The Children of Calm (21 page)

She led her down to the center of the room, and Selenor began to strum the strings of her lyre. Rylek instantly recognized his favorite song. Slowly the melody lilted in, and she sang of moonlight on misty waters, and of lovers long parted. The sorrow in her voice dropped a weight on his heart, as she sang with a passion he had never before heard. He happened to take his eyes off her for just a second, and saw Altan standing alone in a corner. His eyes were closed, and his head was lifted up. Then something happened that Rylek would not forget for the rest of his life: slowly, one by one, the Aesid began to sing with Selenor in non-syllabic tones, adding harmony upon complex harmony. Their voices were filled with melancholy, and gradually they built and soared till the music was resonating from the walls and ceiling. They followed her every lead, her every change, as though they had become the instrument she was playing. And so the massive organic symphony played, an ocean of sonic bliss, till time itself seemed to pause so it could listen.

How long this went on Rylek was never able to tell, for he was helplessly under the spell of the song and the incense. His mind was saturated with images of the grey sea, of forlorn figures standing apart on the foggy beach. The vision was so real he swore he felt the spray of the water on his face. With a start he suddenly realized there were tears streaming down his cheeks. Wiping them off, he looked back to where Altan had been, but found he was no longer there.

Chapter Ten:

The Room of No Time

“
That was the most amazing experience of my life
!”

Selenor was walking by Rylek’s side as they were on their way back to Ryaskoreid’s dwelling. He was carrying her lyre for her while Lana and Tresten were a few steps ahead of them. Rylek looked over at Selenor and could not help but smile as her face was glowing.

“I mean, I’ve never felt that connected to music or creativity before,” she continued. “It just poured out of me, and somehow the Aesid fed off it and matched everything I was doing. I don’t even know where the time went! Did we really go on for nearly three hours?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he said. “There did seem to be some weird hypnotic spell over the room. I would never have guessed that much time passed, but then again I was totally drawn in.”

Selenor shook her head. “I have a hard time picturing anything at the University surpassing tonight,” she said. “There was something bigger going on.”

Suddenly Rylek was reminded of what Altan had told them. He was expecting an answer from them after three hours had passed, and he knew the time was up. They had not even discussed whether they would join him on his “little excursion.” He decided to wait to bring it up when they were alone and settled.

When they arrived at Ryaskoreid’s, he very politely asked Selenor and Tresten if they minded spending the night with Rylek and Lana in their room. “I believe you will feel more comfortable and at ease there without worrying about Kelsereid or me,” he said. “I am sure the four of you would appreciate some time for yourselves.”

After having relocated to the neighboring room, all four sat in a circle on their sleeping mats and were discussing the events of the night. When a lull in the conversation came, Rylek lightly coughed. “So, what do we say to Altan?” he asked. “He’s probably on his way to find us to get an answer. Do we go with him or not?”

“I say yes,” Tresten said immediately, “if only for curiosity’s sake. We did come to explore and learn, even if this place was not my first choice. I also want to know what happened to these people and what in all of Mira they could have done that would affect them this severely. Yes, the music tonight was beautiful, but it was depressing. You could feel the tension of mourning in their voices. I want answers.”

“And remember what Elder Caenar said,” Lana reminded them. “It’s good to trust anyone who blesses us in the name of The One, and those were the first words out of Altan’s mouth. Besides, these people have done nothing but show us goodness and compassion since we’ve been here. I had some reservations when we first met Ryaskoreid, but they have proven themselves to be so honorable. I feel we owe them some kind of payment, and this could be it – I mean, if we can understand them better and then find a way to help heal them.”

“I confess I have my doubts about him,” Selenor said, “but you all seem so confident in this that I will let you decide. I trust you, and the Aesid have won my trust; and everybody in both of those groups seem to trust Altan, so I will do my best also.”

The back of Rylek’s mind began to buzz again, but not about Altan. His mind had been made up about him since the moment he met him. It was the matter of the Aesid that troubled him. The issue with the orb was unsettling, and he could not shake the feeling that he had been lied to about it. But with the Oathbinder preventing him from discussing it with anyone, he felt helpless in knowing what to do.

