THE WANAMAH

By John Baxter 2013

Chapter One
The ripples of the water lapped against the sides of the wooden boat, these ripples being created by the motion of the boat breaking the perfectly flat surface of the water and producing a shimmering effect from the reflection of the moon high in the clear night sky, as they drifted slowly towards the small island, the sails already taken down and furled to help avoid detection of their approach, and the remaining forward movement was provided by the wake they had produced behind them. It was a small craft compared to those they normally used, selected for this job because of its small size and great speed, being not more than thirty feet long, and about eleven feet wide at the deck level, with quarters and supply stores for about ten people for about as many weeks, all carefully stowed below decks for balance. This craft was ideal to be able to sneak into places undetected, and easier to hide while they went about their business, a business that didnt always make everybody happy. This craft carried no fixed defences, only the swords, knives, and small bolas types of arms the crew had as personal weaponry, so that should they find themselves in a chase situation, the ship, being much lighter could out manoeuvre and out sprint their pursuers. The captain, a man know to all as Rudakin, stood tall at the wheel, dressed in the thick animal hide clothing of a Northman, these hardy people well used to being out in the cold weather which they regularly encountered. He stood tall, watching for the exact moment to guide it gently but firmly, to its target, a tiny inlet, not much more than a crack in the cliff really, but ideal as it was on the opposite side of this small island from their eventual destination, the island only being about three miles across, but surrounded by jaggered, lethal rocks lying just under the surface of the water, ready to rip the bottom out of any unwary boat that passed by. This crew knew of the rocks and Rudakin knew exactly what he was doing. Rudakin had been a captain of many of the larger ships in the past, but this type of small, well-designed crafts suited their immediate needs, he had learned how to captain these sometimes more awkward smaller vessels from his father who had passed on a few years ago, sailing his last journey to the place where all of the dead people who possessed honour went. He had also handpicked a new crew of his own, making sure he not only earned their respect, but their trust too. They would now follow him anywhere, just on his word. A powerful position to hold, but one he never abused. The job they were working on now, the crew had only asked for a few details to be given to them by the captain, and not the full story. They didnt want the full story, because that would only make them worry, and could cost their lives if they lost concentration. The details of the individual job they each had to do would suffice, as they knew that the captain would not have accepted this job if it

were suicidal. It might be dangerous, and they may die, but, they were happy to die fighting. The hardest physical part of the job was already over, the transporting of the craft over land by using rolling logs, bringing it from the open sea to this massive landlocked lake on which they were now sailing. It had taken them over three days to travel the ten miles or so of open land unseen, and hopefully undetected, hand hauling both the ship and the many wooden logs to use as rollers all the way to the edge of the lake, avoiding any uphill inclines where possible. They travelled at night, and hid during the day, removing any evidence that they had been there at all. The oxen they used to get to the lake were tethered to trees at the lakeside to rest and recover, ready for use on the way back, and four of the ten crew remained with them to look after them, leaving six men to carry on and finish the job. They knew that for the return journey the six crew carrying on forward with this mission from this point had all accepted that their numbers might have decreased by the time they were coming back. The ship slowly and silently slipped into the tiny inlet, the sides of the wooden craft scraping gently along the steep sides of the walls of the gully, the crew using poles to push the ship as far into the fissure without grounding it as possible, keeping it out of sight from any other passing craft. Rudakin, stepped off onto the narrow ledge, as did four of his crew, and moored the craft to stunted tree stumps growing out of the sides of these very steep slopes, and they began the long climb to the top. Only one crewman was left behind to watch the boat and he had orders to sail away if they did not make it back by morning. He stood there, watching them as they set off to climb the very steep sides of the inlet ravine in almost total darkness, the light from the moon not penetrating down into this depth because of the walls of the fissure. The job they had been given, each and every one of them, and they were getting well paid for too, was now reaching its final stage, and the men could almost feel the gold in their pouches, the food and beer in their bellies. They were making good time.

Chapter Two
The progress of Rudakin and his men was slow and at times painful, the recent ice cold rains having soaked the long grass they were trying to make their way through, and the mosses growing on the rocks and stones hidden from view on the ground were very slippery underfoot, causing them to stumble often and painfully. They ignored the thin streams of blood on their lower legs, caused by the stumbling, and pushed on with as much speed as they could muster. They knew they had to cross the island, do the job they had been sent to do, and get back to their boat and away before daybreak. As they passed over the brow of the hill, which lay almost in the centre of the island, a large castle loomed up as a black silhouette blocking out the reflection

of the moon on the waters of the lake beyond, making it look almost twodimensional. The planners of the castle had thought the placement of it out well, as it stood on an outcrop of cliff, like a spit, that jutted out into the lake, giving it a restricted protective access, and the ability to monitor visitors to it, with only one way in or out. One-way in or out if you were an honest traveller perhaps, or even a trader, but not to Rudakin and his men. They had practiced the many different scaling and crawling plans they would adopt while they were on their way here, and knew every inch of the castle and where they might come across problems, which would need to be surmounted as they went. As they arrived at the track way that lead up to the main entrance of the castle, the group split up, three men going off left towards the gap in the cliffs of the spit of land, and Rudakin, with the other two, moved around to the right. After only a few minutes of searching, they found what they were looking for. Most of the castle designers around at this time were always put under pressure by the peers who owned the castles to make provision and clear away the foul smells, the urine and faeces and whatever else would rot and make life in the confined space of a castle, a misery, and most of the builders did the same thing. They made waste chutes inside the stones of the outer walls, and everything was tipped in from the different branches of the chute inside the castle. Where this one differed in design from all of the others was that it did not have a cesspool at the bottom of these shafts for the peasants to clean out, the whole lot was shot straight into the lake, a hundred feet or so below from an open ended conduit. Rudakin, in his planning had first thought of using this conduit for access into the castle, but it would be difficult, very smelly, and, if all went well, not the escape route they needed on the way back. However, one of the branches of this waste system, and higher up the side of the castle ran almost parallel with the outer wall, from a room or rooms not used for some time, so it was possible for these people to break through the walls and into this one, just below ground level and after a short climb upwards, be in these unused chambers. This route would also make it easier to flee with their prize they had come to collect. After a little quiet chiselling of some of the loose stonework of the castle, they were able to break through into the branch of this waste chute, placing the removed stones to one side so they didnt splash into the lake and draw attention to something going on. As they had hoped it was quite clean, the local insects having taken care of the cleaning up and moved on, so they were able to climb up into the chambers unnoticed by any of the guards. This was where they would plan the action of the next phase of their job, and they only had minutes to plan and go. Ten minutes later Rudakin and his men were carrying a large bundle, wrapped in three places, out of the hole in the castle wall, and started to head, at great speed, back to the position where they had split up from his other team. The other team were waiting there, and the crew collected the bundle and started in the direction of their ship. Rudakin gave a nod to the one of the crew remaining, and left followed his men towards the ship.

This was the only point where a clue would be given that they were there, and therefore the most dangerous time and position. The crewman lifted his bow from his shoulder, and lit the oiled rags bound on the end of one of his arrows. The light from the arrow seemed like daylight after being in the dark for so long, and he raised it to fire. He heard a shout from the castle battlements as his light had now been seen. He worked out that he had about three arrows worth of time before he would be standing in a fatal hail of arrows himself, so his aim had to be good. He aimed at a point just to the left of the causeway and fired. It failed to reach the target, so he did the same again, knowing his chances were rapidly shortening. This time, his shot was on target, and as he saw the kindling they had laid start to light, he turned and ran after the captain and crew across the wet grass as fast as he could, to get as far away as possible. It was only moments later, the black powder caught, and exploded, lighting up the whole of this side of the island, a plume of flame rising into the night sky, the noise from it making everyones ears sing. It was not the rising of the smoke that interested Rudakin and his men, but the collapsing of the causeway that held up the entrance road to the castle, cascading into the lake below, which in effect had cut them off. Their perfect defence had been their downfall. Chunks of rock were still heard sliding into the lake with huge splashes as the last of the raiding crew made it over the hill, and then down the other side towards their boat. They were all on the boat, and out of the fissure harbour very quickly, but knew that the soldiers protecting the castle also had boats, stored in a cave at the bottom of the spit, and so the raiders had to get up to full speed, and have the sails up and away, before the soldiers could launch from the other side of the island. Rudakin went below decks, and looked at their prize, all wrapped up like a gift or present. He cut the bindings from the outside, and moved the coverings back. The crew that were in the room with him gasped as he revealed what it was they had come to steal. They hadnt really stolen anything; they had kidnapped a live person. A well-dressed young woman lay, unconscious on the table. Rudakin was happy.

Chapter Three
King Bowrath was furious at the fact that a tiny band of thieving brigands had successfully raided his castle, even though it had a mighty garrison of soldiers to protect it. He had already sent for the Captain of the Guard to try to find some explanation as to why the castle was so easily and successfully stormed, and by so few people. The family could all have been murdered in their beds! When he had been awoken and informed that the raid had taken place, and to which part of the castle the raid had targeted, he knew that this area of the sleeping quarters housed his immediate family and when, on searching this area

after the rogues had left, there was no sign of his daughter, the princess, either in her own room, or any other rooms on that floor. At this, he immediately feared that his daughter had been taken from him by these rogues as they were seen leaving the grounds and heading for the centre of the island, with what looked like a body, wrapped in cloth. If this indeed were the princess they had been taken, they would no doubt want to sell her back at a huge ransom. In reality, this is what he hoped for, and that she would not be put to the sword in some act of revenge or retribution to get at him. A search had been instigated throughout the whole of the castle to make sure the princess was indeed missing, as she was not in her own chambers when they checked, or any of the adjacent room to her suite, like that of her mothers, the queen. It was as the guards were searching the small robe room next to the princesss bedchamber, they heard a small sound from one of the large chests on the floor, a sort of muted cry. On removing the objects piled on top, and lifting the lid, they discovered a very frightened princess sobbing quietly inside the many layers of clothes the chest contained, and they were only able to coax her out by telling her she was now safe. This didnt seem to have much of an effect on the sobbing, but she got out anyway. All the way to the main hall, where the king was waiting for news, she still sniffled and quietly wept, more tears of grief than those of relief. The king was overjoyed to see here, and flung his arms around her frail, thin body. Are you all right my dear? he asked, his voice as shaky as hers had been. Yes father, I am unhurt, though a little shocked So, how did you escape from these murdering swine then? Did you manage to hide before they found you? The king was very curious to make sure his daughter was still a maiden, as in royal circles this mattered a great deal. That was the strange thing about all of this, the princess replied, and continued, When the two men burst into the chamber, I was sitting in front of the mirror, and Ellieth, my handmaiden was busy brushing my hair after we had washed it. They signalled for us to be quiet, and, before I knew what was happening, I was lifted from my seat, and I feared that I was going to be spirited away, but no I was dumped, quite roughly, into the clothes chest, and told to stay there. Fearing for my life I decided to do what I had been told, and remained there until the guards found me, just now. The king sat back in his chair, breathing a sigh of relief that his daughter was safe, and well. He looked at the princess and asked, So, where is Ellieth now then? That father, I do not know, as I was trapped inside the chest. The king smiled for a moment, thinking to himself. If they had kidnapped the wrong girl, they wouldnt know that yet, so, when the ransom demands came in, he would take great pleasure in telling them they had kidnapped the wrong person! He looked at his precious daughter and said,

At least you are safe my dear, and they will get a shock when they realise they have taken the wrong person. They will receive not a penny No father, what you think is not correct. They knew that I was the princess, but they had no interest in me at all, so they put me in the chest instead. They knew who they wanted. The king looked at his daughter in a perplexed way, and asked, What made you think that they were after Ellieth, and not you? The princess spoke, slowly and quietly, Because they went straight for her. They even said her name.

Chapter Four
Rudakin and his men were well clear of the island by now, the sails had been erected, and the ship was slicing its way through the calm water at high speed. It would take some really fast ships from the castle to catch up to them, and they had all been holed while still berthed in their dock during the raid. Their larger ships with the heavy armament would be far too slow to catch them. Their precious cargo had been stowed below, and the sleeping draught administered again. This young girl had to remain unconscious till they handed her over for their payment at the end of the journey, and the draught would keep her out for up to three days. By morning, they had made landfall at the side of the lake, and the crew who had been left there had already readied the rollers and the beasts to pull it back over the land to the open sea once more, only this time they did not fear detection, and could move it openly and continuously across the land. The night crew from the boat slept while the day crews harnessed the oxen then began the haul back over to the sea, pulling it gently from the lake onto the log rollers, and across their meandering trail to freedom. If all went well, they would be in the sea by mid afternoon the following day, and back to the safety of their lair within a couple of days from that. It was too early for them to celebrate just yet though as there were lots of things that could still go wrong before they were in the clear, so they still had to keep their wits about them. It would be weeks before the garrison from the castle would be able to affect a repair to the causeway, but they had in their guardroom, some communication birds that they could use for rapid messages to and from the mainland. If one of these messages had been sent, then the kings troops stationed on the mainland would be on their way to intercept them, though this would take them about two days to muster their troops then the travel time to get to the coast, which left Rudakin and his men only a half a day as a margin for error, so the timing was going to be tight. The rolling logs were used on a clever invention, where they were fixed into metal sleeves that were attached on two continuous loops, one on each side above the level of the deck, coming up from under the back of the craft, along to the front and over the front of the craft again, then going under the boat once more. This invention had saved many man-hours of running the heavy logs to the front from the back, once cleared by the vessel.

The crew worked very hard to move their craft over the land as quick as they could, and by nightfall on the first full day, they were very close to their seaward launching spot, expecting to be back on the sea by late morning. Rudakin had sent a scout to check that the coast was really clear, then they carried on moving the craft over the land in the dark, something the kings men would not have expected to happen. The troops would be thinking that they would catch up to the kidnappers long before they reached, never mind escaped, over the sea. By daybreak, the surf rollers were in sight to the crew, and they could smell the salt air from the sea itself, and not a sign of a soldier anywhere. They checked out the immediate area first before rolling the boat down the short beach and into the waves that lapped up over the sands. The logs would be left behind, but the oxen were loaded onto the ship, and taken below. The crew were not being kind in taking the animals with them, as the oxen were their emergency meat supply should they have to spend longer out at sea or have to detour around a little, or perhaps hit bad weather which would also slow them down. These things hadnt happened on previous jobs, but there is always a first time. Once the continuous ropes and bearings had been cut and released into the sea the crew set and trimmed the sails, and Rudakin set the course for their departure, and away they went. No one had lost their life, or even sustained any injury, so they were quite happy, and their precious cargo slept on below deck, totally oblivious to what was going on. The winds were also picking up a little, so their progress was going to be good too. By the time the kings men arrived at this part of the coast later that morning, the tide had cleared any marks from the sand, and the majority of the logs had floated off with the tide, and were now way out to sea. There was nothing left in the way of clues to say they had been there at all. The soldiers searched inland from the beach, and found track marks and flattened vegetation, so they had definitely come this way, but they had missed them. The king was going to be furious when he finds out. There was little else they could do here but return to their outpost and send a communication bird to the palace with the whole detailed findings, which was very little, but that would be two days from now. They headed home

Chapter Five
It had been a day now since the raid on the castle, and the king was still puzzled why the handmaiden had been taken instead of the princess, on purpose. What was so special about this girl? A raid like this must have cost someone a really large sum of money, so, who in the kingdom had that sort of wealth to waste on a mere servant? Maybe it was a sort of warning to him just how easily his castle could be penetrated, a warning designed to create a panic in the household, and that this

handmaiden would be returned in a day or two unharmed, in a show of superiority. Whatever it was would only be revealed if he made some further enquiries about this young girl, and to do that he needed the help of the person who knew her best. The princess. They sat together in the great hall, with a couple of the other servants who had dealt with this young woman in her time at the castle waiting just outside, and, under the pretext of caring about her, was asking questions about her past, to them all. He started with the princess herself with his questions, How long was she your handmaiden for? Three years father. And why did you pick her as your handmaiden in the first place. What seemed so special about her? She was the quietest of the maids, and was almost the same age as me, and I suppose she was one of the nicest of the servant girls around at the time, and she was very clever too. In what way was she clever? The princess looked a little embarrassed at this point, but answered her fathers question, She, well, knew things the others did not, she blushed at this point but continued, She was able for example to mix a potion that would take away the pain I have when I am unwell in the month. She blushed again. The king however waved this aside, as this was normal womens problems and asked for more information about whom this Ellieth really was. Well, she could fix things, all kinds of things, that were broken, as if by magic, but it wasnt really magic she used to say, just knowledge that you pick up from here and there when you travel. The princess left, and the king started to question the other members of staff who had had dealings with the girl. Questions like, where did she come from? How did she arrive here at the castle? When did she first arrive, and what was she before she became handmaiden to the princess? It appeared she had arrived about four or five years before with an old lady, and worked in the kitchens as slop out cleaner. The old woman she came to the castle with, they could not remember her name, vanishing without trace after a year or so, leaving the girl here. What they did know was that Ellieth had no idea where she had come from, as she had been too young to remember and the staff used to tease her about that. She did however have a bright mind, and a phenomenal knowledge of science, and this, though normally not a lot of use for a servant girl, she was able to concoct cleaning potions and mixtures to help in the kitchens, and latrines to make them smell a little better, and clean easier, a great help in their job The king was left to wonder how a servant so talented at these unusual things could have avoided his detection, or at least being reported to him. This would have to be looked into further, had he known about them. He had to draw the only conclusion he could, and that of someone wanted this girl and must have tracked her down to his castle, had her collected in a raid, and

will no doubt soon be reunited for whatever reason, unless his troops are able to rescue her before they reach the sea. That would have to wait for the time being.

Chapter Six
The wind was whipping up the waves on the surface of the sea, and the ship was starting to yaw and pitch about in the waves. Rudakin had ordered his men to lash down everything that was loose, and trap the animals in narrow cages so they could not move. He personally took charge of lashing down the precious cargo, the young girl, almost a woman really, lashing her to a heavy fixed table, and then made sure she was totally oblivious to what was going on around her, the last draught she had been given not expected to wear off for a couple of days yet. He returned back out onto the deck and looked at the slowly blackening skies, a major hint of dark grey now showing on the bottoms of the clouds. He set about trying to use his experience as a mariner to work out their best course to avoid the worst of the storm. He knew their direct course home would take them through the centre of the storm, and he needed to avoid that if possible. To go to the east side of it could be a bit of a gamble, as there were many small islets dotted about in that area, and it was possible the ship would be forced onto one of those, running aground on the jaggered edges of the rocks that ran between then, just below the water line. To go west was almost as dangerous, as the tidal waters ran west to east, and it would be difficult to stay to the west of the storm, as the running tides would try to drive the craft to the east. However, west was the lesser of the two evils. He pointed the nose of the craft north westwards, and the crew began to tack with the sails to move as far to the west as they could to take them around the outskirts of the storm centre, so they would be far enough west to avoid the effects of the fast tidal flow that would bring them back into the storm centre. It worked for a while, but the winds began to swing, coming from a southwesterly direction and the tidal flow quickened a little as a result. They needed to get even further west because of the change in the weather. For the next four hours, they fought with the wind and the tide to maintain their position as far away as possible from the storm, the centre of which could be seen raging near the horizon to their right, illuminated by the almost continuous flashes of lightening, and the heavy rumble of thunder, a sound that seemed to be getting louder and louder by the minute. For that four hours, Rudakin and his men believed that they were going to beat this storm, and get through the other side unharmed, and that spurred them on to try. Nature, however, had other ideas, and the low atmospheric pressure over the water swung to a westerly, and the winds were now blowing towards the east, straight into the storm, exactly the same direction as the tide was running. The crew tried very hard to keep out of the central area of the storm cell as they approached it, the light turning from day into night, the rain sheeting down

upon them at force, but, it did not matter what they did, little by little their craft got closer and closer to the centre, and the hurricane. The speed of the craft increased as it sailed on, almost out of control ever deeper into the dark blue of the sea and sky, it now being almost impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. The craft was also having to climb very high waves, which at first measured about 15 feet, and at times they would be left up in the air for a few seconds, before crashing down on the other side. This vessel would not be able to take a lot of this, as the pounding increased in both ferocity and frequency. As the crew held on to whatever they could keep hold of, the ship rode the waves, which were now starting to increase in size to between 25 and 30 feet in height, the ship itself bobbing like a cork because of its lightness, and many of the crew being seasick, something that didnt normally affect them. As they climbed up the face side of a huge wave, they failed to see the wave directly behind that one, coming from an almost ninety degrees to the first, their course leading straight to the point where these mighty walls of water would collide. By the time any of the crew saw it and realised, it was too late.

Chapter Seven
Ellieth felt terrible, her head hurt, her body ached, and she felt cold. Her skin burned with the dried salt all over her body. She could taste it, but why salt? She could not move either, which didnt help her, as she could not sit up and see what was going on. Her last memory was that of some men pulling some kind of sack over her head, and she thinking to herself, they are trying to take the princess. She remembers no more. Had they gone? Should she go now and tell the king? She moved very slightly, and realised that she was not paralysed as she had first thought, but tied up, and rather well too, though whatever she was tied to seemed to have dropped to pieces, and only the main board remained, still holding her fast. Dare she look? It seemed quiet enough, and if she took only a small peek, it might go undetected. She decided to risk it, and opened her eyes in a squint. All she could see was an almost cloudless sky, a beautiful blue colour as far as her eyes could see, the wispy clouds that were visible to her from where she lay were moving very slowly across her field of vision. She could hear what sounded like water lapping on a shore, but could not see it. The castle stood on a lake; there were no waves on a lake to lap on the shore. She felt as though she should be getting concerned but her mind told her not to, and to focus on what she could see, hear, and smell. She could smell brine. Seawater. Seawater and waves meant seas and oceans, and there were none of those near the castle, so she had to assume she had been drugged and moved to where she was now, somewhere near a sea or ocean. She could hear the cry of gulls in the distance, another clue that she was somewhere near the sea.

