by Travis Pond
Smiling at the memory, Tureis rolled the broken pieces of the arrow between his fingers. All the objects in this cave had a memory associated with them, an experience that helped him learn about the power of the Matya that was alive inside him.
He went over to the crate and removed a book, opening it up to a spot he had read many times.
“Matya: An ancient word literally translated to mean,’divine energy.’ The Matya is an energy or power that flows within us. All living things have some level of Matya. It is because of this principle that the Matya can be used and transferred one to another to bring about a change.”
He was finally beginning to understand the meaning of the words. With each experience Tureis seemed to understand on a new level the way the Matya worked. He also knew there was a lot more he didn’t know. The study of the Matya was a lifelong commitment.
Again, he picked up one of the broken halves of the arrow. The Matya is what helped him save the boy that day. When Tureis was younger his father told him, “The power was inside all people, but not all people liked the power, and some were even afraid of it. Because of this we didn’t refer to it by its real name very often in public. The Matya isn’t hidden or secret, but it’s respected and kept to oneself. The Matya should be used to help others, not to get glory or notoriety.”
He placed the book back in the crate and sat back down at the table. He rubbed his eyes and stretched. “I’m tired,” he said with a yawn. “I don’t think I’ll make it back to the house tonight.”
Chapter 3
- Ailish -
“Good morning Ailish,” Tureis said with a yawn, as he stepped into the house.
Ailish Artair was Tureis’ cousin and the oldest of her two other sisters. Her father, Emmett, was the captain of the King’s Guard and spent most of his time in the castle. Ailish was petite with long straight brown hair and brown eyes. There are some that might say she looked ordinary, but she had a natural beauty that only a few could aspire to have. Her beauty was not just skin deep, she was also very athletic and could hold her own in a fight. Tureis and Ailish would often train with her father and, more often than not, Ailish would best him.
“Good morning Tureis,” Ailish said. “Why are you here so early in the morning?”
This morning, after sleeping poorly the previous night, Tureis had decided to visit Ailish. His mind felt burdened and he needed to confess the events of the previous day. He yawned again as a testament to the restlessness of his night’s sleep. Every time he would drift off to sleep thoughts of getting caught while running through a village seemed to fill his dreams.
“I thought I would come by and visit.” Tureis said. “I had a rather exciting day yesterday and thought I would tell you about it.”
Ailish folded her arms and looked at Tureis with a very serious expression and asked, “Were you with Seth yesterday?”
Ailish and Seth had known each other since they were small children. With Ailish’s father as the captain of the King’s Guard, and Seth as the King’s son, meeting each other was inevitable and happened at a young age. Over the years, the three of them had become very good friends. Ailish knew the kinds of things Seth and Tureis would do when they were together. In fact, all three of them had gone out together a number of times as well. Mostly, just to explore the woods, or visit a nearby village. But, Ailish was not naive to the mischief Seth and Tureis could get into.
“Yes, we were together,” Tureis said. “I found something, I wanted to show you. Are your parents or sisters home?”
“No,” Ailish answered. “Father is at the castle, and mother is with my sisters in the village square doing some shopping.”
Ailish and her family lived in Grinnurd, a village next to Darish on the opposite side of the castle. The two villages were the closest ones to the castle and a majority of the people who worked there lived in one of the two villages. The villages were so close to each other that a common square housed the majority of businesses for each village as well as for the castle.
“Why don’t we go outside and you can show me whatever it is you want to show me,” Ailish said.
Together, they both went outside behind the house and sat down on a bench in the yard under a large tree. They had spent many days on this bench sitting and talking, reading and playing games. They were cousins, as Ailish’s father and Tureis’ mother were brother and sister, but over the years, they had become more like brother and sister.
When Tureis’ mother passed away, his father didn’t know the first thing about raising a baby, let alone all by himself. Ailish was born just a month before Tureis so her mother insisted Elis bring him to their house. His first two years were spent living with Ailish, essentially as her brother. His father loved him and would visit often, until one day his father finally took him home. As a result, they both developed a very strong bond and a deep trust of one another.
After sitting on the bench Ailish turned and asked, “What was it you wanted to show me?” Tureis reached into the bag he had over his shoulder and pulled out the book he found the day before in Freb, and handed it to her. She took the book and began running her hands over the cover.
“You brought me a book,” said Ailish, the sarcasm thick in her voice. “I never would have guessed.”
“Yeah,” Tureis said. “It’s a book about objects of power.”
He explained the details he’d discovered within the book the previous night. Ailish continued slowly running her hand over the cover of the book, staring off across the yard at nothing specific, not really hearing a word he said.
Interrupting Tureis as he explained some of the properties of metal suited to the Matya, she turned and faced him. With a reflective look on her face, she said in a soft voice, “I was just thinking...do you remember the first book you brought me?”
