Compis: Five Tribes (18 page)

Again, Nikka closed her eyes and pictured Zyander, with his violet eyes staring at her, just one lock of black hair falling toward his eyes. There was a kind smile on his face, the one she pictured when she fell asleep at night and he was holding out his hand to her. As she pictured him, she took the thread of power flowing from herself, through the letter, and up past the house. They moved out of Aquis territory, and south, to where the Ignis made their home. She felt as though she could almost see it herself at this point, the line threading through multiple connections and back down, down, down until she saw something else. There was a glowing light down below, growing brighter and brighter as the thread moved towards it. At the end, she recognized what it was—a golden hand, shining in front of her. Somehow, she knew it was his, and she opened her hands, releasing the letter.

Her eyes opened and she watched it lift and disappear.

“Oh!” she said, surprised that it had happened so quickly.

Agga's eyes had been closed, as well, and they opened.

“Well, done, pup. Wherever you sent it, I think it will get there.”

Nikka thought about what she had seen when she had “looked”—Zyander's glowing palm and another, dimmer light. She wondered where he could be, since she didn't see a many other lights glowing around him. Maybe he was at home with his sister. She remembered that he'd mentioned living near the edge of Napalin. Perhaps that meant his home was more remote.

Feeling satisfaction at her first successful lesson, Nikka turned to Agga.

“What do I get to learn next?” she asked.

Agga chuckled. “Nothing more today. Get along and read your letter.”

Nikka picked up her letter, still glowing blue, and walked toward her room. She was near the entrance to the kitchen when Agga called out.

“It would be wise were you not to tell Herself about your lesson today,” she said.

Nikka nodded and ran upstairs to her room.

Lying across the bed, she opened her letter.

Oh, great and mighty Compis,

I'm sorry, isn't that what we're supposed to call you now? Ha. See how witty I am. Hello, Nikka. How are you? I bet you didn't expect to hear from me any time in the near future. To be honest, I didn't expect to be writing you. You see, the Terris have this stupid rule about not writing anyone from your past for the full year you're an Initiate, in order to more fully “bond” with the tribe. Which of course means I can't do the one thing I most want to do—write May.

I miss her so much, and since I can't write to her myself, I was hoping you could send this on to her, so I can let her know how it's going for me. And if you could, have her reply to you, because I can have letters from you. The only problem is, I'm sure they will try to read any letters I receive, so make sure you lock it. My friend Joah showed me how. One of the other Inductees showed him how during gathering week.

Oh, I never explained how it is that I can write to you, if I'm not supposed to write to anyone. Well, the Terris are sneaky, I'll give them that much. They are hoping that somehow, I'll be able to convince you what a great and wonderful tribe the Terris are, so you'll want to come and join me in all the fun! (Can you tell I'm being sarcastic?)

Well, let me just tell you how great and wonderful they are! We are stuck here in the temporary quarters we are assigned to, until they've “tested” us and determined where our talents lie. This testing consists of sitting us in a room with different animal groups and then we try to see if we identify with any of them.

You're probably wondering what animal groups have to do with anything. After Initiation, I'm sure you noticed that the Terris all look like animals. That's because of the Lumenta. The Lumenta are our soul beasts. They are the animal spirit we relate to during our time as tribe members.

So far, I've gleaned a few interesting things about the Lumenta. First, and most obvious, we can transform into them. So if a deer was my Lumenta, I would transform into one. I would also be able to talk to all the animals in that animal group. I would also be able to call all deer to me, if I needed one to look for game or find a water source, or spot a rare flower I wanted for my greenhouse. The Terris are always looking for rare flowers.

For example, yesterday, we had a bunch of what I call bird people come to visit us in study hall. I guess someone from one animal grouping is able to pick out someone with a similar leaning. The bird people seemed think that my friend Grem was a bird person, too. So now, he has been separated from us for some of his class time and he goes off to visualize being birdlike. He'll meet with them, narrow down his choices until he finds the perfect Lumenta to become.

