Into the West

Yelo looked at her teacher, who leaned over an ancient scroll beside her. Her athletic body and short, dark hair, combed back from her forehead, belied her age of four hundred and twenty-five winters. She was the oldest trekah on Otheiá and, in Yelo's opinion, the wisest. Her trekah-like dark red eyes gave her an aura of power and wisdom.

She had once been the librarian of Vanders, a school where the suvris had been trained more than a thousand winters ago. Now it had become a place of learning for the children of the rich and powerful. Yero had studied there too. But she had had to work hard for her education and lodging. It had been Sahwera who had taught Yelo the power of the elements and the language of the elendeari. She had trained Yelo as a priestess and given her the knowledge she needed.

Sahwera had spread out the scroll on the only desk in the royal library. The rectangular table stood alone in front of one of the large windows, and the empty wooden shelves in the room and on the walls showed that the library had seen better days. At least the books had been salvaged from the cellar vaults with the help of the palace guard. Thousands of books lay in huge piles on the floor, waiting to be sorted and shelved.

It was only thanks to Sfrela's painstaking research that they were even looking at the right scroll. As the keeper of knowledge, Sfrela had served the royal house of Lynark for many generations.

Yelo had also studied with her for several moons. While she was still in Vanders, Yelo had found diplomacy and politics boring. In her eyes, these subjects had no practical use and no connection to reality. Try as she might, she couldn't see the need for it. But Sfrela had put everything into context. She had linked the knowledge to the current situation, and Yelo had suddenly understood what it would take to bring peace back to Otheiá. It was with regret that she had said goodbye to the wise woman.

And now they stood in front of the table for what seemed like an eternity, getting nowhere. The two smartest women Yelo knew could not decipher the signs on a half-decayed scroll. Even Yelo had trouble following the faded characters. Again and again she traced the faint outlines with her index finger, but they suddenly stopped in the middle. Yelo was frustrated. The characters could mean anything from a simple recipe to instructions for building a catapult.

"Nobody can read this!" groaned Siena, who paced impatiently behind them, saying what Yelo was secretly thinking.

"You've been staring at that scrap of parchment for what seems like an eternity. Are you even sure it's the right scroll?"

"I can't tell yet," Yelo murmured. "Some of the writing is so faded that I can only guess. And I can't make out the drawing here. It could be the outline of a ship, but it could also be a wall. Hm."

Yelo picked up the yellowed scroll and held it so that as much light as possible fell on the parchment.

"It's definitely the right one. The reference in the third volume of 'Crafts in Otheiá' was clear."

Sfrela, unlike the others, was certain.

"The one you forgot to return to Vanders?" Siena asked.

"Forgotten?" Sahwera snapped. "For a hundred and ninety-five winters? That's more than one hundred and eighty winters too many! The maximum loan period is–"

"Fifteen winters, I know," Sfrela interrupted her master with a gentle smile. "Please, Sahwera, let's not go through all that again. At least we found the book, even if it wasn't where we thought it would be."

"You could say that," Sahwera agreed. "We should be glad they didn't just burn down the palace library. But the two winters in the catacombs have not done the books and scrolls any good either."

"It is a mystery to me why they threw the books into the dungeon. Setting them on fire would have been an easier solution, don't you think?" Yelo wondered.

"I guess they didn't dare. The mercenaries probably didn't want to make a mistake and left the decision to Lokastron," Siena said. "I know this from my people. When they found loot and didn't know if it was valuable or not, they took it all. I decided then. Most of the mercenaries probably couldn't even read. So how were they supposed to know what kind of treasures were hidden in the library of the palace?"

"Either way, we're lucky to have found the book in the pile and discovered the reference to this scroll," said Sfrela.

"Yes, if only we could decipher it!"

Yelo was frustrated.

"If we could really manage to recharge the magic of the airship, we would be able to get from one place to the other much more quickly!"

"That would be a real advantage in the upcoming 

battle against Wramgar," Brâertha added, leaning against the wall and waiting.

"And who's going to fly it? You?" Siena asked. "Is there anything in the scriptures about how to fly an airship?"

