Ascension Discovery

by Amy Proebstel

  Bryon stared thoughtfully at Amanda at her statement about the skull not remaining in the cave. He had assumed all of these anons it was still there. Now he wondered what might have happened to it. He hoped it didn’t end up in the wrong hands; it had seemed very powerful in just the quick encounter he had had with it.

  Alena shuddered as she was remembering a lesson she had learned while she was being trained as a wise-woman. She asked Bryon, “Was the skull life-sized?”

  “No, not quite. It could easily fit in the palm of my hand. Is there something about it?”

  “During my training with Debbon, I remember reading a passage in an obscure text about thirteen matching crystal skulls, called samaras. It said that one samara was held by the master and the other twelve were used to convey messages and power to the holders of the other twelve. I had thought it was just a legend, but if what you’re saying is true, then I have to believe there really are thirteen of them. I just wonder who the master is and what messages are being told to the twelve other owners.” Alena could not help but think there was something ominous about Bryon’s story. She hoped she never encountered one of the skulls if they were as powerful as Bryon believed them to be.

  “I still can’t think of why the name Lillia bothers me so much,” Bryon mused.

  “I had the same feeling when you first spoke her name,” Alena commented. “It’s almost as if the answer is on the edge of my thoughts…oh, I think I remember!” In her excitement, Alena gripped Bryon’s arm in an abrupt gesture.

  “What is it?” Bryon smiled at his wife’s enthusiasm.

  “When I was a little girl my mother told me a story about Jehoban and his angels. Lucinden was the leader of the rebellious angels, and the biggest problem came when Lucinden began a relationship with a woman from Tuala. Her name was Lillia, Bryon!”

  “I know the story, too! My parents told me the tale when I was a little boy.”

  “If it’s the same Lillia maybe the skull was something evil,” Alena spoke ominously.

  “I guess we’ll never find out now since Amanda has confirmed the crystal is gone.”

  “Bryon, I know some things about where you arrived on Earth. Do you want me to tell you about it?” Amanda asked.

  “Sure, it would be fun to have one part of the story solved.”

  “You were in Campeche, Mexico. The language they were speaking was most likely a form of Spanish. The pyramid where the Gate is located is an ancient Mayan temple used to worship the star gods. I imagine the people you met were descendants of the Mayans even though those people disappeared hundreds of years ago.”

  “Just what is a year?”

  “Oh, it’s the same as an anon.”

  “Good, that’s kind of what I thought, but I was never sure. So who were these star gods?”

  “I think they were probably people from Tuala. It is said the gods brought knowledge to the Mayan people and taught them how to build massive structures and how to write. My guess is the Tualan people showed them how to use the elemy to move the massive stones to build the pyramids around the Gates. Certainly to an uneducated people like the original Mayans, it would seem magical, and they would readily believe them to be gods.

  “It was said the people came from the stars because some of them arrived in their telepods. During that time in Earth’s history, we didn’t know how to navigate in the sky, so it would again seem magical. Are there any legends of Tualan people going to Earth and teaching people?”

  Bryon and Alena looked at one another and thought about Amanda’s question. Bryon was the first to shake his head and say, “None that I’ve ever known. Have you ever heard anything during your post-study or training with Elder Debbon?”

  “No, I haven’t, but that’s not to say it didn’t happen. I always wondered what the Old Soul Engineering Facility did with the knowledge they acquired. Maybe they sent people back in time to find out what people from Earth could learn and if they would carry on with the knowledge. It sounds as though the Mayans didn’t though.”

  “It’s said the whole civilization disappeared. Nobody really knows what happened to them. Maybe they were all brought to Tuala. I don’t know.”

  “You should ask Rasa about it when you get to meet with her,” Bryon offered.

  “I doubt there will be an opportunity to satisfy our curiosity, but I do hope Barla can arrange for me to meet with her. It’s still not certain she’ll have enough time to meet with me.”

  “You’re her family; I’m sure she’ll find a way to help!” Alena insisted.

  “That’s what I keep telling myself!”

  “Remember when you were talking to us about Elder Vargen’s involvement with the museum on Earth?”

  “Yes, did you find something out about him?”

  “On the contrary and it sure is interesting. I had some time after my meeting at work, so I did some research on the Elder. There is very little which is actually published about him. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even have a public record regarding his involvement in the Old Soul Engineering Facility, which everybody knows he’s a co-founder.”

  Alena tilted her head at her husband’s summary and said, “I guess they want to keep him clear of anything having to do with Earth since it’s already a pretty taboo subject.” She thought there must be so much more happening behind the Elders’ closed doors than anyone may guess.

  “Some things we may never know.” Amanda smiled at the couple across from her and recognized they should probably have some time to themselves with all of the children being gone for the night. “I’m really tired. I think I’ll head to bed now. Goodnight.”

  She stood up, grinning at Bryon and Alena as she passed their couch. With the map still in her hands, she made a detour to the kitchen where she located a pencil. She hastily wrote ‘Inside Ascension’ on the edge of the paper and then ‘for passage to Tuala from Earth’ so she would not wonder what the new phrase was supposed to do once she lost her memory returning to Earth. Now if only she could figure out a way to preserve her memories as the Tualan people did when they passed through, she would feel much better about the whole thing. It seemed unfair she should have to struggle through the Gates when everyone living here did not have the same issue.