If only there was someone I could talk to
, he thought to himself.

There were also many questions he was prepared to ask Andulibar earlier, but never got the chance due to the events of the night. Maybe he did not need to ask him those questions. Altan wanted to show them the Aesidian history, and perhaps he could paint a clearer picture than what anyone else had offered. Then the questions could possibly answer themselves, or Altan would answer them himself.

“Rylek, what do you think?” Lana asked.

He looked up and saw they were looking at him expectantly. “I say we go,” he said after a moment. “I believe we lose nothing by going. Besides, Altan knew we were coming, so he must have some form of contact with home - though I have no idea what it could possibly be. I have a feeling it will benefit the Aesid best if we understand their history and can then return their generosity by helping them start a healing process. It sickens me to hear them talk so dejectedly about themselves.”

“We are all on the same page then,” Tresten said, “and that is the way it should be.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice came from behind the doorway’s curtain. “Excuse me, Rylek? Are you in there?” It was Altan.

They welcomed him in and offered him a seat on the floor. He politely refused. “I shall not take too much of your time,” he said. “I was merely coming by as I had promised and was curious to know whether you had reached your decision as a group whether to accompany me tomorrow.”

“I believe we will,” Rylek said. “Is there anything we need to know before we go?”

“Most of the details I will inform you of on our way,” Altan said. “We will leave early in the morning and journey to my home, where I think it would be wise to rest for the night. From there the remaining journey should not take long. I will have plenty of supplies waiting there that you will be more than welcome to use.”

“Can you at least tell us where exactly it is we’re going?” Selenor asked.

“It is a little difficult to explain,” he answered. “Our destination is actually much farther than the exact distance we will walk. But the name of the place is Khragzul.”

Shivers ran up and down Rylek’s back. He had never heard of the place, but an unexpected fear jostled in his stomach. “And you’re fairly certain this will be safe for us?” he cautiously asked.

“Rylek, surely you must understand safety can never be fully assured - at least, if your definition of safety is coming to no bodily harm. Was it safe for the four of you to come northward from your home by yourselves? You and Tresten have already suffered injury. But this I will say for your satisfaction: you will have me, and though I may not appear to be much, I have a certain…ability…to help others. As long as you stay with me and do exactly as I say, nothing out of the ordinary should happen.”

“Now I’m starting to worry a little again,” Selenor said. “I don’t mean to sound like I’m being a pest, but like you said, we’ve had some scary moments already when we believed we had lost Rylek and then Tresten.”

Altan knelt down on the ground beside her. “Selenor, you cannot go through life afraid of what
might
happen,” he said softly. “Anything can happen at any given moment. Nothing is guaranteed except for seeming randomness, coincidence, and chaos. Life is lived by meeting it head-on, with people in whom you trust beside you. I know you trust your three friends, and they will do all they can to make everything more bearable.” He paused for a moment and looked thoughtful. “This world is filled with too many opportunities and not nearly enough time.”

A silence fell over the room. Rylek was unsure of what to say, and apparently the other three felt the same.

After a few moments Altan rose to his feet. “I will leave you now so you can rest,” he said. “We will begin our trek after breakfast. But for now sleep peacefully.” He turned and left them alone.

They sat quietly for a few moments. “What exactly happened just now?” Tresten asked. “He looked as though there was something…I don’t know how to explain it.”

Rylek was still looking at the rustling doorway curtain. “There’s something odd about him,” he said almost to himself. “But it’s good. I’m not sure what it is, but it feels right anyway. He carries some ridiculously large burden that has made him a great person.” He looked at the others who were looking back at him with confusion on their faces. “Seriously. That’s the impression I get. There’s a kind of depth to him that I can’t possibly fathom. Can’t you feel it?”

Tresten shrugged. “That is not at all what I meant. But then again, I’m not up for analyzing much of anything at the moment. I’m tired and would like to sleep now.”

