She read through Amanda’s account of the time in her life where their family was being threatened by an unknown group. Her fear returned as real as if she were reliving the events. She was surprised to find out Petre had been behind the attack; of course, it made sense now that it was all laid out for her review. She would gladly take the knowledge of the names of the co-conspirators back to her husband so he could seek justice for their suffering.
To this day, she still felt a small amount of gratitude for the events which transpired since they gave her the opportunity to be trained as a wise-woman. Surely, had the threat never happened, she probably would never have found the time to learn the skills she found so effortless to use. At least one good thing had come of the terrifying situation.
The part of the story which troubled her was where her son and Jena had been taken to Earth for safety. Of course, this part never happened. Both children had gone to live on Acaim since Jehoban’s island would be the safest place anywhere for them to be. The timing of the attack had coincided with the beginning of one of the Successor’s School sessions run by Rasa. Even though he was young, Willian had been thrilled to attend the training session as Debbon’s heir.
Chelesa wondered why the story had been altered in such a way and what significance it would have. She placed a star next to the first paragraph where the account altered from reality. She continued to scan through the rest of Amanda’s account and failed to find anything else wrong. After turning over the last page, Chelesa sat in silent contemplation for Nena to finish as well.
Nena looked up from her reading and asked, “Are you done already?”
“Yes, I already lived through the events after all. Did you read it before I got here?”
“No, but Amanda read it to us right after she and Riccan were married; it’s how I knew about the journal to begin with.”
Chelesa nodded and asked, “How do you think Amanda knew about all of this. It’s very strange to read someone else’s perspective on my own life.”
“I thought it would be. Luckily for me, there’s hardly anything in here about myself or Daven other than where we’re described as Riccan’s parents. I can only imagine how you felt reading all of the section about your husband, yourself, and your son. So what did you think?”
“It was remarkably accurate except for this section,” she said as she ruffled through the pages until she found where she had marked the star. She turned it to face Nena and held it still while her friend read the passage.
“Hmm. What do you think it means?”
“I have no idea. I can’t understand why the story would shift to Earth.” Suddenly, Chelesa shivered as she realized her son was going to be traveling to Earth in the very near future. Perhaps the account was some type of warning against the trip. Even as the idea formed, she realized Willian had been safe on Earth in Amanda’s journal allowing her to draw some small amount of comfort. She shook her head and said, “I’m going to have to spend some time thinking about it for sure!”
“Absolutely. Are you ready for some tea? I should have asked you before we began, but I was so anxious to get started.”
“I would love some. Melba didn’t happen to make those wonderful chocolate desserts, did she?” Chelesa’s mouth began to water just thinking about the sweet treats.
“She sure did!” Nena picked up the dessert plate and held it out for Chelesa to take her pick. When her guest had selected one, she set the plate down right next to Chelesa so she could have as many as she liked. She served them both tea and sat back with a sigh of satisfaction. The whole afternoon could not have gone any better. She had a feeling deep in her soul that this day was meant to happen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chelesa was still considering the implications of the day’s events when her family sat down to dinner. Debbon sat at the head of the table in his customary spot. She sat at his right side with Willian across from her on Debbon’s left side. Even though they ate in the large dining room, the intimate spacing of their seats left them feeling as though it were a small affair.
The meal was well on its way to being done when Debbon decided to share his decision on Willian’s trip. “Willian, I spoke with Elder Wilken while I attended the convocation. He has agreed to give you passage to Earth.” He deliberately paused to allow his statement to fully sink in to his son’s thoughts.
Willian nearly choked on the bite he had just inserted in his mouth. His eyes grew wide as he realized his father had actually made the arrangements he had promised. After thinking it would be several weeks before he would know anything, this news was very exciting. He rapidly swallowed his half-chewed food and had to take a hasty drink of water to keep it moving down his throat. “Seriously? That’s awesome. When are we going?”
Debbon paused for only a moment before he revealed, “Tomorrow after school.”
“Tomorrow? Are you serious? I can’t wait!” Immediately he began making plans for what he would say to Jena when he met her on Earth. He could just imagine her reaction to seeing him again after so long. She would definitely have some explaining to do for her extended absence, not to mention silence.
“Before you get too excited, there are some conditions which need to be met before Elder Wilken will send you to Earth.”
Willian should have known it was too good to be true. With a sigh of resignation he asked, “What must I do?”
“He has asked for you to mediate some matters in his district with regard to the teen population. He and I agree it would be a good skill for you to practice. Elder Wilken is very busy at present and he would like your help. I think it’s a small price to pay for what we are asking him to do.”
“Don’t get me wrong, Dad, I fully understand how generous he’s been in allowing this at all. I can’t think of too many Elders who would even entertain your request.” Willian tried to be speak as diplomatically as he could. His father knew he detested any political matters and this was an important task which he would have to try his best. Still, he tried to imagine how long it would take to listen to the individual cases. Surely there would not be more than a few disputes to hear.
