Investigation

 

The long-distance transports had a crude sort of feel to them. There was an attempt at elegance, but at such a large scale it was hard for Ayleah to see anything but the gross machinery. The huge rubber wheels pounded the hardened surface of the road, adding a hum to the sound of the engine deep within the long-distance craft. It was a less scenic way to travel. The spacious windows of the upper balcony provided views, but even there a passenger felt removed from the scene, whizzing by cities and whole landscapes one might never really know on the ground level. The air inside the transport was fresh and regularly cycled, but had none of the smell of the sky and earth. Ayleah was happy to finally set foot outside again, even though she had little idea where to go next.

Once classes had wrapped up for the session, and she had received her reviews (doing well in no small part due to her childhood spent at Silver Shores), Ayleah had turned her thoughts to her blue-clad mentor. The time in the Sanctuary academy had been wonderful, but she was eager to apply what she had learned to the apprenticeship with Telon, and a little concerned with his continued disappearance. He was now two weeks overdue to return from the “errand” on which she had not been allowed to accompany him. She knew he had a preference of not using the long-distance transports, but even so should be experienced enough to accurately predict his own travel time. Even the other scholars had seemed uneasy lately, and there was a weird energy about the upper level of the city.

Eventually the feeling of concern grew great enough that Ayleah went to the head office to ask about the whereabouts of her mentor. The head sage Lucan, she was told, was not in at the moment. Instead she spoke with a man in a brown robe that introduced himself as Davai, and asked how he might be of service.

“Good morning sir. My name is Ayleah Pine, and I have come with a concern for one of your fellow scholars.” she began, using formal language to address one who was clearly a person of some status.

“My mentor Telon went out from the city over a month ago now and has not yet returned. I thought maybe someone from the head office would know if he has extended his trip on purpose, or when he is expected. I wish to resume my studies with him now that the semester is over.”

Davai nodded, and gave her a small, but warm smile. “I very much understand the worry behind your words. It is only natural that our students should be perceptive enough to know when we scholars are concerned.” he led them to his desk where they sat on opposite sides.

“Yes, Telon is especially late in returning from his errand. We have taken note, and have sent communication to the monastery where he was going. Hopefully either the response or Telon himself will arrive soon. I don't want you to worry though Ayleah. I want you to know that this office's concern is more with the information that was supposed to be gained by this trip. Telon himself is a very capable individual, and can take care of himself in remarkable circumstances.”

“What monastery did he go to? Where is it?” Ayleah asked, not entirely put at ease.

Davai considered her somewhat guardedly. “Our sanctuary has friends with whom we share knowledge in different parts of the region. What may be learned in the hills is different, yet complementary, to that which is learned in the valleys. Telon simply went to visit with some of our friends to the east. It is not all too far – I did convince him to take long-distance transportation – and the territory is well-known to him. I am confidant he will return safely.” he indicated a service in the corner to his right; “Would you like to stay for a cup of tea? I would enjoy hearing about your classes this past semester. I do not get down into the bustle of the lower levels as much as I used to.”

The tea had been excellent, and Ayleah had enjoyed Davai's company, though his deflection from the topic of Telon was clear. He was not-quite-yet middle-aged, but already exuded the warmth and contentment of a well-lived man many years older. In between the conversation about school, she learned that he was the House-Sage of the city, and had been a good friend of Lucan's for many years. She also had time to surreptitiously study the contents of Davai's desktop. When they had first entered the office, he had immediately hidden a set of star charts under another stack of papers. The motion was quick, and made to seem only courteous in clearing the space, but Ayleah noted the urgency all the same. During the conversation only one other thing had caught her eye, a word that kept coming back to her mind. Written on a note half-crumpled in the trash, a word circled in red ink: Battell.

Boat Ride

             Rain came again to the valley. It fell heavy and steadily through one night, and did not lessen until after noon the next day. The deluge was enough that flood conditions were reported in the township of Dome Valley, and the stream swelled so its course could be easily viewed from the upper windows of the city. Floods were not uncommon in the low-lying valley where the sanctuary sat, and the spongy ground easily accepted the excess water. Heln found himself with a new appreciation for the wet weather. His work at the pond had wrapped up for the time being, and the rain was now becoming a fascination rather than a frustration. After having lunch and seeing the clouds lighten to a drizzle, he rode his bike out towards the fields.

The fewer bushes west of the Sanctuary allowed Heln to better feel the sky as he rode. The luminous gray of overcast created a pleasant roof, and accentuated the rest of the worldly colors. Everything seemed more vibrant, and richer to perceive. Soft waving green moved past as he glided above the path. The ground rose and fell in broad lumps and it was difficult to tell where one, standing on the surface, would suddenly find themselves in waist-high water. The shaggy grass hid flooding well, and one usually felt the edge of a pool before seeing it.

