All That Glitters Ch. 57

Junelliya noticed that there was a change now to the song from what they had heard before. The children too, heard it. It was no longer sad. The joy that Shusshhttookkann had from having been helped with her injury was evident in their voices, causing the tiny beasts to clap their little paws. Their pets suddenly launched themselves into the air and made complicated twists and loops before settling back down on their friend's shoulders, surprising the Sandekk, who had not seen them in flight before. They tiny creatures were obviously picking up on the happiness of the children.

The little beasts began to sing the song that they had just heard, at least two of them did, surprising the Imperial Arl. They picked up their instruments but could not make the music work for them.

With a forlorn look they turned to their elder. "Mommy, not work," one said.

Junelliya signalled to one of the Asocans in the entourage, who brought her a large case. She took a stool from the back of the case and then opened legs that braced the case upright. Opening the case, she pulled a rather complex looking stringed instrument from it and expertly tuning it.

"Can you sing a few words, please," Junelliya asked. The Arl complied and Junelliya heard the strings on her Luttrell vibrating in tune to the sounds. She smiled and plucked the vibrating strings together, getting the sound she needed as each of the words was sung.

Junelliya told the children what notes to play and they managed to pluck them out of their Ukuleles. That pleased them and they started to sing again. After a bit, they stopped.

"Why did you ssstop?" a curious Shusshhttookkann asked.

"Need more words. Not know what words say," Ikekiya told her, sad eyes turned to look up at Shusshhttookkann.

Shusshhttookkann patiently explained the Sandekk words to the children, teaching them their meaning. When she told them the word for happy; Shshshushshshuu, the little beasts covered their mouths with their hands while surprised looks crossed their little faces.

"OH! You name mean happiness!" Ikekiya exclaimed, surprising Shusshhttookkann that ones so young, not born to the language, could make that inference. Intrigued, the Elder Sandekk opened her powers to look at the little beast's destiny, and suddenly whished she hadn't...

************

Some time later, the group of sightseers came across Liea, Raymond, Kim, and Gillaya and they pulled the transports over to speak with them.

"Aunty Kim, Aunty Liea!" the children called out.

"What? No Aunty Gillaya?" said Gillaya with a forlorn look.

"No, you Gillaya. You like us," Zarreniya told her, getting a smile from Gillaya.

"I'm not sure she means empathic or child-like," Raymond muttered just loud enough to be heard, getting laughter from all around.

"What have you been up to?" Kim asked.

"Aunty >Catal show us her Shall," Ikekia told her. "Very pretty, very big!"

Kim smiled at the antics of the child, though she was correct, it was pretty in an unusual way and it was quite large. The city was home to several million Asocans.

"Sensei Kim!" a voice called out suddenly.

"Guro<! They let you out of the hospital," Kim noted.

"Yes, just this morning. I was not at the Internment Camp that long so was deemed clean this morning and released. I am heading to the transport center to find transport back to Korld Shall so that I can see my parents," he explained.

"That will not be necessary, Guro<," the Asoc advised. "The High Gurn Praatra Mutt Korld is in the >Clot< to see your father, War Dragon Minister Kloä> Mutt Korld, whom she has not seen in some time. You should be able to find them at your father's office."

"Thank you Asoc. I will look them up there. I am pleased to see you, Sensei. If you are holding exercise sessions in the morning, I would ask to be able to participate. I need to regain my strength after my ordeal."

Guro< had been interred in a camp that was North of the Lost Shall, where the waters coming from the Shall naturally flowed, for four days. Unfortunately, the streams carried radioactive impurities with them into the ponds of the swamps of the prisoner's camp. Those who had been interred there had suffered from radiation poisoning. Guro< and his friend Mattan Mutt Sin, a fellow student at the Metalsmiths Academy, had not been in the camp very long when they had been rescued. Others had been there some time and had suffered badly from the effects of the radiation.

"What did the doctors say about you exercising, Guro<?" asked >Gorlat.

"They said I needed to be aware of my body as I exercised," Guro< admitted.

