“Nothing! How can you be silent? Where were you? I was starting to believe you were nothing but a dream!” Tenashar was filled with anger.
“Understand you came back to the surface by another entrance; it led to a different place in our world. I wanted you to experience something different for yourself,” he said with humor in his eyes.
“Nainashari, please don’t play games with me,” Tenashar said with such great fear and conviction that it began to worry Nainashari.
“I am not trying to play with you. I only want to make you ready for the task you were chosen for. There’s a great deal you have to learn before you will understand how to solve the problems of your people.”
Tenashar took comfort in Nainashari’s words. “Does that mean we will complete this journey together?” he asked.
Nainashari made no reply.
“And where are A-amar and Una-sei?” Tenashar asked.
“A-amar and Una-sei are where they were, on the other side of the cave, where you first met me. The earth that you entered my cave from was at another time and in another place. Think of this time you are in now as a world filled with spirits and gods as well as men. You are here, in this world, to learn something. Etutsha thought he had walked to this end of the cave to find you, but it happened that he was carried by spirits into this side of the world,” Nainashari explained.
When they set out from the cave into their new world, Tenashar saw the same mountains and rivers in the distance, but somehow he sensed they were different.
Etutsha looked around. “I’m noticing certain things are unlike our world—in many places, grasses and foliage aren’t there—only sand. The isolated patches of grass are rare.”
Tenashar felt angry and empty that he been dropped into a world with nothing to offer.
Etutsha said, “This world is an interesting place to explore. These strange and twisted plants are beautiful.”
Behind them, the cave they had left, the forest—everything—was gone.
chapter 21
A Breath of Life in the Desert
Hunger began to overcome them, so they took a close look at the very strange plants around them. Some resembled animals with eyes and mouths, but they didn’t react when Etutsha hit them with a stick. Others were tall, like pillars, with rounded tops. Tenashar picked up a sharpened rock and cut into one. He tasted a bit but found it entirely unpalatable and threw it down in disgust. However, when the inside of the plant was exposed to the air, it began to turn hard as a rock. Looking all around with hunger in his eyes, Tenashar felt completely lost. He hung his head in shame; he had always taken pride in his abilities to forage for food.
Tenashar and Etutsha were silent. Tenashar tried to find words to curse Nainashari in a loud voice, hoping someone would hear him. A shadow passed over his eyes. When he looked up, he found a wooden pole stuck in the ground. From it hung beautifully colored bags.
“Etutsha do you see that? The bags on the pole? They weren’t there before, were they?”
“I don’t remember seeing them. Perhaps Nainashari is watching us and put them there.”
“I doubt it, Etutsha.” Tenashar was still bitterly angry at the old man.
“Where did it come from, and who does it belong to?” asked Tenashar.
Out of curiosity and hunger, they raced to the bags. They found fruits and berries in one bag.
“I have seen these fruits before,” said Tenashar after eating some. “They are grown in the south. Do you remember that for many years traders came to our village to sell these? They were always such a treat!” Hunger made the fruits more precious than ever.
One bag contained a flask of what tasted like fruit juice and gave them a welcome surge of energy. As the contents of the other bags kept them occupied, a dome-shaped object appeared nearby, and a woman emerged. She was very tall and beautiful. Her slim body, long legs, and noble bearing gave her the appearance of a queen, an effect heightened by her reddish-brown skin unblemished by age or weather. She had large, dark eyes and dark hair in an attractive bun that made her long neck look endless and added to her formal appearance. She wore a simple, plain, short robe over pants that somehow enhanced her stature.
She sat in front of her dwelling, taking only slight notice of Tenashar and Etutsha. She began to draw symbols in the sand. Behind her emerged a little girl of perhaps six or seven. She wore a light, sleeveless tunic over narrow pants, which set off her dark skin and wide eyes. Tenashar thought she looked very cute.
