Revelation: The Todor Trilogy, Book One

by Jenna Newell Hiott

  He waved back and crossed the room to join his friends for breakfast.

  “Are you as excited as we are?” Numa asked as he approached. “I couldn’t sleep at all last night and Soman said he’s only going to eat two beetcakes this morning.”

  Gemynd looked at Soman with concern. Under normal circumstances, Soman ate more than anyone else Gemynd knew. Gemynd often thought that, to Soman, eating was a special skill that required practice and repetition. Most days he would eat a dozen beetcakes before moving on to a platter of dried meat and fruit.

  Soman smiled and rubbed his hands across his belly. “I’m just saving myself for the feast later.”

  “Keeper Stout said we can take these to our sleeping houses to study whenever we want,” Gemynd said excitedly as he handed his friends their copies of The Book.

  “I can take this with me?” Numa asked and squealed with delight.

  “It smells like the Wishing Hut,” Soman said as he lifted The Book to his face.

  “Joyous day, children,” Server Patrice said as she walked to their table. “Happy Feast of Sevens to you! Are you looking forward to the festivities?”

  “Oh yes!” Numa exclaimed and all three children nodded.

  “Well, let’s put some proper food in you then to start your special day,” she said and set a platter on the table.

  Gemynd eyed it with delight. It had all his favorites: fried pig belly, strips of dried mutton, boiled eggs, beet-cakes, herbed bread and slices of juicy merryfruit.

  Numa gasped. “This is enough to feed all of Aerie! I feel like Queen Helen,” she said and began waving at the other diners with her arm straight in the air as though she were royalty.

  “And I’m Keeper Ramgaard!” Soman announced as he jumped up onto the bench with his fists up by his face. “I’ll protect your food, Your Highness.”

  Numa laughed and tugged on Soman’s tunic. “And who is going to protect my food from you?” she asked.

  “I will, Fair Queen,” Gemynd interjected, seizing his chance to be a hero like his father. “For I am Golath, hero of Aerie, and not even Keeper Ramgaard is a match for me.”

  Gemynd playfully lunged at Soman, intending to pin him to the ground but when the two collided, Gemynd felt as though he’d just run into a stone wall. Soman didn’t even sway as Gemynd bounced off and landed on his backside on the dirt floor.

  Trying to regain his heroic composure, Gemynd got to his feet. “You must choose, Your Highness,” he said and dusted off his breeches. “Who shall protect you?”

  Numa looked from one boy to the next and then declared, “Soman shall protect my food from all of Aerie and Gemynd shall protect my food from Soman.”

  Gemynd was about to protest her decision and declare that he could protect her food from Aerie and Soman, when Overseer Marta walked by. “Boys, it is time to sit down and eat,” she scolded as she passed. “You have only a few moments before you’re due at discipleship.”

  Gemynd looked at the ground and muttered an apology. Overseer Marta was the most frightening person in all of Aerie. It wasn’t her scolding that was scary–after all, that was her job--it was the way she looked. She was covered all over with scars. Her face was almost completely disfigured by them as though it had once been cut all apart and then put back together incorrectly. And the scars covered the rest of her body as well. Gemynd had seen her bathing at the river and her back was so full of scars that it looked like the skin was missing entirely. He had asked his mother countless times how Marta had gotten all those scars, but he was always told that he would know when it was time to know.

  “I simply don’t know how I’m going to get through discipleship today. I’m so excited for the parade I feel I could just burst from my skin,” Numa said as the three once again sat down at the table.

  “I wish we could skip the parade and go straight to the feast,” Soman said.

  “Skip the parade?” Gemynd and Numa asked in unison.

  Soman shrugged. “I don’t see what’s so special about the parade.”

  “We get to wear crowns of flowers in our hair and go to every place in Aerie to visit with the people there. We officially become members of Aerie and it is the most joyous day of the year,” Numa said.

  “And we get to know all the secrets of Aerie!” Gemynd put in, wondering why neither of his friends seemed excited about this. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for!”

  Soman looked puzzled. “I don’t think they’re really going to tell us any secrets,” he said. “Not anything important anyway. I think they’re just going to tell us how the oil press works and that sort of thing.”

  “Why would they call things like that ‘secrets’?” Gemynd asked. “There has to be more to it than that.”

  “We’ve lived here our whole seven years, Gemynd,” Soman said and tore off a piece of dried mutton. “How could there possibly be anything about Aerie that we don’t already know.”

  Gemynd looked down at his eating knife and thought about the dagger in his breeches. “You don’t know everything about Aerie,” he said without thinking. “I learned a secret just this morning.”

  Soman and Numa exchanged a look. “What secret, Gemynd?” Soman asked.

  “If you know one of the secrets, won’t you tell us?,” Numa added and looked right into his eyes.

  Gemynd looked back at her and thought that this could be his chance to give her something she really wanted. And something she couldn’t get from Soman or anyone else. Gemynd could truly be the hero. He took a drink from his wooden cup and tried to figure out the best way to tell them. As he swallowed, however, he realized that maybe he didn’t want to tell them about the dagger. If he told them about it, he would have to share it. And he wanted it to be his, just his. He didn’t even want to share it with his mother. As it had once belonged only to his father, it was now only his. And it made him different from everyone else in Aerie. It made him special.

