Jacob and Akeno walked in silence for a while as Jacob pondered the events of the last two days. He finally gave in to his curiosity. “Akeno, can I ask you a couple of questions?”
“Sure.”
“What happens when you touch the trees? I mean, I know it has something to do with Rezend or whatever, but how does it tell you when there’s danger around?”
“When a Makalo comes in contact with something that’s alive, we’re given a sense of what’s around us. Basically, we see what they see, but not in a visual way.”
What would that be like? Jacob looked back at the poplars behind them—trees that tall had to have a great view. “Why do you read trees? Why not me, or one of the Minyas? We’re living things.”
“Theoretically, you’re similar, but not similar enough.” Akeno paused, a slight frown on his face. “There’s a lot of history behind it—I’ll give you all of it someday, but for now, all you really need to know is that hundreds of years ago, Makalos were completely tied to trees. We lived in them and through them—they fed our Rezend. A good Makalo leader took us from them, but then our magic started to wane with each generation. By doing that, the leader saved us. ‘Course, we still maintain a connection with trees.”
Akeno sighed. “The Makalos were the most powerful people in this world, and their magic was not outdone by any, including the humans and Shiengols. There were millions upon millions of us.” He gazed toward the mountain towering above them. “Their greatest city was located not far from here. The Kaede trees, from what we know, are still standing. I can only imagine how amazing it was to see the city in its prime.”
He turned to Jacob. “You’ve probably noticed that my finger is blue—the Rezend which flows through my body creates a brilliant silver-blue glow, and a Makalo’s body shines when at his or her fullest magical ability. The Rezend is like their blood, and—”
“That’s really weird,” Jacob said.
Akeno frowned and took a minute to answer. “I guess I can see why you would feel that way. I’ve known about it my whole life, so it’s normal to me.”
“It wouldn’t be weird to you to walk up to someone who was blue all over?”
“It’s not a berry blue.” He scratched his head. “You would barely notice the shade until you got close to the individual. It was more like a silvery blue glow around them.”
Akeno paused and stretched, then put his hand on his stomach. “I’m hungry. We should probably eat now.” He knelt at the side of the path and pulled things from his pack—a pot, carrots, potatoes, seasoning, water—and made soup.
Jacob built a fire, then relaxed in the grass while the soup cooked. Neither said anything, and when the soup was finished, they ate in silence for several minutes, Jacob lost in his own thoughts. What would those original Makalos have been like? How would he have reacted when he saw their powers? Or their blue auras?
“And your village is all that remains of the Makalos. Wow.”
“Yes, mainly because of the war that occurred several years ago, but also because the Makalos aren’t as powerful, magically. In a few more generations, the village will probably be gone.”
Jacob and Akeno gathered their things in silence and continued on the path. The Minyas flitted around, playing another silly game.
Jacob looked up at the mountains, now right in front of them. The path appeared to be practically slashed into the mountainside, forming a series of switchbacks.