The Sage Seed Chronicles: The Unraveling (17 page)

The three sages and Tempo made their way out
of the city. It was very late afternoon. As they emerged they saw
an occasional person with a shaved head hurrying away. Kennet had
parked the supply wagon next to the stable. He and the guard detail
were camped there. Gyan stopped to check with Bast concerning the
tone of the city and the progress of the tattooing. “Twenty-one
shaved heads. At the last inspection there were eighteen tattooed.
Yerra’s security is going to hold Stev, Oban, Stel and Dryr
overnight in the city cellar. The citizens seem relieved for the
most part. The tension has lessened and they are awaiting the
public announcement. It has been scheduled for late morning.”

Gyan nodded. “Good. We are off to see Char.”
As they walked away three of Gyan’s men followed.

It wasn’t far and soon they were in front of
Char’s shop. When they entered the bell tinkled above the door and
Kaas came out of the back room. He gave a big grin when he saw
them. “Char! Sniff! Terk! Our friends are here!” He took the next
steps quickly and stretched out his uninjured right arm to shake
their hands.

“How are you doing lad?” asked Gyan.

“Oh, I’m fine. They strapped my left arm to
my chest to support it for the first few hours of being sore. The
salve they used is a little smelly but soothes and I have a couple
of stitches on my forehead”. He carefully pushed back the fringe of
hair that was covering his forehead to show them. “It could have
been a lot worse!”

“Yes, I agree with Kaas!” exclaimed Char as
he came out of the back room. He shook Gyan’s hand vigorously then
slapped him on his arm. “Your timing was incredible, Gyan!”

“Thank Erin for that. She sensed the trouble
brewing and lit out at a gallop. We just tried to keep up.” replied
Gyan with a smile.

Char walked up to Erin and putting both hands
on her shoulders said softly. “Thank you. I owe you my life.” Then
he pulled her into a big hug. Tempo made a humming sound of
approval near her feet. Terk was grinning from the doorway into the
wood shop. Sniff was standing on the big man’s shoulder.

Erin turned to Gyan, “This is Terk. Holm, the
jeweler, and only surviving victim of Bure’s gang, is his uncle. He
has been a wonderfully discreet guard to all of us since our stop
in Sherroton and was with us when Bure was caught.”

Gyan gave the ex-logger a nod. “Thank you.”
Terk returned the respectful gesture. “You have my service anytime.
I’m your man.”

Char walked over to his front door and put
the closed sign up. “Come on upstairs. We need to talk I’m
sure.”

They all climbed the stairs to the second
floor living area, chose chairs and sat around the table in the
cheerfully warm kitchen. Terk put mugs on the table and brought the
steaming kettle to the table for people to serve themselves. Gyan
reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of tigereye
with a celtic symbol carved on it. He handed it over to Char. “This
is for you. Drune, Erin and I combed through the archives in Aerie.
The ancients left us some information for what to do in times like
these. This piece is yours as long as our planet in in this
unsettled state.”

Gyan turned to Terk and Kaas. “You may have
figured out pieces of what we are next to discuss, but it is
critical that you do not share the information with anyone. I must
have your word on this.” Terk and Kaas, in turn, gave their solemn
promise to keep the information to themselves. “The Ancients found
our world to be very active tectonically and meteorologically, to
the point that the planet could not sustain human life. Somehow
certain people with specific energies in their bodies could
stabilize the planet and make it habitable. They named these
people, Sages. There needed to be about fifteen or sixteen of them
in the realm to balance the planet and make it livable. Because of
Bure and his kin we are down to nine living sages.” Terk groaned
and Kaas let out a gasp. “The storms and quakes are a direct result
of that carnage. Ose, our planet, is destabilizing! Erin, Drune and
I have been pouring through the archives in Aerie. The problem has
never come up before but the ancients, in their infinite wisdom,
provided a solution. That is what we are doing on our trip through
the realm. We are setting things in motion to stabilize our world.
There is further research going on back in Aerie. We have a time
crunch but I, as yet, don’t know how tight it is. We have a lot to
do.”

