Distractions

 

Sutton called for a halt to the vans when he recognized the oldest of the three men standing in the small green. A cross-path met the main road at a bend, creating an open space. The men were in casual conversation, standing off to the side making use of the pleasant clearing. Ayleah thought it would make for a delightful village square if there were more houses nearby. The land was flattish, and sun beat easily past the sparse canopy of spruce. Smaller evergreen bushes grew densely about the intersection, but looked to give way to enchanting glades down the side paths. Numerous downed logs crossed above the mossy undergrowth, supported by their columnal branches and even older fellings. A cycle of the woods perpetuated here faster than usual in the harsh climate and exposure: the mighty trees always reached up to the sky in blessing until they were cast back down to feed the earth once more. Ayleah felt a good balance here; suspended between the earth and sky on a rocky pinnacle. The ground was sturdy, flat and stable, and the stunted trees gave some comfort. There was a thrill behind the screen though: an awareness of the wild open into which this land thrust itself against the elements. There was power and mystery around and above, as well as softness and refuge among the mossy terrain. Such delicate plants grew among the folds of stone and wood. Ayleah was in wonder once again.

From the van parked at the small moss square, she looked out to the men Sutton had greeted. He seemed to know the oldest, who had a comfortable air about himself. One other Ayleah didn't recognize, but the third gave her a mild start. He was someone she had seen around the Sanctuary: a Plainfielder of muscular build. He worked in the city's landscaping division, she thought. Sutton didn't seem to know him though, and she wondered why he was all the way up here, chatting with the locals. Bellinda and Jaen had gotten out of the vehicles as well, so Ayleah figured she might as well go see what this was all about.

.

Jaen had not seen his uncle in some time, and was prepared for some sort of reprimand for his previous presumption and hot-headedness, news of which had undoubtedly reached the peak township by this point. Grive however, only met Jaen's upright and braced posture with a congenial smile. “Jaen, my boy! How are you- how was the journey?” He gave his nephew a warm handshake and a firm gaze; Grive was not one for hugging in public.

“Well enough, thanks uncle. It was really these new vans though, they handle great on the rocks.” Grive gave Bellinda a friendly grin. “You keeping this party in line Bellinda? These are your vans aren't they?” Bellinda stepped forward and shook his hand, returning the smile. “Yes sir. Your nephew is a fine captain.”

“Didn't think to find you standing by the roadside Grive,” said Sutton, “who are your friends here?” Grive indicated the man furthest from him. “This here's Isak. He runs the most successful farm in this township. Most of his property is actually right over there.” He pointed at the western side path, but swept his hand to indicate a large swath of the ridge. “I brought my new friend Heln down here today to see if Isak could assist in a little project we've been doing.”

Ayleah stepped out of the van and joined Atkins and Jaen's warrior friend a few paces behind the group. Atkins was leaning on the edge of an old stump and studying some delicate spore-like plants that were sprouting from the green carpet. The ranger was softly at attention, scanning the surrounding forest as if casually taking in the sights. Flor had not left the van, his head buried in a textbook. Kaeri though, was nowhere to be seen. It was proof to Ayleah of her suspicion that Kaeri did not actually travel with them. The hitchhiking had been only a means of meeting her.

The farmer had noticed her, and it brought Ayleah back out of her thoughts. He seemed not much older than her, actually. A young man well-established here at a prestigious township. Well-groomed and of clean style too. His gaze lingered just a half-second too long before he turned to the conversation again. Slightly flustered for no apparent reason, Ayleah turned the other way and asked Atkins about the plant she was studying.

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Heln was distracted. He had sensed the vans approaching before he saw them. It could have been their sound, or some movement in his periphery though. Just some sliding of color beyond a screen of branches. It was the wrong color though; the vans were a blueish-gray. Even the headlight covers were not bright enough at distance to account for that flash of orange. Furthermore nothing in the conversation could have generated it. Isak seemed a fine gentleman, relaxed and confident in his ways. He had a good rapport with Grive, though Heln could sense there was an underlying quiet tension there. If Isak had something to do with the orange-red elemental, then he surely would have known as soon as they met. The farmed forest around had only a pleasant placid quality to it. However, this group had now shown up on the road, and he was positive they were connected to his quest. The young man who was their leader seemed similar to Grive, if only in general bearing, and was soon revealed to be the premir's nephew. The others seemed normal enough, none even glinting with orange. One young woman though, who had exited a van but kept back a bit, intrigued him. She had an inquiring gaze that said she was more than just a part of this expedition. As soon as he looked at her though, he felt a sharp pain in his thigh. Assuming it was a biting bug, he quickly swatted at the spot and forgot what he had been thinking.

His leg assuaged, Heln noticed a bright rock at his feet. It was a burnt orange, with bands of a deeper color that shimmered as light caught its surface. It had an irregular rounded shape, as if it had been tumbled in a machine. He picked it up, examining the deep-reddish surface. The light made rainbows in those shimmering bands, refracting in blinding gleams across his vision. Heln turned the piece in his hands and held it up to ask the others if they knew what kind of rock it was. None of them recognized it. The nephew Jaen said it looked like some of the gemstones he had studied, but Grive said nothing like that could be found naturally up here. They had seemed surprised too at his abrupt change of topic, and quickly returned to their introductions and catching up between the nephew, his uncle, and their friends. Still intrigued, and slightly confused, Heln slipped the stone into his pocket, knowing he would study it more later.

