by Jacky Gray
‘I think the line goes over to the right but they think I’m stupid because they all say it goes to the left.’
‘Who are they? Everyone else in the group?’
‘No, I think it goes to the right as well.’ Another girl came over as the first girl stood and wiped her eyes.
One of the boys seemed to be bolder than the rest. ‘I tried to tell Luned she’s not stupid. It might be because she’s using willow wands but we’re using the forked hazel wand.’
‘Very wise – sorry, I don’t know your name.’
‘Slater.’
‘Very wise, Slater. The willow will generally respond differently to the hazel. Why don’t you two try swapping wands and see if it makes a difference?’
‘We could, but I’m not so good with the two wands. I get stronger results from the “Y” shape.’
‘I can help you. What about you Luned? Can you use the hazel wand?’
‘I’ve never tried it before.’
‘Why don’t we go back to where you were both happy about the line? I think it’s somewhere between the two portal stones.’ Closing his eyes for a moment, he breathed in, feeling the subtle vibrations in the earth. He moved until he felt all the hairs on his arm stand up and positioned Taryn on the line. Moving a pace to the side, he took small steps until his body felt the essence of a hug and his mouth started grinning involuntarily. ‘Right, come here and see where you think the line is.’
Luned stood in front of him with the hazel wand and followed his example, closing her eyes and breathing in. The upright part of the “Y” twitched a little. ‘You see, I’m not very good with the hazel.’
‘Try standing in front of Taryn and try again.’
This time, the pull on the wand seemed strong and her eyes lit up. She followed the path as it turned slightly to the left with a look of confusion on her face.
‘My turn.’ Slater stood in front of Taryn, holding the two willow wands out in front of him, parallel to each other. After breathing deeply and focussing on the energy, his wands closed toward each other a little way. ‘It’s not very good. The hazel is much more powerful.’
‘Try standing in front of me.’
He did as he was told, and this time the willow wands crossed together to form an “X.” ‘That’s really strong. Maybe I can use these after all.’ He walked a pace forward and straightened them again. But this time they both pointed to the right, so he moved until they crossed. After a few steps like this, he could see the line really did turn to the right. He looked over at Luned and they smiled. ‘It looks like we were both right. But I found it much easier with the hazel. Can we swap back?’
‘I was about to ask if you would swap back.’
They swapped wands and Luned stood in front of Taryn and Slater in front of Reagan. The other children lined up behind them and Taryn suggested they should leave them to it.
‘But wait.’ Slater turned round. Why did the willow work better on the other line?’
‘Think about it. See if you can work it out for yourself. If I simply explain, you won’t remember. It’s the sort of thing they’ll be asking you soon. If you can’t find it out for yourself in the next week, come and find me at lunch time and I’ll see if you can work it out with some extra help.’
‘And how can you find the lines without a wand at all?’ Luned seemed impressed by this.
‘I’ve been doing this for several years. You simply get a feel for it. Happy hunting.’
Taryn added his wish for their good fortune as he followed Reagan towards the inner circles. ‘I’ve been trying for several years as well, but I can barely do it even with a wand. You can just sense them. How?’
Reagan stopped and thought about it. ‘I’m not sure. The hairs on my arms all stand up, especially on the Michael line. And I get a real sense of happiness and energy. It’s hard to explain.’
‘Maybe that’s your gift, it’s come a bit early though.’
Slater didn’t wait for a week, he found them later that eve, after the feasting had finished. ‘I think I have the answer. There are two energy lines through the smaller circles and they split at the outer circle.’
‘Well done. Do you notice anything else?’
‘All the boys seemed to find it easier to follow the line to the left and the girls preferred the one on the right. Is there some kind of man energy and woman energy?’
‘There certainly is. The male line you followed left is known as Michael and the female line to the right is Mary.’
‘I knew it. And are willow trees female or something because all the girls liked using them more.’
‘Most people think so. What about hazel?’
