Child of Releeshahn
Chapter Five
Anna found herself standing in a lush meadow that smelled strongly of fragrant wildflowers. It seemed to stretch on for miles in a colourful carpet across gently sloping hills as she looked around. But, she thought, confused, there was a village and a forest. Certainly, no meadow like this.
"Where am I?" she demanded aloud. "Why is this not what I saw in the Descriptive Book?"
A head popped out of the tall grass. The black head of a girl that was soon followed by a tall, lank body dressed in typical D'ni attire. It was Yeesha. "We're in R'Kahgeh."
"Yeesha!" Anna cried excitedly as she ran and embraced her cousin. "So, you did come here."
"Were you sent to take me back?" The girl's big brown eyes were full of defiance.
"Most certainly not! Partially, I came to find you, but it's not exactly with your father's permission. Something tells me that that friend of his is going to show up at some point."
"You mean Tanya? Oh, of course. My father would never dream of coming after us himself." She turned away with a sly smile and began to walk off. "I've been sleeping since I got here," she said changing the subject. "Something about the flowers. Don't pick them."
"I wasn't planning on it." Anna followed her cousin as they walked towards the eastern horizon. "Where are we going?"
"To find habitation. The linking panel never lies."
"It seems to have done just that in this case. By the way, how do you know the name of this Age?"
"Listen," Yeesha said, pointing up into the open air. Anna did as she was told. Soon, on the back of the wind, she could hear R'Kahgeh as if someone had just whispered it in her ear. "It's a continuous thing," Yeesha went on. "You just have to be quiet. Though, it does get annoying after a while."
Muffled shouts began to come from Atrus' pack. "There's another thing that's annoying," Anna stated with a groan.
"What is it?"
"I grabbed your father's pack thinking it would have everything I'd need. I got a little more than I wanted. We'd captured an intruder in D'ni who was trying to teach himself how to Write. I forgot he was still in here." She rummaged through the pack for the Prison book and let Boogin scramble up her arm to perch on her shoulder.
"You brought the squee?" the other girl asked, blinking. "That's right, you never go anywhere without him." She took the book as Anna handed it to her and opened to the linking panel. "He's in a treasure chamber," she said with a playful grin. "How could he possibly be so angry?" She began to make faces at the raving Messulah. He shook his fists at her and stomped his feet like an idiot.
Suddenly, there was the sound of someone linking behind them. The two spun around to come face to face with a young woman in khaki pants and an olive green shirt that came down to her waistline--the sleeves of which only reached just below her elbows. Her light brown hair fell down to her waist and her feet were contained in the most extraordinary sandals Anna had ever seen. Their soles were thick--two inches in ahrotahn measurements--and they were woven in a very intriguing pattern that she couldn't even begin to describe. She held a small sack in her hand that bulged with the shape of linking books. This had to be Tanya.
"Well," the newcomer said, seemingly shocked, "I must say that I didn't expect to find both of you, but when I saw the open linking book…I knew it's where you had vanished." She was looking at Anna when she said that. "Your uncle's worried. He told you to wait until I got back to link anywhere."
"I'm sorry, Tanya," Anna said looking down at her hands. "I just…I wanted to see this Age so badly, and I knew Uncle Atrus would never let me--even if I was with you."
"And you," it was Yeesha's turn to be scolded, "What were you thinking disappearing like that without telling anyone? You could have seriously gotten yourself hurt coming here without knowing what it was."
Yeesha's face reddened. "Please, Tanya," she said quietly, "we just want to explore this place because no one else will. Anna was sent with it by the Council on Releeshahn so that someone would discover all they could about it. My father won't--he sticks to just reading--though doing that isn't enough for this Age."
"There's not enough description," Anna put in. "And Guildmaster Oma did all the research he could. Everyone is still in the dark."
"Please don't take us back, not when we have so much exploring to do!"
"This could be another branch of the D'ni race that lives here!"
Tanya smiled and shook her head. "Oh, you two." She laughed. "Very well. I actually want to learn a little of this place myself, and I believe that Atrus is more than likely going to be permanently in my debt for all that I do for him. We'll just take this as a little payback." She walked a short distance across the crest of the hill they were standing on and became so startled that she fell over.