The bright sun cast the shadows of the woman and the little girl across Tenashar and Etutsha. Finally, they turned their heads and stared. After a long moment, playful laughter came from the little girl, who pointed her finger at the boys with their mouths full of food.
Tenashar and Etutsha dropped the remaining fruits. The woman arched a delicate eyebrow and asked, “Were the fruits refreshing? I hope so, for I picked them in my garden.”
The little girl whispered to the woman, giggling all the while. The woman spoke again. “Come and be our guest. Don’t worry. There’s plenty of food.”
Tenashar and Etutsha, eyes wide and perplexed, looked from the woman to the child and then at each other, which made the little girl laugh even more.
Finally, Tenashar got up the courage to speak. “Who are you? What is this dry land? How do you survive here?”
The little girl giggled again, but the woman remained silent, examining them. She began to talk. “We are the watchers of the stars, observers of the winds, the soil, and all that resides within the earth and waters. This,” she indicated the little girl, “is my apprentice.” She smiled. “As to living in dry places, there are and were guardians everywhere, and if you know where to look, food is plentiful.”
“Then you are similar to my friend Nainashari? His learning and wisdom touches everything,” said Tenashar with such excitement that it made the little girl laugh again.
The little girl piped up. “What is a Nainashari? Is it an it or a he? Maybe it’s a what!”
Tenashar replied with surprise. “I didn’t know much about him. He is an interesting and wise man. He may even have sent the two of us to this world.”
The woman shook her head regretfully. “We have no knowledge of this person, and we may not have the same powers as your friend. Understand we can help you only in our world and no other. We knew from the moment we saw you that you were strangers here.” She paused for a long moment before continuing. “I am Ilaythesia. My name means, ‘observer who walks to the stars above.’ My apprentice is Cadica, which means ‘beautiful mornings of wisdom.’
As Ilaythesia said this, Tenashar felt she was looking into his soul, but he said nothing. The sky was filled with stars though the sky itself clung to twilight colors of red, green, orange, and cerulean blue that moved like waves on the sea.
“Come now and rest for the night,” Ilaythesia said with kindness.
The dome-like structure Ilaythesia and Cadica called home seemed large enough only for two, but when Tenashar and Etutsha entered, they found the interior was much larger. The clean floor was solid and smooth as glass. Comfortable blankets were strewn about the floor, and glowing flasks, much like those Nainashari had had, gave off warm, gentle light.
That night, Tenashar slept deeply and dreamed lightly. In his dream, he saw an unfamiliar symbol with rounded curves and sharp angles. The vision abruptly changed to an open window or door with daylight shining through. A cloth as delicate as air danced in the gentle breeze and transformed into the figure of a tall woman.
In the depth of his sleep, he felt a real breeze that woke him up. Tenashar found the dwelling filled with beautiful light. When he fully awoke, he seemed to be alone in the dwelling. Even Etutsha, who had lain down to sleep next to him, was gone. Then he heard the familiar giggle of Cadica outside.
As Tenashar came out of the dwelling, Ilaythesia called him to her side. He sat and looked straight into her eyes—eyes that spoke to him in a strange way.
&nbs
p; “Come and have some food, and while you eat, I shall explain things about my world,” she said gently. “You are right when you think this is the same world as the one you left, but time has changed it. Long ago, the Orbs came and drained all energy and life. Most tribes perished. Those who survived developed the skills that allowed them to live beneath the surface.”
Tenashar thought it possible that Ilaythesia could be one of Nainashari’s descendants. He asked Ilaythesia if she knew about Cashmakil.
“I have known about that city for a long time. My mother told me tales of it, but she held that we were more technically advanced than that fabled city. Greater problems than history occupy our minds, though we have not forgotten the tales of the Orbs that came to drain the lands and left nothing but deserts. In this, my time, the land is beginning to recover, but that will take several hundred years.”
