All Things Monica

Chapter 1

She turned the page with the reluctance of all procrastinators. Evangeline loved to learn, but the homework could get tedious, especially when she just had to flick her eyes to the left to see how nice the day was. She’d had two weeks to write this essay, but why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? Besides, she had more knowledge about the herbs in Ciellia than anyone but the oldest of the Keaoni. She was the youngest Keaona since Allya, one of her own ancestors. She didn’t need this class, so she certainly wasn’t motivated to work that hard. Unfortunately, as the eldest daughter of the current Prezim, she had no choice. Others looked to her as an example of what a true Ciellian woman should be. Some might think that was too much pressure for someone who’d only reached her 24^th year, but she didn’t mind. It actually encouraged her to strive for better things. Her current task was listing the fifty most commonly used herbs, their properties, and who discovered these properties. Hmmm…mella’s an easy one to start with.

With a start, Evangeline flashed to a memory of her and her mother boiling mella leaves in the workroom. She could still smell the light, clean fragrance of her mother’s hair. Its ebony waves covered some of the pages of the instruction book they were studying. Dalelle seemed to know everything there was to know about herbs. No matter how Evangeline had tried to challenge her, she’d always had the answer, and had given it with that sly twinkle in her eye. How she missed her! There were many times growing up that she’d needed a mother to talk to. More importantly, there were things she’d just wanted to share with her. Her first Enlightening, when she became a Keaona, her graduation, and just her everyday joys and sorrows. She didn’t really dwell on being motherless, but it did sting her heart sometimes.

She shook herself out of the memory. Ok, back to work. I’ll never get this done in time if I don’t quit daydreaming. She moved to one of the tables in the back of the vast library – away from the windows. She couldn’t miss what she couldn’t see.

“Jol, what am I going to say?” Evangeline was working of a new batch of mella tinctures with Joliana. As usual, she was over thinking.

“I don’t know why you worry about these things. You never have trouble finding the words.” Always the optimist, Joliana glanced over and winked.

“I know, but this is the whole Counsel; no one younger than forty has ever been accepted for a counsel position.”

“I’m still trying to figure out why you want it. Don’t you have enough to do already?”

“Well, if I get it, I’ll probably have to drop a few other things. I’m not sure what; I haven’t even thought about it because I don’t know if they’ll take me.”

With a knowing eye squint, Joliana asked, “You’re not doing this just to see if you can, are you?”

“Why would I do something like that?”

“You tell me.”

Obviously ignoring her, Evangeline, bent over the boiling liquid in exaggerated concentration. Seeming to study even the molecules in the steam, she then attempted to change the subject: “How’s Selaro?”

“He’s fine, but that’s not what we were talking about. Nice try. Why are you seeking a position on the Counsel? Is this really about your mother?”

Evangeline glanced around the room and then looked down at her hands. The hands of her mother. She saw them every day, and knew they were exactly like Delelle’s, even down to the orchid-like mark to the right of the base of her right thumb. Ciellians believe that marks like this indicated the possession of some great quality in the individual. It could be power, wisdom, grace, altruism, etc. It was VERY rare for two people in one family to share the same mark, let alone a mother and daughter. For that reason, most people venerated her even more than they had her mother. “Maybe. I mean, doesn’t everyone expect it?”

“That doesn’t mean you have to do what others want you to do. Haven’t you always been your own person? Why should that change now?”

“It shouldn’t; I just don’t want to disappoint people.”

“Lin, you’re never going to be able to please everyone. They will be more disappointed if you do something that isn’t in you heart to do. Besides, shouldn’t Dante be the one to be on the Counsel? After all, he’ll be the Prezim someday.”

“Yes, but he’s already busy with Elder tasks.”

“That’s not you’re problem. You haven’t been called to the Counsel. Maybe you’re mother would have been, but you’re not her, and no one expects you to be.” Evangeline glanced sharply at her. “Ok, some people do, but they don’t know any better. If you’re mother taught us anything, it’s that we have to be true to ourselves. What would she say to you?”

“I know. All right, I’ll talk to Father.” Joliana smiled, knowing that Evangeline was secretly relieved. They continued working in comfortable silence for a while. Joliana may not have been a Keaona, but they’d both had the same education, so they made good partners. With deft hands they worked in a symphony of movement. Pop off the amethyst buds, and gently peal the stalks. Place the entire bud with the stalk slivers into a porcelain pot of boiling water. Boil until the petals separate from the bud. Turn heat to low until petals curl and turn pink. The aromatic steam rose past the girls on its way up to the rafters.

This was one of Joliana’s favorite places in the Central Abode. Even though she’d essentially grown up there, she still felt very blessed to be there. She also felt blessed to have been raised as sisters with her best friend. She and Evangeline had become fast friends in First school. She’d spent quite a few nights at the Central Abode with Lin and her family. At the age of 5, Joliana had been orphaned after an attack from the Wulari. Joliana had nowhere to go; she had no living relatives. Quillian and Dalelle immediately took her in and began to raise her as one of their own. They were very kind and gentle with her; they understood that she’s just had her world shattered. They weren’t trying to replace her parents. They just really cared about her, and wanted to share the abundance of love they had to give. Since that time, she and Evangeline had hardly spent any time apart. They really understood each other, and accepted each other. However, they also loved each other enough to keep each other in line.

Each was often able to anticipate what the other would say or do. It had always been a source of pride that they shared that quality with only the fewest of other sister pairs in their peer group. They’d had to work on it, but they could talk to each other telepathically. Of course, Evangeline could listen in to people’s thoughts, too. They didn’t do it very often (Lin thought it was discourteous), but it certainly had its place. Like when they thought that Suralla was telling lies about Joliana. Evangeline sat with her at lunch, picked her brain, and telepathed to Joliana. It hadn’t been Suralla at all. Endiore had started the whole thing as a joke, but it got out of hand. They were stopped from blaming Suralla for something she hadn’t done. Unfortunately, it didn’t always work that way. She had overheard a few things she wished she hadn’t, and then Joliana had gotten an “ear” full. Since then, Evangeline had been very careful about not listening in on her parents. It came in handy when looking for information about her brothers, though.

They certainly weren’t the only people in Ciellia with special gifts. In fact, in school, they had to use herbal infusers to dampen certain abilities during exams. There are telepaths, empaths, clairvoyants, telnets, and others. There are special classes for these individuals so that they can learn to control their gifts. Joliana’s telepathy is more by osmosis through her relationship with Evangeline; her true gift was being an empath. Most people could understand how another person feels, but empaths actually feel it. They can feel when someone’s lying, upset, in love, embarrassed, etc. Their memories tend to be sharper, too.

One of Joliana’s favorite memories was of her 6^th birthday. It was the year after her parents had died. Ciellians always celebrated children, so their birthdays were big events, and this was no exception. In fact, this may have been a bigger party than usual. There is a strong possibility that Quillian & Dalelle wanted to make this birthday extra special after all she had endured the year before. They also wanted to make it very clear that they loved her and she was going to be all right.  She remembered the smell of the candles; the texture of the wrapping paper and her new dress; the taste of the food; and how good it felt to have all her friends with her. She was so excited to be the center of the day. She had her best friend with her, the family that she loved, and almost everyone who made her smile. She even felt a little guilty about having so much fun. At one point, all the other kids were playing and she backed off and had a far away look on her face. Dalelle saw her, walked over to her with that easy grace of hers.

“What’s wrong, flower?” She’d always called Joliana that. Her mother’s favorite flower had been the Jolanine, hence her name.

“Nothing.” It was clear to anyone who cared to look, that that wasn’t true, but Joliana didn’t want to seem ungrateful.

