The First

by A. Claire Everward

  “She was alone? Why?” It was Adam’s turn to be baffled.

  “We have no idea. Unlike the Protector she was not always an only child, often she had brothers and sisters. But she grew up to be alone, never with a family of her own.”

  Aelia turned inward, looked back. Not all answers were there yet, not all realities were clear.

  “So in choosing to be the Keeper, these women elected to live alone for the rest of their lives?” Adam asked.

  “That is how it has always been,” Ahir said again.

  “Always is now over,” the Light said. “I don't want her to be alone.”

  Ahir looked at her, and something flickered in his eyes.

  “She doesn’t have to be alone,” Aelia repeated gently.

  “That was nice,” Adam said when they left Ahir, having learned quite a bit about the Council, including about its current members whom they were about to meet.

  “What was?”

  He threw her a look, and she smiled. “So you don't mind?”

  “Of course not. They’re obviously very close.”

  “I can’t believe the Keepers were alone. Symbolizing the Light is one thing, but giving up . . .”

  Love, was the word she wasn't saying, he noticed. “Any idea why your predecessors did?” he asked gently.

  She shook her head.

  They walked to the Council Hall, curious to see the preparations. The huge place was buzzing with activity. It had already been emptied of all furniture, and only the supplementary technology was there, placed so as to simulate an actual Council meeting where the participants would stand exactly where they would normally be sitting. There would be no conference table in the simulation, either, there would be no need for it.

  Aelia and Adam walked over to Rolly, who was energetically giving last minute instructions.

  “So, basically, we're here and they're not, but we see them as if they are, and wherever they are they see all of us, including the other Council members, as if we're there. So that it’s as if we’re all in the same room,” Aelia mused.

  “That's correct.” Rolly’s eyes never stopped following the work around them.

  “Right,” Aelia said. “That'll take some getting used to.”

  Rolly frowned at something he didn’t like and walked off, preoccupied.

  “You nervous?” Adam asked. “You don't feel nervous.”

  Aelia smiled at his choice of words. “I'm ready for this.” She threw a look at him. “And so are you.”

  He nodded. “We really should get out of here, though. We're disruptive.” He indicated the workers who were more interested in them than in the tasks they were assigned. The two left the hall, just as Ahir and Neora entered it and joined Rolly in the final preparations for the awaited meeting.

  It was time. The Council Hall was silent, even the technology was quiet. The simulation was being supervised from a room off the control center, and the only people physically present in the Council Hall were the two generations of the Firsts' leaders, present and future. Aelia, Adam, and Ahir stood beside one of the walls, outside the simulation perimeter, and Neora, Keeper of the Firsts, stood where the Council table normally was, in the middle of what would now be the open circle of its members within the Council meeting simulation. And as in every meeting, in fact as she had done since the day she became the Keeper, Neora was clad in her white robes, the band of all colors rippling at its edge, majestically reflecting the lights in the spacious room.

  On either side of Aelia, Ahir and Adam glanced at her. She was leaning against the wall, her eyes on Neora, focused in concentration. Both could feel the intensity in her, but neither could discern its origin. She wasn't worried or tense, and she was clearly not nervous about the pending encounter. Yet there was something on her mind, the same thing that Adam had felt earlier when they were walking beside the lake and that had been behind her words, the same thing that had been evolving in her since she returned to Aeterna after her friend's release. And it was strong now, finally focused.

  In a sudden bout of clarity, Adam thought he might have an idea what it was. She was making decisions. Since the day she was first identified in the cathedral in Rome, every move she made was decided for her, by the organization and Jennison's actions, by him, even by her own destiny. But for the first time, the Aelia who had stopped the brawl in the park, who had stood up to him even as he was pointing a loaded gun at her, and who had stood unwavering before Jennison, the Aelia who he knew was so right to be the Light, First among the Firsts, was taking a stand.

  Movement caught his attention. Neora confirmed she was ready, and all members of the Council of the Firsts appeared in the Council Hall, surrounding her. As the simulation in each center worldwide activated, the Council members acknowledged the Keeper with respect, bowing their heads in turn. Neora returned their greeting, welcoming them all. She then walked to where her place would normally be among them, nearly completing the circle. The only empty position in the formation was that of Ahir, who remained standing with Aelia and Adam, who were now looking at the newcomers curiously.

  Neora opened the meeting. And that's when the onslaught came, question feeding on question—where was the First, they wanted to know. Was it true that She left Aeterna? What was She like, what kind of a person was this woman who was the Light yet was raised by humans and not by the Firsts? What did that, and the manifestation of the Light at such a late stage of Her life, imply for Her, Her force, Her ability to protect Her people? Would She be what they needed Her to be? Could She?

  The questions came to the Keeper from all sides, the rush of feelings behind them overwhelming her in their force. Adam watched the Council thoughtfully. These people were worried, on the verge of afraid. They were obviously torn between their own exhilaration at the return of the Light and their need, as the representatives of their respective communities, to answer to the people who looked to them for answers, people who were hearing a constant flow of news and rumors. They were perceived as being privy to decisions made at Aeterna, where the Firsts' leaders reigned, and had no choice but to remain pragmatic.

