All That Glitters Ch. 57

One last time they called to their loved ones, then the great spectacle of colour simply vanished. Silence prevailed. And in that silence, something else was felt. The Lost Shall was now at peace, the great feeling of sadness was gone.

The glow around Junelliya and the children abruptly faded and so did they. People called out in surprise and quickly tried to catch them as they tumble over. Fortunately, the children, being much shorter, did not have as far to fall as their mother...

The Wanderer, Parking Orbit, AsocAR, The Asocan Realm

Several hours later, Raymond, his team, and special guests, were in the main conference room of the Wanderer watching the holovids of the incident on a standard monitor and a modified monitor that allowed the humans to see the 'colours' of ultraviolet and infrared that the Asocans and Pod-Drran could see. What they saw on the monitor were swirls of colours that were considerably different from that which humans could normally view. The colours were spectacular but the shading was very intriguing.

The Asocan scientist, Stammat Mutt Korld, a senior scientist, was giving an analysis of what was playing on the screen. She was using the unaltered monitor but the pointer was indicated on both.

"We see the children begin to glow," she indicated as the humans watched in fascination on their modified monitor. "Prakeshya touches Junelliya and something unusual happens."

As she said this, they could all see a ghost image of, something, spread over the enormous crowd.

"That is when Junelliya momentarily lost control over her power," Counselor Elliya, Petronellaya's significant other stated. "We felt it for what it was but the non-empaths were all effected by it as well."

They watched and heard the crowd react when Junelliya's power brushed over them.

"What was it that you experienced, Elliya?" Stammat asked.

"It was like I could suddenly feel and hear the voices of uncountable people calling out in confusion and fear," Elliya answered. "I initially thought it was the crowd around us but those in the crowd said that they could not only hear the multitude but they were also able to lock in on the voices of their own departed, those for whom they had come to sing. It is something that I personally have never felt before and, I would say, none of the other participants had ever experienced either."

"I was not there, so I can not respond to that," Stammat replied. "However, watch the colour swirls over the lost Shall when Junelliya begins to sing. Also, keep an eye on the readings from the instruments that were in place."

A moment later, Junelliya began to sing and the colours around the Shall began to coalesce. They formed a surprisingly dense pattern for something that was essentially transparent. The readings on the scientific instruments suddenly jumped significantly.

"Now, we come to the moment when she calls out the names of the Holy Couple," Stammat said and the colours suddenly shifted dramatically causing comments all around the conference room. Once again, the instruments showed a significant event, what that event was, even Raymond could not understand, and he had a doctorate in engineering.

"Here is something that you should know," one of the guest Asocans said to all in the room. "The names Junelliya used are the original names of the Holy Couple and not the names by which they are currently known. These names are only known to the religious community and to certain senior members of the >Clot<, including the Asoc and the Asost. Junelliya should not have known them."

"That is not all," Stammat interjected. "She is singing in old Asocan, yet her voice shows that she is singing as one who is born to the language. That should not be possible. It would take years of practice to achieve such a level of distinction if one is not born to the language."

Those in the room thought about that for a moment.

"If I remember correctly, Junelliya was able to sing and speak in Pod-Drran and in ancient Pod-Drran much better after the incident in which she became the 'vessel' for Poda-La," Elliya stated.

"Are you saying that we are seeing the same thing here?" Raymond asked.

"We can only speculate, Raymond. It is obvious that something unique has occurred," Elliya answered.

"Unique is such a blasé word for what is happening in this incident," Stammat retorted. "Now, she begins to sing the second verse. Who taught her this song? No one will admit to having done so. What is more, she is singing it with superb diction. Her voice is so unusual. It is immediately obvious that she is a trained singer. Her tonal qualities are incredible. Her voice is not suited to Asocan songs, yet she manages this one in a manner that does the song justice.

"The Asocans are now starting to get into the song. Many know the words as this song is one that is sung frequently at festivals around the realm and is also a frequently heard song in religious ceremonies for the departed," Stammat explained.

The stronger, bass-like voices of the Asocans came in much louder at this point but Junelliya and the children's voices still floated above them.

"Now we come to the second pause and a new name is spoken," Stammat stated the obvious as that which she spoke of happened on the monitors. Once again their was a significant shift in the colours and a far more powerful spike on the instruments.

