Return of the FaqWadi Ep. 02

Then the Naming Council stood as one, knelt and paid homage to the Third Blade Sage of the Blueskin Nations by placing a closed fist over their chest and covering it with an open palm of the remaining hand as prescribed by the FaqWadi tradition. So, it was said. So, it was given testimony. So, it was written. Emanuele grew to become the Third Blade Sage and wisest of rulers for generations of Blueskins as Raven's continued tutelage trained him for his role.

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The Discovery of the Ancients

"I, Emanuele, discovered the FaqWadi grasses, given to the ancients to remedy starvation on the planet, were so prolific that wherever the winds carried the seeds, they sprouted and flourished. The roots consumed everything they touched. All man-made materials were readily absorbed into the plants so that after two hundred cycles nothing of the ancients remained - just dim memories of their magnificent cities and machines; even those that flew. The grasses were vociferous consumers of all metals and the only possible exceptions might lie untouched by the grasses would lie in the frozen northern lands."

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As far as I could tell in the translation of the second side of the monolith, Emanuele, the Third Blade Sage, seemed to be repeating the knowledge already recorded on the first side of the sentinel monolith that I had spent two laborious years translating. I don't know if it was for the sake of repetition or if he was arrogantly claiming credit as a new discovery, at this point in the translations. But the content began to change as he continued the writings ...

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Emanuele's Accounting - continued

"Under my rule, Blueskins spent many cycles exploring the barren frozen lands of the north - the lands not seeded by the FaqWadi grasses. My teams sojourned to find the origins of the Blueskins according to my mother's recollections of the Second Blade Sage's retelling of the oral Blueskin history to her. These findings are recorded on this sentinel monolith so that all may know of the malevolence of the invading FaqWadi Time Shifters, those other worldly beings."

"Emanuele, Sage," Lark, the Blueskin warrior appointed by Raven as his body guard, called out to Emanuele as he traversed the frozen crevasse, "this way!"

Some one-hundred caltrons beyond the crevasse was a tall rise in the frozen mounds of the northern regions of the planet - a world not exposed to the changes in climate nor the consumption of the FaqWadi grasses for nourishment. Here, the harsh winds blew and the ice crystals swirling around within the winds stung the Third Blade Sage's face as he leaned into the them and trudged toward Lark. "I'll be so FaqWadi glad to get back to the temperate zones." he muttered under his breath. "This is beginning to look like a total waste of time. Why had Mother Raven, even suggested he make the trip?" he wondered.

Finally, ducking beneath an icy ridge that blocked the wind, the Sage was able to see Lark's troubled face and instinctively reached for his blade. There was little that Lark feared, but his countenance was well marked with it, now. Emanuele searched the whiteness behind Lark seeking to identify the danger, but saw none. It was only when Lark turned and pointed around a turn in the ice that he saw what painted Lark's face with fear - an icy form frozen before them. Its hand was grasping a metallic blade. Taking no chances, as his Mother had taught him, Emanuele severed the sword hand and the head of the being before him in one deft movement. Both Blueskins stood momentarily looking at one another - what the FaqWadi had they found?

Lark attempted to move the frozen figure away so that Emanuele could get a closer look at the sword that was still suspended in mid-air. Upon further inspection, both realized it was not a weapon, but some kind of curved, handle shaped device. Using his blade, Emanuele scraped the ice built up around the metal and found more metal behind it. Finally, he was able to trace the shape until it took on the appearance of a hut opening - entirely of metal! There wasn't this much metal in the entire mega-village, yet here was a wall opening completely made of the same material as his blade it seemed! Lark scraped away at one side with his FaqWadi grass-made spear while the Third Blade Sage used his metallic blade to dispatch the larger portions until it was clear the object was indeed a handle of some sort and the metal was a rectangular shape inserted into a stone wall.

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At this point in the writings, the stone monolith was extremely worn and I was unable to decipher the next section, but was able to pick up the narrative further down.

