Juila chose that moment to begin crying from the other room. Amanda immediately left the room with a heavy heart. She picked up the upset infant from the cradle and hugged her close. Amanda wondered if Juila could tell something had happened with her twin and wished Juila were old enough to talk about what she was feeling. She desperately wanted Jena with her as well, and she spoke intently to Juila at that moment, “We will get your sister back! I promise!”
Ascension
Quest
Book Three
of
The Levels of Ascension
Preface
BECAUSE EVERY SOCIETY deserved equal health care, it was my intention to train enough wise-women to allow for easy access to that necessary service for the betterment of my people. Because of this need for the citizens, I designated the First among the Elders to teach a class each anon to the newest members of the wise-women society. The First Elder is the chosen teacher because he or she has earned the trust of all of the other Elders and is the most competent teacher of that particular skill.
I believe when the women are brought together to learn, they will form a lifelong bond with their cohorts, will continue to share information and techniques among themselves, and will keep learning throughout their careers. Each new idea can spark innovative knowledge in techniques which will allow the healing to become more effective with each generation.
The body is a complex organism which is organized by the use of electrical current. Because of the connection between the electricity in the body and that of the earth, it is necessary to use the ley lines throughout the land to assist in the healing of the body’s systems. Each wise-woman must be able to easily access the elemy in order to promote healing in her patient’s body.
It has been said it would be easier if the people could be protected from all harm, but it is my belief more is learned in tragedy than in an easy life. Individuals can be brought together to help one another and create the need for one another. Society can only function when the people learn to lean on one another for the advancement of all.
Excerpt from the History on Healing
Chapter One
AMANDA HELD JUILA on her lap while Bryon and Alena discussed their latest progress on finding Amanda’s other daughter, Jena. It had been almost sixteen mesans since Jena had first been taken from the marketplace where Alena had been shopping.
While they knew Jena was being well-cared for, they also had no idea where she was living. Amanda had believed she could find Jena immediately and then return to Earth. She was sure her parents were worried sick about her while she was gone. There had been no way to get a message to her folks letting them know she had arrived safely in Tuala, so they were left not knowing if their daughter still lived.
One consolation Amanda held on to was she knew what Jena would look like even though she had not seen her since she was two mesans old. Her other daughter, Juila, was Jena’s identical twin. Amanda had spent considerable time studying Juila closely while she was both awake and sleeping. Her beautiful curly blonde hair was just now touching her shoulders.
Juila’s eyes were a striking shade of blue surrounded by thick, dark, long eye lashes which almost everyone commented on when they first met her. At almost two years old, or anons as they called them here in Tuala, she had a full set of baby teeth which were nicely spaced in her mouth. She still had her rosy cheeks and a small nose which tipped up slightly.
Amanda reverently touched the deep red birth crystal pendant resting on Juila’s chest as it hung from the ornate chain around her neck and thought about the crystals adorning her other daughter’s neck. While they were identical twins, their stones were very different from one another as Jena’s birth crystal consisted of black diamonds. She marveled at the seemingly magic elemy surrounding the pendant which kept it from being removed until a child turned eighteen.
Juila was very smart and precocious for her age as seemed to be the norm for children in Tuala. Every time Juila talked, she seemed to have a startling view of her surroundings. She was very helpful around the house which was also a drastic change from children her age on Earth. Long ago, just after the twins were born actually, Amanda had commented on this strange ability when she was alone with Alena.
While Alena was a native Tualan, she did not know any other way for children to behave and had looked at Amanda strangely for even making the comment. Seeing the serious expression on Amanda’s face, she decided to share with Amanda what she had learned during her wise-woman training about the birth crystals’ abilities.
“The children are changed when they receive their birth crystal. The massive amount of elemental energy, called by its shortened term ‘elemy,’ which surrounds the crystal around their neck matures them more rapidly. Their motor skills are enhanced as well as their abilities to think, reason, and speak.
“Parents are taught this is important for the children so they will be able to understand the concepts of their world in a manner which will be safer and more productive. Without the crystals, the children would be at risk for so many more dangers. There would be a greater mortality rate for innocent accidents. Not willing to risk this for their children, parents almost always have the child’s crystal ceremony performed within the first twenty-four hours from drawing their first breath.”
Amanda had not expected such a lengthy explanation, but she was glad for the information just the same. It did answer some of her previous thoughts about Alena’s three children. Since she had arrived at their house, before she even knew she was pregnant, she had been impressed by Alena’s very young children, their abilities to help around the house, and the way they expressed their opinions so succinctly. At first, Amanda had just believed the children were exceptionally bright, but then she witnessed the same traits in all the other children at the marketplace.
Amanda looked back at Alena and Bryon sitting on the couch across from her. She was once again struck by what a handsome couple they were. Alena was a small woman with shoulder-length brown hair. Her dark brown eyes were framed by black eyelashes and accented by very expressive, narrow eyebrows. She had a dainty nose above well shaped, full lips. Alena almost always had a smile on her face which showed her straight, white teeth.