  Without any other reason to delay, Amanda made her way to her room. She tucked the map away in her pants pocket, which she would be wearing the next day. More than ever she wanted to be fully prepared to go back to Earth.

  Everything would be perfect once she had Jena back in her life. Then would come the hard part of deciding if she would stay or go depending on how she could mitigate the dangers to her daughters in the crossing. Maybe Rasa would have an answer to this new question as well.

  Chapter Eleven

  THE MEMORY OF meeting with Rualin pleased Petre to no end. He was confident his plan would move forward with his friend in charge of gathering everyone together. The idea of Elder Debbon thinking he could keep him away from his own daughter with a stupid piece of paper was ridiculous. He would teach him a lesson as well as be able to have access to Jena again.

  The smile grew on his face as he neared the Elder’s Islet. Nothing would stop him from meeting with Elder Debbon since he had his mind set on the course. He imagined himself, in all his righteous indignation, confronting the Elder and letting him know he was Jena’s father and there was no way around the fact. He would demand to see her immediately and, indubitably, the honorable Elder would have to see the truth in his words. Regardless of his master deceptor status, he had the truth on his side this time.

  He could see the small spit of land as a smudge on the horizon. The sun was just beginning to set behind him as he concentrated on the final course corrections to make landfall just after full dark. With everything in order, he decided to go below deck, make himself a meal, and change into fresh clothing. As he entered the staircase, the wind stopped blowing around him causing him to notice his own foul odor. He mentally added a bath to his list of things to get don
e before landfall.

  Heading straight for the washroom, he grinned at the thought of holding his precious daughter in his arms again. The troubles he had experienced with Jena were a distant memory, and all he could consider was how she was his daughter. Nobody had the right to keep him away from what was legally his property. Petre imagined after all of this time Jena had probably grown quite a bit and was possibly even talking. He regretted missing so much time with her simply because he had been feeling sorry for himself.

  More than anything, he felt stupid for falling into the trap Elder Debbon had set for him. He should have known the old foxl was up to something. The whole scenario of that day replayed in his mind. It had not seemed strange at the time that the Elder would keep a betrothal agreement and five thousand taj in his desk drawer. Upon reflection, it appeared a bit too convenient. Petre began to wonder how long the Elder had been planning to take Jena away from him. His mind seethed with righteous fury as he whispered fiercely, “I’m going to make him pay!”

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Barla was eager to contact Rasa and could barely contain herself while waiting for the designated call time they had arranged anons before. The whole week had been agonizingly slow with the knowledge she could help her niece to find her daughter, yet it all hinged on this one point of contact. She was sure Rasa would be more than willing to help; however, she wondered just what her busy daughter would be able to do to assist in the recovery of the toddler.

  Sitting in Ahn’s home office, Barla stared at her timepiece until the appointed time finally arrived for her to activate the patil. She entered in the call sequence and waited what seemed to be an agonizing amount of time before the image of Rasa’s face materialized on the screen. Barla could feel herself smiling with motherly pride when she said, “Hello, Rasa! I’ve missed you!”

  “I’ve missed you, too, Mama. What’s going on? You seem more excited today than usual.”

  “Oh, I am! I have some amazing news and also a favor to ask.”

  Rasa was immediately intrigued. In all the time she had been a student of Jehoban her mother had never asked any favors. Whatever was going on must be pretty spectacular to illicit this type of response from her usually placid mom. “Well tell me! I’m dying of curiosity now! When you’re done, I have some news of my own to share.”

  “Okay. Do you want to go first?”

  “No, no. It can wait. Start talking, Mom.”

  “Alright! Remember the swimmer Ahn hired down at the dock almost two anons ago?”

  “The one who died after she was sent into hiding?”

  “Yes, she’s the one! Well, guess what? She didn’t die after all!”

  “Oh, Mom, that’s fantastic! I remember how upset you were when you found out about the accident. Tell me what happened?”

  “I’ll get to that part later. First I have to say she and I met earlier this week and she had news about my family.”

  “I don’t understand, Mom. I thought your family wasn’t from around here.” Always mindful of discovery, she used the code words they had worked out anons before since patil conversations could possibly be intercepted by Elders.

  “True, but Amanda actually visited with them. Do you know what else she found out? You won’t guess so I’ll just say…Amanda’s mother is my sister!”

  “Wait, are you suggesting Amanda is your niece?”

  “It’s exactly what I’m saying! Isn’t it amazing? Amanda brought her daughter with her to visit with us, and she was just the spitting image of yourself at the same age. Can you imagine how startled Ahn and I were when we first laid eyes on Juila since we didn’t know yet we were all related?”

  “That’s truly amazing, Mom. I actually have a blood cousin. But, wait, I thought Amanda had a set of identical twins when she went missing, yet she only brought one child with her to visit. Where’s her other daughter?”

