Gray Blade----Chapters 22-24

A Parable for Our Time

This is a time-travel fantasy that is a parable for our times. It’s about the importance of choice and courage in the face of overt threats of violence.

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Back in Black Feather Time, the call has gone out and a Band of Sojourners gathers to carry the secrets of the Gray Blade into the troubled times of the Yellow Feather.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO----OGRE’S DESERT

The moon was red in the middle of the night back in Black Feather Time and the sun was red in the middle of the day. He knew that the abnormally dry spring had launched wildfires in the forests that fringed the northern margin of the desert. And, he knew that it was the smoke that colored the landscape red. But he also sensed a prophecy in the blanketing color.

         The Ogre Master stood in the low doorway of his adobe brick home. It was a building that crouched in a cleft about halfway up the shear face of a cliff. He looked out over the distant, rosy desert and thought again about the beckoning dreams that he’d recently had. But the red smoke also triggered memories of the long-term, recurrent dreams that he had experienced about long-ago Red Feather Time.

         He was one of the last survivors of an ancient line of warriors. There were only a few who remained with him in this natural fortress at the edge of the desert. No child had been born into the community for a long time, so as the elderly died the population dwindled lower. Though it was obvious that the end of his race was near, he still took pride that it had extended all the way back to Red Feather Time.

         They were a fierce and fighting people. However, the many generations of hardship and violence took a toll on their minds and bodies. Many hovered on the margins of madness and most suffered from physical disabilities that contributed to their fierce, fighting spirit. The appearance of their bodies and the malevolence of their demeanor contributed greatly to their reputation as monsters. Yet, the times had long since passed when they were known as ogres.

         The Ogre Master’s title was a remnant of one of the last extended campaigns that had occurred about a generation earlier in Black Feather Time. A military leader had visited the desert and recruited an army that the Ogre Master had led back far to the northwest into a green prairie country with deeply flowing streams. Although he had returned with his title and with horses, which were new to the area, it had been a substantial drain on the bloodline. Since that apparent success in his youth, the cultural vitality of his people had atrophied. Now, only an enclave of survivors huddled at the edge of the desert waiting for the ultimate end.

         Age had moderated his ferocity and he was not as physically misshapen as many of his peers. Although most of the warriors who had gone north to fight had been branded as unintelligent oafs, he had an acute and penetrating mind. That’s what won him the leadership role and that was also what led him to challenge the elites in Red Water Town. He had left the Prairie Wood Valley with a small herd of horses and memories of some encounters with the Sojourner tradition.

 In fact, it was a young Sojourner woman who had aided his initiation into the exclusive ranks of Elders and awakened his interest in Red Feather lore. She was a time traveler who told him stories of that ancient past when his people a dynamic and vigorous culture. And, it was her voice that he heard in recent dreams.

         It wasn’t exactly nightmares that had disturbed his sleep. But they were incessant, troubling calls from a voice that he hadn’t heard in almost a generation.

         “You are needed again in the Prairie Wood Valley,” the Sojourner said. “There is a time-traveling operation that requires your perspective and participation.”

         “I am no longer young,” he had replied to the dream voice. “I have no desire to travel so far to encounter again the confusion and chaos that was rampant in your valley when I left it a lifetime ago.”

         “Things have changed,” the Sojourner in the dream, said. “We have found peace and cooperation and now we are called to carry those secret seeds back to Yellow Feather Time.”

         “I have no interest in Yellow Feather Time,” he answered. “And, I feel no obligation to assist in any Sojourner pilgrimage.”

         “But you do have a yearning to return to the roots of your race in Red Feather Time,” the woman said. “I have seen your dreams of longing. The reward for your participation will be the opportunity to travel all the way back to Red Feather Time.”

         That offer caused him to wake up abruptly. He had walked over to the door of his home to look out over the red, smoky desert. Now he saw the old woman who kept him fed and cared for his house, coming slowly along the trail that led from a cluster of largely abandoned structures. The buildings were tucked farther back under the overhanging cliff. She carefully picked her way toward him along the trail that needed repair.

         He looked haggard to her eye, so she said, “Did you have that beckoning dream again?” Although she was a tottering old crone who was basically waiting to die, she was still very talkative and even relatively spry.

