Chapter Twenty Two
Intuition
It was early morning. The sun hadn’t even made it up over the mountains yet and the wind was chilly. None of which seemed to register to Roric, as he stood by the railing of his cliffside terrace bare-chested, as he gazed out toward the northern sea. Waiting, praying and hoping.
Krista stirred in the big bed within the room missing the warmth of her husband beside her. She sat up and saw him through the glass doors standing forlornly alone, as he waited for his sons to come home.
She knew that he wished desperately to have gone on the mission with them, but it was for the best that he hadn’t. The situation would have fallen apart without him here in the Valley Lands to manage it.
Today felt different somehow though, enough for her to risk touching the cold floor with her feet and suffering the pain of it. She hurriedly found her slippers and put them on and then she turned back to the bed and pulled off a large throw and wrapped it around herself.
It still wasn’t enough, but it would have to do. With teeth slightly chattering she opened the glass door and stepped out onto the cold terrace and shuffled over to stand in front of her husband and pushed back against him, and action that demanded that he put his arms around her.
He chuckled, as he did the requested action hinted at, “A couple more minutes out here and you’ll turn blue dear.”
She didn’t doubt it, but she was staying with him all the same. She did not like to see him look so lonely or perhaps hopeless, as he had been before she had come out here.
She looked up at him, “Today’s going to be different, you watch and see!”
“How do you know?”
“Why woman’s intuition of course!”
“Oh I see.” Roric said resting his chin on top of her head appreciating her more than she could ever know.
Suddenly the morning brightened, but it wasn’t from the sun that hadn’t quite made its way up over the mountains yet. A shimmering column of green and gold reached out of the heavens and disappeared into the sea beyond their view.
“They’re back!” Roric exploded, as Krista’s eyes closed as she whispered fervently, “Thank you Creator!”
Roric raced for the doorway off of the terrace but then stopped and turned back to Krista to bottled up inside to say what he needed to.
Laughing she said, “Go! I’ll get everything ready.” And like a flash he was gone running down the halls.
She could hear him yelling for Rolf at the top of his lungs to get his horse saddled. Knowing Rolf he was probably already done saddling his horse.
Krista hadn’t had the heart to tell her husband what she feared that was in heart was true. Not all of her sons had returned. But she did not feel loss with the premonition so she would wait to see what the matter of the story was before she allowed herself to mourn.
The space vessel shook and quivered as it plunged down through the last few miles of air and into the ocean depths. I let my hands fall away from the control panel my work done. Now it was up to Torren to do his thing.
Slowly the vessel pulled out of its steep dive and our speed dramatically decreased and within moments we were on an even keel and headed for the bay and the last hurdle before us. The rocks that barred the bay.
The time came soon enough as the rocks loomed close and Torren began to thread his way through the maze ever following the green line’s path. Heaven forbid it turn red.
Torren seem to remember where the worst crosscurrents were because he kept us on course remarkably well. It was almost hard to believe it was over, when we passed the last rock formation and the autopilot took back over directing us down and up the long shoot to the ship’s dock.
As the vessel clicked into place and the engines powered down we all turned and looked at Ileyano when he spoke, “It’s good to be home at last!”
He appeared to be fully back with us and even smiled at our disbelieving visual inspection of him. It would seem that a miracle had occurred in our midst, while we had been living through another.
Larc opened the hatch and one by one we made our way up and out of the space vessel and down its side to the dock beside it.
Abby’s form lit up in front of us and Evette half screamed and jumped back against Larc.
Abby held a hand to her face and said, “Oh I’m so sorry dear! The others are used to me just appearing out of nowhere. I’m sorry for the fright I caused you. Tell me what is your name?”
“Evette.” Evette said softly still not sure of the figure in front of her.
“Trenall” Larc intoned behind her.
Abby took in the possessive way Larc’s hands rested on Evette’s shoulders and smiled.
Opening her arms wide Abby said, “Evette Trenall let me be the first to welcome you to the lands of our ancestors formerly from the land of Perth, on the world you know as Earth.”
As her words were being spoke the walls around us shimmered into an epic panorama of the mountains and the valleys and the streams and the forests of my home. Even the ceiling of the room appeared as if it were the blue sky overhead.
The feeling was as if one was on horseback riding through the land itself at great speed, it was so believable. Evette gasped aloud at the sights all around her.
I had not known that Abby could do that, but then there was a lot that Abby could do that we hadn’t seen yet. The scenes faded and the room went back to its normal setting.
Abby still smiling said, “There waiting for you on top. Enjoy the view as there’s nothing quite like seeing for yourself for the first time or coming home after a long absence to the haven of our ancestors. Thank you all for your heroic efforts and for a job well done!”
We all started to walk past her towards the lift, all of us eager to see what we had just glimpsed for ourselves once more or in Evette’s case for the first time.