“I miss your mom, too.” She gave me one of her soul-warming hugs. Joliana had clung to her, and had cried a little, but her hugs had a way of making everything seem lighter. Joliana now understood that not only had Dalelle been an empath, but could reflect feelings back to others. She had taken her good memories and feelings of her mother, and hugged them back to her. The rest of the party was perfect. Everyone had fun, Joliana had gotten some wonderful gifts, and she and Evangeline had both collapsed in their beds that night, full of giggles. Of all the things that had happened that day, though, the hug from Dalelle is clearest in her mind. It was a defining moment for her. She realized then that thinking about her parents didn’t have to be a sad occasion. She could remember the good things, too. She could smile about how much she’d been loved, and she could be grateful that her mother’s friendship with Dalelle had provided such a loving net into which she could fall. She couldn’t have chosen a better family by her own volition. Even her “brothers,” Dante and Endiore, were tolerable. No, she really did love them, too. Not to mention the fact that, as far as Ciellians thought of status (which wasn’t much), this family was the most important in the alden. Because of this, she had enjoyed some of the privileges of that station.

Of course, there weren’t that many. After all, Ciellians didn’t have a lot of differences among each other. Just by virtue of the leadership they held, they received some privileges that others didn’t. For instance, the children of any Prezim are presumed to also take on positions of some type of leadership in their lifetime. Therefore, they often had access to certain class of education that others might miss. They had access to elders that were no longer in the school, but may be teaching privately or just for the Prezim. They had access to some of the writings that were now too fragile for public use. Joliana benefited in many ways from this further education. That was how she and Evangeline had improved their telepathy so quickly and how she’d honed her empathic abilities.

Although she was sad about her parents being gone, she knew that they could never have provided her with the knowledge she had now. When she missed them most profoundly, she reminded herself of all for which she had to be thankful. She pondered all of this in a matter of minutes, as she and Evangeline patiently waited for the petals to curl. When they were a beautiful shade of pink, they removed the liquid from the heat and began to strain it though the Cellenur cloth. As the rich, rose-tinted liquid filtered into the jar underneath, Evangeline went to gather the bottles in which they would carry the potion to class to be graded.

“Ok, that’s done. Now what shall we do with the rest of the day?” Evangeline had that glow in her eye again.

“I suppose you’re hinting that we go out of the city?”

“Of course!”

Chapter 2

When outside in the open air, Evangeline felt free, unencumbered. She didn’t have anyone watching her, she didn’t have to perform any certain function, and she didn’t have to be an example to anyone. It’s not that she really minded those things; they came with the territory after all. She just needed time to herself, too. Sometimes, she simply wanted to be. Jol understood that. She was always ready to go off somewhere without even having a destination. They would often leave the city and just walk through the forest or lie in the meadows. Usually, they had no particular place in mind, but today, Evangeline felt the need to be in their special place. There was an almost urgent need to be there. There was an energy there that no one had found in any other place in or around the alden. It was like the world started and ended there.

They strolled up to the city gate, and greeted Mellahd, the gatekeeper on duty. “As one is,” they said in a cheerful unison.

“So one shall be,” he responded. Mellahd was about Quillian’s age. In fact, they had grown up together, so the girls were like nieces to him. “Off to the glen again, huh?” He knew exactly where they were headed and why it was so special to them. He also knew they considered their visits top secret, but he liked to see the feigned look of dismay on their faces when he made it clear that he knew all about it. Actually, everyone knew about it. It was special to almost everyone, but mostly to those with peculiarly exceptional gifts.

“Me’hd! You know better than to speak of it aloud. There are ears everywhere; we can’t risk that others might discover its influence. What would we do if everyone wanted to be there at once?” Evangeline smiled at their routine. Somehow he always knew when they were headed there instead of out to gather herbs.

“Just be careful, girls. We haven’t seen any activity recently, but it would be ideal for Them to start again with you two.”

“Oh, Me’hd, don’t worry, we aren’t important enough for that kind of attention!” This last was over her shoulder as Joliana followed after Lin. Mellahd shook his head with a lopsided grin. However, he knew of the danger that most others glossed over or completely ignored. He knew the Elders would want to know of the things he’d seen.

“Jol, hurry up, we don’t have all day, you know!”

“I know. I’m just trying to take everything in. It’s such a beautiful day.”

She sauntered back and they hooked their arms together. “You’re right. I’m just so excited to get there. I suppose we should take the time to drink everything in while we have the chance.” She glanced around at their surroundings. “How did we become blessed enough to live in a place like this?” When she had the time to glance at something other than a book, Evangeline could absolutely fall in love with Ciellia over and over. The sun fell on them in delicious waves of gentle warmth. A light breeze whispered through the trees. They could hear the tinkling of the nearby brook and the playful way the birds twittered back and forth. In the open area near the city wall, the trees were sparse, so she could see the clear blue of the sky. What else did she need? It would have been nice if Kal were here.

Mikalla had been gone for over five years now. He, Jol, and Lin had been the best of friends since they were babies. Their mothers had all been classmates, so the three of them grew up more or less together. Each had been to the others’ houses more times than they could possibly count. What’s more, they new each other as well as they knew themselves. That’s why it had been such a shock when he’d told them that he planned on leaving Ciellia.

“What are you talking about? No one leaves by choice.” Jol laughed nervously, not sure if he was joking or not. He was rarely serious, so it was usually a challenge to figure him out.

“I know, but there has to be more in the world than Ciellia. What if there are other beings out there? What don’t we know?”

Evangeline glanced at him with a worried look in her eyes. “Why are you asking this now of all times?” They had just started their advanced Gifting classes.

“I don’t really know. In Terra studies, we’re supposed to study maps of Ciellia and the surrounding alden. Who made those maps first? How did they even think to make them unless someone had ventured outside the city walls? If they went that far, why not farther? I just want to know what else is out there, if anything?”

Evangeline considerer him in silence, but Jol said, “I sense your unsettled spirit, but that’s no reason to seek out something that could be very dangerous.” They all knew what she was talking about, but no one wanted to put it into words. Any mention of Them was taboo.

“I’m not doing it because I’m unsettled; I’m going because I think there’s more out there. I just want to know. If I’m gone for a while, and find nothing, I’ll come back with my tail between my legs. If I find other lands and people, I may be able to bring back more knowledge.”

“Does your father know?” Lin already knew the answer, but he needed to address it.

“Of course not. I haven’t told anyone but the two of you. I trust that you will keep my confidence in this.”

Lin breathed a resigned sigh. “What choice have you left to us? If we tell someone, you’ll be furious with us; if we don’t, we may lose you forever.” Jol had sensed feelings from both of them for months now that made it very clear that the two of them would miss each other in a very different way that she and Kal would miss each other. She held her tongue. Her more recent Empath studies had argued the need to allow people to figure out their own emotions in their own way and in their own time. These two weren’t ready yet.

“I only want you to do what you feel is right. Nothing more, nothing less.” Lin could only stare off past the blossoms of the tree under which they had been studying.

“When are you leaving?”

“Tonight.” Both girls glanced sharply over at him, clearly irked that he was telling them this late.

“I don’t want to try to control your life. Our friendship has never been about changing the others.” Line paused just long enough to glance over at him, and then quickly looked away. “But what am … are we supposed to do without you?”

“I’m not doing this to hurt you. Either of you. But you know I’ve always had questions that you didn’t. Don’t get me wrong; I love this place as much as anyone else. I just think there may be more to see, more to learn. I mean, what if there’s knowledge out there that could benefit us in some way? How will we know unless someone ventures out?”

“What about the Wulari?” Taboo or not, Joliana knew that someone had to ask. “What will you do if you run into one or more of them? They won’t just let you walk through their land without attacking. It’s what they do.”

“For a while now, I’ve been watching the outer lands from the top of the Counsel tower. They seem to be away from the area just before and after the sun sets. If I leave then, I should be able to get past them pretty easily.”

“You have no way of knowing that. No one knows how far they’ve spread out by now or how many of them guard where. You’re taking a risk you don’t need to take. Not only that, but you know your father will want to search for you. You’re risking the lives of those who will join him.”

