The joy from actually seeing Five-Point Peak quickly faded. The mountaintop peered down from an attainable height, but the JRB (as they were prone to call themselves), quickly realized the nearly impossible task of collecting ice from the mountain’s peak. The “Spiral Path,” which had allowed them to travel this far with relative ease despite its grueling nature, came to abrupt end. Just as they were close enough to see their destination, the trail dissolved. The “Spiral Path” provided no more assistance. As the travelers stared at the mountain’s peak, which was about two-hundred feet in air, they gaped at the seemingly impassible ice-covered sheer cliff. Looking at the vertical ice wall, their already-whittled hope vanished. The top of Five-Point Peak sat atop a most unusual natural configuration. The steep but passable slope of the mountain suddenly ascended vertically into the air. It was the same on all sides of the mountain; there was no easier route up the mountain. The mountain seemingly sprouted a rod that blasted into air.
If the JRB did not need to scale the “natural rod,” they would have appreciated the phenomenal sight. A person could climb ten thousand mountains and never see anything like it, but the beauty of the peculiar, yet amazing, mountainside before them was veiled behind their frustration. While no one yet ventured to put words to their respective thoughts, each was thinking the same thing: they had no chance of reaching the mountaintop. They need specialized equipment, which was gear completely unknown to them. Even with the most imaginative of thinking, the possibility of scaling a sheer ice cliff seemed nil. They failed. Even Talon, who openly maintained optimism despite the others frequent doubts, experienced an unrealized emptiness. Our task, he began to believe for the first time, is the nothing more than the foolhardy plans that sprouts from ignoramus naivety. The others gave up days ago. Somehow, they knew within their souls that there was no reason for hope. They knew this voyage has many possible outcomes, each worse than the other.
Daks broke the pregnant silence as he remarked to Talon, “So how, genius, are we supposed to scale the gigantic ice cube? Because it doesn’t look like we have any chance of climbing that wall, unless of course, you have wings under that shirt of yours. Dandy, Talon, just dandy, we come all this way only to turn around because of ice-wall. Did that precious little book of yours mention anything needing to scale a sheer cliff? Because if it did, maybe we could have brought something to actually climb it, and if that ‘coded’ book of yours did not mention a vertical ice cliff, maybe it’s not as reliable as you seem to think. You know – this is just me thinking out loud – but if I were righting instructions on getting to a mountaintop surrounded by vertical cliffs that have a tendency to get covered by thick ice, I might mention it.”
After he finished his diatribe, a palpable silence followed.
The situation was desperate. Talon provided no rebuff to Daks’ commentary, because his companion spoke the undeniable truth. Rose’s loyalty to her brother and his convictions remained intact, but she felt the same frustration as Daks and agreed with his every comment. How, she wondered, could we travel this far only to encounter such a daunting obstacle? This is odd.
The independent-minded Willow, likewise, agreed with Daks. This is ridiculous, she thought. We come this far only to turn around and go home with nothing accomplished.
Thus far, the group deferred to Talon’s leadership, but mutiny was afoot. The JRB teetered between leader and anarchy. Talon needed to act quickly and developed a plan to reach the pinnacle of Five-Point Peak, lest his companions shirk his leadership.
I need more time, Talon thought. I’ve zero ideas at present, but maybe, if I can keep mutiny at bay through the night, we might formulate a plan. Perhaps, the impossible will seem possible if we move beyond the immediate obstacles clouding their minds. At present, the group followed their emotions, which were raw after the weeks of fruitless travels. Calm their emotions and spend a few moments thinking together, and then, a solution to their daunting dilemma would emerge.
Three sets of eyes fixed upon Talon. They subconsciously offered him one last chance to lead. They waited impatiently for Talon’s response. The moment was desperate. The loosely knit crew teetered on dissolution – a process that would begin with ousting Talon’s leadership. Sensing the immediate need for a decisive action, Talon developed an idea. Knowing oration offered no escape from this predicament, the elder Sunsculptor opted for another approach. With three people waiting to pounce on his words – regardless of their content, Talon lifted his pack from his shoulders, placed it on the ground, and began to unpack for the night. He opened his pack and removed the supplies needed each evening: food, sleeping mat, fire-starters, etc. The others did not even move. They just gazed blankly at their companion while Talon, sensing their flummoxed looks, avoided eye contact, lest he need to respond the confusion exploding from the other three faces.
