Etha tread nervously behind
the Riana Leader into the darkened interior of the cavern. Four other
initiates followed behind, stumbling in the narrow passage towards an unknown
destiny. Darkness swallowed light like a hungry beast. She imagined she could
hear its inhalation and exhalation, feel it’s cold, musty breath on her skin. She’d never been here
before. Not in all the time since she’d come to the Riana Valley for training
and initiation into the elite group of the Appointed.
She brushed against
the wall of the passage as it narrowed around her. She gasped as sharp rock bit
into her skin like teeth, drawing blood that dripped slowly down her forearm.
She wiped it against her doeskin tunic. Was Madra leading her into the belly of
a beast? Would she be eaten alive, bones spat out after being sucked clean?
She shook her head,
dispelling the notion, forcing her imagination into control.
Madra’s footsteps
slowed, muffled in the close confines of the passage. Etha slowed as well,
attuned to the leader’s movements. Tara bumped into her from behind, and from
the giggles of the other girls, Etha surmised the rest of the girls had done
the same with each other.
Etha sensed a shift in
air pressure. It danced upon her skin, flowing around and above her, into a
large, open space. Madra entered the chamber. Etha and the others followed
behind.
Light filtered through
the chamber like mist rising from a lake at sunrise, dim and hazy. Water
dripped off thin columns of stone stretching upwards to the roof of the cavern,
far above their heads. Her eyes were drawn to a small pool where bubbles rose occasionally
from its depths with soft susurrations.
She could see the
others shuffling about, uncertain, as she was, why they were here. What they
were supposed to do.
At Madra’s
instructions, the initiates settled on the ground around the pool. Normally
Etha was confident and self-assured. She had always enjoyed, even thrilled at Madra’s
lessons. Now she was uneasy, sensitive to the weight of the ancient mountain around
her. Her heartbeat increased with anticipation, her stomach tightened, her mouth
went dry. Every nerve in her body tingled, as if something momentous was about
to happen
She lay on her back,
arms outstretched, palms upwards, seeking to calm her nerves. Annoyed by the
other initiates whispering irreverently amongst themselves.
"You may be
wondering why I brought you here,” Madra said, her voice soft, modulated.
Her words were swallowed by the cold, dark earth around them. By the pool
that lapped at their feet.
“As part of your
training these past twelve moons, you’ve learned to mind-speak, with myself and
your fellow Initiates.”
The words came in a
soothing singsong tone. Etha realized the Riana Leader was no longer speaking
aloud.
“Of all the initiates
who arrived when you did, you are the only ones who have shown the ability to reach
beyond the land of Riana, to mind-speak with family or friends in your own
homelands. You are to be commended. Not all can achieve this skill.”
Etha took pride in
this achievement. It was required if she were to be Appointed.
“There is one last
lesson, one challenge left to complete your training.”
There was a pause. Etha’s
thoughts raced. What more could her mind be trained to do?
“Today, I challenge
you to mind-speak with Gaea, to tap into Earth’s essence and listen for Her
voice.”
The small hairs on
Etha’s arms and the back of her neck quivered. Fear mingled with anticipation. Etha
had felt Earth’s pull upon her, knew herself drawn to Gaea’s power, though she
had no idea the extent of that power or if she might control it.
Madra’s voice sounded
in her mind again. “Settle back, now. Close your eyes and set aside your
fear.”
There was a pause.
“Tune out the stray
thoughts that distract you from your purpose. Slow the rhythm of your breathing
and listen.”
Etha could hear
someone rustling nearby. Forced herself to concentrate on Madra’s voice
instead.
“Breathe in... Hear
the sound of your breath within you.”
Etha took a long
inhalation through her nose. It sounded loud in her ears.
“Breathe out, slowly.
Slowly. Allow your thoughts to leave the confines of your body, like the
exhalation of your breath.”