‘I’m not sure. I’d say mostly male, but a couple of them worked better on the Mary line.’
‘Because there are male and female branches on a hazel tree. You can tell them apart by the catkins - the male ones are longer.’
One of the boys with Slater giggled, but he took it seriously and frowned at his friend, gesturing for him to go away. He turned back to Reagan. ‘Just one more thing. And I did think about it for a while, before you ask.’
Reagan smiled warmly. ‘Ask away, you’ve earned it.’
‘We’re taught the Goddess is associated with the left and the God with the right, so why did the female line go to the right?’
‘Because we were following the lines out of the circle. If you think about the ritual ...’
‘We always come up from the sanctuary and enter at the bottom of the henge, so the Mary line will be on the left.’
‘Exactly. You would probably have worked it out for yourself at the next celebration.’
‘Possibly. Thank you Reagan, I will know who to come to if I need to find out anything about earth energy.’
After the boys had left, Taryn couldn’t resist teasing. ‘Looks like you’ve got yourself an admirer there. Or maybe a rival. He seems a bit young to take himself so seriously.’
‘He’s very knowledgeable about Magi things for an Outil.’
‘He’s an Outil? Never. I simply assumed he was Magi.’
‘With a name like Slater? Unlikely.’
~*~
Reagan was brought back to the present quite rudely as someone pushed past him, coming out of the administration building. Godryk did not look happy. ‘Watch where you’re going. Oh it’s you. Trying to trip me up now because you haven’t done enough damage? I’ve got loads of extra duties until Beltane because of you.’
‘I think you’ll find the extra duties are because of your behaviour, not because of anything I’ve done.’
‘You were the one who went running to tell tales. I will get my own back somehow, you see if I don’t.’
Reagan said nothing, but he knew he’d have to be extra careful from now on. It would not be a good idea to go anywhere on his own for a while. With any luck, the brat might simply forget about it eventually. He looked up to see Malduc waiting with a frown on his face. ‘Is everything alright, Reagan?’
‘Yeah, we simply bumped into each other. An accident.’
‘Very well. Come into my office, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’
13 Kalen the Mentor
Malduc introduced the man sitting in his office as Kalen. When he stood, he was not much taller than Reagan, with a pleasant, friendly face. Reagan returned his hand clasp and they sat down on the comfortable chairs. ‘Malduc tells me you have been mind-linking with plants, animals and other people.’
‘I’m not sure if Blaise counts; she appeared in a dream.’
‘Blaise? You mean your white horse spirit guide.’
Reagan nodded and Kalen continued. ‘It’s still very impressive. I know Malduc will have told you about the dangers of this gift. Right now, from the Imbolc after your fourteenth birthday is the most crucial time.’
‘But my birthday is this moon. I will be fifteen.’
Malduc looked worried but Kalen remained positive. ‘Don’t worry, it’s only a guide.
The training is best in the spring and last year may have been too early. You are small for your age.’
‘Surely I will not need muscles for this; I thought it was all about exercising the brain.’
‘But the brain takes a lot of energy, so the stronger and fitter your body is, the better your brain will perform. The power is channelled through the body, so a small, weak frame will not be able to channel much power.’
‘I need to sort a few things out. If you need me, you know what to do.’ Malduc gave a small bow as he left the room.
Kalen began with an apology. ‘I’m sorry, I know you will have been through all this before with Malduc, but I sense things in a different way to him. I want you to go back to the start, to the very first time you experienced something strange.’
‘Like the willow-moon dream when I first met Blaise?’
‘I think it started long before then. From what I can perceive, you have always had a connection to trees and have been able to determine the earth spirit lines without a wand for many years. I am trying to get to the source of your gift, because at the moment it’s difficult to determine which of your many gifts to develop. Because of the timing and your age, it’s important to choose the right one or it may never reach its full potential.’
‘Oh dear, what happens if I don’t get it right?’