Rose finally pierced the silence, “Talon, what are doing? It is hours before we need to set the evening camp, so why are you doing it now?” Daks and Willow nodded in agreement at the question.
Talon looked at his sister and said nothing. He then continued unpacking his things. After a few moments, Rose reiterated her question, “Talon, why are you unpacking your things?”
Talon, now almost done, knew the power of silence reached its zenith. Since he needed to say something, he opted for the tool of distraction. Accordingly, Talon responded to Rose’s question with feigned bewilderment, “Rose, I am unpacking because that it what we do at the end of day. We take some things out and get ready for the evening.”
Daks interrupted with a torrent of frustration, “We still have hours before camp needs to be set. Haven’t we already wasted enough time on this venture?” Yet, even as he was speaking, Daks, upon seeing Talon ready for the evening, instinctively removed his pack from his shoulders. With the half of the group no longer straining under the burden of their packs, Willow and Rose followed Daks’ lead. Although no one admitted this reality, they all agreed: it felt wonderful to remove the weight from their shoulder. A sense of physical relief overcame each of them, Talon because the hostility of the others was beginning to subside and the other because their bodies rejoiced at being responsible for only its own weight. Talon, seeing an opening to stave the mutiny until morning, extracted the last needed item from his pack, sat down on one the larger rocks, and leaned restfully upon another stone. With an intentionally audible sigh of relief, Talon closed his eyes and took deep, filling breaths. Seeing Talon so relaxed was too much for the trail-weary trekkers. Willow first followed Talon’s lead. The other two then followed Willow. They unpacked a few things, found a placed to rest, leaned back upon a stone, and truly rested for the first time in weeks.
“This feel good,” noted a reclined Daks. “Mine as well stay here for the night and leave in the morning”
“If you think that is best,” responded a smirking Talon. Rose and Willow both held back a snicker. Talon’s distraction bought a few extra hours to formulate a plan, but come the morrow’s first light, the others needed more than distraction. They needed something Talon did not yet have – a plan.
The early morning sun peered over the mountain peaks. During the trip, the JRB typically snarled at the fading stars because it concluded their much-desired rest; this morning, however, was different. The rising sun meant warmer temperature. At their current elevation, the temperature plummeted well below freezing during the darkness, and while the group prepared for the cooler weather, the brisk air seeped through their layers of protection. By sunrise, they trembled from bitter cold. The early morning sun, however, arrayed its warmth, and for the travelers, they welcomed the relief from the frigid air.
The dawn, however, at least to Talon, only shed insight on the problem from the previous evening. The group possessed no means to scale an ice cliff. As a result, they needed to return to Village #97 where they might (or might not) find some mountaineering equipment – not that anyone in Centage had ever tried, wanted, or even
thought of scaling the side of a mountain, much less a mountain covered in ice. Maybe, Talon thought, we can adapt something. With these concerns weighing upon him, Talon began packing his things for their return trip. The others followed his lead. No one said anything. For Talon, his frustration was obvious, but for the others, the misplaced angst toward Talon from the previous day morphed into discouragement. Despite the tendency to hide their truly feelings, the others also held lofty expectations for their quest. While they covered these expectations with a veneer of “being dragged upon this trip by Talon,” each believed in their purpose and each desperately wanted their quest to succeed. These feelings, however, remained veiled behind their silence.
Talon then spoke more to himself than anyone else, “If only I had thought to bring my lenses, then maybe I could have made something to climb up that cursed mountain.” (Talon spoke of his five sun-sculpting lenses, which the guards absconded when they absconded his father.) His resigned voice declared defeat. He tried to disguise his unspoken agony at his failure, but the faltering tone betrayed his true feelings. Even Daks, who was already packed and urging the others to begin their mountain decent, felt sympathy for his friend. If Talon had those tools, Daks thought, I would wait here for weeks on end so he could make whatever we needed. But, his sun-sculpting lenses were not here.
Daks then asked, “Where are they, Talon?”
“Taken,” responded Talon, “by the Protectorate when they took my father. They took all of our sun-sculpting tools – left everything else though.”
“Oh,” said Daks, whose tone indicated he was hoping for a more encouraging answer.