Etha imagined her body
floating in air and darkness. It felt strange to her. She wasn’t a bird, after
all, she had no wings to carry her into the sky. Her eyes opened momentarily,
taking in the dim light, the mist, the ancient column of rock lifting to the
roof of the chamber.
“Breathe in...
She closed her eyes
again. Tuned in to Madra’s whispered suggestions.
“Breathe out. Extend
your awareness towards Gaea. Reach for the rhythm of Earth’s pulse. Feel it. Match
it to the rhythm of your own.”
The stone floor was
cold, it radiated through her deerskin tunic and leggings. Seeped into her
skin. She felt the pressure of earth’s weight pressing upon her. Etha willed
her consciousness to move beyond.
Down. Down into the
depths of the earth her spirit sank, immersing and submerging her soul with the
land, though she knew her body remained behind, safe and guarded by Madra.
As she drifted, she
felt another presence surround her. It touched her spirit with a jolt of
recognition and in that moment her psyche merged and melded with Gaea's.
She was known; no
longer alone.
Gaea’s lifeblood
infused within her, seeking, burrowing into Etha’s innermost soul, even as Etha
pushed outwards into Gaea. She fought back panic. This was a power far greater
and more infinite than Etha had ever imagined.
She gave herself over
to the experience, losing all sense of self and time as she traced Earth’s
lifeblood along its course. Like arteries and veins carrying blood through her
body, she felt a slow, ponderous current that flowed, sluggishly, forcefully, ever outward,
thrumming with a steady beat. Etha followed this current up through the earth,
up and up and up, until at last, her senses found and infused with a living network
of roots and tendrils and life.
Within this network she
felt her consciousness expand even further. Twisting and twining. Pulsing and
surging. Upwards, outwards, further and further, until Etha’s senses stretched
beyond her capacity to comprehend. She feared she might lose herself
within this network, this immeasurable being that was Gaea. Power called to
her, welcoming her, nourishing her own lifeblood, gifting her with an ability
to see into a hidden realm she never knew existed.
In this state, Etha was
given freedom to explore the world through Gaea’s senses. Wherever bush or
branch or leaf touched, there she could travel. She still didn’t have wings to
fly, yet here she was, soaring among the treetops like a bird; more like a squirrel,
leaping from branch to branch. In her minds eye she could see the Riana River
below her, the river and the hills, the snow-capped mountains. She narrowed her
vision and lowered her focus to stride upon the forest floor, like a leopard;
strong, powerful, dangerous. She encountered Madra’s daughter, Tulie training
survival skills to a group of initiatives. Tulie raised her spear at the sight
of the leopard, but Etha sprang further into the trees, found a raven perched
on a branch and took flight, winged at last, to soar over the Riana Valley.
She had never felt
such exhilaration before, connected as she was with Gaea. There was power in
this touch, the ability to see the outer world from within. She hungered for it
in the same way her body hungered for food.
The hunger became
voracious. The potential to traverse this hidden realm was overwhelming. Were
there limits to how far she could go? How far did Gaea extend? This was power
beyond her comprehension; she didn’t understand it. And the more she tried, the
more panicked she became.
Alarmed, Etha
struggled against Gaea’s presence, closing off her senses to all but her panic
and her need for self. She forced her thoughts back into the confines of her
body, lying on the cold, hard floor at the heart of the Riana Caves.
Consciousness returned
and Etha’s eyes snapped open, and though they filled with the misty light of
the cave, it took a moment to disengage her senses from Gaea.
She must have made a
slight sound. Movement stirred beside her. A bright, warm light pulsed from a
crystal held in Madra’s hand, illuminating the Riana Leader, giving detail to
their surroundings.
“Where… where are the
others?" Etha asked, as awareness settled around her and she saw she was
alone with Madra.
"I sent them
away," Madra answered. "They weren’t able to reach a trance
state like you did.”
Etha nodded,
disoriented, unsettled. "How long have we been here?”