“That’s why I’m telling the two of you about my plan. When they realize that I’m gone, you have to tell them why I left and that they shouldn’t try to find me. I promise to return. The main reason I’m going to begin with is for our benefit.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe what we have here is better than anything you could find out there?” Evangeline’s loyalty to Ciellia was more than apparent.

Jol cut in. “Have you ever thought that you’re objections may have nothing to do with how much you love it here? Are either of you ever going to face how you really feel?” They just looked at her like she was a talking chair.

As Evangeline thought back on that day, she wished she had said something. Anything. She knew that he had probably felt the same way as she had, but both of them had been reluctant to let their relationship change that drastically. What she wouldn’t give now for another chance to tell him how she really felt.

“He’ll be back, you know.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Lin, don’t act like you weren’t thinking about him again. I may not be able to read your thoughts, but he’s the only person who’s ever made you feel like that.”

“So I was thinking about him. So?”

“I’m just saying that he’ll be back. He made us a promise, and he never breaks promises.”

“It’s been so long.” She paused, sighed, and quietly added, “We don’t even know that he’s … ok.”

“Of course, he is. You of all people would know if he weren’t, wouldn’t you?”

“I suppose, but I don’t know how far I can sense someone. What if he’s so far away, that I can’t tell anymore?”

“Everything we’ve learned implies that the strength of the connection between two people is what affects the strength of the telepath’s ability, not the distance.”

“Then why don’t I know where he is?”

“He’s not reaching out to you. I think he’s just trying to keep either of you from dwelling on the other too much.”

“Maybe.”

They continued on in silence for a while. Sometimes, they just rested in each other’s presence. They were close enough that often they didn’t even need thoughts to communicate with one another. This wasn’t that uncommon in Ciellians except that it usually only happened in sister or brother pairs (mostly between twins). The fact that the two of them weren’t even blood relatives did dumbfound most people. In comfortable silences like this one, that was how they communicated, if at all. One would send a feeling, a sense, a concept, and other nebulous “thoughts” to the other. While it may not seem so, this was often a much clearer form of communication than mere words. After all, words are often not enough to convey exactly what’s intended. As they walked, they each lost themselves in what surrounded them. Very soon they came to their destination. This was Evangeline and Joliana’s favorite place. They’d first seen it when they were children, and fell in love immediately. They felt different here.

It was a simple clearing in the forest. At least, that’s how it looked upon first viewing it. They often came out here to study, eat lunch, or just enjoy the space. (Oddly enough, there didn’t seem to be any danger of the Wulari coming here. Evangeline thought that they must also sense the special nature of this place and didn’t like it. For the most part, they just liked being there because it was secluded and peaceful. The bird songs that they heard here were a little sweeter than other areas of the alden. The sunlight that filtered through the canopy above was a little more ethereal. The ground was covered in the softest moss, which made it ideal for sitting and reading or falling asleep. What’s more, the air always felt very pleasant within the boundaries of the area. Some of the trees were also in such a form as to be quite comfortable when sitting in them. It even seemed to be easier to concentrate here. In fact, Joliana often brought out the young people she tutored.

Today they just wanted to spend some leisure time there. They’d brought some books to pass the time as well as their journals and herbology notebooks. They found a comfortable spot next to a tree and spread out their blanket. They sat down to take a moment to bathe in the surroundings. Again, they let the silence envelope them. After a while, they began to stir. Evangeline grabbed her herbology notebook and began to sketch the herbs in that area. There were some herbs that only grew in this particular place. Usually, these herbs had certain properties above and beyond the others.

One of these was the belena vine. Even its appearance was unique. It was a flowering vine, but the vines themselves had an iridescent, bluish tinge to them. Depending on how the light hit them, they were somewhere in the blue, purple, or green color range. Of course, they could also be any combination of those. The flowers were even more unusual. They were usually a blue-violet color, but there was some variation. As buds, they were simple balls of deep purple, velvety petals. They only fully blossomed in the moonlight, which was almost every night in this glen. When fully open, from petal tip to petal tip, the blossom reached from the tip of the middle finger to the inner elbow. The center of the flower was the deep purple of the bud, with bright stamen the color cinnamon. The petals were like ethereal lace that lightened in color toward the edges, until they were almost shadowy. Its fragrance was almost indescribable. Hundreds of poems, treatises, essays, etc. had been written just about its scent. It was exotic, to say the least. A mix of floral, spicy, and earthy tones, it also included essences that were impossible to categorize. When hearing about it, you might not know how to accept its description, but once you smelled it, you knew exactly what they’d been talking about and then some. It reminded you of summer days with those you loved, of laughing children, of spring growth, of affection between lovers, of self-sacrifice, etc. There was just no way to put it into sufficient terms. Most people just said that is smelled “belengui.” 

They were very delicate; if touched in the wrong way (too roughly, without the proper intension, or even without enough confidence), the flower disintegrated into a powdery substance. Of course, this powder could also be used for less than beneficial purposes, but that wasn’t the way of the Ciellians. When touched properly, energy would be noticed right away. Although the Keaoni had studied the belena for many years, and had extensive knowledge of it, no one knew all of the properties of these magnificent plants. The scholars were discovering new uses all the time. The most common uses were medicinal. It would instantly stop the pain of a burn, no matter how severe. In addition, it would lessen, if not eliminate, scarring. That was just the tip of the iceberg. It aided in many potions as well. Potions to get rid of headaches, protect your mind from telepaths, enhance telepathic abilities, make cloth impervious to stains, and the list went on. They used every part of the belena vine: the vine itself, the blossoms, the leaves, the buds, roots, even the insects that called it home. It was as important to their civilization as the Cellenur. Fortunately, when plucked, two more buds immediately replaced a bud or blossom. There were Ciellians who specialized in its harvest, and worked mostly at night. Evangeline started to sketch the buds and smaller blossoms as they enjoyed this time.

Joliana had a completely different focus. She used this glen to hone her empathic abilities. She felt more focused and relaxed when she was here. She could concentrate on the subtleties of her craft. Of course, her mind worked better here, so the information and practice stayed with her when they returned to the city proper. Right now, she was working on feeling what was in a person’s subconscious; those emotions that they didn’t even know they had. She had been making good progress, but there were a few details that still eluded her. She spent this time in meditation, taking moments here and there to jot some new insight into her journal.

After a while, they both realized that they were getting hungry. Some of the early belenistas (belena harvesters) had begun to trickle in, so they knew it was getting close to mealtime. They began to gather their belongings to return home. Eating together was very important to Quillian, so gathered almost every evening. They were far from being late, but they each had a few errands to run before dinner.

“As one is,” they said simultaneously to the belenistas.

“So one shall be,” they responded. The girls began to walk through the twilit forest headed back to the city gate.

“Was your time as productive as mine?” Evangeline knew that Joliana had let her mind wander more than she had wanted to, but she had to ask. She did so with a bit of a smirk.

“You know it wasn’t. I just kept sliding back to thoughts of Selaro. He said he has something for me, but it’s a surprise. What could it possibly be?! He knows how much I hate surprises. I can’t stand the waiting.” Evangeline rolled her eyes at her sister, and looked away. “Why, do you know something? If you do, you have to tell me.”

“I knì

so. Joliana could feel Evangeline’s entire being relax.

-They’re going away now. I wonder why they didn’t do anything…

They were finally at the gate. Me’hd could see they’d been frightened. “What happened?”

Evangeline seemed to be off in her own thoughts, so Joliana said, “I think we may just had a close call with the Them.”

“What?! Are they still out there?” He was immediately alert, his hand poised over the emergency chimes.

“No, Lin said they just seemed to be observing.”