Twice more there came a natural pause in the song and Junelliya spoke a name into the silence. The final time the instruments ceased to function. They had reached their capacity to record. Whatever was happening, it was at a level of power beyond what had been anticipated for the recording devices.

The Asocans in the room suddenly shaded their eyes and the humans watched as Junelliya's glow flared strongly on the monitor that allowed them to see the Asocan colours. The shifting colours over the Lost Semt suddenly coalesced once more and came together, looking for all the world like a mad rainbow. Then something more happened. There were lights everywhere. Small glowing balls of lights that lifted into the air from the dead Shall.

"What are those?" someone asked.

"They look like ball lightning, however, there are too many of them," one of the human scientists replied.

"Ball lightning?" someone asked.

"Plasma balls that can form under certain conditions. They can form when there is an excess of electric power around, such as occurs in a thunderstorm. However, there are far too many of them and they are much too regular," the scientist replied.

"What do you mean regular?" someone inquired.

"There have been frequent sightings of multiple ball lightning, however, they tend to be of various sizes. These are all uniformly the same size. We did a quick count of the numbers. We stopped at ten thousand," Stammat told them. "At that point, the numbers on the monitors were so vast that we could not count them individually.

"However, a quick density count gives us a reference number per frame. Taking this into account, we can guestimate the final numbers. They are over three million," Stammat let that sink in for a moment. It was estimated that three-and-a-half million Asocans had died in the destruction of the Lost Shall.

"Now, the thing to note is the reaction of the crowd. They are saying their goodbyes. They are responding to the ball lightning as if to their lost ones," Stammat finished.

"I felt the numbers passing by, yet those around me were not deterred by the numbers. They were responding to individuals. They were saying their goodbyes. They told me afterwards that Junelliya and the children had helped those cross over to the land of the departed. They were very grateful for what they had done for their families," Elliya informed the room.

"Note that the science devices are now recording again and that the levels of power they are recording are significantly lower than before the incident. Somehow, the radiation in the area has dropped by an appreciable amount.

"Now, for the science," Stammat began. "The lost Shall sits on the crossing point of three of the planet's magnetic lines. It is what you humans call a 'node'. When the Shall was destroyed, the detonation warped the magnetic signature of the node and that was passed down the magnetic lines. People hundreds of kilometers away complained of a feeling of strangeness. Many have not slept properly since the destruction of the shall.

"After this incident, the magnetic lines were refocused. They are back to normal, as is the node. It took the power of a nuclear device to warp the magnetic node and the lines that crossed it. What kind of power does it take to refocus them? Elliya?"

"Junelliya can be seen wielding incredible power, especially at the last where her glow literally causes the Asocans to shield their eyes. Junelliya's power is on a scale that none of us can match. She is able to tap into any and all the power that empaths and telepaths can provide her and use it as she needs to.

"However, the level of power that she wielded this morning is unexplainable. There simply were not enough empaths and telepaths in the area to provide it. Where did it come from?

"On top of that, she actually wielded this power, the kind of power that caused science devices that can record nuclear detonations to max out. Where did it come from? Scientifically, I cannot answer that question," Elliya ended.

"Speculation?" Raymond asked.

"People were complaining of the 'wrongness' of the region" Stammat noted. "The magnetic lines were disturbed. It is possible that the planet reset them itself, however, it would have needed a catalyst to do so. It is apparent that Junelliya and the children were that catalyst. But, like Elliya, I cannot scientifically explain where the power for that catalyst came from."

"If you were to ask me, unscientifically," Elliya began, "it was as if the very planet itself came alive and asked for help. Junelliya and the children provided that help with no hesitation. It was scary the amount of power that was given for their use, never mind the fact that they actually wielded it."

There were more than a few questioning looks around the room.

The Great Gathering Center, The >Clot<, Asoc Shall, AsocAR, The Asocan Realm

The people were in an uproar as they tried to make heads or tails of what had happened. Junelliya and the children had been reverently placed in a special chamber with 'beds' made for them as best the Asocans could make (they were more like little nests) with plenty of volunteers to tend to their needs. Their sleep was unresponsive but Dr. Heyya assured all that they were simply exhausted.