“The meal bell has
chimed twice since we began. Are you able to speak of your experience? Did Gaea
speak to you?”
"I... I
don’t know." She found she was not ready to share the
experience just yet. Needed time to absorb what had happened. "No.
I’m sorry”
“Are you certain? You
were ‘gone’ a long time.”
“I don’t know.” She
sat up, crossed her legs, set hands on knees, palm upwards. “Have you
experienced it, yourself?”
“I have not. As far as
I know, only three others in all the history of Riana have ever done so. There
is no shame if you did not.”
Etha shivered as her
sense of self slowly returned, even as she yearned to return to that hidden
realm; a desire so strong and so at odds with her fear of being consumed by
Gaea.
+++
Etha fled, driven by
the need to put distance between herself and the yearning desire to connect
with Gaea that yet consumed her soul. Up the narrow passage she ran, scraping
and bruising legs and arms against rough walls, loosing dirt and debris as she
passed.
Finally, she made it
to the cave entrance. She slowed her pace as she burst out of the passage,
sucking in large gusts of air as she went, not paying attention to the path at
her feet until she tripped upon an up-thrust root and fell, sprawling among the
brush.
Day was fading to dusk
behind a low layer of clouds, heavy with the scent of fallen rain and
the promise of more to come. She stared up at the rapidly moving clouds
while the ground remained solid and unmoving beneath her trembling body.
A small wolf cub
scampered out from beneath a bush. The wild animal made eye contact with the
girl and froze in place, then scooted back into the dense brush. The action
brought Etha back into the moment, connecting her again to the here and now. She
felt as though she had lost something precious and was just realizing its full
worth.
The gray sky
contrasted with the green earth around her. She lay under a spreading
canopy of low hanging branches, embraced by leafy ferns and sharp, prickly
brush. Sweeping hills and snow-capped mountains graced the horizon, a sliver of
light reflecting off the Riana River, snaking its way through a distant valley and
the forest below. Tulie was down there, Etha knew, training survival skills to
a group of initiates.
The sound of a stream, swollen
from recent rain, teased her senses, gurgling and swishing its way
down a rock-strewn bed. The ground cover was wet, the earth soft and
spongy under Etha's hand. She focused upon these sensations, remembering
what it felt to be merged with Gaea’s lifeblood.
And with that simple
contact she found herself attuning again to Gaea, and the hidden realm that,
until today, she’d never known existed.
Etha now knew that she
could merge her psyche into the splashing waters of the nearby creek, to trace
Gaea's lifeblood upstream, far to the North and the East, if she chose, where
the glacial walls formed the borders of her homeland of Kakaesia. Or follow
its winding course down to the Riana River, where it flowed into the Black Sea,
where she’d traveled once with her family. Or she could sink her spirit down
into earth’s soil, find and follow the network of roots and tendrils that
existed, like a hidden realm, below ground.
For some inexplicable
reason, this knowledge no longer filled her with the same sense of fear
Etha had felt under the crushing weight of the mountain.
Here, in the open air,
where heer psyche did not need to plow sluggishly upward through layers of
mountain and cave, she could simply touch the Earth Root and enter Gaea’s
hidden realm.
Earthsong erupted around and
within her, a celebration of Etha's awakening awareness to Gaea’s presence
and this newfound bond they shared. Gaea exulted at the joining, and Etha felt
the trembling of Earth’s joy rumbling deep underground, where Her lifeblood
pulsed and sang. Etha rejoiced as well.
A flock of birds
took wing in wild abandon. A herd of gazelle bounded out of the woods and into
the clearing below, full of grace and beauty. Trees swayed in rhythm to
the dancing wind, rustling the leaves and swirling among the waters of the
stream. Crickets and frogs lifted their voices, and a wolf cub sang out in
unison, a grand chorus that echoed Gaea’s delight and celebration.
She could hear Gaea’s
voice in her head. “I am known! I am no longer alone.”
