Stargazer

Chapter 20

"Start by closing your eyes. Feel the life force energies around you." I did as I was bid by Makawlah but I didn't know exactly how to feel life force energies. This was also quite reminiscent of a game Jermain had played with me in the Guild Forest where I had discovered my lack of attention and caused distracting memories to seep back into my mind.

I began to wonder how Jermain was and realized I had missed his loud mouth and crazy sense of humor. But, would he have missed me? I was a traitor, now, I'd have to remember.

"You should be able to start to feel tingling, then an awareness of who and what is around you." I took a deep breath, still with closed eyes, and attempted to focus once again. I listened to voices around me and tried to be aware of all the people and things.

Then the fire with its hot blaze became the most apparent. Surprisingly, I began to feel a tingling in my fingertips that tickled up my forearms, almost as if I had stepped into a spiderweb and had it's silk on me.

"I noticed the fire, then I felt it! The tingling you said!" I exclaimed in excitement, more than ready for the next steps.

Makawlah laughed at my excitement and pulled a blanket around her shoulders as she stood with me now, facing the fire.

"You felt the fire because it is the strongest life force here. Fire can devour other life forces and choose which memories to keep, if it keeps any, and stores them in its ash. That is why we believe the burning of a deceased loved one's body or belongings is the best way to acknowledge and celebrate a life. There are even some that possess the power ro read the life energies of the earth, including ash. I, unfortunately, cannot. But I do have an interesting life being able to read people." She gave me a look and we both chuckled.

"So, with practice, could I read ash?" I began to wonder.

"Hmmm, now I don't know all that you will be able to do with certainty, but your gifts seem to be primarily connected with the celestial bodies: the stars, moons, and sun. I do believe, though, that anyone that carries magic within them has capabilities to sense life energy all around them, to an extent. Now turn around, child, and face away from the fire to the stars."

I did as I was asked and, still standing, we both turned away from the fire and everyone else that had gathered around it. "Now," Makawlah took another swig from the jug and set it down in the grass that had started to collect dew in the cooling air. "I want you to ask the stars to do something, or ask them a question, and focus on the life energy around you, like you did before."

I hesitated a minute, wondering what I was going to do, but then I realized I had questions, and always had. Questions of my origins.

My question became clear to me spelled out in my mind. I tried to focus and project it at the stars, but couldn't feel the same focus I was able to feel before. This time closing my eyes, I tried again and focused on feeling the energy around me until I felt the same tingle begin in my fingers. Then I tried to focus on the energy of the stars. As I shifted my focus upward, I was surprised at how much I could feel them. It was as if I opened a door that had been shut between us. I could feel their glowing light, and could sense a mysterious satisfaction.

My question was projected as strongly as I could force it at the stars' energy, but nothing happened in response. I opened my eyes and looked at Makawlah again for direction.

"Ah," She put her hand on her hip in thought. "The stars do not answer. Perhaps you asked too big of a question?"

"I didn't realize I had to limit my questions."

"As you become one with their energy more, you will become more familiar with them, and more powerful. It was a question they couldn't, or wouldn't, answer yet. Perhaps you can try something smaller, a piece of your question to start?"

My head began to hurt and I picked up my cup, looking for my thoughts to subside and not feel so muddled. A piece of my origins question felt as if it could be 100 smaller questions and I didn't know where to start. In frustration, I sighed and automatically rested my palm on the hilt of my sabre. Then it hit me.

My weapons' origins could be the key to beginning to find out my own origins. Brother Markham had said he even believed they were left for me purposely. I got my question ready, and once again felt the tingling in my hands. But this time the tingling grew as I closed my eyes to focus and my hands felt like they were vibrating with energy. They grew hot and the heat traveled in tingles through my arms and the rest of my body.

A vision halted all my thoughts as a picture played before my eyes as if it were happening right then.

First, the vision began as a white hot fire and a talented blacksmith, pumping a large set of bellows. He meticulously oversaw every fine detail of the making of a silver saber and its matching dagger as sweat clung to the man's hair, forehead and clothes. He carefully set the pearls in the saber handle with a pair of tweezers and smiled exuberantly when completed.

Second was a man that paid the blacksmith with a hefty looking velvet bag for the weapons so carefully created. The blacksmith had difficulty parting from his beautiful art, but the man in fine clothes had no intention of walking away without them. He added a second heavy velvet bag to the blacksmith's arms and bewilderment flooded his face. He nodded to the man in the fine clothes and carefully wrapped and tied the weapons in a dark leather casing.

Next vision was the man who made the purchase gallantly dressed in white and silver from head to toe, in the richest looking clothes I could ever behold. A field of sunflowers seeking to turn their heads to the sun, stood tall behind the man as his gaze was forward, through a crowd of people and directed behind them.

An angel dressed all in white with hair of the darkest, thickest curls enveloping her in place of a veil, beamed a glow of a bride as she walked through the crowd of gazing guests and to her soul mate at the sunflowers. He pulled out his wedding gift and unveiled the leather revealing the weapons of a shining silver brilliance. The pearls and diamonds shaped in a swirling star on the hilt and the pearlescent shell reflecting the sun in a rainbow of colors on the hilt of the dagger were revealed to her.

The woman beamed with pride as she took the weapons and kissed the man on the cheek. She turned to an older looking man standing behind her and handed off her weapons to him. He held his hand onto hers, having difficulty letter her go and in return, she planted a tender kiss on his cheek as well.

The letters D.R. announced themselves in my head, not like a voice, but more like I read them without actually seeing the letters in the scene. Then a map appeared showing me and I could make out exactly where it was showing. A village in the northern region of Sordova, also on the coast and directly East of Atawny. The map didn't show a name, but I somehow knew it was a day and half ride on the baudle bird from here.

My vision returned to the darkness of the camp with the stars now brilliant in response and Makawla watching me in wonderment.

"D.R." I said. That was all I could make out. Then it hit me and I realized D.R. were the initials on the note, the person that had given me those weapons. If I found the place on the map, perhaps I would find D.R. there as well!