* * *
Inhaling the fragrant bouquet rising from one of Mother’s magic teacups lifted Mihai’s spirits. Indeed, this was a most wonderful place, filled with mystery and magic. Things appeared from nowhere, like the hot tea and sweet treats on the table near the divan. All a person had to do when he or she had emptied a cup was to wish for more and… poof! there appeared a steaming drink swirling inside the bowl.
A very long time ago, Mihai had asked Ma-we about the magical mysteries found in her dwelling. Mother laughed, answering, ‘Magic does not exist by itself. It is only magic when you cannot see or do not understand the tools used to make that magic. My servants and tools are many and varied. They do my bidding.’
She had then taken her daughter’s hand. ‘Your body is a tool used by your mind, something you cannot see. It lets you know that you are alive for, without it, you would feel nothing at all. Honey, most of my world is invisible to you. You can only see and touch what I want you to.’
Looking around the room, Ma-we smiled. “It gets so cluttered in here at times, like it is right now. Tomorrow I must rearrange things and tidy up a bit.”
Mihai had begged her mother for a peek at the wonderful things hiding in the nearly empty room. Ma-we stroked her daughter’s hand. “My secrets are not shared with those requesting them. They are much too precious for that.” She reached out and touched Mihai’s face. “Someday, I believe, I will find reason to give up my treasures to another. Yes, my heart believes that someone, someday, will deliver up the key that will unlock all my secrets to them.” Lowering her head, Ma-we let out a sigh. Looking back into wondering eyes, she grinned. “Maybe you will find the key… maybe you.”
Leaning back, Mihai closed her eyes. As she allowed her mind to drift, she could see ghostly objects dance and flit around the room. Her ears could hear sounds as if people were speaking and her eyes could see shadowy figures move about. Then there came a sudden jolt and something brushed her arm. Bolting upright, Mihai’s eyes popped open in surprise.
“Oh! Sorry, dear one! I should have announced myself before sitting.” Ma-we grinned mischievously. Oh yes, Mihai had found the key that would open Ma-we’s world of secrets. Ma-we frowned. But at what cost? The universe now hung in the balance, and Mihai? Mihai’s eventuality was still in question. More than one war must be won if the girl was to survive to enjoy the revealing of Mother’s secrets.
Ma-we settled back against the divan, resting one hand on Mihai’s knee while holding a mug of steaming drink in the other. Cool, fresh air drifted across the room, carrying wonderful scents from the garden far below. The evil found in the outside world seemed so far away here, it was easy to forget that it existed at all. She could feel Mihai’s muscles relax. It was a good sign, for the hour of uncertainty was about to begin.
Closing her eyes, Ma-we imagined the many possibilities of this day’s outcome. A wrong word or inflection and all might be lost. But, maybe, just maybe, everything would go perfectly. She frowned. ‘No, not with this child, nothing ever goes perfectly with this child.’ A sad smile grew on her face. Isn’t that what she liked most about this child? The girl was full of unpredictable energy to the point of being impetuous, always looking in new directions, seeking answers to questions not asked.
“Thinking sideways...” The words slipped out before Ma-we realized she was speaking aloud.
“What, Mother?” Mihai stared at Ma-we. “What…”
Ma-we grinned. “Oh, I was just thinking about that new friend of yours. He is so full of witty remarks and observations. Yep, I believe that Mr. Garlock fellow is good medicine for a weary heart.” She nodded. “Glad you wanted him here.”
Mihai heartily agreed. The two chatted about him and other new arrivals for a little while. Ma-we felt it helped ease the moment, besides providing an opening for her to move on to more important matters.
Gently caressing Mihai’s hand with her fingers, she began, “You have come a great distance because I summoned you for an important meeting, yet you have chosen to pay me a personal visit beforehand.”
Ma-we wiggled close, until her leg was touching her child’s. “The sun goes ever forward, waiting not for man or beast. My daughter has many things pressing on her heart, and her mother has many other things pressing on hers. We must not dally any longer or the shadows of evening will find our business still lingering. Please, my dear one, speak to me of what weighs upon your heart.”
