by Indie Gantz
“Yes.” At least, I think so. That was my intention at least, but it didn’t work in my favor. It only moved to the side, rather than up and to the side.
“That’s all right.” I step back a few paces. “You can try again now. You just have to adjust the air pressure pushing on both the side and the bottom.” I shrug, as if what I said is no big deal.
“Here, try the bag.” I point out the food bag, which is safely zipped up and lying next to the scorched circle of earth. “Try to put it in that tree.” I point out a single corkwood tree that’s closer to the hill than the forest’s edge.
Tirigan furrows his brow as his Adam’s apple bobs anxiously in his throat. “All right.”
His eyes stay on the food bag, but his body shifts to the side, backing up so he can get a good line of sight on the tree and the bag at the same time. As Tirigan concentrates on the bag, I expecting him to show some sort of outward sign of effort, but I see nothing aside from slight tension in his pressed together lips.
The bag begins to move. It moves only up at first, very slowly then extremely quickly, like a geyser. The bag drifts back down slowly, hovering around waist height for a moment before it begins to move towards the tree.
“That’s it!” I whisper, afraid to interfere.
The bag sails through the air, sometimes dropping suddenly, but never making it completely to the ground. When it makes its final approach, the bag glides towards the tree until one of the branches snags its strap and the bag stills.
Tirigan lets out a loud breath beside me, like he just finished an exhausting workout routine.
“That tired you out?” I ask, bemused.
Not really, but I feel like it was supposed to. I read last night that Téssera need to recharge their powers if they over-exert themselves. Recharging is usually accomplished with typical sleep patterns.
“It’s not like you lifted the tree, Tirigan. It’s just a backpack.”
We aren’t supposed to be very strong as novices. It takes practice to be able to build up endurance, but I don’t feel very affected.
I shrug. Maybe it’s our Anunnaki blood, regenerating our powers as soon as we use them. We may not run out the way Téssera do.
That is a definite possibility.
I walk over to the tree and reach up on my tiptoes to pull the bag down. “Well, it looks like we can both at least invoke our element the way we’re supposed to. What about the stones? You said you read about how to use them?”
Tirigan nods and sit backs down, pulling the book into his lap and turning the pages deliberately. My intended use for the Fotiá stone last night turned out to be its only function.
Once he finds the page he’s looking for, Tirigan hands the book to me. I sit down next to him to read.
Casting stones are used as both currency and as an extension of Téssera’s elemental power. To cast the basic invocation of an element into an appropriate stone for that element is a simple cast. Simple casts can be invoked by all Téssera, but their cast will only be a small representation of the element itself. (i.e.: Fotiá- flames, Néro - water stream, Gi- flower growth, Aéras- short gust of wind.)
These types of stones are mostly used for currency, but children also use them to learn how to invoke elements that are not their own.
When specific casts are placed into a stone, they are called Eidikos stones. Eidikos stones require more powerful stones and an advanced knowledge of the element. Téssera who wish to invoke the cast placed in the Eidikos stone must be aware of the exact cast that was placed into the stone. Téssera do not need to be of the same element as the Eidikos cast, but they will need to have practical knowledge of that element if they wish to invoke it through the stone.
Below is a list of the different stones available for use for each element. The underlined stones are more powerful and may be used to cast an Eidikos.
Aéras: Amethyst, Citrine, Diamond, Mica, Opal, Tiger Eye, Topaz, Turquoise, White or Clear Fluorite
Gi: Emerald, Green Jade, Green Tourmaline, Halite, Hematite, Jasper, Onyx, Obsidian, Peridot, Quartz, Salt (all types), Schorl (also known as Black Tourmaline)
Fotiá: Amber, Fire Agate, Fire Opal, Garnet, Red Calcite, Red Jasper, Rubellite- also known as Red Tourmaline, Ruby, Sardonyx, Sunstone, Volcanic Black Salt
Néro: Amethyst, Aquamarine, Azurite, Blue Calcite, Blue Topaz, Celestite, Indicolite- also known as Blue Tourmaline, Lapis Lazuli, Pearl, Sapphire, Sea Salt
After reading through the list of stones a few times, I pull the Gi stone bag from the duffle bag and take out a stone that’s already been cast into. It’s peridot. At least, I’m pretty sure it is. I hold it up to the sun. It shines beautifully, not just because of the power inside, but because of the gem’s natural green hue. Keeping my eyes on it, I place the stone in the middle of my palm.
