Settling to the ground, and leaning wearily against the tree that had stood in that same spot for ages, she closed her eyes and reached out with her senses. Years of having to fend for herself had forced her to tone her senses far finer than many other people had. Tentatively she reached out, probing, searching for any closer source of water than the receding river. She could find nothing. About ready to give up, she sent her senses down, down into the earth beneath her.
Gasping out loud she leapt to her feet, her eyes flying open and she once again sent her senses down into the earth. It couldn't be, she thought, narrowing her eyes and putting her attention fully on what her mind was seeing. Water? Water in the earth?
She shook her head, unable to belive what she herself had found. She thought for a moment that perhaps she was, in fact, mad. But even the slightest chance of water, no matter how slight a chance, was worth the effort, so she once again closed her eyes, and concentrated on the ground before her. She pushed out once again with her special sense, and probed back down into the earth to where the water was, and then pushed further down. Focusing on that sense, she caused it to solidify, forcing the dirt up and out of the hole she was creating with that strange force she was able to command.
With a gasp at the effort it took, she opened her eyes, and wearily looked at the hole she had created. Grabbing a rock that was close at hand, she tossed it into the hole, and listened. After a short while she heard it splash.
How to get the water out took her a while longer to think of, but after a while, she knew how she coudl do it, and set about attaching a rope to one of the buckets that was usually used for hauling water from the river. The water she brought up tasted strongly of the earth, but seemed to be good water.
She settled back against the tree, and closed her eyes. Her efforts to free the water had taxed what strength she'd had left. She slept.
Her closest neighbors had been gathering together in council to try to find a way they could all better their methods of bringing water to their crops. The next day found her at this council. It was the responsibility of all people to inform others when they found either a new water source, or a new way to get water. Life depended on that precious fluid too much, and the fear that it would one day recede too far, and with insufficent source, was great.
The clamor that arose at her announcement was great, but after much talking on her part, they agreed to at least see the proof she had on her property. Her neighbors were, for the most part, just humoring her. When her parents had died when she was at such a young age, they'd all kind of taken over. Checking on her, making sure she had food, and that her home was sufficient to keep out the weather. She had, however, mostly managed for herself. While she was still young, she wasn't known for telling fancy stories.
Once they'd seen the proof, they all returned to their own properties and dug their own water holes, although theirs took much longer than hers had, as they had to use handheld tools. She hadn't ever told anybody about this special sense of hers. She knew she'd face ridicule if th others found out about it. They'd brand her as one who consorted with demons, more likely than not.
Life continued much the same for her the next couple of years, and she found herself just about at the age where she would be considered a woman, able to bear children. But her interests didn't go much in that direction. As always, she had the desire to find, yet again, a better way to find the water so vital to life.
It was a dark night during an electric storm that she had a dream, or a visitation. She wasn't sure which.
Rayne woke with a start, listening to the night sounds outside, not sure what had woken her, or if she was awake at all. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she was aware that she was not alone in her simple home.
"Who's there?" She called out, rising out of her bed, and pulling her blanket around her as she reached for the flint and lamp she kept next to her bed. With shaking hands she lit the lamp, somewhat more at ease with the slight light it gave off.
A figure stood near the door to her sleeping room, giving off an impression of godhood. With a gasp she fell to her knees, clutching her blanket at her chest, staring with wide eyes at what could only be a god.
"No need for that child," He said, extending his hand to her. His deep voice conveying much in it's tone.
She took his hand, rising to her feet.
"You have come far," He told her. "The power is in you, and you are discovering many of it's uses. I am well pleased with your progress."
"What do you mean?"
"Aw, poor child, so long alone," He gestured and a chair appeared, in which he sat, gesturing for her to do the same. Uncertainly she sat on the bed, still not sure what it was that was going on, and who he was.
"Tell me, sweet Rayne, what you know of the history of this humble world?"
It wasn't a question she coudl refuse answering.
"I'm sorry, Milord, that I do not know much. What I do know is what I remember being told at my father's knee, before the accident."
"I know, and I do regret the necessity which took them from you so early, but the power you contain had to be released so you could master it's use."
"I don't understand!"
"You will understand in time," He said, smiling to ease her fears. "Continue."
She swallowed. "Well, the world as we know it was created by a great god." Her eyes grew wide as she realized, just then, to whom she was talking. She fell again to her knees, but at his gesture, returned to her seat on the bed. "But there were many forces working against this great god..." She swallowed again. "Against You. And in a fierce attack, those forces confronted you, stealing much of your power away from you, strewing it all around the world." Fighting to get her trembling under control, Rayne continued. "The subject of much debate is that you've found outhers to take up the burden of this world with you, and that you are searching, still, for those who might help you." She paused, as a thought came to her. "But surely I am not one of those you have placed your power within!"
