The Chronicles of Heaven's War: Sisters of the Bloodwind

  *

  Who of Ma-we’s children could not recite verbatim all of Mother’s words concerning life and harmonics? Why, the essence of harmonic life and conscience were the first major lessons taught to the children, beginning from infancy. Any child instructed at the feet of this wisest of all people knows far more concerning this science than those of you schooled in the greatest of institutions and taught by the ablest of educators. Mihai understood full well the real meaning of Mother’s teaching.

  What Mihai could not comprehend was the gravity of her soon to be made choices. For a person of humble heart, as was Mihai, it would be difficult to believe that one person could affect the future of the universe. Oh, yes, Ma-we knew, and all too well. Her little butterfly had been given its freedom, and how it chose to use that freedom might well judge for all living things the past, present and future. How very well Ma-we knew this.

  This was not to say that Mihai did not understand she was to make important decisions this day. Ma-we did not waste words at times like this. With this in mind, she asked with all seriousness, “Mother, Maker of Worlds, the one who knows what good exists in dark places and can see the finish before something is begun, what must your child do to clear her mind and heart of empty matters so that she is able to hear clearly the music of harmonious songs?”

  Ma-we reached out and firmly gripping Mihai’s hands in hers, lowered her head as she pondered such a question. At length, she lifted her eyes and smiled, asking, “Does one smell the storm with their mind or heart? And if it is with the mind, how does the heart affect the decision one makes concerning that storm?”

  Mihai puzzled, saying not a word.

  Answering it herself, Ma-we replied, “It is the heart that considers the storm’s potential, stirring with memories past of tempests endured. The heart recommends the mind to prepare for whatever may be delivered upon person and property.”

  She let go a hand, waving it. “The beast does not recall a thing with its heart. It waits until thunder rolls across the plain or a downpour brings the raging flood. Then its heart sends it into a panic or sends it into deep forgetfulness. Either way, the beast does not warn its mind to prepare, so invites the Fates to choose for it life or death.”

  “Do you not see the cattle flee for the trees when the lightning rules the sky, and the buffalo rush madly toward the cliffs at the crashing of the thunder? Why, even the horse will abandon all common sense and return to a burning barn for safety. See, the heart of a beast recalls no past and cannot discern the future. It does only what impassions it at the moment. It attempts no conference nor seeks any council with the mind.”

  She patted Mihai’s hand. “My darling daughter, born of my flesh, created in my very image, you must not allow your mind to suppress your heart. Your kind have invented many machines with minds that can think and even reason. But they must have their power harnessed by the hearts of men, for they care not for friend or foe and feel no shame in crushing the innocent along with the guilty.”

  “Also!” She shook her finger. “You must not allow your heart to rule your mind. Many are the wise who have fallen into darkness because they listened to wicked reasonings and prattle that soothed and comforted the heart when, at the very same moment, their minds could see the utter folly of such reasonings.”

  “Do not forget my prophet and seer, AsreHalom! He stood among the greatest of my chief councilors, dispensing wisdom that even I marveled at. Like the Cherubs in understanding he was, showing greater insight than PalaHar, Tolohe, and even Ardon. Yet he fell away to the dark persuasions of Legion and Godenn, becoming worse than either in cruelty and evil.”

  Ma-we looked into the sky, speaking as though to herself. “He was not deceived like so many others were, for he, through his own insight, saw from afar the calamity of rebellion and the eternal ruin it could bring.” She looked back at Mihai. “It was AsreHalom who penned the words of the book, PolutelesHuperephania: the Great Price of Pride. He knew from his own self-induced visions the future, but surrendered it all up to a fickle heart.”

  Wiping a tear from her eye, Ma-we went on. “So, my dear one, you can see that both the mind and the heart will think and reason on matters. Each will produce its own counsel. What you must do is force them to sit down together as allies – not opponents – and work out a battle strategy that will bring you, their ward, safely through whatever storm that may crash upon your shore.”

  She warned, “AsreHalom fell victim to his own unrestrained emotions, those emotions given to my children for the dream-share. Such emotion moves two lovers to share an ecstasy that only immortals can enjoy in reality. This ecstasy is so great, I had to design my children’s minds to make a disconnect from their bodies of flesh when experiencing this dream-share in order to preserve the flesh alive. But that you already know.”

  “The point is this: unrestrained emotion was a gift given by me to my children when the world was innocent and carefree. In these troubled times, one must carefully control it…” She lowered her voice. “or it can gain rulership over the thinking of the heart and even the mind and bring the soul and all that belongs to it to ruin.”

  “Please, my dear, understand this.” Ma-we’s voice fell to little more than a hush. “You must never allow this form of emotion to gain mastery over your mind and heart. It ever seeks its own selfish reward, lying to your soul the reasons for its deceptive passions, haunting your thoughts and flooding them with doubt concerning future rewards and hopes… telling your heart, ‘never will you see such joy unless you satisfy my desires’.”

  “Child, it cries out to your soul, confessing a lasting loneliness if it sees not its wishes fulfilled. Lost love, bad times, hope delayed, postponed dreams, anything that can make your heart ache, this monster will use to induce you to do its will. It listens not to the music… not now… not anymore.” Ma-we bowed her head in sadness. “Its songs of love have stolen so many of my children away and journeyed them into the darkness beyond all hope. There it slowly eats away any goodness remaining until only its evil passions remain.”

  She shook her head. “Until this age of evil passes far from view, I fear the gift of the dream-share will remain a two-edged sword. Until your Shiloh can fully effect the cure…and that will be far into the next age…some of my children shall remain slaves to their own emotional demons.”