  Adam could understand why, while the return of the Light was received with great relief, it would also raise among the Firsts questions about what would happen now, about the future. These Firsts had never lived with the real Light in their lives. For such a long time, she was for them a belief, a guide to live by, a hope to await the return of. And now, after so many generations, and with no one who had actually lived in the Light’s presence around to guide them, she was here, a real person, an adult woman ready to take her place among them. That, and the fact that for the first time ever for them they were actually feeling her presence, the presence of the Light, must be unsettling them, Adam thought. They—

  His train of thoughts was interrupted as beside him Aelia moved, and stepped into the circle. She walked right in, passing Neora, and stood in their midst, letting them all see her. She had chosen not to dress in the customary clothes of the First, the flowing, unblemished white that signified the Light and that would catch the brilliance of the force within her, reflecting it to those around her. Instead, and in a sharp contrast to the Keeper, she had chosen to dress in black—black slacks, black boots, a black blouse, which accentuated how trim she was, how delicate, and along with her long dark hair countered the striking gray eyes that were now gazing at the Council surrounding her. Everything about the way she looked contrasted the effect the robes of the Light were meant to give her. Everything, but her.

  Because it was the Light they saw step into that circle. Even as She walked into their midst it erupted from Her, visible in the Council Hall and in each of the simulations worldwide, seen with the same brightness even though they were all far away, as if She herself was there, right there with each and every one of them. And then they felt it, felt Her force, felt it surround them, flow through them, felt its intensity, its strength, nothing like the gentleness with which She had connected with them thus far,
leaving no place for doubt, no place for question as to Her power. In the Council Hall under the great house of Aeterna, all Council members stepped back in awe, as did the Keeper, and near the wall the old Protector stood mesmerized, while the new Protector took an instinctive step forward, not even realizing that while the Light blinded them all, so that they could now barely see Her, he could.

  One by one the Council members bowed their heads in reverence. And when they all did, when all in the Council Hall did, all except Her own Protector, the Light changed, deepened, acquired a new dimension, enveloping, protecting, uniting. In a fraction of a second too small to grasp, She connected powerfully to the point of Her origin, ages into the past of this ancient species She had chosen, and surged back into the present, expanding to all sides, in all dimensions, fast, faster, bringing to the Council and to all Firsts beyond them that which She now finally was.

  In their very midst, they knew, was the everlasting Light of the Firsts.

  Gradually, the Light withdrew most—but not all—of the power in Her back into Herself. She left Her people with just enough sense of how powerful She who had returned to watch over them was, but the representatives of their councils, them She left feeling just that much more of the power of this implied promise.

  And then She broke Her silence.

  “The Keeper will continue to reign, with Ahir Kennard by her side. They will lead the Firsts as they always have.” Her voice was quiet, yet the unchecked strength in it reverberated in every word.

  Everybody in the Council Hall looked at Her in surprise.

  “Our people need continuity. They need their leaders, at Aeterna and in the local councils, to continue addressing the needs of their day-to-day lives. Their lives must not be disrupted more than they already have been. And that is how it will be.” She paused, including Neora, Ahir and Adam in her gaze. “More than ever before, the Firsts are now facing new challenges that endanger their very existence. It is precisely in these times that their sense of stability must be assured, and this lies in their ability to carry on their lives as they have done until now, for as long as possible. That is what you will ensure, to the best of your abilities, under the experienced, reliable reign you have always known.”

  She fell silent again. “Yes, the Firsts have been alone for too long, and the Light is needed. But I should walk among you, not hide here, in the safety of this fortress you have built for me, not while you need me out there, with you.” She continued, Her voice picking up force. “You do not need an administrator or day-to-day leadership, you're doing well yourselves, under the Keeper and Ahir Kennard. You do not need a symbol for your belief, you have had that for too long. What you need is the Light as was given to you all those generations ago. Not as a symbol, but as a reality. You need the Light to guide and defend you in the challenging times ahead, and that is what I will do, I and my Protector beside me, until our people, our future, are safe once again.” She paused, letting the meaning of Her words sink in. “Be patient. I will walk among you. And with time, what should be, will be.”

  She turned to Neora, who nodded and stepped forward. As Aelia stepped out of the circle, Neora addressed the Council. “So it shall be, then. What we have done we will continue to do. I will retain my duties, with one marked difference. We no longer need to keep the faith alive. We have the Light among us.” She turned slowly, looking at them all. “Approach Her, speak to Her, call to Her. You and the people of your communities. She has returned for you.”

  The members of the Council nodded, and the excited murmur grew louder as they spoke to one another, to the Keeper, and to Ahir, who bowed his head to the Light and stepped forward to stand at the Keeper's side. The Light had spoken, and Her people were ready to proceed. Already they were speaking of matters at hand, and the Light felt in them, and in all the Firsts, the certainty that the protective being which their ancestors had turned to in times past for matters beyond them, was here to stay.