Connected

 

Ayleah knew that Kaeri was peculiar, but also knew that Kaeri was not exactly human. This gave some leeway on their nature. It would not seem so strange to her if Kaeri appeared to shift their appearance with each interaction, or seemed to suddenly be in a place they hadn't been before. The two of them had only had a couple of conversations, but she had learned quite a bit from the hitchhiker. They had not had much opportunity for interaction on the road though. Ayleah figured Kaeri had been traveling with Bellinda, but didn't remember seeing them at either of the rest points. The alpine surroundings had been so enthralling that she probably just hadn't noticed their presence.

The two times Ayleah had spoken with Kaeri, their conversations had been deep and interesting, but to no definitive end. It seemed to Ayleah that this person had a deep-seated interest in her, but would not fully explain why. Kaeri looked to be younger than Ayleah, but felt much older somehow. They would ask her about things she had studied at the Sanctuary, especially around the topic of energy perception and manipulation. None of the lessons seemed new to the other, but Kaeri was nevertheless fully engaged. Ayleah told them what she had learned about tuning into the energies of land, working with natural forces in landscaping efforts, and procedures for consecrating or protecting a space. Kaeri reiterated that the scholars were misled in their understanding of natural energies. “For all their good intentions'” Kaeri had said, “they don't have the right grasp of how it really is. They see energy as a separate substance that imbues objects, places, or beings with a magical quality, when it's actually the underlying substrate that permeates all those things at all times.” The scholars' techniques, Kaeri said, were useful in manipulating energy, but could perhaps be more impactful if they acknowledged the true connectedness of reality.

This thought had begun to change the way Ayleah looked at the world. The understanding of connectedness was a sort of quiet seeping revelation. Energy had always seemed to her like overlaid currents of magic, flowing through the world and concentrating here and there. Now the world seemed to her to be a vibrating whole; a unified breathing of that energy into every corner and extremity. Places that felt more powerful were concentrations not of power, but of harmony.

They had stayed the night in comfortable accommodations at Abrahim, passing a lovely evening in company of some of the amiable locals. The next morning it was still cloudy, and they set off north along the ridge, leaving the open rock of the summit village. Almost as soon as they were back into the scruffy forest they began to descend. The road was a hardened lane of sparkly gravel between mossy spruce woods. They rolled down rocky ledges much like the ones on the ascent, though none proved very formidable. The drivers both seemed comfortable, letting the vans gain a bit of speed as they swept down each of the rocks. The load had been much reduced by now, and they were a vehicle less in the party. The third transport was empty now, and its crew were from the area, so they had stayed behind. The three of them were seasoned mountain-born, and were enjoying the hospitality of the summit village.

A while passed and Ayleah noted that they were still descending. She knew their course was only along the ridge-line to the next peak, but now wondered how far down the road would go before climbing again. From the valleys, this mountain had looked nearly flat along its multiple peaks, but being this intimately close with the terrain gave a better understanding of how varied it actually was. They were still on a high ridge though. Ayleah could tell that the level land here was barely the width of the peninsula of her home village. The difference was that here instead of a lake to either side there were steep forested slopes dropping away from sky. She could see they were now under the cloud layer, and sometimes a bit of color appeared in the blue through the spruce trunks: hints of far-off hills. It was just enough to remind the travelers of how high up they still were. The woods around were a mess of moss and fallen evergreens. New evergreens sprouted in the midst all fuzzy and fragrant. Insects and birds swerved and darted around, seemingly oblivious to the special nature of their land. The road dipped into wet glades where tiny trading squares battled for space with the mud, and homes dotted the sides of small knolls. They crossed over minor unmarked summits and around the sides of rocky knobs that poked up in an effort to maintain the ridge. Eventually one of these knolls proved larger than the rest, and they climbed again for a short while. When the road flattened, there was a burst of sunlight. The two vans had come around a corner of rock into a section of younger forest. The sky was more open here. All along the heights of this smaller summit trees had been felled, mostly by natural causes, and the shrubby newer growth brought an almost meadow-like feeling to the narrow high-elevation ridge. Ayleah breathed in the sunlight from her open window. The smells of the forest air and the closeness of the sky filled her head and warmed her heart. It felt good up here.

Plainsman

 

The people of the plains used to think they went on forever; that the world was nothing but endless seas of grass undulating beneath the heavens. Trees were still sparse in that region, only clustering more densely near cities or around the great rivers which cut into the land. Those western plains laid out as a tapestry of greens carved by rich waterways of all sizes. The sages of his homeland knew much of water and the subtle cradling slopes along which it traveled. The land was in symbiosis with the water, at its mercy, and in a dance that holds the balance for life. Its flows are complicated, yet can be understood enough to form a working friendship. Heln had fond memories of the places of his childhood, its endless meadows and playful placid creeks. It was a main reason for choosing to settle at the Sanctuary when he journeyed to the east. Its land reminded him a bit of his old home.

