Revelation: The Todor Trilogy, Book One

by Jenna Newell Hiott

  “We must stand together as Aerites during this time of transition and not allow mere rumors to become our greatest fears. We must remember the Law of Aerie: anyone who disrupts our Joy will be banished. And, above all, we must remember the ten Truths that the Deis have given us. These Truths ensure our Joy,” Keeper Clary said and then paused to allow everyone to silently review the Truths. “It is important that Aerie’s isolation begin immediately, before we are overrun with outsiders. Therefore I ask all who are able, to assist in pulling up the ladders. When that is finished, I ask that the men of the olive press meet with me in the Wishing Hut.”

  When Keeper Clary had finished speaking, he began his walk back to the Wishing Hut. Like a single entity, the crowd moved from the Meeting Yard to Aerie’s outer edges. Three rope ladders connected Aerie with the outside world: one on the north cliff, one on the west cliff and one on the south cliff. Working in teams, the people of Aerie hoisted up each ladder and carried them to the Meeting House for storage. Soman could feel sadness ripple through the village as the ropes that were used to raise and lower the burden baskets were severed, rendering the baskets useless. Aerie was now in complete isolation.

  As Soman watched the people walk away, he felt someone come and squeeze his shoulder. It was Overseer Marta. “Joyous day, Soman,” she said with a smile. “Are you well?”

  Soman returned the smile. “Joyous day, Marta,” he replied. “I am well, though it appears that most others are not.”

  Marta nodded. “We will have to work to find Joy for a time, I’m afraid.”

  “To be honest,” Soman said, feeling a desire to confide in Marta. “I don’t believe my life will be any different now than it was before. I’ve never left Aerie in my life nor do I interact with outsiders. Nothing will really change for me.”

  Marta gave him another smile. “You may have a man’s body, my dear Soman, but you’ve a boy’s heart. Everything is always changing. You just have to choose to see it that way,” she said and gave him another squeeze before walking away.

  Soman shook his head, hoping the action might help him make sense of Marta’s words.

  “What d’ya spose Ol’ Clary wants with us now?” Ruddy Tom, one of Soman’s fellow oil press workers asked as he walked up.

  Soman shrugged in response and fell in step with Tom. “Whatever it is, I hope it doesn’t take very long. I’m famished.”

  Soman and the other press workers stood in a tight group inside the Wishing Hut. The dark room felt constricted by the smell of sweat and the heat of the men’s bodies. The doorskin was tied open allowing a small amount of air and light into the room, but Soman quickly decided it wasn’t enough.

  Elder Keeper Clary sat on a bench along the far wall holding an oil lamp. “Let us not tarry for I know it is stifling in here,” he began. “I’ve asked the twelve of you here to give you the task of bellmen. You have most likely never heard the term before as Aerie has not had the need for bellmen in over four decades.”

  Soman shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He couldn’t recall ever having been so uncomfortable. All he could think about was the lake. The cool, refreshing water of the lake. And a large plate of dried meat awaiting him on the lakeshore. To make matters worse, he was certain that Keeper Clary’s speech was becoming slower and slower by the second. The Elder had to take a breath between each word.

  “It” breath “is” breath “the” breath “job” breath “of” breath “the” breath “bellmen” breath “to protect” breath “Aerie” breath “in times” breath “of isolation.”

  Soman looked around for Keeper Stout, thinking maybe he could deliver the rest of the talk and allow Keeper Clary to have some rest.

  “Soman,” Keeper Clary said and Soman felt himself blush. Had Keeper Clary known what he was thinking? “I’m assigning you to nighttime point bellman.”

  “Yes, Elder Keeper,” Soman said, hoping someone would explain his new duties to him.

  “The rest of you can work out your schedules amongst yourselves. You will each have an eight hour shift at your bellstation followed by an information-gathering excursion into the other parts of Todor.”

  Soman nearly choked.

  “What?” the men said in unison.