Mihai peered into her mother’s emerald green eyes. She was so small of stature and soft, dainty and soft. ‘How deceptive…’ She reached out, covering her mother’s hand with hers. “Mother, even the sun would obey your voice should you only wish it, but you have surrendered all to us, your children, to give us freedom… something I doubt we deserve… or use wisely. The power you hide behind your heart is only matched by the majesty you cloak with gentle words.”
Ma-we, who had never flaunted her personal qualities or abilities, blushed, glancing away from Mihai’s stare. She thought herself ordinary, no one special, at least by her own making. Who was this person? She had not created herself. She had always been, always would be, she believed. It was true, she was the ‘Maker of all things’, but wouldn’t any one of her children do the same if they possessed identical powers?
Shaking her head, Ma-we gently dismissed Mihai’s remarks and returned to the subject. “This hour is yours. Do not waste it, for I will demand my time as well… and it will come. Before the sun flees the hidden garden, my time will come.” She sat back, patting Mihai’s knee. “So, now, tell me the reason for your heart’s journey here this day.”
Mihai’s greatest wish, to resign her position as field marshal, was the hardest of subjects to broach. She felt like a quitter, having been given the post by her mother at the personal request of Gabrielle, who willingly relinquished it after Mihai’s victorious return from the Lower Realms some two millennia ago. It was an honor to have this greatest of titles. Mihai felt ashamed to even be thinking of giving it up.
Being field marshal was far more than having charge of the armies. It had a direct link to the rule of the Firstborn… at least that is how the children viewed it. When the Rebellion first started and after Chrusion was driven from the Palace, Gabrielle took over the headship of the children, standing the throne of the empire Chrusion had built.
For over four thousand years, Gabrielle ruled as archon robustus - pontifex maximus, meaning ‘the greatest bridge builder’. As such, she stood before the other children as chief councilor and leader of the festivals. Her words became as powerful as Chrusion’s once were. She spoke as the mouth of God. It was well into the fifth millennia before ‘field marshal’ replaced ‘archon robustus’ as the title for the highest office in the Empire. ‘Such as war does to all things more peaceful…’
Mihai let out a groaning sigh. She could not make that request, at least not quite yet, and there were other pressing issues. “The insurgents are making deeper intrusions into the neutral territories near the Frontier. The Zephath was attacked. Although the crew was able to scuttle the ship, they were taken hostage.”
Ma-we sat silent, eyes closed. Seeing no response, Mihai added, “Sirion was among them.” Still nothing…
“I tracked them as far as the outpost on ZemiaKone. There I was confronted by a battle droid and got a good thrashing and couldn’t go on.” She looked down at the floor. “Was told the Gravemaker saved me from certain death...” Again, Mihai sighed. “I lost their trail after that.”
Mihai turned toward Ma-we, asking, “Mother, who’s the Gravemaker?”
Time pressed on. Still Ma-we said nothing.
This moment was becoming awkward for Mihai. She began to explain, “The Zephath was an imperial class heavy cutter, with a crew of over thirty. It was reconnoitering the Frontier beyond the Trizentine when it was attacked. I do not believe the Stasis Pirates would take on a ship
of that size without additional support. The trail led us away from the Trizentine area, the Stasis home base, into enemy terr…”
“My dear!” Ma-we interrupted. “You have been too long away when you think tales of your misadventures are news for my ears.” She stood and stepped a few paces away before turning to make further comment.
With feet together and hands clasped at her waist, she leaned forward and stared into Mihai’s eyes. “After the Great War ended, as part of the armistice, my children established a neutral zone along the Frontier or Outer Corridor on which the Trizentine borders. At that time, if you do recall, it was suggested at the council to remove all inhabitants from that area including the district capital, Exothepobole. Also, if you remember, no one other than, say, myself deemed it necessary or even prudent.”
“PalaHar, Tizrela, Ardon, Gabrielle, and…” She squinted. “and I believe even you ‘pooh–poohed’ my concerns. The atrocities inflicted upon that desolate place, including the senseless raids on distant settlements these recent months, need not have happened if my counsel had been held in reasonable account.”
Although Ma-we’s tone was gentle, the words spoken stung Mihai, but she remained silent.
