by Jon Chaisson
*
“Wh…where are we?” Janoss said, blinking hard, his eyes attempting to refocus. He was standing in a field of grass stalks somewhere in the Wilderlands, overlooking a dark green valley full of pine trees. This field stood on top of a smooth slope leading west, perhaps towards the Inland Provinces, the eastern and southern slopes obscured by a vast forest of pines. The only sounds he heard was the rustle of windblown branches and the occasional twittering of birds. Compared to the center of the city, this was a blessed silence.
“We’re past the veil,” Natianos replied.
Janoss turned around. Natianos stood behind him, back in human form, adjusting a cufflink and glancing back at him with just a touch of impatience. Janoss looked down at his hands; he’d changed back to his own human self as well, wearing the same suit he’d been wearing all day. There was something odd about being here, though…as if the freedom he felt while in the Shenaihuza spirit had replicated itself here. He felt utterly at peace with his own skin for once. The tightness of the air, the spot Nehalé had stood, had eased, replaced by a calm breeze that flowed through him, easing every muscle in his body. It felt familiar…he’d been here before, been in this situation. “This isn’t an aspect I’m used to,” he said. “Have we traveled?”
“Indeed we have,” Natianos smiled. “It’s Trisanda. Our birth, Janoss. Where the Shenaihuza and the Mendaihuza are one.”
Janoss shuddered, but said nothing. Did Natianos always have the ability to reach this far in his travels? Very few could reach this far without assistance or years of training or assistance…or unless their abilities were enhanced somehow. It had to have been Nehalé Usarai’s doing. Natianos must have realized this much earlier than he had, and must have started testing his limits soon after. Janoss was impressed, but he didn’t want to let Natianos know, not just yet. Instead, he took a slow sweeping view, taking in every detail of what he saw and sensed. Visually it was like any other place in the Wilderlands north of the city: a healthy forest on the verge of changing its autumnal colors, a field of wild grass rolling gently in the breeze, a clear blue sky…nothing out of the ordinary. On a more sensory level, however, he could feel it: a flow of energy he could read and touch, emanating from everything around him, from the blades of wild grass at his feet to the trees at the edge of the field, even to Natianos standing beside him, reminding him that this was his ancestral home, where his spirit truly belonged, no matter how far it may travel. A familiarity, a spiritual bond of oneness with everything around him that only a true Meraladhza could feel. It had to be Trisanda.
“We have all Awakened,” Natianos said with a smile. “Some more than others, you know. Nehalé planned this more thoroughly than I’d thought. He awakened us all, Mendaihu and Shenaihu.” He laughed, lifting his head up to take in the view. “You and I came up here by Lightwalking, Janoss. Like our ancestors once did. Our past is slowly catching up with us. We’re finally remembering our past again. Nehalé certainly has leveled the playing field, hasn’t he? Just like his Vigil friends. Anyone can come up here now, if they’re willing to learn how. Do you know what this means?”
Of course Janoss knew what it meant, and measured his words before he spoke. If the Awakening ritual had done what Nehalé had planned it to do, the girl would now be coming out of hibernation and setting everything else in motion. And if she’d been awakened, it was imperative that the right souls surrounded her, to ensure the delicate balance between the Mendaihu and the Shenaihu remained steady. “It means the One of All Sacred has been awakened as well,” he said.
Natianos beamed. “We need her to keep her from ascending, Janoss,” he said. “If she ascends, then the balance is lost.”
Janoss shivered at the thought. He wholeheartedly agreed…but for precisely the opposite reason. She could not ascend, because that would not just tip the balance, but completely eradicate it. “I already have people looking,” he offered weakly.
Natianos took his gaze off the sky for a moment and smiled appreciatively at him.