I’m not exactly sure as to how to do this, but I figure if a small child can figure it out, the way the text suggested, I should be able to as well. I concentrate on the stone and think about the flower that’s supposed to grow out of it if I invoke the cast correctly.
I don’t have to wait long before a single green stem begins to grow out of the stone. Leaves sprout out of the middle of the stem after a moment, and then a small bud forms at the tip. A giggle escapes me just as the flower blooms into a daisy.
Well done.
“Thanks,” I say cheerily, placing the stone down on the ground and keeping my eyes on it. I pull some more water through the blades of grass around the stone, just like I did before, and slow the stream to a drip so it falls softly onto the flower. “There. Now it’s ready to be planted.”
You’re going to plant it?
What would happen to it if I don’t? “Seems sad to just let it wilt and die,” I continue aloud.
Tirigan doesn’t look as bothered as I feel about the situation. He pulls the book out of my lap and buries his head in it.
If I pull the flower out of the stone before planting it, it will probably die. If I bury the stone, I doubt the flower will be able to absorb the water from the earth the way it’s supposed to. It needs a root system.
I pick the stone up and look at it again, thinking about the problem at hand. Just as I’m about to give up and bury the stone anyway, the hardness of the stone transitions. The green of the peridot loses its brilliance and becomes a muddy brown color. Pieces of it extend like miniature limbs, and the stone softens into my hand. I’m so shocked by what I’m seeing, I don’t even realize what’s happening until it’s over.
The peridot stone turned into the flower’s roots.
“Um, Tirigan,” I say anxiously.
Hmm? He doesn’t look up, so I clear my throat and keep my eyes on the flower, which has now fallen on its side without the stone to keep it upright. What is it? Tirigan looks up then, but I don’t meet his eyes until he sees what’s in my hand. He immediately looks confused, like he’s debating whether or not what he’s seeing is real. How-
“It must be a second part of the cast,” I say after the thought occurs to me. “I mean, if the basic cast for Earth stones is to grow a flower, it’d make sense it would grow a root system, too. Right?”
I-I don’t know. Perhaps… Tirigan reaches over and takes the flower from my hand. He inspects it closely, and then looks back at me. Where did the stone go?
“You’re looking at it. I mean, the stone kind of melted away or something and turned into the roots.” I shrug and pull back the flower. “It’s just part of the cast, I guess.”
With one finger, I start digging into the ground. I place the flower, root side down, into the hole. Remembering not to pack it too tightly, I fill in the hole with dirt and then make sure to channel some water up and through the roots and stem.
When I look back up, Tirigan is back to reading, and I’m left with three more stones to try out. The Néro stone is just a small spout of water that goes off for about thirty seconds before dissipating. The stone itself is a deep blue shimmery color with the cast still i
nside, but it turns into a much softer color once it’s empty. I wait for something else to happen, but nothing ever does.
The Fotiá stone, which glows orange and red, lights just the way Tirigan’s had earlier. This time I place it on the ground and then invoke the Aéras stone, which then blows out the flame with a short, but strong, gust of air. The Aéras stone was a cloudy white color before I invoked it, but is now a darker hue. It’s layered like sheets and somewhat brittle.
“Well, I can check that off my list,” I chime, picking at the stone’s layers. “What’s next? We don’t have the right stones for our elements to cast into, so we can’t try-.”
