Ascension Discovery

by Amy Proebstel

  Amanda, encouraged by his enthusiasm, got up out of her chair to take the few steps to the edge of the pool, and dove in head-first. She glided underwater as far as she could before coming to the surface and swimming across the top. Riccan’s assessment of the refreshing temperature created the perfect way to keep cool while sunbathing. It took her longer than she expected, but she eventually reached the far side of the pool only to discover Riccan had dove underwater to head back the other direction. She pushed off from the edge to get as much momentum as possible while following him.

  By the time she reached the side from which she had begun, she was exhausted and ready to get out. She pulled herself up to sit on the edge of the pool while she tried to catch her breath. She looked over to see Riccan taking another lap and she shook her head in wonder. While she enjoyed swimming, she was by no means a great swimmer. She slowly stood up, returned to her towel, and gratefully reclined back onto her deck chair.

  “Are you done already?” Riccan called from the far side again.

  “Absolutely! Keep going if you want, but I’m going to be soaking up some rays from the comfort of this chair!”

  Amanda watched in amazement as Riccan proceeded to swim several more laps without taking a break. She could hardly believe the stamina it would have taken to go that far. She wondered if this were a normal workout or if Riccan were trying to show off for her. If it were the latter then Riccan would pay the price later with sore muscles. If not, then Amanda would be even more impressed. She could already feel several obscure muscles beginning to tighten up from her own minimal exertions.

  Finally, Riccan pulled himself out of the pool and seated himself in the chair next to Amanda. He shook his head like a wet dog and sprayed droplets of water in all directions, including onto Amanda.

  “Hey!” she cried as she shied away from the liquid onslaught. “That water’s cold!”

  “Sorry.” His reply, accompanied with an impish grin, belied his apology.

  Amanda narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she could tell just how ‘sorry’ he was and started to laugh. She closed her eyes and began to relax back in the chair when she asked, “Tell me about learning to be an Elder from your dad. What does that entail?”

  “A lot of studying, really.” He never knew what to expect when it came to Amanda. One moment she would be relaxed then the next moment she was intensely curious about one matter or another. The quickness of her mind kept him intrigued.

  “What kind of studying? Do you have books on the subjects?” She had actually been teasing about the books. She was sure the lessons were handed down orally or on the patil.

  “Absolutely! I have dozens of books, some of them are even here at the house.”

  “What? You’re kidding!” She turned her head and squinted over in his direction since the sun angled just behind him above his shoulder.

  “I’m not kidding at all. I keep them in a secret room behind the library. When we go back inside, I’ll show them to you.”

  Amanda wondered if she were more intrigued by the idea of a secret room or by the contents of the books themselves. She could no longer relax in the sun and immediately sat up. “Don’t keep me in suspense! Let’s go look at them right now!”

  Riccan chuckled at her enthusiasm and stood up. He extended a hand to help her up which she took. Really he just wanted a reason to look at her as she got out of the chair. She was slimly built and the bathing suit complemented all of her curves.

  Seeing his gaze fall upon her body and feeling slightly exposed, Amanda hurried to get the towel wrapped back around her. She led the way back into the house. “I’ll be back in a minute.” She raced across the living room, up the stairs, and into the relative sanctuary of her room.

  Earlier, Riccan had changed in the downstairs bathroom where he kept his bathing suit for convenience. He returned to the room and put his house clothes back on. He returned to the living room before Amanda had finished.

  He had never shown the secret room to anyone, but then again, he had never met a person on Earth who knew about Tuala. Amanda seemed the perfect person in which to confide his secrets. If anything ever happened to him, at least there would be another person on Earth who could retrieve the valuable items and return them to Tuala.

  Returning to Tuala would be another matter which he would have to discuss with his guest. They would have to go back today so the time difference would not become too burdensome. He was thankful they had spent just over a day resting, relaxing, and getting to know one another since he knew many time constraints would return as soon as they resumed their jobs.

  Also, Riccan wanted to renew his offer to teach Amanda how to operate a telepod. It would be a comfort to him if she were able to navigate between the two worlds as he did. Naturally, it would take quite a few lessons before she became proficient in piloting, but the idea of spending more time with her pleased him immensely.

  As if just the thought of her could make her materialize in the room, Riccan jumped unexpectedly as Amanda touched his arm and asked, “What are you thinking about so intently? Oh, I’m sorry, did I startle you?”

  “Why, yes you did, but that’s okay. I was just thinking about a couple of important things we needed to get done.”

  “Like what?” Amanda was curious to see where Riccan’s thoughts had taken him.

  “Well, for starters, I really do want to teach you to operate the telepod. I think it’ll be important for you to learn.”

  Amanda crossed her arms and looked at him warily before asking, “And what else are you planning?”

  “I could give you a flying lesson today before we head back to Tuala?”

  “When do we need to go?”

  “I’m thinking we should head out no later than this evening. If we wait too much longer, the shift between both time and place will be really hard on our equilibriums; think of it as a severe form of jet lag.”