The path led south-west from Dome Central and out into open mowed fields near a broad depression that cut the tended plain roughly east to west. The bottom of the depression was usually a sort of barren wetland, but now a small lake filled the ditch most of the way across. Heln left the wilderness boundaries of the Sanctuary and approached the lake over short-clipped open grass.

The temporary shoreline was featureless, and Heln was captivated by the sight of the clean-cut grass, only shoulder-height at most, meeting in a smooth line the glassy surface of the rainwater lake. From the angle where he sat, the entire surface of the water was a mirror sheen, entirely the colors of the sky above. As he neared the edge however, he began to see the drowned world beneath- a ripply lawn of mystery. Hearing a sound, he looked up to see a small makeshift boat approach his location. At the helm was a smallish man dressed in undyed loose-fitting clothes. He wore a sun hat and a soft smile that seemed to change from perceiving to greeting as he drew near. Heln dismounted from his bike and walked through damp grasses to the water's edge.

The edge of the depression slanted firmly enough that Heln could stand on dry land while the other approached. He called out in appreciation of the makeshift craft.

“Ho! I see some have been making the best out of this weather! That looks like a pleasant time.”

The boat man drew up to the shore and nodded to Heln. “My boat can fit one more if you would like a ride. It is quite something to explore these rainpools while they last. Such a pretty sight to look down on a world that never gets to hide like this.”

Curious, and in an exploratory mood, Heln stepped aboard the small vessel. “is there something the scholars learn from going out on these pools?” he asked. “I have heard of others doing this, and even keeping boats expressly for the purpose,” the boatman nodded, “...but it was never clear to me if that was just for recreation, or if there was some other benefit.”

“First of all,” the boatman responded, as they drifted out into the open water, “there is a great benefit to something, even if it is just for fun. But yes, to your point, there is knowledge to be gained out here. For example, small things that were buried or inaccessible may now float closer to the surface where they can be studied or harvested. Small creatures are sometimes more easily hunted in their displacement, and others can be found and saved from nature's destruction. We, as in all times and places here, are tenders of the eternal garden. There is surely benefit in that.”

Heln looked back at the boatman. “Are you a priest of some sort? I don't hear many in the city use that sort of language.” “Not exactly,” the boatman replied, “I consider myself a disciple of Moriyama. Yes,” seeing the look of surprise on Heln's face, “even if the physical branch here was disbanded. I still see the sun every day.” He smiled and tilted his face to the sky.

---

Heln had been gazing in the water for some minutes, enthralled by the grass floating in liquid wind; finally realizing its dream of the sea. Turning his mind finally from the playing-sea weeds, he engaged the boat captain once more, who had been absentmindedly steering them around the lake, lost in thought, reverence, or both.

“Do your teachings of the sun mention anything about hallucinations of light?”

The captain turned, interested. “In some contexts. Why do you ask?”

Heln recalled for him the event of the previous week. The orange-red flash had happened once more since, but the visual and accompanying mental effects had been considerably less, and thinking back on it now, that third time for sure had probably been a dream. “For the last four days though, there has been nothing out of the ordinary. Given the intensity of the experience, and the similarity between occurrences, I'm exploring multiple theories. I had thought to consult a mystic on the matter as well as doctors, and this seemed a fortuitous meeting.”

“Indeed it may well have been.” said the boatman, regarding Heln now in a different light. “Unfortunately I do not have the answers you seek. I am but a humble disciple living out here in the country and have much yet to learn myself. However, I may still be able to help. You should go east and seek out the wisdom of Fen Golbein, one of my most respected teachers. They are a master of all color-knowledge, and would certainly know what is causing this phenomenon. Take whatever conventional medicine the doctors deem necessary, but also pursue this course, because the world is greater than you or I are aware. Also, the journey should not be in vain because Fen is a wonderful character in any case.”

“Where in the east should I go to find this master Golbein?” Heln asked.

“Hmm. He resides in the Eastern Piedmont, but often travels around teaching where there are few scholarly academies. I cannot say where exactly he is now, but many in that region will have stories of his comings and goings.”

The boat had by now made its lazy way back around to Heln's bike on the north shore. “I thank you for your advice,” said the dark-skinned Plainfield man as he debarked, “and the boat ride; it was a wonderful diversion.” The boatman smiled back under his sunhat. “It is always wonderful to pause and see the wonder of the world. I thank you as well for your company.”

“Good day to you sir, and may the sun shine on your life.” Heln seated himself back on the bike and turned, gliding up away from the water as the boatman signed a friendly goodbye. Heln thought about the advice he had been given. Should he make a journey through the eastern mountains just because of a couple strange hallucinations? The semester was finished, and work had slowed considerably with the rainy weather. Heln looked past the city to where the land began to rise to higher ground. Maybe an adventure was just the sort of thing he would like to do. As he rode towards the city, he didn't even notice the glint of reddish orange in the periphery of his vision.