"As for commanding the ship, I have just the right person," Yelo said. "Tara, the former captain. She would be overjoyed to be reunited with her 'old girl'."

"What is it with these names they give to ships?" Siena wondered.

"Children, we are digressing. Please concentrate. We don't have much time before the deliberations begin," Sahwera warned.

"But how can we work faster if this scroll doesn't give us anything!" Yelo exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air while still holding the parchment. "If our hopes are pinned on this scrap of paper, then I don't think-"

"Hold it!" Siena shouted, suddenly excited. "Don't move, Yelo! Do you see this too?"

Siena looked questioningly into the faces of the others.

"What is it?" Yelo wondered with a raised arm.

"We need more light," Siena said to Yelo, who then began to slowly turn on her axis towards the window.

"Stop! That's enough! Just stand still."

"Well, I can't see anything," Sfrela murmured.

"That's because you're not looking carefully!" Sahwera scolded her.

"Oh yeah? Do you see anything?"

"No, not yet, but I'm sure I will..."

"There, in the light!" Brâertha interrupted the banter between the two trekah. "There it is!"

"What is there?" Yelo asked impatiently, starting to lower her arm.

"Don't move!" Siena cried, pushing Yelo's arm with the scroll back up. Then she turned to the two trekah.

"Come here and face the light. Do you see the brighter lines? They lie above the visible writing!"

Both Sahwera and Sfrela stood beside Siena, examining the parchment as it was illuminated by the incoming sunlight. Then Sahwera began to smile.

"The brighter lines complement the visible writing."

"And look at the drawing! This work is truly extraordinary!" Sfrela agreed.

"I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm, but could you read a little faster? My arm's starting to hurt," Yelo remarked.

"I've got an idea!" Brâertha exclaimed, storming out of the library.

"Where is she going?" Siena asked. But she didn't get an answer. The two trekah studied the scroll intently, while Yelo shifted from one leg to the other, twisting

her torso in an attempt to loosen her shoulders.

"Stop fidgeting," Sahwera admonished. "I've started the sentence for the third time."

"I really hope your mother works fast. I can't feel my arm any longer!" Yelo muttered to Siena, who shrugged and grinned at her.

"Well, if my-"

"Here, this should do it," Brâertha said, bringing in a large wooden frame.

"It's our old easel. I remember how Master Falerius tried to teach Brâer and me the joy of painting. For exactly one summer, then Father took pity on us."

"Compassion for poor Falerius, rather," Sfrela countered. "If I remember correctly, you played many pranks on the poor man. Wasn't there something about wood glue in the paintbrush jar?"

"Yes, that's right!" laughed Brâertha. "I'd almost forgotten!"

She set up the rectangular easel in front of the window and together with Yelo, who was incredibly happy to lower her arms, they hung the scroll so that the light shone through.

"Now I see what you mean," Yelo said after studying the parchment for a while.

"Am I to understand that this ritual is some kind of 'Thar'wat kaa neâ – Awakening of the Goddess'?"

"Yes, that's how I would interpret it," Sahwera agreed. "The wood used to build the ship is part of Otheiá, as are all of us. But as a suvris, you are able to make this special connection with Jolah and the wood... well, to restore the memory of creation."

"So you're recharging the magic?" Siena asked.

"Yes, that's what I understand," Yelo replied. "But I can't find any instructions on how to do it."

"The Thar'wat kaa neâ, Yelo, it's not something you do," Sfrela said. "It is a state of complete devotion, a kind of union with the Goddess and the land."

"I would imagine that you would need to channel the love you feel for Jolah and her creation into the ship," Sahwera continued.

"Siena, do you remember when Yelo had her Thar'wat kaa neâ?" Sfrela asked. "We were both so blinded we had to close our eyes. And I think that light is what the wood needs to absorb."

"Then let's get started, Yelo," Siena urged.

"I don't think it's going to work like this."

Brâertha pointed to the drawing of someone standing at the bow of the ship, surrounded by a bright glow.

Yelo looked from one to the other, then took a deep breath and nodded. 

"Right, let's go to Fýnôn."