16

Dear Raina,

Sages!!!
Before I go on, thank you for your letter. Your thoughts are very interesting to me and I am so very grateful for all you are doing. You are invaluable.
I could go on in your praises but I am afraid I am a bit out of sorts and this letter is my outlet.
Here is my tale. Judge me how you will, but know that I have done my best.

I started on what I will refer to as the Journey. The sky was clear, mirroring my thoughts and emotions. The world passed me by in a moving picture and I felt my soul expand. As I neared the Tunnel head, my thoughts came down from the clouds and I put them to work on the present moment. I searched for Mor'en's nephew but to no avail.
I waited some time, anxious to be on my way. The sun moved slowly across the sky and as it reached it's peak, so did my impatience. As I had left Mor'en that morning, she had stressed that her nephew would meet me and that I was to wait for him at all costs. But I resolved to wait no longer and so I entered the Tunnel, thinking how much faster I would go by myself, even thinking that I could get back before the morrow days end.
I was well on my way before the sun disappeared behind the horizon and I made myself a worthy camp and lay to rest, content with my day's labor.
I was awakened in the dead of night by a touch of a hand on my shoulder. My eyes flew open and I jumped up. Before me was a young man, surely not more than eight and twenty. The embers of the fire showed me little else but his figure. He was tall, at least enough to surpass me and his shoulders were strong and held confidently. I could see in the way he held himself that he was no Warrior, but nevertheless, he seemed to be well used to physical activity.
I was given little time to make note of more, as he motioned for me to wait while he went off a distance towards the Tunnel I had recently left.
I was certain this was Mor'en's nephew and my conscience nagged me for leaving him behind. But I was gladly interrupted out of any guilty thoughts when the young man came back, pulling along some sort of animal. I was curious that this young man would follow, knowing that I had purposely left him behind, and I was more curious to know what sort of animal he brought with him. Surely he should know that we were bound to be in boggy land and an animal would have great difficulty and would slow us down.
He held the animal back in the shadows and then held out his hand to me.
"My name is Luc. I'm Mor'en's nephew. I thought I was supposed to meet you at the Tunnel head but I guess I must have heard wrong. I got there as quick as I could but when you weren't there I decided to follow you. Sorry it took me so long. I had to get Weed."
I liked this fellow. As he spoke he ran his hands through his hair and he has this insane smile that seemed to light up the dark night. I felt bad for leaving him behind. He seemed so innocent and.. cute. Just like a little kid. His whole manner was just of a happy little boy, and an angel boy at that. His supposing that he had been the one to have heard wrong was so sweet that I could not help but correct him.
"No, you didn't hear wrong. I'm sorry, it was my fault. I should have waited longer but when you didn't show I went without you." He smiled brightly and I felt like everything was good. "Who's Weed?"
Luc smiled even brighter and tugged on the rope leading to the animal that had stayed in the shadows. The creature came into a spot of moonlight and I stepped back in wonder. Before me was the most gorgeous and... irresistible creature.
"What is it?" I breathed.
Luc whispered back, "It's an Ajatar."
"What!" For some reason I was still whispering. "An Ajatar! They are forbidden!" A slow smile came to the lips of Luc and I smiled in return. Here was a man after my own heart. The word "forbidden" kept ringing in my ears and each time I heard it, it brought with it a certain sweetness.
I slowly approached the enticing creature. I am sure you have heard descriptions of their beauty, but nothing can prepare you for the real thing. The air around seems to shimmer and their eyes draw you in, ever nearer, as if it is some sweet smell of a long forgotten memory, urging you to remember yet always out of your grasp.
I knelt beside the creature, my eyes riveted on his shimmering black skin and piercing silver eyes. I felt my breath shorten as I touched the soft skin and as the creature leaned into my hand rolling it's agile neck around my arm.
I was shivering with the feeling of it all and Luc knelt beside me, smiling softly and petting the Ajatar.
"Why do you call it Weed? Is it male or female?"
He laughed softly, still keeping the moment quiet, as I was. "It's male and Mor'en named him Weed. I told her she was crazy in picking such a commonplace name for something so exquisitely out of the ordinary, but she insisted. She says he is the weed in the cultivated garden of the King's. He has tried to get rid of the Ajatars, but they will keep coming back." He ended with a sigh.
We sat thus for some time, reveling in the beauty and mystery of such a creature. I sat back against the trunk of a tree and Luc did the same, while Weed laid down in the grass, adding his quiet snores to the music of the night.