Ma-we went on. “The news of the Zephath was troubling to my heart, but it was not unexpected. You have been forced to keep several military garrisons out there to protect the foolish people unwilling to leave. It was only going to be a matter of time before trouble would brew in those wild lands. The Stasis are bad enough, with their warped and twisted minds having turned them to little more than animals. But any of my children should have seen that Chrusion would not stay away from there long… especially if he could do something to get at you.”
Standing straight, Ma-we turned toward the balcony. “Sirion… Sirion…let’s see. She is one of my youngest.” Ma-we glanced over her shoulder at Mihai. “What was she, just come of age a little before the bad happened, right?”
Mihai sadly nodded. “Fourteen she was at the time. Her birthday was the same as my coming of age anniversary.”
Ma-we nodded back, then returning to look out over the balcony, added, “You were my wet nurse for her, too, weren’t you? Your first child, as I recall, the first of your life’s milk you gave to that girl.” She smiled, remembering, “Oh, how my heart danced the day you gave your breasts to that child, the surprised look on your face as you felt, for the first time, the elixir of life being drawn from your body to nourish the soul of another.” She closed her eyes. “I watched you fall in love with my girl that very hour.”
“I handed my child over to you to raise, because I saw how close the two of you became. But I wasn’t the only one who knew just how deep the bond was between you two. Remember the look of displeasure in Chrusion’s eyes when Sirion ran to your arms after her coming of age, and how he chastised the child for her actions? He was jealous of you even then, before I gave the world of men as a gift to you.”
Mihai silently pondered, thinking about those happier days before the bad came.
Ma-we walked back to the divan and sat, leaning back, looking toward the ceiling while rubbing Mihai’s leg. “Had I been consulted on the matter, I would have cautioned you about sending Sirion away on the Zephath. How you could have believed that sending a child of your blood out to the Dragon’s Hearth would keep her safe from his fire is beyond me.” She stared at Mihai. “But to go there, yourself, by yourself?!” She shivered. “I have no words for that.”
She squeezed Mihai’s leg. “Your foolishness almost got you captured… captured! Oh, I know your intentions were honorable, but the risk you took was far too great. Have you so little sense as to forget the oath Chrusion swore the day he was driven from this land? You! You, my dear…his entire passion is to bring to a finish what he attempted those many days ago, to hurt me by torturing you to death. Look how many of your sisters have already been destroyed by his madness!”
Ma-we shook her head. “There would have been no prisoner exchange for you. Chrusion would have denied your capture, forcing me to eventually move against him in war. How many of my children would the rescue of your flesh cost me? And what would it have proved? Chrusion would only claim the attack unjustified, that I used my powers for selfish reasons. He would have found cause to draw out this Rebellion until, maybe, the hope of all living things might fade away.”
Mihai shuddered at the thought of Chrusion’s touch. His last had left her broken in mind and body for endless days. Indeed, her mind still suffered his intrusions. As she thought of that long ago hour, the demon within snickered with quiet delight, feeling the woman’s growing fear. Mihai hurriedly pushed those memories from her mind.
A wry smile broke on Ma-we’s face. “But you were not alone, no thanks to you. And this should answer your question…or at least as well as I’m going to answer it. The Gravemaker walks in the shadows of mist and darkness. From the depths below I have raised it, only to hand it over to the Ones Who Came Before. Among your kind it walks, but cannot be seen or heard, for it fogs the mind of simple folk with thoughts of foolish prattle. My bidding does the Gravemaker do. Until the day of its revealing, secret it shall remain.”
Although still troubled, Mihai thanked her mother for what information she was willing to share with her. The thoughts of Chrusion and his tortures hurried along a growing nauseous sickness that had troubled the woman for most of the morning. Seeing this, Ma-we offered her some soothing mint tea, taking a cup also. The two sat for a little while, relaxing in its healing powers.
When finished, Ma-we set her cup on the table. They both watched the dish begin to vibrate and shimmer, like heat on hot pavement, until it faded from sight. Mihai never tired of watching the magic of Mother’s house, this just one small example.
Ma-we leaned back and looked into Mihai’s eyes, asking, “Do you think the attack on the Zephath was a random coincidence?”
Surprised, Mihai asked, “You think it wasn’t?!”
Shaking her head, Ma-we softly answered, “Chrusion was baiting you. He knew full well you would personally take up the search and attempt rescue of Sirion.” She sat forward, eyes excited. “He failed to capture you! His primary plan has been foiled!”