As the sun heated her body a little, she was able to move her limbs, using her arms and her legs to break the already weakened bonds that held her to this wooden board and at last she was able to sit up. The sight that met her eyes was totally unexpected. She was sitting on the remains of an ornate, carved table, though the legs had vanished, in the middle of a sandy beach, the shoreline vanishing off into the distance in both directions, and not a person or any recognisable object to her, in sight. She sat for a moment, trying to think things through, and try to work out the best course of action to take. She could make her way back to the castle, she felt sure everybody would be worried about her, and allay any fears that she had been harmed. The king was a powerful man, and she could use his name, being the handmaiden of the princess, to make sure she was returned quickly and safely to the castle. She managed to stand up, a little rocky, but she was able to keep her balance. She also felt very hungry. She had eaten her supper with the princess in the chambers just before the rogues had burst in, and she should have been fine till about midday mealtime, but for some reason, she still felt really hungry. She looked to the left, then to the right, and there were no signs of people in either direction, so, it now looked like it was a case of going inland, in the hope of finding a village, and civilisation, after all, the fresh water was always on the land, running to the sea, so the people would be near a fresh water supply. She set about working her way inland, passing through some almost tropical style plants, palm trees, including date palms, and all of the way along her walk, she was attempting to find pathways, tracks, or even roads that would lead her to civilisation. She found none. It was after about two hours travel; she heard a noise, a loud noise, coming from in front of her. She followed the sound to find a waterfall, not a large one, but a fresh water supply, fed from underground. Water, and a supply of food of sorts, but still no people. After another two hours travel or so through this dense foliage, without any means of cutting or chopping it, she heard another familiar sound, that of waves breaking on the shore, a sound she had become familiar with. Emerging from the foliage, and the palms, she found herself on another beach, though as she stood on this one, she had the sunshine on her back. Ellieth was able to learn two facts from her little walk. The first was that she was on an island, and the second that she was totally alone on this island. But, how did she get here?

Chapter Eight
The sun was setting on the third day, and at the harbour side, Gisarno stood alone, looking towards the horizon, watching the sea for any signs of shipping heading for the harbour, but none could be seen. He was starting to get a little concerned about the venture he had paid some of the money as a deposit up front, and now it seemed to be starting to fall apart at the seams, and the pirates he hired for the job had just ran off with the money

they had already received, and not even bothered to do what he had employed them for. Maybe they had taken him for a ride. Rudakin and his crew should have been back here in the port yesterday, or this morning at the latest, complete with his commissioned cargo, the cargo he had made a down payment on receiving, a person of great interest to Gisarno. Had he received his cargo on time, this would have been the final result of a lot of time-taking, expensive, and at times dangerous enquiries made throughout the Four Lands, to find this missing piece of the puzzle he had been trying to solve for a number of years, almost from the time the Wanamah, or The Holy and Gifted Ones had gone missing from the temple, high on the hillsides at Ligo, some five years before, taken by an old woman, and secretly hidden away from the eyes of mankind till he had been able to, after some years of painstaking and sometimes costly research, trace her whereabouts to a castle far away, in one of the border kingdoms of the Four Lands. He set about, and eventually found, and then hired a team of mercenaries, eager to take the money without too many questions, and under their captain, a large well built Northman by the name of Rudakin, they had left over four weeks ago, to journey to this land. His spies had since informed him that the raid had taken place, though this was his latest information, and only received earlier today. So, where were the Northman and his crude crew of misfits? At a guess, getting drunk on ale and wine, paid for by the down payment they had received. Hopefully, the cargo would be left intact, as that was one of the stipulations of giving the job to Rudakin. She must be brought to him unharmed, in any way, insisting that she be drugged with a potion he had supplied to them, so she not would pose any temptation on the crew with her presence. As he had mixed up the powerful narcotic in his small rooms at the back of his shop, a shop that sold mystical and magic dreams to the unsuspecting clients who made the mistake of entered through the door, he pondered how much more he would be able to do when his cargo eventually arrived. He had turned a lot of villagers and townspeople into addicts of his many potions, and was making a lot of money from them to feed their addictions. He made sure they had no idea what they were addicted to, just that they had to come to his shop, his apothecary, to make themselves feel better, and he would relieve them of modest sums of gold at the same time, to fund the raid and his new, as yet undeveloped venture. This was why he needed the girl. This girl was of the Wanamah, a sort of clan of Magi in waiting, possessing the knowledge of the mystical and black arts, as well as the healings and helping of the white arts too, the information passed on to them in their genes. It was impossible to learn to be a Wanamah. You were born with the knowledge already there; just dormant until you attained your sixteenth birthday, and then a ritual would be performed by the priests in the temple to unlock the secrets contained in the mind, stored in the genetics of your people for thousands of years. The Wanamah all originated from the same race, and this race had found a way of making sure their knowledge would never fall into the wrong hands. It was never written down, or ever a subject of conversation, but it did make them prone to kidnap or abuse, and every Wanamah was able to, if under duress or

threat, wipe out from their brain, the key to reading the genetic knowledge they contained permanently, and become a normal person. They could, if faced with torture, even think themselves to death. This was one of the reasons Gisarno had insisted she be drugged, though Rudakin had been given another. He had to make sure she could not be in any position or circumstance where she would feel under pressure or in danger, so making sure she would not lose the information that had not yet been released in her head and still stored within the confines of her brain, knowledge he wished to learn about, and learn from, or even possess as his own if he got the chance. He wanted this information for his own ends, and not for the good of mankind, and he knew exactly how to extract it. All he needed was the girl.

Chapter Nine
Ised stood looking out over the waves from the prow of his small fishing vessel as they ploughed their way through the blue, clear sea, homeward bound after their latest fishing trip out in the deeper waters. The catch had been good, and varied too, which would make a tidy sum for him and his small crew of three when they finally landed the catch at their homeport, a day away from here. Fish was fetching a good price at the market at the moment, but they still had to catch a reasonable amount of it to not only cover their costs but also make some decent money on the trip, they had to travel further away from their usual fishing grounds to catch it in any quantity. Fishermen are a very superstitious block of workers, and the lack of fish available for them to catch in their home waters was put down to everything from pollution by enemies right up to the gods themselves wanting to make the people suffer. Ised blamed none of these, having fished these waters for as long as he could remember, coming out from being a baby with his father and grandfather, to reap the rewards of the sea for their family and the others in the then village, now a port town. This was not the first time the fish had seemed to thin out in their immediate area. It happens every seven years or so, then the stocks gradually return to somewhere near normal within a year or two. No one understood the science, just the changes in the climate and its effect on the water. His right hand man on the crew, Bixte, who himself was highly superstitious, had to accept that this was one of those natural cycles that occurred every now and again, and sea serpents from Hell were not rising from the depths and eating all of the fish. He argued it made for a good story in the long winter nights in the Inn though. Paulow, another of the crew aboard the fishing vessel, thought the opposite. He blamed it on mankind for eating too much and getting fat, though only the rich people of course. Ised knew it had something to do with tides, currents and water temperature far away from where they lived. Something a long way away moved like the passage of day and night, continually cycling not only the seasons, but the years too. These lean times did not worry him because so far, each time it had happened, the fish came back in the same numbers as there had been before they

left. It only meant for a couple of seasons, they had to run out further, and into deeper water to make a decent catch. They were now returning home, loaded with lots of fish in their hold, the boat riding low in the water because of the added weight. It was while catching fish from one of these extended distance trips that a storm of storms started to appear over the sea, so they diverted to a small island port to the west for shelter and waited there till the storm abated, something that took almost two days. They got very drunk though. After they set out for home, about half a day from the shelter, Bixte had discovered that a few of their freshwater barrels had become empty, the bungs loosened by the bobbing of the ship throwing the barrels around below decks as the craft negotiated the waves, so they would need to refill some of these to have enough fresh water to get home, and Ised knew that there were very few places anywhere near to their position and course where fresh water could be obtained. It was very difficult to find an oasis in this watery desert. However, he knew of one. Ised had set course for this different destination, a little more over to the east than their original course, as he knew of a small island that had fresh water, and date palms too which they could eat as a treat, knowing they would be home before the effects of the dates would take effect. They could fill up their water barrels there, which would not take long and it was only a small detour, putting something like half a day onto their journey. The fish should still be fresh enough to sell. As they approached the island, they dropped their sails, intending to beach the craft slightly, and tie it still till the guys could do the water barrels. All four of them stopped what they were preparing to do and looked at the island. Sitting on what appeared to be a tabletop, right in the middle of the beach, was a young woman, and she seemed to be alone. They looked at each other, and wondered, who was she, how on earth did she get here, and who with? Ised smiled to himself as he thought that this should be fun.

Chapter Ten
Ised jumped down into the sea at the waters edge and walked onto the beach, keeping his eyes on this strange girl, the crew ran off inland with the nets of barrels. She was not a waif, or a vagabond, as she seemed well dressed, the quality of her clothing showing she was from a well to do family. As he approached, he spoke, And now, young lady, can I please be pardoned for asking, but how do you come to be so far from civilisation, on an island, in the middle of nowhere? I do not know, she replied, in a dialect he was not familiar with. He decided to push his luck and ask another question, So, where have you come from? She looked straight into his eyes and replied,

That also, I do not know. As Ised had an amused look on his face, she added, The last thing I remember was brushing the hair of my princess in the castle, and then I find myself here, strapped to a table. I know no more. Ised was trying to think of where he knew of a castle with a princess in it, and he could not think of one. There were no castles or royalty anywhere within the hundreds of miles he sailed regularly, and he had heard no tales of the existence of one either. Do you know where this castle is? he asked, in an attempt to clarify his understanding of the situation. That, I also know not, as I was taken there as a young child by an old aunt and from then I never allowed to leave the castle, till I now appear to have done so. This perplexed Ised a little more, as it started to sound like the story of a slave, something he did not hold with. He asked again, Do you know where you came from before you went to the castle? Alas, Sir, I do not. The only memory I have is that it was up in the clouds, and I know that is impossible, so I think my mind is trying to deceive me. How long have you been here on the island? he asked. I have been here for two days, living on the vegetation, and the water, returning to the beach to watch for any passing vessel that I may attract for help. Alas, there have been none, till you came. Ised was puzzled, as he knew that a ship might pass here possibly once in six months, as it lay outside of any known shipping route, and any ship coming around this way would not have come in to shore close enough to have been able to see her. She had been extremely lucky that he had come for water. Did you know that it is very rare for a ship to come to this small island, as it holds nothing for a traveller except perhaps additional water? Yes, I know this, she replied. And, were you not worried that you could have been marooned here for months on your own? he asked, as politely as he could so as not to concern her with what might have been. No. she replied. I knew I would not be here for long Ised started to get a little cynical now, and asked, And how, may I ask, did you know that a ship would come? Not any ship, she replied, Your ship. So how, may I ask, did you know my ship would come? Because I wanted it to. She replied nonchalantly, still sitting on her wooden tabletop, as if this were matter of fact. By now Ised was getting more amused by the minute with this strange young girl, and yet he could do nothing but like her. She almost oozed innocents. Do you always get what you ask for? He asked as he helped her to her feet, and they started to walk towards the ship. Always, eventually she replied without any hesitation in her voice.

Chapter Eleven

With the crew back and safely aboard, and a good tail wind to fill their sails, the crew, now plus one, made very good time to the port of Gosthin, their home, and its town behind, getting there in less than a full twenty four hours sailing. Throughout the journey, Ellieth had spoken very little to anyone, and Ised had decided to leave well alone for now, concentrating on getting his catch back and into the market while it was still fresh enough to sell. Bixte, being his usual self was being very superstitious, and expressed his dislike for having a female on board, warning that such things always brought trouble to the crew and the journey, and deemed unlucky, though he kept his grumblings out of earshot of both Ised and Ellieth. Paulow and the others seemed pleased to have something different to look at, and serve the meals to, though they knew that that was as close as they got. The faces of the crew were showing happiness as the ship turned into the walls of the harbour, and entered the dock, the rocking motion made by the sea was lost as they came into the calmer waters. Their berth, from where they had sailed was still unoccupied, so they would tie up within the confines of the fish markets, so there was no distance to carry the fish, and it looked as though the market was just about to get under way. They could just about smell their money. Ised, thinking wisely, had advised Ellieth to go below decks while they were unloaded, and the fish sold, and to emerge when the crowds of buyers had left. It would be much easier to get her from the docks and into the town if there were less people about. Ellieth agreed without question or complaint, and went below to Iseds quarters to wait. The ship was moored, and almost immediately the fish merchants were there, haggling and bidding on the fish that had yet to be lifted from the holds. They were so desperate to corner the market; they were buying the catch unseen. Ised knew what these people were like, and always held back some of the better quality ones for sale after these greedy merchants had left, to the normal folk of the town, people who could not afford the inflated prices the merchants would be selling the catch for. He had spotted two of the towns fishmongers waiting at the quayside, and had given them the nod. They left expecting to see him later. Bixte and the rest of the crew set about lifting the many boxes of fish, one by one, from the hold and onto the quayside, where Ised stood, stacking them in their order of sale, waiting for the prices that were to be offered. He had expected the merchants to find some invented problem with the fish, so they could keep the price low, but he was far too experienced for that, and every offer for each box that fell short of what he wanted, he immediately rejected with a loud no. He had boxes of one type of fish, other boxes of mixed fish, and then squid, crab, and lobster too, all sorted ready for sale. By the time the market closed, his boxes were empty and stacked below decks ready to go again, except for the boxes for the local fishmongers, as these would be delivered on their cart after the hold and the deck had been washed and cleaned up. The crew had made more money than they expected, and they would be inflating the economy of the alehouses and the brothels later tonight in the town. Once the ship was made ready to go out again, perhaps the next day, they loaded their old cart with the boxes for the local fishmongers shops, hitched up the old horse too, and then the crew left, walking in the direction the town,

happily jingling their silver in their pouches, and laughing and joking about how they were planning to spend their next few hours. Ised had told Ellieth to dress in the same clothing as the crew, and then she sat on the cart, as if she was one of the crew and helping with the deliveries. This way Ised could get her away from the rougher edge of the town here near the port, and into the more respectable districts. He knew of an inn, almost out of the town at the inland side, where the occasional traveller would stay if they were coming into the town on business, this area being less rowdy, and less crime ridden than down at the port areas, and a safer place to be all round. The landlady of the inn owed him many, many favours from the past, and he thought it was time to call one in. After he had delivered the boxes to the shops, and received much thanks from the shop owners as well as a reduced rate to pay for the fish, they carried on through the town and almost out of the other side. This part of Gosthin was quiet at this time in the evening, the locals had all returned from their daily labours, and were eating their evening meal, the whole family sat around their table, talking and eating, every house echoing the other. Ised drove to the rear of the inn, and tied up the horse, telling Ellieth to remain there for a moment till he came for her, and left, going in the back door. Ellieth did as she had been told, and sat on the cart, looking at the yard of the alehouse, and the small offshoot where the food was being prepared. Ten minutes later, Ised reappeared and summoned her into the rear door of the inn.

Chapter Twelve
She entered the inn with a little trepidation, looking around at the fixtures and fittings of the bar area, before being shown into a room which served as a sort of office. Ised was first to introduce Mrs Debisan, the widowed landlady of this inn, and she politely introduced herself as Ellieth, handmaiden to the daughter of King Bowrath. This information meant nothing to either Ised or Mrs Debisan, but they took it on board that she was from a good background. To keep her safe and out of harms way for the time being, Mrs Debisan was going to tell her clients that her niece was coming to visit for a short while, and that she had not seen her for a long time, and the girl would be quite grown up by now. Mrs Debisan didnt have a niece, but this would allay any suspicions of a young woman arriving from nowhere, travelling alone, and besides, for the price that Ised was paying, in silver, and in advance, she would swear to anything. Ised got her settled into her quarters, and able to borrow more appropriate clothing from an old chest found in the attic, clothes that had belonged to Mrs Debisan before she gained the weight she now carried, and then, just before returning to the ship and the sea, he told her he was going to make some enquiries, and on returning to land in a few days, would call up and see her to let her know what he had been able to find out. Ellieth was quite happy at this. She could sense that these were good people, even if a little misled by greed, their heart was in the right place, and she

watched out of her little window as Ised climb onto the cart and drive it back to their shed on the dockside. She knew she was secure here for now. That was something else she was able to sense about these people. Their loyalty, albeit to silver. She retired early, trying to come to terms with the upheaval of the last few days, but any answers she had didnt help. Hopefully Ised could. During the next few days, Ellieth became quite a popular person inside the inn, as she could talk to anyone at any level, and insisted on helping out a little in the running of the place, something Mrs Debisan looked on as a bonus, as it gave her staff she didnt have to pay. The girl was very bright, and could take food and drink orders correctly, and was able to handle the money without trying to pocket any of it for herself, other than the occasional tip, which she had no idea what to do with, so she saved it in a little purse. Ised was true to his word, and called every time he was on land with news of his investigations so far, but had found very little. The kingdom was still unheard of by his contacts, though they are making further enquiries, and as yet, there was no news, of any kind. He asked more detailed questions about her past, what she could remember as a baby and a young child. Things she may have thought of as a dream, but had been real and appearing, through the eyes of a young child as dreamlike. She sat for a moment, thinking about all that Ised had said, and replied I have one memory, or vision from time passed, which would fit the questions that you ask. When I was very young, I remember that the people who were my parents to me, were not real parents, and not like others who have a father and a mother, like the king and queen with their child. Here there were many of them. I also had many siblings, most of us around the same age, though we were not related by blood or birth. Perhaps the strongest memory I have is that we all wore white robes, a clean one every day, with a belt coloured to match your level, but as to what this level referred to, I know not. The only thing other than what I have said so far that I seem to recall is that we were regimented in our timings, for meals, learning, and meditation. Ised thought for a moment, this idea of slavery coming back into his mind again, Tell me Ellieth, were you made to do anything against your will, or did you feel trapped or being used in any way? Did you feel safe? Ellieth looked at Ised as if he were speaking a foreign language, No we were not slaves to any masters, we had our free will, and in fact I remember it being explained to some of the older children there, in one of the many teaching sessions, that we were to harness our free will for the good of mankind. What that meant, I cannot answer, as I do not know. Ised thought again, then asked, So you think you might have been is some sort of school, some kind of education centre? Yes, we were, Im sure of that now, as we had to learn to read and write very quickly, and in more than one tongue. You speak other languages? asked Ised

Ellieth started to speak words that neither of them could understand, and had never heard of before, even from the seasoned travellers that frequented the inn from afar. Ised had to think hard now, and had to make a decision, Ellieth, I think that finding your original home, or the castle is a job greater than I can accomplish because of my work. I do, however have a plan. I have a nephew, a young man, and of independent means so no problem with money, who loves a challenge and likes to solve puzzles. I think he could be the right person to help you with your search. Ellieth looked a little taken aback when he had suggested this. Your nephew can be trusted with a maiden like me? Ised smiled, and replied, You will be perfectly safe with him, as I think he is terrified of girls He has difficulty, because of his shyness, in speaking to friends of his sisters, so I think you will be in charge. Ellieth smiled at this, thinking this could be an interesting journey.

Chapter Thirteen
Gisarno sat at the desk in the rooms he had rented, hired while he awaited the return of his mercenary crew with their precious cargo, and studied the maps laid out in front of him. He had hired a number of rooms as he thought he would need somewhere to hide the girl from prying eyes until arrangements could be made to take them onward to his final destination, his little lair, hidden away in the forests of the land of Fensia, a land steeped in mystery and myths, avoided by the normal working peasants, who would pass through the forests on the tracks as quickly as their legs or those of the horses, could carry them. This land was haunted by demons, and it was not safe to linger too long, and certainly not to travel there at night. It would take Gisarno and his trusted cronies about a week to get there from here, but they hadnt left yet! The maps that were laid out were maritime maps, the ones that had been used earlier, which bore the chartered course that Rudakin and his crew would have taken to the kingdom and back. He had studied them over and over again, trying to see if he could work out where the ship could have gone on a detour, but every time he found there was none, just open water. He tried plotting different variations to the course on the way back, and there was little in the way of any civilisation they could possibly have diverted to, to spend the money. New information had come to him earlier today about a huge storm crossing over the open water about a week ago now, the path of it dissecting the plotted course of Rudakins ship. Could it be that they had been blown off course, and were affecting repairs to their craft to enable them to make their way back? This seemed unlikely, as they would have got in touch somehow, or perhaps they had been pushed aground on some deserted island, and had no way of getting off without a repair to the ship. This seemed the more likely, but where had they gone?

The storm had been blowing from east to west, so, Rudakin would have travelled over towards the south eastern horizon, keeping out of the stronger winds and tides, circling around the south side of the storm, keeping his distance. There were no landfalls anywhere on that course, so he would have had to sail parallel to the storm for a while, then turning north when it had passed and finally into the harbour at Gosthin, where Gisarno still waited. The rooms he had taken overlooked the harbour, so he could see the traffic entering and leaving the harbour almost without having to occupy the window seat, the view was that good. All that had entered and left were smelly fishing boats, in and out day after day. No sign of the Northman or his crew. He returned once again to the maps, trying another combination of events, another scenario, and another, and another. By now he had to light the lamps to see the charts that were laid out in front of him, and his eyes were getting tired. Perhaps if he slept on it, he might come up with the missing answer he sought again, having tried this over the last few nights. With that in mind, he took his supper in his room, as there was no way he was mixing with the riff raff in the inn downstairs, and retired to bed. He knew he would find the answer, but he wanted it now. Sleep did not come easy to him.

