Between Darkness and Light Trilogy (41 page)

Woman cannot live on fruit alone though; I
walk further and find a tremendous vegetable garden. There is
certainly something strange about this world – everything seems
caught in the peak of ripeness, as though nothing here ever
changes. I break off some of the richest looking broccoli I’ve ever
seen and go searching for fresh water.

I find a perfect little clearing with a
soothing waterfall. The water tastes sweet and pure. There is a
rock outcropping extending slightly behind the waterfall, I stand
on it to rinse off my bounty, though something tells me such is
entirely unnecessary. Not far away is a concave topped rock; it's
time to give my powers a test – I intend to levitate a cup or two
of water from the waterfall into the depression in the rock – but I
instead deluge it with gallons! It's as though… as though I am
accustomed to having to fight the existing order of things; but now
I am infused with so much of that order that I must tread with
feather-light steps. This time I exert only so much power as it
would seem necessary to move a couple of drops of water, and a
couple of cups relocate perfectly! I suspend my broccoli over it
and superheat the water to create steam. Pity I haven't any
balsamic vinegar… Instead I pluck some wild tarragon and cilantro
and add them to the steaming water; the result is delicious. It
reminds me of some of the meals William and I used to eat as
children when we went traveling alone on Shiral.

So all I really need to do to cast properly
powered spells is to make them seemingly far less powerful than
would normally be necessary. Use a feather light touch. The
implications are somewhat daunting. What can I accomplish if I
really need to? How powerful am I now? The darkening sky draws my
mind back to my new surroundings, I should prepare for the night.
It is not as warm here as my Shiral, and yet it can’t get too cold
or the plants would wither. I return to the beach and test the
water, it is pleasantly warm, this place shouldn’t get cold at all;
I need not bother constructing a shelter for the night.