  Ma-we’s sadness showed clearly in her eyes as she peered into Mihai’s face. “One so precious to my flesh, you opened your heart up to a man you trusted beyond trust. He, for his part, murdered you that day so long ago, overloading an opened, innocent mind that was yearning the gift of the dream-share with a malice which had never been experienced before or since in our universe.”

  “I returned your power and strength to mind and flesh, but I could not repair your torn and tortured heart. My child, do not trust it for it has not yet fully healed. If you are not careful, it will gladly listen to your emotions, believing a cure is imminent or that you have the power to restrain all feeling.”

  Patting Mihai’s leg, Ma-we concluded her counsel. “Anger, hatred, lust, greed and jealousy and other such feelings are the progeny of the dream-share emotion run amuck. They are the warped and twisted siblings of love, joy, peace, and contentment. They resist the harmony found in the universe, even creating a distorted music which produces the discord that threatens the very fabric of all living things.”

  She warned, “No matter how troubling or complex your journey is, no matter the turmoil and disquiet your heart and mind must endure, if you can feel the sweet harmony of peace, love, or contentment, well…” She nodded her head. “Then you have found the music. It will never betray you in the end. Your journey will always find success.”

  Mihai leaned forward, asking, “Mother…the music…does sadness or fear create the wrong music, too?”

  Ma-we slowly shook her head. “No, my child, but either can distract your reasoning abilities to the point of
blinding your senses to the musical harmonics. If you should become distracted by such things, you may misread the music, which may prove as dangerous as ignoring it.”

  Seeing a growing concern on Mihai’s face, Ma-we quickly added, “A smart woman like you need not always depend on the sweet music, for it is only one of your many powers. Do not forget that your own mind has the ability to see the resulting future from acts committed. It is a very capable tool, full of reasoning abilities and logic. A wise child learns to depend on all her gifts possessed - even an old stodgy ring that she might despise. You must become skilled with all your weaponry.”

  Ma-we so much wanted to warn her daughter of her greatest weakness, but feared it would compromise the child’s freedom of choice. She knew that Mihai’s fathomless love and devotion for her mother fueled her overpowering desire to please Ma-we as well. This devotion could easily blind the girl of the need to have her own heart satisfied. Still, Ma-we remained silent. ‘The child must choose for herself.’

  Sitting back, Ma-we slapped her knees and exclaimed, “Enough of that! On with business!”

  Relaxing, with folded hands in her lap, she continued. “This morning you requested to be relieved of your command as field marshal.” She squinted, asking, “Is that still how you feel?”

  Taken aback, Mihai hesitated before replying. “Why…why, why, yes, I believe it will be best for all parties. I…”

  Ma-we jauntily interrupted. “I accept your resignation! Long before you entered my domain, I perceived this moment and have already given consideration to this matter, having already chosen your replacement!”

  To say that Mihai was shocked would be an understatement. Not allowing time for her reply, Ma-we quickly moved to assuage any possible hurt feelings. “Michael, god of the armies and all the northern mountains, there has never been, nor will there ever be a better commander and chief over the armies than you have been. Yet I have seen the stress in your soul for many long days and some time ago set the wheels of fate in motion to relieve you of this most worrisome of responsibilities.”

  Mihai felt herself slow of wit on occasion, but she could clearly see that the timing of her return to EdenEsonbar had been well orchestrated to coincide with this very minute. This was no random meeting, nor was it contrived by Mihai. She had been set up big-time, and by her own mother! Her accusing question reflected her sense of betrayal. “Soooo…who did my innocent Mother happen upon so quickly to fill such an important position in her government?”

  A dancing, winged beetle suddenly caught Ma-we’s undivided attention. For the longest time, she chattered on about its strange and wonderful qualities.

  At length, Mihai put an end to her mother’s charade. “Mother! It is not an uncommon insect and you know it full well! Why do you play with me?! You have chosen my successor. That’s enough. Just tell me who it is! Er…please...”

  Sweet innocence was reflected on Ma-we’s face as her lilting voice softly answered, “My dear one, I intended to seek your permission.” She nodded. “Yes, I did. But… er… well, you know… things came up… intruded, you might say. By the time you arrived… late, as I had predicted… the choice had been made, with the council’s approval, of course.”

  “Who, Mother? Who?!” Mihai’s patience was wearing thin.

  As Ma-we became absorbed in the antics of another of her little creatures, she so casually replied, “TrishaQaShaibJal...”

  Mihai almost jumped from her seat, her face reddening with anger and astonishment. “Trisha from the lost city of nowhere?! A land forgotten in the mist of time?! Why an urchin of an unknown sire, whose bloodline is unsure and strength unproven? My own people do not know this creature. How could you allow them to trust to her kind and of such untested stature? At least we have a record of life for others like AlbaMagadan, Tabitha Copeland, or… or even Symeon. But not for her!”

  Ma-we did not take her eyes off the little bug as she calmly commanded, “Sit down, Peter. Hurrying feet in the darkness see not the tree roots that will cause calamity. Please sit down.”

  Grumbling, Mihai sat, staring into her lap.

  Allowing moments to pass, Ma-we studied her daughter, finally asking, “Why do you hate the one who gave you breath this very day, the one I sent to you as comforter? I watched to see your love and passion rise for her on this very morn, and your parting words revealed only endearment. How has this woman suddenly become an abomination in your eyes? Tell me, please, why have you accosted an innocent heart?”

  Feeling shame for her outburst against a close friend, but still showing resentment for her mother’s decision, Mihai quietly answered, “It is true, I love this woman, but as a companion dear, not some warrior to lead my…er…your people. She is untested in so many ways and…and I have not found her that impressive in her leadership role, which you requested of me to give.”

