A Storm in the River of Time
Chapter 16
XVI
"Master, look at the river."
"Yes, Kryys. There is something about to happen… like a storm brewing in time.
"Is Antar in danger, Master Drax?"
The Drax-ta-kiya was silent for a few moments. "Antar will be Antar, 'sun drop.' It will be whatever it is meant to be, as will we. What do you see in the river, sun drop?"
"I see… confusion… the eddies of time are becoming juxtaposed on top of one another. It is… as though a great storm is coming."
"Yes. That is what I see, too."
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:::::::"Many Antarians have no powers… many others do," Maria explains, reminding us of how Kryys came to be where he is. "Until Kryys was almost six, he had no powers that we knew of. Then in a time of great need, he saved Jayyd's life. He literally brought Jayyd back from the dead and healed her after Agent Zwolinski… Excuse me." Maria wipes a tear from her eyes then continues… "After Zwolinski shot her with a machine gun, almost tearing her little body in half. There was nothing Max could do to save her, and even the amazing healing waters from the island of the jah-ee couldn't help. So we were in awe when Kryys suddenly turned into a million tiny, fiery particles and swirled through Jayyd's damaged body, mending it one molecule at a time. We later learned that Kryys was to be even more –much, much more- than we had ever suspected. The Drax-ta-kiya of Jeroglasst took Kryys under his wing as his protégé. When Kryys is with the Drax-ta-kiya in the river of time, he is ageless and wise as the eternal span of time; but when he returns, he's just our Kryys again. He barely remembers what happened in the river of time, and he's like any other seven-year-old. Here… the best way to explain it is just to show you. Let's go back to a little over a year ago."
Maria motions, and we follow her into her memories of the not-too-distant past:
[i][The Drax-ta-Kiya knew that the time had arrived. The river of time told him so… Not with words, as we know them, but it spoke all the same. The Drax-ta-kiya had only to feel the eddies and currents at the edge of the river. Each one had its own special motion… its own particular dance in the stream. They were different today. Some time during the night they had changed. It was nothing that most beings would notice. Most beings were not even aware of the river of time, much less of some small change in an eddy or current. But the Drax-ta-kiya wasn't most beings.
The old man stepped out onto the front porch of his house on Jeroglasst and stood with his face toward the beautiful valley below. His white, pupiless eyes saw nothing, but he saw everything. A smile appeared on his face, as the morning sun warmed him. Looking toward the sky, the Drax-ta-kiya spread his arms, and his body began to shimmer. At first, it looked as though his clothes were being whipped by the wind as the sunshine danced on them. But then the "sunshine" began to spread out, as streams of bright light -billions of tiny molecules- escaped from his body into the air then into the sky above, leaving the place where he had stood only moments before empty.
On Antar, there was another who felt the change. Though only six years old, he felt the knowledge of the ages at times… times when he would allow himself to also join the stream, not as a mortal, but as an eternal. He had learned what few in the universe knew… how to transform his mortal body into a stream of immortal molecules and join the eternal river.
Kryys Guerin had changed during the night. He had somehow become six again as he slept. He no longer remembered being fifty-three. He no longer remembered being the President of future Earth, "Alyendis." He no longer remembered the events of his other childhood, growing up alone as an orphan, learning to live on his own, struggling to make a life for himself. He only knew that he wanted to play hide and seek with his best friends, Maya, Andya, JoLeesa, and Alyyx Evans and his sister, Jayyd, and brother, Zorel.
Even at the age of six, Kryys had been more than six. Now, as he played hide and seek with his brother, his sister, and their friends, Kryys felt something… something in the stream… something in the wind. The feeling that he was being "called" grew stronger and stronger. Finally, Kryys answered the call. He didn't think about it. He didn't debate it. He didn't wonder about it. He just answered it… as naturally as answering his mother's call to come and eat. Kryys began to change. First, his hair and clothes seemed to wave in the wind, then the sunlight appeared to sparkle on him, then he seemed to come apart, as streams and streams of molecules made their way into the atmosphere above Antar to join the eternal river of time that flows through the universe.
As Kryys joined the river and flowed with it, he was met by the one who had called him…
"Kryys. I am happy to see you. I knew that you would come."
"Yes, Master. I have much to learn."
"And I shall teach you. Your powers are great. There is no other in the universe with the potential that you possess. I have known this for a hundred years. You are the one."
"I am only six, Master."
"The river is time, Kryys. In it, there is no beginning… There is no end… There just is. I have seen you here. Now it is time for you to learn and to fulfill the potential that was given to you."
"I understand, Master. I wish to learn."
"Yes… You are everything I believed you to be, Kryys! Your power is enormous… And your being is pure. You will use it well."
"Thank you, Master. When shall I begin?"
"You already have, little sun drop. You are learning even as we speak."
"Master, will I one day again become the President of Alyendis? Will I meet the girl who would become my wife again? Will my child be born?"
"You see, sun drop? You thought that you were only six, but you remember them. In the river, everything is revealed. You have only to open your eyes. Look! What do you see?"
Kryys looked into the river, and he smiled. It wasn't a corporeal smile, for indeed he had no face, no body, no hands or feet, no mouth to speak with… but he was speaking… and he smiled.
"Do you see, sun drop?"
"Yes, Master, I see."
"Excellent! Return home now, Kryys. I will call for you again. Each day, you must learn something."
"Thank you, Master. It is a great honor to be taught by you."
Kryys reappeared slowly behind the tree.
In the river, the caller drifted on, then he, too, began to rematerialize. Soon, he was once again standing on his porch overlooking the beautiful valley below. He held his face up to the sunlight…
"No, Kryys… It is I who am honored… to teach the one whom you will become."] [/i]
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Now the Drax-ta-kiya again waded the river of time with Kryys at his side.
"You must be prepared, little sun drop."
"For what, Master?"
"You will know when it comes. Then you must act quickly. If you do not, the river could be permanently changed… enough to alter that which is."
"I understand, Master Drax. I will be alert."
The Drax-ta-kiya smiled. "Yes. I know you will, sun drop. I have seen it all in the river. You are very special."
tbc
Coming Next: "The Age of Rath"
Be here! Meet the real Rath… up close and personal!