Death concluded the existence of all living beings, allowing for the recycling of matter by way of the Light. With the coming of that final Darkness, the Void took its tithe. Light persevered through replication, but lost a little of itself with each passing of the cycle.

Chapter 5

Trynneia awoke in the rectory, sleeping on a small bench. She had no memory of entering, and for all she did remember, her mother had locked the place. As consciousness returned, she realized her mother was with her, seated at her desk. Rendrys did not wear her ceremonial robes today, and she appeared to be deep into writing some missives.

“How did I get in here, mom?” she asked.

“Thank the Light, you’re awake!” Rendrys exclaimed. “When you didn’t come home last night I came looking for you. Driver met me about halfway and said you were in the Chapel. We found you asleep and unresponsive, so he helped me bring you in here.” The concern and worry on her face gave way to relief. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel like I slept on a bench,” Trynneia replied, massaging numb limbs. “You said Driver found me?”

“He said he’d seen you meditating in the Chapel, and you were so engrossed he came to look for me.”

Trynneia disagreed with the explanation her mother gave her. She remembered the conversation with the strange man, and how he dodged all answers to her questions. It was entirely possible it had been Driver, but since she’d never met him before she couldn’t confirm it. Something else odd had happened, and she wanted to verify that at least.

Without a word, she got up and walked out of the rectory. Rendrys put down her pen hurriedly and followed. They crossed the lane and entered the Chapel of Light. The Eternal Light remained gone, just as Trynneia had witnessed in the night. Her mother said nothing, nor exhibited any sign things were out of the ordinary.

“Was everything else alright when you found me?” she probed.

“We didn’t see anything unusual. I figured your vision and the time of night combined to wear you out. I wasn’t about to have Driver haul you back to our house.”

Curious. Was her mother skirting the issue, or did she not actually know? She was the Priestess of Light! Either she was lying, or she’d never seen the Eternal Light to begin with, and could not perceive its absence. Either idea filled her with dread. It would do a lot to explain why she never talked about the power of Light. Yet she did have some powers.

While that was one mystery she knew she needed to unravel now, her hand felt the small totem in her pocket. Thrumming warmth massaged her hand as she wrapped her fingers about it. Her encounter had been quite real, so did Driver lie to her mother? Where did the truth actually begin? Trynneia realized she was quite thirsty.

“Have you got any tea brewed up this morning?” she asked. Over the years she’d developed a fondness for her mother’s special tea, yet lately she’d had few opportunities to drink it. Mother always had some on hand, as it helped with headaches.

“Not this morning, no. I was busy doing paperwork and watching for you to wake up. I’d honestly forgotten. My herbs are at home, though. Ohla drank the last yesterday and I haven’t replenished my store of it here,” Rendrys explained.

“That’s fine, I’ll go find Ditan and see about breakfast then,” Trynneia decided.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Ohla took a lot of convincing to drop the subject of you leading Ditan into temptation.” Rendrys had that familiar twinkle in her eye again as she attempted to joke.

“Mom!” Trynneia smiled and shook her head before walking up the lane into the village. Ditan’s parents lived in a small house adjacent to their bank. Steeling her nerves, Trynneia approached and knocked.

Ohla answered the door. “Oh look if it isn’t missy prissy come to steal my son away and do who knows what. You can just turn right around and head back home. Ditan has no business with you today and is indisposed. You’re lucky school was canceled for the day on account of the murder. It was probably you who got that poor chap killed. Looked quite suspicious to me. If it weren’t for your mother-”

“Mrs. Coinlock, you know damned well we had nothing to do with the situation. Please let me speak to Ditan.”

Trynneia had to jump backward to avoid having the door slammed in her face as Ohla continued her tirade, raising her voice even further as she started raging at her husband. Trynneia sighed and walked around to the side of the house where she knew Ditan’s room was. She listened outside the window until Ohla finished venting at Ditan as well, then peered inside and cautiously tapped the glass to let him know she was there.

“Are you trying to get me killed?” he asked in a hushed whisper. His green face had turned nearly brown from embarrassment.

“No, here look,” she whispered back, showing him the totem. His demeanor changed in an instant. Ditan fixed his gaze, entranced by the small bundle of twigs. There were four of them, each with different rune-like carvings upon them. Tight hemp rope kept them together, and varying hues of paint colored each one.

“Hold on, meet me out back,” he said before closing his window. She went to their usual meeting spot, where he appeared a few moments later, looking over his shoulder. “Let’s get away from here before mom and dad discover that I snuck out.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to hear your mom go off on me again. She really has it out for us, doesn’t she?”

“You have no idea. Plus the murder set her on edge. Mom doesn’t want me out because now she’s sure I’ll get murdered.”

“It’s a small village, surely the magistrate can find the culprits and bring them to justice,” Trynneia speculated.

“You think there’s more than one murderer?” Ditan was uneasy at the thought.