Bryon was Alena’s opposite when it came to size as he was tall and extremely muscular. He kept his dark hair short and, since he usually ran his hands through his hair, left it spiked up. When he was with Alena, he usually was close enough to touch her as he was doing right now. His arm was across the back of the couch, and his fingers were playing with her hair as he listened to her progress report on finding Jena.
The account had gone the same as all of their weekly reports since Jena had gone missing. Another lead had been discovered only to find it was, again, a dead end. Amanda was surprised when the always optimistic Alena ended her update with, “She was the last wise-woman in Tuala. She was a hard one to locate, but she insisted she had not performed a crystal changing rite for anyone matching Jena’s description. She maintained she would have remembered a child with a black diamond birth crystal.
“You remember how rare it was when Jena had received her stone. I had to ask for it directly from Jehoban. It’s not something which would be forgotten by any wise-woman. So I’m sorry to say, I’ve reached a dead end. There are no more people to question. Oh, Amanda, I feel as though I’ve failed you again.”
“That’s nonsense, Alena! I couldn’t have asked any more from you. We have been searching every lead almost to the exclusion of everything else for almost two anons.”
“It’s true, but if it weren’t for my inattentiveness at the marketplace and letting her get taken by Petre MacVeen, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place.”
“We know how devious Petre has always been,” Bryon chided. He hated to see his wife castigating herself over the actions of a known master deceptor. She really never stood a chance of keeping Jena once Petre had decided he was going to abduct the girl who he believed to b
e his daughter. “We were just lucky Petre only knew about Jena. Imagine what would have happened if he had been aware of Juila as well.”
Amanda hugged the squirming Juila to her chest protectively. She shuddered at the idea of losing both her daughters and never being able to see either of them again. Before she had made it back to Tuala from Earth, she had believed she might never see either of the girls grow up. It had been a harrowing experience to cross through the Gate between dimensions from Earth to Tuala. She was lucky she had received help from a fellow Tualan who happened to be on assignment on Earth.
She wondered whether she would attempt to pass through the Gate again with her remaining daughter, should she risk the passage even though she did not know how it would affect Juila? If she did cross over, was she admitting she would never again see Jena? She had promised not to return to Earth unless she had both daughters with her. As more time passed, the hope of finding Jena diminished.
Because their last clue of finding the wise-woman who could have reassigned Jena’s crystal was a bust, they had to figure out a new direction in which to search. Other than locating the woman who Amanda had seen holding Jena in Amanda’s last glimpse through Jena’s birth crystal, what choice really remained? She supposed she could find a job and live in Tuala. Did she really want that for herself or for Juila? Amanda believed it was unfair for her parents not to get to know their granddaughter. The decision did not have to be made right away, but Amanda was determined to choose in the near future.
Alena wracked her brain to think of another way to trace Jena since their hope of discovering the identities of Jena’s new family through a wise-woman was gone. She thought about the power imbued in the crystal and wondered if she could use Amanda’s stone to bond with the residual energy of Jena’s to create an alternate connection other than the usual mother-daughter link. “Let me see your birth crystal, Amanda. I want to try something unusual.” Alena had spoken in her wise-woman’s authoritative voice.
Amanda stammered for a valid explanation for not owning a birth crystal. Finally, she decided to tell as close to the truth as she was able, “I don’t have a birth crystal. I lost it in the water when I escaped from Petre.” She saw the look of utter disbelief on Alena’s face. She thought she should add more details, but then Alena recovered from her stunned silence and began to respond.
“Why didn’t you say something before, Amanda? We’ll have to perform a formal procedure for you to get a new one. You must have been at such a loss with yours missing for so long. I must say, I had wondered why I never saw you use or wear it. Even the accident with the mudslide might have been avoided had I known you were without protection. I’m sorry this conversation didn’t come up sooner so we could have taken care of the problem.”
Amanda wondered if she should be pleased she would get her own crystal or if she should be scared the service would expose her for a foreigner. Without having a valid excuse for not wanting to receive a crystal, Amanda tried to arrange her expression to one of relief at finally getting the missing crystal problem resolved.
Never before had Alena heard of a crystal being lost except when a person died and then it would simply disintegrate into dust. It was good to finally have something positive to concentrate on since Jena’s disappearance. Also, the added power of a crystal might assist Amanda in locating Jena again. Alena was relieved she would have something to do which would be of benefit to someone. Lately, she had felt as though she were failing in her calling as a wise-woman. She had made so many mistakes since she received her license she was starting to wonder whether she should petition to go back for more training.
Normally there would be a party for a birth crystal ceremony, but because this was replacing one which was lost, it did not seem entirely appropriate. Alena did believe it was important to have the rite performed immediately. Just the idea of going a single day without her own crystal sent a shiver of fear up her spine.
