The Heir of King Meldh, Chapter VI, Reading 6

Flindra looked at it tenderly before she used it to hold her hair back from her face.

Kewero smiled.  "Turn around, Flindra, I want to see you."

With a blush, she turned around slowly.

"Well, you look much more like a princess now.  You have a regal bearing, which suits you well.  While you are here, you will dress like a princess.  You need to practice being one so you won't feel so lost when you do take your destined place."

"Thank you for letting me wear this gown - it is very beautiful."

"My dear, I'm not letting you wear anything.  The dress is yours.  Your mother left it for you.  Let me show you your bedchamber and then I will teach you how to contact Dakra.  Come."

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."

The Heir of King Meldh, Chapter VI, Reading 3

The old woman laughed.  "The short answer is that we passed through a gap in the fabric of life to arrive here.  We are now in one of the places inhabited by the Spirit when He created our world.  Words cannot accurately portray this place, but an analogy might help you understand.  This is the seed pod where our world began within the consciousness of the Spirit."

Flindra looked terribly confused.

Kewero smiled.  "There will be time enough for you to understand and to master the knowledge you need to fight your enemies.  There is no point in rushing your lessons."

"As you wish, Kewero."  She smiled and realized her face was chapped from the cold and was slightly windburn.

"You may put your horse in there," Kewero said as she pointed toward an opening of a smaller cave.  "When you are through, come back here and then I will see to your needs."

Flindra led Deru into the smaller cave.  Her nose gave her evidence that this small cave had sheltered horses before.  It was spotlessly clean, but there was a lingering scent of horses.  It was a pleasant odor and reminded her of the barn back home.  Fresh hay had already been placed in a recess in the wall.  There was fresh water pooling around a spring in a natural basin towards the back of the cave.  The overflow from the spring trickled down a crack and disappeared behind the cave wall.  This kept the floor from becoming wet.

She slipped the bridle off so Deru could start eating the hay.  Then she removed the saddle and placed the tack on a wooden rack several feet above the floor.  She left her bow, quiver of arrows, hatchet, and bedroll under the rack.  While the horse stood contentedly and ate, she brushed him to remove the sweat and dirt lingering in his coat.  When she was through, she sighed and leaned against him.

"We made it, Deru," she whispered while she slipped her hand beneath his mane and patted his neck.  "I feel like I've been traveling for an eternity.  It seems so long ago that I left home."

Deru turned and looked at her.  His mouth was full of hay, which he rubbed against her face as he tried to nuzzle her.  Flindra couldn't help but laugh.  He smelled her face and hair and then returned to his hay.

She gave him a parting pat and stood back.  With another sigh - this one more tired than the first - she picked up her saddlebags and went out to Kewero.

"Are you warming up, my dear?" Kewero asked when she saw Flindra approach.

"My toes are still a bit cold, but I'll be fine."

"I suspect that you're being too stoic and aren't quite telling me the truth, Flindra.  You still look cold, but I'll fix that.  Follow me."

Kewero led her through a winding passage in the cave complex.  As they walked, Flindra could sense the air around her was getting warmer.  They finally stood before a pool of water.  Steam was rising from the surface.  She grinned happily for nothing could be better than a hot bath after being cold for so long.

"Take off your clothes and bathe.  I will find you something clean to wear," Kewero said and left Flindra alone.

The Heir of King Meldh, Chapter VI, Reading 2

Beyond a turn in the valley, they came to a small, circular, tent-like dwelling.  It was made of heavy hides supported by an interior frame.  Flindra knew a moment of disappointment.  She had hoped that Kewero would reside in a more substantial dwelling - one the wind couldn't blow through.

"This is a yurt," Kewero explained.  "It is a typical dwelling of the nomads in these parts."

"I never realized people lived here in the Northern Reaches."

"The Ainaz have existed here since before the time of the Ancient Ones.  They are hunters.  They subsist on the herds of reindeer and the bounty of the sea.  Most of the time they are concentrated along the coast or in sheltered valleys."

Flindra shook her head.  "I've never heard of them."

"The Ainaz are a withdrawn people and have little contact with outsiders except for the few traders who venture this far north.  One generally doesn't see them unless they want to be seen.  They have finally come to accept me.  I trade with them sometimes.  Most recently, I acquired food for your horse from them."

They had reached the yurt and Flindra started to dismount.

"Stay in your saddle, Flindra," Kewero ordered softly.  "We aren't through with our journey yet."

Her brow wrinkled with a question but she kept quiet.

Kewero tossed back the flap to the yurt and pulled the little, black horse inside.  She closed the entrance and laced the hide in place.  Finished, she once more took hold of the reins.  "Drop your shield Flindra.  You don't need it now and it makes it harder for me to open the door."

She immediately complied and willed Rigga's power nimbus to fade.  She asked in a puzzled voice, "what door?"

"Metaphorically speaking, my dear.  Now hush."

Kewero closed her eyes and became perfectly still.  Her face lost all expression as she concentrated.  Suddenly, a shimmering zone appeared before them in the center of the tent.  She led Deru through the tremulous light.

Flindra experienced a momentary jolt as they passed through the shimmer.  It was as if she had briefly touched the consciousness of life - everything that was alive, had lived, or would live.  Then they were through and the sensation was only a memory.

They were in a vast chamber of an immense cave.  There were numerous openings radiating out from this central chamber.  A sourceless light radiating about them lent a hue of soft gold to the cave.  Colors were warm and inviting.

Flindra dismounted and turned around to see where they had come from but saw nothing except the continuation of the cave.  "How?  Where are we?" she stammered as she looked back at Kewero.