“They don’t just observe. They stalk and hunt. They must be thinking of doing something soon. Evangeline …” She was still staring off into nothing. Mellahd touched her arm lightly, “Evangeline …” She started a little. “I’m advising the counsel that you and the Prezim’s other children stay within the city walls unless accompanied by escorts.” Normally, Evangeline would have protested most profoundly; this time, she merely nodded. Joliana looked worriedly at her. She had obviously heard something that troubled her a great deal. She would ask her about it, but not at the moment. They both just wanted to be with family right now. They started to make their way down the street. Without prying, but she got some very strong emotions from Evangeline that made it clear that she was very disturbed. What did she hear out there? Joliana wanted to help, but she could also sense that Lin would need to choose when she spoke of it.

Chapter 3

“Father, we’re home!”

Quillian, Dante, Endiore, and Mirali all came rushing up to them. Joliana mused, News really travels fast.

“What’s this about Them being near you two!?” Are you all right? Did they touch you? Speak to me!”

Evangeline was still strangely quiet, so after a furtive glance toward her, Joliana answered for them both. “Father, we’re fine. Nothing happened, and no one was hurt. We didn’t even see any of them. We just sensed them. I think Lin may have heard some of their thoughts, but that’s it. They didn’t even show themselves. Relax.”

“I will do no such thing. This was entirely too close for comfort. It’s been so long since anything’s happened; we have just gotten lax in our precautions. Not anymore. Tomorrow, I’m going to speak with the counsel about reinstating at least some of the drills. I’m not the only parent who will want to make sure that their family is safe. Until we decide the best course of action, none of you are to venture outside the city for any reason. Understood?” With only a slight nod from Quillian, Dante reached for a nearby notepad. He continued to jot down thoughts on his list for tomorrow’s counsel meeting. Dante glanced at Evangeline’s detached expression, but didn’t say anything. Maybe he’d talk to her later.

“Father, that doesn’t solve anything.” Endiore’s face was starting to turn red. Not out of anger, though. He just didn’t like to be told what he could and couldn’t do. Of course, he was worried, but he didn’t like it when silly (in his mind) rules directly impeded his activities. It had always been a source of contention between Quillian and him. He wasn’t irreverent or disrespectful about it, but he had his life to live, didn’t he?

“Endiore, don’t start. This is not up for discussion. No one goes out. Period.” Endiore’s indignation reluctantly gave way to resignation. The others had comments as well, but they also knew when Quillian was at the absolute end of a discussion. “Good, now let’s try to forget about this for a while, so we can eat. Nen has prepared a wonderful meal as usual, and we don’t want to disappoint her. Girls?” He waved his arm toward the dining area. He always sent the girls ahead of him. He said it was a sign of respect when you allowed someone else to enter a room ahead of you. They received the first view of whatever the room contained: the first aromas, etc. To him, part of that respect extended to any woman in the room, but especially to those for whom he had great affection. This was not uncommon among most Ciellian men.

As usual, Nen and the others had set out a feast. The evening meal was usually light, but long. Traditionally, it was a time for family members to catch up on the day, share ideas, etc. It was meant to be leisurely. The people who worked in the Central House considered it a privilege to serve here, and did all they could for the Head Family. Nen had been with them since just after Dante had been born. Even though Quillian hadn’t been Prezim then, Nen admired him as such, and always said that she knew from the minute they met that he’d have the office someday. She was very loyal, and loved this family as her own. They loved her, too. She and her family were always welcome to eat with Quillian and his family, but she felt that was their personal time. She only joined them for big celebrations. To her thinking, if the family itself was willing to help with celebratory preparations, it would almost be an insult if she didn’t join them. In fact, they had said as much. She was really more of an aunt than an “employee.”

Since Dalelle’s death, Nen had run the household. She saw that the children had been properly dressed, that they’d seen to their studies, that their large and small injuries were soothed, that their tears were dried, etc. She also made sure that Quillian had the time he needed for work but also for relaxation. She felt that if the family was doing well, she’d served her purpose. Some people were just fashioned with a desire to see to the needs of others. She was happiest when they had no cares.

They sat down at the table. As in all parts of the alden, the Central House was decorated in a simple, but fundamentally elegant and beautiful way. There wasn’t that much difference between this house and those of the general citizenry, but there were a few. The Central House was quite a bit larger, mostly as a byproduct of its functions. Many times, various gatherings were held there, meetings, celebrations, ceremonies, etc. Not to mention all of the times that different citizens might stay there.

Of course, all of the walls and furniture were made mostly of Cellenur wood. This gave them a beautiful, rich color. Yes, it was brown, but it had the richest undertones of various red with an almost golden patina. Cellenur wood was unusually light and strong (almost impossible to break). It was waterproof, too. However, the carpenters used water to be able to work with the wood. They had to make a concoction of several different ingredients (some of which were trade secrets) that they used while fashioning various items. The normal design of furniture was soft, smooth edges, thinking of the shapes of things in nature and also of the shape of the human form. The wood could be stained in various colors or shades as well. The dining room was done in this way. The decoration was simple and minimal, but breathtaking in its affect.

As was his wont, Quillian waited for the girls to be seated first. Nen brought in the meal. “Nen, as always, you have spoiled us with your talents.”

Blushing, even after all these years, she replied, “Oh, sir, it’s nothing. I’m just happy to help.”

Quillian had come to love her as a sister over the years and very much valued her wisdom. As she set a platter on the table, he tenderly placed his substantial hand on hers, “Will you ever sit with us as you deserve?” She just smiled and drifted back to the kitchen. “One of these days, I will be able to get her to understand what she means to us.”

Mirali rolled her eyes, “Pipa, she knows. When will you understand that this makes her happy?”

“You have a point, M’ili.” He grinned at his youngest. Even though she was only 14, she had already displayed a strong aptitude in various psi abilities. She grinned back. They joked with each other quite often. Not that Quillian was always serious with the others, but Mirali was still in that precious, mostly carefree stage of life. She just didn’t let things get to her. She always had a smile or a kind word for anyone who needed it, and she always knew who needed what. Joliana and Evangeline suspected it might have been due at least in part to some empathic abilities. Since most abilities started to be more evident during or just after puberty, she’d started working with her.

“Father, we should probably at least mention what’s happened.” Dante had always been the most straightforward of the family. He most likely wanted to get the ugliness out of the way in order to better relax for the rest of the meal. “Why now? Why the girls? I think They may have been planning something for quite a while now. It’s been quiet, but too quiet.”

Evangeline anxiously glanced over at him, clearly wanting him to drop it, but Quillian continued his line of thought. “What exactly happened out there?”

Joliana usually let Evangeline speak for them, but she still didn’t seem to be ready to talk about it, so Jol began, “Well, we went out to the glen to just be there. Everything was fine the whole time. The harvesters started to trickle in so we wanted to leave them to their task. We gathered our things and started back. Lin felt something very abruptly. She was obviously afraid of something, so we got out of there.”

“You’re leaving out quite a bit as usual.”

“Dante, you weren’t there.”

“That’s really the point of this entire exercise, you know.”

“Don’t antagonize your sister. Let her tell it her way.”

“Fine. Jol, we need as much detail as you can give us. Sometimes their communication is in what they don’t explicitly share. Whatever you tell us can only help the Aegisen have a better idea of how to protect us.”

“To be perfectly honest, I didn’t get the entire message, just impressions.” She caught a glimpse of Lin with her head down. Her ebony locks descended over her face in an attempt to hide from or forget what she might now be feeling.

Quillian studied Lin for a moment. He didn’t have to be an empath to know that something had very much disturbed her and she’d rather forget it all together. He chose to give her some space; he’d direct his questions to Joliana for now. “What did you get?”

“Well, you know I don’t get anything but feelings, but these were the darkest, most physically taxing I’ve ever felt. For a second, they actually caused me pain. It was fleeting, but immediately I got light headed and nauseous. It felt like I’d have to vomit for days to get rid of the … whatever it was. I expected my ears to be bleeding. Just as quickly, the feelings began to pass. It was almost as if they were searching me out, found me lacking, and moved on.” She looked at Lin again. “Words do not exist to express what I felt. I could share a taste of it with another empath, but never exactly what I felt. I’m not that strong, but I wouldn’t want to do that to someone anyway.”