‘There’s no such thing as a wrong answer. You seem to have such strengths in all your talents we could pick any one of them at random and I’m sure you’d soon become proficient in that skill. You are very fortunate – no, that’s not true; it’s no lucky accident. From what I can discern, you spend more time in the librarie than you do at home. I’m sure the librarian knows you better than your own mother does.’
Reagan blushed. Did that make him a bad son? No wonder his mother always found faults.
‘No, you are not a bad son. If she finds fault, it’s more about what she wants you to be rather than what you do.’
‘You really can hear my thoughts.’
‘My link to you is quite strong. Which makes our task a lot easier. You will not have to explain each incident. If you merely think about it, I will experience it too and can determine its importance quite quickly. So, when you’re ready, I want you to think back to the first time something happened which you didn’t understand. It might help if you close your eyes.’
‘Alright.’
‘One more thing. Do not be afraid if you can sense something different about the memory, it will only be me in your mind, watching. If there’s anything you don’t want me to see, you can just return to the present. The easiest way to do that is to make some kind of physical movement. You could open your eyes, but if you cannot, clapping your hands is a good method; you will get the sound as well. Do you understand everything I’ve said?
‘Yes.’
‘When you’re ready, please begin.’
Reagan had no question about the order of things. His mind flew straight to his first sight of the fabled Uffington white horse, as he’d viewed it from Badburgh hill, then to his journey around the entire perimeter of the horse. He remembered feeling concerned about being disrespectful by lying down inside the shape like so many of his classmates. Somehow, he understood he was welcome to sit on the horse’s back. Then he was riding Blaise, high above, and looking down on the Uffington horse below. The sharp intake of breath woke him.
‘Thank you for sharing that sight with me, I will not forget it in a hurry. It’s clear the white horses are important, but we need to consider the other gifts. Can you try again please?’
His mind jumped from his first connection with the willow tree to the first time he’d sensed the energy lines within the Aveburgh henge, many years earlier. Next came the Imbolc test where he’d gone into a trance and finally the scene with Edlyn where he mind-linked with the Outil boys.
Finally, Kalen called a halt, asking if he would like a hot drink. He disappeared for a while, returning with a tray of gingerbreads. ‘Help yourself; you will need to restore the energy. I can see you have an important connection to the white horses, but I’m not sure what the task is yet. It seems all of your gifts are required to some degree, which is going to make things very tricky in terms of your other classes at lehren.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘All in good time. We need to prioritise so we don’t spend time developing a skill which may not be of use to you. Are you familiar with the truth pendulum?’
‘Of course.’ What child hadn’t asked questions at Samhain and watched the crystal say yes, no or maybe?
‘This is similar. It gives the answer from one to five where one means definitely no and five means definitely yes. If I ask the questions correctly, we should be able to see which gifts are the most important. I want you to hold this crystal and focus on the white horse. Nothing else, just the white horse.’
Reagan took the chain, from which dangled a beautiful tear drop crystal, sparkling with light of every colour. ‘Which one do you mean? Blaise or Uffington?’
‘Good point. We’ll start with Uffington. Hold it firmly in your hand and focus.’
Reagan cleared his mind, filling it with a picture of the white horse from above. When he opened his eyes, Kalen suspended the chain on the top of a small device similar to a metronome. The crystal hung below a piece of wood carved into the arc of a circle. Numbers from one to five were marked on the wood, with the three behind the chain.
‘Ask it how important Uffington is. Use your mind.’ As Reagan thought the question the pendulum swung to the right, almost reaching the five. Kalen read off the score, writing down four point five on the slate. They repeated the procedure for Blaise and this time the crystal swung right off the end of the arc and kept going a little way before falling back to rest on the edge of the wooden arc. Kalen grinned as he noted five point one. ‘I think she gave that a bit of help. Now the willow.’
