Yara
Toler’s eyes widened with fear. He ran out of the room, shouting to raise the alarm.
***
As Chief Totek and Toler rushed into Grandam’s quarters, she calmly continued to putter around, humming to herself.
“What have you done?! You have sent her to her death!” Toler shouted angrily.
Grandam looked up, unconcerned.
“You cannot send to death she who is not even alive.”
“What?! What madness are you—”
“Grandam,” Chief Totek boomed, “where exactly did you send her, and why?! You must answer for this!”
She continued to mix her potions, but eventually, Grandam looked up at the Chief.
“I have only sent her where I was meant to send her. Yara is meant to die. It was prophesied by the Eld that should she arrive, she should be sent to her death.”
Grandam walked to the other side of the room. Reaching towards the back of a crooked shelf, she pulled out the second half of the ancient manuscript.
“See?” she said, pointing at the symbols upon it. “The Ka-Eld must die.”
Toler’s face filled with rage as the Chief held his head in anguish.
“You told her she was on a journey to find that missing piece!” Toler shouted, outraged. “We do not treat anyone this way, no matter where they may come from!”
“Grandam,” the Chief added, “the Eld passed away many millennia ago. We no longer follow these manuscripts for guidance—only for knowledge of our history.”
“I have not lost my way, Chief Totek. And perhaps, nor should you,” she replied coldly. “I have fulfilled my purpose by sending the Ka-Eld through the mountain. You can do whatever you want with me now, but you cannot prevent her death.”
“Where did you send her?!” Toler raged. “What path did she take? What map did you give her?! I need a copy of the map, NOW! Father, we must find her before it’s too late… we must!”
Grandam chuckled.
“There was only one version of the map, young Chief. Only Yara knows where Yara is… and by the time she realizes what has been done, it will be too late!”
***
Yara began to feel disoriented as the hours dragged on. The air within the tunnels now felt a little stifling. Frustratingly, the number of forks she had taken was far more than she had anticipated. She paused, searching the map again. For the first time, she felt a pang of fear. She was sure she had kept track of her every step along the way.
But the map is starting to look so different now… Ugghhh, that’s not even possible. Get it together, Yara!
She stopped, bending down by the Sapstream that flowed near her feet and drinking deeply. It tasted a bit different than the ones that flowed in the Skotad territory. She sat against the wall of the tunnel, breathing heavily as she pulled out mushrooms from her sack. She nibbled on one as she looked over the map again. She did her best to make sense of it, eventually finding where she should be.
She breathed a sigh of relief. If she was correct, then she had only a few more turns left before reaching the open area deep in the mountain. She decided she would sleep there as Grandam had suggested.
After a little while, her appetite was assuaged, and she felt refreshed. She thanked the Sapstream, running her fingers through it as it flowed away. Pushing herself up, she took to the tunnels again. She was relieved when she came to the final one that should lead her to the open area. As she walked along it, she felt surprised by how long it seemed to stretch out. After another few minutes, she paused and gazed over the map.
I don’t understand… I should have gotten to the clearing by now…
The map hadn’t really been drawn to scale, but for the most part, the estimations had been very accurate. She decided to journey along a bit longer before attempting to retrace her footsteps. As she did, the tunnel narrowed. Yara felt her heartstar beginning to beat even faster. Soon, she could barely walk without touching the walls.
She couldn’t bring herself to check the map again. She didn’t want to believe that this was the wrong path. She knew that if this wasn’t the way to the clearing, she was definitely lost.
She slowed her pace as she looked up ahead. Panic slammed into her chest.
No… no… please, no…
There, in the place of the path, was a walled dead end. Boulders had crumbled all around it, and it was completely sealed off. She finally understood why the air had felt so stifling. She had been heading towards the clog of boulders all along. Somewhere along the path, she must have taken the wrong turn, and there was no way of knowing which one it was.
Yara slumped to the ground, crying out in frustration. She was lost, and she had no way of knowing how to get back. She felt so angry with herself. She regretted leaving. She regretted listening to Grandam or even going to see her. She had managed to lose everything, all over again.
Then, a whisper filled the air.
“She will lead you on the wrong path…”
“Why didn’t you just say this was the wrong path when I had a chance?!!”
Yara slammed her fists into the ground in rage. Suddenly, she heard a faint, rumbling sound. It seemed to come from a place beneath her, heading straight for the tunnel. Everything began to shake. Around her, the walls were beginning to crack, and the ground was starting to fracture.
Chapter Twenty
Before Yara could even think to react, the floor ruptured beneath her. She slipped through it, screaming in terror. She reached out for anything she could. Her hands found only falling stones and pieces of the tunnel’s floor. She squeezed her eyes shut, falling for what seemed like a long time. Her body slammed against other falling rocks as they zoomed past her. Then, she heard the pieces hitting some kind of surface below. Her heartstar leapt into her throat as she cried out in terror. All she could do was brace for an unknown impact.