  “So soon, huh?” she asked, disappointment evident in her tone. “I guess I can’t ask you to play hooky just because I’m having too much fun. Are you sure about wanting to teach me how to fly? I might be really terrible at it.”

  “Everybody is really terrible when they first begin, I’m not worried about your ability to learn. I’ve seen how easily you pick up new ideas at work, and I feel confident you’ll excel the same way with flying.”

  “I’m glad you have confidence because I sure don’t!” Amanda chucked and shook her head in amazement over the thought of actually operating the marvel of engineering. She hoped she would not disappoint Riccan’s expectations. “What else do you have on your mind?”

  “I want to show you the secret room where I keep all of my prized possessions from Tuala.” He gestured for her to follow him into the library. “You’ll be the first person to ever see it besides myself.”

  Amanda seemed startled to learn the last fact, causing equal parts of honor and alarm. Having only seen the library in passing the day before on her tour of the whole house, the room itself was impressive with its floor-to-ceiling bookshelves covered in classic, as well as modern, novels. Amanda wondered if there were an order to the books and also if Riccan had actually read them all or just liked to collect them for their appearance. The overall look seemed to support the latter idea, so Amanda inquired with a grand gesture including the whole room, “Have you read all of these?”

  “Almost, but not quite all. I inherited quite a few books from my grandparents, aunts, and uncles, but I had already read through them when I lived at their respective houses while growing up.”

  Amanda nodded as she recalled his unconventional upbringing. There must have been quite a bit of time spent reading as he did not really know too many people other than his family each time he moved. She imagined it probably did not take Riccan long to make friends given his outgoing nature.

  She stepped closer to the shelves to try to read the spines. She craned her head back to see all the way to the top shelf where the oldest books seemed to be stored. As
an avid reader herself, she had collected quite a few books from the nineteenth century. Amanda’s curiosity got the better of her and she had to ask, “How old is the oldest book here?”

  “The oldest one I’ve discovered is from 1798. I attempted to read it, but the pages were so brittle and the binding was falling apart so I decided not to tempt fate and put it back on the shelf. As near as I could tell, the book was a naturalist’s guide to herbal remedies.”

  Amanda itched to actually see a book as old as that one, but she refrained from asking him to show it to her. Instead she said playfully, “So where is this ‘secret’ room of yours?”

  “I was just getting to that, it’s over this way.” He walked to the far side of the room, adjacent to the windows showing the view of the pool, and stepped right in front of the shelves. “Come closer and I’ll show you how to operate the lever.”

  Intrigued, Amanda immediately stood close beside him. She smiled at the adventure of finding a secret place in the house, never had she imagined Riccan would have such a playful side as to create a space unknown to others. The more she thought about it, though, the more it actually made sense. She took a quick breath and asked, “What do I need to do?”

  “Give me your hand.” He put his own hand out, palm facing up.

  Amanda placed her hand on top of his, also palm up. She was unaccountably nervous even though she knew Riccan would not cause her any harm. He pulled her hand forward under a shelf and she felt his fingers pressing up between hers as he sought to find the release mechanism.

  He used his other hand to point to a book with a vibrant red spine and he said, “This book is the reference point for where to locate the lever; it should be just below it on the shelf. Now just a little further back…”

  Amanda gasped as the lever shifted up until it was flush with the wood of the shelf. She had not realized the entire wall of shelving was actually the door. She stepped back and admired the efficiency of the setup. The ‘door’ moved effortlessly even though it must have weighed several hundred pounds or more with all of the woodwork and books.

  Riccan watched her expression and finally said, “It’s spring-loaded so it takes almost no effort to open it once the latch has been released. Come on, let me show you the inside.” He pushed it a couple more feet inward and walked through the opening.

  Amanda rushed to stay right behind him. The first thing she noticed was the air in the room was fresh, which would indicate a well-ventilated space. She should have expected no less given the opulence of the entire house. Riccan would not want to jeopardize the integrity of any of his special items with poor air circulation, which could cause mold or mildew.

  She held her hands clasped in front of her to try to contain her excitement and curiosity. Given free reign, she would have been touching everything she could along the way. Textures seemed to thrill her senses, but she was making a conscious effort to contain herself as they walked into a room approximately twenty feet long and eight feet deep. Amanda noted the length of the room naturally matched the length of the library. The far wall also contained shelving, but this time it housed artifacts as well as books. She wished they had as much time as it would take to go through everything in the room, but Amanda realized it was not her place to even ask to see any of it. Just being in this room was reward enough.

  Riccan walked over to the bookcase and knelt down in front of a cupboard. He opened the left door and pulled out an ancient-looking text. He stood up, turned, and walked over to a small desk where he gently placed the book. Riccan looked up at Amanda and smiled, “This is the most important item in this room. If anything were to happen to me, I’d like to ask for you to return this to my father.”

  “What is it, Riccan?” Amanda’s fingers brushed her lips as she moved close enough to see the title on the cover.

  “This is the Elder’s Instructional Guide written by Jehoban Himself.”

  Amanda was impressed, but could not help but ask, “When was it written? It’s surely older than 1798!”

