The JRB traveled expeditiously through the forest. They rested little during the day, save to gather a bit of food and fill their water pouches. The road frequently crossed small streams, which seem intentional. This allowed travelers a convenient place to resupply their water, and during the evening, catch a small fish for a meal.
One late afternoon, the group opted to rest along a stream for the evening. Rose, who used the compass from Gryph Cartog to track their progress on the map, announced as the others began to lay out supplies for the evening, “I think we will reach our village very soon, but we do need to make a choice concerning our route for getting there. We have two options. First, we stay on this road and sometime tomorrow, we will cross Kai River. We can then follow that river until it feeds into Double Falls Tributary. Once there, we can backtrack to our village. If we keep at our current pace, we should arrive in five, maybe six or seven, days. Second, we stay on this road and cross Kai River. We stay on this road and actually travel past our village until it connect with this other road. That road curves back toward our village. We can then follow this road to Double Fall Tributary and travel down the river – rather than up the river – toward a landmark that we know.”
“Look,” said Talon as he pointed to the map, “I never knew a road went so close our village.”
“Yea,” agreed Daks. “Because of its proximity to the village, we could leave the road before reaching Double Falls, and, since our village is surrounded by grassy valleys mixed with wooded area, we can travel through it without the benefit of a cleared path. It might take longer, but we can make it.”
“Rose,” asked Talon, “with the compass, can you guide us without landmarks?”
“I can,” said Rose confidently, “I just need to know our starting point. As long as I know, where we start, then I lead in the right direction.”
“Let’s do it,” said Daks. “We can stay on this road longer, which is much faster for travel, and when the time comes, cut across the valley to our village. Maybe we get home in three or four days.”
The others nodded in agreement, including Willow who still felt an outcast when the other three discussed plans to return to “their” village.
Two nights later, two of the travelers quickly fell asleep. Daks snored loudly, rolled over, and then quieted. Rose pulled her blanket up to her chin. Even with the warm summer air, a blanket was needed when sleeping outside. With the blanket covering her shoulders, she drifted into a well-deserved slumber. Talon remained at the fire, still reading and deciphering the Book of Epiphany. He often read once the others went to sleep. The scurrying of nocturnal creature calmed his mind, which allowed him to focus intently upon his reading. Despite the months he spent digging into the writing, he still found it vexing. To begin, the book possessed eight chapters, but he could only decode one chapter. He assumed the other chapters discussed the other ancient arts, but that explanation failed to account for an eighth chapter. With only seven ancient arts, he surmised the book should have seven chapters. Nevertheless, Talon still only understood one chapter. He decoded it many time and re-read it on numerous occasions. Talon noticed that with each reading, he learned something new. Further, he hoped that in re-reading the text, he might find the answer to one vexing, but very important, question.
“Are you still awake?” asked Willow rhetorically. She sat up, obviously wide-awake.
“No,” answered a perturbed Talon, “are you?”
“Sorry to interrupt your reading,” responded Willow in a gently voice. She lay back down and rolled over.
“I’m sorry,” said Talon, feeling remorse for snapping at the younger girl. He continued, “I am trying to understand something, and for some reason, I just can’t make sense of it. And then, I took my frustrations out on you.”
Willow popped back up and asked in a cheerful voice, “Would you like for me to help?”
“Well,” said Talon, “it is not something that you will understand.”
“No offense,” quipped Willow, “but apparently, you do not understand either. If you’re confused, how could I do worse?”
“Good point,” said Talon. “Come on over, I will explain it to you.”
Willow quietly ambled toward the fire. She sat on the ground across from Talon. The older boy reached for two fresh logs and gently set them on the campfire. Sparks flew into the air, and the embers gently dissipated into the darkness.
“Here is the problem,” said Talon. “I keep reading from the Book of Epiphany trying to understand a phrase. To begin, three substances are needed to dematerialize glowing goods: ice, sand, and blood. You’ve heard plenty about those. Now that we have them, I can’t figure out what exactly I need to do with them.”
“Don’t you just mix together?” asked Willow.