Evangeline finally raised her head, looked her father directly in his eyes and stated, “For the greater good of all, I will share what I experienced only once, with one other telepath; I suggest a master. I will then require a Key Sykomed to take the memory from me for I cannot continue to live with this inside of me. I would prefer to do this immediately. It is consuming me as we speak, and will end me without assistance.” Even as she said it, they all noticed a ghastly pallor to her skin.

Quillian leapt to his feet, knocking over his chair, to run to Evangeline’s side. Silverware clattered to the floor, as he whispered, “Dante…”

“I’m on it.” Dante had nowhere close to the telepathic ability of the women in his family, but he could certainly come through in an emergency, and this was definitely an emergency. As soon as her head had begun to rise, he had known something was wrong, and had started to reach out for help. Joliana had sensed both Lin and Dante, and had added her call to his.

Quillian and Mirali approached Evangeline, but through clenched teeth, Joliana warned them< “Don’t touch her. She needs to concentrate.” They both stepped back, feeling helpless. “M’ili, come to me and help me steady her.” The young girl edged over to Joliana and they joined hands. Together, they were able to send some energy to Lin to give her more strength behind her own efforts. Without asking, Joliana knew that Evangeline was holding on to her sanity by a whisper of a thread. If they could help her maintain her hold until a Sykomed arrived, she’d be ok. What’s taking them so long?!

-I’m …ok…

-Lin? Don’t. Just concentrate on what you’re doing.

Siloma finally came bursting through the side door.

Chapter 4

Evangeline was asleep most of the next couple days. People stopped by to wish her well, but Nen wouldn’t allow anyone but family in to see her, and even they were restricted. She was very weak and rather pale, but Siloma said she would be fine very soon. Every three to four hours, she had to drink some belena tea. While the others had responsibilities that they had to address, Mirali had been by Evangeline’s bed the whole time. She was worried for her sister, but she tried not to think about it. She didn’t want her fears to be transferred to Lin while she was asleep.

She couldn’t express how relieved she was that Lin was going to be all right. She loved her more than she could put into words. Because Dalelle had died when she was born, she had no memories of her mother. She had always looked up to Evangeline for guidance, fun, etc. She thought of Nen as her mother, but Lin was her guiding light. Lin had taught her so much. She had cared for her when she was a child, helped with her studies, been there to advise her, and a host of other things. Not that she didn’t appreciate what the others did for her; she loved her father and brothers with all her being, but she just felt like she and Lin had a different kind of relationship. Please wake up soon. 

She saw Lin’s eyelids shudder. She’d been awake here and there, but not with any real awareness of where she was or what had happened. M’ili hoped this was the breaking point. Lin started to move her fingers, then her hands, and finally her right arm reached up to touch the belena poultice on her forehead. She slid it off with a slight sigh. Her eyes slowly opened, and she turned her head.

“Evangeline?” Lin looked in her direction. Her eyes focused on M’ili and she smiled weakly.

“Hi, little one.”

“You really scared us. What happened?”

“I don’t want you to worry about it. It’s something better forgotten, which Siloma has helped me to do. I couldn’t really tell you much if I wanted to, which I don’t.”

“Will you be ok?” She didn’t want to show how worried she’d been, but it seeped through in a tremor in her voice.”

Looking directly into her eyes, she stated very firmly, “I will be just fine. You have nothing to be concerned about.” She squeezed Mirali’s hand with what little strength she had. “I’m not leaving you any time soon.” Mirali’s eyes glistened a little and she leaned down to rest her head on Evangeline’s shoulder.

Just then, Quillian walked in. “Evangeline! You’re awake.” He had an enormous grin on his face that reached far into his eyes. He knew she’d be ok, but he was glad to see her awake and smiling. “When did you come back to us?”

“She just woke up a few minutes ago.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I actually feel pretty good, though a little weak.”

“M’ili, why don’t you go get Siloma and let her know? She may want to come and check her out.” M’ili jumped up and headed toward the door. “Oh, let Jol and the boys know she’s awake.” She nodded and headed down the hall.

“Ok, she’s gone. How are you really feeling?” He knew she wouldn’t say anything in front of Mirali that might scare her.

“I’m tired, but I think I’m fine. I mean, it’s not something I’d want to repeat, but I’ll be all right.” He glanced at her sideways. “Really, I’m fine.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well, there’s not much to talk about now. I don’t remember much, and that’s the way I want to keep it. It was a horrible experience that I don’t plan on repeating.”

“Did Siloma take all of the memories or just the emotions?”

“I remember some of it, but it’s incomplete.”

“Do you know why They came out or why They focused on you?”

“I’m not sure that they were truly trying to communicate with me. I think they were feeling me out, trying to figure out who I was. A by-product of that, like a bounce-back of information, was getting images from them. They seem to have a vehement hatred for us. I was confused about where the hate was coming from. Was I sensing what they felt for us or were they making me feel the hate? It’s not clear, but I am not willing to risk feeling it again to try to figure it out.” Quillian didn’t say anything. He seemed to understand that she needed time to think. “I don’t fully understand why they were there. Maybe they were just trying to figure out who I am. I think they were trying to read me to get information about the alden in general, and our family in particular, but I don’t know why.”

“Could you tell if they had any plans or how many there were?”

“I believe there were only four or five of them, but I could still sense the others. Like their all connected somehow. I didn’t get a sense of plans, but I’m sure they were collecting information to take back to the others.”

“Was the Gorgon there?”

Evangeline closed her eyes in concentration. She was thinking back to that day, trying to remember just a bit of the individuals she had sensed. Was the Gorgon there? She was having trouble focusing on any of them, but she only got an impression of people sent to gather information, not of she who would have done the sending. “No, I don’t think she was there. I think they were to take whatever they discovered back to her. Father, I really don’t want to do this.”

He brushed her hair from her pale forehead. “I know, and I’m sorry for pressing. Don’t try to think about it anymore. You have been able to give us a great deal of information.” Quillian looked out the window with a pensive furrow in his brow. He knew that the Counsel would have to do something about this, but it would be difficult to convince them of that fact. Many Ciellians didn’t think anything truly bad could ever happen to them. They almost chose to be ignorant of the existence of the others. Whenever anyone was made a Purgal, the group wiped the fact that they had ever been part of Ciellia from its conscious. Consequently, when they eventually became a Wular, the Ciellians barely had any memory of them as a Ciellian and vice versa. Ciellians tried very hard to concentrate on things that made themselves or their surroundings better in some way. They didn’t want to think about the others. It was a reminder that things were not always as they wanted them in Ciellia. More importantly, they feared that if they dwelled on what the Purgal had done, it would somehow burrow into their consciousness. If that were to happen, the risk of doing something aberrant was greater. No one wanted to take any kind of chance that they could be sent away from those they loved.

At that moment, the door burst open, and Joliana, Endiore, and Nen ran up to the side of the bed. They were very happy to see Evangeline awake and smiling. Each of them touched her hand, her arm; whatever they could reach. They each seemed to need proof that she was really ok. She was almost assaulted with thoughts like, You’re ok, Thank Lahnore, We missed you, etc. Dante came wandering in after them. He was certainly glad that she was ok, but he had always felt that his responsibilities warranted a good amount of composure. He made an effort not to show extreme emotion, except in aldenic matters. Of course, he had been that way even as a child, so it wasn’t out of character for him at all. Still, as he reached the bed, Evangeline was the only one to notice a small tear sliding down his cheek as he smiled at her. She knew that was his way of saying how relieved he was, but that she may or may not actually hear the words from him.

“Give her some room to breathe!” Nen was only too aware of how much they all loved this girl, but she also knew that no matter what Lin said, she was still pretty weak.

“Yeah, back up some.” Mirali respected Nen as much, if not more, than the others.