Chapter Fourteen
Ellieth was awakened by the sound of light tapping sound at the door. Who is it? she asked in a sleepy voice. Tis I, sweet child, tis Debisan, the landlady replied, Ive been sent to wake you as you have a visitor, waiting for you in the parlour. Ellieth sat up, puzzled, as she knew of no-one who would know who or where she was, even she didnt know half of that, or that someone had been sent to call on her, and had arrived. With this in mind, she hurriedly dressed and made her way downstairs, and into the parlour, opening the door, expecting to see a familiar face. Instead, standing there was a young man, looking the real gentleman he was too, being well dressed in a frock coat, white cravat, top hat, and with all of the trimmings, and the whole set matching too. His black hair was neatly trimmed, and his face was pleasant to look at, though as soon as Ellieth entered, his face went bright scarlet. Ellieth stopped in her tracks and stared at him, which made him go even redder in the face. He spoke, almost quietly, F-f-f-forgive m-me Miss Ellieth for t-t-this early call, but m-m-my uncle, Ised said w-w-we had to m-m-move fast as your life could be in danger, so I have ridden all n-n-n-night to get here. Ellieth looked at him. He was visibly shaking where he stood just at the sight of her. Ised had said he was a little shy around women, but this was downright fear. What good could this person do? Time to ask, And who Sir, are you? she asked, firmly, but not nastily, watching his reaction as she continued the stare she had met him with on her entry.

I, m-m-my lady, am N-n-nort, n-n-nephew of Ised, the sea captain, and I a-aam at your service, he bowed slightly. Ellieth thought to herself that this wimp would be no problem at all for her to handle, though she was a little concerned about his possible protection skills, should she get into any difficulties. His face was still bright red. So, tell me Nort, have you been given a plan, or an idea, or even a hint of what we are supposed to do now? Yes, m-m-my lady, I have. My uncle has told me exactly what he wants me to do. Ellieth looked at him, he was still shivering like a jelly but not quite so violently now, and asked, So, please tell me this plan you are to carry out, so I may assist you where I can. She was enjoying herself, baiting this young man. She had seen the princess do this to some of her suitors, and had frowned upon it as being cruel, but this time she could not resist the chance. He looked at her, as if asking permission to speak, then began, I am to travel with you, in the guise of being your brother, and we are to visit some of the lands in the hinter regions, and see if we can find out where you originally come from, and hopefully find any family you have. Ellieth spoke, And you dont mind doing this massive task, this huge quest? He looked at her, his face starting to go red again and replied, It would be a-a-an honour to do so. She thought for a moment, and then smiled. Time to let him off the hook, Then, young Mr Nort, it would be my pleasure to accompany you, but, there are things we need to put right here and now. Nort started to blush again and splutter, but Ellieth held up her hand and continued, For us to convince people we are brother and sister it is imperative that you stop being embarrassed in my company, and that you call me by my given name, that being Ellieth, and that only. So, I need you to come here and stand beside me, then take hold of my hand, here, she grasped his and held it, See, I am normal, the same as you, so, if we are to survive, you must stop blushing! She proceeded to pull his hair, tweak his ears, and twist his nose, all of which brought out a small cry of pain. She kicked his shins. Now that is what siblings are supposed to do.

Chapter Fifteen
The following day, dressed in peasants clothing as a disguise, Nort and Ellieth were on their way inland on horseback, and then turning to a heading eastwards and making for the Anab Mountains, two days travel away. Ised had spoken to a traveller a few days before who had mentioned the peculiarity in the accent of their language similar to that used by Ellieth, so he had asked the traveller from where this dialect had originated. All the traveller

could tell him was that it came from people from the other side of the massive Anab Plains, the plains could be found on the other side of the almost impassable Anab Mountains, and then after riding over these plains for many days, they would reach another mountain range, he thinks they are known locally as the Ragara Mountains, and these would also need to be passed over. This should bring them to a lush green valley. The people with this accent could be found there. As Nort and Ellieth travelled, they each told their story to the other, so that both would have a better understanding of the other. Ellieth told of being in a large group of children around her own age, and the education she received from her parents, and her aunt moving her from there to another location for something called safety, where she helped in the kitchens, and made her way up to being the handmaiden of the princess, then the raid, the shipwreck, Ised, and finally, the inn. Nort listened intently to her story, and felt pity for her in a way, as she had never seen normal life, or laughed at something silly, as he would have done. Perhaps he should not fear her, but respect her, as a brother would, and help her understand the world. This relaxed him a little. Then it was his turn to talk about his past, and he felt that embarrassing fear rise again, something Ellieth detected, and she grabbed his hand again and reached for his hair, ready to pull it. He calmed down quickly. He started to tell his story, My mother died when I was very young, and my father was a Captain of the Guard for a very wealthy Baron, over in that direction, he waived his hand to the west, And because I had now become a bit of a hindrance to his new found bachelor freedom, I was sent away to study at an all boys boarding school, ran by the priests in the local abbey. Luckily, we had one brother who liked science and geography, and we used to talk for hours about the real world outside the gates of the school. I was terrible at the religious teachings they tried to instil in me, as I questioned the so called facts that were being presented, so, I was expelled. My father was livid, but had to use a different tactic to be rid of me this time, so he sent me to a real school for boys, where, I have to admit, I learned more there than anywhere else I had ever been, except anything about girls, as they were poison. It is because of this very sheltered upbringing of mine that I have had no experience of females, and, I hate to admit, I still fear them. What my uncle Ised wanted me to come on this journey because of my ability to think on my feet, and to be able to totally convince people that I know what I am talking about, even when I have no idea. In other words, I am a very highly qualified liar. Ellieth could not contain her laughter at this, and yet she knew he would be perfect for the job at hand. Ised had chosen very wisely. They stopped at an inn for the first overnight stay, and, because they were deemed to be brother and sister, they were given one room only. When they were told this, Ellieth could see that Nort might blow their cover story with his now glowing red face, so she almost dragged him into the room and shut the door. She looked at him fiercely and almost shouted, Take off your clothes, all of them!!

His whole body went red this time, but he eventually did as he was told and finally stood naked in front of her. She then took all of her clothes off, and stood totally naked in front of him, rotating once. She spoke, There! We now have nothing to hide from each other! We cannot expose any more of ourselves than we already have. There is no more to see! As they both started to put their clothes back on, Nort could see the reasoning behind what Ellieth had done and why. He now knew what she looked like naked, as he would have done if he were her real brother, so now if she showed a flash of undergarment by mistake, he would not react as he would have done before this unusual reveal, and more than likely given the game away, or grow in other places where he would give himself away too. As he slept that night, only yards from Ellieth, he told himself that she was the first naked female he had ever seen in his life, and he told her so at the time. What he would have liked to say was she was the best he had ever seen, but, as he had nothing to compare it with, that didnt qualify. He should feel better and more relaxed around her now. They were now becoming real friends.

Chapter Sixteen
Gisarno stood on the deck of a ship, heading across the sea to where he felt sure his prize would be, or evidence of her. While waiting for news of Rudakin and the completion of the job he had given him, he had remained in his room, and had studied the maps and charts, running many different scenarios in his head from what little information he had received. They all pointed to a small group of islands well to the west of the normal shipping routes, and as the sailors in the port had provided rough speeds and tidal strength during that storm, he was able to calculate with some degree of accuracy where Rudakin and his men could have ended up, and these small islands seemed to be the best and safest bet. He had tried a number of calculations first, and then ran the results passed some of the more experienced skippers in the port to see if they thought these different scenarios were possible, and just about all of them agreeing that, in the ferocity of that storm, they were all quite possible, but, the ship and crew would have to have been extremely lucky to have survived it. Gisarno had to take the chance. He had to find her. Hiring a ship was easy, for there were many lying idle in the port as the fish had moved almost out of range of some of them, and were all more than willing to go to these islands. Finding a crew who could keep their mouths shut should he return with his cargo, that was a different matter, and he hoped his offer of a bonus would seal lips long enough for him and his prize to leave the area, unseen and back to his land of Fensia unnoticed. Having found what he was looking for in both a ship and crew, they had set off for these islands, he giving them the excuse that these islands were of great archaeological importance, and that at one time in the past, they may have been one island, and then suddenly blown apart by subterranean activity, and this theory wasnt a million miles away from the real truth. He told the crew he was seeking a certain kind of rock, and his knowledge of alchemy would enable him

maintain his cover story, thinking that he would busy himself and the crew searching for rocks, and, should they happen to find a girl, well, they could save her life too. The first island he wanted to check was the one that had a fresh water spring in its centre, coming up from somewhere underground, so if he was to stand any chance of finding them alive, that is where they would be. If they were not there, then he would have to fear the worst, and check the other islands for bodies. On the morning of the second day of travel, the captain woke him and informed him that they were approaching the island he wished to visit first, and would be there within the hour, so he got up hastily from his berth, and prepared himself for what lay in store for him in the day ahead. He left the tiny cabin and climbed up onto the deck. The sight of the island, with the palm trees, and the white sun bleached sand, was a sight of beauty, but Gisarno was not here for beauty, and ordered the longboats be launched so they could go ashore as soon as possible, under the guise of needing the maximum amount of daylight for his studies. Within about ten minutes, he, the captain, and most of his hired crew were standing on the long white beach, but the beach was not only sand. As far as the eye could see, the shore was littered with flotsam that had washed up recently, together with huge strands of kelp that had broken off below the waves in the big storm, already being covered in masses of flies. It was a mess, but Gisarno knew he needed to get the men to sort through it without raising suspicion, so, while he and the captain went to take a look at this spring and waterfall, and the surrounding date palms and the other food trees, he suggested the crew should see if they could try to identify any of the pieces of wood that had found its way to the beach, and they could then inform the people of what they had found when they got back to Gosthin. They all thought this would be very public spirited act, and kind of Gisarno to allow them to do this, they not knowing he wanted them to find as many clues as they could, and being all seafarers, they would know exactly what they were looking at. The captain showed Gisarno the route to the fountain waterfall, and they remained there for a while, Gisarno picking up rocks, looking at them, putting them down, picking up more, and putting them down too. He had to maintain his cover story, and the rocks he was looking at were actually quite interesting to him anyway. As they made their way back to the shore, they could see evidence of visits to the fresh water supply, but it appeared as though none of the tracks had been made recently as the vegetation was upright and not flattened by the passage of feet. Once back on the beach, Gisarno, in as near a nonchalant way as he could feign, asked the captain to enquire from the crew what they had found, and was surprised how detailed they could be from a few pieces of wood. They had found the remains of what they think was three ships, two of them were large cargo carriers, the planking and the bend of the planking for the hull indicating a full four masted schooner or even a large clipper, with the figureheads from one of them being found further along the beach. They would check which ships were missing that matched these remains on their return to port, and then the families could then be informed.

The remains of the third ship found however, seemed to be different. The whole construction was not the same as the other two, using much lighter and thinner materials and a lot smaller than the four-mast ship. This one, from the shape and size of the timbers they found, was a ship of speed, but carried luxury in its cabins. This was more of a racing boat. They had found the carved top from what appeared to be the captains table halfway up the beach, with straps still on it, but nothing remaining held in the straps. Whatever they had lashed down on it to ride out the bad weather had broken away, and was still out there, in the sea somewhere. Over the next couple of days, they checked the other islands that made up the group, finding much the same there too, but no people, and no bodies either. All three ships had all hands lost at sea. Fish food, as the seabed dwelling animals would make short work of whatever the carnivores above had missed. Gisarno stood on the deck of the ship on their way back, staring at the cruel sea that had taken his lifes work away from him. He was angry but by now resigned to the fact that everything and everyone from the raid was gone. Everything he had worked for, for the last few years, including his precious cargo, were now at the bottom of the sea. The Wanamah was gone. The work of almost fifteen years, and a mountain of gold to pay the way, lost forever. Time to go home. Time to return to Fensia and take up where he had left off.

Chapter Seventeen
Nort was starting to enjoy the company of Ellieth as his travelling companion. She was bright, and intelligent, a lot more than all of the females he had come across in the past, like his two distant cousins who lived quite a distance away from his home, and should have stayed the distance away. He had been visited by them once, and they were so, well, ugly, but believed they were so beautiful, and if it had not been so funny, it would have been painful. They both had the bodies of women, or something close to what he assumed to be women as their chests were swollen, but possessed the manners and intelligence of young children, and insisted on trying to find out who could shout over the top of whom in a conversation, and with the most puerile of subject matter, or who could eat the loudest and messiest. When it came to experience with women, Nort had very, very little. They would tease him relentlessly about his stammer, the stammer only appearing when they were pressuring him, so they did it all the more, and he knew that if they had been boys, he would have given them both a good thrashing more than once. If he even attempted to tell his parents, or worse still, their parents, about their behaviour, he was the one who was scolded for upsetting them, and reducing them to tears, tears they could turn on and off like a tap. He decided there and then he would never have anything to do with girls ever again, as they were fickle, and without honour, and this terrified him. Up to now he had been able to do, avoiding females at every possible turn, right up until his uncle had told him a story, a story he was now part of. With Ellieth, he could have a real conversation, a proper conversation about really important things. It was like having a best mate, but not a boy. He could

not understand why he felt as though she were one of the lads, but he knew that since the naked episode, he was now able to relax more and had also all but lost his stammer around her. Her very unusual plan had worked, though she did add afterwards that seeing her, and touching her were two different things, and there was a line that must not be crossed. He assured her very strongly that touching her was the last thing on his mind, even accidentally. He was still the gentleman, and he was still a little frightened of her too. They had covered quite a bit of ground in their journey so far, travelling up to, and then over the Anab Mountains, this being a very difficult part of the travel as the pathways became extremely narrow at times, with sheer rock faces above and below them, a sheer drop to the bottom for anyone who lost their footing, and the passes between the cliff walls as they meandered across the face of the mountains were also very narrow in places, forcing them to walk the horses through at the really steep or really narrow parts. It was because of these complications in the mountains that had restricted any major trade between the coastal lands and the interior, most of the supplies coming into Gosthin and surrounding areas by sea. Once over the mountains, they were on the Anab Plains, a huge expanse of arid land, dusty, sundried and hardened soil, with scatterings of brown grass clumps showing over the top of long eroded soil from the bedrock. These plains were not like a desert though, as three small towns lay around natural springs, which came up from the earth below, about sixty miles apart from each other, and it was these naturally occurring springs that allowed people to cross these massive plains, using the towns as stopover points, though very few wanted to come as far south and west as the Anab Mountains. They reached the first small town before nightfall, and booked in as brother and sister, Nort being very careful not to reveal where he carried his gold and silver as he paid for their board, and after they had eaten, they went straight to their room. As they expected, it was small, dingy, badly ventilated, with only a basin and a jug of water between them to remove the plains dust, and they had a lot to remove. Ellieth did a clever washing procedure under a garment like a slip, and taught Nort how to do the same, so they could bathe and still retain their dignity. Just before they fell asleep, they were both thinking of the following day, and the next part of the travel, both asking themselves, where do we go from here?

Chapter Eighteen
As the days passed, the duo made their way over the Anab Plains, and through the pass at the other side. As yet, their discreet enquiries about words and dialects had drawn a blank, the usual response from those who were bothered to answer the question that is, was that it sounded like a race who had lived high in the mountains over to the north and east, and could take up to many weeks journey to get there, though this last piece of information varied from person to person, starting at one day and rising to months.

Thinking that at least they were heading in the right direction, they rode on, day after day, and, as the landscape changed, so did the accent, the language, and the country. As they came to a pass, which served as a border crossing point, one of the border guards approached them and spoke in a tongue that Nort had never heard before. This was something they hadnt planned to occur so soon in their journey. Ellieth spoke, Worry not Nort, for somehow I can understand this mans request. I have heard this tongue before somewhere, though not for a long time. She turned to face the border guard and spoke to him in this strange language, at which the guard seemed to relax a little, so whatever she had said must have calmed him, and satisfied his curiosity. She turned to Nort, He wants two pieces of silver from us to use the toll gate, one for each of us. I have informed him that we are merely travellers and not merchants, so therefore we are not crossing the border for financial gain, which would have cost us a lot more. Nort took out two pieces of silver from the small pouch he had inside his tunic, and gave them to the guard, who then walked over to the barrier and moved it to allow them to pass. Ellieth voiced a couple of words to the guard as they went through and he replied. She turned to Nort and told him to smile, as the guard was bidding them a good day. He turned around in his saddle, raised his hand and gave a small wave, receiving one back. After they had gone a few hundred yards, curiosity was burning him up, so Nort turned to Ellieth and asked, How did you know the tongue the guard was speaking in? I have never heard it before, anywhere, and I have travelled a great deal in my short miserable life. I dont know how I did it, she replied, I just seemed to understand what he said, as if it was my native tongue, but I feel that it is not. I feel it is just one of many, and cut out the fishing for sympathy too. Miserable indeed! Nort was starting to slowly become impressed at Ellieth, as she seemed to possess many hidden talents; with possibly a lot more he hadnt seen yet, or she herself did not know of either. As they rode, they discussed as much about Ellieths past as she could remember, though this was sketchy, and there was not a lot of it either, with parts or gaps missing from her timeline, so he tried to get her to remember little things that might give them a clue as to where she came from. She could remember some of the teachers in her school, high up in the clouds, all of them dressed in long white robes. She could remember there always seemed to be a lot of snow about, but it was not always cold. The teachers would go to a locked room after dark, and chant and pray, though to whom or what, she had no knowledge, but she could still remember the basic melody of their chants in her head. She could remember that the only way into and out of the school was to ride up and down in a sort of rope and pulley caged lift. She could not remember how she had arrived there as she had been too young, not much older than a baby really, and they were never allowed out of the school, but she remembers using this lift when her aunt arrived and took her out of the place, under cover of darkness. Why her aunt came and removed her from the school, she has no idea, just that she was taken from there on a really long journey, over many weeks,

arriving at a huge freshwater lake, then crossing it by boat and onto a small island, and into a stone castle that stood at one end of the island, protected by a massive cleft in the rock, and accessed only by using a causeway. She remembers her aunt having long talks with the cook on an evening, in a different tongue, but one she could somehow understand, and from then, they worked in the kitchens as scullery maids. She also remembered when her aunt was talking to the cook she overheard the word protection being used a few times, and people will soon be coming to look for her, and they will try anything to find her, though what these people would be looking for, she never found out. It was only a short while later that her aunt disappeared and left her on her own in the castle, to fend for herself as best she could. She was able to make swills and washes for most of the latrines to keep them fresh, and a sort of mixture of potions to help clean the pots and pans without the need for hard scrubbing. She has no idea who taught her this alchemy, but it worked, so it made her job a lot easier, and more secure, as the cook was not willing to part with someone so useful, even though she was so young. The princess, however had other ideas, and Ellieth first became one of the royal companions, and then to the position of first handmaiden to her on her royal request. The cook had to lose her then. As time went on, they became almost like friends, the princess liked to hear the strange stories she used to tell her about some of the myths and legends she had been taught at the school, but also not knowing how she came to know of them all, and the princess, like Ellieth, was almost a prisoner in the castle too, as neither were allowed out at all, so these stories served as a diversion from the boredom of being in a gilded cage. Then men came, and the next thing she remembers was waking on the island where his uncle found her. Nort realised that this was not a lot to go on, and they would find out soon enough if there were a grain of truth to the myths and legends inside her head

Chapter Nineteen
After a couple of weeks of travelling, they had crossed over the Ragara Mountains, to the north of the Anab Plains, descending into the green, fertile valley beyond, as the traveller had predicted. Here, the food was plentiful and fresh, and there were also a lot more people to be seen moving about, people who used the country language they had been using since crossing the border, but with the addition of the distinct accent they were searching for. For the first time in over two weeks, they felt they were at last starting to get close to the answers they were seeking. For the first two days in this green world, they travelled through fertile farmland, the crops of many and various kinds ripening in the fields, and the farmers with their carts full of produce were all using the same tracks as they were, all heading to the towns that lay ahead, so, Nort and Ellieth decided it would be safer if they tagged on, as if they were locals, moving along with the convoy. When they eventually arrived at the town, they did what they had been doing successfully now for weeks, and booked into the better looking of the many inns as brother and sister, and usually so far, without any problem.

As they struck the deal with the landlord, an old crone, dressed in ragged, dirty peasant clothing, who was sitting in the alehouse section of the inn, was staring at them both, and frowning, muttering something to herself quietly. She shook her head, and made loud tutting sounds. This annoyed Ellieth, her virtue coming into question on an assumption, so she walked over to the crone, intending to challenge her misreading of the situation, but as she neared the old woman, the woman suddenly looked up at Ellieth and a tiny flicker of recognition crossed her face, before she returned to looking at the floor, and waiting for a tirade from Ellieth that she now feared was coming. However Ellieth had seen this flicker, which, though ever so slight was enough to raise her curiosity. Nevertheless she had seen it, and so changed her question, Old Woman, do you know me? The crone looked up at Ellieth, and again there was that slight flicker of recognition crossed her face, I do not know who you are, she replied in a husky, dry voice, but I know what you are. So, pray tell me old woman, what am I? Ellieth asked and awaited the worst. If I am not mistaken, and I dont think I am, I think you are of the Wanamah. Ellieth was puzzled at this name as she had never heard of it before or never heard it been used anywhere to describe her, so decided to dig further, though Nort was getting a little nervous again, and it was starting to show. Forgive my asking, replied Ellieth, now getting curious, though trying to sound only mildly interested, but who or what is a Wanamah? The old woman looked up at her almost in surprise, as if Ellieth was trying to trick her into making sure she gave the expected respect to the Wanamah, so only replied, You are. And that means? Ellieth was ready for the play on words to start, It means you are one of the chosen ones, the Wanamah, and you will receive respect for your position from me and all who live in these lands. The old woman went silent and dropped her eyes to the floor, sighing in resignation. So, old woman, do you know where the Wanamah come from, or live? I do, she replied, still looking at the floor. So, could you tell us how to get there? I could, she replied again, but it wont do you any good even if I did. Ellieth looked puzzled at this last answer, so asked, And why would it not do us any good to go there? The old lady drew a long breath, and sighed, sadly, then replied, It would do you no good, because theres no-one there anymore. They were all slaughtered years ago, by some marauders who didnt agree with their methods and lifestyle or whatever, but wanted their wealth. I feel that, because they were not of the informed, they didnt understand where the real wealth was. This came as a blow to Ellieth, having just found out who she was, then finding out almost immediately afterwards that they had all gone, killed by some marauders. Perhaps this was why she had been taken away from the school at such a young age, to protect her from what was to happen. What was difficult to

understand was that, if these Wanamah people had known about a forthcoming attack, surely they would have fled before it happened. The old lady could see that Ellieth was confused and upset, so said, I can see by looking at you that you are not yet of the age of the Enlightened, and so you are still dormant. Go wash, and then eat your supper. Return to me later in the evening here and I will explain a little more in detail, as there is much that I need to tell you.