Kaas spoke up. “Great One, how are you going
to replace sages? I imagine that takes years. Our world can shake
apart by then!”

“Very succinct reasoning, Kaas. A sage is
born every two or three generations. No we don’t have that time to
make up the difference we need in our normal fashion. It would take
centuries. The reason I am telling you this is because part of what
the ancients left in the archives for us to find is what to do to
increase the number of sages.” The three Yerra citizens sat up and
were glued to Gyan’s words.

“There are a few latent sages. That is to
say, there are individuals who carry an inactive sage seed. It is
our job, with the aid of special ancient pendants, to locate them.
The rest of us sages were born with the seed active. It matures
over time and certain abilities emerge in the late teen or early
twenties. We live very ordinary lives, are part of guilds, love,
marry and have children. Other than the special skills, the only
difference between sages and everybody else is that once our
talents start to develop our aging slows down. We live long lives.
This is how we can have a stable planet with only fifteen or
sixteen of us!” He stopped and gave Terk and Kaas a level look.

“Those are the few differences and those of
us who are sages were born this way. No one asked us if we wanted
to be a sage, we just are. The difference now, is that the latent
sage has a choice. They can opt to remain a latent sage, live a
life of eight or nine decades and not have the unique abilities
that come with the package. The alternative is that their sage seed
can be activated. Then they will be part of the special bond with
our very world and will live a much longer life, discreetly. It
gives us years to perfect our crafts and to learn many new skills.”
He paused and said softly, “Part of the burden of being a sage is
that because our life is extended we lose many friends and loved
ones to death. Grief is a repeated companion. It is a hard thought,
yet there isn’t one sage that I know that isn’t willing to make
friends or to appreciate people.” The room was quiet as Gyan’s
words fell around them all.

Terk spoke up. “Great One, your words are
full of careful consideration. Have you ever regretted being a
sage?” Gyan shrugged. “Terk, do you regret being tall or having
brown eyes? It is what I am. We all hurt deeply when a loved one
dies and sometimes wish we could have died with them. Like I said,
the only difference is the longevity, the unique and subtle
abilities and our very necessary and special bond with our planet.”
Kaas had been mulling over what Gyan had said. “Do you know how
many latent sages are out here in the realm? If one, or several,
would choose to remain latent,that could jeopardize your quest to
repair the realm!”

“You are correct lad, and we don’t know how
many there are, but don’t you think it is only fair that they have
the choice? If we just activated them, mightn’t they be mad about
our making such a life changing decision for them?”

“I suppose, but you are taking quite a
risk!”

“There is a term in the realm, ‘Timeless
Ones’. Have you heard it? The phenomenon is usually noticeable with
our first sixty years. Our parents and childhood friends age at a
normal rate and we seem to be forever young. Once we can move away
from our original area it is less obvious. Still, it is a life
change and those who have a choice need to think hard about it. The
problem is that they also need to think fast because we don’t have
time for long considerations.”

“Kaas, you are a latent sage. You have a
decision to make. We need to know by tomorrow morning. If you have
any questions you can ask Char, Drune, Erin or myself. We are all
born sages. Terk, this is a dangerous time. I would ask you to
please continue to protect Char and Kaas as you would the realm
itself.”

Terk gave Gyan a bow with his head. “You have
my absolute loyalty. I will honor the ancient’s plan and guard the
realm and them.”

Kaas looked a little dazed with all of the
information and was very quiet. Char spoke up. “If you want to be
under a roof for the night, you are welcome under mine. Supper will
be is an hour.”

Erin spoke up, “There are some things I want
to do in the city. I will return in that time. Thank you for your
hospitality, Char. Is it possible for Tempo to remain here? I am
not sure about his safety here yet.”

The woodworker nodded. “That is no problem.”
Drune and Terk left the room in convivial conversation about their
respective crafts and Erin left the shop for the city.

She swung by the Great One’s camp to grab her
pack then entered the city’s inner court yard. Most people were
heading home for the day but she found the city laundry still
bustling. Entering the business she asked if they could clean some
clothes for her and have them ready by noon tomorrow.