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"We entered the passageway, having pushed the frozen body further back, and gained entry. Lark led the expedition into the darkness down a long tunnel and into a massive opening in the ice. It's walls reflecting back the light from our torches, I followed as the last member passed me and pulled the metal back to block the wind from blowing in the snow whirling around outside. From within the depths of the tunnel, it seemed much warmer now that the winds could not penetrate this far inward. I knew it could not be warmth we felt, there were no fires to ward off the bitter cold, so it had to be my imagination or the warmth being fed by the fear of the unknown as we made our way forward.

As I exited the long tunnel into the cavern, I realized that everyone was standing still and staring straight ahead. Pushing through the expedition to reach Lark; I, too, stopped to stare. Before us was a huge bird so immense it filled the cavern. Asleep, I thought, or frozen just like the being who's head I had severed at the doorway. It didn't matter either way; if it woke up, given its size, it could easily devour all of us and not even a blade sage would have a chance against it. I approached it blade in hand, hoping that it was dead. Drawing closer, I came to realize it was not a creature but an immense metallic object. Thoughts of my Mother's non-sense about our ancestors being able to fly sprang into mind as I stood gazing up from beneath its wings. Could she be telling the truth about my Father's recounting of our ancestry? In spite of trying to remain calm, I could feel goosebumps forming on my skin as the hair on the nape of my neck bristled.

What had man wrought? If my father's recounting of the ancients was correct, we had stumbled upon the first confirmation of the powers of the ancient SkyNation tribes. It had the presents of a great bird of flight.

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Deciphering the Second Side of the Sentinel Monolith

Sitting at my desk within my hut, my hands were trembling as I worked to decipher the last few lines of the etchings Raven 3030 had made for me this morning. I put down my pens and slipped the writings and my translation into a field pouch and hid it beneath the FaqWadi thatch weave bedding. I could feel my hearts beating as though I had run a thousand caltrons through the forest at top speed. Fuck! Could my publisher have been right - could this be a prank of some immense magnitude - or had we stumbled upon a discovery that truly was about to shed light on the origins of Blueskins? My hands were shaking so badly that I stumbled outside hoping that some fresh air and seeing reality before me would somehow change the translations I had spent the morning working on into a different version of history. I could almost feel the fear Emanuele described rising in bumps on my arms. I could smell the fear within the perspiration running down my back. My knees were at the point of buckling as a sense of nausea sprang up as the potential meanings of the transcriptions ravaged my mind.

I had delivered the unsubstantiated translation of the first side of the sentinel monolith for publication. That in and of itself was not sufficient evidence to convince anyone that the contents of the stone writings were valid. But, here, on the second side of the monolith, was a newer accounting of similar statements. This new translation is corroborative evidence spread over a newer and vast timeline. It would be irrefutable evidence, in any archeological journal, that could be verified by other linguists and scholars of antiquity. Certainly, a hell-of-a-FaqWadian find!

As I stumbled outside, Raven 3030 grasped me by the arm and pulled me back into the hut. I was still too stunned to struggle against her. She cupped my chin in her hand and looked into my eyes. Then, her third eye opened. "You know you can't tell anyone, yes," she whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "or the governmentalist will silence you. Just as they did your publicist!" Then she closed her third eye as the other two remained focused on me, awaiting my response.

I was too stunned by what I had read and being fixed by her third eye; I was unable to deny Raven's claim. The fact that I knew must have been written on my face and she read it like an open book. At the same time, I was dazed by the fact that she, too, seemed to know about the meanings of the writings. Not something a student would be knowledgeable about, I thought.

"Who are you, really?" was all I could get out in reply.

Through pursed lips, she whispered, "Certainly I am not a university student, professor as you probably are guessing right about now. But I am Raven 3030, daughter of Raven, the Keeper of Blueskin Ancestry. My mother's lineage is from the Third Blade Sage and she has sent me to watch over you. Even as we speak, I can sense movements among the governmentalist troops marshalling outside the encampment. It seems they are preparing to move against the camp so keep your wits about you and speak softly, professor.