I stopped beside Abby and said, “Impressive show! It’s almost as if you’d seen it for yourself.”
Abby’s smile went away and seeming to look through me she said softly, “I did a long time ago.”
And then she was gone and I was left to wonder at what she had meant by her last statement. I put my curiosity to rest as I was as eager as the rest to step foot on the surface of my world once more.
As we stood on the lift and were taken up towards the surface Evette broke the silence by saying, “Your ancestors must not have been big believers on safety protocols!” She said indicating the sides of the channel around the lift that we were passing by rapidly.
I tried not to pay attention to that myself. Reaching the surface, the big stone walls began to retreat and there stood my father. I walked up to him and his arms came around me and almost threatened to squeeze the life out of me.
It felt so good to feel his strength once more. It was so good to be home! Reluctantly my father set me back a little.
“It’s so good to see you son!”
“And you father! Father Talaric didn’t come back with us. He’s not dead! He said that the Creator had some purpose for him on Earth yet and that he couldn’t come back until it was completed. He’s changed father!”
Roric nodded, as he came to grips with the news his son had told him, “It may sound strange to some but what you’ve told me of Talaric is in some ways better than having him standing here. I know he’s alive and better yet he’s making himself right with the Creator, and Lord willingly he’ll find his way home someday I pray.”
Father let go of me and swallowed Larc up in a bear hug too and I heard him say into Larc’s ear, “I knew you could do it! Well done son!”
Larc had always been like a son in my father’s eyes and Larc had viewed him as both the friend and father figure that he had been cheated of as a boy.
Drawing back from Larc I saw Father begin to regard Evette, who had huddled closer to Larc.
“And who is this exceptionally fine flower of beauty beside you Larc?”
At his words Evette’s face blushed profusely.
Larc stepped aside and introduced her, “This is Evette. She is my lady, of which I could never have asked the Creator for more than what He has given me in her. She has something to give you.”
Evette stepped forward her face completely red now and handed Roric the big black book she held. Roric took it reverently from her and held it a moment in his hands.
“Without her we wouldn’t have found it much less escaped Earth with it.” Larc said.
Roric nodded his head slowly and then handed the Bible out to me, “I believe this is your blood on the Holy Scriptures. You should be the one to carry it out to our people.”
“Father...” With tears slipping out of my eyes I said, “There’s more than just my blood on it!”
He looked back at me with unshed tears in his own eyes, “I know. They would want you to carry it though.”
I took the Holy Scriptures back and held them as reverently as he had. Father turned back to Evette and held out his hand for her to take.
Evette looked at the scarred powerful hand before her and then up at its owner’s kind eyes. She had never felt so much of an overwhelming presence of an individual before, as she did now standing before this man.
God moved powerfully in and around this man and she felt special and a little afraid to be so near him. She reached her hand out and put it in his and his closed gently on hers and then he led her around the wall they had stepped out of to the land side of the shrine.
Her breath left her, as she took in the stunning vista of the great white snowy mountains in the distance, and all that lay in between. The crystalline sparkle of clear glacial water falling hundreds of feet to crash down into the majestic forested slopes at the bases of the mountains was a sight to behold.
The rich diverse texture of the forests giving way to the grasslands of the valley bottoms let off a color so green that she had never seen a range of hues that could equal in intensity.
“It’s so beautiful!”
“Yes it is.” Roric said.
“Son go down among the men and let them touch the words of the Creator, even as soon they will be able to read it and learn more fully from the Creator of life Himself.”
I walked down the steps feeling a little embarrassed of myself, as I walked down the measured lines of mounted warriors. Battle hardened warriors of the line to new recruits leaned out of their saddles to touch the book I held up, many of them crying like babies.
They of their families were the first in countless generations to have the joy and the honor of knowing the words of the Creator for themselves.
Words that generations had yearned to read and had died to preserve fragments, living and dying by faith for what they had only had the barest evidence of. Those generations of faith and perseverance were being rewarded at long last.
Evette glanced up at Roric, who still held her hand and said, “You’re a wise father to elevate your son in the eyes of your men.”
Roric glanced down at her and smiled and then glanced over at Larc, “I would have rewarded Larc too, but God already did more there than I could hope to equal.”
Evette colored up again as Larc grinned big.
Roric leaned down and whispered into Evette’s ear so that only she could hear. “God has already shown me on what high regard He holds you Evette. Welcome to the lands of my people. Rest in the haven of the strength of my people and know that I love you as a father and will guard your well-being jealously, as if you were of my own blood!”
Evette half sobbed, at the whispered words and then turned and launched her arms around Roric’s neck and hugged him with all of her strength.
When she felt him hug her in return she felt what it was like for the first time in her life to be in a father’s embrace and know a father’s protective and caring love.
Drawing back she said tearfully, “Thank you!”
“Think nothing of it. But I do need to get you home as there is someone who will want to meet her first daughter in-law very much.”