"That is more or less an accurate account. And no, I did not place my power within you." He smiled. "When those opposing forces confronted me, and stole away that power, I managed to scatter it, to make sure that they could have no use of it. Years upon years have passed since that day, and slowly this power is finding itself homes. Homes in the bodies of humans mostly. You are one such that some of that power has found a home in, and you have discovered much of it's use already. Your affinity to water is from that, and you must find a way to return the waters that fell from the sky, as they used to. That power is now behind me, as are several others, as that is an aspect of that power that those who oppose me took away."
"But, I wouldn't know where to begin!" Rayne gasped.
"YOu've already begun. Long have I waited for you to begin learning your power more fully, and you still have a way to go, but it will all come to you in time. The time for you to leave this place has come."
"leave?"
He nodded, his chair vanishing as he rose to his feet. "You have far to go my child, and we will meet again." He smiled comfortingly. "Do not be dismayed when in a few years you stop aging. That is a part of the power. You must be around for a long time to govern those forces you will master."
"Where must I go? Why must I leave?"
"The reasons for that you will come to fully understand in time. You must go away so that those around you do not fear you when your powers come in fully, and so they don't cause you stress when they notice you do not age. There are many reasons, but those are the most obvious. I regret that I may not aid you more in your quest, but to do so would do no good. This is something you must learn on your own."
Many questions were still on her mind, but he was gone before she could ask them.
The next morning she woke, unsure still if it had been a dream, but feeling, inside, that it hadn't been. With a heavy sigh, not konwing what lay ahead of her, she gather such belonging she felt she'd need, and loaded them onto one of her two horses. Leading the pack horse behind, she rode the other at a trot, leaving behind the only home she'd ever known.
She traveled for a couple years, still unsure of what it was she was looking for, and what she was supposed to do. She gave the knowledge of the underground water to many people as she came across them, but didn't seem to be making any real progress.
This travel wearied her, and she finally chose to reside in one of the villages that she passed through, at least for a while. She spoke to the village council, who reluctantly gave her permission to take over an empty house near the outskirts of the village, on the condition that she supplies wthem with a new source of water. The nearest river was three days away on horseback, and they were willing to give much for a better, closer, source. And so, for a brief time, she ceased her travels.
She still spent much time by herself, examining those powers she had, and seeing what she was able to do with them. She seriously felt that she was making no progress. She was ble to fully control any water source, but found out quickly that diverting the courses of rivers was not a good idea. Plants that had been fed by the original source withered and died, and plants that were used to less water, died when they had a better source. She didn't know what to do, and couldn't think of a way to get help.
A couple years passed in this manner, and she decided that, yet again, it was time to move on. She knew the other villagers would protest her leaving, so she stole away in the middle of the night.
Rayne paused, her head cocked to the side as she listened. Several times over the past couple days she'd had the feeling that she was being followed. She didn't feel a threat from whoever it was, but wished that she knew who it was. After the third day of sensing someone following her, she settled down near a river to wait. Either the person would make himself known, or not. Tired of worrying about it, she settled down and set to studying the river.
Waters that fell from the sky. While she knew that should seem like something unnatural, she could remember some of the older neighbors from her home village talking about it. They could barely remember when that had happened, but it was an oft-talked about subject. The problem she was trying to figure out was how to get the water from the rivers, or oceans, to where it was needed.
Hours passed, and the person following her didn't make himself known, so she settled down to sleep, a quick thought erecting a protective barrier around her.
Arlen shivered, glancing up at the sky. Weird shapes were gathering in the sky, hiding the sun. A brief wind sprang up, bringing with it a hint of moisture. He pulled his jacket around himself and turned back to viewing the clearing.
Rayne lay cureld up near the river, sleeping. He could clearly see a barrier erected up around her. He knew that she was aware of him following her, but hadn't figured out yet how to approach her. When she had left the village, he had followed her, feeling that their fates were somehow tied in together. He sensed a power in her.
Arlen had known, since he was very young, that he was not like other people. He had discovered a power in himself to affect certain things. He'd even had a visitation one night, telling him that one would be coming through the village that he was destined to work with. It was a God who'd visited him, he knew that much. But he hadn't been able to get a lot of information from him, and there was much he wished to know.
A weird, almost tickling sensation brought his attention back to now. The source of this slight discomfort seemed to be coming from Rayne, and his eyes narrowed as he watched her. Energies could be seen coming from her, and her sleep seemed restless.
My Pictures
In Memory of my Grandmother
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