  Finally, Mihai’s real reason was revealed. “Mother, there are many warriors from this world who have proven themselves valiant beyond valiant. They deserve such a great gift be granted them. They deserve to be recognized for their whole-souled devotion to our cause.”

  Stopping her daughter, Ma-we asked, “If this position of field marshal is such a grand gift, why have you thrown it into the dirt, counting your years of wearing its crest as evil and forlorn? Why do you wish this upon your closest companions when you abhor it, yourself?”

  Wagging a finger, Ma-we offered her kindly chastisement. “Unproved and untested in your eyes, maybe… and unknown, yes… but not only to you. Your enemy knows not of the tempest rising in the east. My Daughters of the Blade do live, some even walking among us as I speak! Tonight you shall confess my Swords…and one you will reveal as master over my people.”

  Mihai gasped, “Trisha is…?!”

  “Yes!” Ma-we snapped. “And as for untrained, let me tell you, my Swords did not sleep while in the Field of the Minds! There were other forces working with them that have not yet touched your mind, teaching and training them in all the arts of war. Why, even Gabrielle cannot match them for knowledge gained. Now they walk among us, honing their skills for latter days. Your soul shall one day bless this lost creature, for she will deliver it and many others from a calamity you, yourself, will have created.”

  She poked her finger in Mihai’s face. “Now tell me, why do you chafe at me giving to the kind from the Realms Below this gift of field marshal, instead of blessing one of your kind with it?”

  Mihai lowered her head in thought. Her answer came with some effort. “I felt no discord, Mother, but my heart felt jealousy for long-time companions. It deceived me into thinking they were being slighted over honor given. Trisha is my friend… and I do love and trust her, but… but my heart feels her a threat to our world… like this gift bestowed upon her is a form of usurpation of my people’s glory.”

  Ma-we shook her head, again wagging her finger. “The glory of your kind must fade. You, yourself, prophesied this very day long ago, reinforcing it through visions given to your trusting companion, John. You must take the lead in passing it along to these strangers from distant worlds if you wish to see victory in the end. Already I detect subtle jealousy growing among the children. You must put an end to it, tonight!”

  Mihai’s face lit up with surprise. “How am I to do such a thing?! Tonight belongs to you and your new field marshal. I shall be standing in the shadows as one of the observers.”

  A sly twinkle grew in Ma-we’s eyes. “The breeze does not always drift in from the west. Flowers do not always open in the morning. We must not conclude our fate based upon the past, nor should we discount the sun when the rains shower upon us.”

  She sat back. “Tonight has not yet been decided. Whether you hide in the shadows or stand above the others is yet to be determined. Do not hurry the future, but learn that your heart is treacherous and deceitful. Wait upon the moment, seeing not to a distant hour.”

  “Now,
I again ask you...” Ma-we stood, walked around her chair and rested her hands on its back. “Respectfully I ask you, do you approve of my choice of Trisha as our new field marshal?”

  Mihai stood and walked to the balcony railing, staring into the jungle growth below. At length, she replied, “The news you bring to my ears is good, but surprising. Long have I yearned to see one of Shiloh’s living Swords, often wondering if they should come from these worlds. Had I not known that Trisha was one selected to be a Sword, I would still decline my acceptance of her in such a role, feeling her under-qualified for the position.”

  With eyes seeking acceptance of her feelings, Mihai turned toward her mother. “Please do not hate me for my lack of faith in your choices, but I still cannot see what shines so clearly in your mind. My training as a soldier warns me not to fully trust others’ suggestions and conclusions if I cannot discern matters myself.” She nodded approvingly. “You’re wise… so wise. I’m sure our Trisha will be a good commander.”

  Grinning, Ma-we thanked her daughter for accepting her choice, adding, “Do not think your old soldiering out of line. More often than not it will preserve you and others alive. It is well that you have remembered it.”

  Walking over to Mihai, Ma-we slipped an arm through hers. She could see the trouble hiding behind the woman’s eyes and sought to expunge it. “My Love, how I love you and those who are like you. There are many truly great leaders among your siblings. I can see that, in the coming maelstrom, a grand crowd of them will surrender everything to accomplish the removal of evil from this land. From among your own kind, new and powerful leaders will rise, and shall become more renowned than those who have come before.”

  “Child, there is still to come a man-child who shall become greater in stature and power than even you have become. You will bend your knee to him before he even arrives, for you will see his future glory with your own insight. My Love, this Trisha from forgotten lands is no less capable a leader than this coming Shiloh. That is why she is to take up the sword in his stead, so that my children will gain a glimpse of the Whirlwind.”

  “The hour is soon coming on which the history of the entire universe will hinge. It will not determine who is fit to rule. If it were only that, I would have surrendered the world to your brother long ago and left for unreachable places to begin anew a race of children to comfort me. But it is much more than that, so much more.”

  “What, Mother?” Mihai quietly asked. “If we do not fight for you and what is righteous and good, what do my brothers and sister die for?”

  Ma-we patted her daughter’s arm. “You do fight and die for what is righteous and good, but that good is far grander than to decide who stands as chief over what is mere dust and stone. Your cause transcends the mundane and erstwhile things of this universe. You fight for the very souls of all the living, dead, and those yet to come. My dear one, you fight for life itself.”

  A dark cloud swept Ma-we’s face as she squeezed Mihai’s arm. “Please, Dear, listen to me and let the prattle of a troubled soul fill your ears with long-known words.”

  “Ages ago, when the worlds of men were little more than a dream, the wise of that day gathered to a great council, searching for answers to the question, ‘How shall the universe of material things be constructed?’ By the measurements of time, reckoned by your kind, a lifetime of star-systems came and passed, again and again, before the council was concluded, but for those present it was as if only a moment.”

