To Be Chosen (The Maestro Chronicles)

by John Buttrick

  Ruth chuckled. “If you have lost the ability to cast Melodies, then you will soon find a way to regain it, if you have not already. The Chosen Vessel draws what he or she needs. Whatever is necessary for him to match his rival gets caught up in his or her swirl of events. The Vessel is a walking vortex and the rest of us must get out of the way, go along for the ride, or be smashed in your path. It is the same for both champions. Tarin Conn, even from the bowels of Kelgotha has a powerful effect on the world, drawing what he needs, and many people have been destroyed opposing him.”

  She was making Daniel nervous. He took a deep breath and proceeded in a casual voice. “So you have seen the proclamations about Daniel Benhannon, hero of the Battle of Bashierwood, bane of the Serpent Guild, and vanquisher of Balen Tamm; if that is so, then you know I am no longer that person. I have been to Aakadon and Silenced by the Grand Maestro, not a very good start for one who is supposed to be the Creator’s champion, and Efferin would have imprisoned me at the possibility that I might be the Chosen Vessel.”

  “The Sight in me is stronger than in most others but every person who possesses even the slightest ability can see that you are the Chosen Vessel, even those few who are not of the Teki. There is a glow about you, no not that of your potential, this is different, a white aura apparent only to the eyes of a Seer, like Sasha here, and Tarin Conn has one as well, although his is dark,” Ruth explained. “The Grand Maestro is like the rest of us; he can stand aside, join you, or be smashed. The Teki will aid you as we can, but not everyone in the world will welcome you. Some will be irritated that they have been caught up in the swirl of events surrounding you, others will oppose you because they are serving the other champion, while still others will refuse to believe you are who we Seers say you are and will therefore seek a champion more suited to their expectations. There will be good people who will oppose you believing they are doing the right thing while others will fight you for riches, power, or influence. Many of the nobility will want to manipulate you and failing that, will seek to destroy you, some out of pride and some out of jealousy. As to your recent accomplishments, we have neither seen nor heard of them, although we all felt the world tremble and I knew it was you, the Chosen Vessel, confronting the evil that was Balen Tamm. I told Enrick months ago that we were fated to leave Lobenia, travel the back trails of Ducaun, and avoid all human contact. I did this because I wanted to announce who you are before my people learn you are a Melody Wielder. Even now I am trying to come to grips with having to sit just a few paces from one. But I will manage, can even sympathize, knowing it must be even harder for you a Ducaunan to grow up fearing and despising Melody Wielders, and then learn that you are one. If I did not know any better I would suspect the Creator has a taste for irony. Ducaun, the most devastated of the twelve kingdoms during the Great War, the one kingdom wanting the least to do with Melody wielding of any sort, becomes the birthplace of His champion.”

  The notion was ridiculous and Daniel did not want to hear any more talk of his being the Chosen Vessel. “I want to live in peace.”

  Ruth actually laughed. “What you want matters little. You are the Chosen Vessel. The sooner you accept this truth the better off we will be.”

  “Do I have a choice?” Daniel asked. This was all crazy talk, why was he even listening?

  “Oh, you will always have a choice. The Chosen Vessel, in addition to ultimately facing evil’s champion, often faces grievous wrongs being perpetrated against the innocent and unsuspecting, rescuing them from danger. You will have the same choice any of us have in those circumstances; walk away, stand and watch, or take action. The only difference is that you will have to make one of those three choices far more frequently than the rest of us. I hope you have a strong stomach because if you choose to hide away or do nothing a lot of innocent people will die. In the mean time, your adversary will grow stronger, break free, and take over the world. I cannot see which of you will win the ultimate contest but I know if you wait too long, you will be all alone when the time comes and will probably die,” Ruth told him in no uncertain words. She was not laughing or even smiling now.

  Well, he asked her if he had a choice, and so could not blame her if he did not like the answer. Besides, she was right, maybe not about him being the Chosen Vessel, but about the choices. Anytime anyone confronts a horrible wrong being done to another person or just coming across someone who his hurt or in trouble, the choices are to walk away, stand and watch, or lend a hand, even if the help is to go find someone more capable of rendering aid.

