Tannis, Guardians of Light
Northland
Tannis set the ancient script on the table, careful not to let the oil in his skin cause further deterioration. The old pages had obviously been handled by countless hands over the years – many who took little care to preserve the book. Some pages were no longer held by the binding and were loosely tucked in between other pages.
Markus, the headmaster of the Guardians of Light, nervously paced back and forth in his quarters, impatiently waiting for Tannis to speak. His second in command, Noya, stood by the door and watched Tannis with skeptical eyes.
Tannis blocked out everything around him, until there was nothing in the room except the pages in front of him. He was good at tuning out peripheral details, focusing only on what mattered. Sometimes he saw what others missed. Or perhaps it was that he had a special connection with the light, allowing him to see things that others weren’t allowed to see. Markus didn’t know the real reason for Tannis’s talent and he really didn’t care, as long as his talent helped extract the truth from the journal.
After all the years and generations of searching for the crystal, Markus was at odds with himself and was about to give up. Tannis might be his last opportunity. Markus was getting on in years, although he wasn’t old by any means. Still, he had a sense that he might not have much time left in this world; at least, that’s what his dreams had been telling him. He’d had an issue with his heart since he was a young boy and suspected he inherited his father’s weak heart valves that didn’t always open when they should. Even though he hadn’t had any visible problems for some time, something felt different. Maybe it was his imagination – maybe it was a sixth sense – but he found himself questioning how much energy he had left for finding this illusive rock.
Markus knew that Noya didn’t think as highly of Tannis as he did. She did nothing to hide her disapproval over his decision to bring Tannis into the inner workings of the Guardians. In certain moments, when he and Tannis worked closely together, he had the impression that Noya’s feelings bordered on jealousy.
She’d just have to get over it. More than anything, Markus wanted the crystal and Noya knew it. He dreamed of the good it would do, to bring peace and harmony to the land and its people, to be rid of the Brethren of Darkness once and for all, to set right all the wrongs he had seen in the world. More than anything, he wanted this to be his legacy. He wanted to be known as the leader who brought about peace and happiness for all the people.
Knowing that Markus and Noya watched him with high expectations, Tannis still managed to block them out of his awareness. He wanted to prove himself to Markus, and if he succeeded at this, he might even win over Noya’s trust.
He held in his hand a tiny, gold crystal shard, said to be of the same essence as the one they sought. He lit the candle before him and gently opened the book to pages that had reference to what they hoped was a location. He then sprinkled a line of salt on the table to create a semi-circular border that encompassed the candle and booklet but was open near him, which allowed him to be part of the circle.
His lips moved silently as he recited an incantation, asking the light to allow him to see. The flame on the candle flickered as if in response to his request. His gaze settled on the pages, noticing where the ink had faded in areas, erasing many critical details.
Within moments, an apparition appeared of a woman with flowing hair. She held her arms out toward Tannis, welcoming him into her embrace. He admired her beauty and wisdom and silently thanked the Empress of Light for revealing herself.
The vision started with a soft white light that swirled in the space between him and the Empress. He softened his gaze, as if entering a daydream, so that he could see what she had to show him rather than only seeing the light itself. Suddenly, the way opened before him and he looked down at the paper as if he were the one writing the words himself, allowing himself to take on the essence of its author, a man. His vision only showed the forearm and hand that scribbled on blank paper. He had the sense that he was writing in a journal, documenting his travels across the countryside.
...I looked down from where I stood on the steep hillside. Not wanting to venture back up from where I came, lest I find myself with broken bones at the bottom of this steep mountain, I decided to continue downward. I saw below me a beautiful lake, lying pristinely at the base of the cliff. To make my way down, it was necessary at times to press my body between crevices in large boulders, nearly getting stuck at one point. Approximately twenty feet above the water, I realized there was no place to descend except into the water. With much distress, I scrambled horizontally along the base of the mountain, when I came upon an unusual find.
