At sundown, the entire village arrived. Over the next fifty-three hours, Kaya, Andrew, and Jacob welcomed just over two thousand seven hundred new citizens. As the final inaugural citizen walked from the Fountain into the waiting arms of her family, Jacob said, “I was born for this! It’s incredible!”
“We didn’t have a single bounce-back,” Andrew proclaimed. “Now that’s unheard of!”
“You get it, right?” Kaya asked Jacob.
“I totally get it now! This is why we only need two hours a night. And it’s a good thing because this is awesome!!”
Andrew ran toward Jacob and high fived him. “We are the best team ever!” he shouted, passing Kaya for a five down low. Their slap echoed in the giant entryway and across Kaya’s entire family, who were gathered around the Fountain.
Before anyone could speak or even move toward them, Andrew leaped onto the edge of the Fountain, taking center stage.
In former lives, he had stood before every type and size of audience that could be assembled. His experiences, his expertise, and his inspiration took over, as he called out, “Kaya Elbe, will you be kind enough to join me? I have something important to ask.”
Kaya took a running jump at the Fountain, popping up to the lip with just one foot. She walked the long, curving outline of the Fountain until she stood next to Andrew.
“Yes, Andrew?”
“My love, may I have your hand please?” he asked, holding his hand out to her. “I will need strength to get through this.”
“Of course my love,” she said, smoothly interlacing her fingers into his. “All you ever need to do is ask.”
“Thank you,” he said, with a smile, “the tighter, the better.”
Kaya gave him a questioning look as he gripped her hand and took a deep breath.
“Hello Elbe family,” Andrew called out to the small crowd. “Thank you for your Promise Keeper!”
Her family applauded, pouring their words of love and congratulations onto their beautiful, wonderful, little Wanderer.
Locking him in with a death-stare, she thought, “What are you doing?!”
“Surprising you,” he said aloud, smiling wide.
Kaya’s parents and Grandmother stood directly in front of them. Surrounding them were brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and their related families. And it is to them that Andrew said, “We have all received the gift of knowledge, and you have all seen how this came to be,” he paused brilliantly, stretching his arms out for effect. “You have also seen into our hearts. You know us.”
Heads nodded, and more than a few people teared up.
“I have but one important question to ask you,” he said to her family, but specifically to Marco, Kaya’s father.
Marco stepped forward, and said, “Please Andrew, what is your question?”
Acknowledging Marco, Andrew turned from him and looked at Kaya. He took her hand to his lips, kissing it gently. “I hope to be right back,” he said, loosening his grip and smiling at her family.
Several people laughed, taking the meaning of his line.
Kaya let go with a smile and offered him a beautifully executed curtsy.
Andrew bowed back, turned to face Marco and hopped down from the Fountain.
“Marco!” Andrew said, in a loud, friendly voice.
The two stepped toward each other and hugged.
Everyone’s newly acquired perspective was getting a thorough work out.
In their embrace, Andrew whispered, “Your daughter is an amazingly special woman, and I love her. Will you honor me by consenting to our marriage?”
Marco squeezed until their cheeks were touching, and he whispered back, “Yes.”
They separated, and Andrew bowed, saying “Thank you.”
He spun around like a military man and leaped back onto the edge of the Fountain.
Kaya held out her hand for Andrew to take, and as he did, he took a knee and looked up at her.
“Are you…?” Kaya asked as their eyes met again.
“Yes I am!” he said.
“What did he ask?” and “What did he say?” was being whispered to and from everyone around the Fountain.
Loud enough to be heard in the back row, Andrew announced, “Kaya Elbe, you are my best friend. You are my soul mate, and I love you.”
Kaya blushed, and making her do that was even harder than surprising her.
“Will you marry me?”
Nobody breathed or dared to speak a word.
Kaya’s mind replayed every scene with Andrew in it, and she smiled even wider.
She threw her arms around his neck and cried out, “Yes!”
A cheer rang out. First through Kaya’s family, then throughout the City.
They jumped down, gathering Jacob in their arms. As the three hugged, Jacob said, “Nicely done, and congratulations to you both. Let me know when you’ve picked a date.”
“I’m thinking now,” Andrew said.
“What?” Jacob replied, sounding shocked. “Didn’t you two just meet,” he teased.
“Now,” Kaya agreed, squeezing them. “Three of these guys can perform the ceremony right here, right now.”
“What’s the rush!?” Jacob asked.
She looked at them, and said, “We’ve got less than five hundred years boys, and every day counts! Now!” she reiterated.