After he lazily daydreamed for most of the morning, Tenashar felt a tap on his shoulder. Ilaythesia beckoned him to follow her down a passage inside her dwelling. It resembled the one in Nainashari’s cave but was far more sophisticated, with wires and panels running along the passageway. Pulses of light flashed from the ceiling.
After a long while, they entered an extremely large and brightly lit cavern. Unfamiliar control panels were everywhere—Senetha technology was different—but Tenashar could guess what their purpose was. He surmised that the control panels were lit or darkened as needed by a computer run by a power source. White stone panels covered with beautifully drawn pictures ranged next to blank panels, ready for a hand to set lines on them. Tenashar ran his finger across one of these panels and was delighted to see that his fingers could draw a line.
“Even Nainashari’s cave could never compare to this,” whispered Tenashar in awe. He yearned to learn everything Ilaythesia could offer him and begged to study these machines.
Ilaythesia smiled again as she nodded in acknowledgment that he had been accepted as a student. “If you want to know how these machines work, you’ll have much to learn. You must first master many things that are part of this world. It is vital that you learn the truth about nature. Do you understand how difficult this might be?” Ilaythesia’s face was stern but compassionate.
Without hesitation, without a thought of turning back, Tenashar agreed.
Ilaythesia smiled. “If you wish to learn about my world, it would have been very wise to have learned about your own world first. The surroundings of your birth are part of your being. Do you know at least part of yourself?”
“I can’t be certain, for learning about my own world could take a lifetime.”
“Yes, that is true. No one can learn everything about his or her world, even in an entire lifetime, on his or her own. That is why we have others to consult with and teach us.”
Sanashei had taught him about nature in his world, but he realized he would have to learn how nature worked in Ilaythesia’s and Cadica’s time. Sanashei had taught him that to be successful in hunting or planting, it was important to know your inner self. “Only after we have achieved mastery of ourselves,” he had said, “can we know the inner beings of others, whether animals, plants, or the entire world.”
“Tenashar,” Ilaythesia said, “I lead you to the inner part of the dwelling that’s sacred and where you will be able to maintain calm feelings. Here, thoughts become unchained, and you can explore all the knowledge in the world.”
The cavern was a world unto itself, complete with forests, rivers, and mountains—similar indeed to Nainashari’s gardens. Anyone entering the cavern would have been embraced by tranquil feelings.
As Tenashar went farther into the cavern, it was as if a door to a new world opened. He felt he had traveled to another land in an instant. In a dense, thick forest, Tenashar and Ilaythesia came together as student and teacher. He thought she could teach him much, but he knew he could not spend all the time it would take. He needed to solve the problems concerning the Orbs.
“I can read your thoughts,” Ilaythesia said. “Do not go too fast with your lessons. Many answers may be found only with patience; impatience is your enemy. Various time periods and worlds are preserved in this cavern. Some former places are recorded, as if frozen in time, while others are living environments. Every seedling and atom is recorded so someday we can remake our world. The time is coming to reforest. We so badly want this world to become as it once was.” Ilaythesia’s voice rang with conviction.
“How is this done? I mean, how do you travel to other worlds and time periods and bring things back?” asked Tenashar.
“We create a chamber beyond time,” she replied in a far-off voice. “Then, in the past, we create a link with the chamber, and everything to be found there becomes a miniature version of itself. The chamber is then like a mother who is pregnant with a wonderful child. But these mothers preserve their babies for ages, until it’s time to bring them into our world.”
Tenashar thought carefully before he spoke again. He recalled that Nainashari had similar spheres in his cave. Ilaythesia and Nainashari were very similar.
“Stare. Just stare and have no thoughts about anything around you,” Ilaythesia told him. “It takes practice not to be bothered by distractions. Continue to eliminate the clutter in your mind. In time, important words, feelings, and thoughts will come to you. Then I will see what you have learned.”
While in meditation, Tenashar saw a vast panorama of plains below him, as if he were flying, free to go anywhere he desired. He saw high mountains and great deserts. He saw people like Ilaythesia who lived beneath the deserts, while others made their homes beneath the seas and upon its surface.
