Sanctuary

 
Dragon Stone
Siksa is rich with a beautiful, dark blue crystal called ensai, that glows softly in the dark.
On land, the greatest concentration of the stone is in Bizra territory, under the meadows where the Bizra lived for centuries.
In the ocean, the most visible deposit of ensai is found in three undersea mountain ranges.
But the largest mass of the crystal is a great disk, hidden seven feet below the deepest part of the sea floor, extending for a thousand miles in all directions.

The disk generates an energy field in the shape of a sphere.… Read more

Childish Wisdom

 
No Return
Makish, Dilasa, and I stand naked in the transition chamber as it fills with warm seawater.
The only sounds we hear are the movement of the water, and our breathing.

The three of us seem helpless as we stand here, but we can all bend the energy web to our will.
Even little Dilasa is more powerful than the greatest Fiklow binder, and she is well-protected.
As we flew here in Botzar’s ship, I taught her to raise an energy shield, and I helped her build a wintzal that will guard her mind against any attack.

Lessons and Betrayal

 
Twin Visions
The brief contact with the Jiku sphere of mirrors takes my strength.
I feel the smooth stone under my Jiku body, as my awareness returns to the marketplace, but only for a moment, just before I collapse.
I sleep, but without peace.
A vision comes and takes me.

I fly quickly through endless, empty silver skies — no worlds, no life.
In the vision I have no strength, but something carries me, keep me always in motion.
I see nothing, but I know that I’m not alone.

“Show yourself,” I shout to the empty world.
The world … Read more

Listening and Healing

 
Listening
My whole life, I’ve circled around a dream of healing, hiding from a voice that whispers:
You are born to heal.”

I’ve always been an outsider, looking through a window, at a clear, bright world, never finding my place, never reaching for the door.
I am Yagrin now.
There’s no more time for turning away, and letting the world pass by.
Now, healing calls me, in a voice that shakes the whole world.

My energy rises within me, and I easily cast off the fear.
Then, I turn all my strength toward healing.

Gifts and Mastery – 2

 
A Different Path
My life turns toward Flow, and becomes filled with masks and transformations.
There are five hundred common masks to learn.

I know a little about energy masks.
Shazira once taught me how to shape a mask and float it on my energy body.
It covers the pattern body like a golden garment of light.

The mask doesn’t penetrate the energy body, but it binds to it.
When the mask takes hold, your physical body vanishes.

I remember the excitement when my body was replaced by the animal body of a Twikul, a great hunter.
My … Read more

Gifts and Mastery

 
Away
The city fades, and the weight of the world falls away – wars, schedules, and questions.
Shazira, Tzina, and I escape it all for three days, hiding from an uncertain future.
Talking, traveling, and laughing together.

We open our hearts to each other, trying to forget a long year apart.
Our time together is just a breath, a moment, a beautiful sunrise that will soon disappear.
We pretend that nothing will separate us, but yesterday and tomorrow hover over us, just out of sight.

The fourth day comes, and finds us camping on a distant island.
I wake … Read more

Bound to Life

 
The Living and the Dead
I wake alone in the round, soft bed, surrounded by my childhood home.
I’ve slept here for the last few days.
It’s so strange and familiar at the same time.

Sleep slides away.
I walk out onto the porch, and fill my lungs will the cool morning air.
I remember playing here as a boy, but the memories are fragments of the old Yagrin’s life.
Still, the feelings of love are clear and bright, like today’s sky, free of dark clouds and lightning.
A soft wind brings me the smell of the sea, and … Read more

Last Dance

 
Fountain
My awareness spins as I leave the seven towers and my life as a Gen.
Soon after, I awake in the small, cramped vat.
My body has grown again, leaving my sisters, the old ones, behind.

The world is different after my time with the Gen.
The future calls my name, and promises joy and possibility.
Still, my heart is unsettled.
I’m filled with sadness, and a strange feeling of urgency.

Something is wrong.
Not here, but somewhere far away.
I start down the ladder, and stop.
The liquid in the vat is a beautiful, sparkling green.… Read more

Gen – Bonds of Love

 
Fortress
A cycle passes, away from the school and Vala.
My desire to be Gen fills me, stronger and stronger, but I miss Vala even more.

Most students are told to wait a cycle between classes, but Vala said that I could return in three months.
The months are long past, and I haven’t seen or spoken with her since I left.
She doesn’t answer my messages.
Every few months she sends me a note with one word: “wait.”

What does the council want, and why does Vala ignore me?
I won’t believe she is silent by choice, but … Read more

Gen – Test of Lies

 
Waiting
Test day.
Twelve of us stand in the large, bare room at the school, and wait impatiently for Vala.
Some distract themselves with practice, while others just talk.

Vala is fifteen minutes late, unthinkable on a test day.
She is Gen.
So different from us, we who are tied to our small, fragile bodies.
Still, she knows that emotions run wild today.

The tests twist our hearts and thoughts.
They stand between us, and our dreams of becoming Gen.

We prepare for test day the whole week, every week.
We sit in class and listen, practice our … Read more