Chapter VI, Reading 6

They returned to the main part of the cave and then walked down another of the many outlets radiating from this chamber. They passed several small openings before Kewero halted before one. "This will be your room while you are here. You will need the crystal sphere, leave everything else."

Flindra hurriedly left her belongings just beyond the entrance to her room. They continued down the path and entered a series of switchbacks and so they dropped rapidly in elevation. They followed the track until it widened to the entrance of a large cavern. Kewero pulled her to a stop just within the entrance.

Flindra drew a surprised and awed breath at the astounding view. She was standing in a large cave that was covered with crystals. The gems glowed with an internal light, which pulsated in a slow, regular rhythm. Looking closer, she realized her first assessment was wrong - the cave was not covered with crystals. It was made of the crystalline material! Even the floor of the cavern consisted of the translucent and glowing crystals.

Kewero spoke in a soft and reverent voice. "This is the womb of the cavern and of our world. This is where the Spirit envisioned our world and created its reality. Here, we are surrounded by the Spirit. We are in the seed around which Spirit began to order the primordial chaos. Our world is the reality He lent to this portion of the chaos.

"I don't really understand."

Kewero released a spontaneous laugh. "Don't worry about that too much, little one. The Spirit is far beyond our level of understanding. One can only really understand the Spirit with the faith of the heart. It is a wisdom of faith and not a knowing or comprehension."

"Oh."

"The power we see and feel here lingers from the Presence. Your crystal orb is a small piece of this place and is attuned to the lingering power of the Spirit. It is safe to speak of all things here for the Ansu cannot see or hear into this sacred place. We will hold our discussions here.

"But back to our task of contacting Dakra. This chamber is the nexus of life in our world. It is a simple matter for life to contact life here. Dakra will receive your message when her mind has relaxed and is sleeping. In time, you will be able to use your crystal orb to accomplish this task. For now, the crystals around you will amplify the directions of your mind.

"Concentrate on the sphere. Concentrate and think through the orb to your home. Try to remember the details of the cottage, the smells, and the sounds. The crystal will accommodate your desire - your life force will touch with that of Dakra's. Give her knowledge of your safe arrival here. That should give her solace. You need not mention the attack on your life. That would cause her to worry overmuch."

"You're right about that."

Flindra held the orb and noticed it was glowing with the same pulsating light as the rest of the cave. She stared into its depths and recognized the familiar pull on her mind. There was tremendous power here and she guessed this must be the addition of the power from the cave. Once again, she passed through the dizzying vortex of color and through the flash of white light.

She found herself standing at the foot of Dakra's bed and saw her mother resting soundly. Flindra greeted her knowing that her words could only be heard in the context of a dream.