Chapter Twenty
The two weary travellers left the old woman sitting alone, in the alehouse bar, and went to their single room they had hired. As with all of the others they had hired on their travels, the room had only the minimum of facilities, but it would be enough for the night. As they washed the dust from themselves in the bizarre ritual they had invented, they discussed what the old woman had been saying, with Ellieth translating what she had said so Nort could understand what was going on. Nort was a little suspicious, I do not trust her. I think we should be very careful not to reveal anything to her about what you really know, or do not know, as the case may be. She may be one of these witches you hear about, and will find your weakness, and use it against you. Ellieth smiled at Nort, and replied, My dear friend, I think she knows more about me that I could ever reveal to her. No, I think we should meet with her again after supper, and find out what we can, still without raising suspicion if possible. At least I now know I am of the Wanamah, whatever or whoever that may be, and her description of their home high in the mountains does sound a little like how I remember the school I went to with the teachers. Nort looked serious for a moment then said, Well, I still think we should be careful just in case, but, as you seek this information, then we should go ahead and ask the questions. Ellieth smiled again and replied, It would be better if it were I who asked the questions as these people do not speak your language, and you certainly dont understand theirs, but I will translate as we go, so you will be fully aware of everything we are discussing. I will need the use of your analytical mind to monitor anything we discuss, and if I miss any small detail in the conversation, tell me to ask the question. Nort suddenly felt important, his analytical mind was now being recognised and about to be put to good use, and his monitoring ability too, this made him feel really good. I can do that, he replied, In fact I think I know I will be very good at it.

By the time it was suppertime, the two of them made their way back down the stairs and into the body of the inn, having some ale before their main meal. The inn seemed to have a calm peaceful ambience about it; there were no drunken louts in the bar, and the customers came and went without any rowdiness or profanities normally found in these places, just the buzz of general conversation. After their pork hock supper, they sat for a while waiting for the old lady to appear. The inn was filling up with customers, and the seats were being taken up by the many different kinds of people living in the area, mainly farmers and herders. Suddenly, seeming to come from nowhere, the old lady appeared sitting at their table next to Nort. One minute the bench was empty, the next, she was there. Nort was now totally convinced she was a witch. She began to speak in that dry crackly voice of hers, I am pleased you have decided to return, for I have much to explain, and not all of it is good. Ellieth looked at Nort, translated, and they both looked at each other, now expecting the worst.

Chapter Twenty-One
The crone ordered herself a flagon of ale, the landlord bringing it over. He walked away without payment. She was so well known in here; she had a tab, so that came at the end of the night, when she had had all of what she wanted. She took a long drink from the large pewter tankard, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and looked at the two travellers. She started to speak, That is what I needed after a long afternoon in the fields, that plough dust gets everywhere. She took another long drink, and then started to explain to Ellieth and Nort the background to these Wanamah people, as best as she could remember it. I will tell you only what I know, and not, like some around here, what I assume, which means some of this history will be incomplete, but I think those parts will be irrelevant to you now anyway. I need to start a long way back, at least a thousand years ago, when people first began to move into these land from the south, I think, but of this I am unsure. The legends tell the story of a race of people, highly advanced in sciences, alchemy, astronomy, as well as farming and culture too. They were so advanced that they were able to predict the cataclysmic destruction of their whole nation, as they knew when the land they were living on would blow at the biggest mountain top and send their civilisation into the sea, lost forever. They had developed some sort of technique to implant all of their accumulated knowledge into the very fibre of their unborn children, but not without cost. In the early generations many mothers died in childbirth, or deformed children were being born, living no longer than, say, a couple of days, and no more. The villagers who lived over the mountains on the inland side, and down in the plains near their homeland had heard little rumours about these

experiments, and thought that these people were trying to play at being gods, and that no good would come of it. It was all magic and sorcery, and should be avoided at all costs These Wanamah seemed to have perfected some of the knowledge transfer, but, for the Postulate, this word meaning that the result of becoming enlightened is already deemed as true and would be inevitable in time. For this Postulate to receive that massive amount of information in an instant in the Enlightenment Ceremony was causing the young children to go mad, as all of the dormant information was released in them as one huge piece, stressing their small minds, and arresting their development physically. Ellieth translated to Nort everything to this point, and neither of them had any questions so far. The old woman took another drink and continued, I do not know how, or by whom, but what I do know is that they were able to build the knowledge into their babies, and pass it on when they became parents themselves, like what happens with hair or eye colour, and with it, they managed to build in a form of protection, whereby the young children had to be trained to be ready to receive this knowledge when it came, which they would receive at a ritual somewhere around their sixteenth birthday, that way they could cope. However, there was another danger to these young children. As youngsters, they could be easily kidnapped, and then tortured by the bad men to reveal their secrets to the outsiders, and this problem was very cleverly addressed. Built into the mind of the child as part of this knowledge, was a sort of mental switch, which, should they feel severely threatened, or in any physical danger, their brain would wipe the key to open the knowledge from their heads, never to return, so rendering them useless to any attacker. They moved their people off the land that was at risk, and set up small secluded villages, all on the highest ground they could find, in many different locations, as if they had scattered themselves to the four winds, and carried on their work, cut off from the rest of the world. Sure enough, their predictions came true, and only one year later than they had predicted, the mountain blew up, sending all of their previous land into the sea, their home gone forever, but that was not all. When the land slid into the sea, it made a huge wall of water, which swept over many lands, killing and destroying for miles inland, the low lying areas completely and totally devastated. These people who had thought the Wanamah were mad to go into cold high places now realised, those who survived that is, why the Wanamah had relocated there. From their homes in the mountains, the Wanamah were able to guide, through their priests and workers, to help the people to rebuild their lives, and using their great knowledge and experience were able to guide them how to cultivate the dead and sterile silt that was deposited on their lands, and how to best feed the beasts and livestock on the poor quality of grass available till the land had time to heal. Once everything had settled, and the villages were able to survive on their own, the Wanamah and their helpers returned to their almost hermit like existence in the mountains, asking only a small tribute from the locals as payment for their work, and everything should have returned to normal. Unfortunately for them, it did not.

It was getting more and more difficult to train the children to survive the Enlightenment, as the knowledge collected and passed on from parents to child was growing rapidly as the generations moved on, to the extent where very few Postulates were put through the Enlightenment ceremony for fear of killing them, or sending them mad. Only the very best of the trained Postulates were allowed to become Enlightened Wanamah, their training so severe it had to be taught almost like a religion in its restrictions and methods, and dedicated priests were brought in to teach the patience and self control needed to the children. She looked at Ellieth and sternly said, It looks, my dear, as if you could be one of the last, if not the very last Postulate. This information made Ellieth feel rather uncomfortable, and after translating to Nort, he too started to get concerned. Ellieth spoke, having many questions, but her previous training told her to start from the beginning, and work through. May I ask how and where you have come by all of this information, and can speak it with so much accuracy? The old woman rolled her eyes towards the floor for a moment as if in deep thought as to how to reply, and then looked up at Ellieth, the slight hint of tears forming in her eyes and replied, I know all of the ways of the Wanamah, because a long time ago, I too was a child Postulate, but on reaching my time to become Enlightened, my parent forbid me to have the Enlightenment for fear of it killing me, and the stress that this internal battle inside my head of spending years training, and not qualifying had a disastrous effect, and my brain switched the Knowledge off, and robbed me of my chance of ever having it. Ellieth translated, and her and Nort both looked at each other, both silent. A kindred spirit had been found, but certainly not what they had expected.

Chapter Twenty-Two
Does this mean you can never become a full Wanamah? asked Ellieth, with some sympathy in her voice. The old woman sat for a moment before replying, I cannot, as I believe I have lost the Knowledge from within me, a long, long time ago. Is there no way we can bring it back? asked Ellieth, still concerned at the loss to the woman. Alas, no, it has gone forever, and, until I met you earlier today, I thought the Wanamah were gone forever too. This brought a smile to her otherwise sad face, And, it is a great shock to find a Postulate that still lives. Ellieth didnt know what to make of this last statement, but took it as a compliment.

So, how can I tell that I have not lost the dormant Knowledge from within me too? asked Ellieth The old woman looked at her and replied, No, you are still a full Postulate. I see the fire still burns behind your eyes, as mine did, and you can still speak the tongues of many, whereas I cannot understand even the tongue of your friend here, though once I understood many I can feel the dormant power radiating from you, this silent buzz that only a trained Wanamah could detect. You are certainly a Postulate. Ellieth translated all of this to Nort, who asked for his question to be translated to the old woman, which Ellieth did, Do you know the ritual that turns a Postulate to a full Wanamah, or do you know of anyone who knows how to? The old woman shook her head, I do not know how to perform the Enlightenment as I was never allowed to take it, and I know of no one who does. When the raiders attacked the mountain retreat of the Wanamah, some four years ago now, they killed all of the priests who could have performed this, and every Postulate they could find within the almost sealed fortress. As their location protected them from intrusion, it also stopped them running too. It was nothing short of a massacre. The old woman was now becoming visibly upset, so the three of them ordered more ale, and paused from the main conversation. The inn was now quite full of people, from all types of workers within the community, all socially talking, the richer with the poorer, and the young with the old. Ellieth noticed this, so asked the old woman, I see that the whole town, regardless of station or wealth, or even age, all converse with each other, as if there were no difference between them. Is there a reason? The old lady replied, with a smile, This is from the teachings of the Wanamah, that all people are equal, and that those who possess a talent should share that with everybody else. All of the houses were rebuilt for free, lands cultivated by everybody, each helping his neighbour. So simple, and yet so difficult. By now, Nort had had time to analyse the information so far, and had come up with a couple of questions, which would help them greatly. He asked for Ellieth to put these to the old woman, Pray tell me, if you can, do you think the home of the Wanamah on the mountain might contain the information we seek? The old woman, the effects of the alcohol starting to show, waved a hand in the air, and replied, It is possible, but unlikely, as all of the records, books, and scrolls that existed were written in a tongue not known to us, and the raiders may have burned them anyway. Thats not to say that the information might be there. You must remember that their knowledge was passed on in their children, and not books Nort asked another question for Ellieth to translate, and the old woman replied, Of course I will show you how to get to the castle in the sky, but only on paper, as I have no intention of ever going near that place again.

I will have it ready for you tomorrow morning.

Chapter Twenty-Three
In their room that night, Ellieth and Nort discussed the conversation they had had with the old woman. Nort went first, There is something I cannot understand about this old woman. Something doesnt seem to add up. And, pray tell me, Nort, what is that? She made reference to things happening a thousand years ago, so, lets assume the mountain in the old land blew up nine hundred years ago, so this colony of Wanamah in the mountains here would be at least nine hundred years old. Ellieth looked at him as she made ready for bed, a little worse for the ale herself, and nodded. He continued, So, unless you translated the conversation wrongly, which I doubt, this would mean that the small town we are in now would have to be about nine hundred years old, possibly eight hundred and fifty years, depending on the time taken to rebuild it. You agree so far? Ellieth nodded, Nort continued, So, if the people were helped by the Wanamah to rebuild their community, then there must have been some full Enlightened Wanamah qualifying and then coming out of the place over the next eight hundred years or so, or at least till it became dangerous to perform the Enlightenment, so, where are they all? Ellieth nodded again, and Nort carried on with his analysis, I mean, eight hundred years, from just one breeding couple, thats, he started to use his fingers, then gave up and stopped, Its a lot anyway. So, where are they? Youve already asked that question thought Ellieth, maybe the ale is getting to him too. She spoke, Perhaps my good friend, the answers lie in the mountains, where the Wanamah lived. The old woman said the books that did exist there were written in many different tongues. She could not read them herself as she had lost her Knowledge, or the training from it, but I, my dear Nort, have not. I think it would be in our best interests to go to the mountain home of the Wanamah, and seek out what is left of the documents, words, pictures, anything that can point us in the right direction to solve who or what I am. Nort was snoring on the couch. As she lay in the bed, she tried to work through most of the information the old woman had given them, and it was a lot to take in. She now knew what she was, who she was, and a potted history of where she had come from. This was her heritage, though little though the information was, but it was still a start. One of the key pieces of information she had withheld from the old woman was that she had very little memory of the mountain retreat, as her aunt had taken

her away when she was very young, and her memories of the retreat were sketchy at best, just little snippets here and there, but she still seemed to posses a knowledge of things she had not seen or been formally taught, and that the crones assumption that she could be a Postulate of the Wanamah could be correct. With the newly gleaned information, and directions to this retreat of sorts in the mountain coming tomorrow, Ellieth thought there must be at least a grain of truth in the words of the old woman, and that she could have indeed been one of these Wanamah, and was now passing on the information to Ellieth, to aid her search. The next few days could be of great interest or disappointment. Ellieth fell asleep.

Chapter Twenty-Four
The sun was up when they both awoke, feeling the effects of the strong ale from the night before. They readied themselves, and went to breakfast down in the main room of the inn. While having breakfast, the wife of the landlord came over and said, I see you were talking with the old crone from the big farm. You dont want to get too close to that one, as shes thought to be dangerous in these parts. Its a long time ago now, but both her parents died a horrible death, and we all think she had something to do with it. Really weird that one She turned and walked back into the kitchen. Ellieth translated for Nort and he too started to worry about the things that were being said. Perhaps she killed them because they wouldnt let her be a full Wanamah, exacting revenge in the most horrible way upon them. Ellieth doubted this; because if she had done something like this she would have fled, as far away as possible. No, something else, or someone else had a hand in it. The crone must have been about forty when the parents died, so it would be unlikely it was a revenge attack. They finished their breakfast, packed up their belongings, and with their climbing gear and high altitude clothing, it was all strapped to their horses, ready to leave, just as the old woman arrived. In her hand was a large folded piece of paper, thick parchment paper, which she gave to Ellieth. On your way, young Postulate, she said, smiling as they mounted their horses to go, and this will help you on your quest. It is the original, so, please take care of it. After handing it over she turned to leave, till Ellieth called to her, Thank you my new friend, for everything you have said and done. You have shown the kindness of heart of one who is a true Wanamah. The old lady stopped in her tracks, her eyes filling with tears, It was my pleasure to help a Postulate of my own kind, and to be recognised as one from the past myself. I thank you for that. She turned, and started to make her way back to her farmhouse on the edge of town without another word, or a glance back towards them. Nort spoke,

What a strange old woman. I still cannot work out if she is for real. Ellieth looked at him in a strange way Is for real, where did you get that phrase from? I heard it in a dream, a long time ago, so, I remembered it. I thought it might come in handy sometime, in a situation like this one. Ellieth opened the parchment map for a couple of seconds, then swung her horse north easterly, Its this way Nort, for about a hundred miles or so, and I hope we packed enough cold weather clothing, as where we are going, its going to get a lot colder.

Chapter Twenty-Five
Gisarno sat in his laboratory working out his losses. He was now back in his home land of Fensia, dwelling on the demise of his quarry to the sea, and how much time and effort he had put into the search. He had heard rumours a long time ago that a set of mercenaries had been hired to destroy this citadel in the mountains, to rid the lands of powerful Magi, who possessed the Knowledge, something he would be well pleased to possess himself. He had studied the legends, and also the mysticism surrounding these beings, beings that knew everything from the day they were born. That sort of knowledge could bring wealth and power to him, something he had always yearned for. The people in his land were turning their back on his magic potions and herbal mixtures, because they were not working. He needed to show them that he was right, and always had been. They would suffer for their lack of respect shown to him. They would pay. He followed, in his head, everything he had seen and done, in an effort to see if he had missed some small detail, anything that could help him find another alternative, and there was another somewhere in these lands, but it always brought him back to the last remaining one. Ellieth. He had heard, shortly after his search began, of another girl, well a woman by now, who was said to possess the powers, but had not been Enlightened, and by now she would be a lot older than a normal Postulate, which meant he could possibly perform the ceremony of Enlightenment and they would get limited results, but results nevertheless. He had travelled to the town where they had lived, and he approached the girls parents, in her absence, to see if they would allow an edited version of the Enlightenment Ceremony to take place, and release some of the powers, if not all, but they said no. They continued to say no over and over. When they told him they had purposely stressed their daughter to make her lose what power she had left, he became angry, asking them why? They had themselves been born with these powers, which they had allowed by their own choice to go dormant, and both replied that they did not believe what the family possessed would help them or anyone else now or in the future.

Gisarno was now furious at their total selfishness at their lack of concern about the continuation of their own species, their knowledge, and their power. When they said that their daughter had nothing of the knowledge left in her now, carefully removed by them, he lost it with them completely. He left both of them dying, on the floor of their own farmhouse, a kind of punishment, in his eyes, for taking away a power that was never theirs to remove. They had no right to stop that girl achieving what she had been bred for, what was passed from them to her, and possibly to her offspring, though unlikely now. This girl was an old woman by now, hiding in the shadows to escape detection, or perhaps hiding in plain sight. Neither of these mattered, as it meant that Gisarno had lost all chance with the loss of Ellieth of finding out any of this knowledge. He had been beaten.

Chapter Twenty-Six
The climb up into the mountains was not an easy one, and it took Ellieth and Nort almost five days to get to where they could see the pinnacles of the citadel, high above them, in the distance. The paths and tracks had been treacherous in places, and also containing many traps that had been placed there to hamper the progress of the unwary, designed to impede progress to any visitors who would try to visit the school. It had to be very difficult to get there, and it certainly was. A maze cut out of solid rock to start with, which, if they hadnt had the map from the old woman, they would still have been in there, the walls of the maze towering over thirty feet tall, so it was impossible to look over the top for the path. They also had to cross an icy slope, similar to a glacier, set at over 60 degrees from the level floor, where one tiny slip would become a slide, and then accelerating downhill, until you would be sliding into oblivion. After that came the stepping-stones, so cleverly placed that they appearing to be standing in mid air, with no visible support, where they had to put their feet on the correct ones, or fall into the abyss. This was only three of the many trials they had to face on their way up into the mountains. The Wanamah were definitely countering any chance of visits from the casual traveller. However, Ellieth and Nort had the Map of Explanation, which guided them through these many obstacles, carefully, but not quickly. They had to travel at a much slower pace, and although this would not normally have been a problem, their slow progress meant that they were not generating enough body heat to counter the chill from the wind, so they were feeling very cold indeed all of the time. On the third night of the climb, they had pitched up their small tent, set the horses into a small crevice out of the wind, and climbed into their little shelter to get themselves also out of the biting wind. Within a very short space of time, the wind speed started increasing, this being a sure sign of low pressure on the way, and a prequel to a full-blown snowstorm before daybreak. The sides of the tent started to vibrate at a frequency so quick that it made the sound audible as a low drone, the ambient temperature outside started falling quickly too, and by many

degrees, so the two of them lay, side by side, in the small, oil lamp lit world of a six foot square, with the noises battering them nonstop. They tried to sleep, but it was impossible, not because of the noise, but because of the cold. Animal hides, obtained before they had left the town we used to cover them, and they were also lying on their own straw bags on the ground, these being used to protect them from the cold of the very ground itself, but still, by the middle of the night, they were both chilled to the bone and shivering uncontrollably. Ellieth spoke to Nort, We must lie together, in one large stack of skins, with our bodies touching. That way we will heat each other and hopefully save our lives. We have no option. Nort started to blush around his extremities, and his skin warmed. Before he knew it, he was naked, with Ellieth, also now naked beside him, clinging to his body, touching him totally from his neck right to his toes, the two of them heating each other, intertwined as if they were one. Nort lay there body to body with Ellieth, and yet, his manhood never stirred. He was in a position that all boys and young men only dreamed about for many years of their youth, but here he was, up very close and very personal. They hugged each other, heating each other, saving each other, throughout the night. They both eventually managed to sleep well considering their cramped conditions.