The willow scored four point six and the earth spirit lines reached four point nine. The next reading did not complete as they were interrupted by one of the notaries coming in with a large earthenware jug of something which smelt heavenly, and two beakers.
‘Sorry it took so long, there was a bit of a disturbance. One of the seniors causing a problem, demanding to talk to Malduc. I had to go and find him.’
Reagan looked up. ‘Was it Edlyn? Making a fuss about the extra duties like Godryk.’
‘Oh dear, I didn’t realise you would be able to hear him from here. It’s all over now - his parents have been sent for. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes tonight.’
‘Thank you for the tea. The gingerbreads were delicious.’
‘You’re welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed them.’
Kalen added his appreciation for the refreshments and as she left, he turned back to Reagan with one eyebrow raised. ‘I didn’t hear a thing and I don’t think you did in the normal scheme of things. So how could you know?’
‘I’m not sure. It didn’t feel like a mind-link. I was thinking of him because of the incident with the Outils. Then I heard him shouting it wasn’t fair, he didn’t see why he had to do extra duties when he didn’t lay a finger on anyone.’
Kalen’s other eyebrow lifted. ‘You don’t even need to see someone to link with them. It looks like we don’t need to develop this gift at all. Our task may be to control it so you cannot unwittingly do some damage. Let’s ask the crystal.’
After a brief pause to drink honey tea and eat more gingerbread, Kalen asked several more questions with conclusive evidence. Reagan’s mind-linking would be important but he would need to gain control of it. Malduc came back and asked to speak to Kalen for a while and they left the room. When they returned, both men had grave expressions on their faces. Reagan was sure he’d let them down in some way.
Kalen placed a hand on his arm in reassurance. ‘Exactly the opposite; you’ve far exceeded anyone’s expectations. Unfortunately, the timing means some bad news. You will have to miss the Worthy contest.’
Reagan’s face could not help but show his disappointment. He’d been hoping his poor showing on the final test would not have resulted in this kind of failure.
14 Truly Worthy
‘That can’t be true. I don’t believe it.’ Taryn shook his head in denial as Malduc read out his name as the clear winner of all the Magi boys. The sixth years had gathered in the assembly hall for the announcement of the eighteen Worthies. They would follow the special training programme for the Beltane graduation ceremony. Six reserves were also named; they too would train and be ready to step in if one of the initial candidates was unable to participate on the day for any reason. Shrugging to his friends, Taryn joined Amiera, the top Magi girl, on the dais. Several heads turned to look at Reagan. Many knew of his expertise in all the Magi arts and several had benefited from his patient explanations of sacred rituals or healing plants.
Reagan focussed on the ground as the names of the winning Warrior girl and boy were read out and they went up to the stage accompanied by polite applause. The winning Outil girl was read out, then a tie at first place for two of the Outil boys. The names of the remaining two Magi girls were read out together and Rowena gasped to hear her name called as reserve. She squeezed Reagan’s arm and whispered in his ear. ‘Thanks for your help. I’ll see you up there in a minute.’
It took every ounce of self-control for Reagan not to react when the other Magi boys were announced. Gilfred and Molan were named as contenders followed by Godryk as reserve which brought a moment’s pause. Although no-one spoke, Reagan heard the thoughts of several people protesting because he’d been left out. He was pleased when the first handclap sounded, breaking the silence. As Molan shuffled past to take his place on the stage, he offered his hand and Reagan grasped it, glad of the physical contact.
Afterwards, he could not have named any of the other finalists; he felt uncomfortable with the number of sympathetic vibrations coming off the people sitting around him. Reagan had not realised how many people liked him and felt there might have been a chance of him winning the vote to find the most worthy boy and girl. Exactly like his hero Archer. A familiar scene flashed in front of him, the maypole where the May King and Queen lead the dancing. As the vision unfolded, he saw the crown on his own head. Before he could identify the queen, the girl next to him whispered he was wanted on stage. He heard his name shuffling round the room.