  “There was finally a consensus come among us as to the construction, it being primarily made of three strata. We called them ‘elements’, each independent of the other, but also combined in an amalgam so that the fate of one would become the fate of all. The first stratum or element was what is commonly called the ‘Web of the Universe’. Upon it, or into it, all the universes hang. Its power of artificial intelligence is what binds a universe together, never permitting its chaotic destruction.”

  “The second stratum has commonly come to be called ‘the Web of the Minds’. Into it all the essences of lasting life were placed. It is this web that is the actual reality of all living things, for it contains the true materials that make up the mind, made up of the pure, immortal essence of life. The material comprising this element can not be destroyed, for it is a singular form of energy, taken directly from the soul of the Giver of life…not invented by her.”

  Ma-we shook her head. “Although the fabric making up the Web of the Minds cannot be destroyed, it can dissipate. Indeed, it is part of its very design. You see, all living flesh gathers this fabric to itself, but without the interweaving effect created by the third element or strata, at the death of the flesh, the fabric scatters like the snow on a driving wind. Only to my manly, human creatures is the gift of eternal bonding between all the strata given. And by their very design, with knowledge, my children would one day gain the ability to tap into the power of this third element, as some already have.”

  “Allow me, please, to digress.” She swept her hand in a wide arc. “The council concluded that all life other than the children of my worlds needed to be temporary in order to produce the ultimate of harmony and balance with the laws of the new universes. Life, then, could be ever-changing, evolving, you might say, within a series of genetic laws implemented to rein in catastrophic diversity, something that could threaten life. Ever-changing life would contribute to an ever-changing universe.”

  She gently poked her daughter’s arm. “Variety, ever-changing variety - it’s the spice of life, my Dear! You never get bored when there’s always something new and unexpected to look forward to.”

  Squeezing Mihai’s arm, Ma-we added, “The council decided that freedom such as I had in mind for my children could lead to their demise through possible accident, because their flesh would be made from the very dust of the universe, instead of my immortal being. I accepted the council’s recommendations, at least part of them so, that by giving each of my children an undying mind, I would never lose one to an accident brought on by my gift of freedom.”

  Ma-we now returned to the explanation of the three strata. “As I have said, the third element upon which your worlds hang and survive is the most precious because it bonds all the parts of the universe together. Although all intelligence, real and artificial, depends on this element for its cohesive existence, its power resides only within my children here and in the Lower Realms. And they, alone, can tap into its energy or decide its fate.”

  The way Ma-we was explaining the fabric of the universe was peculiarly strange and familiar all at the same time, especially this third constructive strata. The study of EbenCeruboam concerned itself primarily with the first two elements of the universal web, the third being explained by conflicting psychological theory and mathematical calculations relating to the actions of the harmonics, based upon the personal opinion of the individual educator.

  Mihai excitedly interrupted. “You tell me of hidden secrets when you say, ‘we alone can tap into this strata and decide its fate’. Still, what does it have to do with our long wars and the destiny of worlds?”

  Ma-we slowed her daughter down with kindly counsel. “Now child, one does not make the wine before harvesting the grapes. Be patient and allow me to finish the harvest of information I have for you. Then you may make the wine to your liking.”

  “Hidden there are many secrets from you, but not all my children. There are those - often not the wisest nor most renowned - who have deeper understanding than some of my greatest councilors. JabethHull, your one-time mentor, was such a man, but to himself he kept all things secret, as he should have.”

  She wagged her finger. “It was at my personal request that he allowed you passage with him, he being a recluse, finding only Nhoset to his liking. You were so very blessed by his company. Recall your dream-shares with him and wisdom will abound in your heart.”

  “Mother…?!”

  Ma-we put a finger to Mihai’s l
ips, shushing her. “The day will ever march forward and tomorrow eternally remains an elusive dream. Catch the wind when it gathers from the west and waste not the hour before the calm. You and I have so little time. It is my turn to speak and your turn to listen.”

  Mihai nodded, keeping silent.

  “Good!” Ma-we grinned. “Now allow the breeze to catch your sails and I will tingle your ears with secrets that few have come to know and even fewer understand.” She reached up and cradled Mihai’s chin in her hand. “The hour has come for the revealing of hidden things. You must now begin to understand them.” Taking each other’s hand, the two started to slowly pace the long balcony.

  With eyes watching the floor, Ma-we began, “The third element is a product of the ultimate formula of what you children call ‘mathematics’. It is the absolute equation, the very reason for the invention of your EbenCeruboam. Long have my children searched for this, believing it holds key to the secrets of the universe and beyond. Truth be said, it does, but not as my children think it should be.”

  “Child, my dearest one of my flesh, there are others I love as much as you, but none I love more. You, child, you yourself are the closest living product, in purity, of this absolute equation. Its energy surrounds you in swaddling bands that binds you to its fate. That is why just like me, those filled with discord hate you, while the ones in harmony with the universe love you.”

  “Please do not misunderstand, my sweet lover, you are not made up of this element, but are bound up with it. There is a difference, which I will attempt to explain later. Your birthing and early life were not noticeably different from that of my other children, other say, your fondness for snooping and inordinate need for reassurance of acceptance, the latter being most perplexing for me. Otherwise you were only ordinary… sorry.”

  “Life went on, and after your coming of age, I got on to other matters more pressing, including the birthing of many more sons and daughters, among them your next sibling, Euroaquilo. It was not until your first sojourn beyond EdenEsonbar’s star system, and your returning… your sixtieth year, if I recall correctly… that I noticed a peculiar change within you. Indeed, it was after this time that Chrusion began to distance himself from you, as he later did with me.”