Falling asleep is the next challenge; my
body thrums with energy, yet my mind needs rest. Perhaps if I
concentrate on something that seems to block my ability to think? I
choose the moment when the Emperor's jewel touched my brow, and
soon…

~~~

SHI'AHN! The very Shir trembles with the
sound, and my now open eyes see the huge face of Cailli in the sky.
“Shi'ahn, hear me!”

“I hear you, I hear you. What's wrong?”

“What's wrong? You've been entranced for
over a day! Can't I ever leave you unwatched?”

“What's the problem? It's not like I have
much to do here.”

“You think you have nothing to do? You have
to study, child! We don't have much time.”

“Study what? I'm stuck on a deserted island!
There are no libraries, no teachers, I'm stranded!”

“Not everything worth learning comes from
someone else's experience, Shi'ahn. Especially for you. Just… see
what's out there, and try to manipulate it. Much can be learned
from trial and error.” With that her face recedes to
nothingness.

Well fine. I'll investigate this place more,
after I've eaten. Strange, I am terribly hungry; why hadn't that
awoken me? My suspicions about this place are confirmed when I
return to the orchards and gardens; everything is exactly as it was
before I picked anything. Interesting indeed. Sated, I try to plan
out how to educate myself. Carefully inspecting my surroundings
seems a good place to start. I
listen
carefully to this
place - life is very limited here, there are no insects, no
animals, only fish and the extraordinary assortment of plant life.
This world sounds very old, and yet all of the plant life is in the
peak of perfection. Could this be Cailli’s pantry? The concept
seems odd, and yet, for a Luminarian who doesn’t like to leave her
tower, why not?

I investigate my prison further by
listening
to it while I cast my mind out as I do with my
power ring. Just one place seems… well, very different than the
rest. Far into the island there is a place that
sounds
important. I can’t make out any details, as though it is powerfully
shielded. As I
listen
to it, my mind is filled with thoughts
of entrapment - of endless isolation. I don't like that feeling, I
need something less… lonely.

What about the edges of my prison? I cast my
listening
awareness out toward it, and then… nothing, as if
existence itself ends. That can’t be, of course, I know full well
that existence goes on beyond this place - I’ve even seen Cailli
out there. I’m missing something. What about the stars, I didn’t
sense any of those before the barrier either. I cast out more,
listening
all over the sky for the stars, but find none,
just the odd ending of everything. That's not right; what about the
sun, yes, I can see that now. I
listen
toward it, but hit
the maddening nothingness before reaching it!

Just how far does the sky really reach? I
send a burst of sound upward, expecting to measure the distance by
the echo, yet there isn’t one; the sound simply ceases to be. I
have to be missing something. I’m not going to let this thing beat
me… I start the dance that draws one's mind into focus, forgetting
all else. I make myself conscious of the pulses of life within this
place, of the
sounds
that surround me, as minutely as I am
capable of. I
know
this place. I stretch my awareness out
further, further, until all seemingly ends, but I know that it does
not. There is something here, I know it… what are you? I try to
push against the nothingness, but there is nothing to push against.
I try to create more substance where the nothingness begins, but
there is resistance. A reaction! But from what? I imagine my dance
filling this entire place, I’m becoming one with everything here.
We become… music. Music that echoes throughout this existence, and
yet ends at the barrier that isn’t.

I stretch out yet further, and try to join
with the edge of this reality, and suddenly I
hear
it.
Immense beauty, a symphony of power! Everything stops. I’m standing
on the sand, frozen in place, and see Cailli’s face in the sky
again.

She laughs, “Very good! You’re a quick
study, once you set your mind to it.” Her smile turns stern, “But
that won’t get you out of there - nothing will until you have done
what you must do. Eat and rest, child, and then see what else you
can do with your new knowledge.” She recedes away, and I can once
again move.

She was right, I am hungry, but not
physically tired. That last exercise used up a lot of energy – I
need more sustenance than plants. I turn my concentration to the
water. It is teeming with fish. I do not like killing, and yet fish
feel different – many eat their own young, after all. Eating a
single large adult could theoretically save hundreds of little fish
from being eaten - where is the harm in that? I single out a large,
hungry sounding one and levitate it out of the water. While it is
still over the water I thank… not Shiral, for that is not where I
am. I thank this nameless place for the sustenance I have just
claimed, then cast a cleaning spell upon the fish, to remove all
that I do not wish to eat. Its death is so quick that it simply
can't feel any pain, thus preserving the sanctity of its life. I
easily cause its temperature to rise to a proper, cooked state. I
wish I had some white wine, pepper and flour to make a sauce to eat
it with, but I don't – I don't even have a plate! I keep it
levitated and summon a lemon from the orchard, causing its juices
to drip onto each piece of fish before I eat it. It is a good
dinner and yet when I'm finished I find I'm terribly tired,
intellectually. I lie down on the sand and try to fall asleep, but
I can't. I need to meditate, but on what?

My encounter with the Emperor's jewel has
already proven itself a poor choice, what about the amazing
encounter with the primal tree when Cailli took me up the Path of
Enlightenment? It was a beautiful silvery oak. The place wherein it
stood was so peaceful, I can
hear
the background
song
in my mind. A branch reaches down and touches my brow; I am filled
with the most perfect music ever heard. It seems pleased that I
have returned.

~~~

I become surrounded by a different shade of
light, sunlight. I open my eyes to the early dawn and realize I did
it – I managed to rest even though my body did not wish it. Now if
I could only somehow summon breakfast – a proper breakfast
including grains. Are there oats somewhere on this island? I
listen
to the
harmonies
of the land again, and yes,
there are many grains. I start walking toward them, but my stomach
growls angrily. A detour through the orchard seems in order. Once I
reach the grain fields it dawns on me that there is more to
achieving a bowl of hot oatmeal than simply finding oats, they must
be rolled. So, how am I going to roll them without any tools? One
flat rock and a rounded one seem to work, but after only a handful
of them are rolled they disappear!

I hear Cailli's voice, “No no no, child.
This is an excellent opportunity for you to practice new ways to
use your powers.” I look around, but I do not see her, neither do I
hear
her presence. Interesting.

I suppose two very small shields; one flat
and another oval would do the trick. It's a bit slippery, I have to
levitate the oats all the way through the process, but it works. I
hear a disappointed sigh, but still no physical presence.

