The Awakening (42 page)

Emmeline gasped as a beam of pure energy burst from Tamara’s finger and caught the spinning nut in its grip. The many candles in the recesses of the walls flickered in response, turning the chamber into a theater of sparkling lights. The polished amber of the walls seemed to come alive, its natural beauty enhanced by the display. The Sisters sat stock still, staring at the spectacle before them. A vibration rippled throughout the room, and a low, humming sound could plainly be heard. Within seconds, the shell cracked open and a pale silver seed fell upon the table. Without knowing why, Tamara picked up the seed and held it up before her.

“What I thought was our new purpose when I first returned to the Tower has now become merely a secondary one,” she said, mesmerized by her revelation. “We shall all learn the art of magic, the propensity for which lies dormant within each and every one of us, and the Tower itself shall henceforth be a school for those who have the talent,” she said to the others. “But, first and foremost, we shall be the guardians of a new tree,” she declared jubilantly.

Emmeline looked at Tamara with surprise. The Sister had not mentioned this to her during their conversation, and the news was wonderful beyond belief. She was totally taken aback by the disclosure. The other maidens of Parth reacted in similar ways. Even Bethany, her stoic expression so much a part of her personality, was smiling from ear to ear. They had so many questions for Tamara, that as soon as Gretchen broke the ice and asked where they should plant this marvelous seed, the floodgates broke, and all at the same time, the members of this normally sedate and quiescent group began to speak as if each woman was the only one in the chamber.

Emmeline lurched up and pounded her fist upon the wooden table.

“Sisters. Sisters. We must have order here or no one will ever be able to hear anything,” she exclaimed.

They were all so excited that they had barely realized how loud they had become, and it took another few moments before the room no longer echoed with the animated voices of the Sisters. Emmeline had remained standing, clearly waiting for an opportunity to speak. When a tentative calm had once again settled upon the group, she first looked at Tamara to make certain that she did not wish to reveal anything more at the moment. Tamara nodded to her, acknowledging that she had said all she needed to for now, and feeling somewhat tired and drained, she looked forward to Emmeline taking the floor.

“This is a wondrous day indeed,” she began, and she pulled her cloak around her shoulders thus displaying the sigil of Parth proudly. “We have been blessed with the safe return of dear Tamara,” she said, dipping her head in the other woman’s direction. “And now we learn that as we relinquish our most precious relic, we are charged with two new, and no less important duties.” Turning once more to Tamara, Emmeline spoke with the utmost sincerity. “We are so grateful to you Sister, for your endeavors. You have brought back to us at least as much as you will take with you when you depart.”

“You are a most blessed Sister,” Dahlia said, grinning from ear to ear. “I had felt lost and abandoned, but now I am found once more.”

“It is a new dawn for the Tower,” Rose said seriously. “I am faint for the thought.”

“What a challenge. We shall all rise to the occasion. I cannot wait,” Jocasta pounded her fist into her palm.

“Magic? What if we cannot control it? It seems so dangerous,” Sevilla blushed.

“When do we begin? Who will instruct us?” Rella asked.

“What about the seed? Must we not put it into the ground soon?” Violet inquired.

“Sisters. Sisters,” Gretchen called for order. “We all have questions to ask, but I do not know if Tamara can answer every one of them for us. I suspect that we will need to learn some of these things for ourselves,” she said, glancing at Tamara’s pale countenance. “But Sister, since you will be leaving with the dawn, is there anything else you wish to inform us of now? We will not have another opportunity to meet like this,” Gretchen observed in her ever pragmatic way.

“I have nothing more to reveal, Sister, and I am truly feeling a bit weary presently. Regardless, I am not the one to answer all the questions the Sisters are posing,” she replied to Gretchen. “I truly know no more about what we have just discussed than any of you do,” she said, addressing the group now. “I have my inclinations and feelings, and if you all concur, then we should consider them. I would like to see the seed planted as soon as possible as well, but it may be more prudent to delay the planting for a while after I leave,” she said, and a number of the maidens began to shake their heads in opposition, wishing Tamara to be present for this auspicious event.