  “You were not yet in your two-hundredth year, only beginning your formal education, when I handed you over to JabethHull. He, I decided, should tutor you in the ways of EbenCeruboam, the emerging study of universal law, because he had greater understanding of it than any of my other children. At his feet you were taught not theory but divine secrets I had shared with him. This also gave me opportunity to make a close study of you,” She grinned, “my captive specimen, to see just what was going on with you.”

  “Many were the things I discovered about my daughter. Oh, how intriguing you were, still are! This third element had entwined itself around your very being. Every fiber of every cell was alive with its energy, something I’d never seen to such an extent in any of my other children. Curiosity overwhelmed me, forcing me to search every part of your soul, seen and unseen, for a clue to what made you so different.”

  “What I found was profound beyond my wildest imaginings, for it renewed a hope within me that I had all but abandoned. My joy soared to new heights, so much so, I ignored a growing gloom that was slowly creeping into your world.”

  Ma-we paused a moment in thought, asking herself, ‘Or was it that my daughter was now providing such a shining contrast, I could finally see what had always been there?’

  She shrugged. “Whatever… I could find nothing physically, mentally or emotionally different between you and your fellow siblings. There was nothing about you that was special except… let me think, how do I explain this? Except the way your mind interacted with this third elemental building block. It was as if your mind – the invisible part made up of the Web of the Minds – the real you…it was as if your mind was calling out to the third element, drawing it in to itself.”

  “You, my child! You had become the living equation to revealing of the very secrets of the universe! And what was so profound to me was that you… your heart and mind… had formulated its composition and structure, nurturing it until you had mastered it flawlessly. Somehow you discovered then crafted the perfect harmonic music, creating a near true image of my heart within yourself.” Ma-we laughed. “And you never knew it!”

  “This was most important! You see, not by my hand had my most precious creation come into existence, but by yours did it take place. What a gift to me, to have one of my own give back to me what I so much needed but could not create for myself!”

  Mihai could no longer contain herself. “Tell me, please, Mother! Tell me please what this magic formula is that I created!”

  Ma-we laughed. “Oh child, do you not understand?! On your own - in your heart and mind - you made the near perfect magic of harmonic music, tapping your soul into the wonders of universe, the foundation of which is made of my perfect essence. It is this essence that built the third element, strata, and it is what binds all things together. I made it that way. It is also what makes my heart rejoice the most.”

  “What does?! Ma-we…Lowenah… My sweet Mother, what does?!”

  Again Ma-we laughed. “Why, the perfect equation, my Cherished One. It is what I have encourage all men to search for, but until you unlocked its coded secrets, it had remained a mystery to the others.” Loneliness grew in her voice. “And I was beginning to believe that no one ever would…or could...”

  Ma-we perked up, squeezing Mihai’s hand and smiling. “Now I knew that the others, all the others could attain to the same level, evolve to the new heights of awareness that have no bounds or hold any secrets. I also had a mentor to teach the others, if only by example, how to attain the near perfect concept, maybe even perfect concept of what you call ‘mathematics’.”

  Placing her hand on her chest, Mihai gasped, “Me…?! A Mentor…?! How…?! I knew nothing of what you were doing and I taught no one a thing other than how to speak at the wrong time and impute the wrong understanding while doing it.”

  Ma-we grinned. “Oh, yes, my impetuous chatterbox! So true it was that you tried the patience of many of the older children. But you were the key to their unlocking the secrets of EbenCeruboam, the secrets of the universe. I needed to pass you among them, no matter how painful and trying it was for them.” She winked. “You were their only hope.”

  There was a twinkle of satisfaction in her eyes as she peered into Mihai’s. “Many were the ones you educated. Oh yes, most did not - still don’t realize what they were learning. You changed them, brought them closer to the pure music, which drew the essence of the third element in to them…their hearts. A few others like Tolohe grew to consciously understand it in their hearts and became silent mentors, themselves.”

  “But it was you, child, that I gave my heart away to. Your music was sweetest of all. Oh, how my heart sang in rapturous song over you!” She squinted, eyeing her daughter. “Did you have no sense about you to wonder at my constant attention upon my treasure after your departure from Jabeth and Nhoset? Did you not see my fingers at work when, suddenly, so many of my older children began paying such a young, foolish, sibling so much undue attention?”

  “After you had mastered your education and been put through many trials to test your mettle, and after you had reached an age acceptable to my other children, I brought you into my court along with Euroaquilo, your next younger sibling, thus keeping your heart humble. You became my emissary.” Ma-we shook her head. “All right, you were one of my messengers, but very much like an emissary. Anyway, my children got to know you.”

  She shook her finger. “And you did rub off on them, subtly, mind you, but rub off, none the less.”

  Ma-we stopped her pacing. “You thought yourself so unimportant and insignificant, you could not see the effect you had on others. Oh, true, you were not honored like my princes and w
ise councilors, but you did not go unnoticed. Long before I lifted you up to grandeur, by giving into your hand the lower realms of men, my caring children adored you and what you were.”

  She stared at the floor. “Your brother grew angry with me when I gave you the Lower Realms. He did not understand, could not, for he had already grown beyond your kind, or should I say he had never grown up to it, but remained as a babe to selflessness, seeking only his own wanton desires.”

  Now lifting her eyes to Mihai’s, she explained, “You see, my Lovely One, it was not you who my son came to hate and murder, but what was inside you. He realized that the world of earthly men, being taught by you, would become like you in this quality. They would learn to sing this alluring song and draw the third element to themselves, thus sing their music to me and not to him. His objective was to destroy your music, ruin the key that unlocks the secret universe of the heart and twist it so that it could only produce unimagined ugliness.”