“Best man?” Andrew asked, patting Jacob on the back.
“I’m in,” Jacob said, “Let’s do this!”
As the family washed over them, Kaya hugged her father first, and said, “I love you, Papa. Would you please tell Uncle Walt we need him?”
Then she and Andrew were swept into the arms of everyone at once.
By the end of their first week, Kaya knew she would be the one staying behind. It was long after dinner, Jacob was busy welcoming new citizens, and she and Andrew were resting in two small chairs they had placed outside of their apartment home.
“You and Jacob will need to be heading out soon,” she said, taking Andrew’s hand.
Children played within earshot and old friends occasionally strolled by.
“I thought you would take the Lady Marie, and Jacob could set out on foot,” Andrew said. “You’re the better navigator, and Jacob needs to stretch his legs.”
“I would love that, but in about nine months,” she said, squeezing his hand tightly, “The Lady Marie will arrive.”
Andrew jumped up, pulling Kaya from her chair. They hugged and silently celebrated the unexpected news.
“This is fantastic my love,” he said, kissing her. “I feel like telling the whole City.”
“We can tell my family later tonight,” she said, with a smile. “By noon tomorrow, everyone will know.”
“Jacob,” Kaya thought, “the Lady Marie will be here in about nine months.”
In a frightening blur of motion and color, Jacob appeared in front of them, and said, “Congratulations! You two are moving pretty fast, aren’t you?”
“Look who’s talking,” Andrew said. “You’ve really got this flying thing down, haven’t you?”
“Excellent,” Jacob said, “we’ve got two new visitors at the south entrance, I’ve got to go,” and he moved away in the blink of an eye.
“If Kaya’s not going to take the Lady Marie out of port,” Jacob thought to them, zipping across the sky, “I would really like to make a go of it.”
“She’s all yours Jacob,” Kaya thought back. “I’m about to make our first announcement, anything you want to add?”
“Nope, just good luck, and let’s keep to the plan.”
“Are you sure you don’t want me to do it?” Andrew asked.
“I’m sure.”
Kaya thought about it one last time, took a deep breath, and said, “I just hope it works.”
“Just because nobody else has done it before, doesn’t mean it won’t.”
Kaya closed her eyes and changed her perspective, allowing herself to see the entire City from above. “Hello everyone, this is Kaya, can everyone hear me?” she thought.
The City stopped. Every citizen set down whatever they had in their hands, all conversations paused, and everyone listened intently.
“They can hear you!” Jacob thought to Kaya and Andrew. “Unbelievable, oh sorry, keep going.”
“Tomorrow at noon, Andrew, Jacob and I would like everyone to gather in the marketplace for our very first weekly meeting. Please eat before the meeting. We have lots to talk about, we’ll see you all then.”
“That’s much better than sending out a lot of invitations,” joked a couple of Kaya’s friends as they walked by. “We’ll see you in the marketplace tomorrow, have a wonderful evening.”
“Thank you,” she said, “good night.”
“That worked perfectly,” Andrew said. “Nicely done.”
“Did it sound like a loudspeaker or was it in everyone’s head?”
“Come to think of it, I couldn’t tell you. But I heard it just fine. It was just like when we think to each other. Maybe it was just in everyone’s head.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “What is important is we can do it. It was going to be difficult to keep everyone focused if that didn’t work.”
“Agreed,” said Andrew, just as Jacob streaked in from above.
“It was awesome,” he said. “Everybody could hear you perfectly.” Jacob shifted his perspective, and said, “We’ve got five more at the east entrance. I’ve gotta go!” and he blurred away faster than they could say goodbye.
“Tonight is my night anyway, why don’t you two go have some fun,” he thought to them in mid-flight.
“Thank you, Jacob, just let us know if you need any help,” Andrew thought back.
“Will do.”
“Let’s go over to my parent’s house,” Kaya said to Andrew. “I’ve been missing them for a couple hundred years.”
Andrew nodded, and she took his hand. They walked the short distance to the home her parents had moved into, and Kaya opened the door, calling out, “Knock, knock, is anybody home?”
The next day at noon, with almost three thousand people gathered in the marketplace, Kaya, Andrew and Jacob held their first weekly meeting.
Kaya flipped her perspective above the marketplace and began her speech.
“Hello everyone,” she said.
Every voice replied.
“As you all know I’m Kaya Elbe, this is my husband Andrew Weaver, and this other fine gentleman is Jacob Duncan. With a fair amount of luck and courage, the three of us have rebuilt the City of Light!”