"Why did you bring him, Luc?" Luc looked over at me and smiled his insane smile.
"Mor'en didn't tell you much, did she?" I shook my head and he took the role of narrator. "Mor'en has one child, a girl named Zel. Zel is now eighteen years of age. Up until last J'an, she was in our caravan along with a friend of hers, a girl nearly six years older, but as close as can be. She disappeared the night before Zel did. Her name is Emlyn. She is my sister." I saw a shadow pass over his face and I touched his arm, not knowing how to express my sympathy. He continued after a moment. "We were searching for Emlyn the night Zel disappeared. We had left her in the camp, along with two of our trusted friends, but when we returned early the following morning, she was gone. We had no leads, no traces of how or why she left. We eventually heard news of the Mage Y'ata and his... exploits in Hagel. Y'ata and Mor'en have had their quarrels and Y'ata had threatened revenge. If Mor'en has any fault, it is pride, one almost all Sages are known to have. She left the quarrel neglected.
"When we heard of Y'ata, Mor'en became certain that he had something to do with Zel's disappearance. We followed his trail and it eventually led us to the Tower of Deth. Y'ata is powerful and he has not let his defenses down. He is well aware of his many enemies and he has kept himself holed up in that Tower, along with Zel. I'm afraid he also has great pride and he cannot be compelled to release her. He has admitted to having her, but no amount of pleading or threatening will conduce him to give her up.
"But he is growing restless in there and we grow more fearful for Zel's safety. The day before we found you, he contacted Mor'en, stating that he will release Zel on two conditions. One, he be sent the best Warrior in the kingdom and he or she be subject to a duel with him and two, we bring him a jug of Blackberry Current from Fre'gard. He loves the stuff!" Luc smiled and I couldn't help but smile back. He prepared to go on but a question crossed my mind and I voiced it.
"Wait, how did you know who I was?" He looked a bit uncomfortable as I stared him down, not terribly happy that any but yourself knew my secret.
"Well, first, everything about you gave clues and... your journal said so very clearly." I gasped and he held up his hand. "I didn't read it! We were trying to figure out who you were and Mor'en found your journal. She only read some and then decided that it would be best if you came with us." I still glared at him but he went on. "News travels quickly and it is no secret that the Warrior I'taira has fled from H'lafa and that the King is searching earnestly for her. We were searched while your were still unconscious." He pointed out. "But Mor'en is not only a Sage in name and her ingenuity saved you." He smiled, as if all were forgiven and I shrugged it off.
"Sounds like Y'ata is a bit eccentric. A duel and Blackberry Current?" I asked increduously.
"Yes, eccentric fits him perfectly, along with old and doddery. But that doesn't diminish his powers or skills. He is a master with the Sword and has apparently always longed to test it against the professed masters."
"Then why did Mor'en take my sword away?!"
"Y'ata insisted on providing the weapons. He claims that Warriors are only good with their own "charmed" weapons." Luc's smiles were abundant even while speaking of things like duels and mages. Sorry, mages aren't bad, at least not all.
"How does Weed come into this?"
"Mor'en believes that Y'ata will try to cross us somehow and I don't blame her. She thought it best that we bring Weed along so he can block the spells. Strange, isn't it, that the King is so against Ajatars. You almost could believe that he puts the people under a spell. It would certainly explain his aversion to Ajatars and Mages. Both can sense a spell and both can shrug it off." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "We can't let Y'ata know we have Weed with us. He would stop at nothing to get his hands on this baby." He reached over and rubbed Weed, eliciting a soft rumble.
"What about Emlyn?"
Luc's smile faded quickly and he crumbled the grass in his hands. "We still haven't found any trace of her. Y'ata claims to know nothing of her but maybe he will be a little more forthcoming at the point of your sword."
I tried not to laugh but failed. The look on Luc's face was classic. He was startled, but joined in the laughter. When our laughter died out we sat in silence for a few minutes. I felt myself dozing off and decided to get a few more hours of sleep before we started.
I stood up. "Well Luc, I am glad you made it." He stood up and shook my hand again.
"Glad to be here I'taira." He smiled and I made my way back to my blankets, shaking my head and smiling, truly glad for the company of this silly young man.
I was awoken in the morning by the muzzling of Weed. Really, he can act so very much like a dog that it is hard to remember that he is supposed to possess as much brain power as a human.
Luc was busily preparing breakfast and I set to cleaning up camp.
