Bette irritably clenched and unclenched her fist at the small of her back as she stood in the small cave. Two other Leaders, herself, Mikol and Ral were crowded in there with the Wisdom crouched at the corner hurriedly twisting twine around a configuration of sticks. He’s made a number of them already, a small triangle tied together at the junction. Small runes etched onto the sticks ran down the sides.
The three Leaders were all taking turns saying something pleadingly to the Wisdom. The Wisdom ignored them while making the strange talismans. As Ral and Mikol were close to being half-pushed out of the entrance of the small cave, Mikol was able to discreetly translate the conversation going on.
“They are trying to convince him not to include you in the Trial,” Mikol said quietly in Gaian. “Both because you are Gaian and because you… are not part of the tribe.”
To Ral’s dismay, even Bette spoke up in the same tone.
“Bette is stating you require more training and that a Trial would be dangerous for you. That there would be no benefit for your attendance to such a thing.” Mikol loyally translated again. Bette probably heard him and shot him a look of disapproval.
One of the other Leaders rounded up on Bette, now directing angry words at her.
“Loxst is blaming Bette, of course,” Mikol muttered. “About how you shouldn’t be here in the first place. And… he’s calling you various names…”
Mikol’s voice trailed off as Loxst continued his rant. Ral knew he was sparing him the abusive details. While none of the Somas liked him there, a few only tolerated his existence and most actively did not want him with them. As far as he knew, Loxst was perhaps the most vocal of them disapproving of his presence but so far he had been unable to do more than annoy everyone with his ranting.
Loxst abruptly stopped speaking as the Wisdom suddenly turned his head to look at Ral. His work on the talisman stopped, dropping sticks and twine onto the stone floor. Ral tensed, unnerved by the sudden pinning stare. The Wisdom spent most of his time lost in his own little world so seeing this sudden intense focus was disturbing to everyone in the room. Maybe he was going to sprint off again.
Ral shifted uncomfortably and the Wisdom’s gaze did not follow. He realized the old man was staring at something behind him, out of the cave entrance. Ral cast a look behind him but no one was there. The common area was quite empty as people were scrambling to prepare for the Trial. Ral looked back at the Wisdom and felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck as a wise smile was now plastered on the old man’s face.
“Wisdom - ”
The Wisdom interrupted Bette’s concern with a string of Yscian words.
“The… sun must succeed where the moon has failed,” Mikol immediately translated. “This Gaian must go. He is the exception, the… antithesis.”
Ral surged forward before he knew what he was doing. “What about the moon?” he demanded in Yscian, the words feeling clumsy in his mouth. “The moon? Wisdom, why did you say that?”
“Don’t touch him, blood-head,” an infuriated Loxst roared at him. Ral understood those words.
“He was speaking about my sister,” Ral said desperately. He had reverted back to Gaian and so directed his words to Bette and Mikol. “What would your Wisdom know about Aris?”
“Nothing,” Bette said. Her face was pinched with exhaustion. “He is speaking nonsense because he has become too old to hold his post.”
Ral was taken back. The Somas had their own set of beliefs: they move when something changes in clouds, hunt when certain birds are spotted, their purpose in life is dictated by the year they are born. They seek signs in places where others see nothing and often Ral thinks of it as superstition. The Wisdom is often the source of this ‘superstition’ as well, seeing visions in dreams or smoke or hearing voices in the wind. Ral never really trusted any of this but he never said anything as it was the Somas way of life. The rest of the tribe always went along with what the Wisdom says, treating it like undeniable truth. Why was Bette saying things like this now?
“You think it’s nonsense when he suddenly talks about me?” Ral asked.
“This is not the time,” Bette said. “You can’t possibly be a part of a Trial, you’ll be eaten alive. Even if you pass it, then what? Do you expect the tribe to bow down to you and call you Champion? There is no benefit for you to be a part of this.”
“You’re going to go against what the Wisdom says?”
“Of course I am! None of what he says makes sense - ”
“Very little of what he says ever makes sense,” Ral snapped at her. “But you all just go with it anyway. I’m not going to lie and say I understand any of it but I know it’s important to you and your people. Why in the sun’s name are you going against that now? You need to explain it to me.”
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“The Wisdom was the one who convinced you to let Ralos stay,” Mikol suddenly spoke up beside him. Ral turned to stare at his friend; it was the first time he’s heard of that. “Why do you not listen when the Wisdom is telling you to let him go?”
“Don’t think you know everything about me and the Wisdom,” Bette burst out. “I am a Leader of your tribe and you will follow my words. Do not test me, Mikol or you will lose your chance at the Trial.”
She then gestured out of the cave and pulled the fabric covering between them. They had been kicked out of the Wisdom’s cave. For a long while, Ral paced the empty common area trying to think of something to do or say. But the caverns had grown strangely suffocating, the walls seeming more narrow and stifling than they had ever been. Letting out an annoyed sigh, he headed to the surface.