The others agreed this was a good plan and made ready to sleep. As they were settling in, Rylek kept thinking about Altan. He felt there was some vital piece of information he was missing to piece together another part of the puzzle. There was much he had learned on that night with his father and Caenar; but most of it was broad and vague, generalized and seemingly myopic. He did not know or understand why, but Altan somehow felt more detailed in his knowledge.

It’s going to be good to pick his brain
, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

Someone shook him from a dreamless slumber. He squinted in the dim light to see Tresten’s silhouetted figure kneeling over him, finger resting vertically over his mouth. Tresten then stood up and motioned for him to follow through the curtained door. Adrenalin started to pump through Rylek’s veins as he quietly rose from his sleeping mat.

Once he joined Tresten outside, he took a quick glance around. “What’s the matter?” he asked quietly. “Is something going on?”

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Tresten said. “I just want to take a look around and see what Perdeisolen has to offer. Maybe you can take me back to that first cave you fell into and we can figure out what exactly hurt me.”

“That’s what you woke me up for?” Rylek asked. “I thought you were exhausted. Can’t we do this sometime tomorrow?”

“When are we going to get a chance?” Tresten countered. “We’re leaving with Altan early in the morning. Who knows when we’ll be back here? Or if we’ll ever be back? I want answers and I don’t want to wait.”

Rylek relaxed. “You do have a point,” he said. “Lana and I took some time to explore a bit while you were recovering. It’s only fair that you should see some things, too.”

“Exactly,” Tresten said. “This is our Finding, right? We’ll have time to sleep when we get home. Let’s go have a look around. The girls will be fine by themselves. We should be back long before they even have a chance to know we were gone.”

Rylek was quiet for a moment, and then slowly nodded. “Okay,” he finally said, “as long as we don’t stay gone for too long. I feel a little uncomfortable about leaving them alone.”

“With the Aesid?” Tresten asked incredulously. “What has you so worked up and bent out of shape? Is there something I need to know?”

“No, I don’t know,” Rylek said after a pause. “I guess I’m just a little on edge. I’m sure you’re right - they should be fine. But we come back here when I say we do, alright?”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Tresten said, shrugging. “Let’s just go. Take me to the cave.”

“Let me grab my starpod torch first,” Rylek said. “We’re going to need it in that darkness.”

He softly went back into the room, found the torch sitting by Faldrahil, and silently crept back out into the Great Room. After testing the torch to make sure it still lit, he looked at Tresten. “Alright, I’m ready,” he said.

As they walked to the left towards the waterfall room, Rylek noticed they appeared to be alone in the Great Room. “It looks like everyone’s asleep,” he said. “We need to be extra careful since it will be more difficult if we run into any trouble.”

Tresten turned towards him, and there was a certain light in his eye that took Rylek by surprise. He did not know how to explain it, except that there was something unusual there.

“Quit worrying, will you?” Tresten said. “We’re not looking for danger. We’re looking for answers to our riddles.”

They walked a few steps. “So, what did you think of the baths?” Rylek asked.

“You know, I have to say, in strictest confidence of course, they were incredibly pleasing,” Tresten said.

“Absolutely,” Rylek said, nodding his head. “At first it was a little intimidating, what with all of the options for the soaps and flowery stuff, but now I want to go back and try different combinations.”

“That is precisely what I was thinking. The quenchal root has effervescent qualities, and I can only imagine how that would feel when…”

Suddenly he stopped, as though they were breaking an unspoken agreement between them. Rylek coughed. They walked in an awkward silence for a few seconds.

“So, the cave, right?” Rylek asked.

“Yes, that sounds good. That sounds
very
good.”

They passed through the gate and came into the waterfall room. Tresten allowed himself a few minutes to look around before they moved along. Rylek showed him the spot where he had collapsed and Ryaskoreid had found him. Then it was down the hallway until they came to the area where the secret wall was. Rylek had been relating the story as they walked along, but when he put his hand out to find the door, nothing met his hand but solid rock.

“That’s strange,” he muttered. “I know it was somewhere in this area.” He began to run both of his hands along the wall, but could discover no opening. Tresten even joined him, but to no avail.

“Are you sure this is the right spot?” he asked. “Could it be further down the hallway or behind us?”