Now that he knew she would be ok, Endiore could be blithe about Lin’s experience. “I knew I couldn’t be free of you that easily.” He smiled as he lightly elbowed her arm.

“You’ve got that right. Someone has to keep an eye on you, or you could hurt yourself.” Their relationship was unique next to other Ciellian twins. There weren’t really that many sets of twins in Ciellia, but they did exist. She and Endiore shared a special bond as did the other sets, but the others usually wanted to be close to each other as much as possible. She and Di’ weren’t in each other’s physical presence more than they were with the other members of the family. However, they were always “together” spiritually. Maybe that’s why they didn’t feel they had to be with each other physically as much as the other twins. They just never felt that they weren’t together. In fact, when she had the run in with the Wulari, she had to forcibly close off their connection. If she hadn’t he would have suffered the same fate she had.

He leaned down to give her a peck on the cheek. “Don’t block me out again. I know why you did, but it felt like part of me had been violently severed.”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t want you to be subjected to that.”

“I think I can decide whether or not to take a risk in life. Besides, did it ever occur to you that if you had stayed connected to me, I could have helped you?” Her nose crinkled in thought. “I didn’t think so.”

“You may have a point, but I think you would have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed.” His crooked smile confirmed this.

Nen started to shoo everyone toward the door. “Ok, she’s fine, but she still needs to rest. You all need to go somewhere else. Get going!”

With feeble protests, the group shuffled toward the door. Evangeline had to admit that she was tired, but she still didn’t want to be alone. “Jol, can you stay here for a while?”

“Of course." She came back and grabbed a nearby chair. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Yes, but I was hoping you would sit and chat with me till I fall asleep.”

“Sure. Do you want to talk about anything in particular?”

“No, I would be ok with just listening to you talk about the last few days.”

“Well, Delina was jabbering all over the school that she was so worried about you. She really tried to make it about her, as usual. She was acting like she was your best friend and doing all this while sitting in class with me. It was really something to see. Endiore had to laugh out loud a few times. She had the nerve to ignore him completely.” Joliana could see that Evangeline was getting drowsy, but she just kept talking. She new that Lin just wanted to hear someone talking so she could fall asleep with something else on her mind.

Chapter 5

Evangeline was finally able to return to her full schedule a couple of weeks later. When she went into her first class the first day back to classes, everyone rushed over to see how she was. Once the perfunctory questions about how she was feeling were out of the way, they all wanted to know exactly what had happened. This wasn’t the first time that she was glad that she’d had Siloma take out those memories. She didn’t like to lie, so she could honestly say she didn’t remember anything. Finally Pre’don Jameen called the class to order.

“I’m sure we’re all very glad that Miss Evangeline is back, but we do have quite a bit of work to do. Please open your books to page 25.” Lin had to admit that she was relieved to get back to work again, even if it was history. It may not have been her favorite subject, but she understood its importance. Their origins were what had influenced their present. Understanding their past could help them to use the present to shape their future. As luck would have it (or not, depending on who you asked), the first Ciellians kept detailed records of everything; therefore, current Ciellians knew what happened in the beginning. While that was true of the founding of Ciellia, that wasn’t necessarily true of the Ciellians themselves. The origins of this people seem to just appear with the records of the beginning of the alden. Their existence before that seems to be shrouded in mystery. They kept very good records of establishing the alden, but were just as diligent in making sure that no one knew where they came from before that.

Archeni took their jobs very seriously. Part of their mission was to make sure that all future Ciellians knew exactly what happened in the present. They were charged with documenting everything that happened in the alden. They were present for weddings, funerals, and various ceremonies. The rest of the citizens also appreciated their task often told a historian about a birth before they told any family members. They were also charged with documenting and distributing any information from the Central House. If the Counsel had some new edict, announcement, decree, or what have you, the historians were the ones to make sure everyone else knew about it.

“Ok, who can tell me what we studied last week?” Everyone looked down at their books and tried to avoid being called to answer.  Delina’s hand shot up, “We were discussing the advent of some of the more important ceremonies of passage.”

“Yes, Delina. Can you review what we covered please?”

“I’d be happy to, Pre’don.” This elicited some eye rolling from various students. Delina was always ingratiating herself to anyone in authority. “We talked about the origins of the Ceremony of growth. The Founders felt that the first steps moving from childhood to adulthood should be celebrated. “

“That’s correct. Can anyone remind us what the parts of the ceremony signify? . . . Brielle?”

“Well, for the girls, we pour pomegranate juice on the ground to symbolize that our monthly Shedding prepares us to carry life one day.”

“Good. What else?”

“Well, the boys cut off some of their hair and burn it along with sage to show that the hair we grow now is the hair of an adult. I suppose it’s also to show that we’re starting to grow hair in different places, too.” This got a couple of giggles but only because Darin turned a little red as he was saying it. The discussion continued from there. Because history was so important, most young people already knew about the origins of various ceremonies, and what they meant, but it was still studied in the university to understand any subtleties, etc. The rest of the class continued much the same.

During the mid-day break, Joliana, Endiore, and Evangeline usually went home to eat. Their home was very close, and the food was excellent. (Of course, sometimes they also stayed on campus and ate with friends.)

“I can’t wait to get back into herbology.”
            “Sure, you can’t wait. You’re the star pupil.” Joliana rolled her eyes for affect.

“Can I help that? It’s in my blood, you know.”

“I know, your mother, her mother, etc. That doesn’t help me at all.”

“I don’t know what you’re complaining about. You know more than anyone else in the class.”

“Girls, girls, can’t we have one meal without you two chattering on incessantly?” Endiore patted each of them on the head as if they were disobedient children.

“You might know how we felt if you were doing well in any of your classes.”

“Lin, I have charm. What more does one need?”

“I don’t know about other people, but you’ll need more than that.” They giggled a little as they sat down to eat. They could hear Mirali running down from her room. She didn’t usually come home for the noon meal because she usually wanted to eat with her friends. Today must not have been one of those days.

“What brought you home, Bits?” Endiore had called her that since she’d thrown up on him when she was little.

“Nothing really; I was just tired of answering questions about Lin.”

“They’re still talking about it?”

“They had stopped last week, but one of the Archeni came in today to talk to us about not going outside the city gates without an adult. That brought it all back up.”

“I’m so sorry, Mi’li.” Evangeline looked troubled that she had brought this on her little sister.

“I don’t mind; I just needed a break.” They all continued to chat as they ate.

Later that evening, Evangeline got the distinct impression that something different and maybe exciting was about to happen. For some reason, she thought it had something to do with Mikalla. She couldn’t figure it out exactly.

-Thinking about him again, huh? Joliana smiled at her from across the library.

-How did you know? I was trying to suppress it.

-I didn’t hear you, but I could sense the feelings. You were never very good at suppressing those, at least not from me.

-Fine. Yes, if you must know.

-So, what brought this on?

-I don’t really know. I just got this feeling that something’s going to happen soon and he’s involved somehow.”

-You don’t think he’s coming back, do you?

-I’ve considered that. I would be thrilled, of course, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.

-It would be so nice to have him back. Do you think you’d finally tell him how you feel?

-I suppose so.

-You suppose so? Don’t you think you owe it to both of you to be honest with him?

-Why are we even discussing this? We have no idea if he’s even coming back, so this conversation is highly premature.

“You don’t have these feelings without reason.” Joliana often started speaking aloud if she was trying to emphasize something. She was pretty good at telepathy between her and Evangeline, but it wasn’t her gift, so she had trouble with conversational nuances.

“I know, but I don’t want to get my hopes too high. What if I’m wrong? I don’t want to sit around being nervous, or even excited, about what to say and then never see him. I don’t think I could handle it.”

“First of all, I have yet to see you be wrong. When he returns, you can deal with it then. Try not to over think it. Just live in the moment, talk to him about what he’s experienced, and get to know him again. If you still feel the way you did before he left, then you can talk to him about more intimate things.”