But of course, I can't get through anything in life without standing out. So what is my new issue, you wonder? They can't find an animal group for me. That's right, they've paraded people in and out to look at me like an exhibit. They pull out books for me to look through, animals I've never seen before. For now, I'm not the only one. There are a few— who haven't figured out what animal they will call their Lumenta.

I have a secret, though. I'm never going to have a Lumenta, because I was never meant to be Terris. The Divinaris chose me by accident, and that's why they can't figure out where I belong.

I hope you're finding your place better than I am.

-Luka

PS- May, when you read this, please remember that you will forever be in my heart. It is agony, living every day without seeing you. I'm waiting for the season's end and hoping you will choose to be with me.

~~~~~

Luka folded the letter and sealed it with the writing materials he'd been given. Then, checking to make sure no one was in the room with him, he placed a palm on the envelope and recited the words of the spell that Joah had taught him. He wasn't sure how well it would work, but took heart in the fact that it glowed silver, as Joah had mentioned it would, before fading out.

His letter had made the issues he was facing here in the tribe seem simplistic. While it was true that they'd had problems placing Initiates into their respective animal houses before now, no one had been like him—there were no single elements to draw from to help narrow down his search. They'd shown him birds of every type, furry animals, hoofed animals, water dwellers, bugs, everything they could think of.

Joah, while still having no animal to focus his new magic on, was at least labeled with an animal group. Another week and Duor Hama was sure they'd be able to find his Lumenta. Luka was at the point where he was questioning what good a Lumenta was, anyway.

“Your Lumenta will be the key to your Induction into this tribe, Luka, you
must
take it more seriously,” warned Duor Hama, in what seemed to Luka was his most annoying tone of sternness.

“I
am
taking it seriously, but for some reason, none of you seem able to help me,” he said.

“Hama, Luka, let's all remain calm,” said Duor Etho. She laid her hand over Luka's, and looked at him with her large doe eyes. “Remember, you were chosen to become part of this tribe by Iam for a reason. We will find your Lumenta, but we all know, it could take some time.”

Luka wanted to argue, but he knew that it would only hurt her to tell her what he suspected; he was never meant to be a part of the Terris.

“Who is it from, Zyander? Aren't you going to read it?” Alys was squirming with excitement and curiosity. Zyander couldn't blame him, neither of them had ever seen anything similar to this before.
What a morning this has been,
he thought,
first the dream with the talking fox, then a message that falls from the sky and into my lap.

He opened the letter.

You ran from me,
the letter began.
You ran from me like a coward, Zyander. Instead of feeling the hope that I did, that there were no longer any boundaries between us, you took one look at my purple robe and dashed away from me like someone was going to chase you down and kill you if you stayed.

You silly man. If you had only stayed long enough to talk to me, if you had only made an effort to search out my feelings, I think you would have been happy. Unlike you, I have hope for us. I think, now that I'm Compis, we should see if we are compatible. Maybe we do have a chance for a future. If need be and we do find we want to pursue a relationship, I can join the Ignis, and help you figure out a way to save your tribe.

You are a good person, kind and gentle, though I admit, it's hard to see buried beneath all the bitterness you feel. I am a good person too, worthy enough for any man to desire, whether I am Compis or not.

So please, Zyander, don't run any more. Where are you going to go, anyway? Past the outer edges of the Five Tribes? We're going to meet sooner or later, I'm going to be living in your house. It would all be so much easier if you didn't make me chase you down.

Promise you'll meet me at the next gathering, when the Initiates come together at the close of the season. We have much to discuss.

Yours, if you want me,

Nikka

Zyander groaned, hating himself for his watery eyes and his aching heart. He was in deep regret over leaving his home behind in such haste. He had no idea if he would be back in time for the next gathering, but if he didn't make it, she would think he didn't want to see her. She would assume the worst, and he couldn't do anything about it. He wouldn't have access to mail drops in the forest or Abira. Even if he did, it would be inadvisable for him to alert the other tribes of their communication.