Mihai countered, “That may be all well and good, but Sirion still remains in his clutches. I ache to think what ordeals he must be putting her through.”
Ma-we patted Mihai’s arm reassuringly. “He will try to break her. He will attempt it with the entire crew of the Zephath…already has. Some will die, some will falter, but…”
“But what, Mother? But what?”
Looking at the floor, Ma-we continued, “Sirion is made of a metal that is rarely found in this land. There is nothing they can do to that girl that can break her and there are powers greater than hers that will not allow death to pass her door, and…”
“And what, Mother? Mother, what?” Mihai’s eyes brimmed with curiosity.
“And…” Ma-we looked away. “And it was not your Sirion that Chrusion was after, only the icing on the cake. Your heart is not the only one he wishes to destroy.”
“What do you mean by what you say?!” Mihai asked, dread filling her heart.
Twisting her head around, fixing her gaze on Mihai, Ma-we answered, “What I have said is sufficient. Knowledge belongs to those deserving and at the time appropriate. You deserve to know, but not at this time. Let this suffice: your child, given over to your care, will return to you soon, but not as you wish. What I do see in my mind you will see with your eyes, and you will begin to understand what rulership is all about.”
There were so many questions Mihai wanted to answers to. Ma-we allowed no time for them, hurrying on. “Your brother has been in contact with me. He feigns innocence concerning the capture of the Zephath’s crew, claiming to have rescued them from the hands of the Stasis Pirates.”
“The bastard! Insolent bastard!” Mihai went into a tirade, spewing cur
ses and oaths regarding how evil and wicked Chrusion was. Ma-we finally silenced her after she cried out accusatively, “Asotos deserves only a butcher’s skewer and a baker’s furnace! Why do let him live?!”
“That is enough of you!” Ma-we scolded, glaring in anger. “Life is not as you know it! And death is not always the answer! When the forest becomes diseased, it must be swept with fire, first to bring to ruin the evil living there, second, to wake the seed that must suffer the holocaust to gain life.”
Pausing long enough to regain her composure, Ma-we took hold of Mihai’s hand, squeezing it. “Child! Who do you think I am, some weak-minded, emotional twit who’s afraid of making decisions?!” She shook her head. “You don’t know me, then!”
Ma-we stood, waving her arms as she paced. “I have swallowed up worlds in my rage, consigned women and children to the fire, leveled mountains when they have opposed me, and dried up the seas as if they were mere drops of water! Why have I allowed Chrusion to live down to this day? Why have I allowed you to live to this day? Neither of you has paid me the price of your blood. You both deserve the same reward, if I so choose.”
She thumped her chest. “I made these universes… and I can take them away! How can you stop me? No one can! Life is a gift that I, alone, have given! To me it belongs! With it, I will do as I please!”
Mihai was ashamed of her actions. With downcast eyes, she stared at her folded hands resting in her lap. “Mother, the Maker of Worlds, the Beginning of the beginning and the End of all things, your name we children gave to you – ‘Yehowah’ – ‘I shall choose to be whomever I so choose’ – it is a beautiful name that gives us hope. Your servant girl has become impetuous and overstepped her position. I am so sorry.”
Ma-we came forward and stooped in front of her daughter, resting her hands on the girl’s knees. She looked up into teary eyes and smiled, slowly shaking her head. “No, my dear one, no, you have not become impetuous. You have never stopped!! From the time your brothers pulled you from the palace cistern because you believed there were diamonds hidden under the sparkling frigid waters, you have shown your impetuousness.”
Mihai whimpered, “What good am I, then? As Firstborn, I have repeatedly led your children to slaughter. Has my foolishness brought them to ruin?”
“Now child…” Ma-we gently berated her daughter for acting so self-deprecatingly. “You have been an outstanding military leader. Why, even the most ancient of the Ancients willingly follow under your banner.”
She stood and began to pace anew. “’Terror of the Skies’… I was informed that you earned that name from the enemy at the Battle of Mordem Heights, after your squadron of fighters faced off against an enemy force ten times your number. And, as I have also been told, your own sword cut down MitlockeDorzandee, the Tyrant of Ancepities. I ask you, how many lives did you preserve on that day?”