Privately, Heyya was worried. She had heard of people overtaxing the use of their powers and falling into an exhausted sleep, but this sleep seemed to be deeper than she had ever heard of or seen before.

The Asoc was sitting on her tail on her dais at one end of the Great Gathering Center, listening to the clamour around her when she snapped her snout shut with a loud report.

"Enough!" she called out. "We all were there, we all heard and felt what we thought we heard and felt. She called upon the deities and they answered her call! They came and they helped her deal with the departed! We witnessed this ourselves, and not only us, tens of thousands of citizens saw this, witnessed it, felt it. Semt Shall is at peace and Junelliya and the children helped to make it so.

"There is no other explanation for what happened!" she called out in exasperation.

"I have never seen anything of this nature before, Asoc. That a person of another race can call upon our deities! That is sacrilege!" the High Priestess of the >Clot< called out.

"Take care of what accusations you make against these people, Priestess," the Asoc snarled. "Have our gods ever answered your petitions?!"

That silenced all of the religious group and into the silence the Kumaraie spoke. "This is not the first time that Junelliya has been touched by divinity," she told those in attendance.

"What do you mean, Na-Maj?" the Asoc demanded of her friend.

"Junelliya has a title, 'the Atohan'. Atohan translates as 'soul carrier' or 'soul vessel'. Junelliya acquired that title when she became the vessel through which our deity, Poda-La, spoke to the people and admonished us to change our ways or perish because of them. I witness this myself.

"She later actually met with Poda-La, far in the past, and brought back a prophecy which predicted the birth of my children, naming one of them Prakesh, 'the light'. It was predicted that Prakesh would be the reincarnation of Poda-La herself and that she would re-unite the people. This seems to be what is happening.

"Junelliya is human. Poda-La is the Goddess of the Pod-Drran and the Maha-Rrin. Yet she was touched by our Goddess and brought forth a prophesy of change and reconciliation between our two sister races.

"I, personally, am not surprised that Junelliya was touched by the Gods of the Asocans. And, while I was surprised by what happened at the Lost Shall, I was not surprised that the event centered around Junelliya and the children," the Kumaraie finished.

"Mastek< Holt (touched of the gods)," spoke one of the priests.

The Asoc snorted a laugh. "It sounds like a good title for her, but you should know that the term 'touched of/by the gods' in human parlance also stands for someone who is mentally unstable..."

That brought grins from around the great center as Dr. Heyya returned.

"How are they?" the Asoc asked.

"They appear to be exhausted, though they are in a much deeper level of exhaustion than I have ever seen or heard of from overuse of ones powers," Heyya replied.

"Again, I am not surprised," the Kumaraie spoke. "Junelliya slept exhausted for a full day after both events when she was the recipient of the power of Poda-La."

"They will be hungry if they haven't eaten until they wake up," Captain Noor added during a long, contemplative, silence. She had brought the Asoc the results of the scientific inquiry on The Wanderer. It matched that of the >Clot<'s scientists, in effect, they didn't know...

Her comment brought a grin from the Asoc. "Hunger from fasting is something that Asocans know well."

The Asocans all grinned at that statement.

"Let them rest. The religious community must come up with some kind of report on what happened. I do remind the High Priestess, however, that you will not be able to sweep this under the Hangra roots, as too many people were present at this incident," the Asoc warned (The Hangra is a bush the height of a large Asocan with multiple roots similar to that of the much taller Terran Mangrove tree).

Just then, the great bulk of Shusshhttookkann came into the center and approached the Petitioner's Circle.

"Shusshhttookkann, I am sorry I had to leave you behind. How was your travel with Varren?" the Asoc asked.

"I fffery much enjoyed my exerssissse with Ssshhhamot Fffarrren. Ssshhhe rrreminded me of you when you werrre that age," Shusshhttookkann said with a smile. "If you arrre unable to come and exersssissse with me, will you sssend Fffarrren in yourrr ssstead?"

>Catal suddenly sat forward. That was a noteworthy request from Shusshhttookkann and it meant that Varren was special. She gave a significant look to her friend, which was returned with a slight nod of Shusshhttookkann's great head. >Catal sat back on her tail. She had much to discuss with her friend, in private, but she was aware that the Sandekk never spoke of a person's destiny until they had reached a turning point.