It isn’t until Tirigan looks up that I realize there’s something wrong. He looks concerned, but he also looks like he’s trying to hide it. In his hand, there’s an onyx stone with a petite tulip sticking out of it.
What?
I don’t think the flower was supposed to grow roots, Charlie.
“How do you know?” I ask defensively, scowling.
Tirigan sighs impatiently. There is no mention of the stone disappearing like that. All of the other stones kept their form, they just lost the luminescent color of their cast. Also, this one didn’t transition like yours did.
“So?” I shrug, my chest falling slightly. “We don’t really know what any of this means, Tirigan.” I stand up abruptly and bend down to put the bags of stones into the green duffle bag. “I think we are ready to go down there. We can each invoke our element and-”
“No,” Tirigan admonishes harshly. It startles me so much I jump slightly and stare at him with wide eyes. Do you honestly think we are ready to walk among them? We haven’t read a single thing about their history or their customs.
“What are you expecting?” I shoot back. “A secret handshake and a code word? It’s not like we’re going to have long conversations with the station attendants. We just need to buy our tickets and go. We can study more on the train.” Tirigan shakes his head at me, but I ignore him. “Honestly, I see no reason to stick around here when we could be heading to the festival.”
I don’t think this is wise, Charlie. If your sudden urgency is because of what I said about the Gi stone, I don’t think-
“It’s not about that,” I spit out, cutting him off. “Why are you still on that?”
Why are you being so dramatic about it?
“What?” I say, raising my voice. “I’m not!”
I am. I know I am, but I don’t know why. Tirigan’s concern is valid, but I can’t help feeling defensive about it. I don’t like the idea of getting any of this wrong. It’s the key to putting our family back together. If I ever get to share this with Calla, I want to be good at it. There’s a hopeful little girl in the back of my mind already planning out casts to try and impress her. I imagine us invoking our elements side by side, maybe playing pranks on John and Tirigan, maybe just growing a garden from nothing. I want to be able to share this with my mother, but I can’t do that if we don’t find her. And how am I supposed to save her if I can’t even invoke a basic cast correctly?
I push the thought away and snatch the book out of Tirigan’s hand. I stuff it in the duffle bag and zip it up.
“Look, if you want to stay up here and hide away, that’s fine, but I need the bag of stones to buy the tickets.”
You can’t honestly expect me to let you go down there on your own.
I shrug, fixing him with a challenging stare. You’re the one afraid of-
Tirigan cuts me off by jumping up from his place on the ground and pulling the duffle bag out of my hands. His eyes are hard on mine, a mixture of annoyance and disappointment. He turns away from me, pulling his backpack on his back and practically stalking down the hill.
He snaps at me over his shoulder, “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
On a Lark
I don’t even realize what I’ve done until we’re standing at the bottom of the hill.
Directly in front of us is what appears to be someone’s backyard. There’s a garden and children’s play equipment set up in the grass. The yard is attached to a modest home made of wood and decorated with small windows. On either side of it, running north, are rows of nearly identical homes. The differences come from random flairs of color and odd additions that don’t look structurally sound. The homes are directly next to each other, so it’s difficult to see more than a few from our vantage point, but they all seem to look about the same.
This was stupid. Why did you let me do this?
Tirigan gives me an unamused look and cocks his head to the side. You weren’t exactly in a position to be reasoned with.
“Right,” I reply shortly. “Sorry about that. Let’s go back.”
“No.” Tirigan shakes his head and starts walking east along the edge of the bottom of the hill. We may have been seen. Going up the hill right after coming down could look suspicious. We should head to the station and stay close to the outskirts of the town.
Fine. I follow Tirigan’s lead and walk along the edge of the bottom of the hill. As we walk, I take careful glances into the town and try to make out as much as I can.
After the row of houses, there’s a small space where their backyards extend, and I can see further into what looks like a town square. From up on the hill, I saw an epicenter of sorts in the middle of town. In the center, there’s a very tall statue that looks like a compass rose. There are large stones at each directional arrow, each a different color. I can’t get a good look from our position now, but it looks like they’re elemental stones.