         He nodded, motioned for her to come inside, and then turned to go down a twisted, steep path to the base of the cliff. There he fed and watered the small horse herd held in a corral under a grove of leafless trees. It was early in the last moon of spring, so the leaves would be coming soon and the horses would welcome the new green grass.

         The Ogre Master was one of the few people of his race who loved horses. He maintained the small herd with an intensity that reflected his depth of feeling. He took great pleasure in riding through rough country at a speed that would be dangerous for anyone less skilled. And, he knew that when the last ogres succumbed to the inevitable, these horses would range free and be healthy. That knowledge provided some comfort in what would otherwise be a depressing situation.

         When he returned to his home, the old woman had laid out a morning meal. She was obviously looking forward to talking with him while he ate.

         “What exactly do these dreams say to you?” she asked.

         “I am called to go back up north to the Prairie Wood Valley and participate in a mission of peace,” he said.

         “How can that be?” she said. “You were the voice of violence back when you were young and raging through that far country.”

         “And although I am an Elder, I feel no particular allegiance to the Sojourner tradition that is at the center of this time-traveling mission,” he added.

         “This is not a campaign here in Black Feather Time?” the old woman asked sharply.

         “No,” he shook his head. “The objective is to foster peace and cooperation back in Yellow Feather Time with the secrets that have worked so well here in Black Feather Time. I have no obligations to or interests in either the Sojourners or Yellow Feather Time.”

         “Yet your leadership here has no future, she said. “Our numbers are decreasing and there’s no prospect of re-invigoration. You’ve often talked of our origins back in Red Feather Time. Maybe this time-traveling objective could lead to another opportunity.”

         “That’s exactly the promise that the Sojourners use to lure me into their intrigues,” he said. “If I help them on this enterprise, the reward could be a trip back farther in time to Red Feather Time.”

         “Why wouldn’t you seize that opportunity?” the old woman asked.

         “It’s a long trip up to the valley and there’s a specific deadline,” he said. “The participants must be gathered together by the first day of summer.”

         “But, that’s a full cycle of the moon from now and besides you’ve got your horses,” she challenged his reticence. “Think of it as an excuse to ride long and hard to meet that target deadline.”

         He smiled, in spite of his misgivings. “You do make a very good argument. I would enjoy the challenge of the dash north. Who knows what the actual pilgrimage to Yellow Feather Time will entail, but what does it matter? My fighting spirit is still alive and may even be of use on this ostensible mission of peace.”

         “There’s nothing for you here,” the old woman repeated. “You go on your time-traveling adventures and I’ll move in and take over this house. It’s better than the cramped rooms that I’ve got over in those run-down ruins. This will be a good place to spend my last days.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE----MONICAH’S VALLEY

In the middle of the night, the moon was yellow-white fading the points of individual stars in the sky of Black Feather Time. In the middle of the day, the sun was golden yellow behind high clouds. It was early in the last moon of spring, so she was somewhat surprised to see small yellow birds darting among the growing leaves. And, she relished seeing tiny yellow wildflowers scattered in the brazen new grass.

         Monicah was reminded of her beloved Lone Rock Valley dressed in the robust green robes of spring. She interpreted the conspicuous flairs that she was seeing in Red Water Town as an affirmation of the impending expedition to Yellow Feather Time. But she was lonely for her home valley.

         She was standing at the entrance to Elanorah’s lodge in the northern part of town, enjoying the spring morning. She had been left to live alone in the residence after Elanorah died and Envis had returned to Yellow Feather Time. But Monicah had been busy with preparations for her own trip. And, Elanorah had not left completely. Monicah encountered her on a regular basis in dreams and visions. In fact, they were basically planning for the trip to Yellow Feather Time together.

         Her reverie was interrupted when James walked up the flat terrace surface from the southern part of town.

         “Good morning,” the cheerful boy called. “Spring has really arrived and it’s a beautiful day.”

         Monicah smiled her greeting. James could always be counted on to emphasize positive things. “It certainly is,” she said. “Have you had breakfast?”

         “I have,” he admitted. “But I wouldn’t refuse another bite to eat and maybe some tea.”

         “Please, come in,” Monicah waved him toward the open doorway.

         “I’ve been thinking a lot about Envis,” James said after they had settled in around the hearth and started eating. “I wonder how things are going for her. I hope that she’s not in any real danger.”