“Yeah. The book about the Matya,” he said.
“I was thinking about that day. I’ve never told you the story about that book. I’ve never told anyone,” she said.
Somewhat surprised that she would share a memory with him, he quietly asked, “What happened?”
“It was my twelfth birthday,” she began. “You had come over for dinner with your father. After dinner you said you had something to show me and we came out here and sat right here on this bench under this tree.”
She turned and was now looking directly at Tureis. “You removed a book from the bag you were carrying and showed it to me,” she continued. “I still remember the ornate lettering on the cover and the way the leather binding felt under my hand. The book seemed to have an energy about it I had never experienced before. I remember you brought the book over to me to read a passage you had found about women and the Matya. You seemed excited about it. I remember feeling excited as I read it as well. I still remember the passage word for word.”
She closed her eyes and lifted her head, remembering the words,
“...The Matya has a special place with women. While history would suggest that the Matya is awakened most often in men, it is just as common to awaken in women as well. The Matya works with men primarily to enhance one or two of their natural abilities. It is rare that a man will have multiple abilities enhanced. With women, however, it is most common to have several abilities enhanced.”
Ailish opened her eyes and looked at Tureis again, “That night you shared with me the story of when your Matya was awakened. Knowing that your Matya had been awakened when you were only eight years old made me a little jealous. For as long as I could remember I had desperately wanted my Matya to be awakened. After reading the passage I asked you if I could keep the book for a few days to study it.”
“I remember that,” he said. He shifted slightly on the bench feeling a small amount of guilt. He had shared the story of when his Matya was awakened, but he had never mentioned the sphere. He pushed this feeling aside and k
new sharing his secret would happen...eventually.
Ailish pulled him out of his thoughts as she continued, “Late that night, I stayed up reading the book. As I read the entire book, I also read that same passage you showed me again and again. The more I read that passage the more the desire to have my Matya awakened rose inside of me.”
She paused and took a few breaths, “I continued reading the book, learning all it contained about the Matya. I could feel the energy contained within its pages increasing. It was almost as if the book was becoming brighter; it seemed to glow in the dimly lit room.”
As she recounted this she tightly held the book in her hands. Finally she relaxed her hands and said, “I continued reading for a couple more hours. It was as if I couldn’t get enough. When I finally finished I laid down in my bed with the book. I kept the book close to me and continued running my hand over the cover thinking about all the many things I’d read.
Her gaze become fixed and she stared into the distance, her voice became quiet as she continued, “Then something changed. It started slowly at first...but then it began to grow. The energy I felt in my hand while it was touching the book became stronger. Slowly, a quiet energy flowed through my hand and into my body. After a few minutes I closed my eyes and felt at peace. I was relaxed and calm as I lay there. I felt as if I was floating above my bed. I felt warm and at peace, like I was a little kid again in my father’s arms.”
She turned and faced Tureis, her voice nearly a whisper, “It was like nothing I’d ever felt before.”
She handed the book back to Tureis and together they sat there for several minutes, neither of them saying a word. Finally, he turned to her and not really sure what to say, managed the only words that came to mind, “Thank you for sharing that with me.”
Ailish just sat there with her hands folded in her lap staring ahead. Tureis remained quiet and looked at the book he was holding. He thought about the day his Matya was awakened. Slowly he moved his hand until he felt the familiar sphere in his pocket. He really wanted to tell Ailish about the sphere but something inside still held him back. He would tell her, but how would he start the conversation? What would he say? He worried she would be mad at him for not telling her sooner, for holding back this information from her. He decided he would wait for the right situation and then he would muster his courage to tell her.
A light breeze blew through the trees. Tureis sat back on the bench looking up into the sky, feeling the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the breeze, and for once enjoyed the beauty of the morning. After several minutes, Ailish said in a soft voice, “So. What happened yesterday?”
“Oh. Yeah,” said Tureis, bringing his thoughts back to the present. “I wanted to tell you about that.” He recounted all the excitement from the day before in Freb. After he finished she looked at him with wide eyes and shock on her face.
“What?” asked Tureis.
Pointing to the book in his hand, she asked accusingly, “You actually stole that book from the shop in Freb?”
Hanging his head, Tureis replied, “Yes, I did. But I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“So you accidentally stole the book?” she asked.
Tureis nodded and thought about the question. “Yeah,” he finally said. “I accidentally stole it. Really, I didn’t go there to steal the book. I really don’t know how it ended up in my pocket. I saw the book but I never touched it. I honestly don’t know how it ended up in my pocket.”
“Then how do you explain that the book was in your pocket?” she asked.
Tureis was becoming defensive, but before he shouted at Ailish, he took a couple deep breaths to calm himself. “I really don’t know. I’ve thought about this all night trying to explain it. I mean...I guess I must have put it in my pocket, I can’t explain it any other way. I guess I really am a thief.” He spoke the last words very softly, almost to himself as he dropped his shoulders in disappointment.