Trynneia related the vision she’d had the night before. It had been clear enough to show her the attack, but not enough to reveal the perpetrators. They left the village to the southeast, skirting far enough away from the Chapel of Light that Rendrys wouldn’t notice them. Ditan took the lead, and they hiked to a secluded grove.

“This is where I come to practice my...gift,” he explained. “I had a very strong sense to come here again today, once you showed me the totem.”

“Is that what it’s called?” It surprised Trynneia to know the term for the bundle.

“Yep, it’s talking to me even now, but I can’t understand half of what it’s saying since you still have it.”

“Oh, sorry,” she replied, handing it over. When she did so, she watched Ditan’s eyes go slack and unfocused. He fell backwards onto his butt, collapsing so suddenly that she couldn’t respond more than try to grasp his hand. All that she accomplished was having him pull her down as well.

After an awkward moment of untangling themselves, Ditan left the bundle on the ground. “The power of that thing is amazing! I’ve never experienced something like that. How could you hold that and not get knocked out?” Ditan was astounded.

“I don’t know. It vibrated a bit and was warm,” she replied.

“That’s crazy. I don’t know what to do with it. You’re sure it was meant for me?”

“Are you sure it wasn’t meant for you?” Driver asked as he walked into the clearing. Trynneia smelled him then. Cleanliness was obviously no concern of his.

“Who are you?” Ditan asked defensively.

“You’re Driver, aren’t you?” posed Trynneia.

“I suppose you can call me that, if it makes you comfortable.” His eyes darted around the trees, and he seemed jumpy, his head jerking from one unseen object to another. Driver’s posture made it seem like he was ready to run at any time, but his face showed grave seriousness. Neither Ditan nor Trynneia could make anything of the dichotomy between his body language and facial expressions.

“How did you find us here?” Trynneia questioned. “We didn’t even really know where we were headed.

“I was already here. You chose to come to me,” he replied.

“We didn’t know you were here,” Ditan added. “None of this makes sense.”

“Did you need to know I was here in order for you to come to me?”

Trynneia took a deep breath and sighed. “See what I mean, Ditan? Impossible to hold a conversation with this guy.”

“If you want to have a discussion over something that matters, don’t ask me trivial questions,” recommended Driver. He had a half-smirk on his face, while still paying attention to unseen phantoms. The man never really looked at either of the two young adults.

“Can you tell us about the totem?” Ditan decided to get to the heart of the matter.

“That depends on you. Can you tell me about the totem?”

“Well, there’s four sticks, they’re tied toge-”

“Since you know about the totem, why did you ask me to tell you about it?” Driver interrupted. “Next!”

Ditan stared at him, flummoxed. “How am I ever going to get trained by this guy?” he asked Trynneia. Driver stumped over to him and thumped Ditan’s head with his walking stick.

“I’m not here for you, dummy. She’s here for me,” he said, gesturing at Trynneia.

“What?” the two friends said in unison.

“It’s a very simple equation really. Never was good at math though. Girl meets boy, boy has magic. Boy needs teacher. Girl meets teacher. Teacher needs student. Or something.”

“So...am I or am I not the student?” Ditan could not wrap his mind around what Driver said.

“You are a student, just not my student.”

“I was looking to find you for him,” Trynneia exclaimed. “I’ve got no powers to train, but Ditan clearly needs help. I’m sure he can learn from you.”

“Clear to whom? Him? You? You don’t know what you’re asking.“ Driver stepped close to her and inhaled deeply, looking at the air around her body, not focusing on her at all. Trynneia held her breath to keep from smelling him. “Already the boy has what he needs. You, however, do not.”

Trynneia remained indignant. “Please teach him to control his abilities. I don’t want him setting fire to a forest, or toppling a home because he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

Driver rolled his eyes. “Boy. You. You hear the whispers, yes?” Ditan nodded. “Pay attention to them. Teaching complete.”

“Light, you’re impossible!” Trynneia exclaimed. She clenched her fists, and her runes shimmered a low white pulsating glow.

“Ah yes, now we come to the crux of your problem. The Light is not impossible, I assure you. It evades you for some reason. But something...Oh, that’s interesting.” Driver flapped his hands around as he walked around Trynneia, his movements spasmodic and exaggerated.

“Tryn, we should go. This madman talks in riddles and is of no use to either of us,” Ditan suggested. “We’ll figure out how I can control my power some other way.”

Trynneia hesitated. Her mother had hinted that her power would come soon. Perhaps it was Driver who would bring her to it, instead of the Priestess of the Light? What could a village shaman teach of the Light, when the elements were his province?

“I do think we should go too. We can go get breakfast, and I want to find something to drink. I woke up thirsty,” she replied, deciding to let this meeting end for now.

“I suggest avoiding any tea then,” Driver said as he walked away, leaving the two friends more confused than they could have imagined.