  Keeper Clary seemed to grow impatient. “An isolation time is never easy for anyone, but we all must do our parts. You are the strongest men in Aerie and therefore will be taking on the tasks that require the most strength. With no one on the throne, we cannot rely on royal messengers to get us word of the happenings in Todor. This will be up to you. Get plenty of rest in between shifts. Do not worry about the oil press for now. We will use our reserves until more is required. Joyous day.”

  Soman leaned against the bell post, drilling holes in a stick with the point of a knife. He’d been sitting watch for just over seven hours. And it was the dullest thing he’d ever done. The only thing that kept him from falling asleep was worrying about having to explore Todor at dawn in search of information. Every time he thought about it, his stomach did back flips. He had never left Aerie before. Sometimes he’d thought about how nice it might be to run without any boundaries, but the familiarity of Aerie meant more to him than anything else. He shivered as he thought about what awaited him at dawn.

  The post sconce cast a small circle of light around him. Beyond that was only inky blackness. Soman had quickly discovered that he would have to rely on everything but his eyes to keep Aerie safe on his watch.

  He twisted the knife point into the stick for the fifteenth time when he suddenly heard something: a slight rustling in the grass beyond where he could see. He felt every part of his body become tense with readiness. He listened as hard as he could and sniffed the air.

  “I know you’re there, brother,” he said as he recognized Gemynd’s scent. “I can smell you.”

  “Is it a pleasant scent?” Gemynd asked as he appeared in the circle of light with Numa only steps behind him.

  “I’ve smelled worse,” Soman answered with a smile but then shook his head. “You shouldn’t be here. I’m supposed to keep my focus on protecting our village.”

  “You’re taking this very seriously,” Numa said. “Is there really as much danger as Keeper Clary made it seem?”

  Soman shrugged. “Right now I only know as much as you do. But when the sun comes up, I’m going on my first news-gathering mission.”

  A mischievous grin spread across Gemynd’s face. “I can’t help but think your mission would be more bearable if it wasn’t undertaken alone.”

  Soman met Gemynd’s eyes and couldn’t help the feeling of relief that washed through him. “You want to go with me?” he asked.

  Gemynd and Numa both nodded. “We do.”

  “It isn’t allowed. Only the bellmen are to leave Aerie,” Soman said as he tried to decide if taking Gemynd and Numa with him would be a disruption of Joy.

  “No one will know,” Gemynd said. “The two of us will go down now and wait for you at the bottom of the cliff.”

  Soman looked around. Beyond the circle of torchlight, it was still completely black. If they began their descent now, Gemynd and Numa could easily be out of sight by sunrise. “It’s a long way down and I’ll have to lower you by rope. Can you do that?” he asked, looking specifically at Numa.

  Numa nodded. “I trust you to get me safely to the ground.”

  Soman fashioned a harness from the length of rope that was coiled at the bottom of the bell post. He tied it around Numa first and then Gemynd. “The most frightening part will be your first step over the edge so just keep your attention on me. We have looked down on that valley countless times over the years so do you both remember the way the road at the bottom splits into three?”

  “The south road goes to the capitol city Tolnick, the west road goes through the Great Wide Valley and the north road loops back around to the Forest of Mystery,” Gemynd said, showing off his knowledge.

  “Right. And where the north and west roads meet is a gro
ve of mantle trees. No one in Aerie will be able to see you in the trees. Wait for me there.” Soman felt a sense of urgency as he knew that dawn would soon be upon them.

  Soman lowered Gemynd and Numa to the ground and listened as their footsteps retreated away from Aerie. His heart pounded and felt like it was in his throat. Surely they would be caught and Soman would be banished from Aerie forever.

  “Joyous day, Soman,” Bronty, another of the oil press workers, said as he came to relieve Soman at the point bell only moments after sunrise.

  “Joyous day,” Soman replied and hoped Bronty had not noticed the break in his voice.

  Bronty walked to the edge of the cliff and looked over. “Going down there, eh?”

  Soman nodded. “That’s the mission.”

  “Ever been down there before?”

  “No. Never.”

  “Nothing to fear,” Bronty said and clapped his large hand on Soman’s back. “A strong lad like you will have no troubles at all.”