“What? I'm using Harmony now, what's the
problem?”

“You're not doing anything new.” Suddenly my
small collection of rolled oats bursts into flames, which spread
with unnatural haste to the field.

“Cailli, that's not fair!”

“Then do something about it.”

“Fine!” I stretch out my left arm toward the
ocean, filling my mind with the
harmony
of water, then draw
as much water as I can back toward me, directed at the fire. A huge
arc of water descends toward the fire, but evaporates before
reaching the ground.

I hear the annoying, disembodied voice yet
again. “You're too practical, Shi'ahn, you fall back on tried and
true methods. Try to remember that you are a Harmony wielder. Put
out the fire in a way you have never heard of anyone using
before.”

I don't want to think, I want to eat! Soon!
I could just leave it burn and go find something else to eat, but I
suspect she wouldn't let me get away with that. Well, what does
fire need in order to burn? Fuel, of course, and oxygen. I listen
to the harmony of the air, identifying the different components,
Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Oxygen. Over the entire field I remove
the
song
of Oxygen – the flames die instantly. I don't
return the
song
to its proper
harmony
until I am
certain the flames should stay dead. Mentally hurling unspeakable
oaths toward the ancient meddler, I finally break my fast on
toasted oats.

~~~

Eating does nothing to temper my annoyance,
I defiantly fall back on the tried and true; I go for a swim. These
waters are beautiful! At first there are coral reefs teeming with
all kinds of life, vividly colorful and no doubt very nutritious.
Further out there are many, many plants – seaweeds in every shade
of almost every color. Curiosity overcomes me and I swim down to
take a taste of a beautiful violet, flower like plant, and suddenly
I'm surrounded by blood red, long weeds that wrap around my legs.
Nothing else seems to be happening, so I summon a vibration blade
to cut myself free – but it doesn't work! Weeds stronger than a
sonic knife? It doesn't make sense. Cailli, I bet she is behind
this. All right, how else would I get out of this? I
listen
to the weeds, they
sound
… unnaturally enhanced – Cailli's
work for sure. What else, what can I ascertain from what I
hear
? They are slightly acidic. Lovely. That part of their
harmony
steadily increases in volume, they are secreting
acid, attempting to dissolve me. Yuck. I remove that part of their
song
before they manage to harm me, but they do not let go.
What else? There are other, similar plants nearby, what is
different between those plants and these? The underlying
harmonies
are the same, but these
sound
… curlier? How
do you uncurl a
harmony
?

Motion in the distance catches my attention,
the biggest, ugliest, most dangerous looking monster I have ever
seen is swimming my way – I have to get out of this trap! Forget
uncurling, I just mentally force my captor plants to
sound
exactly like the nearby plants. I'm free!

All suddenly goes dark and I’m jostled
around strangely – I feel slimy. Rats, I've been swallowed. My
breathing air disappears in moments – and there isn't any water
against me to use in re-establishing the spell, I'm completely
surrounded by slime. I
listen
to it, it's acid! Why doesn't
it hurt? I can see now, by the light of my own glow, I share this
delightful place with many… things, in varying states of
decomposition. Apparently this beastie never bothers to chew
anything – for which I suppose I should be grateful, but soon it
won't matter, I need air! The water it swallowed with me seems to
have been directed elsewhere. It may be the most disgusting thing
I've ever done, but what else can I do? I use matter from my
decomposing companions to create what I need. It's far more
complicated than breaking oxygen molecules apart from water, but it
works. I wonder, does it really stink terribly, or is my mind
creating that delightful illusion? More importantly, how the heck
am I going to get out of here? More and more acid surrounds me, yet
still I feel nothing and my skin shows no sign of damage. My
clothing, however, begins to thin. I'm being jostled around again,
it begins as a small thing, but steadily increases. The place
spasms violently and I am shot out – it threw me up! I alter my
breathing spell to once again use water, but it still stinks – I
swim as fast as I can to the surface, careful not to touch anything
else, and make sure to expel any nitrogen that may have built up
within me. At some point my clothes fall away – but I don't care, I
just want to breathe sweet, clean air again!