Rose closely followed the conversation. Talon’s lament reminded her of a prior event – Willow channeling light to pull an Isigor Root. Rose knew not how Willow managed to dislodge the root but somehow the younger girl channeled the power of light. Willow, she remembered, said nothing at the time concerning the event, and since then, neither of us revisited the issue with the other. That girl might be able to channel the power of light, and if she can do it, then others could. Just as our sun-sculpting required special training but no special dispensation, I guess the technique used by Willow requires no innate giftedness. The younger girl can teach me to channel sun rays, and then, I can make the necessary devices for scaling the ice cliff. Buoyed by her internal conclusion, Rose burst forth with an announcement for the others, “I think we can build glowing tools without the use of lenses.” This statement grabbed the others’ attention, because of its content but its confident delivery. Talon and Daks stared blankly at the curly-haired, olive skinned girl. Their flabbergasted countenance bespoke awe, excitement, disbelief, confusion, and hope. Willow’s face revealed something entirely different, a desperate secret on the cusp of its revelation. For reasons known only to Willow, she wanted her abilities to remain hidden.
Rose, sensing the undivided attention of the others, boldly continued in a partially accusatory tone, “I saw Willow manipulate light to pull an Isigor Root from the ground. I tried to pull the root out, and it would not even budge. But she,” Rose said pointing at Willow, “channeled light through her hands and pulled the root as I might pull a pebble from ankle-deep water. Ask her. She will tell you it’s true. Go ahead, Willow. Tell them it’s true. Tell them you can channel light without lenses.”
All eyes fixed on Willow. Rose waited anxiously for her response, and despite the boldness of her delivery, some doubt lingered within her. Talon and Daks just gaped at the younger, round-faced girl who suddenly looked much older than her eleven years of age. The confident accusation of Rose assured Willow could not deflect the accusation. She must respond. She needed to say something. Should I tell the others the truth and risk exposing a secret I desperately wanted to remain hidden or should I fabricate some story as to mislead the others about her true abilities?. What would my mother do? How would she respond to this situation? Remember the phrase my mother spoke so frequently, “Lies beget lies and truth begets trust.” Willow knew the proper course of action: tell the truth.
“I can ‘channel’ light, as you might say. I call it ‘collecting’. As for whether I can teach this my ability to another person, I do not know. My mother taught me, but I have never taught anyone. I most certainly cannot shape light into tangible objects. When I collect the rays, I gather, focus, and release its heat – not very help, in truth, except for pulling deep roots.”
Daks emerged from his silence and spoke what Talon also thinking, “You can teach Rose and Talon how to change … I mean collect light, and then they can make something to climb the sheer ice cliff. You must know some way to teach them, right?”
“Yes,” Willow acknowledge, “I can show them a few things. But as I said, I do not know whether they can make anything or not.”
“Then what are we waiting for,” chirped a suddenly bolstered Talon. “Let’s get to work.” When Talon finished speaking, Daks dramatically unlatched the pack from his shoulders allowing it drop with soft thud upon the melting ice.
As the pack thumped upon the ground, an unrevealed but yet near absolute joy came across Talon. Maybe this was turning point the JRB needed to move from a collection of individuals to a cohesive group. Maybe they could move beyond their tacit disdain for one another by focusing their energy on a common goal. Maybe their collective skills could coalesce to accomplish something that none of them could accomplish alone. Maybe, just maybe, Talon thought. And more importantly, he reminded himself, maybe they could actually collect a sliver of ice from the top of this ice peak. And maybe, they could finally be on their way to eradicating the glowing weapons currently being used the Protectorate to scare, intimidate, and even slay innocent villagers in Centage. Then, pushing aside the thoughts clouding his mind, Talon knew his role in the JRB effort. They needed a leader, one to unite their skills and band them together. He could not lead, he knew, with a domineering spirit. If he did, the others would immediately resist his authority, even his younger sister. Instead, more savvy leadership was needed: Talon must rely upon gentle nudges and lead as fellow and equal rather than a superior.
The midday sun was creeping across the mostly cloudy sky. Occasionally the sun’s rays burst through a gap in the cloud cover, but mostly, the sky was filled with white, billowy clouds hanging especially low in the sky. Beneath the clouds, Willow continued to place her hands on top of Rose’s hands in an effort for the older girl to channel the light. They believed Rose would be able to form the light once Willow showed her how to corral the light. It has been hours, but still, they had no success. Willow had tried for some time with Talon, but that process seemed to have even less success than she was currently experiencing with the older Sunsculptor. At least, Rose reported feeling tingly hands, which Willow knew derived from the light’s texture. Talon, however, experienced so such sensation so they opted to concentrate their time on Willow working with Rose.
Just after midday, a Rose’s jubilant voice echoed through the mountains, “I’ve got it. I can do it.”