“It seems the right thing to do, and I cannot tell you why exactly. I will feel better when the silver seed is placed safely into the soft soil of Parth, but only after I am gone. The birth of a new tree will not go unnoticed by those who will welcome such a moment, but neither by those who will despise such a development. I would prefer being far away with the map before any attention is drawn to the Tower,” Tamara remarked, and the others then all understood her trepidation and concurred with her opinion. “As far as learning about your talents; I can only advise you to do so very carefully. Do not leap headlong into the unknown. You will need to structure your own guidelines when I am gone, and to create your own rules in this regard. You are at an advantage here, for I stumbled upon my abilities unwittingly, with neither time to hone them nor even to understand what was happening. I will need to learn about myself as I travel, as will Angeline,” Tamara nodded to the blonde haired maiden across the table from her. “I trust that you will all create the rubric that best befits this endeavor, within which you can all thrive in your pursuits. After all, Sisters, this daunting task suits the aptitudes of the Tower so very well,” she concluded proudly.

The moon had slowly risen in the sky as night fell over Parth, and by the time Tamara had ended her discourse, its welcome light bathed the table from one end to the other. Gretchen stood up and called for quiet once again, for in their excitement, virtually all the Sisters had begun to talk, either to one another, or simply to themselves.

“We have so little time left with our Sister here,” she said, pointing to Tamara. “Perhaps we should allow her to prepare for her journey?” she asked, reminding them all of the task that she would soon be confronting. “Violet? Dahlia? Would you two see to the provisions?” she asked. Turning to Tamara, she continued. “How many days do you think you will be gone?”

“I am not certain, Sister. But we will need to take with us as much as we possibly can carry. It will not be a short journey,” she replied, revealing as little as she could.

“We will gladly make the preparations,” Violet responded, signaling to Dahlia to join her in the kitchens as she spoke.

“Hector will need to be groomed and re-shod,” Gretchen commented. “If he is to carry you without injury, he too must be readied.”

“I will take care of that,” Sevilla stated timidly, her head bowed and shrouded.

“Is there anything else we can do for you Sister, to ease you on your travels?” Gretchen inquired.

“Pray for us, my friends. That is all,” she said solemnly.

“You will be in our hearts every moment of every day that you are gone,” Emmeline replied.

Bethany cleared her throat, and it was obvious to the entire group that she had something to say. When she gained the attention of the Sisters, she stood up slowly.

“You have given us purpose once again Sister, and what you have told us will immeasurably ease the blow to the Tower when you depart with the map. Your achievement is beyond measure,” she bowed her head to Tamara.

Tamara’’s white cheeks reddened, unaccustomed to such praise from this, the eldest and most serious Sister in the Tower.

“The meaning of the words written in the Tomes seems always to become clear with time,” she continued as she slid the heavy book forward and opened it near to the passage she read earlier. “But there is one section I would like to read this evening.”

Bethany bent over and leaned her face close to the ancient text.

“‘What was will ne’er be so again.

Yesterday; a faded and forgotten old friend.

We cannot capture the moment,

it slips so easily away,

We cannot touch tomorrow,

Until it becomes today.

Yet, a hope can inspire…

a reason to live on.

Some kindling for the fire

of a blazing new dawn.

If the Tower should cut

what threads remain fast,

and accept that its present

has given way to the past,

Then it can assemble

the Chosen at last,

for the magic is already stirring.

What was once the meaning,

is no longer; alas,

That ship is adrift,

forlorn and downcast,

But a new day is coming,

its warriors amassed,

And the magic is steadily growing.”

Bethany closed the cover of the volume and placed her folded hands protectively on top of it. The Sisters all remained silent for a while, thinking about the words they had just heard. Emmeline was the first to speak, and she did so guardedly.

“There is much hope for us in these words, Sister,” she addressed Bethany. “I do not fear the mention of magic now, as I had before tonight,” she said.

“Yea, neither do I,” Gretchen concurred. “We have much to be grateful for in these changing times.”