We started off in good time and kept a good pace throughout the day. With Weed with us, we didn't need to fear any traps of illusion spells but the place was difficult enough. We had no horses and my legs quickly became sore, tromping through the thick mud and skirting clear of pools and frightful looking plants. But I am used to such soreness and Luc seemed to take no thought to the exertion.
Weed sprang along the tops of the trees and rocks, keeping clear of the plentiful muck. He was being more help than not, as he carried half the bags on his back. I am continually amazed at his strength. He goes no higher than my knee and he appears to be awfully thin, but I believe he could carry me if he had the mind to.
Near noon we stopped at the first clear spring we could find and ate a good meal, refreshing our tired senses. We started again and I was hopeful every hour that the Tower would come in sight. But the hours wore on and the scenery never changed. I began to believe that we were going in circles and by the fifth time we passed the same squirrel shaped bush, I was certain of it.
"Luc, we're going in circles!"
He smiled back at me and shook his head. "Mor'en gave me very clear directions. We're going the right way!"
Nevertheless by the time the sun began to disappear, so did Luc's smile, and I could see that even he believed that we were lost. He stopped to look around and remember his directions and soon we started off again.
The ground was wet and swampy and by this time we didn't care what direction we went in, only that we could find a suitable spot to camp.
I was sore and grouchy and double grouchy at Luc for keeping up his singing and smiling. Nothing could dampen his spirits.
I finally could take it no longer so I sat myself down on a hunk of rock and refused to go on. Luc just glanced at me and sat himself down on an opposing rock, content to let me rest. I glared at Weed, hanging from a nearby branch.
"I think he's faulty." I said, pointing to Weed as I crunched an apple.
"Faulty?"
"Yeah, I think we've been put under some kind of illusion spell and we really are going in circles."
Luc just laughed and leaned back, his short, dark hair blending in with the browns of the tree against which he leaned.
"No, I would sooner call myself a N'erd than Weed faulty. If anything, I am faulty and have got us mixed up. But we'll work it out." He closed his eyes, obviously pondering the directions he had been given.
I was content to let him figure everything out by himself and I closed my eyes, getting what rest I could while sitting up.
No sooner had I closed my eyes, than I felt the rock beneath me shift. My eyes flew open and I glanced around, unsure of what I had felt. Luc's eyes were still closed and he was oblivious to the world.
The rock shifted again and I jumped up. "What the!" The rock was rolling from side to side and I was freaking out. Luc had come up beside me now and was studying the rock curiously.
"Odd," he said, obviously more interested than afraid. He is just the kind of person that doesn't find anything to be strange and would smile at the thought of rocks that move themselves or trees that dance.
The rock gave a sudden shift and rolled straight towards us. The ground was uneven and with the many obstacles in it's path we had no trouble in sidestepping before it got to us. I watched it roll by and eventually bump against a tree, to just lay there.
I kept my eyes on the rock, certain it was somehow enchanted and meant us harm, and I jumped a mile high when I heard a new voice, right behind me.
"Lessons one, two, and three: failed." I found myself facing the exact impersonation of the Sage I met long ago in the woods near Tayna. He was small and stooped, holding in his right hand a great big staff made entirely of rubber. He was clothed in long robes of the deepest black, nearly blending in with the shadows in the failing light. His voice was high and... merry, reminding me almost of Luc's happy tones, but adding along with it a most annoying sense of authority and confidence. His eyes were shining brightly, seeming to cast beams of green at all he saw. He was entirely devoid of hair, his bald head seeming to glow in the rays of the falling sun.
I took all this in as we stared at one another. My mind would not believe that this was the same man that I had met all those years ago and something else registered faintly that this was a different man. My thoughts moved through the mud we had been in all day and it was a few moments before I registered what he had said.
"Excuse me? Lessons?" His eyes twinkled and he smiled but remained silent. "May I ask who you are?"
"Very few can say who they really are, for very few ever know." My brain still stumbled on in the mire of confusion and he went on. "If you were to ask what I am, ah, that I could tell you. For I am a Sage little one and I am a man. I am known on the lips of man as the Sage Sol and in the hearts, as Friend and Teacher. Some call me Wise, some Foolish, but to say who I really am, ah my child, that I am afraid I cannot tell you. For I have not yet completed my journey and even I, in my wisdom and age, cannot say who I am."
I must have looked the complete dolt as I stared at him. Luc clapped the old man on the back and embraced him, shocking me out of my thoughts.
"Uncle Sol!" The meeting was joyous and I felt out of place as they reminisced and caught up on old acquaintances. Luc finally turned to me.
