by Linda McNabb
“The king should not have taken it,” Maata said in an apologetic tone.
“He said only the ruler of this land could own something as unique as my crown, and he was the ruler,” Guyan replied simply. “I knew enough runes to stop him — enough to keep my crown – but the rune on my palm denied me the use of them. The king left shortly afterwards. The dragons had no choice but to follow the one who held the crown.”
“Where does Aldren come into it?” Zaine asked. He was following her story, but it raised more questions than it answered.
“Aldren was one of the pageboys at the castle, and he stayed behind when the king left. He thought it was wrong and vowed to help me retake the crown,” Guyan explained. “There were no timeweavers or starweavers in this land, but some showed skill at the runes and they could make them work. Aldren was the first one who could use our runes. He was the first runeweaver.”
“And he trapped the dragons in a Circle of Dreams to get the crown back?” Maata was struggling to understand.
“We weren’t trying to trap them. I wanted another circle. To make it, I needed the help of the storm dragons. I taught Aldren everything he needed to know to create the circle and it took a very long time. There was a new king on the throne by the time we went to get the crown back.”
“But he wouldn’t give it up,” Zaine filled in the silent moment, as Guyan seemed to drift off into her memories.
“That’s right,” Guyan agreed. “So, we decided to create a circle right there at Willow Castle. I could live without my crown, but I had to have the circle.”
“What for?” Zaine asked, but the rune-marked girl did not seem to hear him.
“I told the king I could show him something amazing if I could borrow the crown for a short time. The storm dragons will obey only the one holding the crown.” Guyan sighed deeply before she continued. “The king finally agreed and I handed the crown to Aldren.”
“What did he do with it?” Maata asked.
“Aldren did the best he could. Only a starweaver can create a true starlink, and he was the closest we had. He was not the one who knew the most runes, but he worked them better than all the others. The storm dragons did not agree easily. They were needed to fashion the runes on the ground that would create the circle.”
“Why did you want another circle?” Maata asked, looking briefly down at the Circle of Dreams below. “Surely one was enough?”
“It was for Jelena. If it hadn’t been for Jelena, the storm dragons would not have even considered helping.” Guyan sank down to the wooden decking of the balcony and seemed about to cry. “But the circle did not work. The storm dragons became trapped in it and struck down Aldren when he tried to retrieve the crown.”
“Who is Jelena?” Zaine asked a little hesitantly. He didn’t want to upset the girl any more, but he felt that Jelena was a big part of the story she was telling.
Guyan got up slowly and beckoned them to follow her. Maata took the twisted golden crown from her pack and placed it next to the smaller wooden one. Guyan led them to a room which looked out on her Circle of Dreams. She pointed to a corner of the room where a small child, of about five years old, sat playing happily with some wooden blocks and giggled when a block fell to the ground. The child seemed oblivious to the fact that anyone else was in the room and a slight blue haze hung about her.
After several seconds, another block fell to the ground and she giggled again. When it happened a third time, Zaine knew that there was something very unusual about this little girl. Then he saw the circle of runes which surrounded the child, carved into a piece of wood that was placed on top of the polished floors.
“I was granted one last rune circle when I was sent here,” Guyan said, gazing sadly at the little blonde-haired girl. She looked like a smaller version of Guyan, except only a handful of runes were marked on her skin. She wore a soft-looking, sleeveless green tunic and green leather shoes that were too big for her. “When I realised that my little sister, Jelena, had followed me, I used my last rune circle to freeze her in a time-loop. I spent a long time trying to find a way to send her home, but when Aldren’s circle failed and the storm dragons were trapped I knew there was nothing I could do. She will remain like that forever, never growing old, never aware of anything but those few seconds of fun.”
Zaine found it hard to comprehend a child reliving the same minute of her life for hundreds of years, but there it was, right in front of him. Another gentle giggle made him frown, and he turned away, unable to watch any longer.
“I wish I could remove it – any life would be better than what she has now,” Guyan said with a sigh of regret. “If I had allowed her to learn more runes, she may have been able to get herself home.”
“You can freeze time?” Maata was still staring at Jelena.
“I could – but, as I said, I am not allowed to now.” Guyan looked at her little sister one more time, and then left the room and the others followed. They went back into the main living area and stared out the window.
“I wonder how long it will be before the storm dragons realise they aren’t following me,” Zaine said, tipping his head slightly to see if he could hear the storm approaching. He heard the rustle of the trees outside and a few birds, but nothing that sounded remotely like a storm.
“They are able to follow the trail of anyone without faltering,” Guyan told them, looking a little unsure of what Zaine meant. “They will follow you here easily.”
“Zaine cast some runes that led the storm dragons after just our shoes,” Maata explained. “We needed time to get here and ask for your help.”
Guyan looked both impressed and nervous at Maata’s explanation. “That will make them even angrier. They do not like to be fooled.”
“We didn’t have much choice,” Zaine said in his defence.
“We should see if they are coming,” Guyan said. “Even though there is nothing we can do once they get here.”