“So much of what Oleander told me coincides with that passage,” Tamara said. “But, I wonder,” she continued with a worried expression upon her face. “Are Angeline and I doomed to sail upon that ship which is ‘adrift’? Are we destined to wander into the future, ‘forlorn and downcast’?” she asked with her eyes now open wide as she stared quizzically at the friends she would soon be leaving.

“This passage is not referring to people,” Bethany replied, as if the question was merely a scholarly one and not one rife with emotion. “It is the map which we are abandoning, not you two,” she continued. “It is the ‘ship of meaning’ that is cast adrift, our commitment to the scroll. Where you take it, we will never know. So from that perspective, we symbolically cut the thread that bound it to us the moment we agreed to allow you to depart from here with it in your possession,” she explained pedantically. “Furthermore, we have been so sad of late, thinking that Parth had ceased to be relevant. Were we not forlorn, Sisters?” she asked, though no answer was necessary.

“Bethany’s analysis makes sense, as usual,” Gretchen declared. “There is no cause for you to feel estranged from what we will be attempting in your absence,” she said to both Tamara and Angeline. “After all Tamara, you discovered your talent before any of us even thought about the possibility. Even after you leave here tomorrow, you will share in the development of our strength,” she reassured them. “What we ‘assemble’ here in Parth, will be present still when you return, Sister,” Gretchen said hopefully.

“Do not be sad, Sister,” Emmeline spoke. “I have tremendous confidence in you. You would never allow yourself to be overwhelmed by negative emotions. You are not so constituted,” she said with conviction. “It is your very strength that deemed you so suitable for this task, and I am certain that Oleander recognized that as well. The Lalas do not entrust their matters to people who are weak of heart.”

“And, they do not send good souls on journeys that they cannot return from,” Gretchen added.

“The fabric weaves of its own will,” Tamara proclaimed. “I was foolish to allow these thoughts to surface,” she said, feigning a smile. “I am sure you are all correct. Regardless, we shall depart with the sun, so I shall waste no more time or energy upon a subject that no one can resolve now to begin with,” she said. “I think though, that it would be prudent for me to rest somewhat before the dawn overtakes us.”

“It has been a long and arduous day for us all, and for you most of all, Sister,” Emmeline said to Tamara. “Let us not keep you any longer. We will prepare what you will require whilst you sleep. Has Hector been properly stabled for the night?” she asked Angeline.

“Yes, Sister. He was quite comfortable when I left him,” she replied.

“Good. You will have ample provisions Tamara, yet they will not be a burden. You shall not lack the things you need, if we can help it,” Emmeline said fondly.

“I thank you all, Sisters,” Tamara said, and she pushed her chair out from behind her and stood up. “But right now, if I do not get some sleep I fear that I will be useless on the morrow. I bid you all good night.”

After she left the chamber, the other Sisters filed out slowly. They were each to a one contemplative and quiet, having so much to think about after all these revelations. Gretchen laid her hand on Emmeline’s arm as the last of the others departed down the narrow, winding stairway.

“Stay with me for a moment, Sister,” she whispered.

When the others were all out of earshot, she looked at her old friend. “The words were hopeful for us, but I agree with Tamara. I am concerned that she is heading into the storm,” she said. “I have a great foreboding about this,” she said, as a shiver ran down her spine.

“If so Sister, then it is necessary,” Emmeline said seriously. “I will not believe that Oleander would instruct her to do something that had no possibility of success. We must trust that the Lalas knows what must be done, and that he chose wisely when he enlisted our dear Sister.”

“Where do you think she will go?” Gretchen asked.

“I do not know, Sister,” Emmeline replied honestly. “She could not tell me for many reasons and I did not push her in that regard.”

“May the First guide her and keep her,” Gretchen said solemnly. “I have a strong premonition that her journey will not be uncomplicated.”

“As do I. But let us pray that she remains steadfast and true, and may the Gem of Eternity illuminate her path back to us when she completes her task,” Emmeline rejoined as they left the chamber.