Tenashar continued to develop his ability to see more than he had seen before, but he was often drawn to the tranquil beauty of the exotic worlds contained in chamber-like spheres that hung like giant raindrops within the enormous cave. The chambers resembled giant terrariums, though in truth they were gateways to other places of wonder. He wished to enter these worlds, but he knew that without proper knowledge and preparation, he might never find his way back.
While Tenashar was absorbed in his studies, Cadica was teaching Etutsha about how to find water and how to make things grow in the desert and about the people and their cities and villages. Etutsha talked about his world. Cadica taught him the games people played in the desert. At night, as they watched the stars, she taught him some astronomy.
One day, Ilaythesia asked Tenashar to stare at a marble slab. At first, it turned cloudy, but then it became clear and reflected his many moods, from anger to happiness. Tenashar was a bit annoyed, for Ilaythesia clearly understood his innermost hidden feelings.
“Before you’re able to learn anything, it is most important to truly see yourself. Nothing can go into a box already filled. You must empty your mind of your old thoughts.”
In another lesson, Ilaythesia put a tall, green shoot in a small container of clay. To Tenashar, the clay pot and sapling looked like a small world of their own. The moss and mold surrounding its base were like grass and weeds. He mimicked her as she looked intently at the sapling.
“There is a way,” she whispered, “to make plants quickly grow to their full size. In time, if enough are planted, a forest will come to life in the time it takes a field of wheat to mature. I know you understand some of this, for your people cultivate crops. The same techniques can be used to make a forest out of wasteland.” With a tranquil look in her eyes, Ilaythesia whispered to the sapling as if it were a dear friend.
“Nurture them like human beings, and they will provide you with all that is necessary in life. Eventually, this fragile sapling may grow into a large forest that could cover the whole world.” Ilaythesia spoke as if to herself, tenderly stroking the plant’s leaves as if it were a child.
Tenashar was amazed to find such tenderness coming from a woman of such power, wisdom, and grace. He realized he loved and admired Ilaythesia. She reminded him of his mother. When he was a very young child, she had told him, “Wisdom and learning are
given to humans as gifts from the gods.” He cherished these words in remembrance of her.
Tenashar contemplated what Ilaythesia meant by saying a whole forest could come from one sapling. He began to understand that no matter what the Orbs would do, life would never depart from any world, for life would come back like the spring after the snow melted. He realized that a forest could heal the land and its people, that even if the land had been eaten away, humans could bring forth life again if only they awakened the wisdom in themselves.
At night, when Tenashar was studying, Cadica would watch him. He became interested in her, and they began conversing. She would help him with his lessons by playing games that pertained to his studies. Eventually, they developed a rapport.
After lessons one day, Tenashar was relieved to get out into the fresh air. He had grown especially fond of Cadica, and even Etutsha looked on the child with affection. Coming to the warm sun outside, Tenashar saw Cadica and Etutsha talking and playing. She jumped up and spoke like a babbling brook. “What kinds of things did you learn today? Did you enjoy learning? How interesting were the things?” The little girl’s gaze and wise smile pierced Tenashar’s heart and mind.
Minds are able to connect to one another, and Cadica was able to accomplish this easily, particularly for one so young. She was a little girl with the wisdom of an elder. She had also learned it was important to ask questions, to uncover why things happen and how things grow, to never stop learning.
“Come, let us plant a sapling that will grow into a tree. Come!” Cadica was touched to see that Tenashar was eager to plant saplings. She planted one, watered it, looked at Tenashar with a smile, and planted more. Tenashar followed her example, planting saplings and smiling, nurturing the saplings as if they were his children. He thought of each a sapling as a baby that would grow to become part of a large forest. Cadica waited in front of a sapling, encouraging it to grow. Tenashar reminded her that time was needed for it to mature into a tree.
A Journey of a Thousand Seasons Book 1 (Journey Series) Page 11