As Yara hit the deep waters, it knocked the breath out of her. Then, the larger pieces of the walls and the floor of the tunnel came crashing down around her. One piece hit her directly, sending her deeper beneath the surface. She tried to scramble against the force of the waters, but to no avail. She continued sinking.
Yara felt her chest bursting for air. She looked everywhere for any form of opening, swishing back and forth as she rapidly turned. There was none. As her heartstar pounded even harder, blood began oozing faster out of the parts of her body that had been gashed. She panicked, feeling herself beginning to weaken. She started clawing for anything she could find, kicking her legs as hard as she could. Nothing she did to push back up to the surface had any effect. She was still being pulled downwards.
As the pressure forced her lower and lower, Yara’s chest felt ready to explode. She felt panic-stricken, paralyzed by her fluid enemy. Desperation filled her mind. She would do anything, anything to get out of this. Somehow, that’s when she knew it was the end.
Fighting to the very last moment, Yara’s final thoughts were only of her Tribe mother and father.
I’m sorry… I have failed us all…
Unable to hold her breath any longer, her breaking point came. She involuntarily gasped, and the deep waters filled her nostrils, throat, and lungs. She convulsed in pain as the burn blazed through her entire being. With no moment in life more excruciating than this, Yara’s death was finally an act of mercy.
***
“YaraStar… do you know who you are?”
Yara could hear Guidestar from a place far away, but everything was black. Her eyes were closed.
“YaraStar… do you know who you are?”
It was a little closer now. Yara’s eyes opened slightly. She was in a place she did not recognize… and in a form she could not see. Her memory felt vague, but she remembered taking the path to her own death.
“You should have warned me… you didn’t tell me enough… you didn’t tell me in time… you only told me that she would lead me… she led me on the wrong path…”
“She did… and now you
are finally on the right path, YaraStar…”
“I don’t understand… where am I? What is this place?”
“The greatest surrender of all is to one’s own death. There are many ways to die…”
The voice was now in front of her. A small glow of light appeared. Yara stared at it, in awe of its strange beauty. Still, she felt angered by Guidestar’s words.
“How is this the right path if I am dead?! And where is this? Is this where people go after death? Where did my parents go? Are they here?”
“Your mother made the ultimate sacrifice when you were born. She, too, surrendered to death. It is by her grace that you found life on Mira.”
“NO! It was NOT right for her or my father to have sacrificed their lives for me!”
“They, too, shall be honored for their sacrifices… but it is not of them I speak.”
Yara gasped.
“You… you know my birth mother? Who is she?! Where is she?! Why did she leave me when I was born?!”
“The greatest surrender of all is to one’s own death... for the good of all, or none at all.”
“I don’t understand… I DON’T UNDERSTAND!!!”
“The death of all you were will be the birth of all you are. You can never become before your unbecoming. You can be powerful, YaraStar, if you choose to surrender.”
“WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR MY LIFE THEN?! Just to cause everyone I have ever loved PAIN?! To cause their deaths, and then to also DIE?! And you are somehow expecting me to surrender to this? To be HAPPY about it?! A purposeless existence! Well, you know what? I AM happy! I am happy no one else will have to suffer and die because of me! So yes, I CHOOSE THIS! I SURRENDER!!!”
“Your unbecoming is your birthing. Your purpose can finally begin.”
Then, the glowing light suddenly flew at Yara, crashing into her body and disappearing. All was dark again. There was nothing. It was a void.
Yara felt fear creep in. Was this where she would spend the rest of her life after death? She looked around, calling out to Guidestar. There was no answer.
Yara felt a massive surge of searing heat begin to tear at her from the inside. It built up in an exponential wave, flooding her body and burning away at her skin.
Yara screamed in agony as the glowing light burst from within her. The light blew out of her in gigantic torrents, radiating in every direction and swirling in power. It cocooned her entire body, seeming to pause.
***
Suddenly, Yara heard a great roaring. It was the most deafening sound she had ever heard. Her eyes burst open—she was back in the deep waters. The roaring filled the waters around her and rushed up and out into every branch of every tunnel. It pulsed past the Skotad territory and all within it. It burst out into the air above and to the land beneath it. It traveled through the Greens and the Photak village, over the mountains and even to the dark side of Mira. Every living thing upon Mira heard its bellowing call.
The roar… it was coming from Yara. Then, the light that emanated from her grew brighter and brighter, spiraling with pure blue light. The light traveled along the deep waters, flowing towards the ancient underwater caves. There, it whirled around, touching thousands of cocoons one by one. The cocoons were beginning to glow with many diverse colors… green, yellow, red, purple, white, and orange… all beginning to pulse and resonate with the light that was coming from within her.
The cocoons burst open in unison. From them, thousands of people with glowing markings began to emerge. They embraced each other with joyous shouts within the deep waters. When all the cocoons were touched and opened, the light rushed back towards Yara, swirling uncontrollably. It seeped into different parts of her skin until there was none left in the deep waters.
