Jutha rocked in his shell, seeming to settle into a more comfortable position. Then he began to speak:

“First, answer this question: how does a blind man see?”

Xan’s brow wrinkled in confusion.

“Well, he can’t,” he said.

“Exactly,” Jutha said. “Which is why he must feel his surroundings in order to understand them. Your ability to use Astral Sight is still nascent. In a way, you are stuck in a spiritual blindness. If you wish to develop the ability to see the flow of Ru around you, you must first learn how to feel it. Feel it flowing through your body. Feel it flowing around you. Only then will you be able to break out of this spiritual blindness and see it.”

“Alright… how do I do that?” Xan asked slowly.

“Through meditation,” Jutha answered simply.

“Meditation? How is that supposed to help?” Xan said. He immediately thought of monks sitting cross-legged, backs straight and eyes closed for hours on end. The image was highly unappealing.

“We will show you,” Jutha said. “Now, close your eyes. Take some deep breaths.”

Xan did as he was told. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the bark of the tree behind him. For the next ten minutes, he followed Jutha’s lead through a meditation exercise. He felt ridiculous, but as time went on he felt himself beginning to relax. It strangely felt like he was falling asleep, and yet his mind stayed awake and aware of everything around him.

Then, when Jutha determined that Xan was ready, he instructed Xan to use his Astral Sight. Xan wrapped a hand around the Spirit Sang and concentrated. At first, it felt like nothing had happened. But then, after a few more deep breaths, he finally felt something – something warm, like a spark of fire, burning in the center of his being. His eyes snapped open, and he looked down at the source of the warmth. The star that was his own soul shone back at him.

“I felt it!” he cried excitedly. Jutha nodded his head in approval.

“Very good. Now, focus on your core. Notice how it pulses with Ru, like the beating of your heart,” Jutha instructed.

Xan closed his eyes again. He focused all of his attention on that spark of warmth. After another long while, Xan thought he could faintly feel the tiniest surge of energy coming from it. Then his concentration slipped, and he lost it again. He growled in frustration.

“I had it!” he groaned, putting his head in his hands.

“And for now, that is enough,” Jutha said encouragingly. “What’s important is that you felt it. Your task now is to concentrate on feeling that pulse. Feel the Ru of your soul flowing out through that pulse to fill your body. Only then will you be able to recognize the flow of Ru in the world around you, and your spiritual vision will finally open.”

“Wait, wait a minute—” Xan then said, “how much meditation stuff will I have to do to get there? I won’t have to meditate for days on end, will I?”

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Jutha gave his throaty laugh. “No, a few minutes every day should be sufficient for now. But do not be surprised if it takes several days, or even weeks or months, before you become proficient in feeling the flow of Ru.”

Xan sighed. Then he smiled and shook his head.

“It’s never easy, is it?” he joked. Jutha laughed his deep, throaty laugh again.

“It never is. But the tallest peaks offer the greatest views, and if you want to reach the top, you must take every step to get there,” he said.

“Right, right,” Xan muttered. He looked up at the sky, seeming to just notice the dwindling twilight. “Well, I’d better be heading back. Got to make sure we’re all ready to go.”

“You are returning to Vaimea, then?” Jutha asked.

“Yes, tomorrow morning,” Xan said, standing up.

“Mmmm… then allow us to leave you with one last piece of advice, little one,” Jutha said as he also stood. “Once you have learned how to see the flow of Ru, seek out our sister, Kosea. She dwells amongst those in Vaimea, and she can show you the next steps for you to take,” Jutha said.

“Kosea, right,” Xan said, trying his best to commit the name to memory.

“We wish you well, little one,” Jutha said. Then, with steps that looked heavy but barely shook the ground, the silver tortoise turned to leave.

“Jutha!” Xan called after him.

Jutha stopped and looked back over his shoulder at Xan. For a moment Xan was at a loss for words, trying to figure out how to convey how he felt. Then he simply said:

“Thank you.”

Jutha smiled. He bowed his head respectfully to Xan. Then he turned away and continued to slowly saunter off through the trees.

Shadow climbed up Xan’s legs, giving a small squeak. Xan picked her up and put her on his shoulders. When he looked up again, Jutha was already gone.

“Come on, girl,” Xan said, patting Shadow with one hand while tucking the pendant into his shirt with the other, “let’s head back.”

With a soft pop, they disappeared, leaving only the lengthening shadows and a slight breeze beneath the trees. They reappeared at the edge of forest on the outskirts of the village.

He was about to head towards the stone hut that had been allotted to them in the village, when he saw Taika and Dee talking with the rest of the Rivule Verdans. They were all gathering together around a small Ember Sang for what looked like the evening meal. He immediately changed course to join them.

Rowan was sitting next to the Ember Sang on a folding canvas chair, picking away at his lute. He was the first one to notice Xan approaching, and he greeted him jovially.

“Xan, lad! C’mon and join us! Ye’re just in time for dinner!”

Before long everyone was sitting around the Ember Sang, enjoying a delicious, hot meal. Ciara insisted on sitting next to Dee again, and while they ate she began to drill Dee about why the kite didn’t work today. Dee patiently explained that the kite needed a stronger breeze to fly. Ciara seemed mollified by this, but she continued to look grumpy anyway.

Shadow tried to steal some venison jerky off of Aran’s plate. Aran quickly pulled it away, seemed to have second thoughts, then pulled a piece off. He tossed it to Shadow, but missed. As it flew wide, Shadow blinked up to catch it. Aran laughed, tossing another. Soon, all of the children were trying to get Shadow to blink after the pieces of jerky they were tossing.

Xan chuckled as he watched. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Taika coming over to sit next to him.

“She really is a remarkable creature,” she said.

Xan watched Shadow blink up to catch some jerky that had been flung high above the Ember Sang. Just as she was about to land on the crystal, she blinked again, reappearing on the ground next to it. Xan chuckled again. Then he noticed that Taika looked uneasy. She opened her mouth as if to say something, closed it, then tried again:

“Were you able to do what you needed to do?” she asked.

Without realizing it, Xan reached up to fiddle with the gold chain around his neck. Despite how well things went with Jutha, he wasn’t prepared to talk about it with anyone. Instead, he quickly tried to redirect the conversation.

“Did you come over to make small talk, or is there something on your mind?” he asked, trying to stay casual.

Taika’s pursed her lips. She continued to watch the children’s antics for a moment longer. Then she turned to Xan and gave him an eager look.

“I want to go with you to Vaimea,” she said.