Chapter Twenty-Seven
The sun was high in the sky when they awoke, the heat from the rays falling onto the thick pile of skins and heating them up slowly, till it became unbearably hot for them to remain inside their little cocoon. They dressed very quickly, and Nort peered out of the door of the tent, expecting to see snow all around them, thinking they might even be buried, but no, all of the snow had gone. He could clearly see where they had tethered the horses between the two large clefts of rocks for shelter, and they seemed to have weathered the storm well too. Packing and loading up, after eating a light breakfast, they carried on their journey, walking alongside the animals as they had done for days now. The horses were not for riding at speed any more; they were for carrying the equipment. By the middle of the day, they had reached the remains of what had been the access lift, but there were little left of it that they could see, only the base where the passengers would stand, and the single guide pole in the centre rising up all the way up into the citadel. No ropes or chains to raise the platform up to the entrance, and no sign of how it was raised or lowered. Nort thought for a moment, then announced, If I climb up this centre pole, which is now covered in dirt so it should not be as slippery as it would be in normal operation, I could climb into the opening and find out if the ropes were just pulled up, or cut when the raiders left. If it were

chains, the marauders would not have had time to slice the chains, so would have pulled them up out of the way, where no one could reach them, the last man to leave could possibly have slid down the pole. Climbing up it will not be easy, but I think we should take the chance. Ellieth nodded in agreement, trying hard to remember if this platform had been held by rope or chain. She remembered rope being used, but it was horizontally, and went around the platform, as a sort of safety barrier to the people who used it. She hadnt taken much notice of the supporting strands going to the corners. Nort prepared himself for a long climb, using a thick strip of cloth around the pole and himself as he went, with his bare feet for help in the grip, and carrying his shoes hanging by the laces around his neck. He had seen some tribes on his travels use this method to climb the high trees for fruit and honey, and it looked easy. As he reached the twelve-foot mark, he began to realise that this was not going to be as easy as he had at first thought, but he carried on, slowly setting himself a rhythm and hoisting himself upwards towards the opening in the citadel floor, foot by foot, the opening in the floor of the citadel not yet visible to him in the distance. As he climbed, Ellieth tried to recollect anything at all from her surroundings and from her time here, a tree or a rock, a sound, or perhaps a smell. Yes, there was a familiar smell, a pinecone smell, its freshness mixed with a sweet smelling scent of roses, though real roses would never grow at this altitude. She did not recall the name of the flower, but she remembered the smell, its fragrance always seemed to hang heavy in the air at this time of year. She watched as Nort began to vanish further and further up the pole, a climb that could only be attempted by the very fit, or the young. To fall from that height would guarantee that the climber would be dead when they hit the ground. She gave a sigh of relief when his body disappeared through the hole and his legs vanished as he pulled himself up onto the floor of the citadel. She waited and waited for him to shout down what he had found, and for a while heard nothing, then she caught sight of something coming slowly down towards her, clinking as it came. By the time it was close enough for her to see, she realised it was the four chains from the corners of the platform, with the main chain above them. He had found the lift mechanism with the lifting chains, and, luckily, they were all made of iron, so had not been cut, and would have little value for the weight it would be to carry them away. She needed no instruction on what to do with the chains when they finally arrived, and slipped the bolts and pins from the corner fastenings onto the four chains and waited. The platform she was standing on slowly started to rise, using the pole as the centre guide, slowly getting higher and higher, and taking a long time to reach the top. As the platform became level with the floor of the citadel, it stopped and metal beams swung out from underneath to lock it into position, making it almost part of the floor. Ellieth stepped from the platform and onto the metal loading bay floor. This was the first time she had been here in the citadel since her aunt had taken her

away; only this time there were no people, no priest teachers, only a real stillness, a silence.

Chapter Twenty-Eight
The eerie silence that surrounded Ellieth lasted only a moment before Nort appeared from the corner of the room. I thought so, he said as he approached her, appearing out of the gloom, They had only disconnected the chains because they had no way to cut them, and brought them back up. The raising mechanism is still in working order too, though a little rusty perhaps, so maybe they intended to come back at some time, and perhaps check the Wanamah had not returned. Ellieth thought for a moment, and nodded in agreement. These Vandals would soon return if they thought the Wanamah were re-emerging, to wipe them out again before they could develop. Why was this genocide perpetrated? Who knows what damage they were about to find as they set off into the main body of the citadel. They could even find remains of persons she may have known. Nort led the way, both of them holding hands as they went, asking if she could remember the layout of the empty corridors and classrooms from when she was last here, and the two of them decided to try to make their way to the main library, if they could find it. Ellieth had vague memories of some of the walkways, as a lot of the wall coverings, massive and beautiful murals too, had been torn down, together with all of the hanging art works, leaving only bare walls on display, which made one corridor look very much like another to her. They passed the massive oak double doors to the lecture theatre, broken away from their inset and left lying on the floor, their gold handles and fittings stripped from the solid wood of the door by an axe or something similar. Every item that could have been thought to have any value at all had been taken, even the bell metal hinges, locks and stanchions, hacked out of the beautifully carved doors by brute force. Devastation lay all around them as they walked slowly towards the central hub of the citadel, noticing that the many beautifully crafted wall hangings had all been torn down and cut to shreds, then scattered, just in case they had something to do with the Enlightenment. The floor was covered in shards of glass, from the many colours in stained glass pictures, broken and made to fall from the cupolas in the ceilings and then scattered into the corners of the rooms. These Heathens had done a good job of implementing their plan of maximum devastation; nothing seemed to remain intact in the building. Ellieth was now starting to think that there would be little or nothing left of the Great Library. They padded their way slowly and carefully through the mess left on the floor, as Ellieth tried to remember the way to their destination, and Nort asking what he thought were the right questions to help her memory, and so far it was working, as she was able to identify certain remains of statues, some with only their feet and parts of the legs remaining, as she remembered their positions in the corridors. It was hard work for her to visualise the layout, but Nort said she was doing very well indeed to be able to remember as much as she has already, plus the emotions that must be flowing through her at seeing this place in its

current state, and knowing what it looked like in its full glory, it must make her a little sad. The emotion that was running uppermost in Ellieths mind at the moment was that of anger at the way her childhood home had been so utterly torn apart. It was disrespectful, it was criminal, and it was wanton vandalism, no more and no less. They were approaching what should have been the doors of the Great Library, these had also been ripped off their hinges and were also lying on the floor, their gold fitments stripped as all of the others were, but they noticed something unexpected inside. The bookracks around the walls and also in rows across the room where the books should had been filed were empty, and the shelves they had all stood on were chopped up to make a huge bonfire in the centre of the room, then the books had been placed, in stacks on it and around it and then the whole massive heap finally set on fire. There was glass all over the floor in here too. This was not the unusual thing that caught their eye. It appeared as though these vandals knew very little about science, and had placed the thousands of books as a giant stack around the wood kindling in the centre and had not opened any of the books up. They had fired the wood up and left, the heat then rising from the wood in the centre was funnelled up by the books into the cupola, smashing the glass, and allowing the rain or snow to enter, the wet books then starving the fire of fuel before they could take a proper hold, their wet leather bindings not as flammable as the parchment inside, so only the very edges of those around the outer top layers were singed. The books in the centre of the fire however were in a poor state, but those around the outside were in reasonable condition. Perhaps something could still be salvaged from the mess after all.

Chapter Twenty-Nine
They set about trying to see if they could dismantle the piles of books in the same order as they had been assembled, and luckily each book had a file number of sorts on its spine. From that they were able to split the stacks at the correct place, and keep each batch together. This was going to take a long time, not just because there were thousands of them, but as they had to handle the more inner placed books with more care, and to try to make the best they could of identifying the central ones without moving them or they would turn to ash. Ellieth was able to identify most of the contents on what subjects the books were written, bearing in mind that these books were for the priest teachers, and not the pupil Postulate. Everything was already in the mind of the Postulate. These books were written on how to get the Postulate to Enlightenment safely. They spent the remainder of the day sifting and sorting, and while Ellieth busied herself trying to pick out the relevant sections or books, Nort lowered himself down to the valley floor on the lift, collected the horses with their equipment, and brought them all back up into the citadel, the horses a little nervy, but they remained still. By doing this, there was no evidence left below that they were in the citadel.

As evening fell, they dined from their packed supplies, and Ellieth had worked out the library codex that had been used to catalogue the books, and there was not a single section on anything like Enlightenment or anything similar. She had found a section entitled Coming Of Age, but this dealt with puberty and the problems that could create among the mixed sexes and ages of the Postulates. She felt they were looking in the wrong place; this room was for the minions, not the top man, whom she remembered as something similar to a High Priest, remembering that she had seen him once. He had his own chambers, separated from the others, and she remembered going there with a priest one day to receive a merit for performance, as she had missed the morning assembly that day due to illness. She remembered that these rooms were small and very sparsely furnished, little more than a bed, a table, a candle, washing bowl, and a small rug on the floor to one side, and a table with a couple of wooden chairs around it, and two large candlesticks, in the centre of the room. The table, and some of the floor was piled high with papers and records, all of the work the High Priest would have to take on to run this special educational establishment. Even the Postulates had more in their rooms than this, much more in fact. She could also remember that it was not an easy place to get to, and thinks she can remember climbing a lot of narrow steps in a narrow spiral stairway, stone blocks on each side, quite dark as it was without windows, and the climb only lit by the candle the priest was carrying, the flicker as they moved adding to the mystery of it all. Nort had finished moving the books they had been able to eliminate over to the walls, leaving a massive pile still to go through. Ellieth spoke, I think we are looking in the wrong place, I feel it, and I sense it too. Why do you think that? Nort quizzed. I remember something, a tiny detail from when I was here. She explained to Nort about the High Priest and his private chambers, and if he were the one who would be responsible to perform the Enlightenment, then it would be likely that he would have the method or information to hand, and under lock and key, so no one else could use it. While I waited for the High Priest to come into the main chamber, I was standing silently with the priest when the High Priest came out of a small ante room to the left of us, and I caught a glimpse, and it was just a glimpse, of what looked like a mitre hat, a golden mitre hat, with jewels on it, on a stand at the back of the room, just before he closed the door. I knew I had seen that hat before, and I think it was used at an Enlightenment Ceremony, though I was too young to know if it was or not, but thinking back, it seems it would all fit correctly. Nort stood for a moment, in thought, and happily agreed to this new search, as he was tired of book sorting, and they should follow her hunch. This seemed a reasonable course of action, after all they could return to the books at any time. They would now had to find this narrow, unlit stairway to these chambers, though they both doubted the mitre would still be there because of the raiders, or indeed anything else that should have been there originally, but that search would have to wait till daybreak. They did not want to illuminate anything at all in case it gave away their presence to others outside of the citadel.

Chapter Thirty
The night felt so strange to both of them, having spent a lot of time close together in a confined space of either one room or a tent, and to now be able to stretch out on their hay bails and fur covers with almost total freedom of space was a feeling of great luxury. Even the echoes that reverberated around the huge room from the gentle sounds of their movements or the noise from their breathing didnt cause them alarm in this vast cavernous chamber they were now in, and almost in total darkness too, but they knew they were safe, and tonight, nothing would disturb their sleep. The citadel seemed to radiate peace and tranquillity, despite its current appearance of the interior. It seemed to possess the souls of the many generations, and the tranquillity of the many Postulates and their teachers who had gone in the times before. They could see the night sky through the broken glass of the pergola above, and the stars took on crystal clarity because of their high altitude, allowing them to see a little in their darkness, once they got used to it. Nort looked at Ellieth and asked, What kind of things did these priest people teach you, I mean, you knew it all from inside your head anyway, so what could they teach you? Self control, discipline, and to be with one with nature, and to listen to Gaia, the spirit of the Earth itself, hear and heed the sounds of the mother land we walk on. These were the main teachings that were passed on to us, though I did not finish all of the courses before I was taken away, so there will be others I did not get the chance to study So, what were you taught about self control? What did you learn? asked Nort. It is very difficult to explain, replied Ellieth, there were many small things we had to do, like see how long we could hold our breath under water, or hang upside down without going red in the face. One of the hardest I saw done to one Postulate, though I was too young to do it myself, was to hang in a crucifix position, in midair, using two ropes with rings on the end, and to hang for most of the day, arms level with their shoulders, without wavering. Nort thought for a second about the physical effort that would have been needed to do this, and these Postulates must have been at the peak of fitness, and beyond. They must have been physically exceptional these boys, he remarked. The Postulate doing the crucifix test in the example I gave you was a girl, not a boy, and we were all about even in our physical abilities, at similar ages. We both had to receive the same training together, to the highest standard, regardless of our sex, as we would both become enlightened at a ceremony, and would face the same problems upon receiving the gifts that were coming. Norts eyes opened wide when he heard this, not having thought about the fact that the girls would have to go through exactly the same ritual as the boys, so would have to be trained to receive the Enlightenment at exactly the same level. Does that mean you could be some sort of superhuman, and all this time I thought I was protecting you! Ellieth smiled and replied,

My dear Nort, you have always protected me from the outset of our journey, and I would like you to continue to do so. My strength was never fully developed physically by the training, though it may still be there, so I have no wish to try it unless I must. My training was more in the mental exercises, puzzles, logic, mathematics and applications, and minor telepathic and telekinesis games. I was too young to possess the muscles needed to do the physical challenges at that time. Nort thought for a moment again before turning over to sleep, I feel so much safer knowing that if we had to fight, you would not be standing, and watching, waving your arms about and screaming. Ellieth silently got out of her bed, walked across to where he lay, and slapped him hard across his ears, then returned to her bed. They slept.

Chapter Thirty-One
They awoke early, just before sunrise, as the many birds that had taken up residence inside of the frameworks of the cupola and the ornate ledges of the walls decided to hold their own dawn chorus. Though the chorus would normally be greeted with smiles and wonder, the inside walls acted as an echo chamber, and made the shrill songs almost deafening. Ellieth sat up first, and could hear Nort uttering words of disdain at the rude awakening they were now suffering. She looked around at the many noisy creatures that were fighting to get their song heard over the top of the din, and for some reason raised her hand. The chorus stopped, and it went silent, the birds taking flight out into the still dark sky in an orderly fashion, the only sound being that of many wing beats. Nort stared at Ellieth, How did you do that? he asked, looking around as the last of the birds departed through the holes in the cupola. I have no idea how, or why, she replied also watching the last of the birds fly out of the gaps. Well you must have some power over them, he said in a confused manner, They dont just shut up and fly away for anyone. I still have no idea how or even why I did it, but I did, so that is another mystery for us to solve later. For the moment, we should concentrate on finding this staircase. They dressed in the gradual increase in light from the rising sun, and ate their breakfast taken from the pouches on the horses, the horses would eat the hay bedding, and they still had plenty of that. They were ready to start their search when the full light of day was illuminating the citadel, and the full extent of the damage done by the raiders could be clearly seen. Every piece of art or ornament was systematically destroyed, possible by the same stroke of the sword, leaving nothing of any value behind. The gold talons that held an eagle to a perch on a statue had been hacked out of the plaster, leaving flakes on both the feet and the perch. Many of the statues of warriors

lined up along the corridors had golden spears as Ellieth could recall, but they were all gone. It was desolate. They were happy in one respect, in that they had not as yet found any bodies, or remains of bodies. It would be impossible for predatory animals to get up here from the valley floor, and the carrion birds would not carry off the bones, just scatter them as they picked, so from what they could see, either the bodies were taken away, or the priests were taken prisoner to be killed elsewhere. As they walked the corridors, padding along on the stone tile floors, nothing had been spared from damage, and glass lay everywhere. The citadel had been totally destroyed. Ellieth could feel a lump rising in her throat, and she thought this was unusual as she was not normally the emotional type, but to see this place, in this state, made her sad. For Norts sake she knew she had to stay positive, and carry on with the search, so they could start and get some real answers. They passed through what used to be the music and recreation room, and all of the instruments, music stands, seats, everything, trashed, manuscript piled up and set alight, though it didnt burn very well either, and looked as though it only charred. The pottery rooms, where fine bowls and pots were crafted and painstakingly painted lay in ruins, the spinning and weaving sections of the textiles room, torn apart. They carried on walking along the vandalised corridors. She suddenly stopped. She remembered a smell. When she was taken to the chambers of the High Priest all those years ago, she remembered a distinctive smell, a sort of mixed incense spice blended with a rose petal and wild mint smell, and she also remembered that she had never smelled that aroma before anywhere in the whole of the citadel, only in the one place, just at the bottom of the stairway to the chambers. She could smell that scent now, but there was no door anywhere to be seen!

Chapter Thirty-Two
Nort joined her at the blank wall, trying to read her strange expression that appeared on her face. Why are we standing here? he asked, looking around and seeing nothing but walls of stone around them. I know the entrance to the chambers is here, I recognise that smell. I know its here somewhere. Nort sniffed the air, and declared, Its the same smell all over the place, that minty humid smell. No, this smell is different, this one is more intense from having more incense. The two of them touched the walls, feeling for a draft or air movement that would give away the location of a joint, or a crevice, but could feel none. Nort thought for a second, then asked, Which way were you brought to the chambers, from that end of the corridor or this end? Ellieth thought for a moment then replied,

That end, and pointed to the opposite entrance of the passageway. Nort took her there, and asked, Which wall was the door in, the left or the right, and which way did it open? She thought for a moment again, then replied, It was in the left wall, and the door opened towards us, as I remember we had to walk around it to get to the stairs inside. Again Nort asked a question, What was the door made of? This time, Ellieth had to really think, as she had never really taken any notice at the time, and then answered, It was stone, and the edges were not matching, I remember now, it was part of the wall! Nort was not finished with the questions, Can you remember how many steps you took from this end of the passage till you entered the staircase? Not really, I was younger then, and much smaller. She closed her eyes, and acted out the short walk as she could remember it, turned left and said, Here, the door was here. Nort joined her and started looking for any clue as to what could open a secret room in a secret citadel. He had heard stories of things like this in his childhood nursery from the governess, but never thought he would be doing it for real. He knew that if it were a door made of stone, it would be heavy, and would need to be counter balanced on hinges, and any mechanism would have to be strong to move it, so they were not looking for something the thickness of hairs, more that of bars. The workings would have to be on the inside, so the actuator mechanism from the outside could only be in one of two places, and he could work these out, if only he had the exact size of the door, but he hadnt. He worked for a while feeling the stonework at different intervals and heights, working on the assumption that for this to be a secret entrance, the opening lock would not be directly in front of you, and could even be concealed in the floor. He turned to Ellieth again with another question, When you got here, was the door open, or closed? Closed, I think. She replied. So, what did the priest do, what did he touch, where did he move to? Ellieth thought for a second and then as it came back to her, she replied, He told me to stand still over there on that part of the floor, and then he went to somewhere about here, then the door opened, she pointed to two different locations on the floor, But that could be so that the door didnt hit me when it opened. Nort spoke, The door couldnt hit you as it would swing the wrong way. No, I think this door needs at least two people to open it from this side. Can you go and stand where the priest put you, and tell me where the priest himself walked to. Ellieth did as she was bid, and walked to the spot near the opposite wall where she had been placed all those years ago, and as she had done then, stood still. She guided Nort to the position where the priest had stood, but nothing happened. He spoke again,

Was there anything you remember the priest doing at this point, no matter how small? No, she replied, and then spoke again, Yes, he did. He bent down as if to adjust his sandal. Left or right? asked Nort. Ellieth thought, trying to bring back the memory in her head, His left, Im certain, yes, his left, and he was very quick too. Nort stooped down as if he was going to adjust his left shoe, to see if there was anything that could help the search before ruling it out. There was nothing he could see at first. A little piece of plant root growing from between the cracks in the floor, but nothing else. That was when it struck him. They were not on the ground, and there was little natural light or water to feed a plant here. This had to be a fake. He pulled it slightly, and the wall in front and to the left of him swung out towards him.

Chapter Thirty-Three
The staircase that started behind the door was narrow, and without windows or openings so was very dark too. As they had to make their way upwards in pitch darkness, they were feeling the sides to guide them as they spiralled their way to the top, seeing only a faint glimmer of light as they neared the top end of the stairs. The main room they entered when they reached the top of the stairs was as exactly as Ellieth had described it, austere, with only essential furniture of the bed, the table and the little rug on the floor, candlesticks places around the place too. The striking thing about this room was that it all appeared to be undisturbed, and had not suffered the fate of the rest of the citadel, nothing seemed broken or destroyed, the contents seemed to be intact. This gave them a little hope that maybe, if this room was undisturbed, then the raiders might not have found these chambers, and the answers they were seeking could still be here untouched and unharmed. They looked at each other, both thinking the same thing, and Nort nodded. Ellieth approached the door to the anteroom and tried to open it. It was locked, which was also another good sign. Nort had many hidden engineering talents, but one of the lesser known was that of a locksmith, and he had the lock to the door picked in minutes, something that made Ellieth raise an eyebrow. Perhaps, in his past, he was not quite the good boy he was supposed to be. She opened the door with ease, and as she entered, she could see what they had come for, and more. The books of the ceremonial procedures were there, all neatly arranged, in order of use, the whole set of the instructions of the Enlightenment ceremony, but most of all, at the back of the room, the golden Mitre, still there on its stand, untouched by the raiders, and alongside, the ceremonial robes that would have

been worn. Many priests will have given their lives to protect the location of these items, and it had worked, they were still here. For the next couple of hours, Ellieth busied herself reading some of the texts from the books in the shelving, looking for answers, but finding only more questions. The books explained how the Enlightenment Ceremony was performed and by whom, but not why it had to be performed, and what was the result of the Enlightenment when it was performed successfully or perhaps unsuccessfully. Perhaps that was the information that would be found in the main library down in the main body of the citadel, the history of the Wanamah, and its origins and heritage. This knowledge was what she wanted to gain as well as the method of the Enlightenment itself. Nort wandered up and down the stairs with a small bags full of straw, and placed the mitre into one of them, using the straw and the robes as packing to protect it, and then began placing the many books still remaining in the room into the rest of the sacks, also protected them with straw. With all of the sacks marked in ink as cattle feed, they could be loaded onto a cart later without too much suspicion. Once everything was brought down from the secret chambers and loaded onto the horses, they tried once again to make sense out of the books in the normal library about the history of the Wanamah but were unsuccessful. If it were here, it was well hidden. What they needed to do now, for their own safety, was to get as far away as possible from this citadel, not even telling the old woman of their discovery, and to find a quiet place where they could do more intense research for a few months on these books without interruption or detection. Nort knew of one such place, though it was a long way away. His house. They loaded all of the horses onto the lift platform with Ellieth, and Nort operated the mechanism, and lowered them down to the valley floor, making sure they were not seen. On reaching the ground, she disconnected the corner chains, and he drew up the ropes, and then finally climbed down the pole making as little disturbance to the mosses growing on the pole as possible, to the valley floor to join Ellieth. They had been lucky, as they knew no one had detected their presence in the citadel, and they hoped no one had seen them come out of it, so they set about negotiated the many little traps and problems placed there along the way by the priests. They still had the map given to them by the old woman, so it did not take long, as they knew what to expect, and the weather was kinder too. They made good time on their return journey over the next couple of days, arriving at the inn where the old lady frequented, and booked in for the night, placing the extra horses they had rented from there into the stables, and purchased a small cart for the rest of their journey to Norts house, loading it with normal animal feed for now, ready for the next day. The last six bags of feed would be loaded tomorrow just before they left. The old crone appeared, as they thought she might, just after supper, and came straight to them. Did you find the answers you were seeking young Postulate? she asked in that thin voice of hers.