Yara was no longer drowning. In fact, she was breathing, cocooned by a strange energy, within the waters, that seemed to filter the air she needed. She looked at the glowing people as they began to gather closer together. Each seemed to have their own cocoon.
What are they…?
Yara began to feel a strange sensation coming over her body. She looked down at her arms. Glowing blue light seemed to be rising to the surface of her skin. The light swirled as it grew brighter, forming large, bright spots all along her arms. They continued all the way down to her legs and up to her chest, traveling to her neck and then to her forehead. Her body grew in luminance, lighting up everything around her, and then reducing gently to a perceivable glow. Fueling the glow were bold, distinct markings.
Yara couldn’t believe what she saw. The glowing marking… it was the symbol of Sunstar. It pulsed softly in her skin, seeming to acknowledge her as its new home. She felt an overwhelming sense of comfort that she never had before. She was not alone anymore, and somehow, she knew she never would be again.
She then became aware that the bustling of the glowing people had stopped. Her luminance had caused them all to turn, and they stood in shock, gasping to each other. Pointing. Exclaiming. Celebrating…
They rushed towards her with wide eyes. They surrounded her, their luminescent markings seeming to grow even brighter in their excitement. A strange call echoed from some of them. They all fell silent. Within moments, they began to whisper chanting words in the ethereal language of Guidestar. Then, they all lowered their heads in unison.
“Guidestar,” Yara whispered, “what is happening? What is happening to me?!”
As Guidestar answered, she felt its vibration in the glowing light markings upon her skin.
“You have awoken the Eld. You have awoken Mira… and you have finally woken, Eld-Queen… Your true purpose has finally begun.”
BONUS MATERIAL FOR
THE YARASTAR TRILOGY: BOOK ONE
The
Unmarked
Girl
We’d love to send you a sneak peek of Yara’s glowing marking, designed by Shane Bascombe & Jeanelle Frontin. To access it, go to the website below, subscribe to receive information on Book Two and this trilogy (more on this in the following pages), and check your email for the exclusive reveal of Yara’s marking. It’s for your eyes only, okay?
www.TheEldQueen.com
#DoNotShare #NoSpoilers #OurSecret :)
P.S. If you haven’t gotten your free access to the first tracks from the Sounds of Mira album yet, there you can find information on this too!
COMING IN DECEMBER 2018
THE YARASTAR TRILOGY: BOOK TWO
The
Eld
Queen
Through her death, Yara has awoken the light within her, alongside the entire ancient race of the Eld once thought to be extinct. Yara is no longer the unmarked girl, and her glowing marking is of Sunstar, making her the Queen of the Eld. But this isn’t going to be a smooth transition—the Eld have no context of the new ways of Mira, and Yara has no knowledge of their royal traditions of the Elds. Even worse, no one seems to be willing to tell her what happened to the Eld Queen who came before her—her Eld mother. With secrets that run deeper than ever before, trust is now an exquisite luxury… But it may not be one Yara can afford.
Subscribe here:
www.TheEldQueen.com
Find us @YaraStarTrilogy everywhere!
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
To those who have read this book:
Thank you for spending these slivers of your precious time with Yara. She’s an incredible girl with a story that I hope you have felt deeply, whether through ink or light.
Her journey has only just begun. It unfolds in a way that exposes even more of her inner elements and her divine purpose for existence.
I think all of our journeys are in service of that duality. We are stripped down only so that we can see ourselves for who we are… so that we can finally understand whom we have always been meant to become.
To those in the middle of their unbecoming, I wish you the power, and grace, of surrender…
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Alyxander, your reaction to the earliest draft of my very first chapter was enough to f
uel the fire within me to write hundreds of stories, if only to see your face light up the way it did when you found out your mother was a writer. While I know you still think that this book’s cover is “way too girly,” I am guessing that the older you will likely think otherwise… or maybe even think other things (let me know in a few years). Thank you for being the son of my greatest dreams.
Kevin, for all of your infinitely great energy, unrelenting dedication, constructive support, and unwavering reassurance, thank you… For the authentic music we composed and produced for Mira, thank you… For the countless read overs and the pseudo-developmental-editor role you played, thank you… For every single bit of who you were, are, and will be, I thank the Divine for you… Any planet would be the luckiest in the universe to have you—I’m so glad Earth won that ballot!
To Dad, Mum, and Brian, we don’t get to choose our family, but if I could, I would choose each of you a trillion times over. A large part of who I am today is because of who you have been to me. I am blessed to have been born in such a loving home. Thank you for shaping some of the best parts of me…
To my epic illustrator and animator, Izzy (Israel Silva)—the entire world needs to know about you! You seamlessly brought every single part of my imaginary Yara into the real world with a likeness that can only be explained by the presence of the pure gift that you possess. I know I was a bit of a drill sergeant with her intricate details, so thank you for your patience and commitment to this journey.
The Unmarked Girl (The YaraStar Trilogy Book 1) Page 14