  But he had already opened his big mouth and now his friends knew he had a secret to share. He could never lie to them, they were his best friends. But what could he say that would satisfy their curiosity without giving up the dagger?

  “Gemynd?” Soman prodded. “What’s your secret?”

  “I learned about my father this morning,” he said, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. It wasn’t a lie. He was still telling his friends the truth. But now the dagger could remain his. “He saved Aerie from bandits. He was a true hero.”

  “Who told you that?” Soman asked.

  “My mother,” Gemynd answered. “And she said that I’m just like him.”

  “I can see that about you,” Soman said as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

  “I’m glad you found out about your father,” Numa said and smiled at him. “And I’m sure your mother is right about you being just like him.”

  Gemynd looked at his friends and slid his hand under his tunic to feel the handle of the dagger. A strange, new feeling stirred inside him. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but he knew it wasn’t Joyful either.

  Soman

  “It doesn’t surprise me that your father is a hero,” Soman said to Gemynd. “He probably knew everything about the Truths like you do.”

  Soman always admired Gemynd’s ability to remember everything they learned in discipleship. No matter what Keeper Stout was teaching them, Gemynd always listened closely to every word and then kept it forever inside that amazing brain of his. Soman, on the other hand, felt he’d much rather dig for worms and roll in the grass than pay attention to the lesson. He often thought he was doing well just to remember his own name. But one thing he could never forget was how much he loved to eat.

  “May I have the last piece of pig belly?” he asked. He had truly planned to only eat a small breakfast today so that he could make the most of the feast later, but his mouth had once again overpowered his will. The Keepers had often spoken to Soman about his appetite, saying it was remarkable but could potentially be a
problem. They said that if Soman began to have too much fat on his body or show any signs of poor health, they would have to restrict his food. But, so far, Soman didn’t seem to have any fat on his body. He knew he was taller and wider than both Gemynd and Numa--in fact, he was even bigger than most of the tens he knew--but all of his body was hard like muscle, not jiggly like fat. Besides, he was certain that he was the healthiest person in all of Aerie. He’d never had sickness a single day in his life.

  “Of course,” Numa said, pushing the platter toward him. “I am much too excited to eat. My stomach is jumping up and down. In fact, I suddenly don’t feel well at all.”

  As Soman reached for the strip of pig belly, he noticed that the color had drained from Numa’s face. Her skin was always pale, but now it had taken on a sort of greyish-green hue. And he also noticed that she was wadding up the edge of her tunic in her fists.

  “Are you sick?” he asked and pressed his palm against her forehead, checking for fever the way he’d seen the Healers do.

  Numa shook her head. “I am fine,” she said weakly and Soman knew that her smile was forced. “I’m sure it is just my nerves reacting to all the excitement of the day.”

  “I’ll get you some horsetail,” Gemynd said and ran out of the Eating House without waiting for a reply.

  An awful feeling bubbled around inside of Soman. He was flooded by a need to protect Numa but he had no idea how. “I will fetch a Healer,” he said.

  Numa grabbed his hand. “No, please, just stay with me,” she said. “I am fine, really, it will pass.”

  “Was it the food?” Soman asked, still feeling helpless.

  Numa shook her head. “No,” she said and her eyes seemed focused on something far away. “For just a tiny moment, it was as though I saw a glimpse of the future. It happened so fast, though. I couldn’t tell you if it was real or if I saw anything in particular. But there was a feeling. An awful feeling. It was as though all the Joy was gone from Aerie.”

  Soman felt his jaw go slack and couldn’t quite meet Numa’s eyes. He’d never heard anyone say something so strange in all his life and he had no idea how to respond. “I can carry you for the parade if you’re still not feeling well,” he said with a shrug. It was the best he could come up with.

  Numa let out a long, slow breath. “I am already feeling much better, thank you,” she said and Soman felt relieved.

  “I got some horsetail for you,” Gemynd said as he ran back to the table with a handful of purple flowers. Numa took a pinch and chewed it eagerly.

  “Thank you,” she said, her eyes on Gemynd. “My hero once again.”

  From off in the distance a bell rang. The faint tone drifted in to the Eating House and could barely be heard over the din from the kitchen. It was followed by another, this one much closer, and a hush spread through Aerie. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood, facing east. The double bell signaled that it was thanksgiving time in Aerie. Every day, at the end of breakfast, all the people joined together in song. Soman always enjoyed this time of day and took a deep breath to sing his loudest and best.

  We give thanks to the Deis for the sunrise.

  We give thanks to the Deis for night’s end.

  We give thanks to the Deis for each other.

  Our gratitude for everything to You we send.

  We give thanks to the Deis for our bounty.

  We give thanks to the Deis for our employ.

  We give thanks to the Deis for our lifetimes.

  Because of You, we live each moment full of Joy.

  Despite Soman’s best efforts, he knew that it was Numa’s voice that carried the true meaning of the song straight to the Deis. Hers was not like any other voice Soman had heard. If there was a sound for the way sunlight looked when it shone through colored glass, that would be Numa’s voice. A few times, he’d even seen people forget themselves and weep when they heard her sing.