As if Debbon could see his son’s thoughts turning in his head he continued, “There are some other considerations to be taken into account for your journey.”
“Such as?” Willian prompted.
“I think you discovered your lack of preparedness on your initial trip, right? This time I would like you to study various aspects of Earth before you even make an attempt to go there. Also, you are going to need to procure transportation from Manzanit to Pantano. I will let you discover their Earth names on your own. Then there’s the matter of arranging for where you will live once you reach the town where Jena is living. Oh, and one more detail which I’m going to insist upon: you are to enroll in the same school as Jena.”
Debbon held up his hand to keep Willian silent. “I want you to have a better idea of Jena’s experience on Earth. The best way to do that is to go to the same school. If you will not agree to this condition, then I’ll let Elder Wilken know you have changed your mind on going to Earth.”
Willian valiantly held his tongue from saying what he really felt and answered, “I’ll do as you ask. I see now you have put a lot of thought into my journey and have pointed out some things I never even considered. How do you propose I go about learning these things?”
“Rasa has agreed to be your mentor. She also has some ideas about where you might live once you are there. Once she feels you are ready, she will let Elder Wilken know. It would be in your best interest to befriend her as fast as possible. I know you two have not seen eye-to-eye on matters in the past, it’s time you learned to be diplomatic and make amends.”
Willian realized he would have no choice in the matter. Rasa was to be the gatekeeper for his journey. He would have to get along with her before he would be able to get to Jena. He could feel his anger rising and had to take a drink of water to cover his strong emotion before he ruined his chance
s of going at all. The idea came back to him that his journey would begin the next day and he forgot all about anything negative.
“Wouldn’t it be better to go first thing in the morning, or even tonight? I’m assuming you don’t want to let people know about this trip,” Willian pointed out. He doubted he would sleep at all nor would he learn anything in school. It seemed pointless to him to wait.
“You’re right on one account, we want to keep the true mission of this trip a secret. We will let people know you are apprenticing with Elder Wilken. Everything has already been arranged for tomorrow afternoon. Elder Wilken is busy until then. Remember, Willian, you will be a guest of his Residence so you will have to respect his time as well as Rasa’s.”
Properly chastised, Willian merely nodded and resumed eating his meal. Thoughts chased one another through his mind about what he would learn and whom he would meet. He was going on a great adventure.
Chapter Fifteen
DEBBON KISSED CHELESA’S cheek and said, “I guess I better go and take care of Willian.”
Chelesa nodded her agreement even as she wished it were not necessary. She watched as Debbon’s shadow moved through their darkened bedroom. The door opened, allowing light from the hallway to flood into their room and illuminate Debbon’s silhouette.
They had all gone to bed as usual. Both Debbon and Chelesa knew their son would spend a considerable amount of time packing. After that, they imagined he would lie awake unable to sleep for the excitement of the next day. The night was half gone as Debbon opened his son’s bedroom door.
He entered the room and stood looking down on the peaceful face of his willful child. With his breathing even and relaxed, he knew Willian slept. He agreed with his wife that what he would do next was necessary. If only they had spent more time curbing his bad behavior, then maybe it would not have come to this.
Debbon lightly placed his hand on his son’s forehead and he closed his eyes in concentration. He promptly located Willian’s life-line and followed it to the core of the decision-making part of his brain. He wove a delicate prohibition against using elemy in anger while he remained on Earth. The whole process only took a few seconds and he pulled his power away from his son. With tenderness, he brushed the loose strands of hair away from Willian’s eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry.”
He returned to his own bedroom and could see Chelesa sitting up against the headboard. He should have realized she would be just as tense about the task as he had been. It was terrible to place any injunction, let alone one on your own son. Chelesa had insisted it be done as a condition for allowing Willian to even go, and he had agreed to appease her. He wished there had been any other way, yet he knew his son’s penchant for acting first and thinking much later.
“It’s done,” he whispered as he sat down in the bed and pulled the covers over his legs.
Chelesa reached over and touched his arm. “Thank you. I know that wasn’t easy for you to do. I hope you understand why I insisted.”
“I do. I’m just sad it had to come to it. We should at least try to get some sleep or tomorrow will be very miserable for both of us.” He scooted down on the bed until his head rested on the pillow while he lay flat on his back. Sleep was the last thing on his mind and he stared at the ceiling while he felt his wife settle onto the bed. He doubted she would sleep much either.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Willian was thrilled to begin his journey to Earth, dampened only slightly by the idea of Elder Wilken’s assignment. As much as he detested mediation duties, he desperately wanted to prove his worth to his father; the debacle with their Ascension Gate still rankled his pride.
He wished he could have left the night before and really did not see the use of making him go to school all morning. It seemed rather a waste of his time considering he paid scant attention to the day’s lessons. His mind was already in Manzanit trying to figure out ways to expedite his obligation so he could go see Jena.
