Courage Plumb

Rose and Talon gazed in disbelief as they waited for their father’s response to the newly unveiled “Commander” Lupier. He held his palm up; the meaning was evident: wait. Rose, however, lacked “waiting” skills. She quieted for a brief moment before bursting forth, “What was that?” Talon remained frozen in his thoughts, but her father continued to hold his hand in a manner that bespoke just a moment, please, wait just a moment. The outburst calmed Rose long enough for her father to complete his thoughts.

  The father finally acknowledged their gaping looks, “Shut the windows and close the doors, there are things we need to discuss, and we need to do it now.”

  Rose barked impatiently, “What kind of things? Just say what you need to say.” Talon and his father quickly secured the doors and windows. He gazed blankly at his sister, disbelieving her insolence. The father’s failure to response proved a sufficient response. His silence communicated the message: if you want your question answered then follow my instructions. Rose joined the others in securing the residence. With the windows and doors finally closed, the three Sunsculptors gathered around a table.

  The father began: “There are things you must know. It is part of being a Sunsculptor.”

  Rose interrupted him, “By ‘Sunsculptor’ do you mean by profession or by family?” Talon also wondered at this statement but dared not interrupt his father.

  Their father, annoyed at the interruption, impatiently retorted, “Is there a difference? As I said, there are things you must know. Typically, you hear these things much later in life but the arrival of Commander Lupier demands that we expedite your knowledge.” He paused while he looked away to reconsidered his decision. His breaths grew heavy. His weary eyes expressed fear. My children might misuse this tantalizing information. He wondered at his children’s ability to corral the information without succumbing to it lures. He believed in their character but worried about their maturity. They acted like teenagers, because they were, in fact, teenagers. Circumstances, however, demanded an unnatural leap in maturation. He continued, “Wisdom, children, be wise. I ask much from you, but you are capable if you work together. Do you understand? You must work together in what I am about to tell you. Between the two of you, I hope …” He did not finish his sentence. The serious, direct tone silenced both Talon and Rose. Both looked to the other for comfort. The tenor of this conversation reminded Talon of when his father told them ten years ago about the accident that took his mother’s life. Rose, who was only four at the time, felt no sting from that moment. Their father continued as much to himself as to his children, “I guess I just need to tell you everything I know. There may not be another time.”

  “Here goes. We are Sunsculptors, and our family played a significant role in the forging of Centage – the name given to the land where we live. In Centage, there are many villages, of which we live in one of them. Many, many generation ago, the land was different. It was not like this. A war ravaged the land in which we now live. They called it “The Last War” – thinking it would end all wars. Since then, people stopped fighting in wars. They stopped amassing weapons and trying to hurt other groups of people. I know you already know some of this, but I need to make sure you understand what I am about to tell you.”

  “I am unsure what events prompted or ended this war, but I do know that the primary weapon for determining its victor: the glowing blade. Those who used glowing weapons were far outnumbered, but they overcame their more numerous foes because of their weapons’ vast superiority. They slayed their opponents with unnatural ease. And as you likely guessed, sun-sculptors supplied their glowing weapons.”

  Rose gasped in disbelief. Talon, which likewise felt the rage of disbelief, steely glared at his father. Both children knew their sun-sculptor code forbade making tools that harmed human life. The Sunsculptor father enveloped his children in his ancestors’ commitment to peace, and the possibility that someone in their family, even many generations prior, used their craft to take human life appalled the two teens.

  Their father paused for moment to collect his thoughts while his children took the delay to comprehend his previous declaration. He continued, “As you realize, the role of sun-sculptors in waging war was a great shame upon our family. It was long ago and it is perhaps impossible to make moral judgments across so much time and place, but we, as Sunsculptors, can never rationalize violence. We are people who profess the beauty of life. I do not know much else about these days.”

  A lengthy paused ensued as the father tried without success to continue speaking. The right words eluded him and when he finally started speaking, an undetectable force seemed to prevent him from continuing. Finally, after much delay, he broke through the barrier, “And, I may have repeated the mistakes of our ancestors.” Through the indirect reference, the father finally found words for his thoughts. Talon and Rose looked to him in anticipation. They waited for the admission from their father.