  Soman tried to smile, but he didn’t think the sentiment ever reached his face.

  “Go on now,” Bronty urged with a grin. “I’ve got it covered up here.”

  Soman grabbed the rope in his hands and, without giving himself another moment to worry, he stepped over the edge and lowered himself down to the ground. He looked up and waved at Bronty who watched from the top.

  “Hurry back and may the Deis be with you!” Bronty called.

  Soman simply waved again in response and turned to face the Land of Todor. He had seen this same view from Aerie numerous times, but it looked completely different from the valley floor. Everything was bigger. The dirt roads were much wider. The fields much grander. And the mantle trees much taller.

  In case he was still being watched, Soman adopted a nonchalant, leisurely pace down the road toward the mantle grove. When he got to the corner of the north and west roads, he looked over his shoulder to see if Bronty still watched him, but he was too far away. The only thing he could see of Aerie was the top of the Baldaquin tree. He gasped at how small his beloved tree looked from here.

  “Soman?” Numa whispered from within the grove.

  Soman stepped off the road and was instantly enveloped in the dappled leaves and branches of the mantle trees. For the first time since the bells rang yesterday, he felt safe. No one could see him in here. Numa rushed at him and threw her arms around him with a giddy laugh.

  “You made it!” she squealed.

  “Has anyone come looking for us?” Gemynd asked.

  “The only person I’ve seen is Bronty and he didn’t mention a word about you.”

  Gemynd smiled and looked much more relaxed than Soman had seen in a long time. “Let’s find out what the people are saying,” he said and began walking due west.

  Although Soman knew this was supposed to be his mission, he felt relieved to let Gemynd take the lead. In fact, if any of it was up to him, he’d be taking his run around Aerie right about now.

  “Where are we going?” Numa asked, nearly tripping over her hem to keep up with Gemynd’s fast pace.

  “If we continue heading this way, we should emerge from the grove in the center of a cluster of buildings,” Gemynd answered. “I’ve been curious about the area for quite some time.”

  “This is beautiful! I’ve never seen so many mantle trees before,” Numa said, looking all around her. “We have two in Aerie, but their spots are only white. The trees here have so many different colored spots on their leaves it’s hard to see them all. Look! Green and blue and brown and red and even gold spots. Some of the trees are even spotted on their trunks and branches.”

  “And have you noticed how they smell?” Soman asked, taking a moment to press his nose against the tree nearest him. “Like custard or creamed apples.”

  Numa sniffed a tree and giggled with delight. “I never noticed that about the trees in Aerie.”

  “I don’t smell anything,” Gemynd said, moving from one tree to the next.

  “How is that possible? The scent is nearly overwhelming.”

  Gemynd tried again and a look of frustration passed over his face. “Let’s keep moving,” he grumbled and marched on.

  They slowed their pace as they reached the end of the grove. Gemynd crouched low and Soman stood behind him. The dirt road passed in front of them and directly on the other side of it was a stone building about half the size of Aerie’s Eating House. A wooden shingle hung over the door with the words ‘Carenvale Tavern’ carved into it. A few smaller structures lined both sides of the road, but Soman saw that most of the buildings were set back off the road and had vegetable gardens growing in front of them. And while all of Aerie’s buildings were made of mud, Carenvale’s were made of stone with dried grass for roofs.

  “What’s your plan, Soman?” Gemynd asked.

  “My plan?”

  “Yes. How do you plan to go about gathering information here?”

  Soman looked down the road again. He hadn’t thought further ahead than this moment. “Maybe I’ll find their Meeting House and listen in during a meeting,” he said, scrambling for an idea.

  “I don’t see a Meeting House,” Gemynd said. “In fact, I don’t see any people either.”

  Soman sighed. “I don’t have a plan,” he confessed.

  “Perhaps we should go back to Aerie until you have one,” Numa offered and Soman could see the tension that suddenly lined her face.

  “We won’t be able to get back into Aerie until Soman’s watch tonight,” Gemynd explained and patted Numa’s hand in a gesture of comfort. “But don’t worry. We are safe here.”