Ellieth replied, while Nort kept his head down, looking busy with leather strapping, We found the base of the citadel, as you said, and my young friend Nort here climbed up the pole into it, but he told me the whole place was a wreck, as if it had been ransacked and then deserted, with evidence of fires being made to destroy everything. That is as I had heard it was, replied the old woman. She continued, So you found nothing to guide you to the answers to your questions then? With sadness in her voice as some of the answer was true she replied, Unfortunately, no, said Ellieth, other than more questions, but I will not give up.

Chapter Thirty-Four
As Nort loaded the last of the supplies of the special bags of animal feed, and of course their own supplies for the journey, Ellieth spotted the old woman approaching them from the other side of the courtyard, She was carrying something in her hand, a sort of parcel, wrapped up in a cloth of some description. Im pleased I caught you young Postulate before you went on your way. I have something for you, but it is not for the eyes of any around here. She motioned Ellieth to walk into the back door of the inn, and into the rear room normally used for dining though this early on a morning was still empty. She placed the package on a table and unwrapped it, folding the cloth back gently as she went, revealing a book, a gold and leather bound book, with symbolised writing on the front. The glyphs were new to Ellieth, and at first wondered what the book was for, and was about to ask the old lady, when suddenly it all become clear, she could understand the symbols, she could read the glyphs. The old woman was watching her face carefully, and smiled when she saw the flicker of understanding show in her eyes when she started to recognise the script, and then her smile at being able to do so. I see, young Postulate, that the markings have revealed themselves to you, and that you still have the powers within you to learn from this. Unfortunately, I myself have lost the power to understand such things, but I was told by my parents when I was quite young, that one day, a long time in the future, a Wanamah Postulate will come to the inn in the village, seeking to know the story and history of the Wanamah. They said that I should tell this Postulate about the location of the citadel, and the complete rout of the priests and the contents of it, give them a copy of the Map, and await their return, which I did. On their return, I was told by my parents that the Postulate would lie to me about finding any of the treasures of the citadel, but they told me not to react and to act as though I believed them. This would only prove that they were worthy and could be trusted with secrets, and if they did so, to give them this book.

Ellieth listened intently to what the old woman was saying, and thinking to herself that if the old woman knew they had lied on their return about finding the treasure, why had she not challenged it then? How did this old woman know what was to be? The old woman could see the puzzled look on Ellieths face so started to explain, Within the pages of this book lies a prophecy, written many centuries ago by the early Wanamah people, and tells of things that will come to pass, and up to now, all of the prophecies have been correct with uncanny accuracy. It was not by accident that you were removed from the citadel by an aunt only weeks before it was raided and destroyed, taken a great distance away, and hidden from prying eyes. What you do not know is that you were not the only one who was removed to safety. I have waited for many years, patiently sitting here day after day in this inn, for one of the Postulates to arrive and to pursue the answers to their heritage by asking the way to the citadel, and the history of their birthright. You were not the first Postulate to come and to ask these questions, and you are not the first to leave to go up there to seek the truth, but you are the first one to return. You are the Worthy One. She wrapped up the book once again in the cloth cover and gave it to Ellieth, Here, everything you want, its all in here, the answers to all you want to know and more. Take it and go, and go now, for I fear the time is approaching when those who have sought to halt the passages to Enlightenment will succeed, and in doing so, wipe out the Wanamah forever. Ellieth left the old woman sitting in the room at the back of the inn, and emerged into the strong sunshine of the courtyard, carrying this new package out to the cart, and swinging herself up onto the seating bench, joining Nort, who was already up there, as he made ready to move out. She pushed the package up the front of her skirts, giving the appearance of being pregnant, explaining that they would attract less attention that way, and they left the inn, and the land it lay in forever. The old woman sat in the anteroom, in silence and all alone for a moment, till she heard a voice from behind her, You have now completed what you were destined to do my child, and it is now time, as your reward, that you finally joined us. She looked up at the ghostly figure that was now standing in front of her and said, Yes Mother. The staff found the body of the old woman, still sitting upright in a chair; sometime later. She had a smile on her lips, and there was not a wrinkle showing on her face, as if she had been in her mid twenties. She had left this world, and was now at peace.

Chapter Thirty-Five

On their first night stopover as they made their way back towards Gosthin, the fishing port where they would meet up with Ised for any more information he had gathered, Nort carefully removed the special packages from the cart and hid them from view from any person who may use the livery at any time during the night, the most precious he kept with him, thinking that he would soon have to come up with another hiding place for these items as they travelled, possibly built into the cart itself. Ellieth, on the other hand, went straight up to their room, the curiosity had been niggling at her all day about the possible content of this book, and what she could learn from it. With that, she sat on the bed, and opened the book. While Nort was being told down in the stables about how he had been lucky to become a father, and the pleasure it would have given him to make this child, though that was something he had to take their word for, and not blush, Ellieth was in deep research. The book was not written in any one tongue, but many different ones as the race developed over time. This told her that should one race find the book, they would not be able to understand the other sections within the same chapters, so only glean a small amount of information. Only a Wanamah would be able to read them all. She read of the great deeds that the Wanamah had succeeded in doing to help the people who lived around them, spreading over the countryside as more and more were Enlightened. It was not long before the suspicions were gradually being planted by those who had the wealth and sought the power they had. They wanted to achieve this by systematically undermining their culture at every turn and calling it witchcraft, the magic, which in effect was science, being linked with the black arts. These dark powers used their wealth and set out to destroy the Wanamah, not because the Wanamah were a threat to them in any way, but because they could not exercise any control over them, using fear, or poverty. The Wanamah helped everyone around them to make their lives better, everything from how to effectively irrigate fields, to raising healthy livestock without disease, but their critics were not happy about the easy answers they were giving the people. The normal people could not have a good, easy life, because their peers said they couldnt, as did the priests. They had to work hard to feed these peers. Thats what they were there for. Really, they were no better than slaves. In the beginning, the conflict of interest was all about control, so the peers put a ban on books and learning, in an attempt to stop this information from being passed down the generations, and eradicate the problems in the future. When the Wanamah found a method to pass on their experiences and education genetically, without the need for books or learning, this terrified the gentry at that time, as they would lose their almost slave like workforce from the land if the people ever had a way of gaining any intelligence from books and such like, the ordinary peasants were not being allowed to learn to read or write from the Wanamah. When all of the Wanamah children who were being born could not only read and write and could do so in many languages, this stopped the exploitation of

them by the gentry, and, over time, regardless of whatever the peers could try to throw at them, the Wanamah could no longer be subjugated. So they were all banished, from every country controlled by the Barony. They moved from the many corners of the continent to a wide spit of land jutting out to sea, in one of the southernmost parts of the known lands, accessible only over tricky mountain passes, guarded by their people and set up their permanent home there. With the exodus of the Wanamah from the other lands, the people reverted to their previous ways, and the peers could exercise control again, and everything returned to normal again, at least for the peasants at least. The new home of the Wanamah people became a gathering point of the whole clan, and information known by some now became known by all. The knowledge of new sciences, mathematics, astronomy, were all increasing at a phenomenal rate, and with it, the amount of information being passed on genetically through the generations. Unfortunately, as the volume of knowledge increased, the Wanamah brain did not keep pace, so there came a point of saturation, and anything beyond this saturation point could cause severe mental difficulties to the young minds of the children. Another breakthrough came and they were able to suppress the knowledge inside the heads and minds of the children till they were old enough to make sense of it all without causing the nervous breakdowns in the very young. This they called the Time of Enlightenment, and used a ceremony to switch the suppressed part of the brain on, and reveal the stored information to a person who had been trained in the control of their body when it was finally released to them. As time, and knowledge, went on, priests using amazing self control techniques in yoga, and other disciplines were brought in, to teach the Postulates to prepare for this sudden huge and confusing understanding of the world. Ellieth put down the book and went for supper, thinking that as her body digested the food, her mind could digest the information.

Chapter Thirty-Six
When the two of them had returned to the safety of their room, Ellieth was able to tell Nort what she had read so far, and he agreed, it more of less confirmed what the old woman had told them. The historical record, and the verbal record were about the same. Ellieth picked up the book again as she sat on the side of the bed, and read out the next part of the history to Nort, so he could analyse the information from his perspective too. Ellieth started to read and translate, They stayed there on the spit of land till just before a predicted earthquake that would totally destroy the spit and the surrounding coastal regions with a huge tsunami, but they knew that in their move, they could never go back to the districts from where they had been oppressed in their long past, so, they moved their race, little by little, upwards to the sky, up into the mountain tops, and

putting it in many small citadels, so that if one was attacked and destroyed, the others would survive, and the once united race was again divided. As predicted, the earthquake happened, killing thousands of people in the surrounding areas, and after the waters had gone, a few Wanamah, who had been waiting on the high ground, split up and came down to the coast, and assisted in the rebuilding of the towns and villages, the farms and the shops, working as individuals It was because of this goodness towards their fellow man that word reached the peers and the so called religious leaders of the time that the Wanamah were still dispensing wisdom to the peasants, and a sort of holy war broke out, the religious leaders sending mercenaries to find and destroy the Wanamah who were helping out the peasants, but every time they got there, the Wanamah had gone, vanished without trace, and the locals swore they knew nothing of these strange people. The Wanamah helpers just kept moving on, like pilgrims, across the devastated lands, helping where they could with their knowledge, then vanishing before the mercenaries could find them. This they did for some time, until the lives of those devastated by the tsunami were back on course, before they vanished forever from public view Ellieth stopped reading for a moment, and turned to Nort, I cannot understand why these peers would not let the Wanamah help, after all, if the production of food was greatly improved, they would benefit from it. Same with the manufacturing of things too. Nort replied, I think that there must be another motive why the peers feared and hated the Wanamah that we do not yet know of, and, as yet we have not found out. Perhaps the Wanamah have done something to the peers or their position we know nothing of. Remember we have only the word of the old woman that the Wanamah were a race of good people. They might not have been as good as she was saying. Ellieth was not amused at this, Nort almost accusing her of being a wicked person, but managed to refrain from slapping him, as this would have proved his point. And how, may I ask, do you think we as Wanamah might not be so squeaky clean as we have been led to believe? Nort knew he had to pick his words carefully, or risk falling out with Ellieth, Lets say for example, that the Wanamah did assist in the rebuilding of the towns and everything else, as it says in your book. But, what if they took money for their services, a fact omitted from your book on purpose, and left little or no money for the peers to collect in taxes? That would cause friction for sure. Im not saying they did, but it is a possibility Ellieth listened to the explanation that Nort had given, and even though she didnt want to admit it, his theory was possible. Perhaps she needed to view any further information she might glean from the book as only a possibility until it was proven correct. With that, she blew out the candle, and went to sleep.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The next few days of travel were more or less uneventful, as they neared the Anab Mountains from the Anab Plains. Nort was happier now, back in familiar territory, as he could understand the conversations from the locals, and he felt it easier than having the delay of translation through Ellieth. Their overnight stays were once again in the guise of brother and sister, the books now hidden, along with the Mitre and robes in the cart itself, in a false bottomed storage box under the seat, and some of the innkeepers remembered them from their outward journey, so the strange looks were not as prevalent this time. Ellieth had been able to glean a little more from the first part of the book, the historical section, before it was hidden in the compartment at the bottom of the storage box under the seat, but, in the main it more or less echoed what the old woman had said about the formation of the citadels, and the problems they had with the Enlightenment, causing major problems with some of the Postulates mentally. Nort had offered a possible explanation for this, saying that perhaps the peers and the religious people had, dirtied the pool; so there would always be problems with the Enlightenment, and that would get rid of the Wanamah for good, as they could never survive the ceremony. Ellieth rejected this as a possible reason, saying it would be almost impossible for a sort of germ to be used like this in secret, as the Wanamah had built in a sort of protection against any interference or attempted alteration of the information retained in the head of a Postulate. They were both relieved when they eventually arrived at the inn on the outskirts of Gosthin, and Mrs Debisan was overjoyed to see them returned safely. She fussed and fluttered about, sorting the rooms out for them both, she knew they were not brother and sister, though Nort had to move on for a couple of days to sort things out ahead of them on horseback, so the treasure they had was taken from the cart and hidden up in the room with Ellieth, and the cart locked away in the back of the stables in the store room. Word was sent, discreetly, to the harbour to let Ised know of their return, and word came back he would visit after his next trip. Nort rode out on horseback, back to his own home, to prepare for Ellieth arriving after their meeting with Ised. He was back at the inn before Ised finally came. When Ised did arrive, after almost a week, it was like a family reunion, with much gossip to catch up on, and many small talk questions, Ised asking if Nort had behaved himself like a gentleman, and for the first time in weeks, Nort blushed, and started to stammer! Ellieth told of his perfect gentleman attitude and threw in a few heroics too, causing Ised to raise an eyebrow. Perhaps his nephew was not the shy and scared person he thought he was. After the pleasantries, and lots of good food, the conversation turned to the information gathered from both parties. Ised had found out the name of the person, who had hired the kidnappers to get Ellieth from the castle, and he had indeed been at the port when Ised had

brought Ellieth in, so, they had been lucky when he got her out of the port without detection. He knew this because this same man hired a boat and crew to go and look for wreckage, under the pretence of studying rocks on the islands that he had found her on, as some of the crew he had hired had told him. This man wanted to know what kind of boats were in the wreckage, and they worked out he was looking for one in particular, and they had found it, a lightweight, thin balsa built boat, not equipped for heavy weather. Evidently, this man had assumed that Ellieth had perished with the boat, so returned to his home in Fensia. At the mention of the word Fensia, Nort went bright red and spluttered, W-w-w-what w-w-was the n-n-name of this m-m-man? his stammer returning. Ised and Ellieth both looked at him wondering why his stammer had suddenly returned. Ised then replied, They say his name is Gisarno, and he is some kind of Magi or wizard. I know this m-m-man, spluttered Nort, He is a real n-n-nasty piece of work. He has been r-r-responsible for the a-a-addiction of most of our v-v-village to hard d-d-drugs. H-h-he is a c-c-control f-f-freak. Ellieth looked at Nort, and asked, Nort, for the last few weeks you have never stammered once, your speech has been crystal clear and perfectly understandable, so why are you starting to stammer now? Nort took a deep breath and, looking straight at Ellieth he said, I fear for us, Ellieth, especially you. We cannot go to my home as we had planned, because it would not be safe for either of us. You see I come from Fensia!

Chapter Thirty-Eight
This was the first time Nort had revealed his home village, and his house that stood in grounds just to the north if it. He explained how Gisarno had been able to lure the peasants, and then the wealthier into using his medicines, and slowly turning them into addicts, where they would pay almost anything to have these cures for their shakes, a condition brought on by the drug itself. He fleeced them for years, and must have massed a lot of gold over that period of time. When Nort himself was there just two days ago, the villagers had had to suffer terrible shakes and nightmares because Gisarno had gone, vanished, without explanation. They were just about clear of the addictions when he suddenly returned, but up to now had not left his house in the woods. They wanted him to stay there. Ised asked, Could the massing of all of this gold be how he could pay for the services of the many people he had hired in his quest to capture Ellieth? The bill must have been tremendous. I suppose it could, said Nort, but why would he have gone after Ellieth. What would he possibly want from her?

Ised smiled and replied, He wanted to do the Enlightenment Ceremony on her, in controlled surroundings, and learn the powers of the Wanamah, thats what he wanted. He has more than likely found some of the other Postulates, and tried the Enlightenment on them, but with no success. So, how do we keep Ellieth safe from him? asked Nort, looking a little angry now It was Ellieth, who spoke, I think I might know the answer to that, and I think there is a way to protect me, by taking me to him. What? both Ised and Nort replied at the same time. No, I am not mad, she started again, for we have advantages over this person that the other Postulates did not have. We have the knowledge of the Wanamah to release, finding out how from the books, and we have the knowledge of what this person is really after. Nort sat puzzled, and then asked, So, what exactly have you in mind then? She sat beside him and spoke clearly and precisely, We know he wants the power of the Wanamah, but to get it he has to find a Postulate and perform the Enlightenment, keeping control of the Postulate by whatever means he can, until they would be forced to reveal the power and knowledge he desires. He could only do this after Enlightenment, as the Postulates safety mechanism in the brain would remove the link, and it would be lost forever. This is like greed, like an infection, and it is consuming him little by little. Suppose we give him what he thinks he wants, but under our control, as I can learn through these books, to withstand anything he might try. What we need to do first is to find somewhere secluded, and learn the Enlightenment Ceremony, and I would like Nort to act as the priest, and try to enlighten me. If we could unlock even part of the mental powers, then this Gisarno would be no match for me, and he could be used by us to complete the rest if we need it. If Nort is successful in performing the total Enlightenment Ceremony, then we do not need this Gisarno, or need to fear him. Ised looked at Nort, and replied, That sounds like a plan, but, and I mean no disrespect, but, is Nort up to the job? He would be ideal, replied Ellieth, as over the last few weeks, I have grown to trust this person, and I feel that, should anything seem to be going wrong with the ceremony, his loyalty to me would prevail over that of the knowledge. Nort blushed again.

Chapter Thirty-Nine
They were able to find converted farmhouse outbuildings about three miles to the south of Gosthin, along the coast, the house itself standing on the top of a hill. This would give them good protection as they could see and hear anyone

approaching from any direction, and the views over the sea were breathtaking. This barn conversion was selected by Ellieth especially for its serene surroundings, in an effort to make her relax and feel the safe and tranquil surroundings like that at the citadel. It was crucial that everything remained orderly and calm. Ised would be given the task of bringing up supplies and any unusual requirements that they needed for their work, including the many different and exotically scented oils which he had to find and import himself, so as not to raise suspicion. Nort sat with Ellieth and the two of them studied all of the books over the next few weeks, slowly working their way through, page by page, discussing the information contained there until they both understood it clearly, and little by little, they both started to have a better understanding of this mental power possessed by the ancient Wanamah people. There were many mental exercises for Ellieth to learn and practice, to help her catch up from her last classes in kindergarten, and every one of these new mental exercises had to be completed before she could move onto the next, Nort guiding her and tested her as best he could, though he was getting quite proud of himself at the way he had taken to it. The books explained the sudden rush of knowledge and power that would happen, and how it had to be held back, like lock gates on a river, and only allowed through when the brain had made space for it to be processed, though still only taking minutes to do. It was this rush of unlocked knowledge from subconscious to conscious that caused massive mental confusion, a sudden rise in blood pressure if the Postulate started to panic, and, if this was not controlled, could result in a severe brain haemorrhage. The knowledge was already there, but the sudden access could be dangerous to their health unless the Postulant was properly prepared. Nort was working at a disadvantage again as he could not read the words in the books, so had to learn everything parrot fashion from Ellieth, and even the instructions given in the books on the inflections of tones in the words had to be perfect, the pronunciation exact. They knew he was getting close to the final result, as while he was having one of his rehearsals of his speech as he called it, chanting out the words he had learned so far, Ellieth began to feel something strange happening to her, her ears buzzed, her skin started to tingle, and her heart rate went up as she automatically mentally responded to the chant. She felt that her plan would work, or most of it, as every time Nort learned more of his speech, and tagged it on the end of what he had already learned, her reactions to his words were becoming more and more involuntary, but she was able to practice the control of the breathing and blood pressure in the mock ceremony they had tried out so far. After many weeks of study, and many tests on the numerous sections of the ceremonial procedure, it was time to put it all together, and Ellieth refused to have a dress rehearsal at it, but to go straight to the actual Ceremony. Ised would guard the outside of the house as a lookout, and inside, the incense and oils would be lit, and placed exactly where shown in the books, then Ellieth would sit in the spot shown for the Postulate, moving to her knees at a given time.

Nort, however would be wearing the full ceremonial dress including the gold mitre on his head, and make all of the moves and gestures exactly as the books dictated, and chanting words neither of them had any idea of the meaning of. They ran through the last little bits of protocol, devising where, if it got too much for her, Ellieth would signal for him to stop, and eventually, they were ready. For the ceremony, Ellieth wore a simple shift dress, as would have been worn by a peasant Postulate from all those years ago. The room was darkened, the candles and incense lit and the perfumed oils dabbed on certain points of the skin on Ellieths arms and neck, her ankles and feet. The smell in the room from the mixing of the odours produced was becoming quite heady. Right on cue, Nort entered, wearing the full regalia of cloak and mitre, and approached Ellieth slowly, his hands outstretched, palms forward and chanting a couple of words over and over till he was in position. He turned to face Ellieth, and she moved from the chair to her knees. He placed his right hand on the top of her head, and began the first chant, exactly as he had been taught, slowly and deliberately, exactly as the books had said. He was to carry on speaking the unknown words almost like a declaration unless Ellieth signalled him to stop, chanting the small sections of repetitive sentences, and declaring the stronger words. Ellieth never moved, her head down and her eyes shut. She made no signal for him to stop. Her mind wasnt even there in the room! Her mind was elsewhere.