“Yea, and then what?” responded Talon. “That’s the problem. Once I mix the elements, what’s the next step? My question is this: how will the mixture allow us to dematerialize the glowing weapons?”
“Oh,” whispered Willow as if suddenly afraid their two sleeping companions might overhear them, “this seems a fundamental problem.”
“You’re telling me.”
“Doesn’t the Book of Epiphany answer this question? I thought the book would explain it – kind of step-by-step.”
“It does,” said Talon, “but its explanation is … unclear. All the other instructions are straightforward: ‘Go to Sporadic Island and take blood from the heart of a red kite.’ Everything except the last step is perfectly understandable, and now, just a day or two from needing this information, and I still don’t understand.”
“This is a problem,” said Willow. “When should we tell the others? They need to know. We are gone for months on this quest, and now, just days before reaching the end, you are still unsure of to complete our task. They need to know.”
“I know,” said Talon, “I was hoping to make sense of the passage, but I just don’t think it will happen.”
“Well,” queried Willow, “what exactly does it say?”
“Here goes,” whispered Talon as he instinctually checked his surrounding before vocalizing the words from the book. “‘Mix the elements together and turn it inside out (he emphasized this phrase, revealing the location of his confusion). The changed body is the now the tool to dissipate light.’ I can’t make sense of the phrase, ‘turn it inside out.’ I am still befuddled about the last portion, but once I understand that expression, the other will make sense as well.”
Willow grinned, and then she released a muffled laugh.
“What’s so funny?” demanded Talon.
“I’m sorry Talon, but I just can’t help myself. As a flesh-weaver, we commonly use the phrase ‘turn it inside out.’ It means, ‘Drink it.’ We make many concoctions that need must be consumed, but we also add ingredients to water to prepare a kind of ‘infused water.’ The ‘concoctions’ are in small amounts whereas the healed can drink the ‘infused water’ to their content. Thus, ‘concoctions’ are consumed in small, regulated amounts while ‘infused water’ is consumed in unregulated amounts. To avoid semantic confusion, an herbal-healer uses the phrase ‘turn it inside out’ to indicate a person need to take one sip. In essence, the phrase is a measurement term.”
“Are you telling me,” asked Talon, “that I spent weeks trying to figure this out, and it just means ‘take a sip and don’t drink it like water’?”
Willow responded, “You could have asked sooner.”
“You’re right.”
“Sometime, Talon, you need to remember that we are in this quest together. Trust us. We are here to help one another. You can’t do this alone. Talon, you can’t take on the Protectorate by yourself.”
“The last thing,” said Talon, “that my father told Rose and me was that we needed to trust others.”
“Good advice.”
“So what happens you drink the potion, I mean, how does it work?” asked Talon.
“Talo
n, from my experience as a flesh-weaver, I think it changes the nature of the person’s body to repel glowing items.”
“So Willow, are you saying this concoction needs to react with a person’s body to be effective?”
“Most likely,” answered Willow. “Actually, I am very certain. When the phrase ‘from the inside out’ is used in healing, it indicates a person needs to consume the concoction but in all cases, once consumed, the ailments are healed naturally. For example, when I healed Daks at Five-Point Peak, I essentially knitted his body back together, which is something his body could never accomplish, especially given the depths of the wounds. By contrast, the ‘inside out’ concoctions accelerate a person natural healing processes. To someone like yourself, these processes may seem similar, but to a healer, they are fundamentally different – one relies upon the healer while the other relies upon the recipient.”
“I see the difference,” said Talon. “But how will our bodies ‘undo’ the power of light- forged weapons?”
“Not all questions have answers?” answered Willow.
“And some answers only create ten more questions,” snapped Talon.
“So true,” laughed Willow. She peer toward their two other companions, who still breathed the heavy breathes of rest-filled sleep. Daks rolled gently to his side, and after the repositioning, continued in his well-deserved slumber.
“Since you’re still awake, I have one last question for you,” said Talon. “In the Book of Epiphany there are many chapters. I can only decode one of them, and I assumed that other practitioners of the ancient arts could decode other chapters. Did you ever learn anything that would help you translate an unknown language in a never seen book?”
