri opened her eyes.

  She'd passed out from the grip of the snake. She stared at Anakin, not

  comprehending. Then her eyes grew wide and she let out a cry.

  "It's all right," Anakin said as he helped her throw off a thick

  violet coil and stand up. "Are you okay?" 54

  "Feels like one of my ribs might be cracked," Tahiri said with a

  grimace of pain. "But other than that, I'm fine." She gave Anakin a little

  smile. "How'd you get it to let me go?" she asked.

  "My spear wasn't any use, so I closed my eyes and used the Force,"

  Anakin explained. "I found its heart and focused on slowing it to weaken

  the snake. I guess I slowed it so much that it stopped, and the reel died."

  Anakin fell silent. He was surprised at his own power. Sannah walked

  up to the two Jedi candidates.

  "I don't understand how you defeated the reel, but we are thankful.

  Tonight," she said with a grin at the dead snake at their feet, "we will

  all eat well."

  The thick shaft of sunlight that had glanced off the algae on the top

  of the pool began to fade. The rocks surrounding the cove of water darkened

  into a rich purple hue. Young Melodies still perched around the pool, rocks

  and spears in hand. Since the reel died, the cove had been quiet. One of

  the Melodies tied on a filter and slipped into the pool. "It is done," he

  cried as he resurfaced.

  The Melodies moved down from the rocks and gathered by the pool. The

  changelings surfaced one by one, still groggy from their metamorphosis.

  Hands pulled each from the waters, revealing shimmering tails striped with

  blue, green, purple, pink, and orange. The changelings were carried back

  into the tunnels of the mountain.

  "Where are they taking them?" Tahiri worriedly asked Sannah.

  "They have changed," Sannah replied. "They are being taken to the

  crystal waters where the elders live. But we must move them quickly - they

  are still very weak and can't be out of the water for too long."

  Anakin and Tahiri stood breathlessly at the edge of the pool. Lyric

  hadn't emerged yet. Then Anakin saw Lyric's bright red hair. She swam

  slowly to the side of the pool and allowed a group of Melodies to pull her

  from the waters. Her orange jumpsuit had disappeared, and her body was

  completely changed. Where her legs had been, a shimmering, multicolored

  fish tail now appeared. Several long gill slits lined her ribs, and her

  fingers were now completely attached by glistening pick webs. Lyric smiled

  weakly at her friends as they helped carry her through the mountain. The

  passageway they traveled wound up into the mountain. The Melodies carried

  the changelings carefully, half running through the steep tunnels. Then

  suddenly their pace slowed.

  "Why are we stopping?" Anakin called out to the group in front of him.

  "Raith," was the frightened reply. Anakin and Tahiri gently put Lyric

  on the rocks, then raced past the group of Melodies in front of them. They

  ran down the tunnel, following the stricken cries of a male Melodie. As the

  tunnel veered left, they stopped short. The raith had already bitten one of

  the Melodies. The boy lay wounded, but alive. Now the foul creature

  crouched on its haunches, snarling at the female Melodie that had moved to

  stand between it and the boy it had wounded.

  It was Sannah.

  "Sannah, don't move!" Anakin cried.

  But his warning was too late. The giant black rodent gave a throaty

  growl and launched toward the young girl, teeth bared. She dove sideways,

  flipping in the air, and landed on her feet. The infuriated raith charged

  again. This time Sannah whirled sideways, spear raised. The sharp tip

  glanced off the raith's flank, and it whined at the burning pain. But it

  wasn't a mortal wound and the creature turned again, thick brown threads of

  drool flying from its jaws as it snarled at Sannah. When it charged again,

  Sannah leapt back, and the raith's jagged teeth snapped on thin air. Then,

  using the split second the creature took to regain its balance, Sannah

  charged. Her spear ran straight through the belly of the raith. The massive

  black rodent fell dead at her feet.

  "You used the Force, didn't you?" Anakin asked Sannah, breaking the

  awed hush of the room. Sannah turned toward Anakin, still breathless from

  her battle.

  "I don't know how I did it," she replied. "I just felt it."

  "You did it well," Anakin said with a small smile. Then he turned and

  followed Tahiri back to Lyric, whom they helped the young Melodies lift.

  The tunnel curled upward for several more minutes, then suddenly ended. It

  emptied out into an enormous cavern filtered with light from small holes in

  the sides and top of the rocks. The late - afternoon sun played off the

  deep crystal blue waters in the center of the chamber. The Melodies moved

  to the side of the waters that gently lapped at the rocks. They slid the

  changelings into the liquid darkness. Then the elders surfaced and called

  their greetings to the children. Their bodies moved swiftly along the

  surface of the water as their hands reached for the changelings, held them

  as parents embrace their children.

  Children who are finally home. Anakin and Tahiri watched as the elders

  celebrated the changing of their young. They leapt into the air and twisted

  and somersaulted before diving back down into the waters again. They

  splashed delightedly, their tails shimmering. Several elders perched at the

  edge of the pool and spoke with the children who had not yet been changed.

  They caught up on what had happened, eyed the Jedi candidates, and offered

  shy smiles. Anakin sensed that the elders yearned for the day when the next

  changelings would come safely into their depths. Because until that moment,

  they couldn't truly protect their young.

  "Will they be safe now?" Tahiri asked Sannah when she came over to

  speak to her and Anakin.

  "Yes," Sannah said with a sweet smile. "They are safe in the high

  waters. The raiths and the purella cannot swim, and the reels do not come

  this high in the mountain," she explained.

  "Anakin, Tahiri," a voice bubbled from the waters. Lyric floated

  behind the Jedi candidates. She smiled happily at them, and swam to the

  side of the pool.

  "Thank you," Lyric said. "I have heard how you fought the raiths and a

  reel. Are you okay, Tahiri?" she said wit
h concern.

  "I'm fine," Tahiri replied.

  "You saved not only my life, but the lives of several other Melodies,"

  Lyric said. "The elders wish to reward you for your bravery. They asked me

  what would be suitable, and I suggested that you be allowed to come beneath

  the surface of these waters to speak with an old one who we call the keeper

  of legends. He may know something about your strange symbols. Would you

  like to do that?" Lyric asked.

  "Would we?" Tahiri cried. "Wild banthas couldn't stop us!"

  Tahiri leaned forward and took one of the trico filters that lay on

  Sannah's lap. Anakin stared in surprise at his friend.

  "I haven't forgotten that I can't swim," Tahiri explained. "But

  there's no way I'm going to miss this. Anyway, as long as I can breathe

  underwater, it doesn't matter that I can't swim. You and Lyric can help me.

  " Tahiri took out her multitool and cut down the filter Sannah had handed

  her until it was the right size for her small face. Then she let Sannah tie

  the algae-filled filter over her nose and mouth. For a moment, Tahiri

  couldn't breathe and a feeling of dizzying panic clutched at her throat.

  She forced herself to relax, just as she'd seen Anakin do. When she could

  finally breathe, she moved to the edge of the crystal blue waters. Sannah

  handed Tahiri and Anakin several large rocks to place in their pockets

  before they entered the water.

  "You will need the added weight," Sannah explained. "You are going