Mihai moaned, slowly shaking her head. “You speak of minor successes. I have failed miserably when the hour was most pressing.”
She stared up at her mother who was patiently listening. “What about Memphis? For three months we laid siege to the Castle. It was ours for the taking, or at least I thought so. I ordered three full corps, a quarter of a million soldiers, into the ‘valley of death’ – the Battle of Bauglow, as you might recall.”
Hanging her head in remorse, Mihai finished. “One hundred thousand never returned. We watched from the eastern hills, helpless, as they raped and tortured the wounded to death. It was all my fault. I misread the enemy, not reckoning on hidden reinforcements. All I could see was the capture of Memphis and the death of Legion.”
“Memphis…” Ma-we sighed, closing her eyes. “Ah, yes… Memphis.”
“Yehowah!” Mihai groaned, “Your servant girl was… is… too impetuous as you, yourself, have pointed out. How does such a reckless person ever wash away the blood of guilt from their own hands?”
Ma-we frowned, scolding, “Do not seek pity from me, and do not attempt your own demeaning. Full well I know that my agents stood your side that day, approving your decision to attack Castle Memphis. PalaHar, Gabrielle, Planetee, and Euroaquilo all agreed the hour for taking the city was ripe. Even Anna added her support. You acted with what knowledge you had.” She turned away, bitter. “The serpents hidden in your camp betrayed your people – my children. Had all been honest with you, the Battle of Bauglow would not have been a defeat.”
Excited, Mihai asked, “Tell me, tell me, please! Who are the spies among us?”
Shaking her head, Ma-we answered, “No! I will not say. For then you will ask me for proof. Remember your own law: ‘At the voice of two or more, let the matter be settled’. I am but one voice, though I know for a fact who slinks around in dark corners.”
She wagged her finger. “You and your people would know, too, if you did not blind your hearts with feelings of selfish love and mindless devotion. No! You must use your wisdom to discover the traitors in your midst.”
It did Mihai no good to beg her mother. Ma-we refused to speak further about it, changing the subject. “I have other business that I must return to. As I said, your brother has been in contact with me and, as you will learn in greater detail tonight, wishes to offer another exchange of prisoners, but…”
“But what, Mother… er… Yehowah?!” Mihai asked, eager to hear more.
Ma-we’s heart fluttered with joy. ‘My daughter remembers who I have become in the eyes of my children. There is hope, then, that she will not forget me when my coming storm washes over her.’
Stepping forward, she again sat beside Mihai and started playing with the woman’s fingers. “But your brother has demanded that I stand aside in the negotiations. Oh yes, I can be there, but must remain silent. He… he has demanded your soul as archon in standing before him or there will be no exchange at all.”
Mihai’s face paled as she coughed down rising bile from a churning stomach. She waved her hand, rejecting the thought of facing such evil.
Ma-we hugged her child. “Don’t say no! Not yet! Think about it… Your brother, who has attempted to humiliate you so many times has lifted you up to the throne of God. By his own mouth, he has declared a woman to be his equal… a woman to stand as king over all the universe, a gift I was at one time preparing to give him. Can you believe it, a woman sitting the throne of the King of the universe? Even your brother has thought it possible.”
Swallowing hard first, Mihai exclaimed, “But I’m too impetuous!”
Grinning, Ma-we nodded. “You are impetuous, yes, but not too impetuous. Chrusion is baiting you, yes, and he will use this prisoner exchange to create more of his mischief. And, I believe, he will attempt to destroy you to hurt me.”
She hugged her daughter again, resting her head on Mihai’s shoulder. “But I know my Michael better than he. If you say ‘yes’, I can prepare some mischief of my own that will both humiliate him and rescue Sirion and the others.”
She looked into Mihai’s face, begging, “Please say you’ll come. Please say you’ll stand before your brother.”
Frowning, Mihai nodded she would go. Later, she would wonder if Mother’s pleadings made the difference, or if the thought of having Sirion back in her arms was the true motivating force behind her accepting Ma-we’s request. Whatever… Mihai was now going to have to confront her most feared protagonist again. This time it would be face to face without Gabrielle standing by her side.