  The elder sun-sculptor looked to his children and said two words, “Commander Lupier.” Pausing, the father finally plainly stated his concern, “Commander Lupier is a war-maker. His title means that he in charge of others. That is why those with him looked to him and followed his lead. They take orders from Lupier. Hence, they wear the same uniforms to declare their common allegiance. We can deduce from the uniforms that the people with him were also war-makers. They are seeking to harm others in an effort to take something from them. Additionally, I find it troubling for five war-makers to arrive with Commander Lupier. This indicates there are many, many others. If they can spare five individuals to watch Lupier, there are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of uniformed-guards. This whole matter frightens me. I do not fully understand what is taking place but there were some things that reveal part of his motivations.” The father remembered the six things he noted earlier and began to relay this information to his children. He remembered the first three words: Commander, uniforms, and five. He just explained, albeit briefly, the importance of the latter two things. Concerning “commander, he lacked a complete understanding of the title, but he knew enough to worry. A “commander” meant order and purpose, two aspects that benefited warmongering.

  The two other words came quickly to the father’s mind: Protectorate and Centage. He knew almost nothing of either notion, but they still concerned him. After collecting his thoughts to retrieve information long ago abandoned to the recesses of his mind, the father continued, “They spoke of the Protectorate and Centage. I know little of these matters. I doubt anyone really knows too much about it, but there are likely others who know more. The Protectorate was a powerful group of people during The Last War. They were one of the two factions that fought during that time. I do not know whether they initiated the conflict or whether they responded to its instigators. For our purposes, it matters not. Finally, there is Centage. This refers to the land in which we live. You know we live in a village and there are many other villages but all of these villages together are known as Centage.” The father paused for a moment to ensure the hearing of his carefully chosen words. He concluded, “This is all I know of these matters.”

  The notion of Centage and the affiliation of villages, if only by a name, were unknown concepts to the two apprentices. Both Rose and Talon knew only their village. While they encountered strangers from other villages from time to time, there never felt a bond between these strangers and themselves. Their entire life wrapped around the autonomy of their hamlet. It was self-sustaining and autonomous; they were not reliant upon goods from other areas. To hear that their village connected with other villages was nearly impossible to comprehend. They lacked the foundation of knowledge to understand the concept. Both Talon and Rose silently grappled with these ideas, and both possessed a great amount of unspoken trepidation. It was not that the information just provided by their father was frightening, but their burgeoning realization that their father just unloaded a wealth of information that even exceeded his understanding was becoming increasingly troublesome.

  Talon
finally broke the silence, “Does that mean The Last War was fought with others beside those in our village.” Talon, whose limited worldview never exceeded the confines of his village despite a few, brief business encounters with people from neighboring villages, brought forth a question that revealed his perspective was changing.

  “I believe so. It seems that way to me.”

  “What do you know about the Crimson Guard?’ queried Rose.

  “I have never heard of the ‘Crimson Guard’ before Lupier mentioned them earlier. My guess is that they are warriors, likely designed to serve the interests of the Protectorate.”

  “Warriors?” asked Rose. “Do you mean they are men and women trained to hurt others?”

  The father answered, “That is exactly what I mean.”

  Rose gasped. She covered her mouth with her hand in evident astonishment. Talon shook his head in disbelief. The sun-sculpting apprentices knew nothing of warriors, save what they read in books. They abhorred the idea of armed men and women marching against another group of human with the primary intent to kill their fellow beings.

  The eerie calm of the room gave way to father’s voice. “There is more.” He took a long pause considering whether to speak the words clamoring to exit his mouth. He continued again, this time with a greater sense of purpose that bolstered his chance of moving the words from ideas to vocalizations. “As I said, there is more … I am hesitant to mention this information to you but I believe now is the time. The events of today worry me more than I am saying.” The statement surprised Rose and Talon. Their father’s behavior since Lupier’s departure revealed the serious nature of this unrevealed matter. If their father suppressed the full extent of his concern, and yet, still seemed so concern, then what information must await? The man paused to ensure the attention of his already riveted children. “There is a book I need to show you. As a Sunsculptor, this book passes to one of you after my death. In my will, I already prepared to tell you what I am now about to reveal. The book possesses the potential for great power … great power … and as a result, it is secretly given to the one child least likely to abuse the knowledge, and whenever possible, it is given to this child as late in life as possible. The belief passed on to me by my mother and on to her by her mother and so forth, is that in the hands of a youth, the information in this book provides excessive temptation. Today, however, it is necessary to bypass the customs of the previous generations by giving the book to both of my children and giving it to them in their youth. I make this decision with a troubled heart. Part of me believes I err in this decision, but another part of me knows I must reveal it to you. Cataclysmic events are unfolding before us on this very day, and I must act accordingly.”

  Talon looked to his father and asked, “Are you sure this is the right decision, Father? Once the decision is made it cannot be reversed.”

  Rose, who typically thought her brother too plodding when making even the most mundane of decisions, surprisingly agreed. She echoed his concern to their father, “I think Talon might be right. Are you sure this is the right time?”