“Do all of you just believe in the things you want to believe?” Ral suddenly said angrily as they got to a relatively private clearing between dry shrubs and rock. “When it’s something you don’t want to listen to, it’s suddenly nonsense that you’re free to reject. Do you think our Inner eye divinations work the same way? Because they don’t. You can’t just pick and choose like that. You can’t just make stuff up!”
“These are anger words that should be given to Bette,” Mikol said evenly.
“Did… did she not want me here to begin with?” Ral asked. “Why even go through the trouble? She could have refused me from the start, then…”
Then maybe none of this would have happened. He could still be with Rask, or he could have been reunited with his sister again. Mikol watched him in his usual still way.
“You should… you should go prepare,” Ral finally said. “And ignore my tantrum. I’m sorry, Mikol. Let me know if I can help you.”
Mikol seemed to look indignant. “The Wisdom did not name me to go to the Trial. Why would I prepare?”
“You’re Bette’s best student. Even Dalsk likes you to a certain degree. You have to go. And when you become Champion, maybe Calkin and the others won’t walk all over you anymore.”
Mikol said nothing further, only studied him for a few more beats before returning to camp. Ral found a spot to try to meditate and practice stillness but found it hard to push the roaming thoughts from his mind. Was this all a waste of time? People who he thought wanted him to stay didn’t actually care. Things that he hoped to do were never possible. And the Wisdom… Why did he speak about the moon?
The sun must succeed where the moon has failed. Ral had never told anyone beyond Mikol about his family background, about how he and his sister were supposed to represent the celestial bodies back when Caelis was still whole. Perhaps Bette would know, but Ral didn’t think anyone else would even be interested. Perhaps it was true that the Wisdom was just spouting nonsense - he couldn’t have known anything about Aris.
Besides, his sister was always prone to success while Ral was the perpetual failure. He let out a defeated breath and slumped back against a relatively flat rock. The sky was starting to darken and the Trial would probably soon begin. Mikol had hurriedly explained that the Trial was time sensitive and they needed to act soon - now that Ral knew that a Trial included a Gate, it was probably because a Gate didn’t stay open for long. He should stop ‘sitting in sadness’ and at least cheer Mikol on.
The strange waves of negative emotions coming from the Gate, even at a distance, was getting to him. He could still feel it coming in little ebbs. He heavily sat up, wearily rubbing his face when he saw a shape approach him. Mikol ran silently but quickly, blinked out if sight then reappeared ten paces closer. The Somas eventually got to his side and presented a palm sized trinket to him.
Three sticks in a triangle, combined by twine with runes on the sides, except now the runes glowed a faint blue glow, lighting up in the growing dusk. It was one of the talismans the Wisdom was working on earlier.
“For the Trial,” Mikol explained. “To show where the destination is. Each Trial goer has one.”
“See? Of course you’ll be in it,” Ral said. “Are you prepared? Are you able to pack anything - ”
Mikol shook his head. “It has already started, the Trial,” he said. “It starts when the Wisdom gives these out.”
“Then what are you doing here? You should go!”
“No, I want you to have this.” Mikol thrust the talisman into his hands. “And I want you to go instead of me.”
“This… no Bette would kill me,” Ral said, flabbergasted. “The other Leaders would kill me. I can’t take this.”
“I will tell them I lost mine,” Mikol said quickly. “You want to see if this is truly a ‘Gate’, do you not? Even if it is not for Trial, you should go see. Is this not why you are here? You want answers?”
Of course his even minded friend never forgot the things that mattered. He had been so upset over the the loss of a chance to prove himself as a Somas that he had forgotten the mission he had given himself. If what was happening nearby was a Gate, it would be the first proof that Gates could open in Yscian territory.
He took the talisman and the etched runes gleamed in his hand. It felt slightly warm to the touch. He noticed some runes were brighter than the others. When he rotated it, the bright runes shifted such that the ones most north-west stayed the brightest.
Mikol would probably never tell the others he lost the talisman. It would be too obvious a lie - Mikol rarely ever lost anything. He was giving up his spot in the Trial for him. He was giving up the chance to be a Champion for Ral.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Mikol,” Ral said. He stood and embraced the Somas, who stiffened at the contact but allowed it to happen. There wasn’t a lot of hugging that happened with his people, even among lovers or family, so the gesture was probably foreign to Mikol. “But thank you. You have my gratitude.”
For once in his life, Mikol looked flustered. “It’s possible, Ralos, that your spirit melds into forms by a force unseen,” he said after clearing his throat awkwardly. “Perhaps that is what’s happening. Take the Talisman, it should react if you complete the Trial.”
“’We must go where the Solvent flows.’ My grandfather had a similar saying,” Ral said. "Thank you, I won’t squander this opportunity.”
“Whatever it is, you must do what you must do,” Mikol said. He pushed him towards where the talisman indicated. “Go now. I believe in you. Be safe, Son of Suns.”