"Shusshhttookkann, you have approached the Petitioner's Circle," the Asoc noted.

"I was therrre, >Catal. I sssaw it forrr myssself. The powerrrsss that we sssaw werrre incrrredible. Do you know what I hearrrd from the human engineerrrsss? They sssaid that Sssemt Shsshall wasss sssitting on the crossssing point offf magnetic linesss offf the planet. They sssaid that the plassse fffelt 'strrrange' becaussse the magnetic linesss werrre warrrped.

"I am no ssscientissst, >Catal, but efffen I underrrssstand that ifff it takesss the kind of powerrr that a nuclearrr defffissse emitsss to warrrp a magnetic line, what kind of powerrr doesss it take to rrreturrrn it to norrrmal?

"I have anotherrr quessstion ffforrr you, High Prrriessstesss. We all hearrrd Djunellliiiyyyaaa call on the Gods and Godesssesss of AsssocARRR to help herrr with thisss tasssk. They rrresssponded. But they rrresssponded thrrrough Djunellliiiyyyaaa and the children. They lent herrr theirrr powerrrsss, and ssshe wielded them.

"My quessstion, High Prrriessstesss, is sssimple. What kind of ability doesss one need, to wield the powerrrsss offf multiple Godsss?" she demanded. "Do you rrreally want to make an enemy offf sssomeone like thisss?"

Having made her point, Shusshhttookkann turned around and left the middle of the Imperial Center, returning to her watching point, leaving a very nervous and very much open-mouthed High Priestess in her wake.

"You have much to figure out, High Priestess," an amused Asoc stated, trying desperately to hide a smile.

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

It was the children who woke first late the next morning. They clutched their tiny heads and groaned in pain.

"Mommy, head hurt," Ikekiya complained, her sister and Prakeshya equally sore.

Junelliya responded to her children's pain, waking up and opening her eyes and just as swiftly closing them again, hissing as her own hands moved to her head.

"Here," a familiar voice said. Junelliya felt a glass passed into one hand and a couple of pills placed in the other, as Violletiya tended to her.

She could hear Hanalei, Urano, and Clarrisiya, tending to the three children.

"Rest for a few minutes and let the pills take effect. Then you can have breakfast," she heard Hanalei tell the children. Junelliya followed the advice and laid back on the comfortable bed she was in. A few minutes later, the pain in her head began to recede.

"Oh, that is so much better," she mumbled. She cautiously opened her eyes and was relieved to note that the bright lights no longer felt like daggers. She sat up cautiously.

"Heyya said that you and the children have had significant changes in the emphatic core in your brains. That is why the pain," Violletiya explained. "She said that the pills will help with the residual pain for today and you will be much more comfortable as your mind adjusts itself."

"I know the drill, but damn, that hurts!" Junelliya grumbled.

"Would you like to eat now?" Hanalei asked the children. Junelliya suddenly felt very hungry.

"How long were we out?" she asked, suspicious.

"You collapsed after the incident yesterday morning. It is now late-morning the next day. You have been out for just over twenty-six hours," Violletiya told her.

"Ya, that is consistent," Junelliya grumbled. "Food first, lots of it. Then I need kisses from my mates and my children."

She suddenly felt a small form slip onto her lap and tiny hands grabbed her face and placed kisses on it. Another set of tiny hands did the same and then her head was bent down as Prakeshya gave her linkess, the rubbing of foreheads that was the Pod-Drran form of affection. She smiled and hugged all three of the children.

"Shall we go eat?" she asked.

"Baff room," Zarreniya complained.

"Oh, I wish you hadn't said that," Junelliya said as her bladder suddenly complained. That got laughter from many sources in the room. Junelliya looked around to find several Kumir-Rai, two Pod-Drran wearing the symbols of Crèche Mothers, and three unknown Asocans wearing the cloaks of Caregivers.

After a quick trip to the toilette, they where escorted to a dining hall where the Asoc, the Asost, the Kumir-Pair, Counsellor Petronellaya, her significant other Counsellor Elliya, and many other guests, were overjoyed to see them up. The children gingerly ran over to hug their 'aunty >Catal', to give her, the Asost, and the Kumir-Pair hugs, kisses, and linkess, and hugs and kisses to all the others in the room that they knew, including Prakeshya's brothers.