“Avalanche,” sputtered Daks with an exaggerated whisper.
Talon spun quickly looking for danger.
Daks peered toward his friend in disbelief and then continued speaking in the direction of Rose, “Screaming when surrounded by snow covered mountains is not a good idea – causes avalanches.” Daks glanced sideways toward a now red-faced Talon. “Could you maybe avoid the screaming? I would at least like to get something done on this trek of ours before being buried by the snow.”
Rose ignored Dak’s comments. She heard them just fine but offered him no response. She had felt the power of light in her hands. She had corralled light for a moment. She could make a glowing stake or a glowing pick or anything else they need to scale this mountain. It might take time, but Rose would be able to mold a glowing tool without the aid of her lenses. Until earlier that morning, she never even considered the possibility of such an idea.
As Willow and Rose continued working on the process, they finally developed t
he most productive system. Willow would stand across from Rose with her directly above the other set of hands. With her trained and skilled touch, the blonde hair girl’s smaller hands rested atop the larger hands of Rose. Willow would then corral the light in her hands and, in essence, funnel the malleable beams into Rose’s receptive hands, which then formed the light into a physical construct. The process only worked with both girls help: Willow captured and corralled the beams and then Rose formed and molded the rays into the desired object.
Finally, when both felt mastery over the process, Rose asked a question it seemed everyone had forgotten, “What exactly are we going to make that will allow one of use to scale the mountain?”
“Two smaller, hand-sized pick axes and two spiked shoe soles,” blurted Daks. Obviously from the immediacy of his response, the others may have become so focused on light collection that they forgot about the next step, but not Daks. “Look at this,” he said pointing to a collection of leather straps. The remnants of Daks’ pack lay nearby. He had obviously sacrificed his pack to make the leather straps. The others, seeing his handiwork, looked befuddled, but Daks, despite sensing their tacit confusion, continued with his rapid-fire words, “See, I cut my bag into leather straps.” He looked towards the others expecting – albeit, errantly – the mere appearance of these straps would make sense to the others.
“And …” commented Talon.
“See, leather straps, got it?” retorted Daks.
“Got it,” answered Talon, “but I don’t get it.”
Daks was vexed about the other’s confusion, but he was not going to allow their confusion to deter him. “Okay, here’s how it works, Willow and Rose can make an ice axe from light, and then, I will attach a leather strap around the axe’s handle. Next, they make shoe soles, and I will add straps to the shoes so they can be attached to each foot. With the pick axes for hands and the spiked shoes for feet, one of us will scale the side of this ice cliff. That person can climb up the side of this mountain just like a person climbs up a rope. And then, once they get to the top, collect the ice and then scale back down the cliff. Just like that, ice from the top of Five-Point Peak – the first step accomplished.”
“That just might work,” offered a surprised Talon, who could not believe he actually affirmed Daks’ seemingly ludicrous plan. Talon looked to Rose to check her opinion on the matter. She nodded and looked to Willow, who like the older girl, silently nodded her approval. Talon continued, “Daks, that sounds like a hare-brain plan, but at present, I cannot think of anything better. I am reluctant to say this, but let’s get started.”
Talon paused for a moment to see if anyone voiced objection to enacting the plan, and when only silence filled his pause, he continued, “The first thing we need to do is decide which one of us gets to scale the mountain.” Talon posed the matter as an open-ended question, but he, like the rest of the JRB knew who one person in their group possessed the physical ability to scale the mountain – Daks. The others looked to Daks knowing he was the most fit for such a task. Daks possessed a lean frame and stood a head taller than Talon, although the two actually weighed almost the same amount. Their builds, however, were vastly different. Talon looked like a teenager who worked in a small shop his entire life, and while he was lean and looked fit, he did not possess great physical strength. Daks, however, worked outdoors and his muscles, while not bulging, possessed the strength of a laborer. The difference between the two was noticeable during their voyage in that Talon would tire more frequently, especially during the trip’s first week, and Daks never seemed to grow fatigued.
“Why is everyone looking at me?” feigned Daks, who pretended to not realize his natural disposition towards the task. “I know Talon might run into trouble, but what about one of you girls?” The question actually possessed some merit because both Rose and Willow looked fit enough to scale the ice cliff, albeit, Rose like her brother lacked the physical strength and stamina that come years of labor. Willow, however, was small, and she might have little difficulty in such a task, but when Daks asked about the girls, the young girl flushed and her eyes revealed terror at the very idea. Noticing the trepidation upon her countenance, Daks decided not to push the idea. “Fine, then, I will do it.”