  Riccan laughed out loud, a hearty belly laugh, as he realized she was correct in her assumption. “Very much older, I’d say. There’s no date in the book, but when Jehoban presented this book to my father He told him He had written it at the beginning of time.”

  “How long ago was that?”

  “It’s not for us to know, but I can safely assume this book is several thousand years old. The amazing fact is that the binding is still perfect and the text inside is impeccably legible. It may just be my imagination, but I think the text changes with the times. I’ve never had any difficulty in understanding the meanings of the lessons.”

  “Very interesting. Is it something I would ever be able to read, or is it reserved for Elders and their heirs?”

  “I’m not exactly sure,” Riccan answered slowly. “This was given to me when I was old enough to begin my training, but I’d never had anyone ask to look at it. I’ll ask my father when I see him next and then I’ll let you know the answer.”

  Amanda understood the reason for his answer, but it could not keep her from feeling slightly disappointed since she would be unable to peek in it today. She would have to practice being more patient. She could not help, but lean forward over the ancient text and wonder about its contents. Without her knowledge, her hand had reached toward the book and her finger touched the cover. She felt a strange tingle run up her finger and spread through her hand; this text was very special, indeed.

  “Let me show you some of the other things I brought from Tuala.” He turned away from the table and gestured for her to follow.

  With more than a little trouble, Amanda managed to drag herself away from the text. She could still feel the tingle in her hand. The fact the text had most likely been in the hands of Jehoban was more than a little amazing. If just the cover could give her the reaction she had felt, she could only imagine how much more powerful the contents would be.

  In a moment she had walked around the table and joined Riccan at the bookshelf. Her attention was immediately distracted from the book behind her as Riccan pulled a crystal skull from a niche in the bookcase. The object was not the type of item she would have thought would be of interest to Riccan as it was on the macabre side. “What is that?”

  He held the skull up so the light from the ceiling height window could shine through it and answered, “This was given to my grandfather from his own grandmother from Earth. It has been in the family for at least seven generations.”

  “So it’s not a Tualan treasure?” Amanda’s interest waned.

  “The family story says this skull has more power than any of us can know. My great-great-grandfather was told this is one of thirteen matching skulls. When all of them are brought together again then a power unlike any other will be activated. We’re not sure if the legend is true, but we have been searching for other skulls on the off-chance it could be accurate.” He gently set the skull back into the niche.

  Amanda continued to stare at the object with renewed interest as the story Bryon had relayed to her came to mind. “I’ve heard about another skull, Riccan!”

  “You have? Where?” Riccan felt a rush of adrenaline as he turned to face her.

  “Bryon Kesh told me about when he was a teenager and he encountered one on his journey to Earth. He and another boy traveled through a gate in a cave outside of their town. When they got to Earth a Mayan woman gave them a skull to take back to Tuala. They freaked out and put the skull in a hole in the cave wall when they returned to Tuala.”

  “That’s great! Now we know where another skull is located!” Riccan was already planning on how he could teleport over to the cave and retrieve the skull.

  “Not exactly, Riccan. I used the same cave to return to Tuala and I know for a fact the skull is no longer in there,” Amanda replied.

  “Well that’s unfortunate,” Riccan felt a stab of disappointment at the missed opportunity. “At least we know another one actually exists, it is one step closer than we were be
fore.”

  Amanda felt sorry for dashing Riccan’s hope in finding another skull, but she could not let him have false hope. Her eyes traveled back to the ancient text on the table. She really wanted to see what was written inside. Finally she asked, “I know you’re not sure if I should see the writings inside of that book, but do you think I could at least see what the writing inside looks like? Maybe just the cover page or something?”

  Riccan smiled at her persistence and said, “I think the cover page would be safe.” He took the two steps back to the table and gently picked up the old leather cover of the book to reveal the cover page, which he knew would be blank except for the name of the book. To his surprise, and Amanda’s delight, there was more on the page than had been there before. He leaned forward with incredulity and read the new passage out loud:

  “From a far-away land

  There will come in time

  Intuition is in hand

  Strange details known.

  With ties to the people

  From one of my own

  There will be a sign.

  Those born to this one

  Will transform all.

  Lucinden will pursue

  Elders will fall

  Then all made new.”

  He looked up at Amanda in amazement.

  “I wonder what it means,” Amanda mused aloud as she read the passage for a second time. She felt a quiver pass through her. She looked back up at Riccan and noticed his odd expression. “What’s wrong, Riccan?”

  “I’ve looked at this book at least a hundred times and this passage was never there before!” He felt a shiver of excitement race throughout his body and he continued to stare at Amanda as though she were the key to the change.

  “How strange! You did say you thought the book kept up with the times. I guess you were right!”

  “I suppose so,” Riccan mused. He had never experienced an actual change in the book, only that the dialect seemed to keep up with current trends.

  “Why do you think it has shown up now? Has something changed since the last time you looked at it?” Amanda was intrigued with the mystery. She wished more than ever to be able to keep turning the pages to see what other marvels the book could contain.