The crowd exploded with cheers and applause. When it eventually quieted down, Kaya continued.
“Needless to say, we’ve all been waiting for this remarkable event for a very long time, and now that it’s finally here, it’s up to everyone to make sure it stays here.”
The citizens mumbled and grumbled.
“Please,” Kaya said, “please be patient with me. We’re not here to debate the Sentinel Rule. We’re here today to tell you about things you didn’t learn from the Fountain of Knowing; things everyone must know if we’re going to be successful.”
Suddenly, it became very quiet.
“Thank you,” she said, with kindness and patience. “None of this is easy, and all of it is of the utmost importance.
I have practiced what I am about to say more times than I care to discuss and no matter how difficult it may be to accept, you all know, above all else, I speak the truth. What I am about to share is not done for pity or sympathy or any such motivation. Those things have no place in our City.
Let me begin by stating that neither Andrew, Jacob nor I are in charge of anyone in this City. As you all know, that is not necessary, and it is certainly not wanted. Though many of our legends refer to our City of Light as the Kingdom, we have no king or queen. We are a free people.”
The ground shook, and the air reverberated with applause.
“Andrew, Jacob and I are responsible for two things in this City and to ensure we meet those responsibilities, we must have your assistance. If you cannot, will not, or do not aid us in our tasks, this City will fall in less time than you can imagine.”
The wind picked up, and it swirled around the marketplace bringing a welcome and refreshing breeze.
“We have visitors at the south entrance,” Jacob said to Kaya and Andrew.
“Go slowly,” Kaya instructed. “I’ll use your exit to demonstrate.”
“Our first responsibility is to welcome each new citizen to our City and to offer them water from the Fountain of Knowing. Jacob has used his power of perspective to see the three approaching visitors at the south entrance. If you use your perspective, you can do the same. Just look from above and keep pulling away until you see them.”
As the citizens experimented, Jacob slowly lifted off the ground.
“Jacob, Andrew and I can all fly at great speed, anywhere within the City walls.”
As she finished the sentence, Jacob accelerated like a rocket toward the south entrance. Oooh's and Ahhh’s came from the crowd.
“This gift only works within our boundaries, and it allows us to attend to our welcoming responsibilities twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for the rest of our lives. To us, it is a task second to none, for should we fail, the City will fall.”
There was more rumbling until Kaya held up her hand, and said, “None who have held this post has ever failed in this task, and we will not fail you now, or ever.
None of us requires more than two hours of sleep a night. This is yet another gift to help us keep our endless vigil. However,” she added with caution, “should Jacob, Andrew or I be alone in the City, which will happen a great deal of the time, we will need to sleep, and you must be our eyes and our ears. We will talk more about this next week.”
The citizen’s faces went from concerned to curious as Kaya continued.
“Our second responsibility is no less important, and unfortunately, it is much harder to perform. The difficulty does not lie in the task, but in knowing when to execute it. You see, Andrew, Jacob and I, all have the ability to heal.”
The citizens marveled at this new knowledge, and before the questions could be asked, Kaya attempted to answer them.
“I will be as succinct as possible,” she said, feeling the group’s curiosity coming to a boil. “We can heal virtually any wound, but we cannot do it alone. You must also recognize that a wound can be both physical and emotional, but again, we cannot heal without your help. Also, unless the wound is life threatening, we will not be aware of it. If it is life threatening, we’ll be there quickly, but our actions must be supported by you.”
Flipping her perspective through the crowd, Kaya could feel the confusion. She was prepared for this, it was all part of the plan.
“I know this can be a bit confusing,” she said comfortingly. “Andrew will demonstrate the act of healing, and you will all be surprised at just how much you already know.”
Andrew’s mind had wandered back to Celeste’s diary, to the marketplace, to the time young James’ arm was broken by the wagon wheel. Behind him was the bakery and he looked down for the blue wooden ball, half expecting it to roll by.
“Andrew,” Kaya coaxed, “You’re up!”
“Oh, right,” he said, blinking past his déjà vu. Holding up his hand, he asked, “Will the citizens of our Kingdom please show me their Light?”
In response, as though it had been perfectly choreographed, every person in the marketplace held up an open hand above their head, and said, “My Light shines for all to see.”
Small orbs of blue-white Light formed in their open hands. It moved and pulsed as if it were alive.
“My friends, will you please lend me your Light so I may heal with it?”
In unanimous response, the people said, “My Light is your Light.”
The orbs of Light flew to him and in the blink of an eye, he was consumed by it.