  As soon as the words left Gemynd’s mouth, Soman heard a strange whoosh as though the air itself had been cut in two. And then an arrow hit the tree a mere hair’s breadth from Soman’s face.

  “Stop where y’are!” A short, wide man wearing a red tunic and no breeches stood in the mantle grove behind them. He held a bow in his hand, the string drawn taught with an arrow at the ready.

  “We are travelers,” Gemynd announced and stood protectively in front of Numa.

  The man studied Gemynd for several moments. “Then why be you in the trees and not on the road?”

  “We were trying to determine if we’re safe here; if this might be a place to find food and rest. These are uncertain times,” Gemynd said and Soman was amazed at Gemynd’s ability to lie. It was instantaneous and seemed to require no forethought.

  The man’s gaze traveled to Soman. Soman saw his eyes widen and the arrow pulled back further. “What about you, big man? Go elsewhere if trouble is what you want.”

  Soman shook his head. “I don’t want trouble.”

  “We’re weary from traveling all night,” Gemynd said quickly, but the man’s eyes remained locked on Soman.

  “You aim to make trouble, big fella?” he asked again.

  Soman had no idea why this man thought he was such a threat. Soman was the least likely of the three of them to make any trouble. “No, sir. No trouble.”

  “Where do you come from that you get so big?” the man asked.

  “Tolnick,” Gemynd said before Soman could utter a word. “We’re from the city, but left there some time ago in search of family. We have been unsure of returning since the Queen’s passing. We don’t know if it is safe there.”

  “City folk?” the man asked and narrowed his eyes. “You glinters?”

  All three of them shook their heads.

  “They say glinters kill the Queen and the boy. They aim to take Todor from us Terrenes,” he said, still glaring at Soman.

  “Todor has always been ruled by Terrenes,” Gemynd said.

  “And I aim to make sure it stays that way,” Soman added.

  The man relaxed his grip on the bow some. “You a Zobanite?” he asked Soman.

  Reflexively, Soman looked to Gemynd for the answer. He had never heard of a Zobanite before.

  “We’re Terrenes from Tolnick,” Gemynd restated simply.

  “Please, sir, we d
on’t wish to make trouble for you,” Numa said, peeking around Gemynd’s shoulder. “We will move on and find food and shelter elsewhere.”

  The man’s gaze finally moved from Soman to look at Numa. Upon sight of her, the man blew out his breath and slowly released his hold on the bow string. “You eat here in Carenvale with me. I’m Lumon the Robust,” he said with a smile that showed a mouthful of brown, rotted teeth.

  “I’m Finnick and this is my sister, Glenna,” Gemynd said in a tone so natural even Soman believed him. “And the big man is our cousin Rodlin.”

  Lumon grunted and walked toward the road. “Won’t find many folks up and about here at this hour, but we’ll likely find some food at the tavern.”

  Soman decided now was his chance to gather some information. “Have you had any word on a new ruler?” he asked, but Lumon only looked at him with obvious distaste and made no effort at reply.

  Lumon ushered Soman, Gemynd and Numa inside the tavern door. The tavern was a small, dark room with a few tables and benches scattered around in a seemingly random pattern. The tabletops were littered with overturned pitchers and wooden cups. In the center of one of them was a plate piled two hands high with discarded bones. The room smelled terrible, like a mixture of rotting food, dust, and unwashed bodies. And as far as Soman could see, there was only one door.

  Soman felt a knot of dread form in his stomach. Something wasn’t right about this place. Two men, who looked similar to Lumon in stature, sat at a table sharpening knives on a stone. As Soman walked further into the room, he saw three larger men leaning against the far wall. When the men saw them enter, two of them brushed by Soman and stood in front of the door. Soman realized then that those men were not just large. They were very large. They stood at least a hand taller than Soman himself, and they were now blocking the only way out of the tavern.

  “I may not have been completely honest with you,” Lumon said with a raspy chuckle. “We’re not from Carenvale. We’re just a wee band of travelers like you. Right, fellas?”

  “Just a wee band,” one of the knife sharpeners agreed. “We arrived last night and liked the look of the place.”