  “You need not take my word alone on the matter. The events surrounding you declare you to be the Chosen Vessel, that is, to anyone with the time and wit to figure it out. In our journey from Lobenia to this place in Ducaun we encountered not one yeti. How many have you encountered?” Ruth patiently replied.

  “Not counting tonight, twenty in the past five days,” Daniel replied and realized he was perspiring under her gaze even though the shield spell kept the temperature surrounding him at a comfortable level; this was so whether he was sitting on hot coals or on a block of ice. No question about it, she was making him nervous.

  “The beasts were caught up in your swirling of events. I knew to camp here, I knew a large group of yetis would come, I knew the Chosen Vessel was close, but I did not know what choice you would make. You chose rightly and we are alive because of it. I believe, though I hesitate to put words in His mouth, the Creator made you His champion because it is in your nature to help. Think about yourself. At an age when most Aakacarns possess only one lighting bolt, you were given six, this I saw, and your potential grows even as we speak. You are stronger now than when you left Tannakonna and I know not how many more bolts you will gain, but I do know however much it is will only be enough to make it possible for you to defeat Tarin Conn. This does not mean you will possess as many lightning bolts as he, only that you will have enough potential combined with your other talents and resources to match him. I suggest you perform the Melody of Ranking periodically for your own knowledge if nothing else. It is obvious to me you prefer not to display your rank as is the custom of the Aakacarns,” Ruth explained and then glanced at the girl. “Sasha, fetch us some plum juice,” she said and watched as the girl rushed to do her bidding.

  A short time passed and Daniel was sipping on a mug of plum juice and considering the revelation Ruth was giving him. If she was right and the Creator did choose him, caused him to be born an Aakasear, and gave him the extra lighting bolts, then he had the responsibility to make full use of those talents in the way they were meant to be. It was a big if, but he could hardly deny that he possessed those talents and he had often wondered why such had been given to him. “Okay,” he told himself inwardly. Too many things have happened recently for him to start denying the facts. It is one thing for him to accept that he is the Chosen Vessel, it is another thing entirely for other people to believe it, and he had no intention of telling them. He imagined walking into a town or village and announcing to everyone that they were in the presence of the Creator’s champion. They would laugh him to scorn, at best.

  “Do you ponder the fate of the world, Daniel Benhannon?” Ruth spoke up after setting down her mug of juice.

  “I ponder the responsibility of accepting what you said about me, about my being the Chosen Vessel. I am not a leader. I have no home and no notion of how to begin fulfilling the task I have apparently been destined to accomplish.”

  Ruth rubbed her chin as if contemplating how to help or what advice to give. “What you need will be drawn to you. If anyone insists on following you, let them. Do not turn them away, which is what your first inclination is likely to be. Continue on your journey. I have seen that you are reluctant to meet your Queen, get passed that for you must go to her. She will be dead within a year if you choose otherwise. This I have seen and so it will be.”

  This revelation just gets better and better, Daniel thought ruefully. Someone he loves will die sometime in the north if he i
s not there to save him or her, the Creator has chosen him to be His champion, and Queen Cleona will die within a year if he does not honor her invitation. He hoped this was the end of what he needed to hear, his plate was now full enough to satisfy the hardiest of appetites and the possible chores involved seemed endless. “How much do I owe you for this revelation?” he asked politely.

  “I see more for you and ask only one thing in return for all. First, you will meet my daughter’s son, Samuel, and meeting him will be a sign that you are in the right place to save your loved one in the north. You must tell him that I have declared you to be the Chosen. Do not let humility keep you from revealing this, he must know. Secondly, tell him to remember the last words I spoke to him concerning his fate. He will know what I mean even though you do not and probably he will tell you, which is up to him. Lastly, and this is not part of the revelation, this is the price. Tell Samuel that I love him and he is very much alive in my heart,” Ruth said and her brown eyes watered up. She pulled a cloth from a hidden pocket in her dress and wiped away the tears.