"Very well. I am in the main square of the >Clot< each morning at 06:30. You are permitted to participate. Do not worry, >Gorlat, I will keep an eye on him as he exercises," Kim stated, getting an appreciative nod from >Gorlat.

Since they were now headed to the >Clot<, Guro< was invited to climb aboard the transports for the trip. He was relieved as it was several kilometres in the opposite direction in which he was headed. It would be good to see his parents again.

The Viewing Place of Semt Shall, 1145 km Northwest of AsocAR, The Asocan Realm

Several days later, Varren sat looking out over the lost Shall of Semt. Her Shall. She remembered how beautiful it had looked and how she was always happy to come back to that beauty. But now, the Salalta was no more. She could see the red glow of the still super heated rocks from were she stood, a safe distance away, on a hill South of and overlooking the Lost Shall.

Varren was sad. She couldn't break the feeling that things were not right at Semt Shall. The city was gone, destroyed, yet it felt strange to her to look on it. A great sadness permeated the very air in this region. Something had to be done about that.

She turned to her personal Caregiver, Marrat Mut Semt. "Do you feel it, Marrat?"

"I feel it Varren. It is like a great weight sits on my chest, making it hard to breath, making my heart feel heavy," Marrat answered. "We need to sing the departed to the place of the dead, but there is no song that I know that would move so many, Varren," Marrat told her sadly.

Varren reflected on that for a moment. "I know of only one person who could help us with such a song," she spoke openly, getting a nod of understanding from Marrat.

The >Clot<, Asoc Shall, AsocAR, The Asocan Realm

Varren had been looking for Junelliya for some time and finally found her. She was with the Kumar-Pair and the children. Varren could see them through the open door into the great room they were occupying. They looked happy, and well they should be.

The conflict against Belgedra had gone well for everyone. Well, perhaps not all, as it had not gone well for Belgedra and her cronies. Mother was also a little out of sorts. Varren could understand that. Mother had suffered greatly at the devastation that Belgedra had created in the Asocan Realm. It would be up to her to rebuild it now that Belgedra's claws could no longer tread unhindered across the land.

As she approached Junelliya, mother came in from another open door.

"Hello, >Catal," the Kumaraie greeted her.

"Hello, Na-Maj. How are you and the children holding up after such a rushed journey here?" the Asoc asked.

"Very well. The Kumar Resestess is a fast ship and we have extra Marilon/Aruna Generators on board to allow us to multi-jump. The distance was well within the triple jump capacity of our ship.

"Besides, the Resestess is comfortable, with plenty of rooms for myself, my mate, the children, and our Kumir-Rai/Ro," the Kumaraie said with a smile.

"Children can bring great joy, or great sorrow," the Asoc told them all, letting that sadness escape for a moment.

"Belgedra is not of your brood, Asoc," the Kumaraie stated firmly. "She is also an adult and has brought shame on her own line."

"She has that. But she has effected so many others with her greed for power. I am not sure how I can right that," the Asoc told those in the room.

"I understand, >Catal. You are the Asoc, it is on your shoulders the weight of the realm." Na-Maj stood and took her friend into her arms, giving her a fierce hug that tacitly gave her all the support she needed.

"Thank you my friend. It is good to know that another truly understands what I am going through," the Asoc quietly told her friend and fellow ruler as she returned the hug just as fiercely before breaking free.

They sat and began talking about nothing in particular when Ikekiya noted Varren. "Hello, Varren. You not look good."

"I do not feel right, Ikekiya. There is something wrong at Semt Shall," she told her friend.

"Junelliya, I was at Semt Shall today. The place feels 'wrong'. Marrat says that we need to sing the departed to the place of the dead, but there are so many who were in Semt Shall when it was lost. How do we sing such a large group to the place of the dead?" real fear tinged the words she asked.

Junelliya knelt in front of Varren and pulled her into her embrace. "We will need many voices to sing for those of Semt Shall, Varren. We shall make a pilgrimage and ask those who share your fear to come and sing with us."

For the first time in a week, Varren had an answer with which she could work. All the pent up emotions that she was feeling suddenly burst open and she let out a great wail of frustration and sadness while Junelliya held her tight. The five children, sensing the sadness in their friend, came up behind her and hugged her from the back, wanting nothing more than to help Varren.