She stood, with her breasts pressed into me, assessing my response to her revelation that she was a Guardian of the Blueskin Ancestry, a warrior-daughter of Raven 2020 herself! I nodded my understanding of the presence of the troops and sank into my chair before whispering. Ever since we began preparations to embark on this expedition from the mega-village, I had tracked the armed landers attempting to stay out of my sight. I had known their shadowing our journey, but their presence remained a mystery, until now.

"How do you know my publicist had been silenced?" I asked.

She replied, "Mother Raven sent word by courier soon after we left the mega-village, that his office was raided. He and all of his belongings were whisked away in a lander. No one had heard from him since his arrest. That can only mean that you are next as you are the primary link to what the Sentinel Monolith transcription contains. They seem only to be waiting until you finish the last of the translations before moving against you. They want the contents of your transcriptions. You are a very valuable asset to them, since there are so few with your skill set in interpretations of ancient Blueskin writings."

My legs seem to be chained to the ground, unable to move as I take in the knowledge of my publisher being arrested. This is a major breach of archeological research protocols and something that the certainly the Blueskin Ancestry Counsel would not condone or even sanction! My thoughts turned to Raven 3030 again.

"You can read the script of Emanuele, The Third Blade Sage?" I queried her in a hushed tone.

"Yes, professor," she said with a slight smirk written in her wry smiling face, "and when you are ready, I'll help you correct the errors in your translations, once I have moved you to a safe haven." She added sassily in her whispered response.

I had labored for months over those and now it seemed I had one among my team that was proficient at deciphering the ancient texts; as easily it seems as reading a primer on the origins of Blueskin Ancestry. If the governmentalist were not so bent on overrunning the encampment I would have taken her over my knee and soundly spanked those luscious orbs for her impudence. The only other reason for not doing so, was that as a warrior-guardian, she could easily turn the tables on me, leaving me with some welts to carry as a reminder of her training.

It was then that Raven 3030 spoke of her numerous joinings with the FaqWadi grass thatchers as a means of soliciting information from them. From among their ranks were several spies for the governmentalist, she told me. Once they were well fucked, their spies were more open to Raven's questioning them about the troops. Her joining skills had reduced the thatcher's guard against loose lip information. That provided the advance warning Raven acquired of the impending move against the camp.

Raven and I spread the word to the encampment that the last of the inscriptions should be completed within thirty sunrises and we would then break camp and return to the mega-village. That news, we knew, would be fed to the governmentalist. Our goal was to have them delay their seizure of the transcriptions until the encampment prepared to return. This gave us time to slip away under the full twin-moon rises on the night of the fourth sunrise.

Raven 3030 had done reconnaissance of the governmentalist lines and we easily slipped through them as they reveled in their nightly joinings with one another. If an alien ever wanted to overcome a Blueskin village, they had only to wait until the joining hours commenced. Everyone's guard was at its lowest then. With the scent of Blueskin pheromones filling the air, you could drive a lander through any encampment without challenge!

With Raven's knowledge of the land routes, we travelled by night northward, heading for the polar region. In search of the lands cited by Emanuele The Third Blade Sage, we followed the mighty river valley upward through the valleys of mid-continent. We stocked up on FaqWadi grass seeds for the journey north; there would be no easily picking of food sources for here on as the FaqWadi grass does not grow above the ice zone. The journey was long and increasingly difficult as we reached the icy fringes of the frozen lands. Our search was to find the sanctuary of Raven 2020, Guardian of the Blueskin Ancestry. Our goal was to confirm the writings of Emanuele The Third Blade Sage and seek out the giant bird he allegedly found.

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Episode III of story will cover the professor's findings regarding Emanuele's writings.

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