"Village nothing!"
"What? What is it?" The two girls came running over and were in for the surprise themselves. Beneath them, spread out like one of the mosaic floors in D'ni, was the most glorious city they had ever laid eyes on. Even Terahnee's fine capital paled in comparison.
Ivory and alabaster spires wound their graceful way up towards the bluest sky. Roofs of pewter, silver and gold shimmered in the bright sunlight. Immense statues stood everywhere, carved in the likeness of people that looked very much like the D'ni and Terahnee--the longer faces, finer features…cloaks adorned with symbols like those of the guilds.
Tanya's square face and large blue eyes gaped at the sight. Never in her life had she expected to see anything like this. Yeesha and Anna weren't nearly as impressed. Anna because she had seen many paintings of Terahnee life and Yeesha because she had seen too many wondrous places her father had linked to. They were used to seeing things like this--not on quite a grand scale, but it fazed them little beyond a few gasps.
"It's like something out of a fairy story," Tanya said in awe. "It's beautiful."
"You mean you have nothing like this where you come from?" Anna said in disbelief. There was much Terahnee blood running through her veins, and it showed.
"Of course not, Anna," Yeesha said placidly. "She comes from the same home-world as the D'ni. People there are too practical to create such wonders."
"Don't flatter us, Yeesh," Tanya said with a grin.
"Yeah," Anna said with a playful punch to Yeesha's shoulder. "So practical they don't even say your whole name." All three of them laughed as they made their way towards the city.
"Wait," Tanya said, sobering, when they were halfway down the hill. "What about the disease? You've both been to D'ni, and so have I. Remember Terahnee? We may be immune, but these people--if they're of the D'ni line like we think--we could kill them off in a matter of days."
Without warning and before the two could answer, they were what Tanya later called 'teleported' into a large room that was so luxurious it was stifling to the three travellers. A tall, slim, attractive woman who appeared to be in her early middle years slowly stood from a low backed, cushioned chair and walked over to them.
"Well," she said in a language that sounded like D'ni and Terahnee with a gaudy accent. "What have we here? Intruders who got past our barrier?" Her voice was low and husky--a seductive kind of tone--though not cruel. She gave them a sweet smile like a grandmother would as she handed her adoring grandchildren a basket of sweets.
The younger girls were afraid to answer, but Tanya, her twenty-six year old mind apparently used to events such as this, spoke up. "Where is here? What barrier?"
The woman turned to the speaker, her long red dress glittering with jewels in the light from a multitude of colourful lamps, her fiery hair glowing with a golden hue. "Your two companions know where 'here' is," she said. "We are in R'Kahgeh--the beginning and the end. The origin of all worlds. The barrier I spoke of is the meadow full of flowers. Most who end up there fall asleep for eternity."
"Actually, it was more like half an hour," Yeesha said plainly.
The woman's face displayed confusion. "You must be of our blood then…but…that is impossible. You look nothing like us." Indeed they did not. Tanya least of all. Anna had her Terahnee figure and eyes as Yeesha had the same of the D'ni with a little Rivenese mixed in. The only difference was that Yeesha had no hair on her skin. "Where do you come from?"
Anna was the first to respond. "I come from an Age called Releeshahn…my lady. It was written to give the survivors of D'ni and Terahnee a new place to start over when their civilizations fell due to--" Yeesha elbowed her in the ribs to shut her up.
"D'ni and Terahnee!" The woman's hands went to her mouth as a happy smile swept across her face. "So the books did get through!"
"What?"
"Years ago, my people sent linking books of this Age to yours in hopes that we could bring all three branches of the Tree together again. There is hope yet."
"Hope for what?" Tanya asked.
"Are you from D'ni or Terahnee?"
"I am from the same world as D'ni." Tanya chose her response wisely. If these people were anywhere near as crafty as the Terahnee had been….
The woman nodded. "Then you are familiar with my brethren?"
"Very."
The smile reappeared, displaying two rows of perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. "They must trust you. Ahrotahntee are not always respected."
"Tanya is a hero of our people," Anna said. "She has helped us on many occasions."