She walked to a set of stairs at the back of the room and went up the narrow steps. Zaine and Maata paused for a second, wondering if they should follow, then hurried after her. The steps led to a small lookout perched on top of the wooden castle.
The lookout peeped out above the trees and allowed a view of the entire valley and the lands beyond. Guyan was staring back at the waterfall, and they all watched in silence for a few minutes. Thankfully there seemed to be no sign of a darkening sky so far.
“Aldren and your friends have followed you. They will be in the valley in about an hour,” Guyan said, pointing to the white cliffs.
Zaine squinted and finally saw group of small figures in the distance. They were making their way down the stone steps that hung in the air, and Aldren was in the lead. By the speed they were going down the steps, it was clear that Aldren knew the secret of the hidden steps. Zaine could see two more people further up the path and wondered who they were.
“You must be hungry,” Guyan said, turning away from the view. She went skilfully down the steps to the main living room, the others following more slowly. “I will get some food.”
Guyan was nowhere in sight when they reached the living area, and they sat on cushions to await her return.
“What are we going to do about the storm dragons?” Maata asked quietly as they stared out at the valley.
“I don’t know,” Zaine replied with a shrug. “Perhaps they will have calmed down by the time they find us.”
Neither looked like they actually believed that, but Guyan’s return with a tray of food prevented them from having to continue the conversation.
“The fruit is not so good this year,” Guyan said, placing the tray down on the floor next to them. “It was a cool summer. Perhaps next year will be better.”
The tray was piled high with delicious-looking fruit and a flat-bread that made Zaine’s mouth water as the smell reached his nose. All thoughts of angry storms chasing him were gone as he almost fell on the food. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was, and the way Maata
was eating showed she was equally as hungry. Guyan picked at some grapes while the others ate, and did not attempt to start any conversations.
When the two visitors had finally satisfied their hunger, Guyan took the tray away and came back with goblets of chilled water. Zaine was about to ask how she kept the water so cold, but Maata asked Guyan a question while he was still drinking the refreshing water.
“Why do you draw the runes on your skin?”
“I did not draw them on,” Guyan replied. “They appear as I learn them.”
“I thought you said your runes do not work here?” Zaine said.
“I keep learning them, just in case one day I can find a way to use them.” Guyan took a large golden book from a shelf and handed it to Zaine. “I still have not lost hope of sending Jelena home. This is one of the few things I managed to bring with me from my homeland.”
“This is bigger than any runebook I’ve ever seen,” Zaine said, looking at the huge tome in awe. It easily had ten times the number of pages of any other book he had seen.
“It contains every rune known to the weavers of my world,” Maata said, sitting cross-legged on the ground and picking at the seam of a large colourful rug that covered the floor. “Runeweavers can use only some of them, timeweavers use many more, and the starweavers are skilled enough to work all the runes in that book.”
“Which type of weaver are you?” Maata asked, looking at the number of runes on the girl’s skin.
“I never got to find out,” Guyan replied with a shrug. “We are not tested until we reach thirteen and I left before then.”
Zaine set the runebook down on the floor and looked at the red design on the cover. Did he have to trace the rune like the green book which had Aldren had been trapped in? Was he even allowed to look inside it? As if sensing his hesitation, Guyan leaned forward and gently opened the book. The pages turned easily and Zaine flicked through to runes which he had never seen before and studied one with great interest.
“There is no master trapped in this book?” Maata asked as she, too, leaned in close to look at the impressive golden book.
“No, only the storm dragons can change the structure of a person’s form,” Guyan said with a shake of her golden hair, “and before they came here they had never done it.”
“They don’t really like weavers,” Zaine said quietly.
“That wasn’t always the case. Once we all lived here in harmony,” Guyan told them. She looked sad that things had changed. Then she stood up, clearly wanting to change the subject. “We should go down and greet your friends.”
They went back down to the valley floor, and Zaine felt drawn to take a closer look at the Circle of Dreams. He walked over, followed by Maata and Guyan.
They stood a few paces from the runes burnt into the ground and stared into the land beyond. The golden statues were large and so clear that Zaine was sure he would be able to reach out and touch them.
“Why can’t you just take Jelena home through this circle?” Maata asked as she looked from the circle and up to the wooden castle in the trees.
Guyan did not reply, instead she picked up a small stone and tossed it towards the edge of the circle. It bounced back as if it had struck a solid barrier, and landed in the grass. Zaine reached out a hand and felt such a strong resistance push him back that his hand tingled for a few seconds.
“I was banished here and the way back was sealed,” Guyan said evenly, without even a hint of anger or bitterness. “It was not meant to allow me to go home.”
“Banished?” Zaine queried. “What for?”
“Being born at the wrong time,” Guyan said with a wry smile. “They thought I was a danger to them all.”
Zaine felt his heart skip a beat – it sounded as though she was describing his life. He was about to tell her she wasn’t the only one to be considered a danger because of the day they were born, but something within the circle drew his attention and he could not help but stare. A tall, thin woman, with golden-blonde hair, was standing in the long grass at the edge of the circle of golden dragons. She carried a posy of flowers and she was staring forlornly into the circle. Her cheeks were streaked with tears and her eyes were red from crying. What made Zaine frown, though, was that she was standing motionless. He stared for a full minute, but saw no movement at all.