The Asoc sensed something of importance here. She understood the need of Varren and the needs of her people. She came to an abrupt decision.

"We shall make that pilgrimage together, daughter," the Asoc told Varren. She turned to her aide. "Treäk, make arrangements for two days from now. Invite all who have lost members of their family at Semt Shall. Tell them we will sing for the departed and that all those who can, should come to help. Tell them the >Clot< will arrange for transportation."

The Viewing Place of Semt Shall, AsocAR, The Asocan Realm

The great pilgrimage to Semt Shall started in the very early hours of the morning two days later as many thousands of Asocans made their way to the viewing site of the lost Shall.

They did not want to be there. The did not want to see the destruction that had occurred to such a beautiful Shall but they had heard the call from Asoc Shall, from the >Clot<, and from the Asoc herself. However, it wasn't that call but obligations for family and friends that brought them to the site following the request.

They had come early in expectation of a heavy demand on the transportation resources and they had been correct. It took the resources of much of the transportation net of the planet to assure that the many thousands who asked to participate were able to.

Now, as they waited for the arrival of the Asoc and her party, they looked over the still smoldering ruins of Semt Shall and shivered. There was something not right about this place and they all felt it.

As the sun broke over the mountains and strained its rays into the valley were Semt Shall once sat, the Asoc finally arrived, riding on the back of her great war beast the Sandekk Elder, Shusshhttookkann. She and her party had arrived with the assistance of her friends, the humans and the Kumar-Pair. They had provided several Trine Class ships and many shuttles from the ships in orbit to aide the ministers, staff, and families of the >Clot<, and those of Asoc Shall, who wished to be here. The use of these ships took much of the burden off the planet's transportation nets, allowing ordinary citizens to make use of those same nets.

Shusshhttookkann settled on her belly and the riders slid off her back. The Asoc reached up to pat her friend's neck and thank her for the ride. Shusshhttookkann was content to have gotten some exercise after such a long while, her foot was still sore but much better now that it had been tended to.

The children reached up and Shusshhttookkann lowered her great head, which the children all hugged.

"Thank you, Shusshhttook for letting us ride with you," Ikekiya told her. "It was fun!"

Shusshhttookkann purred at the attention from the little ones. It had been a long while since she had such attention, since her last clutch had hatched some 740 cycles in the past. She did not realize how much she missed being a parent to little ones. But she was past her breeding time. There would be no more clutches for her. She would have to be content to live vicariously through other families children.

The Priests and Priestesses of the >Clot< were there, preparing to sing for the masses of people. The Asoc and her Ministers were there, as were many of the residents of the >Clot<. The Kumar-Pair, their children, and the Pod-Drran were there. The Ambassadorial staff of many of the Interspecies races were there as well as many humans, including the Piscium family. The Asocan people were there by the thousands. All were upset by the distressing feelings that this place produced.

"So sad, mommy, Zarreniya said.

"I know dear. Maybe I should not have brought you here," Junelliya told her little one.

"No, mommy, Varren need us," Zarreniya told her mother.

"They need us," Ikekiya quickly added.

"Yes, they are all very sad. They have lost friends and family in this place," Junelliya replied, not fully understanding the children.

"No, mommy, not them," Zarreniya said. Then she pointed to the lost Shall. "Them."

"You not feel them, mommy?" Ikekiya asked, noting the confused look on her mother's face.

Prakeshya reached out and touched Junelliya and as soon as she did, Junelliya felt an explosion of voices in her head! There were so many of them, all calling out, all frightened about what they could not understand. They were so numerous, a multitude beyond counting. Junelliya was overwhelmed by the sheer power of the numbers that she felt.

Junelliya was so surprised that she inadvertently lost control of her power and she broadcast what she was feeling on both the empathic and telepathic level to everyone around her. The majority of Asocans had never been around anyone who had empathic or telepathic ability. They did not recognize what was happening. They did, however, recognize something else.

They could and did feel the connections to their own lost ones. What Junelliya felt as a wave of numberless emotions, they recognized as their individual friends and family members.