Andrew flipped his perspective as Kaya had done, and spoke to the marketplace, “This is the Light that heals, it is not my Light, it is yours.” Then he said, “I return that which has been given. There is only one Light.”
Suddenly, Light shot from his fingertips forming rainbows over the crowd. The colors quickly came together, forming drops of glistening Light that fell upon the people and the marketplace went wild!
“How did that feel?” Kaya thought to Andrew.
“Like a dream coming true,” he said, with tears in his eyes.
“Wonderful my love,” she said, taking his hand. “I can hardly wait.”
As everyone settled down, Kaya sifted through the marketplace, looking for signs of uncertainty.
“The key to our success,” Andrew continued, “is understanding these essential responsibilities and helping each other every step of the way.” He paused to check in with Kaya. She nodded, indicating most everyone was following along without issue or misplaced concern.
Andrew recalled his portion of the presentation flawlessly, and continued, “There is no easy way to tell you what comes next, but I will try. When I do, please do not be saddened or worried. Jacob, Kaya and I have already come to terms with what you are about to hear.
After we had rebuilt the City, we learned our new responsibilities would last a lifetime. One that will not end for five hundred years.”
Even though the people from the village had told this story for hundreds upon hundreds of years, it was still difficult to accept. The few citizens not from the village appeared outraged, angry, and most of all sympathetic.
“We will all be better for this,” Andrew declared, with optimism and hope ringing true in his voice. “In time, you will see the truth of it.”
Kaya’s mother and Grandmother wept as they embraced each other.
“We must keep going,” Andrew announced, “We still have much to cover.”
The marketplace quieted back down, and he continued.
“Kaya is pregnant!” he exclaimed, with all the exuberance of a new father, and again, the marketplace exploded.
After five minutes of boisterous congratulating, Andrew struggled to quiet them back down. Eventually, he said, “Our daughter, and yes, we know she will be a girl, but that’s an even longer story, will be named after my mother, Marie, and Kaya’s mother, Erynn. We also wish to preserve the village custom of keeping Kaya’s last name, so in about nine months, we will all be welcoming Marie Erynn Elbe to the City of Light.”
People applauded and blew kisses to the parents to be.
When Kaya and Andrew were done waving and thanking people, the announcements continued.
“As Kaya mentioned yesterday, I hope everyone ate before they arrived because we still have a few more items to cover.”
The citizens acknowledged they were anxious to continue, and so it went on.
“Marie will also be blessed with an unnaturally long life, but we would like to save that discussion for another day. With that said, I would like to introduce our last topic.
As you all know, our City of Light is not the first of its kind. We all know there was one here thousands of years ago, but would you believe this City, our City, is the seventh City of Light?”
Most people were clearly surprised.
“This cycle,” Andrew continued, “has been going on for almost twenty thousand years.”
He paused while the citizens struggled with this new information.
“The reason the cycle keeps repeating itself, the reason we believe the City exists, is because we are being tested.”
Questions started to percolate out of the crowd the second Andrew had finished the sentence. He quieted them by saying, “Please, let me continue and I’ll share everything I can.”
The crowd slowly quieted, and all eyes were on Andrew.
“This City is here to test us. We believe humanity is being judged as a collective work of art. We are on display, and our every action matters. Of course, when art is evaluated it is never truly about the art, but about the artist.
You have all drank from the Fountain. Is there any doubt, in any of your minds, that you have a creator, that God exists?”
No one objected.
“The test itself is easy enough to understand,” Andrew continued. “Since only the virtuous may enter, the challenge is to see just how many people living on this planet are worthy.
To pass the test, half of all the world’s people must enter our City of Light, and we must all gather within these walls at the same time.
There is a second way to pass the test,” he said. “The Kingdom must stand for three thousand years. The only way that can happen is if the Sentinel Rule isn’t broken three times.
Kaya, Jacob and I have seen every one of the six Kingdoms rise and fall, and we are here to tell you three thousand years is a very, very long time. No City has ever come close to surviving that long.
Based on this knowledge, we know we must do everything possible to complete this test as soon as possible. We must gather, shepherd, escort, and lead by whatever means necessary, the world to our door.
Unless every one of us accepts that our collective purpose and the purpose of our society is the gathering of souls to this City, we will not succeed. We must grow in number until everyone on this planet has been given the opportunity to join us.
There is one last thing I have to share, then we will adjourn until next week. We are the seventh City of Light and we are the last City of Light. Should we fail, no one will come after us. We have run out of chances.”