Small buildings frame the circle where the statue resides. The buildings, presumably shops and business of some sort, separate the center of town from the small neighborhoods. I can see a few figures walking around the buildings through small alley ways, perhaps off to shop or go to work. It’s both familiar and foreign at the same time.
Constantly traveling all our lives, I’ve seen plenty of rural homes and farms. Those were mostly made of wood or stone too, but solar panels usually covered the roofs. I’ve seen pictures of the major Anunnaki cities, and they were nothing like this. Anunnaki cities look like bustling metropolises, built up high, full of metals and glass, and almost no signs of earth in the myriad of buildings. Pacoa is a lot like the Anunnaki rural setting: secluded, incredibly small, quiet. There can’t be more than a couple hundred people living here.
I see people walking through the town from our position, and nothing about them seems remarkable. It’s hard to tell with the distance, but their general appearance seems to be very similar to what I’ve seen on Anunnaki land. Some of the clothing in the bigger Anunnaki cities can be a little brighter in color than what I’m used to, but generally, Anunnaki style is about function rather than making a big statement, unlike what I’ve seen in human history. The humans displayed clothing as they did art, an expression of their own personal style and experience. Some of the pictures I’ve seen make it very obvious they weren’t concerned with comfort, and the most popular clothing was only made for certain body types.
The Téssera’s clothing seems to be just as functional as the Anunnaki’s, but not necessarily fitted to the wearer. Small children are running around the town’s center, and a few of them seem to be wearing clothing either a few sizes too big or too small. There’s a boy with pants fraying above his ankles, and a little girl with a dress dragging through the dirt. I can just barely hear the children singing and laughing as they chase each other, sounds that help some of my fears to settle.
Not too different from what we’ve seen.
Tirigan looks in the direction I motion to. He almost smiles. I don’t see why they don’t tailor their clothes. That can’t be comfortable, all of that fabric.
“Maybe they can’t,” I reply with a shrug. “Not all of us are seamstresses, Tirigan.”
Surely their parents are capable.
I scan the area for signs of the children’s sewing-challenged parents. There’s a man heading out from the center
of town, in the direction of the station, with a bag slung over his back. It’s too far to be sure, but I think his skin is lighter than ours, his clothes lightweight and somewhat dirty. He hunches slightly, like he’s done a lot of labor over the years and his back is starting to protest.
“Maybe they have other things to do,” I offer. “This town doesn’t look particularly affluent. I bet the parents are working.”
I wonder how much work would realistically be needed when you could just invoke the elements to do your bidding.
“Perhaps,” Tirigan murmurs beside me.
After twenty minutes of walking, the station I spotted from the hill comes into view. From the back, it just looks like a large stone building with a red clay roof. The shingles are chiseled into a series of lines that look familiar, but I don’t stare long enough to get a good look.
With the station looming ahead of us, the muscles in my shoulders tense up. We’re going to have to speak with someone in order to purchase the tickets, and that unsettles me a great deal.
“What if they speak a different language?”
Calla would have mentioned it if that were going to be a problem.
I let out a relieved sigh. “Right.”
It strikes me as odd that the Anunnaki people and the Téssera speak the same language. There are native Anunnaki languages, the ones that are used back on Eridu, but there are only a few languages spoken on Earth. The droid spoke the old tongue, one of the original languages, but not many Anunnaki speak the old tongue anymore. At least, that’s what John told us.
I’m about to broach the topic with Tirigan when we hear a loud horn coming from the other side of the train station. It’s still far enough ahead that we can see the train tracks coming out from the south side of it. Soon after the horn wails, a train pulls into view. It’s just like the pictures in the books I’ve read, large and made of dark metal, except for one key difference. Instead of the wheels working their way down the tracks, they’re hovering above them. The train’s floating.