They woman gave her a cheerful smile. “We
work in shifts until late in the evening. It may be possible to
have them done tonight.”

Erin gratefully handed the clothes to her.
“Are the city geothermal baths still open?”

“They will be for another couple of hours,
though I imagine they are not very busy right now. They are just at
the end of this lane. It makes sense that the laundry and the baths
are close together. Not only for the venting of the moisture but
for the ease getting clean from the skin out in one spot.” She gave
a big laugh. “So if you have a change of clothes, bring me back
what you have on now after your bath. You came in with the Great
One’s party, didn’t you? We are working on clothes from your group
right now. By the way, that was great timing! I am so thankful that
those idiots were stopped and that Char is alright. You run along
now and get clean.”

Forty-five minutes later, Erin was dressed in
her plum shirt and vest and grey trousers and felt lighter by
several ounces of trail dust. Washing in the warm water was
blissful! She left her soiled clothes with the cheerful laundress
and headed back toward Char’s shop. As she stepped out of the
founder city she saw Kaas waiting for her. She greeted him with a
smile and a friendly pat on his good shoulder.

“How’s the thinking going?” She asked but was
positive that he wasn’t frightened. All she could sense was
curiosity. “I have talked to the other three. I understand that you
are currently the youngest.” He gave her a smile and his eye
twinkled with merriment. “How long have you had your
abilities?”

Erin could see that he was being careful with
his phrasing as they were walking in public and could be overheard.
“About two months. Now mind you, they have been a very full two
months and I have had to learn under some dangerous situations.
Sort of like tempering steel with heat makes it stronger, I
guess.”

His eyes were big with the short amount of
time she had had to learn. “Should you choose to accept the
challenge you wouldn’t have to learn the way I did. It would come
to you at it’s own pace.”

He looked at her thoughtfully. “You never
apprenticed in a guild but you know how it is. I left my parent’s
home two years ago to learn my trade from Char. Though I am not an
adult, I will be considered one when I have completed my training
and turn seventeen in two years time. I have been making my own
decisions for awhile and have been weighing off everything that has
been said today. Should I choose to join nothing will change in my
life right away, anyway. It’s a big decision. You didn’t have a
choice. Does that bother you?”

Erin tousled his hair. “Gyan said it already.
It’s what I am. By the time I had a label to put on it, it didn’t
matter. It’s a part of me.” She shrugged. They continued the walk
in silence and arrived just as Terk and Drune were putting the food
on the table.

Gyan noticed Erin had bathed and was wearing
clean clothes. He smiled and asked her if she knew when the baths
closed for the night. She relayed the information and added, “There
are several of your detail that have have been there, as well as to
the laundry.” He chuckled. “Well, perhaps after supper is over
Drune and I will wash some road dust off.” They all sat down to
eat. The conversation was companionable and light hearted. Terk was
interested in all of the carvings around Aerie. “This young man has
the makings of a master carver. He has been doing very good work!
Young Kaas is better at joinery and construction than Terk but he
has been working at the trade longer. Terk came from logging. They
make a good team and are excellent apprentices.” said Char.

After dinner, Gyan, Drune and a few security
men returned to the city. Char, Kaas and Erin played a marble game
called triad. Kaas asked Char about his talents. “Nothing special,
lad. I can get information by touching someone. There are times
when I do that, that I can see distant objects or events and I have
fairly accurate hunches. Sniff and I can talk in our heads but I
can’t with anyone else.”

Kaas looked at Erin. “How about you,
Erin?”

“Well, I can communicate with birds and
animals and read people’s emotions. Like Char, when I am hearing
loud emotions I can sometimes see what’s happening with the person.
I, too, have fair intuition. You see, Kaas, each of us has two or
more skills and they range in strength. My strongest are empathy
and telepathy. I’m new at this. Perhaps my skills will increase in
strength, perhaps not.” She arched her eyebrow. “Whatever will be,
will be.”