What I write next is surely kept between me and these pages. Should my family and friends hear me speak of this, they would certainly deem me mad, to say the least. Nonetheless, there was an unusual crevice where, it appeared, a flat slice of boulder had separated from the cliff. Beautifully formed crystals lined the gap. They weren’t white, or pink, or clear, or smoky colored as one might expect of quartz. They were a golden color and reflected brilliantly as the sun’s rays shone upon them.
Immediately, I was overcome with awe and had to touch them! As soon as I placed my hand into the crevice, lord help me, I found myself INSIDE the earth! I wonder myself if I have gone mad. I am perspiring profusely, and my heart beats nervously, as I write about this experience.
I felt drawn into the earth, as though energy, not of my own, had pulled me right through the rock. The cavern was illuminated with some sort of light, as though candles had been lit all throughout. However, the source of the light came from the very walls and ceiling, which were lined with these golden, luminescent crystals.
Suddenly, Tannis heard the sound of a knock on the door. He looked up, as though it came from Markus’s door but he realized he was still in his altered state because the room he saw was not Markus’s. It was the bedchamber of the journal’s author. The author slammed the journal shut. The Empress of Light instantly disappeared which caused Tannis to abruptly be thrown out of the vision.
His head spun at the sudden shift and even though he was sitting, he grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself.
Markus ran to his side. “Get him some water,” he ordered Noya. “Quickly!”
She did as she was told and handed it to Markus.
“Here, drink this.”
Tannis took the glass. Drinking the cool liquid brought him back to his body. He took several more gulps and set the glass down, feeling slightly more grounded.
“What happened?” Markus pressed.
Tannis tried to speak but it took a moment for his voice to return. He cleared his throat. “There was a noise and I was abruptly thrown out of the vision.”
“But did you learn anything?”
“It’s on the side of a mountain, above a lake.”
Markus straightened up and retreated several steps to a chair, into which he slowly lowered himself. He stared at the floor and sounded disappointed when he spoke.
“We’ve searched above, below and around all the lakes in these mountains...everything but going into the lakes themselves. Hundreds of our brothers and sisters have searched over the years, to no avail.” He looked at Tannis, his eyes more weary than before. “Do you have any more details than that?”
Tannis gazed at him as he remembered the words in the journal. “The lake is at the base of a mountain. Boulders, or a cliff, are directly above the lake. The writing described a crevice between two rocks where the crystals were visible in daylight. He put his hand into the crevice and was pulled into the earth, into a cave that was fully lit by crystals.”
Tannis felt Noya’s glare and met her eyes. “I’m telling the truth. This is what the vision showed me.”
Noya said nothing. Markus stared at the floor for several moments more. Then he looked at Tannis.
“But where? Where is this lake? We’ve
searched throughout this whole mountain range.”
Tannis thought for a moment. “What about the Great Mountains, to the south of us?”
Markus shook his head. “We looked. There are no lakes around their base, only streams, fed by the glaciers. A couple small ponds exist up high, near the glaciers, but it’s nearly impossible to reach them, unless you’re a mountain goat.”
Tannis was eager to give Markus what he wanted but the vision hadn’t provided enough information. “I will enter another vision. I will find this lake for you, Sir Markus. I swear! Let me get some rest this evening and I will come back in the morning.”
Markus nodded his head slightly. Tannis felt helpless because there was nothing more he could say or do at this time. He stood, bowed his head slightly to Markus, and headed for the door.
He felt Noya’s eyes on him as he approached it. He glanced at her and, for a moment, questioned whether she was going to step aside and let him out. Her stare was intense and he held her gaze. She looked like she was about to say something but he caught the slight movement in her gaze as she gave a fleeting look in Markus’s direction. Apparently, she thought twice about saying what was on her mind. The look on her face changed slightly from anger to what appeared to Tannis as resignation. She stepped aside and Tannis left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.
THIRTEEN
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