“It sounds silly when you say it like that.”
“It does, but did you ever learn anything like that?”
“We did,” said Willow. “My little sister and I learned the ingredients for a special paste that translates words. I never understood its purpose until hearing about the Book of Epiphany. It’s called the ‘Balm of Insight.’ After making it, the concocter smears it on the words. According to the old tales, the words ‘dance and decode.’ I have never seen it, so please, don’t even ask me what it look like when the word ‘dance and decode,’ because I don’t know.”
“Are you telling me,” asked Talon, “that, right now you could decode and entire chapter the book?”
“No,” answered Willow. “The key ingredient for the balm is sap from the Spider Tree. I have never seen this tree – not around my village and not on our trek.”
“So, if you have seen it, then how do you what is look like? Maybe you saw, just did not realize it.”
“Talon, I have definitely not seen the Spider Tree. The tree grows with a thick, prominent trunk. Eight branches extend from the trunk and grow along the ground. Its dark green leaves look almost black. If I saw a tree like that, Talon, I would notice it.”
“Me too,” said Talon. “But if we were to find the Spider Tree, you can decode a chapter in the Book of Epiphany?”
“I think so, but we cannot be sure.” Willow’s long blond hair drifted over her face. She often tied her thin, straight hair with twine, but at this time of night, her hair wisped wildly around her face.
“I wonder,” said Talon, “what would you learn from the Book of Epiphany. I learned how to dematerialize glowing goods, which allows us to undo the effects of sun-sculpting, but for you, how can you undo your flesh-weaving powers? Would you undo previous healings? That seems odd.”
“Sometimes, Talon,” responded Willow, “you fail to see the obvious. Think about what you learned on this trip. You say that you learned to ‘undo the effects of sun-sculpting,’ and while that is true, Rose and you learned so much more. Think of the improvement in Rose’s sun-sculpting abilities. Now, she can sculpt light without lenses or boxes, and works in much less time. I think, Talon, you discovered the essence of sun-sculpting, not simply how to destroy glowing goods. Now that you understand its essence, your sun-sculpting powers have reached incredible levels.”
“Well, I did not really improve as a sun-sculptor – only Rose.”
“That’s true,” said Willow, “but from what I heard, your abilities were never …” Her voice faded. Willow struggled for the right words, trying to find a way to express an unwelcomed truth in pleasant words.
“I was never … an accomplished sun-sculptor,” offered Talon.
“Yea,” said Willow, “that’s what I was trying to say.”
“I understand what you’re saying,” said Talon. “As a sun-sculptor, Rose made incredible advances on this trip. The globes for the DAFs are a great example. She completed the projects in just seconds, and they look exquisite.”
“I think you learned more from the book than just to undo glowing items,” offered Willow.
“I must agree. I never really thought about it like that, but you are definitely right. We did not learn to destroy things from the Book of Epiphany; we learned a new level of mastery over the process.”
“I wonder what I would learn about flesh-weaving. I think it would be a lot.”
“When we find the Spider Tree, we can find out.”
Willow nodded in agreement. She walked over to her pallet and closed her eyes.
As Talon continued plodding through his translation and interpretation, he acknowledged, that girl is like no other. No wonder she is named “Willow.”
The JRB traveled hastily along the overgrown road. They zipped efficiently through the low-lying branches, shrubs, tall grass, weeds, and small trees. The group anxiously awaited their arrival in Village #94. Rose encouraged the others onward, as she frequently checked their map. The group decided to continue along their current road until reaching the Double Falls Tributary. While Rose previously explained the existence of a shorter route, it meant leaving the road and navigating through open terrain. The dense forest now gave way more to open meadows and groves. The land, at least to Talon, Daks, and Rose, looked like home. Talon silently wondered if they were close to his aunt’s farm, which rested just beyond the village confines. Daks noticed the land looked suited for raising cattle, perhaps even better than their small plot of land on the village’s edge. Rose continued to check the map, focusing intently on directing her companions to their destination. While the changing terrain matched her expectations based upon the map, she still lacked absolute certainty in her navigation skills. Based upon this hesitancy, Rose persuaded the others to take the longer route toward the Double Fall Tributary. This decision meant an extra day of travel, but it seemed the prudent choice when juxtaposed to the possibility of wandering clueless through the Centage landscape.
