So sorry this was a long time in coming. I've just been working on lots of other things and forgot about this one. Yet here it is. I hope you all enjoy.
Edit: Dang I am seriously behind. I'm going to be putting up two parts today then.
--
Break- K'veer
And so I learned how to write. I found that through words I could soar...I could rise above what I had believed was set in stone. So I stretched my wings and flew...I flew higher then any before me...I became one with the sky.
But the sky has the sun in it. The sun with rays which burn if you soar too close. I had yet to learn that though-I was young and overflowing with knowledge.
I ignored the threat of the sun. Instead I returned to the Cleft to find my place...to find my path.
Many paths have brought me to this place. The path of my great grandmother, bringer of destruction. The path of my grandfather, rebuilder of pride. The path of my mother, writer of dreams. And of my father, of my dear father, the caretaker of burdens. And I knew that at the end of such great paths must lay a great purpose. I returned to the Cleft to find it.
--
Part 3- The Cleft
"Your best? And how good was you best? This hole in the ground you call a home? Is this your best?" Book of Atrus
The words Gehn had spoken in a furry, trying to hurt Anna, mingled and swarmed with other past conversations and sounds; haunting the place. Some of the sounds were pleasant- a child's ringing laughter- but others, such as the howls of anguish which issued from Gehn at the death of his wife, drew pain in with the joy. Ghosts of the past still lingered; all of them, bringing the delights and sorrows from their previous lives.
Yeesha had returned. Ducking into the kitchen, she breathed in deeply the cool air. It felt so good to be back here again. In the past three years, she had spent her days on Tomahna, at the library of Chroma'Agana and even occasionally on Releeshahn learning the Art. But always she wanted to come back to the Cleft. Finally, she was done and free to come here.
If one can ever say they are done learning about the Art, she thought.
She of all people should know that, having just finished writing an Age which astounded even Atrus. Her Age had been far and away above Atrus' or even Katran's talents. Yeesha had broken rule after rule that the D'ni Masters had set down; she had written her own rules.
Grinning, Yeesha remembered her parent's looks when she presented them with Relto, the special Age she had written just for them. And then once they linked to it...
She had placed everything just where it should be. Including the library which was so special to her father. It was something Yeesha had always wanted to do for them, yet once she finished, she left. Once she completed that purpose she left to find her greater purpose. Her full reason for being here- and the only place Yeesha could think to do that was at the Cleft.
Walking forward, Yeesha reached out a hand and stroked the smooth surface of the table.
Learn to consider the Whole Father always told her. Well- she was considering the Whole now. Somehow this small gash in the earth connected all things together.
"Always look at the interrelatedness of things, and remember that the "Whole" of one thing is always just a part of something else, something large." Book of Atrus
She was standing there, considering the wisdom of Anna's instructions when suddenly her stomach gave a particularly loud rumble.
"Wise instructions in that too!" she said laughing. It had been almost two days since she had last eaten so eager she was to get here. Before she could eat though she would have to unpack and draw water from the pool. Another loud rumble from her stomach seemed to her as if it was a prompting to get going then. Chuckling again, Yeesha began to busy herself in preparation for dinner.
--
I see stone and dust and ashes. Book of Ti'ana
I sit out on the desert again. It is just past sunset but there is a full moon so I can see enough to write this entry. Before me lays that vast emptiness of never ending sand. Ti'ana described there being a city far away from the Cleft and there are (or were) the traders that used to pass by here when my father was young both coming and going to other places in this Age. But when I sit out here with only the moon for company, I wonder if there is anything out there.
There is nothing out here.
I have stayed here, on the surface, for many years- one of which was spent with my friends, the Wind People. Their ways were peaceful and simple, they strove to live as one with nature...it was an experience that I shall never forget. Or regret. I only wish I might have stayed longer yet the Cleft called to me.
Since I returned here I have stayed at the Cleft for two years never seeing another person, human or otherwise. Occasionally I will spot a desert bird flying above the sand far off on the horizon but they never come near the Cleft. I suppose it is because they know there is nothing to hunt here. Nothing at all in fact.
Only a crazy D'ni woman waiting.
That previous phrase has reminded me of a line from an old prophecy.
-Time draws a jagged line upon the sand
In which the women waits.- Book of D'ni
Ti'ana...or me?
Today I again explored the volcano. Climbing over the rocks and up the steep ledges gives me something else to think about besides the unnumerable questions which constantly rush about my mind. I have no answers to any of them and fear that I might never.
No. I am slipping away into despair again. I cannot do that. I will force myself to focus on the present.
The tree by the pool continues growing. I remember how surprised I was when I first returned to the Cleft to find it taller then me already. Now it is almost twice my size! It is not at all as full as the trees on Releeshahn being instead scraggly and scrawny, but it is strong and will withstand whatever the desert throws at it.
I have thought about writing another Age but I am reluctant to do so. I am not even sure why seeing as it would give me something to do through my long hours of unoccupation.
Sometimes I wonder how Anna ever managed to occupy herself here especially after having lived in D'ni for so many years. I suppose taking care of Gehn and my father helped but what about the stretch of time during which Gehn was gone? How could she stand it?
Every time I look up at the sky I can't help but wonder what 'time' I am at and where my parents are. Are they in this 'time' or some other? As Aitrus explained it to Anna and my father to me:
"These Ages are worlds that do exist, or have existed, or shall. Providing the description fits there is no limitation of time and space. The link is made regardless." Book of D'ni
But I still wonder where that puts each of us. Am I living before my parents? Or are they living at the same time? Are they struggling somewhere else in their 'time' as their younger selves against Gehn while also living in their current selves peacefully on Relto? Is my future self performing some deed while I am here writing in this journal?
Ah, but pondering the Great Tree of possibility will get me nowhere and now the moon is directly above my head reminding me of how late it is.
--