Checking his timepiece for at least the hundredth time, he rolled his eyes at the idea of sitting in class for another thirty minutes. His friends kept looking at him and wondering why he fidgeted so much. When class finally let out they surrounded him and asked, “What’s going on with you?”
“My father is sending me on a special assignment in Manzanit. Beyond that, I can’t tell you anything about it!” He gathered his school supplies and put everything away carefully. Since he knew he would be gone for an undisclosed amount of time, he did not want to leave anything of value for the other boys to pilfer in his absence.
“When are you coming back?” one of the boys asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, you have to have some idea,” another boy chimed in with a wheedling tone.
“Seriously, I don’t know. I might only be gone for a week or it could turn into several mesans. All I know is I have to get home right away. I promised my father I’d be ready to go as soon as school let out.” He pushed his way through the growing crowd and grinned with self-importance that he could make such a grand exit.
Several of his closest friends kept pace with him and plagued him with questions he refused to answer by shaking his head. By the time he was almost home, only Nedan was still at his side. His house was close to Willian’s own estate and he was almost at the turn off to go his own way.
Nedan grabbed his arm and forced him to stop when they got in front of his house. “Will you send me messages to let me know how you’re doing? I promise I won’t tell anybody anything you tell me. You know I can keep a secret.”
“I know you can, Nedan. I’ll try, okay?” Willian was almost desperate to get home, but he owed at least this much to his best friend.
“Thanks. Good luck, Willian.” He clapped Willian on the shoulder, turned, and walked away toward his house.
Willian felt bad for his friend and wished he could have told him more. He did not want to jeopardize this trip by letting anyone know he was going to Earth. After his father had told him he was leaving, he started to get the feeling this might be some kind of test of his discretion. Nothing he said or did was going to keep him from seeing Jena.
When he finally reached his own home, he could tell there was a flurry of activity from the extra amount of noise coming from somewhere off the main entry. Rather than waste time investigating, he ran up the stairs and to his room to drop off his school gear. Normally he would have slung his school stuff across his floor and dealt with it later, he took extra time to put it neatly at his desk. Satisfied his mother would not find fault with the neatness of his room, he gathered his already packed travel bag and headed down the stairs to find his father.
All of the commotion off the hallway from moments before was silent. More curious than ever, Willian took the last step down and wandered into his father’s office only to find it empty. He called out, “Dad?” Stepping away from the empty room, he crossed the hallway and knocked on his mother’s office door.
“Come in,” Chelesa called out.
Willian opened the door and found his mother alone in her office busily typing a message on her patil. He sat down in one of the plush chairs across the desk from her and waited in silence. After a couple of minutes, his mother finally finished her correspondence and turned to smile at him.
“It looks as though you are all ready to go,” she said as she nodded her head toward the pack he had left by the door as he had entered the room.
“I am. I was looking for Dad so we could get going.”
“Oh, I was just messaging him. An emergency has come up and he won’t be able to come home.” She already knew Debbon had not planned on going with their son and she was curious to see how he would react to the news.
“Does this mean my trip is going to be postponed?” Willian had a hard time keeping the disappointment from his tone.
“Not at all. He and I both agree you are quite old enough to take a telepod to Manzanit on your own. I’ve instructed the kitchen staff to put together a portable lu
nch so you can get on your way as soon as you’re ready.” She clasped her hands together to keep Willian from noticing how they shook with her anxiety of him leaving at all.
“Wow! Seriously? How awesome!” Willian had taken many short excursion in the home telepod, but nothing as major as a cross continent trip. He was thrilled with being entrusted to go alone on this trip. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that this truly was a test of his maturity. “If you don’t mind then, I’d like to get going right away.”
“I don’t mind, but would you like to study the coordinates of where you’re heading first.” Chelesa barely contained her smile at his sudden dismay at being caught unprepared. She pushed a couple pieces of paper across the surface of the desk.
Willian blushed furiously and tried to hide his confusion in an exaggerated study of the maps his mother had just given him. “Thank you, Mom.”
“I’ll give you some quiet time to go over those while I check with the staff on their preparations for your departure.” She pushed herself up from her chair and walked around the desk. Unable to stop herself, she stepped next to her son and caressed his hair smooth before opening the office door and leaving the room.
Seconds after his mom left Willian softly cursed himself for his brash statement and whispered aloud, “I guess that’s what I get for getting ahead of myself. How in Tuala am I supposed to prove to Mom and Dad that I’m growing up if I keep making such stupid mistakes?” Realizing this train of thought was not getting him any closer to being ready to leave he focused his attention on the coordinate maps of the Manzanit area.
Within a couple of minutes he was enthralled with the enormity of the task being set to him. Not only was Manzanit a complicated place to navigate, there were several areas where he could land which would be near the Residence. He knew it was good practice to have several alternates for landing should an emergency arise so he set about memorizing the four closest landing locations and their surrounding terrain.
Levels of Ascension BoxSet Page 64