Chapter Forty
Ellieth knelt in the room, her body still, head bowed, and eyes closed. Her mind however was not inside her head. From the mists of time before her closed eyes, she could see and hear the old wise ones from centuries ago, talking to her in measured tones, all telling her the many historic stories, but they were telling them all at the same time. She decided to let these stories go into her normal memory, and she could think about them later. The rate that her awareness was able to monitor lots of facts, figures, words, symbols, glyphs, and science was comfortable so far, all of this information flowing from one part to another of her brain. This rate and information was getting more and more complicated as well as faster. As yet she still didnt need to put the speed retarding thoughts into place, as she was now quite comfortable with the speed of this information. The secret was not to try to read or understand it, just let it flow in at a controlled rate, and look later. Many wonderful sights flashed before her eyes, and she also heard many beautiful sounds. She saw colours she had never seen, felt joy like never before, and sadness so deep it made her want to cry. She knew that she must not linger on any one individual thought or picture or vision, otherwise the flow would back up behind the stopped point, and create problems for her later.

She knew in her mind that she was coming to a crucial part of the transfer of the Knowledge because the information streaming in to her consciousness was of recent times, and it somehow felt heavier, and denser, and considerably faster too. She ignored the multitude of random flashes of light before her eyes as the books had said that this was a visualisation of her brain activity as the information streamed in, and as long as she controlled it to a steady light show, kept her breathing regular, and her stress levels down, she could cope. She could see where other Postulates could have had difficulty if they had tried to understand any of this information as they received it, instead of waiting till it was all transferred before going back and looking at their own memories, which is where the information would end up. The activity inside her head now seemed to intensify, the information streaming in felt like a crushing weight in her brain; so, she decided to apply the mental lock gates, to ease the flow a little, and it worked for a while, but still it built up as the information backed up behind these gates. As she reached a point where she thought she could take no more, she suddenly became aware of the sound of chanting from Nort. She could now hear his voice, in the distance, and it was getting louder. The rate at which the lights flashing behind her eyes started to slow, and the information seemed to become light as air again, and once the backlog was cleared, the flow rate reduced. She felt Nort take hold of her hands, and pronounce the final declaration of an Enlightened One, the last part of the ceremony. Everything went quiet and everything was still. She lifted up her head, opened her eyes, looked at her good friend and said, Thank you Nort She then collapsed on the floor in a heap.

Chapter Forty-One
It was almost two hours later when Ellieth finally opened her eyes, slowly as if being dazzled by the light; her head was hurting, and the sound of hundreds of bees were still noisily circling inside her mind, but she could see the smiling faces of Nort, without the robes and the headgear, and Ised standing behind him. She smiled back, realising then that she had been lifted and laid on to the bed. What happened? she asked. You collapsed on the floor, and I was worried in case I hadnt seen your stop signal, but the ceremony was totally complete anyway, said Nort, and you seemed throughout the whole thing to be fine. My dear Nort, she replied, I am fine, though my head hurts, but I suppose this is natural. Did you say you completed the whole Ceremony? Nort nodded, Yes, the whole thing including the anointing rituals and all of the declarations too, everything. We seemed to sail through it, though at the latter point the air started swirling and moving around the room, and this had me a little concerned at first, but, for you, I carried on.

Ellieth attempted to sit up, but Ised kept her down. She started to speak, slowly at first, If you completed the whole of the Enlightenment Ceremony, and it was done correctly, exactly by the book, and I recall what was happening to me, and I can tell you it wasnt easy, then, I should now be Enlightened, but yet I feel no different. Thats because you havent tried to use any of it yet, remember? The books said that at first you will feel no different because the knowledge would just be there, as if it had always been there, but things should start to get clearer as you take control, learn and try things. I would suggest now though, that you grab a little sleep, and perhaps your dreams will sort the bits out day by day, but if its of any consolation, you do look different. How so? she asked, with her smile. I dont know, said Nort, but you seem to be radiant, and have a warm glow, a picture of health. Oh, and your eyes are multicoloured, the segments of colour resembling a harlequin, they are kaleidoscope eyes, with those colours seeming to radiate, to be shining. Its different and unusual, but very pretty. I will try a nap then, and let my head sort out what it may or may not have learned, so Ill bid you both goodnight she said and turned over on the bed to rest, sleep coming quickly to her tired mind. Ised and Nort went outside, and talked through what had just happened, as Ised, being outside had missed out on the actual ceremony, and was concerned for Ellieth. Nort explained how he had followed the chanting as described in the book, to the letter, and had watched Ellieth for any sign of stress or problems, but there seemed to be none. Her breathing was rhythmical and steady, and when he had placed his hand on her head for the second time, about half way through the ceremony, for the anointing, he could feel a tingling going through his fingers, like he was being stuck with millions of tiny pins. He too could see things around him though not with his eyes; as if he were dreaming, and these figures moving like ghosts were entering into his head and spurring him on to complete the Ceremony, which he did. He had no idea who or what they were, but, to protect Ellieth, he did as he was told When he had pronounced the last few words of chant, in his declaration voice as it was described by Ellieth, a strange calm befell the room, the air went still, but more importantly, the scent from the oils and perfumes changed almost immediately, losing the heady musky smell and becoming more of a pine smell. These things had not been mentioned in any of the books, so he had no idea how everything had gone until Ellieth had spoken to him before she fainted. They stood outside, in the cool air, it must be well after midnight by now, and looked at the sky and the stars, neither speaking for spoiling the reverie of the other. It was Ised, who spoke first, What we need to do now young man is plan our next move, with care, and keep Ellieth from harm till she regains her full strength and fitness. I know she will not want to be fussed over, but we should keep her here for a couple of weeks.

I can make some enquiries further up the coast if we need a more permanent hideaway, but here is as good a place as any for the moment. With that, he mounted his cart and set off back to the inn and Mrs Debisan, leaving Nort to look after Ellieth once again, a task he really wanted to do.

Chapter Forty-Two
At dawn the following morning, Nort was up early, had the fire stoked, and had boiled some duck eggs, to serve with some bread and butter for Ellieths breakfast. He put them on a small tray together with a sort of herbal brew, not unlike tea, but rich in iron so hed been told, and all women needed iron, something else hed been told. He walked into the bedroom, calling for Ellieth to wake as he was bringing her breakfast, and also to adjust her garments before he saw her. He placed the tray on the bed and asked, How do you feel this morning? Ellieth opened those kaleidoscope coloured eyes and replied, I feel fine, in fact better than fine, and you did not need to bring me breakfast in bed. I am quite capable of sitting at the table with you. Physically Im the same. Nort shrugged his shoulders, and turned to leave the room, muttering, I thought it would be nice to do this for you, but, if you want to dine at the table, then join me. As he reached the door he looked to his left, and there, level with his shoulder, was the tray, with the food still on it, floating alongside him. He stared. Ellieth who was a couple of steps behind him, noticed his expression so she said, Its a little trick I picked up recently. Good isnt it? Nort wasnt sure whether to be happy or concerned, but he said nothing while Ellieth guided the tray onto the table in the kitchen, then sitting behind it. These eggs look amazing Nort, you are certainly a good cook. Nort felt a little better at this, so replied, But they should have been able to fly before they were cooked not after. They both laughed at that, and everything seemed to be normal between them again. Ellieth started to describe the strange dreams she had experienced, which seemed a lot more real than a dream, about seeing many old men, one at a time, who kept telling her things, things she did not understand at first, but she remembered them anyway. That was where the similarity of these visions and dreams ended. When you wake, a dream is soon forgotten, even nightmares fade, but these visions were still there in her mind. She felt as though she was being given a massive history lesson about the Wanamah, in instalments. It was when she had first woke, just before Nort had come in with the breakfast tray, she had felt a raging thirst, and the water jug and drinking cup were at the other side of the room on the dresser. She was about to get up to help herself to a drink when the jug and the cup moved, and on her request or her summons, came to her. She herself was not exactly sure how she had caused this

to happen, but she spent a little time sending the jug backwards and forwards, getting the feel for this new power of hers. No doubt there would be many more that would reveal themselves in the passage of time. Nort told her what he and Ised had discussed about remaining here under cover till she was able to understand whatever it was she now possessed a little better, and then he would look for a more permanent home further up the coast, somewhere really secluded. Ellieth agreed with this as long as the time they remained inside this house was short, and said she would not be a prisoner in her new house either, so the timescale must be short. For the next two weeks, little by little of the Wanamah history and science were revealed, including harnessing static electricity, and altering wind speed and direction, but what also came to her was a feeling of such terror and pain, a sort of despair from somewhere in the past, coming from the visions of people being tortured and killed because they were Postulates or followers of the Wanamah. Why were her people being systematically and brutally destroyed by these people all those years ago, why this genocide of a complete race and nation? By the end of the second week, she had found out most of the history of her people. She would wake up crying during the night, feeling their pain and suffering of those who had gone before. On the morning of the start of the third week, at breakfast, she announced, Nort, I now have a purpose in life, a goal. I must avenge the wrongs done to my people. I cannot sit here and let these terrible things go unpunished. These perpetrators must pay for their many indiscretions. Nort looked at her, and said. How can you? You will be recognised wherever you go, identified by your eyes. They will give you away. Not if I wear the darkened eyeglasses like those of a blind person, she replied, for, other than my eyes, there is no difference between me and any other person. Except perhaps your sheer beauty, he replied. Nort, I do believe you are coming on to me! He blushed, but smiled, and asked, So where, and when would you begin to look for these people, these bad people? As to when, I have been told that there is more of something to come, so I must wait, I assume that this will be more powers, but as to where, this I have learned from the elders in my visions. The first one will be in your home town of Fensia, and that his name is Gisarno!

Chapter Forty-Three

Nort almost exploded, spluttering and spitting out his herbal tea, You cannot go up against such a powerful wizard as that if you are unprepared, and as to what preparations would you need to do, or powers to have, I have no idea! Calm yourself Nort, for I will know when the time comes what to do. In the meantime we must carry on as we were, with me doing some practicing, and you looking after me like you have done so brilliantly so far. Nort knew she could more than take care of herself, and the last comment was just to make him feel better, and, in a way it did. They carried on without any changes to the original plans for the next few weeks, other than not moving elsewhere, Ellieth developing some more of her unusual skills, including, as Nort found out to his cost, mind reading telepathy, his thoughts earning him a huge slap. He still did all of the man things, the woodcutting and log chopping, the repairs and the general maintenance to the house, and Ellieth did lots of other things, like sweep away all of the dust from the whole room without touching or using a brush, bring water from the well without a bucket, just a cloud of water, and other minor little miracles as she studied her new found talents. One quiet afternoon, just after Ised had left to return to the town, and they had eaten their lunch, Ellieth suddenly sat up straight, and seemed to be listening for something, though Nort could hear nothing other than the normal noises of the countryside. I feel something, Ellieth said very quietly, I feel something, a presence but not yet a presence. I can sense something but I dont know what it is. Its gone now. Nort walked to the door, stepped out and looking out as far as he could see there was nothing and nobody to be seen. He walked back into the house, and sat back down at the table, Nothing there, he declared firmly. The rest of the day went as it normally did, Ellieth honing her skills, and Nort doing some repair work to one of the outbuilding doors, as he was fed up of having to push really hard to open it, just to get the tools. After the evening meal, Ellieth sat straight up again, I feel it, I can feel the presence again, and stronger this time, but it does not appear to be dangerous. However we must take care. Nort went outside again, and looked around but could see nothing. Later, as they were settling down for the night, Ellieth felt this presence again, and thought that this could be one of the ancient elders coming to give her another lesson in her sleep? Perhaps she was sensing something that she would find out about when it happened, perhaps she could see the future, and not yet know. With all of these thoughts drifting around in her mind she fell asleep, and almost immediately, she was in class again, being taught how to control things she didnt know she had. She then wondered why they were shaking her, and she could hear her name being called in a whisper. She woke. It was Nort shaking her and whispering her name. I think I heard something moving outside, and I thought it would be better if I woke you so you could help me if I am attacked or something. Brave Nort. She thought.

Nort made his way, in the darkness, to the door, moved the wooden bar from across it and opened it slowly, peeking around for any signs of movement. He could see none. The moon was almost full, and high in the night sky, so he was able to see for quite some distance, and nothing stirred. Ellieth joined him at the door, and looked out too, both of them stepping clear of the doorway for a better view, and both could see nothing. Suddenly Ellieth felt that there was something present, she had had that feeling again all day but very strongly this time, and, tapped Nort on the shoulder, then she pointed to a patch of grass just off to their left, about twenty yards or so away, next to the boundary wall. Nort shrugged silently, but Ellieth insisted, and she started to walk towards where she had indicated, Nort now closely following her, watching left and right of them as if expecting an impending attack from all sides. They reached the spot the Ellieth had indicated, and she said, There, in the shadow. She pointed at the ground. Nort strained his eyes to try to see what she was pointing at, and at first he could see nothing. Ellieth took hold of his hand, and suddenly he could see as if it were bright sunlight. Huddled next to a low wall, covered in either a cloak or a blanket was a small figure, silent and still. Nort approached carefully, but had to let go of Ellieth hand, so he was back in the dark again, and working from memory as best he could, he reached out to pick up this figure. Ellieth came up behind him and placed her hand on his arm, and he could once again see as if it were daylight, so was able to lift this figure up quite easily. It was a young girl, roughly the same age as Ellieth, but considerably lighter and thinner. She appeared to be totally exhausted, and had passed out. They took her into the house, laid her on the couch and Nort stoked up the fire while Ellieth prepared a quick soup. They sat with the girl until she stirred, about an hour later, and Ellieth was able to feed her the soup, slowly but steadily, speaking slowly and quietly to her as she did. After a few minutes, when she had recovered enough of her senses, Ellieth asked, What on earth are you doing way out here in the middle of nowhere, and at this time of night? The girl opened her eyes fully, noticed Ellieths eyes, but did not react, just smiled broadly and said, I have travelled many hours and many miles to get here to see you. Something in my head told me to come, told me I must come but I have no idea why. Ellieth knew. This girl had all of the indicators of being a Postulate of the Wanamah. To find out if this were true, that would have to wait till the morning. They eventually got her settled down for the night, and told her to rest, and they would sort everything out in the morning. There were now three persons in the cottage, and this would mean more supplies for Ised to bring up from the town, without raising any suspicions from the townspeople.

Chapter Forty-Four
At dawn, they were all up, and over a good breakfast, Ellieth asked the girl to tell her about everything she could remember that had happened in her life so far. She said her name was Illandra, and she could only remember tiny parts, all mixed up and so confusing of her early past, till she was working as an assistant to the wife at a blacksmiths shop, her age then being about six or seven, and she had remained there till recently. She had had a dream, a vision really, and it kept coming back. She dreamed that she was shown some pictures by some old man, and in these dreams, and he told her she must make her way to this cottage here up the coast from Gosthin, which was hundreds of miles away from where she was living. Over time, these dreams became so real that she believed that she would somehow meet a girl whose eyes were like that of a kaleidoscope, living with a priest, or a person similar. Someone pure. Nort was not amused at this reference. Things at the blacksmiths shop were beginning to go from bad to worse, and she was starting to fear for her life when the smithy kept getting drunk and then started to make advances towards her, which she rebuked of course, and then told his wife, but it meant that it was she who was thrown out of the home as he convinced his wife it was her who came on to him. Thats when she decided to try to make her way to Gosthin, and find this girl with these unusual eyes, that is if this girl even exists at all. Her dreams were telling her to go, and go now, so she packed up what little possessions she had, and together with a little food and water, she started the journey, which was over six weeks ago now, managing to hitch rides from the farm traffic, and then the port traffic as she got nearer. Sleeping rough in the hedgerows at night, and blending in with the people to keep hiding in plain sight, she eventually made it to the cottage, and she knew it was the right one from her visions though getting here had taken its toll on her body. When she saw Ellieths eyes, she knew she had arrived at the right place. Her visions had always showed Nort dressed in gold robes with a mitre on his head, as a priest would wear, though he was not dressed in them at present. Nort explained he wore them sometimes to show off a little, and forgave her. When Ellieth started to ask about her early life, she said she could only remember really small pieces of it, and it didnt seem to make any sense to her. She remembers a school or something similar, and snow, and priests or monks acting as teachers, and all of the children were taught self-control and many other disciplines similar to those taught to martial arts students, teachings she has never used since. She remembers an aunt coming and taking her away from the place, and they travelled for many days before she ended up in the blacksmiths shop, and it was there that she received basic schooling in the village. Her early past had always been a mystery to her, as she could not make any sense of it, and when some rich man came through the village asking lots of

questions, I stayed out of sight, and the blacksmith got rid of him, telling everyone that he was a child molester after hed gone. Apart from these small snippets she knew nothing. Ellieth stood up and walked to one of the lower cupboards at the side of the kitchen area, unlocked the door, and took out one of the books from the citadel, then returned with it to the table. She opened the book at a random page, laid it flat and pushed it to Illandra, Read that to me, out loud, if you please. Illandra looked at the book, confusion on her face, then looked up at Ellieth, I cannot read this script, it is in a tongue I do not know. Look again, said Ellieth, This time, let your mind go, and try to read it. Illandra looked down at the book again, staring at the symbols written on the page, and thinking that she would never understand this script, it wasnt even in the same alphabet lettering as she was used to. Slowly the shapes became printed words and started to make sense to her, and she started to read out loud, slowly at first then getting faster as her confidence grew. At the end of the page she stopped, panic on her face, How do I know this language? I have never seen this before, how do I know it? She was starting to get really agitated, and fear was starting to show across her whole body. She started to shake. Ellieth spoke, in a calming voice, I am sorry I had to test you, but, you must not fear or be ashamed of what you are and from where your people came. You are from a race of people known as the Wanamah, of which I too am one, and you are what is known as a Postulate, that is to say, you have yet to go through the Enlightenment Ceremony, and I believe that is why you have been sent here by the elders. I think they have guided you here for us to help train you, and then for my very good and loyal friend Nort to don the ceremonial robes once again, and perform the Enlightenment, to make you a full Wanamah. She then started to explain to Illandra all about the past of their tribe, their time spent training at the citadel, telling her where it was geographically too, and then what had happened to it since, after they were removed by these aunts. She told of meeting the old woman in the far off land, and all of her information she had told Ellieth about their past, and then to the experience of the Enlightenment Ceremony itself. Illandra sat silently, listening intently to Ellieth, nodding in places when parts she could identify with were mentioned, and wide eyed at some of the other ordeals that Ellieth and Nort had had to get through to have come this far. She was told of the attempted kidnap of Ellieth by the bad men, and the bad men were still out there somewhere, and would now be looking for her too if they ever found out she existed. She could defend herself better if she were enlightened into a full Wanamah, and went through the Enlightenment Ceremony, something Illandra agreed to do. The training, for her own safety, would have to begin as soon as possible.

Chapter Forty-Five

For the next eight weeks, while the weather had closed in, and it got really cold and rained a lot, the two girls sat together, hard at it, studying for Illandra to go through the Ceremony, and Nort would spend time rehearsing his lines again, in his declaration voice. Ised had been introduced to Illandra, and from then on, with the help of Mrs Debisan down at the inn in the town, he was able to bring additional supplies and clothing without drawing attention to the increase in numbers at the cottage. He was also able to pick up ready cut logs for the fire, as the weather was getting colder and the nights were getting longer, Nort could spend less time searching for timber when it came to building up the fire. Now that the door had been fixed into the outbuilding, the wood could be stored in there. Nort noticed that the two girls seemed to share a strong bond, not just because of them being of the same age and sex, but something deeper and this was noticeable to him, almost making him jealous of Illandras attentions to and from Ellieth. They could sense the presence of each other, though Ellieth could sense things over a greater distance, many miles, whereas Illandra could only sense Ellieth if she was about one hundred yards away and no more. They decided that this was how the old woman at the inn was able to identify Ellieth as a Postulate as she had sensed her presence. By the time Illandra was deemed ready and was willing to undergo the Enlightenment Ceremony, Ellieth was happy that she would be in no danger physically, and by now Nort had his lines and gestures down to a fine art for their delivery. It was now the time to finally plan, and work out together, when the ceremony should take place, at a time when they were ready to do it. The day approached, and then it arrived. The preparations we set exactly as they had been for Ellieth, even the ones they thought may be unnecessary, but they could not take the chance. So the Ceremony began. Illandra knelt on the spot where Ellieth had done so, also wearing a plain shift dress as stated in the books, the candles and the oils once again scenting the air with that heavy musk and floral smell as the odours mixed and mingled throughout the room. Ellieth stood by the door, as she was to be the guard this time, being able to sense anything coming within miles of the cottage, but also if anything were going wrong in the ceremony, she would sense it and tell Nort to stop. Nort entered the room wearing the golden robes and the mitre, chanting the first of the many chants he would perform in the next twenty minutes or so, and the Ceremony began. Throughout the whole of the ceremony, Illandra never moved, kneeling, head down and eyes shut, even when Nort anointed her a number of times with oils, she never moved. He noticed once again, that his hand tingled with an electrical charge when he touched her head while anointing it, exactly as it had done for Ellieth. As Nort spoke loudly the last of the proclamations to bring the whole thing to a close, the smell changed in the room, as it had before, and Illandra looked up at Nort, and promptly fainted. Nort looked at Ellieth, shrugged and said,

I seem to have that effect on women. When she awoke, she opened her eyes and they were now also of kaleidoscope colouring, and she complained of a headache, exactly as Ellieth had done. Ellieth was able to explain not only what had just happened but also what was about to happen over the next few days, in an effort to guide her through the period where the mind was totally confused and trying to grasp all of the information given to it. As the days passed, Nort would find himself sometimes on the receiving end of a prank, as these two found they had no need to talk out loud to each other, they could communicate without words, and it was only when Nort thought they were getting to be as bad as his two snivelling cousins had been, they accepted that it upset him, and started to use words once more. Eventually, these two were becoming a formidable force to reckon with, as they tested their heightened senses, even being aware of horses and carts passing on the roads miles to the south, and aware of just about every creature of the earth that was also within range of their senses. It took them a while to learn to identify each individual creatures signal, but soon they knew what was passing and where, and of course, how far away. They also practiced their ability to move things using only their thought, Nort banning them to outside of the house as he was fed up of having to repair the legs of the table and chairs. What frightened Nort the most was their ability to for example, rip up out of the ground a fully grown tree, growing in soil over half a mile away, upend it and set it on fire, burn it all to ash in an instant, and then only the ash was left to fall to the ground. He was very pleased they were on his side. Over the next two weeks, they both said they had received a message in their sleep that it was time to go to Fensia, and rid the world of this bad man, this villain, this Gisarno, but were they ready to take on this Wizard?