Which made him think of something else—what was she
thinking
sending him a letter, when everyone in the world was watching each step that she made and most likely every word that she wrote? Didn't she have any idea the danger she could put them in, politically? The last thing he wanted was for his father's words to become true. He didn't want the other tribes to punish
his
tribe because he and Nikka had formed an attachment before her Initiation.

“Zyan?” asked Alys, and Zyander came out of his inner world.

“It's from Nikka. I-it's a personal letter,” he explained.

“I thought you two said your good-byes back at the gathering?” said Alys.

“We did,” he said, thinking of how he'd held her close in the dark, without speaking. “It wasn't enough for her, apparently. This was ill-advised. Now everyone in the Five Tribes knows that she sent me a letter.”

“I don't know about that,” said Alys, as he cleaned up the remnants of breakfast. “The nearest mail drop that I know of would be in the ruins we left behind days ago. If she was going to send you a letter through normal channels, isn't that where it would have ended up? Instead, this one came right to you, almost as though she sent it herself somehow. Maybe it's a power she has as the Compis.”

Zyander considered his words and in the end, let them stand. He helped Alys pack up the tent, mulling over both the letter and his dream. Since there was nothing else to be done about Nikka, he decided that the fox from his dream was the item he needed to place importance on. He wondered what the dream meant, since there was no possibility it could be taken literally.

First of all, the forest was empty, not a single bit of magic survived the great sickness. Any animals that might have remained were like the Phasma now—empty of magic. They were made to live a banal existence gathering food, hunting prey, defecating on the leaf-covered forest floor.

Second of all, supposing any magic had survived, it wouldn't matter to him, because he was insignificant to the world that had been normal for his tribe so many years ago. There were stories and legends about how his tribe had fostered many of the magical creatures that lived in Napalin—protecting the weak, and matching wits against the strong. No creatures would seek him out, they would ignore him; he was not interesting to anything dwelling in Napalin these days.

It seemed true, for as they rode through the forest, though they could hear birds chattering, the only other sounds were the crackle and crunch of the leaves and assorted brush on the ground beneath the pounding hooves. Zyander was enjoying the ride. It was peaceful, to leave behind the cares of the tribe and the daily frustration of trying to get the most simple of the tribe's spells to work for him. His body swayed with the movement of the horses and he and Alys traded jokes and stories while they traveled.

All the time, he wondered to himself, what was waiting for them at Abira. Would it hold the answers to his questions? Would he figure out a way to bring back the magic that his tribe had lost? He didn't know, but he hoped his journey would not be in vain.

The crisp ocean wind pulled at her hair, while the spray the boat kicked up splattered her face. It might be annoying to some, but to Nikka it was a glorious feeling—she felt at home on the sea.

“I can't believe you're not sea sick,” said Jerem, impressed. Luba looked less so. Nikka had learned in a very short time, that no matter what plans Jilli might have for her, Luba had staked her claim on Jerem and with the occasional glare at Nikka when Jerem wasn't looking, she let her claim be known.

Jerem couldn't be faulted if he did find Luba more fascinating than Nikka. She was a lovely girl—tall and slender with light green hair that fell in curls down her back. Like the other Aquis she had high cheekbones and slanted eyes, but where Jilli's and Jerem's eyes were dark green, Luba's were as blue as the cold morning sky.

The boat dipped and Nikka was called back from her revelry as she tried to keep her balance.

“I feel like I was born to live on the sea,” said Nikka, lifting her nose to smell the brine of the ocean. She took a deep breath and sighed in happiness.

They'd woken up at the break of dawn to go on an overnight trip. Jerem and Luba were taking her to see Minta's Island, a favorite haunt of the young and Inducted. The plan was to sail all day, eat supper on the island, spend the night, and sail back on the morrow. All in all, it was a glorious thing, compared to the boredom Nikka had suffered since the Initiates had come into town.