  “You mean he intended not my death?!” Mihai cried. “He only wanted to hurt me?”

  Ma-we stroked her daughter’s hand. “Your brother accomplished just what he desired and I, in my foolish innocence, did not see it until… until it was nearly too late… and even then it was only by accident, as you know so well how Darla saved us all a most awful fate. Because of that discovery, we have been given time…time to perfect a healing while holding to the laws of the universe.”

  “Yes, to answer your question, your brother sought not your death, though making it appear to be such, so that his real purpose would remain hidden until it came to its fatal fruition. Then it would be too late to alter the Fates of history and then he, he supposed, could force me to abandon this universe to him, allowing him forever to satisfy his selfish desires to the limit.”

  She shook her head. “He is stupid…so selfish stupid! Little does he know or wants to know the final results should he find success to his evil plans.”

  Ma-we began anew, stroking Mihai’s arm. “And that is why you must know what is at stake here and that the music played into this third element can either bond all living things together or rent them asunder, turning the universe - if there still is one - into a lifeless mass of stone and dust.”

  The two again took up strolling the balcony, Ma-we continuing. “There is so much I could explain, but the hours are not long enough in this age to tell you all I could. I will tell you this: Your brother understood that you were the key to my success at helping the others learn the secrets to this last element, both here and in the Realms Below. He also knew that once fully unlocked or understood, there would be nothing impossible for my children to do, so to speak. There would no longer be any need for his rulership, at least as a leader over the people.”

  “Chrusion feared his loss of glory, place among the people as ‘Chief Host, God Personified’, as he pictured himself. If he could warp the key so that it sang discord, it, better than all other children, could inflict damage to this third element, corrupting it to his liking or crushing forever its furtive power. Either way, he saw himself as the winner, becoming the Eternal Father over all the universe.”

  “Your brother also knew he must act quickly to stop your musical harmonics from infecting the world of men, something that would be so easy to do with young minds thirsting for knowledge. That is why he pushed the hour of your torment. I had unwittingly forced his hand the day I gave to you complete governance over the world of men. If permitted, you’d contaminate those creatures all too soon, they looking up to you as the god of Wisdom, and they would not consider him as of any worth.”

  “But he deceived himself into thinking you weak of mind, having little if any inner strength. The monster he planted in your mind was expected to overtake your soul long ago. What he could not understand was the inner strength you had and that, combined with the fibers your music gathered from the third element, made you nearly invincible to the demon’s attacks. Notice I said nearly...”

  She stopped strolling again. “Eventually, if you do not successfully remove it from your mind, your brother will attain success in what he has attempted. If you are in your mortal self, then you will die. If you have become immortal, it will drive away your sanity, delivering you into a world of damnable abomination, never to regain your senses again. Either way, it will lead to the eventual demise of everything mortal, my heart breaking, thus bringing an end to all that is held together by it.”

  Taking hold of the hand of a very astonished Mihai, Ma-we opened it and began playing her finger across her palm. “The hope of your mortal cleansing has passed on. Its hour ended this very morn. Now you must wait until your immortal flesh is delivered upon you. Until then, I will provide a helper to keep your demon in check. And, at an hour of need I will provide another, a man-child, who already sings the music that unlocks the elements. He will accomplish what I have not.”

  Hushing Mihai, Ma-we explained, “I sent my child to the world of men for this very reason. To save men? Do your really think your sacrifice in death on some lonely desert mount could save men? By law it did, but it was the power of your music that saved men and you, yourself. For while you lived upon the land, all the time you sang your song into receptive hearts that to this day drives men to act in strange and wonderful ways.”

  “Indeed, the power your music played on the hearts of men was far greater than even I expected. So great it was and still is, that it bonds their world together with surpassing strength, so much so, that the discord of evil produced is almost negated, thus slowing down the destructive forces attempting to rip that world apart. But it cannot hold things together forever.”

  “Even now there are signs of discord’s destructive forces at work, like here. The increasingly strange weather conditions and mass die-off of certain species of flesh are sure signs that the Web of the Universe is beginning to fray faster than it can repair itself. The hour soon comes when all men in the realms above and below must be tested to fitness. You, my Love, bought us time, but not eternity.”

  Mihai’s eyes belied her lack of understanding. What music had she played as she walked, as a man, among people filled with the discord given them by their wicked-minded father? So great was their lack of harmony, their bodies could not survive a hundred years before surrendering to the evil.

  Seeing her bewilderment, Ma-we chided, “Must I explain everything to one so dense? Have my clues, so simple, not opened your thoughts up to what I have been talking about?” She shook her head in mock amazement. “So! I guess I must spell it out. Oh dear…oh dear…”

  “Many men and women listening to your song succumb to it, surrendering up all things to search for me. At least they think it is me and, in a way, they are right. It is really the power of the elements they search for and many find but, upon finding it, they can not personify it or well-define it, it being something they have never felt so strongly before.”

  “One man in particular, the one your heart developed such a yearning for that you pulled him from the corrupted darkness of discord into your musical light by directly singing your song to him while you basked in angelic glory, he penned best what the power of this element really is, for he likened it to the only known feeling it held semblance to. He called it ‘love’.”

  “This man, by his own reasonings… for I allowed him to write his letters by his own volition… this man could see that the love he spoke of was no mere feeling like the romantic and brotherly love of his day. He saw that the love - power he spoke of - bonded the universe together, giving life to all things. He influenced his friend, John, to later write that I don’t have love, but I am love.”