“Good! Good!” Ma-we sang, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “Tonight I will make final arrangements for the trip. There will be some surprises for your brother that he will not have considered.”
She wagged her finger in front of Mihai’s face, cautioning, “Now, you must remember, his intention is to goad you into doing something out of line with his accepted form of diplomacy, providing him with excuse for a little blood-letting… yours and probably the prisoners, including Sirion. That must not be allowed to happ
en!”
Mihai moaned, “How is a good old impetuous person like me going to stop from doing something stupid and not get us all killed?!”
Smiling, Ma-we patted her daughter’s arm. “You will do the best you can. That’s all I expect. The rest? The rest… well, I’m sure it’ll work out.”
Mihai’s head whirled, thinking of the many ways she could deliver tragedy and death upon the innocent at the coming prisoner exchange. Ma-we’s gentle love strokes helped soothe the woman, releasing her fears to the day. Why should one trouble over coming moments when the Maker of Worlds cradles that person in her arms?
Resting her head against the back of the divan, Mihai whispered, “Yehowah, I love you...”
Ma-we broke out with a silly, cooing song, a little ditty she has sung to so many of her children.
“When the birds of summer come home to roost,
will you still play the fridderler dee?
Or will you say ‘I am all grown up!’
and no more will come ‘round for tea?
Will you dance in my garden to the leafy leaf’s tune,
or cry out, ‘I’m too big for those kinds of toys!’?
Oh, stay with me child,
until I can grow up.
Oh, stay with me…
and make my heart smile.”
She repeated the tune over and over, changing the musical tones ever so slightly each time. To the ear of the listener, the altered tune would change the meaning of the song, creating new and different emotions from the stanza before. It was not long before Mihai was humming along with Mother’s singing.
Mihai’s thoughts drifted to and fro as she thought of her mother. ‘Yehowah’ was a name given her by the children, reminding them of promises to be kept. It was a reassuring name. Then there was ‘Lowenah’, a name Mother had given herself so long ago, long before Mihai was born.
‘Ma-we’? That was Mihai’s secret name given to Mother many long years ago, when she was but a child. ‘Now, what was its meaning? Why, this day, should I ponder its existence?’
She was interrupted when Ma-we softly asked, “You have journeyed far this day to gain my ear. Tell me please, child, what business presses your soul to distraction?”
All Mihai’s earlier trepidation and fear reawakened to do battle with her mind. Mother appeared confident for her daughter to continue to lead the armies of the Children’s Empire. Mihai felt differently, but she did not want to hurt her mother, at least any further than she believed she already had.
Lifting her hand to her forehead, Mihai closed her eyes and groaned, “Mother… my sweet, dear Mother, I do not wish harm upon you because of my childish actions, but listen, please, to what I have need of argument for. There exist others in this land who can carry the torch of battle in a more qualified manner. Gabrielle, herself, has set such a stalwart example, being far better at it than myself.”
She began to plead, “Mother…today, this very hour, your daughter has shown her weakness of command. There comes a time when other hands must gather the banners of war and another soldier must share in the responsibility of slaughter.”
With tears, Mihai concluded, “I have come to request your acceptance of my resignation as field marshal over the armies of the Children’s Empire.”
Ma-we softly stroked Mihai’s leg, asking, “My daughter, who among the children of this world is as qualified as you to lead this great host? Ah, but for Gabrielle? Little do you know about her, not enough to judge her worthiness of again leading my armies. Qualified? Yes! But I shall not have her ruin be at my hand. Who among my children besides her has the qualities needed to bring us victory?”
As a feeling of hopelessness grew in Mihai’s heart, she could feel the demon within slowly crawling into her waking mind, and blurted out, “Mother, there is a beast inside me that grows in power from day to day! I fear it shall soon overtake my mental abilities!” Tears began anew. “I have carried the commander’s staff for too long. I hear the laughter of the beast when I issue the sentence of death on my followers… your children. Now when I stand the admiral’s bridge, I feel the monster’s excitement, wishing me to send more people to the slaughter. It cries out to me in the voices of all who have fallen under my sword. It uses the songs of friends and lovers to mock me and discredit my motives. It throws my mind into a raging river of blood where the slain, both the evil and the good, cry out to me, cursing me for their death.”