  “That’s the favor I wanted to ask. Her other daughter, Jena, was abducted by Petre MacVeen just a few days before she returned to Bryon’s house which was almost two anons ago now. Amanda has been training with her birth crystal to try to locate Jena, but she hasn’t had any success. Could you meet with her and try to help her find her daughter?”

  “Oh, Mom, I wish I could, but as I said, I have news of my own. Jehoban has decided I need to finish my schooling. In two days, I’m going to be moving to Durseni, and I have no idea how long it’ll take me to get done.”

  Barla was both pleased and upset about this turn of events. She was delighted to know her daughter’s education was finally coming to an end which meant she could probably come home soon. Durseni was nearer to where Barla lived, which was also a blessing. However, it frustrated her to think Amanda would have yet another disappointment in finding her daughter. Finally, she asked, “What if Amanda could come to Durseni and meet with you during any free time?”

  “It could probably work. I don’t know how busy I’ll be, but I’m definitely eager to meet a blood relative from your side of the family as I’ve never thought I’d be able to. It sounds exciting!”

  “Once you get settled in Durseni, let me know your new contact information, and I’ll forward it along to Amanda. She will get in touch once she makes arrangements to get to the island. I sure hope you can figure out a way for her to find her daughter. I just can’t imagine how terrible this whole thing has been for her, especially knowing Petre is responsible.”

  “I’ll do what I can, Mom, but I can’t make any promises with either my time or her skills.”

  “Oh, that’s the other thing…Amanda has her own birth crystal given to her by Jehoban Himself. Alena’s been teaching her some advanced techniques so she’ll be ready for whatever you may ask of her.”

  Rasa was beyond surprised to hear of a person originating from Earth receiving a birth crystal; it was even more shocking since Jehoban had participated in the giving. He was usually so reserved when it came to matters of His children. Obviously, there must be more to Amanda than she had originally believed because of Jehoban’s involvement. This tantalizing bit of information alone inflamed her desire to meet with her cousin. “I’ll start working out some ways which we might use to find Jena. The birth crystal should help the search immensely. I’ve got to get going now, Mom. I’ll call you on Minggu when I get settled in my dorm. I love you.”

  “I love you too, sweetie! I’ll let Amanda know you’ve agreed to try to help. She’ll be thrilled! I’ll talk to you in a couple of days.”

  “Okay. Bye.”

  “Bye,” Barla echoed as the screen went blank. So much had just happened she felt her dreams coming true; her daughter might finally come home soon! Ahn was going to be so happy to hear about this new turn of events. Logistical details began forming in her mind: Amanda would travel to Durseni, find a place to live while she was training with Rasa, and maybe even get a job.

  Without any further delay Barla connected with Bryon’s home patil. She only had to wait through three beeps before the image of Amanda’s face showed on her own patil. “Good afternoon, Amanda!”

  “Good afternoon, Barla. Please tell me there’s good news!”

  “I have the most excellent news! Get packed and ready to move to Durseni.”

  “Durseni?” Amanda was completely confused and said, “I don’t understand, I thought Rasa was on Acaim!”

  “She’s being reassigned to Durseni starting this Minggu. As soon as she gets settled into her dorm, she’s going to give me her contact information to forward on to you. She’s going to start a new training session, so she’s not sure how much time she’ll have to meet, but she’s agreed to try to help.”

  “Oh, Barla, that’s fantastic. How can I ever thank you?”

  “Just finding Jena will be thanks enough. She’s been gone too long, and I want to meet my other niece!”

  “I can’t agree more!” Amanda stated emphatically. Then she considered this new turn of events, “What am I supposed to do in Durseni? Where will I stay? How will I support mys
elf and Juila?”

  “I’ll talk to Ahn about it this evening. I’d suggest you do the same with Alena and Bryon. I’m sure among the four of us we can come up with something which will work.”

  “Oh, I hope so. It’s exciting to think I’ll finally be able to do something on my own to find Jena. I’ve felt so helpless all this time.”

  “I know, honey. But think about this…Jehoban is clearly trying to help. With Him on our side, we’re bound to succeed!”

  “You’re right, Barla. This is going to work! I can’t wait to contact Rasa.”

  “I’ll call you on Minggu. I’ve got to get going.”

  “Okay, Barla. Thanks again for everything.”

  “You’re welcome, Amanda. We’ll talk again soon.”

  “Okay, goodbye.”

  Barla jumped up from her seat and rushed out of the confining room. Her heart was bursting with joy, making her feel as though she could not stay in the house for another minute. With news this wonderful, she had to go down to the Harbor Master’s headquarters on the dock to share it with Ahn. Maybe they would even celebrate by going out to dinner.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Petre’s water craft silently brushed against the dock just after the last glimmers of light faded from the sky. The late hour accounted for the absence of people on the waterfront which suited his scheme perfectly. Knowing there was an order for people to turn him in to the authorities regarding Jena’s abduction, he had to be extra careful with his land dealings. This visit was essential or else he would have stayed out at sea until exhausting all of his supplies.

  After tying up his vessel, he stepped lightly onto the wooden dock planks taking a moment to adjust to land legs again. He reviewed each of his statements in his head as he walked slowly toward the Residence. This meeting had better end well, or Elder Debbon was going to pay a very steep price for his deception.