Chapter Forty-Six
The ride to Fensia was only a day and a half at a normal speed, but the three of them wanted to do it in one days hard riding, Nort sending word ahead to his household of the date and time of their arrival, so the stables could be prepared to look after tired horses. The countryside inland tended to be hillier than that near the coast, so the farmed fields tended to be smaller and more varied, with more livestock grazing on fields than arable farming. Had this journey not been for a particular purpose, the views would have been pleasant, and with the help of two people who could more or less see everything that was around them, perfectly safe. As they approached Fensia from the south, the two girls stopped their probing, just in case Gisarno hiding out in his lair would detect their approach, and still riding at speed, arrived at the house of Nort. Ellieth was quite impressed by this house, well more a mansion really, large, and grossly underused since there was Nort, and the staff. With its long drive, and restricted rear access to the house only through a dense wood, this would

make perfect headquarters for the two remaining Wanamah girls, as they could scan these grounds without any problem to either of them. They arrived at the stables, and the groom took the three horses into the yard to cool them off, dry and brush them, feed and water them ready for the night, while the three of them walked to the house, Nort explained to the girls about the layout of the house, with many secret passages, bolt holes and false walls all built in to it by the first owners. Evidently they were smugglers of not just goods, but slaves, and used these chambers to hide them. When Norts family bought the house a long time ago, they had the outside and inside walls measured, calculated the difference, and found all of the passages and bolt holes using these measurements, even into the cellar. Luckily for them, no one had been walled in, or that they could find. The two girls scanned and agreed. There were no skeletons in any of Norts little cupboards. As they entered the huge wooden front door, the Housekeeper Mrs Pintak was standing there waiting to greet them, with two chambermaids, in fact all two chambermaids, as this was, other than the groom in the stables they had already met, and a cook in the kitchen, the total permanent staff of the house. The gardener and his crew were only occasional workers. The girls were shown up to their rooms, which had been prepared to Norts specifications, and unlocked connecting double doors between the two. He would be in his normal room over in the other wing. For the first time in months, they were all able to have a long soak in a hot bath to ease the pains of travel, even though the travel was different for each. As Ellieth was drying herself, she contacted Illandra by mind, and asked if she could sense something unusual in the house, or near to it. Illandra replied that she could, but she had no idea what it was. Ellieth had had this sensing before but could not remember what it signalled. They dressed and came down to eat, being met by a very well dressed Nort at the bottom of the staircase. His face bore the expression of disbelief, but it wasnt at them or how they looked. He beckoned them to follow him into the study, and on entering they understood the reason for his disbelief. Sitting in a leather wingback chair was a girl, a young girl who, on seeing Ellieth and Illandra smiled to herself and nodded. Ellieth and Illandra looked at each other and understood the signal they were both having. In front of them was another Postulate!

Chapter Forty-Seven
Mrs Pintak was the first to speak, This young lady arrived here this morning saying that shed had a few dreams telling her to come to this house and meet with the owner of the house and his two friends, both of them having kaleidoscope eyes! Well, at first I thought she must have been out of her mind, as you, Sir, were not home, and I had only received the word that you were on your way with two young ladies, so how did she know? Anyway, I gave her a feed, poor thing, and she slept over in the stable till just after you got here, so you could rest and relax from your journey before I brought her in.

Nort looked at the two girls and said, Is this young girl what I think she might be? The two girls nodded but said nothing. He excused Mrs Pintak before he continued, so only the four of them remained in the study, and after she had closed the doors and gone, he turned to Ellieth, Is this girl another lost Postulate? Ellieth nodded, Yes she is another Postulate of the Wanamah. I wonder now, how many of us are really out there? The girl remained seated, quietly listening to the conversation, but remaining silent, confusion still showing across her small face. It was Nort, who spoke, Do you think we should get Ised to bring all of the books and robes to here? Ellieth thought for a moment, also in conversation with Illandra wordlessly, No, I think you and Illandra should go. You know where everything is hidden, and Illandra can guard you there and back. I will take the time finding out about our new guest, and her history. Illandra agrees as she says I know more than her about our heritage, so would be better placed to be able to help the girl. Once again Nort felt as if he were outvoted again, but he knew it made sense. I will organise for us to leave early tomorrow morning, we should make the cottage by nightfall, and then back here the evening of the next day. In the meantime, I think we should eat, and then Ellieth should begin to explain to our new young friend here why she feels she was sent here, and where she really comes from. I will go and arrange another place at the table for our new guest, and a room for her too. Put her in with me, said Ellieth, I can guide her better that way through the dreams, should she awake in fright Nort left the room to find Mrs Pintak, and organise these new arrangements, both for tonight and an early start tomorrow for two of them, plus food, water etc. for the travel. Ellieth looked at this new Postulate and asked, So, my new friend, what is your name, and from where do you come? The girl showed no fear towards either Ellieth or Illandra, and spoke confidently, My name is Ciste, and I have no idea where I come from, only that I have lived a long way to the north from here, and it has taken me many weeks to get here. Pray tell me, why have the old men in my dreams told me to come here. How did they know you would be here, and what do you want with me? Ellieth looked into her eyes, smiled and replied, Tomorrow I will explain everything in detail, and I mean everything, but for tonight, let us go through and dine and enjoy our time together in good company, and then a good sleep in a good feather bed.

Chapter Forty-Eight

At sunrise of the next day, Nort together with Illandra left on horseback, taking a spare horse to help carry the treasure of the Wanamah back with them to the house. At breakfast Ellieth was already starting to ask about the past memories of Ciste. Tell me Ciste, how far back can you remember in your life? It was virtually the same story as that of Illandra, remembering very little, other than a school, and priest teachers, and lessons. Her aunt took her to the far north, to a land of fire and ice, where fishing and hunting were the main breadwinners work of the family. It had been a hard life, and a very uncaring one, neighbour turning against neighbour when things got tight, and food became scarce, especially in the cold season, even though it was better to hunt in the cold. She remembers working in the sheds, gutting and cleaning the various fish that had been caught that day. Only the older girls were allowed to clean and prepare the larger seals and animals, like the deer for storing and cooking. It was around the time she was twelve or so, when she started to show signs of becoming a woman, her popularity with the other families increased, and the step father was now starting to work out how much he could get for her as a dowry, even though the aunt had strictly forbidden it, and she had told him that Ciste had to be kept pure until the aunt returned. This little fact was something he was constantly reminding Ciste of her uselessness to him financially, and she dutifully reminded him he had already been very well paid. Thats when she started to see the old men in her dreams, talking to her in pictures and words she could not understand, and she saw pictures of Ellieth, Illandra, Nort, the house and everything, but this was over three years ago! She could not understand why these people wanted her to go to this location, just that she should. As time went on, she learned the language the elders were speaking, and it was the language she was now speaking to Ellieth. When one of the local boys came to her room at the dead of night about six weeks ago, and tried to rape her, she grabbed him and flung him across the room, and she still doesnt know where the strength came from, but she thinks she broke his neck as he hit the wall. She had to flee now, but to where? Thats when it came to her that she should travel south, to the town of Fensia, as instructed by these old people and seek out the mansion; its owner and the two girls with the unusual eyes. Throughout all of her travelling, if she ever thought it was a waste of time or beginning to lose her sense of purpose, she would see these old men in her dreams, and they would urge her to keep going. When she had finally stood at the gates to the drive of the house, she realised that this place really existed, and that a place as grand as this would have an owner, so she marched up to the front door and rang the bell pull. When the housekeeper answered, she asked to speak with the owner of the house on very important business, exactly as she had been told to do in her dream. It came as a shock when Mrs Pintak let her in and fed her, then sorted a little place for her to rest till the owner arrived later in the day. She thought she would be cuffed around the ear, and sent packing. Ellieth started to explain the meaning from her dreams, The old men you see in your dreams are the elders from a time long past. Their spirits still live within us, and, from time to time, they surface and guide us

along the correct path, though sometimes we cannot see at the time that it is the correct path to take. Ellieth then started to tell the stories of their long and noble history, telling her that she is a Postulate of the Wanamah and needed to understand her past. Ellieth then began telling of the distant past, all the way from those thousands of years ago, up to the present, her kidnap, being marooned, found by a fisherman, helped by his nephew, the search for the citadel, the old woman, the books and robes, the Enlightenment Ceremony, the coming of Illandra, and now the coming of Ciste. Ciste was a quick learner, and was able to make sense out of some of the things about her past, the citadel, the priest teachers, and the discipline. By the time Ellieth had explained everything it was twilight, and they walked together in the garden at the side of the house. She was able to show Ciste some of her powers, without the household seeing them, and able to tell her every animal that was hidden in the wood, and where they were. At supper, they spoke of other things so as not to alert the household as to why they were there, like how to gut and clean fish and rabbits, something that kept Mrs Pintak at bay, and then at bedtime they retired to their beds, which were in the same room. Ellieth was aware that Illandra was fine; she just felt that all was well, and she was just dozing off when the elders appeared to her in a vivid dream. What they said to her shocked her, and she would take this up with Illandra, and especially Nort, on their return tomorrow night.

Chapter Forty-Nine
Ellieth and Ciste spent the day exploring the old house with its many passages and hiding places, though they could always find each other, even more proof that Ciste was indeed a Postulate, and could sense Ellieth. By nightfall, Nort and Illandra had arrived back, with all of the treasures of the Wanamah with them. Their journey had been uneventful, and had not encountered anything unusual. Ellieth took one of the books from the bags and opened it in front of Ciste, and asked her to read it, as she had done to Illandra. Ciste said that it was all a jumble, but, like Illandra, started to read it. This was proof that she was definitely a Postulate. While Ciste went upstairs and was preparing for bed, Ellieth called Nort and Illandra to one side in the study, and explained what the elders had said to her in the dream the night before. I asked them if we had time to train and then Enlighten Ciste before we tackle Gisarno in his lair, but the elders said no. We are to send her to him as a Postulate, to which he will start to do his evil work on her immediately. If she were Enlightened, her eyes would give her away. We are to manipulate her health and her safety from outside of the den at a distance, with Nort closer should he have to intercede in the proceedings, so whatever he does, or thinks he

is doing, we can block, and instruct Ciste what reaction to take. She is to be the bait but under our control Nort looked shocked but again, saw the logic behind it. Illandra could see the sense in it. If Gisarno, for one moment suspected that enlightened Wanamah were near, he would bolt, and they wanted him there. It was something to do with proof the elders had said of what he does to someone or something, though not yet understood. The question was, would Ciste be willing to walk into his den, and have to undergo all manner of things, none of which should upset or hurt her as she would lose the power if he upset her too much, but he could use drugs first to make her more willing, and then take advantage, and try to Enlighten her in controlled and controlling surroundings. The girls could monitor and protect her from harm, but the drugs would take effect temporarily until they had a chance to identify them and then ward off their effects by changing the chemistry of what they were made of into something harmless. Nort still thought this was too much of a gamble with the life of Ciste, but it would all come down to her choice. They went their separate ways to bed, and none of them slept well, Ellieth and Illandra having visions of the elders with the plans, and Nort feeling as though they were going to be sending a poor defenceless girl to her premature and eventual death. What they did not know was that the elders were also speaking to Ciste, and asking her to be willing to go through an ordeal on behalf of their people, with Ellieth and Illandra for protection. When morning came, they all awoke at the same time, and all appeared at the dining table at the same time. After breakfast, they all went into the study. It was Ciste, who spoke first, It appears that the old men want me to let you lower me into a deep dark pit, full of horror and fright, but not to be afraid as the three of you will be near to watch over me. Is this the Enlightenment? The girls looked at each other, and Ellieth answered, I think its time we told you the truth.

Chapter Fifty
They sat, all four, still on horseback, about half a mile from the lair of Gisarno, the target of their little raid. Ciste dismounted, and tied her horse to a nearby tree. She was dressed in peasant robes, and had covered herself with moss and lichen green to make her smell as though she had been on the road for weeks. With one last glance at the other three, she set off down the path that lead to the part of the forest that sheltered the lair of Gisarno, Nort following a short distance behind, hiding himself behind a stony outcrop a short distance from this unusual looking house. Illandra rode to the other side of the circle of forest, and dismounted, taking up a position where she could see the house in the distance, and Ellieth doing the same at this side. They were ready.

Ciste was approaching the front door when it suddenly opened, and a man stood there, in the doorway, a smile on his face. Can I help you young lady, he asked, a broad grin spreading across his face. He could not believe his luck. I am lost, replied Ciste, and in need of help. I am trying to get to a port called Gosthin, and I appear to have lost my way. The grin on Gisarnos face doubled in size, as he knew that this girl must be the girl he had been searching for, and she had not died at sea, but making her way to where the mercenaries were supposed to take her. Do come in and rest for a moment, while I see if I can help you in some way. I have maps, perhaps we can find this place of which you speak on them. Ciste went in, knowing that he would do everything he could to keep her there, but he must not frighten her or upset her. Gisarno went to his stove, and poured out a drink, passing it to Ciste for her to quench her thirst while he got out the maps. For the plan to work, Ciste knew she must drink the potion and have faith in the two Wanamah girls outside. Its effect was rapid, she felt her body go limp, and she slid to the floor in a crumpled heap. Her mind went into a dream state, and she felt warm and comfortable. Gisarno picked her up and carried her into his laboratory at the back of the building, strapping her down on a tilted couch. He went to work, mixing things and putting all of his equipment ready. Ciste could hear a voice in her head; it was that of Ellieth, telling her that in the next few seconds the drug inside her would be neutralised but she must act as though she was still under its influence. Ciste knew Ellieth would hear her silent answer. Gisarno was almost weeping with joy as he brought the wires and the connections from his invention, a sort of control box to the couch, and started taping the wires to Cistes head, at various points, where he assumed he could pick up a copy of the transfer of the knowledge, and retain the copy of it in his machine. He then started to attempt to do what he thought was an Enlightenment Ceremony. At this point, the Wanamah girls outside caused Ciste to black out, so she could not hear or see any of what he was trying to do, and started to feed pre-organised signals into his machine through the wiring from her brain, exactly as the ancient ones had said. For over ten minutes, they fed this false signal into the machine, and, as they completed the task, they woke Ciste, telling her that she was now supposed to be enlightened, as they had planned, and the idea now was to make Gisarno run, with his machine. Ciste sat up sharply, the straps holding her down being snapped by the girls for her, and she stared at Gisarno. What have you done to me! she demanded, staring straight at him. Nothing, he replied, fear now showing on his face, Nothing. You collapsed and I laid you down for you to rest. No more than that. Ciste started to do exactly as she was being told to do from Ellieth, and objects from the room started to move, and fling themselves at Gisarno, his plates, his cups, his cutlery.

Gisarno, now fearing for his life, grabbed his machine, thinking he had everything he needed for now, and fled to safety from the flying objects and the now flashing lights inside his lair. He could hide out somewhere and return later to complete his experiment. He could transfer the secrets of the Wanamah from his machine into his own head, making him the all-powerful Wizard he was striving to become. He was still the winner. Ciste sat and waited till Nort came in before moving, and the two of them returned to the horses beside Ellieth, just as Illandra came back. They wanted to laugh, but somehow, it did not seem funny. What they had done would have serious consequences that they would know nothing about, as they had to return to the house quickly and unseen. When they got back, their conversation turned to happier things, and the timetable for the real training and Enlightenment of Ciste, and it seemed that all was now well with the world.

Chapter Fifty-One
Gisarno returned to his lair the next morning, checking that the new Wanamah girl had gone. She would not last long out there in the real world as she had no idea of her heritage and power, so would soon fall foul of the locals as a witch as so many of the others before her had done. He, on the other hand, could now have the power he had been denied all those years ago by those interfering so called elders, who could not see the potential of the powers that they possessed, seeing them as more of a curse than a blessing. Tonight, he would have his revenge. Tonight he would know everything. He tidied up his laboratory; he wasnt bothered about the cups, crockery and the other stuff lying about the floor. Soon he would have no need of them anyway. Replacing his machine in its cradle, he plugged in the wires he had invented, and started to tape them to his head, getting quite excited about reaching the end of a hard struggle to a well-earned reward. He lay back on his tilted couch, and switched on the machine. At first, he saw mathematical symbols flashing before his eyes, and he realised that this was possibly the method that was used to transfer the stored information from the unconscious to the conscious parts of the brain. In the next few minutes he felt himself becoming more and more drawn into the information flashing before his eyes, until, suddenly it stopped, and everything went dark. He saw himself standing in a spotlight, in the centre of the darkened area, and then slowly, the light came back to the areas around him. He could see figures sitting in a circle, in rows of circles, like that of an amphitheatre. Then he recognised it, but by then, it was too late. He was standing in the centre of the Senate, the legal chamber of the ancient ones, and they were all present, sat around him, every single one of them, from the many centuries. Fear started to build inside of him. The Head Judge, called everyone to order, and began to read out the charges. Gisarno could not believe his eyes or his ears.

You are charged with attempting to steal the power of the Wanamah which you were denied possession in the past because of your lack of self discipline, how do you plead? Gisarno looked around at the thousands of faces surrounding him, and laughed, What can a council like this one, from so long in the past, do to me here in the present? Nothing, there is nothing your old and out of date civilisation can possibly do to me. I have outlived you all, I have survived you all, and I will carry on surviving you all. I have escaped from every kind of prison you have tried to put me in, and you have always failed! We will accept that as a guilty plea. said the Head Judge, Sentence will be carried out as laid down in our books of law, and will take effect immediately. Everything went dark again, and Gisarno found himself back in his laboratory, lying on the tilting couch where he had been moments before. Ill teach those old idiots they cannot mess with me. I will show them. He tried to move, he could not, he tried to speak, and he could not. A large woman appeared standing next to him, with hot water and a towel, and proceeded to strip him of his clothing, and bathe him with full humiliation, then dried him, and fed him soup. He had been sentenced to a living death, where his mind was perfectly functional, but he was locked in a useless body, with no way to communicate with the outside world, and as a renegade Wanamah, he could live to be five hundred years old and beyond.

Chapter Fifty-Two
Ellieth, Illandra and Ciste, after she had been Enlightened for real, became the core of the rebirth of the Wanamah nation. They set up their headquarters in Norts house, in the many unused rooms and over a short time, many other Postulates arrived there, guided to them by the ancients, who were then trained by the girls, and Enlightened by Nort, after which, because they looked different from normal people, remained there within the walls of the house for shelter and safety from the prying eyes and loose tongues of the outside world. It was Ellieth herself who realised a small fact in the new resurgence of the Wanamah nation. There would be no nation to carry on, as all of the Postulates who then became Enlightened Ones were all female. There were now twentyseven of the lost children of the Wanamah living in the house, and all of them female. Mrs Pintak was told the truth, and she was quite happy to live in a house full of weird people, said it reminded her of the old days, something which had Nort trying to understand what she meant by that. Then one night, the ancient ones visited all of the Wanamah girls together in their sleep at the same time, and told them of the plans to regenerate their people. Some found it a little repulsive, some found it a little unusual, and some found it quite funny, but they all found it the only logical answer.

The same night, Nort was lying in his bed in the other wing of the house where he always slept, like the old Head Priest would have done in the citadel, when some figures appeared before him in a sort of waking dream, like ghosts, figures he had never seen before, old people who he knew must be the elders of the Wanamah. Nort was not of Wanamah extraction or birthright, so he could not understand why these elders had come to him, but they were here, and he should at least listen. The central Elder spoke, We are the remains of the Elders of the race known as the Wanamah, and I know that you know of us, but you do not know us. Nort nodded. We are here to say thank you for helping to save our nation, for looking after Ellieth, for learning the Enlightenment Ceremony, and for not questioning our judgement, which must at times have seemed a little crazy. However, we need you to go a little further in saving our race from annihilation and extinction, and that is why we have come to communicate with you personally, something we never normally do to an outsider. They went on to explain, and Nort listened intently.

Chapter Fifty-Three
At breakfast, all twenty-seven of the Wanamah girls were sat around the table in the dining room. They knew what was coming; the elders had said it was to be. The door opened and Nort entered, the same Nort that they all knew and loved, but with one exception. His eyes were now like that of a kaleidoscope. The Elders had made him into a Wanamah male, and had Enlightened him. He was to be the first father of the whole new Wanamah nation with twentyseven brides. From a young man who at one time was terrified by females to one who must cohabitate with, and inseminate twenty-seven of them, hes come a long way. Thats was how Ised described it, still calling him lucky. The Wanamah are still around, even today, using contact lenses to cover the kaleidoscope effect in their eyes, and they still have Postulates, but if they decide they do not want you to know who they are, you will never find them.

John Baxter 2013. johnbaxter13@yahoo.co.uk www.scribd.com/john2baxter