“I think we’ll have the service as soon as we can all get dressed. There should be at least one witness who isn’t family so we should invite Tana to come over. She loves any kind of observance although I’m not exactly sure how elaborate of a service will be needed just to replace a missing crystal. As far as I know, this has never been done before.” She waved her hand as if to dismiss the matter from further consideration and nodded her head as if to confirm the decision in her mind.
Alena smiled brightly at her husband and patted his knee. “Let’s go get dressed up, shall we?”
“First, I’ll call Tana to ask if she is available and wants to attend and then I’ll meet you in the bedroom,” Bryon answered as he stood up from the couch and walked toward his office. He felt depressed at the lack of progress they were having at locating Jena. He did not want to show his concern to either his wife or Amanda.
Once again, Bryon wondered about Amanda’s origin. The missing birth crystal was another piece to her puzzle, and he thought maybe the ceremony would reveal Amanda’s true heritage after all. He felt certain if she were from Earth, then the crystal ceremony would not work, and then Amanda would be forced to finally tell her true story to himself and his wife. As he continued toward the office, he felt as though at least something would be revealed of importance.
Amanda picked up Juila and walked slowly to her bedroom. She knew just the outfit to wear as it was the same one she had worn to Juila and Jena’s birth crystal service. Amanda was relieved to find Bryon and Alena had kept all of her clothing after she had disappeared on the off-chance she would return.
Even though she was excited to possibly receive her own birth crystal, she wondered what would happen if anything went wrong. Should she tell them not to invite Tana so there would be one less witness to her shocking revelation of being an old soul? She shook her head as she could not come up with a valid excuse for excluding the helpful and friendly neighbor without raising undue suspicion.
Setting Juila down in the middle of the bed, Amanda opened her dresser drawer and pulled out the nicest outfit she owned. It was a loose fitting dress to which she added a shiny gold belt. She hastily pulled off her normal, everyday clothes and set them on the bed next to Juila. She dragged the dress on over her head, fastened the belt loosely around her waist, and looked at herself in the full-length mirror at the end of her bed.
Amanda was disappointed in the appearance which was reflected back. Using her hands, she smoothed the wayward strands of long brown hair back into position. She wished she could sleep better so she would not have the dark circles under her brown eyes. Her arms looked so skinny and pale since she had lost weight from the constant strain of worrying about her lost daughter.
There used to be a time she would have done anything to be this thin and now she would give everything just to have her daughter back. Nothing was worth the loss of a daughter. While Amanda was thankful Jena was simply missing and not dead, she wanted her home and safe in her arms.
Recognizing her thoughts had gone quite dark, she shook her head to clear her mind and turned around to face the toddler on the bed. “What do you think, Juila? Is Mommy ready to get her own birth crystal?”
Juila sat staring at Amanda as though she were really considering the questions. Suddenly she grinned at her mother and held out her hands as she said, “Mommy pretty! Hold me, pretty mommy!”
Unable to resist smiling in return, Amanda laughed out loud at her daughter’s audacious comment. She flopped down on the bed beside Juila and grabbed her up and rolled the giggling toddler over onto her own stomach and hugged her tightly. “I love you, Juila. I’m so glad I have you back in my life!” Without any further excuse for delay, she finally got off the bed and carried Juila back into the living room to wait for Alena to make the preparations for her service.
Alena had once again transformed her work room into a bright and cheerful area for the occasion. She had set out a bowl of green liquid as well as her ceremonial box containing many things including the birth crystals. She had carefully dresse
d in the official garb of a wise-woman ready to do a formal reading which consisted of a red tunic, a yellow belt embroidered with scenes of nature, a black pair of pants, and soft-soled shoes. Her hair had been pulled up into a bun, secured tightly to the base of her head to keep it from interfering.
Alena watched as the procession of attendees entered the room. Bryon was dressed in his best suit, and he held their youngest son’s hand. Kyelon was also dressed in his best outfit consisting of a pair of khaki slacks and a red tunic. At almost four and a half anons old he understood the solemnity of the ritual and was on his best behavior as his father settled him in the seat next to him.
The next to arrive were Alena’s oldest son, Justan, and his betrothed, Andera. They were both near the same age of five and a half anons and they looked adorable as they held hands. Justan’s curly dark hair was slightly tamed on his head, and his outfit was almost a duplicate of his little brother’s.
Andera’s long, blonde hair fell freely down her back as she wore her best full-length dress. She almost looked like a little bride in the way she carried herself with poise at being asked to attend this important ritual. The little couple sat beside one another across the aisle from their father and brother.
The next-door-neighbor entered the room with her sunny smile. Tana did not make any fuss as she swiftly crossed the room and sat behind the two kids so she would still have a clear view of the formal procedure.
Last to enter the room was Amanda who came in with Juila in her arms. Alena thought Amanda seemed slightly nervous. She wondered what would make her anxious as this should be a happy occasion to have her crystal replaced. She watched as Amanda stepped forward and offered Juila to be held by Tana. It would be inappropriate for Amanda to hold Juila during the service and she approved of Amanda’s awareness of approaching the formality alone.
Ascension Discovery Page 54