  Their father took pleasure at their hesitancy. If they were too eager to possess the book, then it bespoke their immaturity. Their willingness to question his decision revealed a vital maturation. The father responded gently to their questions, “Now is time. I wish it were not so but it is. Follow me. There is something I need to show you.”

  He led them to the back of the small workshop and pointed to a nondescript knob in one the wall’s wood planks. The father pointed at the knob without saying anything and pushed it with his finger. The knob lurched forward a small amount. Rose and Talon saw their father look back at them, again without saying anything. He proceeded to push two more knobs. Both of them lurched as the previous one. Brief orders were then whispered, “Remember the location; remember the order.” Their father reached his hand toward the wall and pushed in with his palm. A previously undetectable door hinged opened into the crawl space between the workshop and house. Both children gaped at the perfectly camouflaged door and the suddenly revealed secret room. Their father stepped into the small space and retrieved a small box. He spoke equally to himself as to his children, “This is what I need.” He pulled out the box and opened its top. Inside, a thick coat of dust covered an ancient book. The thick leather cover showed signs of age. An antiquated script, which utilized atypical adornments, declared its title. The letters, however, dazzled on the crusty brown cover; they glistened with a golden clarity.

  All three family members moved to table, but each preferred to stand rather than sit. They each pushed aside the unused chairs. The father examined the room as if expecting an unwelcomed observer, but they were completely alone. Life continued as normal outside the workshop. People in the village went about their usual comings and goings; none of them realized the epoch-changing events taking place within the cramped Sunsculptor residence.

  The father looked to his children and announced the book’s title, “This is the Book of Epiphany. It holds the secrets of sun-sculpting. I know how to corral light and make it into tangible goods, which I have taught you. This book, however, tells the secrets that gird our ability. It explains the properties of light, and tells why a sun-sculptor can form light particle into glowing goods. The exact nature of the secrets I do not know, because as you can see, the book is double-bound.” The father’s hand then rotated to the book so the children could see the double-bound cover. Whereas other books bind only one side of the pages so a person can leaf through the pages, this book cinched both ends. The information within the book was not for incidental viewing. Whatever words of wisdom held within the book, it appeared unrevealed since its original inscribing.

  “The book is made this way because it holds secrets that nobody, at least until possibly now, needed to hear. I never read it; neither did my mother. All I know of the book’s contents derive from the writing on the back cover. Do you see what it says?” Rose and Talon squeezed together so that both could read the words shimmering on the book’s back cover.

  Light is a Tool to Expand Life’s Longevity

  Never Is Light a Tool to Exacerbate Life’s Brevity

  Knowledge Laments That Ignorance is Bliss

  To Ignore the Reappearing Past is Great Remiss

  Weapons Forged of Light Caused Much Slaughter

  Bringing the Premature Death of Sons and Daughters

  When the Weapons of Light Are Again Revealed

  Then the Contents of This Book Cannot Be Concealed

  Open Too Soon and Greet Your Demise

  Open Too Late and Usher History’s Reprise

  All three read the words with a sense of foreboding. An unspoken question lingered in the air: should they open the double-bound book? The father offered a cryptic answer, “I am unsure how to understand these statements, and I know not if we are nearing the day to open this book. I do know, however, that I do not trust the motives of Commander Lupier. We should know more on his next visit. I will take steps that, hopefully, will force him to reveal his true intentions.”

  Rose interrupted her father, “What is in that book? And why is it called Book of Epiphany?” Talon looked at her in amazement that she could ask such apparently obvious questions. He quickly reminded himself that Rose lacked his plodding nature, and she, too frequently it seemed to him, spewed incomplete thoughts from her mouth.

  Their father, despite her interruption, answered the question, “Rose, a thousand generations, give or take a few, of Sunsculptors have seen only the book’s cover – not its contents. I have no idea what is inside. As Sunsculptors, we do not want to read those words because this book‘s information initiates our demise. I have ruminated much upon the warning placed upon the cover, and it seems to me that once the secrets of those pages are revealed, then the art of sun-sculpting begins its decline. I, for one, wish not to witness that event.”

  Rose continued to question, “But how do you know that?”

  “Some things
you just know,” her father said. Rose accepted this answer, but Talon found it frustratingly vague. How could his father “just know”? Rose, however, accepted that not all ideas reduced to words. The veracity of belief did not hinge upon its communicable quality. Rose trusted her father so she also trusted his conjecture. Talon, however, preferred verifiable beliefs. He said nothing of his concerns.

 

  3 A PLAN THWARTED