  “Let’s get this day going!” Gemynd said, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

  Soman smiled at his friend. “Want to race to the rock wall?” he asked, his legs suddenly vibrating with the need to run.

  Gemynd frowned. “But I can never keep up with you.”

  “I’ll give you a head start,” Soman offered. “I’ll wait until you reach the vineyard before I start running. And I’ll even carry the books.”

  “Yes, let’s race,” Numa said and Soman felt another surge of excitement, knowing he would soon be running. “Perhaps a good run is just what I need to feel better.”

  When they got to the door of the Eating House, Gemynd grabbed Numa’s hand and shouted, “Run!”

  Soman watched as they passed the foodstock yard; then he crouched low as they passed the barn. As soon as he saw them reach the vineyard, he sprang forward with a burst of power. He felt the muscles in his legs pumping as he moved over the ground with the speed of the wind. In no time, he reached the vineyard and took the path that curved gently toward the lake. He ran so fast that Gemynd and Numa looked like nothing more than blurry streaks as he overtook them.

  Soman loved to run. He loved the feel of the wind across his cheeks and the way it blew his hair away from his face. He loved how it made his heart pound and the way he could feel his blood rushing through his whole body. When he ran, he could easily imagine what it felt like to fly.

  Before he knew it, Soman had reached the rock wall on the east side of the lake and was disappointed to have to end his run so soon. He turned around and ran in place while waiting for his friends to catch up. After several moments, they arrived breathless and sweaty.

  “That was fun,” Numa said, leaning against the wall. “I do feel better.”

  “Let’s cool off in the shade,” Gemynd said and tugged on Numa’s hand.

  The entire discipleship area and most of the north shore of the lake existed underneath the protective branches of the enormous Baldaquin tree. It was the oldest thing in all of Aerie and maybe even in all of Todor. The Keepers said that it was over ten thousand years old. Soman had a hard time imagining how something could be that old. And in all that time, it never stopped growing. It’s trunk was at least sixty hands wide and looked like a giant piece of twisted honeychew. It’s branches were dark green and the lowest ones started at about fifty hands high and stretched at least two hundred hands wide before they cascaded gently all the way to the ground, forming a shelter over the discipleship area. It was better than any roof fashioned by human hands because the silvery-green, heart-shaped leaves somehow made it so the sunlight could come in, but the rain stayed out. Every single person in Aerie loved the Baldaquin tree, and some even said The Deis put it in Aerie so that all of Todor would know that Aerie was special.

  “Joyous day,” Numa said, waving to a group of older children who were seated in a circle, holding hands. Only one waved back.

  “They don’t seem very Joyous,” Soman said, noticing that they all seemed to have some version of a frown on their faces.

  “Those are the fourteens,” Gemynd replied solemnly. “Today is their very last day of discipleship.”

  Soman pressed his lips together. “I don’t think I will feel sad on our last day of discipleship. It’s Joyful here, but I really look forward to hunting and fishing with the elders. And smashing the grapes,” he said, stomping his feet on the ground. “And learning how to work the oil press.”

  “Not me,” Gemynd said and crossed his arms. “I don’t ever want to stop going to discipleship. In fact, I’m going to become a Keeper so I can learn for the rest of my life.”

  “You are?” Numa asked, and Soman was certain she sounded disappointed.

  “Joyous day!” hollered a familiar voice from behind them. Soman knew without looking that it was Keeper Stout and flung himself at the man for his morning hug. “Joyous day, Soman!” Keeper Stout said as he squeezed Soman hard.

  To Soman, Keeper Stout was much more than just a teacher. He thought of him as a father. Since Soman never knew his birth parents, he slept
in the Wishing Hut with the Keepers the way Numa and Gemynd slept in their sleeping houses with their mothers. Sometimes Gemynd would say that he was envious of Soman getting to know the Keepers so well, but Soman would just remind him of how fortunate he was to have a mother.

  “Are you ready for today, children?” Keeper Stout asked as he led them toward their new section of the discipleship area, which was the best spot of all. The sevens got an area all to themselves since seven was such a special year. The rest of the discipleship area was divided up among the other years.

  The sevens’ section was perfect and Soman had been eagerly awaiting the day when they’d have their lessons here. It was on the prettiest patch of lakeshore. The snakegrass grew right up to the edge of the deep blue water and made a soft bed for the children to lie on while Keeper Stout taught them their lessons. It was also the spot where the Baldaquin trees branches touched the ground and formed a cozy wall.

  “I’m ready!” Gemynd announced. “I can’t wait to know the secrets of Aerie.”

  Keeper Stout smiled. “In just a few hours, the three of you will be official members of Aerie. Do you know what that means?”

  “It means that we will help care for the younger children,” Numa said.

  “And we will help with the food and making clothes,” Soman said and waited for Gemynd to put in his answer, although he felt certain it would have something to do with knowing the secrets of Aerie.

  When Gemynd remained quiet, Keeper Stout asked, “Gemynd? What does it mean to you to be an official member of Aerie?”

  “That I can start working to become a Keeper,” he said, though it sounded more like a question.