         Monicah’s forehead wrinkled slightly. “I’m afraid that there’s a definite risk of violence almost anywhere back in Yellow Feather Time. The picture that she painted for us before she left had lots of volatile potential dangers.”

         “I know,” James seemed uncharacteristically concerned. “That’s exactly what I’ve been worried about. I’ve talked about it with Mother and she always falls back on depending on Sojourner perspectives and tradition to protect Envis and everyone else,” he added.

         “Well, I agree with her,” Monicah nodded. “But I also understand your concerns. I’ve been worried too and the insights from my dreams don’t provide any comfort.”

         That night, her encounter with Elanorah’s essence only amplified the disquieting foreboding.

         “Envis is in grave danger,” Elanorah told the dreaming Monicah. “The people that she has been working and living with have all been killed. A group of fighters have all died in a one-sided battle and the escalating violence spilled over to incite a massacre of innocent men, women, and old people. And, beyond that is the threat of blood vengeance.”

         “Is Envis alright? Are we too late with our message of moderation?” Monicah worried. “Has this all already happened or is it still impending and can be avoided with our intervention?”

         “I have increased the urgency of my calls to the Band of Elders who will make the trip back to Yellow Feather Time,” Elanorah continued, not answering all of Monicah’s questions.

         “The ogre has started his journey and the dwarf is receptive to my calls,” Elanorah went on. “However, the giant is completely unresponsive. I cannot communicate with him easily because he apparently is intentionally blocking my access to his consciousness.”

         “What must we do?” Monicah asked.

         “Send a messenger to the giants’ caves and try to get him to understand the urgency,” Elanorah said. “The Band of Elders must be gathered at the Portal Pool on the first day of summer in order to make the jump back to Yellow Feather Time.”

####

         The next morning, Monicah needed the perspective of a fellow Sojourner so she sought out James’ mother.

         After hearing about the most recent dream encounter, the woman said, “What a frightening dilemma. We always relied on Elanorah’s calm and steady hand on Sojourner issues. But this almost sounds like she is frantic and frightened with the situation.”

         “That’s exactly what worries me,” Monicah agreed. “I’ve not been this lost since my family died back home in the Lone Rock Valley. And, that’s ironic because I’ve just recently been reminiscing about that time and place.”

         James’ mother immediately moved to touch the despondent Monicah on the right shoulder. “I’m sorry that it’s all coming down on you all at once. Do you want to talk about your grief?”

         Monicah shook her head. “There’s really no need. It happened several seasonal cycles ago. My child and husband drowned in a flash flood and they’ve been irreplaceable. Although, I’ve not really looked for another healing relationship,” she added.

         “Still, the memories at these difficult times just make everything more stressful and frightening,” her confidant said. “Is that why you’ve stayed with us here in Red Water Town?”

         “That’s at least part of the reason,” Monicah nodded. “But yesterday I was remembering what spring was like back home in the Lone Rock Valley and the grieving just snuck up on me again.”

         “That happens,” the woman said. “I remember being surprised by sadness at strange times long after one of my parents died. Do you miss the Lone Rock Valley as a part of the grief?”

         “Well, the memories of my lost family are closely tied to that place, but it’s also more than those personal aspects,” Monicah said. “Our Sojourner tradition goes all the way back to Yellow Feather Time when my people had close ties to a trading network that extended far to the south and east.”

         “So, your love for the valley is more of a shared experience and a part of a collective consciousness,” James’ mother said.

         “Exactly,” Monicah said. “I don’t mind living here in the Prairie Wood Valley, but the sharp and angular rock exposures are very different than my home valley. The sloping sides there are all soft and the lay of the landscape is gentle with less abrupt hills and very few shear-cliff walls.”

         The two women moved on to discuss options for the dilemma that Elanorah had laid out in the dream. When James joined them later in the day, they had a proposal for him, in spite of his mother’s misgivings.

         “I don’t like the idea of sending you off into danger,” she began. “But we need a reliable messenger and we have found someone to guide and help you.”

         “What are you talking about?” James asked. “Where am I going? What’s the reason? Who’s the helper? Can I ride?”

         “Yes, you can ride,” Monicah said. “It needs to be a fast trip. You’ll go up to the north and east to the shores of the Inland Sea.”

         “That sounds wonderful, but who’s going with me?” James’ eyes sparkled with anticipation. He jumped up from where the three of them were sitting and began to pace excitedly.