  Daniel, through an act of pure will, did not tear up. He understood about unhappy partings and thought of Samuel and knew this message had to be delivered. “Samuel is my friend. I will be glad to relay your words. In fact, I’ll go right back to Aakadon and tell him.” he told her and stood up, ready to pay this price before he got any father away from the Aakacarn city.

  Ruth’s eyelids fluttered wildly and she leaned forward clearly anxious and then fixed him with a fierce gaze. “You must not. The time is not right. Go meet the Queen, do what you must, and in the fullness of time you will cross paths with my daughter’s son. This I have seen and so it will be.”

  “I accept your words,” he answered in the customary way.

  “As well you should,” she replied while beckoning for Sasha to open the door. “Follow your instincts, listen to your heart, and do not get yourself killed,” she added as he started down the steps.

  Sasha darted around him the moment his boots touched the ground and took off toward Enrick, who was about thirty strides away talking to Stephanus and several other men. She waited patiently for the others to take note of her and pause in their conversation, and then spoke to the chief.

  “By the frown on your face, I’m guessing the revelation was not pleasant,” David remarked and moved to stand on Daniel’s right.

  Silvia took up the position to Daniel’s left, facing the archer. “Not going to find the girl of your dreams?” she quipped.

  Daniel smiled at the notion. “No mention of dreams. I have to rearrange some priorities and arrange my chores accordingly.”

  David laughed, although it seemed more a release of tension than humor. “Spoken like a true mountaineer,” he said and lost the smile after seeing no one else laughing.

  A trumpet blasted three times and everyone in the camp stopped what they were doing and began to move toward the center of the great spiral, which also happened to be where Daniel was standing. The door closed behind him and he turned to see Ruth at the top coming down the steps. Silvia moved aside when it became obvious the Seer wanted to stand near Daniel.

  It did not take long for every man, woman, and child of the troop to make it to the center of the spiral and stand staring expectantly, clearly an announcement was about to be made. Daniel had a bad feeling in his gut, this could not be good. Enrick was in the forefront along with several other gray-haired men and Stephanus.

  “Daniel Benhannon is the Chosen Vessel, so I have seen and so it is,” Silvia proclaimed in a voice louder than Daniel thought possible from such a tiny woman. Her right arm moved across her abdomen and back, and then emphasized her last word with a loud slap on her hip, as if for punctuation.

  People began to speak at once and Enrick stepped forward and turned to face the crowd, raising his hands, signaling for silence. Stephanus produced a trumpet from behind his back and blew a long solid note. When he stopped, all was silent. Some of the people were looking at their chief but most of them were staring at Daniel. The young faces seemed to be filled with wonder while men and women with touches of gray in their hair wore solemn expressions. No one seemed shocked. Ruth had said the Seers of the Teki have been talking about the Chosen Vessel for the last twenty years; evidently they shared some of those conversations with the members of their troops.

  “No wonder he fears no yeti,” Stephanus said and then actually smiled.

  “We must bring him to the Great Carnival,” Enrick stated and most everyone shouted approval of the notion.

  The Great Carnival always took place in Ducaun, due to it being the center most of the eleven kingdoms on the continent. Hundreds of Teki troops gathered every seven years and people from all over the world came to the vicinity of Ducanton to see them perform. The tradition also drew vendors of all sorts from every realm, selling foods, arts, crafts, and the like, and plenty of coins were made while the various troops entertained the crowds. The carnival lasted seven days, but Daniel had only heard about the gathering and only knew about it second, third, and fourth hand from people who had experienced it. Since he no longer had total recall, he had actually forgotten that the last Great Carnival was held seven years ago and the current one should start fifteen days hence.