  “So eloquently did this same man explain the effective contrasts between your harmonic music and your brother’s discord, he summed it thusly:

  ‘The works against the Spirit are evident to all men of insight as belonging to the lower nature of beastliness, they being wanton and set free of goodness and right. Among
them are envy, indecency, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, dissensions, evil intrigues and jealousies. I warn you as I did before, those who surrender to such filth shall never see the face of God.’

  ‘Those who have harvested the Spirit live a life flowing with love, joy when the world is dark, kindness when the power is to do ill, patience toward the secret person of another, fidelity toward a sworn oath or promise, self-control over the evil that lurks in all men, goodness when wickedness stands at the door, and gentleness when the foolish hurt the heart.’

  ‘For the Spirit is our life and breath and without it we are nothing but unreasoning beasts, fit for little more than Gahanna. But the fruitage of the Spirit holds no bounds upon men, nor can any law be set up against it.’”

  “This man could see the three elements of the universe with his heart and he attempted to live by the very harmonics you revealed to him through your love songs. Why do you think your heart fell so deeply fond of him? And why do you think I so quickly granted your wish to have him stand beside you in this realm?”

  “The Spirit this man writes about is what I call the third element, ‘HaschoBinie’, from an ancient tongue meaning, ‘all that must return to me’.” Ma-we hugged her daughter. “And you fulfilled a prophecy I had given myself in the Beginning Hope, when your worlds were still little more than dust.”

  Ma-we released Mihai, sighed, and continued. “You asked me, ‘what reasons are there for the long wars?’ There are many, but these are the ones related to EbenCeruboam:

  First: My children are the ones who must bring to a finish what has been started by the Evil One. They stand responsible because they knew long ago that the freedom I had granted them afforded me no avenue to use my powers to stop the Rebellion. They were free to choose who they would follow, whom they would worship. From their hand, by their blood, would the die be cast. For the one who ruled, they would decide.

  Second: While it has been sad for me to see my children suffer and die for my cause, the very trials endured by my loyal ones have accelerated the infusion of this third element among my children. This has strengthened the fabric within the First Realm, buying time for me to accomplish my purpose and bring my genetic experiments in the Second Realm to a successful conclusion.

  Third: The men and women in the Second Realm have been very fast learners regarding this EbenCeruboam. Though they know not of its existence - so many, in fact - I will be able to bring a large host of them into this realm if need be, to strengthen the web here. They will also hurry the end of wickedness much faster than my older children can.”

  Ma-we nodded, eyes twinkling. “Wait and see. What few hundred I have delivered here will make this universe shake in the nearing cataclysm coming upon your kind! When you witness what they will do, your mind will reel, thinking what an army of countless thousands will accomplish.”

  “And…” Ma-we squeezed Mihai’s hand. “I think I have answered your other question as well about the destiny of worlds. We must not allow the elements to falter.”

  “Now, child,” Ma-we began their pace anew, “let us return to our new field marshal. As you are well aware, so many of my children are faltering either by surrendering to the privations of war or failing to heed the cry to it. While it is true I can foresee coming events that will re-energize them, I dare not chance a return to conditions as they exist now. Why, the army is currently in such a pitiable state, if Chrusion attacked this moment, his battle fleets would soon be on our doorstep.”

  “Ah, but for the children of the Lower Realms! They are so much like Darla and Zadar, the youngest of my children. They have no memory of peace and carefree days. Death and war are their birthing rings, the toys of their youth. They are both callous and brutal in the way they wage war, especially your little sister, Darla. It sometimes disturbs others the way they revel in destruction, but their energy is so very, very contagious!”

  “Do you recall the Battle of the Tower Gate, where General DinChizki ordered a daring attack against Legion’s forces, pushing them back, thus enabling a large part of your army to escape his deadly trap?”

  Mihai nodded.

  “But were you ever told of the heroic deeds of a lone cavalry officer and her remaining company?”

  “No.” Mihai answered. “Please tell me.”

  Ma-we nodded. “To the northwest, above the plain of shadow and death, a junior officer gathered the remainder of her badly mauled company to the rocky outcroppings overlooking the plain. To her front advanced the vanguard of Legion’s best division, led by the most feared regiment in all his army. The officer did not waver, but held her banner high, calling out to any who would listen, ‘To me! To me! We shall bring the Dragon down!’”

  “With horn blasts and cursing shouts, the officer and her little band, three times, charged the advancing host, three times stalling their advance. In their final thrust, she personally struck down Colonel WsesTfoll, the regimental commander, felling him with a lance through his throat. His regiment fell into momentary confusion, giving time for General Din’s troopers to gain the valley’s position and hold the gap.”

  “Your valiant officer was felled by a missile as she drew her surviving soldiers back. It was only by chance that someone came upon her, still clutching a dead companion, and pulled the officer to safety.”

  Mihai was amazed at hearing of such valor. “This woman should be lauded among the bravest of the heroes honored among my people! Why did this report not fall upon my ears before this day?”

  Ma-we shrugged. “It is the fate of war. For so many deserving honors, no honor is given. Your officer languished among the wounded for many months, while your army sought to reconcile its losses and weep over the slain at Memphis. No one remembered the soldier who held a battle line against thousands with a ragtag cavalry of less than eighty, of which only ten lived to tell the tale.”

  “To honor this woman is not the reason I have told you her account, and truth be told, you will shame her if you attempt to honor her for it now. Let it go, but remember this: Your officer has not rested from war these many long years. She has faithfully served from the beginning of the Megiddo Wars up through the Great War, and still stands the bulwarks today, sending her steel against the Stasis Pirates in the Trizentine. She has not faltered to this day.”

  “My dear daughter, it is her hatred for the Evil One and all that he has created that has preserved this child’s sanity down to this day. Yes, your love has saved you, but her anger and contempt have saved her. And that is also the way with the children from the Realms Below.”