Instantly, the reactions started as Asocans began to scream and beg for those who had been lost. People called out names. They all shared the same feelings...they had been momentarily touched by the lost spirits of Semt Shall. Not all the spirits, rather the specific spirits that each of the families or individuals present were there to sing for.

Realizing the grave error that she had just made, Junelliya reached out to the empaths and telepaths that had come with her.

^Lend me your power^ she silently entreated them all.

There was no hesitation, they each linked up with the person beside them and fed their power to Junelliya. Junelliya took that power and reached out to the spirits she felt, opening her mind to them as best she could.

But there was something else there too. A power on a scale that Junelliya had never felt before. No, not one, several powers. Something else was here in the lost Shall.

Those powers felt the touch from Junelliya and answered it, feeding her abilities and giving her something more.

Junelliya began to sing, not in Standard, or in Anuuran, or any human language. She sang in Asocan and not modern Asocan. She sang the song of the departed in its original Asocan form, in the ancient language of the people.

The Priests and Priestesses were shocked to hear the bell-like voice of Junelliya carry such a song, yet there was a beauty and asymmetry in that voice and the music reached their hearts and minds.

What was even more shocking was when the children with Junelliya began to sing the same song! The Priestesses and Priests looked upon the group and were suddenly aware that they, and many other humans, where glowing. The strongest glow came from Junelliya and the three special children.

Unaware, Junelliya and the children kept singing. In a part of the song that paused for a few beats, Junelliya spoke a name. Not just one name, two names. It was the names of the Holy Couple, but not the names by which they were known today. It was their original names, supposedly known only to the high priestesses and priests and select members of the >Clot>, including the Asoc and Asost.

Something changed in the air around Semt Shall, something that all those present could feel. A power had awakened when Junelliya had called out to it. It had answered her call! The Asocans and the Pod-Drran, could all see in wavelengths of light above and below those of humans. They could see the shifting power at Semt Shall. Many began to show fear, but others were encouraged by what they saw.

The song resumed. While the song was in its ancient form, there were many people who knew the words to it as this song was still often sung in the old version at festivals and religious ceremonies. The counterpoint of Junelliya's bell-like voice, the sweet yet imperfect voices of the children, and the powerful basses of the Asocan people just seemed to fit as they all sang together. More Asocans lent their voices and strength to the growing song...

Once again, a natural pause in the song allowed Junelliya to call out another name. It was the Asocan deity of fire, the forge, smithing, and weapons making. But it was not the name of Holt Mottan by which she was known today, it was the ancient name of this power.

Again, those in attendance all felt and saw the response over the Lost Shall when Junelliya called out that name.

Junelliya and the children began to sing the third verse. Virtually all the Asocans present were now lending their voices to the song but now, the Asocans were anticipating the next break in that song.

In the pause between the third and the forth verse, Junelliya named another ancient name, this time the name of the Asocan Goddess of the hearth, of family. Again there was a response. The priests and priestesses were becoming fearful of what the people were witnessing here this day...were very much afraid of what they themselves were witnessing.

Junelliya again sang a verse and into the pause at the end of it, she named another ancient name, the name of the most powerful deity of the Asocans, their mother deity, Asocranna...

As Junelliya called out her name, their came a reaction unlike any of the others. The people standing at this site, singing for their loved ones saw the powerful glow around Junelliya and the children and saw the glow of the others empaths and telepaths that were feeding power to them. However, what caught their eyes was not the glow on this side of the valley but that over Semt Shall.

As Junelliya named them, great forms of colour unlike anything that the Asocans and Pod-Drran had ever seen before became apparent. Each name had created different aspects of colour and power. With the name of the last deity, the great deity, something more happened.

The glow around Junelliya and the children was almost blinding. Sheets of colour, reminiscent of the borealis lights, settled over the Lost Shall, and into those sheets the people began to see sparks of light lifting out of the Lost Shall. They heard the voices of their loved ones calling out, thanking them, calling to them...mothers, Sires, brothers, sisters, cousins, children, friends they knew...they all called to their living counterparts and thanked them for singing them the song of the departed, for helping them...