Not wanting him to be discouraged she said firmly, “Ok. Fine. Then what are you going to do about it, Tureis?”
This was another thought that he’d pondered all last night. He knew he needed to do something. He thought about several different ways to make things right. He considered returning the book by just leaving it at the door to the shop. He could pay for the book, but the cost of this book was something he didn’t think he could ever afford to pay. He could just give it back and apologize to the shop owner. As he considered the different solutions, he was still unsure of what he would do to make things right. But he knew one thing, that somehow he would do the right thing. He looked at Ailish and said, “I don’t know right now, but I will make it right. Somehow.”
His father was well respected in the King’s court. He oversaw the sacred texts and the royal vaults, partly because of his intelligence, but also because of his honesty. Tureis was raised to be honest as well and stealing was not in his nature. Not making this right would dishonor his family name; a thought that weighed heavily upon him.
Ailish put her hand on his and said, “I know you will.”
Suddenly, a door in the house slammed and both of them jumped. “What was that?” Tureis asked with some surprise in his voice.
He was up and moving quietly over toward the back window. Ailish followed close behind. “I don’t know! But I can’t remember hearing a door slam that hard...ever!”
As they moved closer to the house they heard loud voices. “It sounds like someone is shouting,” he said.
They both stopped as they heard the unmistakable deep voice of Emmett Artair, Ailish’s father. “That’s absurd,” Emmett yelled and slammed his hand on the table. “Where did you hear that?”
As they slowly crept across the yard toward the open window, the sound of the second voice caused Tureis to freeze for a moment in his tracks. He knew that voice with no doubt; it was the voice of his father, Elis Atreyu. What was going on to cause their fathers to be arguing? This was something Tureis had never seen or heard in all his life.
Elis responded in a strong, loud voice, “It’s true, I tell you! I have it on good authority that the information is accurate!”
Tureis and Ailish knelt and positioned themselves under the open window, listening intently to every word. They both looked at each other, eyes wide open with wonder. Ailish placed a finger to her lips and raised her eyebrows. Tureis nodded his understanding.
“Who told you?” asked Emmett, still loudly but a little calmer than before.
“I can’t tell you. You won’t like the source,” replied Elis
That just got Emmett mad all over again. He shouted, “Who is it? I demand you tell me who it is!” With that he stormed into another room.
“Emmett! Calm down,” Ellis shouted back as he followed Emmet into the other room.
Tureis and Ailish continued to listen from beneath the window, struggling to hear the muffled conversation from the other room. They inched closer to the open window straining to hear what was being said. Tureis asked in a whisper, “Do you know what they’re talking about? What is this information?”
“I have no idea,” Ailish whispered. She knelt there straining to hear what was being said, and at the same time trying to figure out what would have her father so upset. She had never seen him like this in her entire life. “Whatever it is, it’s big and very important to him,” she began to say. “Tureis do you have any idea what…”.
Just then Emmett and Elis returned to the open window. Tureis and Ailish stopped talking and quickly dropped back under the window hoping they hadn’t been caught.
“Did you just hear something?” Emmett asked in a much calmer voice.
“I didn’t hear anything,” said Elis. “Where is Ailish? Shouldn’t she be around here?” Tureis looked at Ailish, her eyes wide open and her hand over her mouth, trying to stay quiet.
“Look through th
e window out in the yard. She likes to sit on the bench under the tree,” said Emmett. Tureis and Ailish held their breath, staying as quiet as they could and trying to melt into the side of the house. They heard Elis at the window. He stood there for a moment without saying a word.
“I don’t see her, Emmett. There’s a book sitting on the bench, but no one is sitting there.” Ailish looked toward the bench. Sitting in the middle of bench was the book Tureis brought over. She cringed and held her breath.
Emmett came to the window and looked out, “ She sits out there and reads occasionally.” Emmett stared hard at the book on the bench and said, “I don’t recognize the book, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
Emmett pulled up a chair and sat down near the window, “Elis, I can’t believe you heard information related to the safety of the King and you won’t tell me the source.” After all, Emmett was the Captain of the King’s Guard. He met with King Seathan nearly every day. His main responsibility was making sure the king was safe at all times. So when it came to information about the king, Emmett took that information very seriously.
Elis shook his head slightly and waved his hands back and forth in front of him as if to calm him down. “Emmett, you know the information. I don’t see how knowing the source is relevant. How about we change subjects? Would you tell me more about what happened to Braon Fogart? I heard some rumors in the castle today.”
Emmett looked down at the floor and shook his head. “That is a sad story,” he said. “One that if Ailish and Turies found out about would upset them both.”
“Why is that?” asked Elis.
“The two of them have trained with Braon for the last couple years. They are close friends. Seth trains with them as well.”