         “Have you seen the extremely tall woman who has been visiting here in Red Water Town during this winter?” his mother asked.

         “I’ve seen her, but have never really talked with her,” James said. “She’s very distinctive and hard to miss because she’s such a really big person.”

         “People even call her a giant,” Monicah said. “But she is also a Sojourner Elder working with others of us here in Prairie Wood Valley. Her home is on the shore of the Inland Sea and her family includes her brother who is a vital part of our planned mission of peace to Yellow Feather Time.”

         “And, what is our objective up north to the Inland Sea?” James asked.

         “You are more than a simple messenger,” Monicah continued. “You are essentially an emissary to this woman’s brother. The man has consistently ignored urgent calls to join the Band of Elders at the Portal Pool on the first day of summer. By sending you, we hope to demonstrate the urgency of the situation.”

         “But, how will I do that?” he asked.

         “We hope that your presence and his sister’s understanding of our needs will convince him to join us,” Monicah said.

         “We have explained the circumstances to his sister,” his mother added. “She is ready to leave tomorrow. She’s too tall and large for any of our ponies, but you’ll need a good mount to keep up with her. Her long legs mean that it will be a fast trip up to the Inland Sea.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR----GIANT’S INLAND SEA

In the middle of the night, the surface of the water turned black when clouds hid the moon of Black Feather Time. In the middle of the day, the rocks along the shore were black in the direct sunlight. The pounding waves had carved the coast into a complex of caves, arches, and sea stacks. Ordinarily, caves are dissolved from light-colored limestone, but these caves were blasted out of dark solidified lava by the incessant waves. The gentle ripples that danced in the shallow water protecting his cave were a quiet contrast to the waves that smashed into the projecting headlands on either side of the bay. The giant was content in his home.

         It was easy to see why people called him Giant. Even in his own clan where individuals were tall and broad, he was distinctively large. And, that physique had dictated that much of his life had involved violence. Often, big people can afford to be docile because they are only rarely physically challenged. But the exact opposite was true for this giant. Violence and physical threats seemed to seek him out and cling directly to his large frame, even though he did very little to encourage the confrontations.

         It was for this reason that he chose to live apart from other members of the clan. What few giants there were, generally lived in other caves spread out along the coast of the Inland Sea and in wooden houses hidden in the bordering forest. So, there was no one else around as he stood at the entrance to the cave that was his home, looking out to where the deep water took on a darker color and where waves started to vigorously break as they rolled into shallower water.

         He was thinking about his younger sister and regretting that they had parted on bad terms early in the winter. She had insisted on traveling down south and west to Red Water Town to further her work in the Sojourner traditions. And, she also hoped to discover the source of the beckoning dreams that he had endured. Elanorah had been troubling his sleep and his sister wanted to know why, so she had gone to the Prairie Wood Valley. Then at the end of winter, Elanorah’s voice in his dreams changed noticeably and the beckoning calls seemed to become more strident all through the spring.

         “Why?” his sister had demanded before she left. “Why do you stubbornly resist Elanorah’s direct solicitations for your help?”

         “I’m afraid of an involvement that would throw off the delicate Sojourner balance that I’ve achieved,” he confessed.

         But she had been ruthless in pressing her argument. “Since when have you been afraid of anything?” she demanded. “I’m going to Red Water Town and I’m going to find out what is going on.”

         “I’ll tell you what Elanorah has told me,” he responded. “She’s said that there may well be some fighting that would require me to protect people on an important time-trip back to Yellow Feather Time.”

         “Well, that sounds like a reasonable request because you’re a good candidate to meet those kinds of challenges,” his sister said. “Besides, your status as a Sojourner Elder should require answering this call.”

         “Not at the risk of throwing off my balanced Sojourner perceptions and unleashing the furies that once drove my life,” he said in a distant voice.

         “Is your self-restraint really that shaky?” she asked. “Do you really believe that you’ll lose control and go berserk with the possible fighting?”

         “Yes, I do,” he sighed. “I’m not convinced that Elanorah’s project warrants sacrificing my hard-won constraints and peace of mind.”

         After she had given up on their argument and left on her trip to Red Water Town, he got to thinking about the first time he had encountered anyone in the valley of the Prairie Wood River. The clan of giants had formed a tenuous alliance with people who had just discovered horses. Together, these two groups ventured south and east of the Inland Sea and down to the Prairie Wood Valley. However, the people with horses pursued new opportunities farther west out onto the high plains and the few giants that had worked with them returned to the coast of the Inland Sea.