The crisp morning air reminded the youths of summer’s end. Their travels began in late spring, and now with autumn creeping upon them, they were finally returning home. In silent resolution they jumped, skipped, and trotted through the underbrush.
At mid-day, they stopped for a hasty meal. The travelers said nothing, not wanting to loose valuable time to idle conversation. Rose interrupted the silence, “We should arrive at the Double Falls Tributary by this evening. We can rest along the river this evening, and then perhaps by tomorrow evening, we eat in our own village.”
Daks jumped to his feet, still chewing his last morsel of food. He slung his pack over shoulder and boldly announced to the others, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
All three jumped to their feet and followed him down the road – even Willow who stuffed the three uneaten bites of apple-like fruit into Rose’s bag. “I’ll eat them later,” she said to her friend as they resumed their journey.
Two hours later, but still a few hours from Double Falls Tributary, the group continued to trudge through the overgrown road. With eyes downward to avoid the many obstacles, the travelers moved with haste. Talon looked up from path and noticed an intriguing site atop the next hill. He stopped wal
ked and gaped at their road. Daks, intuitively noticing Talon’s attention drawn to the path ahead, likewise, look at forthcoming hill. Daks stared ahead. Upon noticing the boys’ attention drawn to the forthcoming hill, the girls also looked up, and just like the others, they stared blankly at a most peculiar site.
A new road intersected with the current overgrown, long-abandoned, path.
“I thought,” said Rose, “that Centage lacked any new roads – just old roads from the previous age. We certainly do not have any roads in our village.”
“You do now,” whispered a melancholy voice from the youngest traveler.
The JRB continued, with great haste, along their path. In just moments, they ascended the small hill and looked at the road intersection. The new road stood in stark contrast to their current pathway. Daks guessed they could walk two or three times faster on the other road. Without the overgrown trees, shrubs, weeds, and whatnot, the road looked an effective means for travel.
Rose pulled out the map and laid it upon the ground. After moments of intense observation, she looked up to examine their surroundings. For being an unremarkable geographical feature, the hill provided a surprisingly revealing view of their surrounds. Rose examined the panoramic view offered by the hilltop and returned her attention to the map.
Rose examined their surroundings one more time, as if confirming her conclusions, and announced to the others, “This new road goes to our village. I am sure of it.”
“What?” said Daks. “There are no roads in our village.”
“Well, at least when we left, there weren’t any,” answered Talon.
“I am telling you, this road goes to our village,” said Rose. “Our village lies that way.” She pointed in the same direction as the road. “And we are very close to out village. See the smoke on the horizon; that is smoke from our village. See the road; it travels in the same direction. Also, there is nothing else in that direction, except the wilds of Centage. Our village lies at the edge of the village clusters, which means there is no other destination for this road than our village.”
“Unless,” Daks said, “it’s the road to nowhere.”
“That make sense,” answered Rose sarcastically.
“Oh, I guess is must go somewhere,” said Daks, “but what does it mean to us that the Protectorate built a road?”
“Not good, that’s what it means,” answered Willow. “The Protectorate built a road into our village. You all entered on the other side of my village, which is the reason you never saw it.”
“And even if we had,” said Daks, “we wouldn’t know what it was.”
“True,” said Willow. “The Protectorate used the road to bring their company of Crimson Guards into our village. They marched hundreds of soldiers down our village paths. Every one of them flashing their glowing blades in our faces, and then, when they forced us from the village, they marched the people on the road. They make the roads and then use them for a more efficient forced relocation.”
“Does that mean …?” began Rose.
“Yes,” answered Talon. “The Protectorate plans to relocate the people from our village.”
Rose gasped. She realized, perhaps for the first time, that life continued in their village after their departure. The village they left was not the same one to which they returned. Life continued and changes ensued. Just as the arrival of the Protectorate resulted in many changes to her life, it also initiated many changes to their fellow villagers.
22 The shumaker house