"Tair, this is Mor'en's oldest brother Sol. It has been years since he has honored the world with his presence! It is a great privilege to have him with us." He kept his arm around the old man and smiled down at him.
"You have grown much, little man. Amazing how the young grow so quickly!" Sol was certain to go on in his ramblings but I stopped him.
"Pardon me for my slowness of mind, but I'm still on the rock." I pointed back at the motionless rock. Sol smiled and chuckled.
"Ah, little one, it is just a rock." He pointed to the space the rock had previously occupied and I saw that there was a great sort of tunnel there. My mind began to speed up and I placed things together.
"Yes, amazing how one can be so easily fooled when there is so simple an explanation. I am afraid many of the world's problems are thus. For if I had not come when I did, you would surely have spent wasted time toiling over the problem of the Rock, never thinking to look to it's source, finding the answer gaping up at you."
I felt my face go red, from anger or embarrasment, I know not. It was simple to see that he had been in the tunnel and used some sort of lever to move the rock from underneath, thus creating the illusion of the moving rock.
I shrugged my shoulders and passed the feeling off, deciding to be civil. "I am honored to meet you Sage Sol." I bowed slightly and felt his eyes sharpen on me.
"Honored, you say. Ah, an honor is bestowed on a person with the intention of blessing. But is it an honor that you have met me? We shall see."
He turned to Luc then. "Young man, you are completely right in saying it has been far too long since I have seen my dearest little Mor'en. I would gladly go with you to see her but I see that you are busy." He rubbed his chin and watched me.
"I shall come with you! It is apparent that you have poor directional skills my boy. All I had to do was switch a few rocks and misplace a few bushes and I had you going in circles for hours." I gasped but Luc just smiled good-naturedly.
Sol turned to me. "And you, young lady need to learn a few things." His voice was teasing but his eyes were not. "
I started to ask him what this whole "lesson" thing was about but he just walked off with Luc who lowered him down into the tunnel from which he returned in a few minutes with some belongings.
I was getting impatient to be off and find a spot to camp as the sun was disappearing rapidly and the night was becoming chill.
"Come on wise guy, show us where we can sleep for the night." I tried to make my voice sound friendly but I was not feeling anything akin to friendliness for this old man. Certainly, he had done no more than get us lost for hours, but he was just getting on my nerves! And he kept mentioning these "lessons" and I felt for all the world as if I would bust!
Sol led us to a beautiful, dry spot and I quickly set up camp while Luc cooked a delicious meal. I was mad that it was the second day and we were still a good half day's journey from the Tower and I was tired from all that walking. I was silent during the meal and hurried off to bed, falling asleep within moments.
In the morning I was doing much better and I tried to right the wrongs of yesterday by starting up a conversation with Sol while Luc was cleaning up camp.
"Sol," I tried to keep my attitude humble. "Would you answer me a question?"
"One." He was petting Weed and his eyes were wandering over the muddy terrain.
I had intended to ask him about the the Sage that I had met that night long ago, but I was dying with curiosity to know about the lessons.
"What are these lessons?"
He smiled and looked at me. "For each of us comes a time when we learn a vital lesson in life. There are five vital lessons. Lessons that no person can teach another. But along with these five, there are countless other lessons, lessons some know, some know of, and some those who know must teach to those who do not. I know who you are, I have watched you since you were small and I have kept track of the lessons you have learned. But you were getting on so poorly that I determined I must find you and make certain you learn more quickly!" His eyes were teasing now, but I was not finding it funny. "I have set aside ten lessons for you to learn while I am with you. When you have learned them, I will go. But only then will you be rid of me." He stood up to go.
"But what are the lessons!?" I asked, agitated.
"Only one question." And he walked away, leaving me more confused than ever.
How could he know who I was and how could he have watched me so carefully? I was certain now that this was a different man than the one that had given me that screwy message and yet from what he had said, I had to conclude that he at least knew about it. I was not to be put off and decided to go for another question.
I approached Sol but he held up his hand for silence. "Shh. Lesson number four, Silence is Golden." And with that,we started off. I had to endure a full day of silence! Luc was content to keep his thoughts to himself and Sol seemed in a trancelike state throughout the tiring day. Weed bounded along silently, seeming to understand the creed of the day.
We finally reached the Tower after a long and weary day of slow travel, but Sol insisted we get a good nights rest and fight our battles in the morning.
I don't know how he came to take over this venture, but Luc seems more than happy to follow his lead. How does the old man even know what we're doing?
Sages! I am to battle Y'ata tomorrow Wish me luck! (With Sol, not Y'ata.)
Always,
Tair