Woodland Meditation

             Ayleah left the Sanctuary during the dry months, despite Telon's dissuasion efforts to the contrary.

The blue scholar sat contemplative in a pleasant grove amid the foothills of the eastern mountains. A brook flowed somewhere in the distance and lent its soft song to the chirruping and lilts of birds hidden up in dense green branches. There was a peacefulness here in woodland seclusion that allowed him a moment to think.

Surrounded by the folds of rock and fern, with towering trees sprouting here and there to complete a comforting shell of nature, Telon felt at ease and apart from the concerns of any other aspect to life. He could focus on the events of the past few days and the journey that lay ahead. He thought back to the star charts Lucan had shown him in the head office. The astronomers of the Sanctuary claimed the discrepancy between the charts was statistically significant. Telon had little knowledge of the science of astronomy, but surmised that the astronomer's equipment was sufficient to make such a statement as well. The scientists had seemed a touch alarmed even at the discovery, but Lucan had, as always, remained impassive.

The conclusion of the meeting, after some digressions into wild speculation, was that Telon should make a trip into the mountains to see what interpretations the scholars there had to offer. Some twenty years previous, a group had left the Meadow Sanctuary on a quest to seek diverse sources of wisdom, and established their own counterpart sanctuary high on the slopes of the mountains, near the small village of Battell. Over the years, the Battell Hermitage had kept little contact with the valley scholars, but earned a reputation all the same as a respected land of knowledge and mystic study.

A long-distance transport from Dome Central had taken Telon part of the way, but from here on into the hills he would have to walk or find other transportation. Certainly once he began the real ascent of Peak Abrahim wheeled conveyances would be of little use. The sea-like fields of jungle grass and rolling island groves had been replaced by a rocky and verdant world that stretched away into deep tangled murkiness on all sides. Though enclosing, Telon also liked the forest for its openness. The lack of tall grass allowed for much easier travel and the security of sight lines should anything or anyone try to waylay him on the trip. The route was a safe one, but the hills are wild country, and not all animals or other woodland dwellers are friendly to travelers.

The star charts. Telon hadn't seen a huge difference between them; the stars all looked the same to an untrained eye like his. However, if the scientists thought there was an outside chance for concern (and Lucan had agreed as well), Telon was willing to make the trek for research. If something had significantly changed about the placement of the stars, which had stayed on the same track and at the same brightness for as long as civilization could remember, most scholars would want to know the cause. Further, if the shift continued and affected life more generally, there would definitely be more cause for concern. Hopefully, Telon thought, whatever is causing the shift in the star position is mostly innocuous and something the scholars of the Battell Monastery are already aware of.

Certainly Telon couldn't think of any recent change in life for him or any others. The Sanctuary and the other cities all seemed to go about their business as usual. The days went on with the sun rising and setting just as it always had done. Perhaps there had been more rain lately, but such fluctuations were normal from time to time. Only, now that he thought of it, there was one thing he had experienced lately. Twice now, and only in the past week in fact, he had experienced visual hallucinations. The first was a glowing orange light seen across one of the market squares. Thinking it could be a new art installation, he had crossed the square for a closer inspection. However, he had glanced to the side once on his way there and upon looking back, the orb of light was gone. He had looked around a bit for a projector or source of any kind, but the more he thought about it, he questioned if he had even seen the light at all. The second time had happened when he first walked into the woods from where the long-distance transport had left him. There was always a sense of relief for Telon when leaving one of those transports and feeling leaves or sky above him once more. This time however, upon entering the canopy of the trees, the green leaves seemed almost incorporeal. Some quality of the soft light that day made the greenery begin to seem aetheric and dream-like. As he looked around, more of the leaves seemed to discolor and fade away. As the green faded from the world (other, duller colors seemed to remain), a blur of whiteness passed over his vision. Just as Telon thought he might pass out, normal vision returned and the previous moment seemed like it had been a dream of the night before. He had shivered, and continued on his way, trying to remember the strength mantra he had learned back in his Queen City days.

In his peaceful grove, Telon realized that neither of these events had been in his conscious memory until just now. He wondered if the visual phenomenon he had experienced were connected to each other, and why both of them seemed so much more like dreams than actual moments from waking life. He could ask the Battell scholars about these things as well. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. A quick meditation to center the thoughts and energy, and then he would be on his way again.

A minute or two have passed since the blue-clad scholar left for the mountains. The grove where he meditated continues as before; the birds twitter and the distant brook bubbles. On the forest floor is a pleasant rock where he sat in contemplation. Moss creeps up around on the sides, extending from its vast home in the surrounding earth. Gentle shafts of sunlight fall nowhere in particular, accenting the space. From out of some unseen nook, a single petal of a columbine drifts across the open rock, blown by a light forest breeze.