Talon seized the moment before any minds could be changed, “Great, let’s get to work everyone. Rose and Willow, can you begin making those pick axes and spiked shoe soles Daks requested. And Daks, can you show them exactly what you are thinking so they can be sure to make what you are thinking.” The others nodded their approval. Talon continued, “And Daks, once you are done with that, check with me so we can go over the proper procedure for procuring ice from the top of this mountain. It is not convoluted, but I do want to make sure everything follows the specification sets for in the Book of Epiphany.” The others again nodded their approval.
After a brief conversation with Daks, Rose and Willow began working. Willow served to funnel the light into Rose’s hands, and then Rose formed the light into the desired good – and the process went much faster than working via lenses. It now seemed to Rose that each lenses diluted the beams, which dissipated the light enough to manipulate it but also greatly compromised its quantity. When the rays passed through Willow’s hands, however, there was seemingly no dilution and the pure light flowed steadily into Rose’s light-filled article. The first thing Rose completed was the glowing ice axe, which seemed to her the easier of the two to make. Within ten minutes, the first axe was completed and the girls began working on the second one – which took even less time.
Once the first glowing ice axe was completed, Daks began the process of attaching leather straps around the axe’s handle. These straps were formed into a loop that would go around Daks’ wrist so that if the axe were to slip from Daks’ grip, the axe would not be dropped to the base of the cliff. Daks worked for some time trying to find the best way to secure the strap and he conferred with Rose on numerous occasions concerning slight revisions to the axes’ handles that would ensure the durability of the handle. After nearly a dozen revisions, the process was completed. Daks now held a custom-made and custom-fitted glowing ice axe in each hand. He laughed quietly to himself thinking that before this trip began, each one of those axes would likely have cost him four months’ salary, but on this day, the axes were completed in less than one hour. The others asked of Daks’ obvious bemusement, but not wanting to offend the Sunsculptors in any manner, he deftly sidestepped their inquiries.
The process then shifted to the spiked shoe soles, which took somewhat longer. Rose made the finger-length spikes separately from the shoes, and then she attached the each spike to the shoe. It was tedious work, but Rose and Willow, once again, swiftly completed the shoes. As before, Daks requested numerous revisions in order to secure the straps to the shoes, but after close to two dozen revisions, numerous frustrated words, and serious plan revising, two glowing spiked shoes were completed.
Daks donned his new equipment only to hear Talon’s utter, “The afternoon sun had already dipped behind the distant mountain range. We better wait until morning.”
“I can make it up and back in no time. No need to spend one more night here, buddy.” With that Daks leapt from his place and proceeded – over Talon’s protests – to scale the ice wall, but Daks discovered climbing an ice wall with axed hands and spiked feet was not easily done. Realizing it was going to take a significant amount of time to scale the mountain’s icy side. Daks shifted from “scaling the mountain whether you like it or not” approach to “just getting some practice for tomorrow’s climb” approach.
As the evening sun drifted behind the mountain, the JRB prepared for another cold night. Food was hastily prepared and eaten, and each member of the groups nestled down for the night’s bitter temperatures. Talon reviewed with Daks the pertinent details from the Book of Epiphany for collecting the ice; Talon repeated the instructions over and over, mostly to reassure himself. Daks spent the evening silently troubled by his great difficul
ty in scaling the mountain during the previous afternoon. Despite his physical strength, the process was much slower than expected. Not only was time a concern, but Daks was aware that higher elevations there was no margin for error. Should Daks lose his grip on the icy cliff, a most unfortunate splat awaited his arrival the cliff’s base. As Daks continued to think through this matter, he suddenly realized: three. Yes, three was the most important number for him on tomorrow’s climb. He must keep three points of contact on the ice during his ascent. Three was going to be his number. It might take longer to scale the wall, but at least, Daks felt more comfortable in ascending and descending without a cataclysmic result. The others went fast asleep that night, but not Daks. He stayed awake hoping his three-point-contact plan would prove sufficient. Further, he wondered whether his strength was sufficient and whether he would remember Talon’s oft repeated instructions and whether the straps would stay connected to the ice tools and whether the tools would sufficient for the task and whether someone else in the group was really more qualified for this task – so many questions. Finally, the fatigued overpowered worry and Daks drifted into a much-needed rest.
11 willow’s secret