  “The honor is ours, as you say,” Ruth told the chief. “The Reshashinni are the first of the Teki to encounter and proclaim the Chosen Vessel, but he must go into Ducanton where his destiny leads. We will have our honor among the Teki at the Great Carnival. Know that all with the gift of Sight are seeing what I am seeing, the Creator’s champion standing in the center spiral, surrounded by a troop of Teki, even as the viewings for the last five hundred years have foretold.”

  Everyone was staring at Daniel. He glanced down at Ruth. “I hope they’re not expecting a speech.”

  Ruth looked up at him. “No, Daniel Benhannon, speeches we leave for the chiefs,” she said and Enrick frowned at her and cleared his throat.

  The chief did in deed make a speech, telling his troop what an honor it is that not only were they blessed above the other tribes, but above the six troops of the Reshashinni. They, being the smallest of the six would be counted greatest among them. He went on to say many more things about honor, blessing, and serving in the Vessel’s swirl. Daniel wanted to drink some water, mount Sprinter, and ride away. The chief ended his speech with, “You shall always have friends among the Teki,” that last was directed at Daniel and everyone stared at him as if expecting a response.

  “I am pleased to have you in my swirl,” he said, they cheered, and with a wave of Enrick’s hand began to disperse. Evidently that was all they needed to hear from the Chosen Vessel.

  “You are welcome to stay as long as you like,” Enrick told him.

  Stephanus was standing close by the chief. With David, Silvia, Sasha, and Ruth, they had Daniel surrounded. “I appreciate the offer but dawn is only a mark away and I have been told to go see the Queen,” he replied while glancing at the Seer.

  “I would never council you to ignore a revelation,” Enrick replied. “Send word to me and whatever you require of us will be done.”

  “A Reshashinni has proclaimed him. It is not right that he should travel without one of us,” Silvia said with a determined look on her face. “I will accompany him,” she announced, eyes hard as if daring anyone to disagree.

  Enrick glanced at Ruth, who nodded affirmation, so the chief said, “Granted.”

  David’s eyes widened and his face turned bright red. He looked between the two elders as if he could not believe they would approve of such a thing. “She can’t,” he said, which was clearly the wrong thing to say.

  Silvia planted both fists on her hips and turned to him. “I am bonded to no one! You have no say over what I do, David Gerabolli,” she replied, eyes blazing.

  David took a deep breath and held it in as if forcibly restraining himself from saying whatever was on the tip of his tongue. He exhaled slowly and said in a calm voice. “I will
also accompany him.”

  “You can’t,” Silvia told him.

  He smiled at her. “I am bonded to no one. You have no say over what I do, Silvia Cresh.”

  She opened her mouth and then shut it quickly, and turned to Daniel, who was wondering if this young lady could be Samuel’s sister. Funny, he thought, neither of them had consulted him on the matter of escorts. He opened his mouth to disabuse them of the notion that he needed or wanted either of them to accompany him. Ruth’s words came back to him, “If anyone insists on following you, let them.” He glanced at the Seer and reconsidered.

  “I am capable of reaching Ducanton on my own. There will be no comforts on this journey, I camp outside, have no shelter of any sort, stay away from inns, and eat off the land. You both would be better off traveling with your troop,” he told them, not rejecting the pair, just trying to let them know what traveling with him would be like and also to determine how insistent they were about joining him.

  “One of our tribe should be with you, where is our honor if you reject us,” Silvia replied. She glanced at Ruth as if for support but the Seer’s face was neutral as if to tell her, “You are an adult, speak for yourself.”

  “I am an expert with the bow, a juggler, and have traveled extensively. True, for most of my life I have enjoyed the shelter of wagons but I spent the last few years making my way alone, often in the wilderness, until catching up with this Troop of Reshashinni.” David said. He kept glancing at Silvia while speaking as if some of those words were meant for her as well as Daniel.

  “I have never slept anywhere but in a wagon but that does not mean I cannot. I have proved myself with the bow, I am an acrobat, and made this crossbow,” Silvia said while touching the hand held device. Daniel, the son of a carpenter, could see it was very well made. “I also have the gift of Sight,” she added in a hushed voice.