One can tell though the contrasts in places. While all lands share some basic earthly attributes, they differ from each other in their ambient quality. Teach one has its own uniqueness. Heln had learned to sharpen his perception in this respect as a youth. In his work, he was taught to be aware of his site and surroundings. Proper awareness included not just of the slope and how the water flows on the land, but of how the feeling of the land flows around oneself. He had never fully understood what that was supposed to mean, but different places certainly had different qualities of pull, motion, or rest. He could feel when a place was stable, or if it had motion, how one might best utilize that force.

Back west in the plains, questions of these overall feelings had seemed to be much more subtle. There was a general sense in all places on the land that they dwelt on a benevolent and quiet locale, and slopes were vast, softly rolling things. Areas studied by sages were carefully inspected and historical understandings were a matter of careful and deep study. That was a similarity at the Sanctuary. Heln delighted in his work out in the fields, helping to control the water systems. Work in such flat places required an understanding of subtlety, patience, and an embrace of the sun and sky. Mud, tall grass, and the hum of insects was a paradise for him, accentuated by the blue sky and the sweat of labor.

When he saw the horizon though, all was different. These were not the fields of his land; the soft rolling hills secure beneath his feet. These low-lying fields only compared to the river-plains out west. Back home there was a sharp separation: grand wooded bluffs raised rounded shoulders above the floodplain. Down there the land felt unsure, more claimed by the river than the sky. The forested slopes formed a wall that raised up the lands of Heln's childhood above the unpredictability of the great flow. They considered the entity which lifted them above chaos to be the real living land; the floodplain and river were in a symbolic and literal sense, further from the sun. Here though, the low flat fields were the only open space. Here in the east the plains gave way, often more quickly than Heln would have liked, to dense forest and steep slopes which seemed to have little to no space at their summit.

Mountains, even small ones, had an air of deep mystery. They were not the life-giving arms of the river bluffs, but rather seemed like dormant gods. They lounged and rested on the landscape, slowly considering their domain. They grew moss and woods in their repose, stretching wild around their base and hiding secrets in their folds. The open fields of human striving seemed to cower at the feet of these mysterious giants. Even the flat-woods of the region had an ominous air, as many seemed only outposts from the main forest range. Heightening the intrigue, some of those dark hills grew so tall that their tops disappeared, regularly, into the clouds. Heln had heard of folk living on those far summits, but had a difficult time truly believing the stories. He could feel the natural power of those places from even down here in the valleys, and he could sense the intensity of their elements. How would it feel to actually set foot on those upper heights, and what would one find at the peak?

- - -

So far, Heln's experience of the mountains had become one of wonder. Traveling the steep ridgeline, he marveled at the hermit communities that burrowed their ways into the moss-covered slopes. They showed a level of hardiness hardly imagined by his perception of humans back in the plains. The alpine residents showed frugality and generosity in nearly paradoxical amounts, and seemed genuinely satisfied with their lot; as if they shared in some secret of the mountain. There was simply an amount of life up in the higher elevations for which Heln was not properly prepared. The forest and other natural features sheltered sprawling townships from the elements. The land too, was not nearly as bleak as it had seemed from a distance. Bright green mosses and rich reddish earth contrasted over stones which sparkled in the sunlight. Heln could see why scholars and other spiritual people held the place in high regard. It was almost as if the “real land” here constituted only a tiny percentage of the region. The river vales were wide and vastly more populated, but the real power was up on these high slopes.

Cultivation of his wonder did not stop with the observance of the land. Heln stopped for lunch at a village which clustered about a partially-open summit, and encountered the object of what he had thought would be a much longer quest. Fen Golbein, the so-named master of colors, wore a cloak of pale motley that well accented the whiteness of his hair. He was older, and not terribly fit, so Heln had little difficulty in catching up to his gait. The sage had greeted a villager who had called him by name. Seeing the dress and character of the indivdual, Heln realized his good fortune and knew he had to introduce himself. Fen proved an amiable fellow, and the two talked for some time.

Heln told Fen about his hallucinations of light, including the orange flashes. They discussed the meanings of the color orange, as well as any possible personal significance it might have to Heln. Fen was particularly interested in the claim that Heln's experiences had no perceived medical basis. They both trusted the opinions of the doctors at the Sanctuary in the matter, so Fen was curious about a potential spiritual etiology. The two agreed to meet again, and subsequently spent many days looking into what sources of information they could find on the mountain. Between scholarly study and experiments out in the spruce forest they began to learn more about the nature of the lights Heln was seeing. It seemed to be an entity with no clear origin from the external world. It had an earthly nature, but was foreign to both Heln and Fen. It seemed to be trying to communicate with Heln, but also gave off a teasing sort of energy. It would appear as subtle gleams on objects, or as a vague bodily shape for barely an instant before vanishing completely. Both the sage and the plainsman began to feel some frustration in their efforts.