“I suppose, but it still makes me pretty nervous. I mean, what if he doesn’t feel the same way? That would be so embarrassing.”

“Well, you don’t know if you feel the same way as you did. It’s been five years after all. He’s changed you’ve changed. I’m sure you’ll still be very close, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll still be in love with each other.”

“You don’t know that he was in love with me.”

“Don’t be obtuse. Of course, he was. I felt it, but I know you both did, too. It’s not my fault you two didn’t talk about it, but you can do that when he gets back.”

“If he gets back.”

Joliana smiled, “Oh, he’ll be back.”

“I hope so, but we’ll see.”

They heard a knock on the door, and then pleasant voices chatting. Pretty soon, Nen came into the library with Siloma. Evangeline set down the books she was studying in anticipation of any questions Siloma might ask her.

“My dear, you look radiant, as always.” Siloma tended to gush over any of the babies that she’d helped to deliver.

“I owe it to you, Siloma.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere!” She was a little old-fashioned, but she was sweet. She lived to help others, so she had been a Sykomed as long as anyone could remember. “I just came over to see how our girl is doing. You look like you’re doing very well. How do you feel?”

“Actually, I feel really good. I haven’t even felt tense when someone’s asked me about it, and believe me, they have asked.”

“I’ll bet. It’s not every day that someone comes into such close contact with one of them, and can tell the tale. You are a very fortunate young woman.”

“I know, but it helps having talent such as yours nearby.” She winked at Siloma with this last statement.

“Oh, you go on so!” Siloma laughed in her deep, jovial way, and patted Evangeline on the shoulder. “If I’d had a daughter, I think I would’ve wanted one like any of the Prezim’s sweet girls.” A few of the most dedicated masters of any trade had not had children. It wasn’t that they didn’t want them, they were just always so focused on their craft they hadn’t had time. Some of them weren’t married either. This didn’t mean that those with families were less dedicated; they had just decided to live their lives with a different kind of balance.

“Tell me the truth. Are you having any nightmares?”

“No, my sleep has been very peaceful. I have taken a draught of belena tea each night since you came, just as you instructed.”

“Good! Since you are doing so well, you can cease doing that, unless you feel you might need it a particular night. Any headaches, leftover voices?

“No, everything seems to be as it was before.”

“Excellent! I’d say you’ve mended very well indeed. I guess you won’t need me anymore.”

“Don’t be silly; we’ll always need you.”

“You’re mother would be so proud of you.” Siloma had always thought she was at least partially to blame for Dalelle’s death. She was away with another family when Dalelle went into labor with Mirali. She couldn’t get to them in time and felt that she could have done something to prevent her death. Because of her tinge of guilt, she always felt a little more responsibility for Mirali and her sisters. She would spend extra time making sure they were safe and sound after any health issues.

“I hope so.”

“Of course, she would, my dear.” After a slight, melancholy pause, she brightened up and asked, “What are the two of you studying today?”

Joliana spoke up, “I’m reading up on my herbology, but she’s trying to get our history into her head.”

“I’ve never been very good at remembering all those details.”

“Well, she’s perfect about everything else, so I don’t feel too bad for her.” Joliana laughed.

“You say that like you don’t do anything well, when we all know that you’re and incredible empath.”

“Maybe.” They both knew that they were very intelligent young women. They weren’t conceited about it, but they accepted it just as every other young person accepted their gift-given abilities.

After the older women had left, the girls continued their studies. Joliana had to make some concoctions as part of an exam in herbology. She had decided to attempt some of the more challenging recipes involving lavender and belena. She was thinking of the vulnerability draught. With right proportions of lavender, belena (along with traces of other ingredients), and if prepared correctly, a drink of this blend could leave a person’s emotions wide open. This was especially useful to empaths. If someone couldn’t suppress what they were feeling, it would be very easy to tell if they were nervous, hiding something, angry, etc. It was often used in tribunals along with truth serums and the like. If she were going to attempt something that advanced, she knew she needed to study its preparation very carefully. If done incorrectly, it could cause someone to lose inhibitions and act out their base emotions. That never ends well. For that reason, a repression tincture was always made just in case. She knew that Evangeline could make it without much effort, but she wanted to do what she could on her own before she asked for help.

Evangeline was also toiling away on a project. She needed to explain the various theories on Ciellian origins, and then discuss why she agreed or disagreed with them. Most Archeni believed that Lahnore had created Ciellia and then her people. Others felt that Ciellians had grown from the very earth; Lahnore found them naked and lost, and gave them clear thought and faith. Evangeline, while not the first to believe so, felt that the Ciellians had come here from another far off place. The majority of Ciellians didn’t espouse this idea because they said it was heresy against Lahnore. Lin didn’t see it that way. She felt that Lahnore had very much been a part of their journey from that foreign land to where they now called home. She felt that much of their culture seemed to have already been firmly established long before the records of Ciellian history began. Those records are supposed to be the chronicles of all that happened from the beginning to the present. If that were so, why did it seem that so many of the records read as if there had already been an understanding of society, culture, etc. from before the “beginning”? If that were the beginning, how did they already know how to read, write, build, etc? The Canonists believed that was just further proof that Lahnore had created them; that they already had those capacities. The Terrenists said that when Lahnore had given them clear thought, he’d also given them language, culture, etc. (It’s important to note that Lahnore is spoken of as both He and She, usually depending on which aspect of their god was being discussed. The Ciellians believed that Lahnore was beyond gender, but in order to speak of her/him, they had to use one or the other, as their language had no way to express a neuter personal pronoun.) Lin might be able to accept that, too. However, from where did they get their context of language and culture? If they’d had no society before this beginning, how could they have had societal norms that could be violated, and therefore punishable? At the least, this suggested that they had some kind of judgment system in place before Ciellia had ever been started.

A very small group of Ciellians believed that the Founders came from somewhere else and brought their culture here to start over for some reason. Lin was starting to believe they had the right idea. Furthermore, they believed that the Founders had in fact kept a record of their journey and their reasons for leaving the other place. They couldn’t see how the earliest Ciellians could keep such detailed accounts of everything after Ciellia began without including the time before. They felt these records must have been lost or were still hidden somewhere in the alden. There were Ciellians that often tried to see if there were any hidden signs in the old writings that might tell where these lost texts were. They had tried on many occasions to find them, but no one had been successful so far. Lin was pretty sure most of her family felt the same way, but it wasn’t really a subject they discussed. It wasn’t because it was taboo; they just usually talked about other things instead.

“Do you want to go to the Bevil tonight?” Joliana was more of a people person than Evangeline, so she often wanting to go the local meetinghouse. It was a great place to catch up with friends, hear any local information, and discuss pertinent issues of the day.

“No, you go ahead. I think I’m going to spend some time with Mi’li tonight. She has a few classes she said she needs some help with, and we haven’t had any ‘just us’ time in a while.”

“Oh, she’ll be very happy about that.”

“Are you going to meet Selaro there?”

“Yeah, I guess we haven’t really spent that much time together either. He’s working on some projects for the Counsel, so he’s been pretty busy. I’ve also got classes, but he said some of the projects are ending soon. We should see more of each other then.”

“Good. You two need to be together. I can never get over how much you two are such a perfect match.”

“I know. Lahnore has blessed us both so much.” She hesitated. Evangeline could tell that something was on her mind. She could have read it, but it was improper to read someone’s mind without there permission when there was no threat. With Jol, she didn’t need to read her mind to see that something was bothering her.

“What is it?”

Joliana looked down at her hands. She was obviously trying to decide whether or not to tell her something.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to. I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Well, I can’t decide for you.”

“I know.” Joliana took a breath and blurted, “Kal is on his way home.”

“What?! How do you know?”

“Selaro overheard a Master Empath report. He said that she sensed someone coming home, and he’s the only one to leave in years. To be sure, they had her work with a telepath, so they could reach farther. It was him. They weren’t sure how far away he was, but they couldn’t have sensed him at all if he weren’t closer.” She paused. Evangeline had gone a little pale.