"Then she is welcome here. Come, you must be tired and hungry. I'll show you a place you can rest. Forgive me, but we don't keep servants here--we have no need for them. M'Jah always do things for themselves."
"That's all right. We don't have servants either."
The woman smiled and led them to another large and stifling room just down a grand hallway from her own. There were two large beds against one wall across from a fireplace large enough to be another room in itself. "Dinner is in an hour. A bell will be sounded for when it is time." She nodded to them and began to close the door.
"Forgive me, my lady," Tanya called out, "but we don't know by what we are to call you…if we ever have the need."
"My name, you mean? Oh, how silly of me! I am Fehrahn Ro'Shir. You are Tanya…but the other two?"
"I am Anna Ro'Jethhe."
"Yeesha."
Fehrahn bowed gracefully and closed the door.
Once she was gone, Yeesha turned to her cousin angrily. "Don't ever mention the disease to these people! If you ask me, I now think we should get out of here before we bring on another apocalypse. D'ni perished because of it. Terahnee suffered because it was carried by the survivors in their bodies. We could just as easily destroy these people the way the others did."
"Yeesha has a point," Tanya said, her chin her hands as she sat on the edge of one of the beds. "We should leave before we can spread it."
"But these people have some strange power. Perhaps nothing can harm them?" Anna's eyes agreed with the notion to go home, but she still had many questions about the place.
"That strange power is what my people call magic, Anna. Our hostess, Fehrahn Ro'Shir seems to be one of the most adept as well. Did you see where we are? We're in the heart of the city--the Grand Palace, if you will. I have no doubts that we are in the presence of either one of the most powerful nobles or the ruling monarch. We'd best keep our actions in check."
The two girls nodded, and Anna went through Atrus' pack for something to do. "Hey!" she cried out. "Boogin is gone! And the Prison Age!"
"What!" Yeesha screamed. "How could you lose those?"
"If I remember correctly, you were the one holding the book."
"And you were the one with the squee."
"Girls, girls," Tanya said intervening, "more than likely Fehrahn has them in her room and doesn't realize it. Or maybe they're still out in the meadow."
"Either way," Yeesha stated flatly, "they're hopelessly lost. I know Fehrahn seems like a nice person, but…I can't help this feeling that we're living a hidden nightmare--like Terahnee."
"Thank you very much, Yeesha, for raising my spirits," Anna said sardonically as she plopped down next to her cousin.
"Anytime."
Tanya looked out the window. She couldn't shake the feeling either. There was something there…something horridly wrong. But what was it? Invisible slaves? A utopia that one unhappy soul could shatter with a breath? No. It was something with the magic. Something that she couldn't place. She turned back into the room and had to grasp hold of the windowsill behind her to keep from falling over in surprise.
"What is it?" both girls asked in unison.
"The room," Tanya said rubbing at her eyes. "The room is so…"
"Gorgeous, we know," Anna finished.
"No, no, it's not that at all…. It's…plain. Everything is coarse wood. The fireplace is tiny." She blinked a few times and the beauty was back. "It's all an illusion. Go ahead. Look around if you don't believe me. Concentrate really hard on what the linking panel looked like."
Yeesha gasped. "I see, Tanya, I see! Like I said back there, the linking panel never lies."
Anna noticed, too. "What do we do then? These people live in ignorance of what is really around them. Like Terahnee…." The last was a hushed whisper.
"Terahnee's elegance was real. This is all fake--created to please. You've both seen the linking panel: a forest and village--that's all that was there. No animals. No food. These people live in a dream."
"Literally," Yeesha said.
"We need to tread lightly. No one must know that we know. Say what they expect you to say. Do what they expect you to do. If they prove worthy of our help, one of us will go back and inform Atrus of everything. He'd probably have them all move to Releeshahn where they can truly be happy and not have to pretend. If they don't," she shrugged, "we leave them here to live as they always have--whether we brought the disease or not. Not everyone dies from it. There will be enough for them to start over."
"You sound awfully heartless, Tanya."
"I've just learned to accept things as they come, Yeesh. Learned that from your father. Though, I think a good rest is in order."
The two girls nodded and crawled into one of the king-sized beds. Tanya got in the other one, careful to believe that what she saw was really there.