The demon was fully awake now, ignoring the harmonic peace found in this protected place. It began to hiss in disgust, chiding Mihai over her desire to remove herself from command. ‘What is it that it hates? Power? No! It loves power, but is stupid in how it uses it. Listen to me and I will show you the true glory of power. I will make you great with it! Then I will let you rest…then…’
Mihai cried aloud. “Leave me go, or I shall burn us both in Hell’s fire!”
The monster yelped in fear, but refused to leave.
Mihai now cried out to her mother. “I fear that the day will arrive when this beast will overcome my reasoning! Should that happen in an hour of need, oh, the many souls I might bring down to nothing for, if I am taken over by this madness within, the whole world will dissolve into destruction as I turn on the innocent! And I shall bring evil upon the land, flooding over all good things, crushing and destroying all goodness, until nothing but the dust of memories remains!”
The demon clawed its way further into Mihai’s consciousness, attempting to wrest control from the woman. Mihai groaned, sighing, her voice trailing off. “I am tired… oh, so tired. What is this day that I should rejoice for? I call out to friends who cannot call back. Then comes smoke of ages passed and I crawl through it only to find pain and suffering.”
Suddenly, Mihai, eyes wild with fear, screamed, “The beasts! The beasts! They are tearing me apart! Oh, god! My belly is burning up with fire! His laughter! His stinking, black breath… his wild laughter is shredding my mind! I am falling, falling! The stench of my own bowels fills my nostrils!”
Desperate words frought with hysteria rent the air. “I am choking on my own vomit, and his laughter, his ugly laughter!” The woman raged on and on, her words more and more incoherent, mumbling strange, disjointed phrases as she babbled on about nothing and everything.
In her head, the demon laughed its little ditty as it clawed away at Mihai’s sanity, seeking escape from its prison:
“A moment more!
A moment more!
And I shall rip apart this door,
That binds me to this horrid place...
And through these bars,
I’ll make escape...
But not alone will be my fate.
For your mind and soul I’ll also take!”
Out of the frantic, wild throes of a growing seizure, Mihai bolted upright, screaming angry curses and defiant oaths. As her eyes locked in a glassy stare and fingernails tore through skin and flesh, she suddenly froze like a haunted statue.
Focusing all her power inward, Mihai went on a hunt for the demon. Upon seeing the madness in her heart, the monster screeched in fear and anger, “Let me go! Let me leave this horrid place! Curse your filth…your stink…your heart! Putrid thing! Putrid thing! Let me go! Let me leave!”
With a banshee’s fury, Mihai struck, catching the demon and throwing it down. As they struggled with one another, she hurled threats and curses. “Shall you find me so kind on the ‘morrow, I will tear you asunder and feed your soul to all good things! Seek me and I will imprison you for all eternity until all life ceases its existence!”
Thrashing about to gain release, the monster finally got a grip on Mihai’s arm, sinking its fangs deep into her flesh. Mihai cried out in pain, releasing the beast. Off it ran, chiding her with threats and oaths.
As the curses faded away, Mihai found herself drifting further into a fathomless darkness, floating aimlessly in a black fog, seeing and feeling nothi
ng. Eventually the woman began to sense a gentle rocking motion and then a quiet voice calling her name. “Michael… my darling little Michael… Little child, come back to me…”
Mihai’s eyes slowly fluttered open, gradually regaining their focus. Ma-we sat close, arms wrapped around her baby-child, humming a silly tune that stirred Mihai’s memory into recalling happier times, when the world was a friendlier place to be. Soon the recent ordeal with the demon was little more than an unpleasant dream.
Recalling her earlier request to be relieved of command, Mihai fitfully whispered, “You see what the blackness does when it overtakes me? What would be our fate should I be overcome at a critical moment? Mother, I dare not take such a chan…”
Ma-we stopped her daughter. “Now, Michael, that’s not the case at all and you know it! My dear child, this this creature of darkness dares not enter your world until you have relaxed your hold on its barred door. Indeed, I saw that you were nearly free of it this day. That was at least my hope.”
“Your hope?!” Mihai was disturbed and perplexed. “How could you hope such a thing?! The monster would have stolen my very being, clear to my hidden mind if I had permitted it leave!”