“He’s really coming back?” She seemed a little breathless. There was a look of tentative anticipation on her face.

“I know you want to be excited. I think you should be excited. I am. I mean, we know he’s coming back. I think you should tell him how you felt before he left. Then the two of you can decide if it’s still worth pursuing a relationship or if you want to move on.”

“Do any of them know when he should be back?”

“Selaro didn’t hear anything about that, but I’ve already told him to keep his ears open. Can you believe it? I don’t think anyone’s ever come back after leaving. We assume that they were accosted, or even killed, by Them, but who knows? Now we’ll know if there’s anything else out there.”

“That actually makes me a little nervous.”

“Why?”

“Well, we’ve been essentially alone from the beginning. If there are other societies out there, what if others want to leave? What if strangers start coming here? Those things can bring benefits, sure, but they can also bring harm.”

“That’s true, but if we truly believe that growth is our ultimate goal, we have to be willing to take the risks that come with additional knowledge.”

“I know; I just don’t like to think of Ciellia being harmed in any way.”

“Same here, but we have to trust that Lahnore will take care of us. Hey, I’m gonna take off. Just relax, and know that I’m here for you. You’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

“I hope you’re right” The girls hugged, and Joliana skipped off to freshen up before meeting her boyfriend.

Chapter 6

Mirali was sitting in the basking room writing in her journal. She loved the seat under the window in that room. She could sit in the warm when there was sun, and listen to the rain when it was raining. If she wanted privacy, but didn’t want to stay in her rooms upstairs, she could just close the curtains, and no one would know she was there. Of course, they all knew it was her favorite spot, so it wasn’t hard for them to find her; but they usually left her alone if they saw the curtain closed. They knew that everyone needs some time alone, and they were happy to give it to her.

            “Hey, you. Wanna work on some of your school work?”

            “Lin? I thought you were going out with Jol.”

“I thought about it, but I didn’t feel like being in a crowd, and I thought it would be a good time for us to spend some time together. What do you say?”

Mirali jumped out of her seat with a big grin on her face. “Oh, that’s great!” Evangeline laughed. She knew that Mirali was mature for her age, but she was still young, and needed to feel like someone cared for her.

“What are you working on right now?”

“Actually, I don’t have anything to work on right now. I was hoping we could do something fun.”

“You’re not trying to get out of any work are you?”

With a snicker, she said, “Would I ever do something like that?”

“Of course not. What was I thinking?”

“No, really, I’m done with everything for now. We just had some big group projects, and I finished early. The Pre’dons haven’t given us anything else while we’re working on the projects.”

“Ok, well, what would you like to do then?”

“Can we work on our arras?” One of the ways that Ciellians recorded family information was by sewing arras, or tapestries. A family could certainly have more than one, but the norm was that each family would have one. As members married and started their own families, they would still add something about their immediate family to the arras in their parental home. Members could always add to their own family arras, but they could also make arras for just about anything that they wanted to preserve in pictorial form. Children could have their own arras. They could make arras to commemorate special events, etc.

Mirali’s family had a very extensive arras. Her parents had started their own after they got married. Of course, they had done much with it since Dalelle’s death. Consequently, Mirali didn’t even exist according to the arras. A few years ago, Evangeline had suggested that they start a new one. One that began at Mirali’s birth. The two of them had been working on it off and on since then. It chronicled many events in all of their lives; important birthdays, graduations, Dante’s acceptance onto the Counsel; Evangeline’s becoming a Keaona, and many others.

“That’s a great idea. We haven’t worked on that in a while. Why don’t you clear off some space in the craft room and I’ll go get the arras down. I’ll be right back” It was fortunate that due to the construction of arrases, when each addition was finished, it looked more or less completed; you didn’t have to wait for years and years to be able to display it.

Evangeline walked down the hall to the library. Most arrasi were kept in libraries. Every family had a library of one size or another, so it just made sense that any arrasi would reside there. She walked into the library and headed to the back wall where their family’s arrasi were hung. She gazed at their first arras for a few minutes. This was the one that ended with Dalelle’s death. She gently touched her mother’s name on the tapestry. The material was made from a blend of belena and Cellenur fibers, so it was both very soft to the touch and very strong. This material lasted for a long time, so all arrasi were made of it. The colors were very rich and full, with many shades and hues. They were made from many different sources, but mostly plants from the area. Her mother’s name was in a beautiful script with golden flecks throughout. Pipa had told her that his mother had added Dalelle’s name the night of their wedding.

Most young people learned the skills of working on arrasi, but some were better than others. She had learned most of her skill from Nen, but she began with her mother and grandmother. Men and women had very different styles, so men usually taught men, and women taught women. There was some crossover of course, but you could always tell which parts had been done by women, and which had been done by men.

She remembered sitting at her mother’s feet, watching her fingers move deftly across and through the material. Mima had loved being able to create something of beauty with her hands. Evangeline wanted to be just like her, so she wanted to learn arras work sooner than most girls did. Usually, the hands of a 6-year-old were not yet able to manage the intricate movements that were necessary. Nevertheless, Dalelle could never deny her youngest child an opportunity to grow. They were both surprised at how well she caught on. She had a talent for it and enjoyed doing it almost as much as her mother; mostly because she could spend more time with her mother. Dalelle’s mother had died before Evangeline was born, so Quillian’s mother joined Dalelle in passing on the skill to the young girl. Grandmother continued working with her until her own death when Evangeline was 20.

At that time, Mirali was just starting to be interested in the family history and their arras that pictured that history. A couple years later, she wanted to start learning the skill from Evangeline. The two of them decided to start a brand new arras to symbolize their own new beginnings since Dalelle’s death. They weren’t saying that she was no longer with them. In fact, her presence was certainly felt in the arras. However, there had been a marked change since her departure from and Mirali’s entrance into the family, so they wanted to show that.

The two were hung next to each other in places of honor. Evangeline reached up and gently removed the second arras from the wall. She was proud of how well Mirali did her needlework. She had advanced more in the last two years than most girls did in ten. Maybe this talent just ran in their family line. As she glided to the door, she glanced back at the arras with smile. She had enjoyed the time she and her mother and grandmother had spent together while contributing their talents to the arras. She wondered if she would ever share time like that with a daughter or granddaughter of her own some day. Kal’s face flashed in her mind’s eye, but just as quickly, she shook it away. That’s ridiculous. We’re just friends.

When she entered the craft room, she was met with its various fragrances. This was where they did any kind of creative work, which included working with herbs, cloth, general crafts, and the like. There was a rack with drying herbs, a shelf with jars of maturing tinctures, and in one of the window sills, a row of glass bottles with herbs soaking in various oils in the sun.

Mirali was waiting patiently at the big table. She had already cleared it off and had gotten out all of the materials. She had even lined up the different needles and boxes of thread. She’d always been immaculate about everything she did, even when she was having fun.

“I see you’re more than ready.” Evangeline had to giggle a little.

“Of course, Nen has always said that half the job is in the preparation. I think that might be the best advice she’s given me so far.”

“She’d be pleased to know that. Where did we stop last time?”

“We were working on Dante’s entrance into the Counsel.”

“Oh yes. We were trying to choose what color to use for his jacket. Did we ever decide on one?”

“I think we had narrowed it down to dark blue or black. I know he where’s black a lot, so it might signify a special occasion if we went with blue.”

“I think that sounds like a good idea. Why don’t you choose the shade and I’ll set up the frame.”

“Ok.” Mirali started to pick up the boxes to find the one with the right colors in it. Shortly after she’d started doing arrastry, she had decided to organize all of the threads. They were grouped by thread type and then by colors, so it was pretty easy to find what you needed. Evangeline picked up the frame and began to set it up. Then she picked up the arras and gently laid it on top of the frame. She adjusted it so that the portion they were working on was centered and

Glossary/Pronunciation Guide