The Promised Ones
Page 18
Or were the Guardians and their influence somehow coming through the crystal? He thought a moment. Were they trying to throw him off track, now that he had one Article? Or were they giving in, and finally seeing that he needed help?
Too many questions! The Guardians had told him that he would be on his own, so unless they were lying, he had to assume it wasn't coming from them. That left the crystal being tied to the Articles of Power in some way. Or that the influence was coming from a completely different source.
That was frightening. There was so much he had to just take on faith and work out for himself.
But faith can be tested! Chahzuu turned and started off in the direction of his original path into the valley. He paid close attention to his feelings. Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? Is this the direction I should go? He continued that way for a short time, but there was no feeling one way or the other. Now what does this mean?
Chahzuu stopped and considered going back in the direction he'd been going earlier. He was tired of having so many things to try and figure out.
A tiny flash of heat burst through the crystal and smouldered warm in his breast. On an impulse he put his hand into his scrip and took hold of the Article inside. It was smooth and cool, but also seemed warm. How can that be? There was a power flowing through it he could feel, and although it felt cold on the surface, the power flowing through it brought warmth from its contact.
Okay. I can figure this out. Chahzuu thought. Maybe once you have one of the Articles, they attract each other. That didn't make sense, though, because then just anyone who was lucky enough to stumble onto one of the Articles would be able to find the others.
The crystal! That must be the difference. Chahzuu remembered vividly how he had been able to pass through the maze, but more so, pass into the final chamber without being killed because of the crystal imbedded in his breast.
It’s also tied in with my thoughts! It had been his thoughts that had activated the crystal with revealing the Article of Power before. That's got to be it!
Chahzuu focused his mind on the records, the oldest of them that mentioned the Articles of Power. He'd found the Power of Creation. Now the trick was deciphering the records enough to know where, or how, to look for the next Article.
Slowly, the smouldering in his breast warmed to fever pitch. He continued pondering over the records, willing to be lead either in his mind, or physically, or both if he was lucky enough.
The crystal continued with its warmth. His thoughts drifted through the ancient records. He started to see a pattern becoming clear. They could loosely be divided into three distinct areas: Those dealing with the power of creation or mentioning creation; the next two were more terse and short in the records, but they still had two distinct divisions. The first of the remaining seemed to deal with emotional issues, matters of caring, concern, bravery, love, compassion, feeling! The last dealt with matters of intellect; that of learning, study, but it seemed the records spoke more than just of the simple learning, but the power of learning. They even seemed to hint of things deeper than that. Somewhere at a level that made it seem almost miraculous in scope. The power of knowledge, or of knowing! That's what had seemed so ridiculous about the records and a seeming folly for all the preceding Chahkzaa until he came along. All three of these areas at once seemed to be treated almost lightly, frivolously in their simplicity, but at the same time hinted at tremendous power inherent in the simplest of things.
First, I have to find them, Chahzuu reminded himself. Still he hadn't felt any sense of direction. Perhaps if I just focused on one? Both sets of records dealing with the different Articles were still a bit hazy to him. One, though, dealing with matters of emotion, of feeling, was easier to recall. The records there seemed to focus almost exclusively on a strange being going through a series of heroic adventures.
The records never describe the being and he always just assumed it was one of the Pontu' Gi, one of his people. He also assumed the story was fantasy, written to amuse the children, Now Chahzuu knew it meant a bit more, though many things in the story were incredible to comprehend. It talked of the hero flying through the air, of leaving their world, traveling to others, and meeting strange beasts and other peoples. It also told of him coming from a strange place and arriving there just in time to put his people onto the path to their destiny.
That part had always confused Chahzuu. He wondered if it had anything to do with him; with his dreaming, his feelings of being the one that would either save or destroy his people. But this story was different. Although in some respects it fit him, in most others it didn't.
Then he remembered his experience with the Pale Ones of his dreams. Could one of them be the being talked about in the records? It seemed if he put it together that way, maybe it could fit. Chahzuu knew if it was, it had to be the good Pale One, not Nemesis. If so, that Pale One must be incredibly well traveled . . . Or was going to be. The stories in the records talked about most of the heroic adventures coming after he'd put the Punta' Gi on their path of destiny.
So how do I fit in, then? He searched back over the dreams until he caught himself. My people first!
Chahzuu centered his thoughts on finding the next Article, the one dealing with the power of feeling.
The crystal continued to burn. Then he turned from one direction to the next, still concentrating, thinking of finding the Second Article of Power.
There! There was no question. He knew what direction he needed to head. It was past the city, through it actually, to the other side from where he'd come. It led away from his people. The power of feeling is leading me to it, through my feelings! It’s only right.
Chahzuu started off, settling into the long, steady gate that covered ground without affecting his strength. He longed for security of the tall trees. Moving there was so much easier. When I get out of this valley, they'll be there. The thought of the trees, their beauty, their strength, the refuge they offered, gave him a sense of comfort, stability. Yes, they will always be there.
The End of this Episode
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Brad Stucki was born and raised in Southwestern Utah, keeping horses, cows and other assorted pets. He is the third of 6 children and survived childhood only by utilizing an active imagination. His hobbies include reading and travel. During one international trip he and his wife were detained as suspected terrorists. They live in a remote mountain valley.