Ma-we’s smile was sweet but sad as she shook her head. “This place is not like your world, for the laws of the universe do not hold dominion here. I, alone, can dictate good and bad in this place.”
She returned to stroking her child’s arm. “For reasons that you are not privy to at this time, had you surrendered to this beast within and given up your glory to it, it would now be only a bitter memory. No longer could your brother’s creation trouble you.”
Mihai stared at her mother in disbelief.
Ma-we sighed. “Even the most loving among my children has little faith. Faith is what you lack, the same as your brothers and sisters. Indeed! Had faith the size of a mustard seed been found among your kind on that first day of darkness, this world would not have been consumed with evil.”
The feeling of being insulted rolled with the words off Mihai’s tongue. “What is faith if I and my kind have not displayed it? Have we not given all that is ours to you, trusting that you will deliver us in the ending hour?”
Ignoring the tone, Ma-we replied, “Faith is not what your think it to be.” She pointed first to her head and then her heart. “Faith is born not here, but here. It is not the blind acceptance that someone will make it right…save you, so to speak. It is the wisdom of harmonic feeling, the knowledge in your heart that the entire universe has been designed in my image. It has my soul living within it.”
She took Mihai’s hand. “Truth be told, if my children – the leaders of your kind – if they had demonstrated, en mass, the faith they should have possessed, the harmonic power they could have produced would have withered the very evil lurking in your brother’s heart. He and his co-conspirators would have turned to dust that very day.”
Turning away, Ma-we sighed. “Now the very future of all living things rests in doubt. Faith is but a fleeting hope in a strange and wild people, that they can gain understanding to harness the power of the harmonics and bring to nothing the discord before it destroys the universe.”
Patting Mihai’s hand, she looked into her daughter’s face. “You have proved your mettle this day. You chide yourself, preaching your weaknesses, yet you stand a pillar of strength. Where among my children is there another like you to lead and direct my children?”
Not allowing her daughter to reply, she added, “This day I will provide you a helper to slow the demon’s advance. It shall not trouble your waking hours for many days to come. Do be careful, though, for it will still attempt to swage your thoughts into doing its will.”
Ma-we went on to console Mihai, finishing with a word of hope. “Although my powers to destroy your monster shall no longer be available - for I see your will is so strong - should I succeed at the demon’s destruction, I would also destroy my daughter in the process. I see a man who is yet to prove to be a man, come in power and glory to bring to nothing what was created so long ago.”
“My dearest one, most cherished of all my birthlings, when my daughters delivered you to this room, this very divan, I was helpless to assist you. When my strength returned, I saw the damage done to your body and hurried to rescue you from death. I also looked into your mind, searching for mental trauma, not perceiving your brother’s inventions. He having kept them secret from me, I failed to find the seed of darkness he implanted in you. Only when your little sister revealed her monster within did I explore your mind. By then, the beast had become so entwined with your soul, like with your sister, I could not destroy it without damaging or killing your very being.”
“So, my dear child, my hope was for this day, here in this very place, that I could bring to nothing what has become so strong. I have waited so long for this hour. Alas, your rescue now lies in the hands of your Shiloh to do what I can no longer accomplish. You must learn to trust this boy and have faith that his wisdom is greater than yours.”
Pushing down a growing fear, Mihai promised, “I will listen to his voice! I will! I will!” She closed her eyes, softly crying.
Still patting Mihai’s hand, Ma-we spoke, more to herself than to Mihai. “There remains yet hope hanging upon a thread, but hope it is. The ‘morrow brings a new sun, and with it glory renewed.”
Taking Mihai’s face in her hands, Ma-we kissed her daughter, comforting her. “My Love, do not think your road too long or your adventure so harsh. Remember, it is the most perilous journey that is fondly remembered, the adventure most often retold. The more chilling the wind, the warmer the blazing hearth. You must remember that you do not walk through your valley of death alone. I would never abandon your heart.”
“Now, my lovely one, you have time to gain needed rest here before your journey begins. Take advantage of that rest and enjoy some time with your family and acquaintances. You stay alone with your thoughts way too much. First we will finish our business!” She rubbed her stomach. “But not until we have gained some nourishment.”
Taking Mihai’s hands, she pulled her daughter up from the divan. “Come, please, we shall conjure something up together.”