The Way They Disappeared

Chapter 2: Dancing in Silence

Shanjaino could lose herself in the ecstasy of truth. There was no better feeling than when she was around another soul and they had nothing to hide from her. That was not often the case and her skin began to crawl living within the hoarde. She trusted no one. There had been so many opportunities for people to tell her the truth and still they lied. She wondered if they did not recognize the full scope of her elemental gift. It was not the she could perceive when something was not true only. Shanjaino could quite literally see the truth come pouring off of people as they spoke. The story they would tell would never match the wispy depictions that she witnessed when others began speaking to her. It was a dance, that only she knew how to dance. Each conversation with a new soul was a tribal dance of the ghost of their shame and guilt. She wanted earnestly to dance with their truths in the moment.

Growing up Shanjaino thought that everyone could visualize events as they took place. It was the way she saw the world. Every experience was laced with a lie. Everyone had something to lie about. Shanjaino could distinctly remember asking her father the Greatest of Elders why the women would go away at certain times in the year. He gave her a knowing look and a bright smile. He told her that the women had a special job all their own that had to be kept a secret. The images that floated around his head were of her mother and the other women in the Hoarde dancing naked surrounded by large lights that shot from the ground to the sky. What could be so special about dancing in the light? Shanjaino in all her youthful wisdom confronted her father on the matter. Why did the women dance? Where did the lights come from? Why were they naked? How had he seen this event if the mn were not welcome in their space? Shanjaino pelted him with question after accusatory question. He could not handle such direct disrespect. That was the first time her father raised his hand to his youngest child.

Shanjaino learned so very quickly what would and would not be accepted in their community. Her truths were only welcomed when they stood to serve the community in the direction that the Elders and Mothers desired. It didn't seem fair to Shanjaino. By the time she was allow to take the Warrior's Run, the Elders had heard, if not witnessed Shanjaino's power over the truth. Her test was to find the hidden paths of the Hoarde. She was literally instructed to move past the conditioning that she had been given her entire life. It wasn't an impossible task for her to complete, but it was definitely approached with trepidation. How could they abuse her for knowing, and also praise her for knowing. Shanjaino was never truly sure on where she stood with the Elders. The Mothers gaurded her beyond all else. She ate with the Mothers, traveled with them when searcching for herbs, and watched the children as their parents went off to work in other parts of the Hoarde. It wasn't until there was a recon mission for the Mother's that she was not allowed to go on did she begin to see the lies in their actions and words again. But now it was time for her to take the Run. She had no time to second guess everything that she knew. Shanjaino knew that no matter how she was pushed she had to complete her Run. There was no other way for her to get the rest of the truths that the Elders' and Mothers' were hiding.

Her Run was presented on a dreary day. Normally when looking into the sky you could easily spot two suns and a small moon. They were not primary constellations, but the larger more distant solar-beings that the Najie came to respect and call upon for their worship. For Shanjaino there was only grey; no clouds, no consistent breeze, no suns, and no moon. It was as if the cosmos had decided there was no other way for her to complete her training without being able to trust her innermost thoughts and feelings. It was terrifying for her. Still, there was no other place that she would have prefered to be. They had saved her exam for last. Shanjaino was shocked they hadn't allowed her to take her Run first, as an example to the others in the Hoarde who were gearing up for the same thing. Instead they allowed the trackers to take their Run first. They were followed by elemental lhunters, then medical Najie, and finally, the grafters... all took their Warrior Run before Shanjaino. Anticipation built for the entire Hoarde. There was no way that Shanjaino could have taken the Run and failed within her Hoarde. Shanjaino feared nothing more than failure. In her Hoarde failure led to disregard and that was something Shanjaino was positive she could not withstand. She could not imagine becoming invisible to her people, not when she was held in such high regard as a child.

The Warrior's Horn blared loud in the direction of the V'rue lands. Three long reverberating blows, and two short blows to quickly follow. It was so late in the day, it seemed they either belived Shanjaino would be done very quickly, or that she would get lost in her Run. Shanjaino could not perceive what they had planned. She had convinced herself that her gift would allow her to see right through whatever the instructors had planned. Shanjaino had not planned to be utterly deceived. When she left her home to stad tall for her Run, her parents did not accompany her. Dasha stood at her left side holding the family weapon. Renee stood to her right baring the family crest. two suns, a spear and a scroll. Then the order was given. There was nothing normal about her Run. The Hoarde came to witness this astounding moment but the Elders weren't present and neither were the mothers. The Horn had been blown by one of the youngest in the Hoarde who had just completed their Run a few moons prior. Shanjaino's collare and cheeks slowly became flushed. She felt disrespected. Did she not warrant the pomp and circumstances of the Hoarde? Her lineage was one of the greatest in centuries within the Hoarde. Shanjaino shook off her disappointment and stared down the young Najie who dared bring her a challenge.

Once the mist settled, and the onlookers were silenced, the young Najie walked over to Shanjaino and handed her a sealed scroll. His only words,"I am told within these scrolls, you must find the truth. Only then will you successfully complete the Warrior Run."

Shanjaino snatched the scroll from the boy. "And how will I know when it is over?" Sarcasm oozing from every pore, she glared at the youth who stood a full 2 feet above her. Shanjaino always forgot how small she was compared to her counterparts. It had never bothered her until that very moment. "Ugh... why couldn't I be a bit taller?" Shanjaino grumbled under her breath.

With a twinkle in his eye and a smile creeping up to the tops of his ears, the boy looked down on Shanjaino and said the most feared words of her life; "I do not know". The Elders had kept her test cheat free by not giving anyone who would be in her presence information about her Run. They were wise after all. Shanjaino quickly used her sense to scan the crowd. Just about everyone was there except their leaders. More importantly, no one knew anything, there wasn't one lying soul around Shanjaino at that moment. She took a deep breath and accepted that this may have been the most difficult thing she ever had to complete. For the first time in her existence, Shanjaino lied. She smiled at her siblings and the heralder, waved her hands really dramatically and exclaimed; "I got this. I'll see you soon!" Off into the woods Shanjaino disappeared, knowing full well that she had no clue how to survive the Warrior's Run or the cold dank night.