  “You speak of Darla?!” Mihai cried. “Why has she kept this secret from her sister?!”

  “Enough, Michael. Let it go.” Ma-we waved her hand. “Some think Darla insane, sick of mind, ‘cracked’ some say. My child does what she does to survive her demon. She tells others only what she believes they need to know. In isolation, the girl grieves over loss and in secret places she searches for her soul. Her cure is not your concern. Do not attempt to effect it.”

  “And…” Ma-we poked Mihai’s arm. “honor and glory will come to your sister in their due time. The Fates cannot hold back an unstoppable storm. Let me assure you, as wondrous as are the deeds your sister has done, they pale to nothing as to the ones she will foment before the winds of fury have swept the evil from this land.”

  Looking again into Mihai’s eyes, Ma-we confided, “My child, who can capture time and lead it about as a slave? Not even I have the authority to do such a thing. So it is with the coming hour. Already there rides upon restless skies the new guard, the coming kings and queens of majesty and glory. In my mind, it is as if their deeds have already been accomplished. There is nothing else for it. I cannot alter it any more than you. What is to be shall come to be. It will not be changed.”

  Gazing into the sky, Ma-we measured the hour as if searching for some coming moment. “My child, my lovely child...” She looked into M
ihai’s face, smiling. “A secret I shall tell you, though your wisdom should have already revealed it to you. The anger and rage my daughter displays does not harm the elements of the universe. In fact, they are nourished and strengthened by it, in much the same way your love does.”

  “You see, righteous wrath sings to the harmonics a sweet and terrible song, making it tough and resistant to any discord, while your songs of gentle refrain heal and nurture the web. Together, they have held back the destructive forces of the Darkness down to this day.”

  “Why, if all my children should fall in battle, driving themselves forward on to the spears of the enemy, I believe that, by their very death, they could bring to a finish all that is evil. I do think that their collective battle cry would bond the cords of the universe into a filament so strong the Immortals, themselves, could never rip it asunder.”

  She shuddered at the thought. “But I wish that only as a last resort. My hope still lies elsewhere, with a much less damnable battle plan.”

  “And that is why I have delivered into your hand certain men and women from the Realms Below. They have carried with them the desire to bring to a finish all that is wicked. They will be brutal, harsh, showing no concern for the enemy, but their wrath will be as holy as your love is. They, I do believe, will effect the cure that will save all mortal life.”

  “My child…oh, sweet, lovely child, please come to trust Trisha. You do not yet know her. She is not as she appears to be. The woman suppresses her feelings in order to maintain a clear mind. Really, she is a brilliant strategist. Few have I witnessed to be better, and she is a cold and calculating warrior. Feelings will never get in her way when making war. As you have taught my children to love, Trisha will instruct them in the ways of hatred and rage.”

  Ma-we glanced toward the sky. Her sensitive ears could hear Gradian’s Clock chiming the third hour past the noon high. ‘It has almost come.’

  She turned to Mihai. “My lover of innocence, I will permit you a question…one and only one. Make it good, filled with the wisdom of this moment.”

  ‘How strange.’ Mihai thought. Why was she to ask a question of Lowenah now, at this very moment? Wisdom? What question would be showing wisdom? She had so many. Funny, there was a rumbling in her heart of a nagging question troubling her for so many years, but she had felt it none of her business to ask. Should that be the question? It was not even related to this day’s discussion.

  She thought a while, choosing to ask it anyway. “Ma-we… Lowenah… Yehowah… who you are I really do not yet know. So tell me, please. This one question has troubled my soul for many long days. Why do you still hold love for a man so wicked and corrupt? Your children no longer use his name of old, but call him ‘Asotos, the Wastepipe’. But you refuse, still holding him dear to your heart. Why?”

  Mihai half expected Ma-we to chastise her for asking such an inappropriate and private question. She was much surprised.

  Ma-we rubbed her chin in thought, pondering the moment. She finally eyed Mihai, smiling. “Wisdom there is beyond your years, my darling. Why, even the oldest of my offspring have failed to probe me with such a request. And I see it is not at all foolish at this time. Indeed, you have listened to the music within, which music leads a person to greater wisdom than may be. You have chosen well, I will tell you that.”

  “My dear child of my dreams, I love your brother because I cannot help it.”

  To say Mihai was shocked would be an understatement. She could only stare at her mother, mouth agape.

  Ma-we took Mihai’s hands, squeezing them. “You must understand and believe, for what I say can mean life or death to any man. I still love Chrusion because my heart has not stopped loving him. I have no control over what my heart feels, nor do you over what your heart feels.”

  “I believe that, one day, your brother will do something so vile that my heart will become repulsed to the point of falling completely out of love with him. I have faith in it happening, so I have hope of a release from this constant ache I have. Why do you think I have permitted his wicked world such long life? Until he does such a thing, my heart will continue to yearn for his soul. I must wait for him to ruin that love… completely. May it come soon...”

  Her voice became ominous and chilling. “Learn from what I have revealed, for there are some things a heart can never heal from or forget, and will carry in it until the world’s ending. Unless love of and need for a certain thing is completely driven from it by some evil deed, the heart will continue to pine over the dream unfulfilled until all sanity it will force from your mind so as to forget the anguish living within it.”

  “Can you promise to forever lock your heart in a prison, suppressing its desires for all eternity? If not, then do not attempt such folly, for, in the end, it will not only destroy you, but all life that is dear to you as well.”

  Ma-we said no more of it, and allowed no more questions. She looked into the sky. “It is time!” She took Mihai’s hand and departed the balcony.