  Again Aelia leaned against the wall, outside the view of the Council. Beside her the Protector stood straight, his hands folded on his chest, his eyes on her. If before Aelia allowed the Light to be felt by the Firsts just to let them know of her return, now she had in effect positioned herself in an active, tangible role, among them. And none of them would forget soon the powerful force that they had felt in their midst.

  He more than everyone in that room understood why she had done this. It would allow her to deal more effectively with the challenges her people didn't yet know they would be facing. And it would allow her to leave Aeterna without worrying that that in itself would cause uncertainty, giving her the freedom to do what she needed, what they both needed. Protect the Firsts, without their every move causing speculation and fear.

  And it would also, he knew only too well, allow her to try to draw the unwanted attention of their enemies to herself, without putting her people in harm's way. That was one way of increasing their sense of security, he thought, and impeding her own safety even more, which was why the Protector was ready to take his place beside her as she had decreed. Aelia had, quite simply, just told him she was putting her life in his hands.

  And they would be coming after her. Those who already knew about her and those who would learn of her. She would always be their primary target, all the more so once they realize that the Light was real and that she was key to the survival of the Firsts.

  Neither moved until the impromptu Council meeting was over and the Council Hall was silent again, silent and empty except for the two generations that the Light had now designated to work together for the sake of her people. Neora, Ahir and Adam turned to look at Aelia.

  She addressed Neora. “You’ve been a leader to the Firsts for many decades now, and I can’t begin to imagine how weary you must be. And yet I need you to remain with them. They trust you, your leadership, your judgment. Only you can provide for them the continuity they will need now.”

  “But it is you who will need to guide them. You are their living faith.”

  “And that is why we, you and I, will do this together.”

  “Eventually, you will have to become their only leader.”

  “And I will. But I can’t tell you how long it will be before I am able to do that.” Aelia paused. “This is not about me learning aspects I have yet to know about leading the Firsts. It's not about rules and administration. It is about ensuring their survival.”

  Neora looked worried. “You cannot put yourself in danger.”

  “My first duty is to ensure my people are safe. Whatever it takes.”

  Neora shook her head in sudden fear, and the Light took a step forward. “I will not leave you again.”

  Neora started at these words, as they brought to her mind that which her shock at Aelia's decision had led her to forget. That which only she knew, the prophecy foretold and passed only from one Keeper to the next. She nodded slowly. “Yes, I do believe you will not,” she said quietly, with a sudden confidence that made both Ahir and Adam look at her curiously, and even Aelia tilted her head lightly in question. But once again Neora was not about to explain. Not even to the Light, especially not to Her. The fact that She was not aware of it said it all. It was not yet time for Her to know.

  “It will be my privilege to remain the Keeper as long as you need me too,” was all she said.

  Aelia nodded her gratitude and turned to Ahir, who nodded too. “I will remain with Neora. Although”—he turned to Adam—“the title of Protector I have, I believe, already relinquished to its rightful holder.” He frowned. “This would be a grandfather's dream, if it were not for the challenges that await you. I fear for your safety, Son.” He looked at Aelia. “Both your safeties. This is an era never before seen in the history of our people.”

  Adam's eyes were still on Neora, his brow furrowed. This was the second time the Keeper had been enigmatic in her words. But this time was different. For him. “Perhaps,” he said. “But then, nor have the Firsts ever seen such a Light before, have
they?” He addressed Neora, testing an assumption.

  “A Light, and a Light and Protector,” was the only thing Neora would say, although she was confounded at the insight of this new Protector.

  Adam nodded slightly. “Right. We need a place to move to, somewhere not in the Firsts' very midst. A place I can secure,” he said to Ahir.

  “We have quite a few such sites,” Ahir said. “You can choose, and it will be prepared for you in no time.”

  As they approached the entrance to the Council Hall the doors opened, and Aeterna's staff on the other side jumped into action, rushing in to remove the simulation technology and restore the room. Adam instructed that Rolly meet him in his rooms and headed that way with Ahir, while Aelia walked with Neora to the drawing room in the main house, where the Firsts' leaders would begin to discuss the new form of leadership of their people.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Perfect.

  They were in Adam's work niche, and the screen was showing an image of mountains stretching as far as the eye could see under the clearest blue sky. The mountains surrounded a lake that wound lazily between them, its end unseen, its shores lined by thick trees that extended up to the mountains in places and tapered into green meadows in others. Whoever took the image was standing on a small pier that extended onto the lake, the only apparent artificial feature in the wild terrain, and the image now changed to one that was taken from the same mooring but in a different direction. It showed the other artificial feature of the place—a beautiful stone cottage, set back from the lake and against a huge boulder that merged into a rocky hill beyond, and half-hidden between trees.

  It was breathtaking. Breathtaking and isolated and peaceful. And that's what made it so perfect. They had been going through possibilities for hours, but this was the one that made Adam get up from his chair and walk right up to the screen, as if by doing this he could step through it into the real world out there, to this place that, even as an image, seemed to have the power to instill peace in him.