         That is the way things had remained as both Elanorah and the Giant grew older and their Sojourner skills matured. He had done his younger sister’s initial training, but she had periodically returned to Red Water Town. These trips furthered her Sojourner education and refreshed her relationships with Elanorah and other Elders. But the latest trip was the longest and he had suspected the extensions were related to the beckoning dreams that he was trying to ignore.

         Even as the Giant stood and watched the waves break when moving into shallow water and watched the ripples play at his feet, his younger sister had started the return journey home. And, she was not alone.

####

         Several days later as the giant again stood mesmerized by the lively surface of the water, he was startled to hear his sister’s voice calling to him from just down the shore. She was accompanied by a young man on a small horse. He remembered, not fondly, that horses always seemed to be associated with trouble.

         The pair arrived at the mouth of the cave after crossing the last thin stretch of beach sand. His sister greeted him with a perfunctory hug while the boy dismounted.

         “Well, you’re finally back from Red Water Town,” the Giant said. “I was beginning to wonder what you encountered that kept you down there so long.”

         “This is James,” she said, ignoring his comment about how long she had been gone. “His mother is one of the Sojourner Elders who used to work with Elanorah.”

         James looked up at the big man and said, “Hello.”

         Now the Giant took his turn at ignoring the need for specific response. “What do you mean ‘used to work with Elanorah’?”

         “She died at the end of the last moon of winter,” James spoke up. “That’s why Monicah sent us up here to the Inland Sea.”

         “What are you doing here?” the Giant rumbled looking down at the defiant boy.

         “Elanorah was trying to get your attention with those beckoning dreams since earlier this winter,” his sister interrupted.

         “I’m not surprised that Elanorah has died,” the Giant said. “The dreams changed in the early moons of spring and became much more urgent and demanding. But I haven’t changed my mind about participating in her mission.”

         “That’s why Monicah sent us,” James said again.

         “Who’s Monicah?” the Giant asked.

         “She’s the Elder who has replaced Elanorah as the nominal leader of the Sojourners in the Prairie Wood Valley,” his sister said.

         “Why is that horse here?” the giant growled, pointing at James’ pony.

         “I needed him to keep up with your sister,” James said. “It worked well too. My pony pretty much matched the pace set by your sister’s long legs.”

         “But what are you doing here?” the Giant asked James again.

         “He’s an emissary of sorts,” his sister interrupted. “Monicah and his mother sent him to demonstrate how serious things are and to get your attention while we explain what’s going on in Prairie Wood Valley.”

         “Alright,” the Giant said with a resigned sigh. “What’s happening in the valley?”

         His sister and James explained about the traveler from Yellow Feather Time and the plan to help. They described the Band of Elders that had been called to carry out the assistance. And, they urged him to join the group.

         “After all,” his sister said. “You probably know the ogre and the dwarf who are coming.”

         “I probably do,” the Giant gave a shrug of disinterest. “But I don’t really know much about this Monicah person. She and I have met only a few times.”

         “She’s a powerful Sojourner Elder who has taken up the challenge to carry the secret of the Gray Blade back to calm the conflicts tearing everything apart in Yellow Feather Time,” his sister answered.

         “I understand that,” the Giant snorted. “I mean that I’m not familiar with her in the same way that I might know the ogre and the dwarf.”

         “She came from Lone Rock Valley and has helped Elanorah to mentor the young traveler from Yellow Feather Time,” James said.

         “I mean that she’s not Elanorah,” the Giant snapped.

         “Of course not,” his sister retorted. “But she is the one who has taken up the mantle of responsibility to provide help. Don’t you want to see your friends again?”

         “I only have acquaintances among ogres and dwarves, not friends,” the Giant said. “Seeing them is no particular incentive.”

         “But friends are important!” James protested. “The girl who traveled from Yellow Feather Time is my friend. And, now she’s been back there all spring; I’m worried about her. She’s supposed to meet the group that’s intervening with the Gray Blade secrets. That’s supposed to happen around the first of summer.”

         Although the Giant seemed to not care, he did make an offhand comment that was encouraging to both his sister and James.

         “It might be interesting to see the Prairie Wood Valley and meet some of the people in Yellow Feather Time.”