“My mother has never accepted my banishment and misses both my sister and myself. She comes to the circle often.” Guyan appeared to be fighting back a tear, and she sighed deeply before picking a flower that looked similar to those her mother held.
“Some mothers are not so sad when their child is banished,” Zaine said with more bitterness than he had intended. Guyan gave him a questioning look, but he was saved from having to elaborate by Maata asking a question.
“Why isn’t she moving? Even the grass does not seem to move. Is there no wind either?” Maata was leaning closer to the runes and almost resting on the invisible barrier.
“Time is different there,” Guyan explained. She sank down to sit cross-legged and continued to stare at her mother as she spoke. “A day in this land is only a single minute in my homeland. We have been gone for nearly four hundred years, yet she has been mourning for just over one year. Every morning in my homeland she comes to the circle for an hour. Here, I see her crying for two weeks every year.”
Zaine could see that Guyan was upset and so, although he wanted to examine the large stones that surrounded the circle, he knew they should leave. He was about to suggest they went back to the wooden castle when they heard sounds of people arriving in the valley.
CHAPTER EIGHT - STAR-READING
“How dare you run off with the crown!”
Zaine didn’t even have to turn around to know who had spoken. His mother sounded just as angry with him as always. He bit his lip to stop himself replying, and Guyan looked puzzled at his sudden tense expression.
“May I present my mother – Trianna,” Zaine said, still not turning to face his mother. “She was the previous king’s personal runeweaver.”
“Your mother?” Guyan looked from the boy to the woman in red, and back again. Then she stepped forward and stopped in front of Trianna. “I do not allow voices to be raised in my valley.”
Zaine turned to see his mother’s expression. She was staring in confusion at Guyan and looking at the rune markings on her skin with suspicion. Davyn was a dozen paces behind her, supporting the green-robed Aldren. The old runeweaver looked very tired, and Zaine wondered how the weaver had managed the journey here in such a weak condition.
By then, Guyan had also seen Aldren approaching, and she hurried over to him and supported his other side as he walked. “I have missed you, Aldren,” she said simply.
The old weaver nodded in reply but did not speak. It looked as if he were about to pass out.
“Your valley?” Trianna seemed to be a few paces behind in the conversation as the three of them caught up with her. “We must see Guyan.”
“This is Guyan,” Zaine said dryly. “And it’s her crown. We were simply returning it.”
Davyn and Guyan sat the old weaver down and leaned him against a tree, facing the rune circle. A weak sigh indicated how little strength he had left.
Trianna adjusted to the new turn of events, and she followed Guyan and waited for her to turn her way. Trianna dropped into a stiff curtsey and spoke with a stilted voice that showed she did not like what she had to do.
“We need your help to create a new crown,” she stated, standing up and stepping back.
“I did not create the crown. I cannot do such a thing,” Guyan replied sadly. “Surely Aldren told you this?”
“And we must defeat the storm,” Davyn added.
The young rune-covered girl looked at Aldren. “The dragons will not listen to me any longer.”
“I thought perhaps Zaine could defeat the storm if you showed him how?” Aldren replied, looking hopeful.
“He cannot defeat them. Nobody can,” Guyan said with a smal
l shake of her head, and Zaine began to feel all hope of defeating the storm slip away.
“He destroyed the circle at Willow Castle and found a way to release me from the runebook,” Aldren persisted, as he wriggled to a more comfortable position and wiped sweat from his brow.
“Does he know all the runes?” Guyan asked Aldren, completely ignoring Zaine who stood only a few steps away.
“No, but he uses them in a way that does things others cannot do, and he learns them at a speed I have never seen before,” Aldren said in a calm, confident manner. “I taught him and I think he could be just the one you were searching for all those years.”
Zaine felt uncomfortable at being spoken about as if he weren’t present, but he did not dare to interrupt the conversation. Trianna, however, did not feel such a restriction.
“He is a menace to our world and should have been banished a long time ago,” Trianna countered angrily. “The life-reading said so.”
“What is a life-reading?” Guyan asked.
“It foretells his life by the stars on the day he was born,” Davyn explained.
“He had a star-chart?” Guyan asked, seeming far more interested in that than in anything else that had been said. “Who was it done by? I wasn’t aware there were any starweavers here.”
“An old woman who lived in the village near the castle,” Davyn said. “She died a few years ago.”
Davyn’s answer did not seem to please Guyan, as her expression darkened and she turned away for a few seconds. It seemed to take a great deal of effort for her to compose herself before she turned back to them.
“That is a shame. A starweaver would have been able to find a way back to my home,” she said, flicking her gaze from the starlink up to the wooden castle, and Zaine knew she was thinking of her sister, Jelena.
“Zaine may be able to help,” Aldren insisted, attempting to get up, but sinking back to the ground. “But first he will have to control the storm dragons – and to do that he will need your help.”