#ravenea

Tracery awoke and stretched his tattered wings. He groaned quietly and Castalia’s worry increased. He didn’t seem to realize she was awake.

“Are you all right, darling?” Castalia asked him quietly.

“No,” he said after a long moment. 

“Are the futures overlapping?” She was referring to when multiple possibilities cluttered over the present making it hard to differentiate them, the way he had lived until she arrived.  

“No, because there is only one future now, a future that will not be silenced,” he said, a strange acceptance entering his voice. Castalia felt an icy grip take hold of her heart.

“I’m going to die tomorrow, Castalia. There is nothing to be done about it. I must attend to one last task before it happens however. I will need your help and Ravenea’s help. Please send for him in the morning,” he explained. The calmness with which he spoke disturbed her deeply. She began to silently weep. His gift was so complete that he couldn’t even be frightened or angry over his own imminent death. He couldn’t even be sorry he would leave her alone.

“I’m sorry, Castalia.”

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Castalia got up before the first light. Tracery had mercifully returned to sleep, but she had lain awake until she gave up on sleeping. Ravenea would be deep in the swamps anyway, so someone would have to be sent to find him and that could take ages. Might as well get an early start.

Initially she was unsure of who to ask, but then bumped into Laura by chance. She asked Laura if she wouldn’t mind fetching her father, that Tracery needed a favor from him. She agreed and went straightaway. Castalia returned to the den where Tracery was still sleeping. She sat there, watching him breath, trying to savor it. She couldn’t.

When it started to properly be daylight, she woke him gently. She told him she had sent for Ravenea and asked if there was anything else he needed. 

“I’ll need some breakfast, but after that I need to speak with Barume, Strerra, and then with Seizan and Rei,” he said, stretching. She resented his calmness. Her resentment didn’t stop her from wondering what he wanted with Seizan and Rei. The first two, his best friend and his half sister made sense. Castalia had never even seen him speak with the other two, why spend time with them on his last day?

“Let’s go to breakfast then,” she said.

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At breakfast, Carnation approached Tracery with a letter. The exterior indicated it was from Indicolite, the dragon he had sacrificed his wings to save. Once again she thanked him for saving her and that her husband thought she ought to write him and tell him that his sacrifice had not been in vain. Included were portraits of her two new children. He studied the portraits for a long time with a slight smile on his face. He asked Carnation for paper and an envelope so he could send a reply. He spent a long time writing silently. Castalia read over his shoulder as he expressed his pride in how far she had gone and congratulated her on her two beautiful children. He did not write of his impending death.

After the letter was sent and breakfast finished, he sought to speak with Barume. Barume, as always, made time for his oldest friend. His warmth died however, when he heard the news.

“So, there is no preventing this?” he asked. Tracery shook his head.

“I see. This is not happy news, my dear friend. I cannot lie and say that I will simply accept this,” he said, anger tinting his voice.

“You must. My clock stops tonight. You have always been wise, my friend, be wise now. Let us talk together for a time about our lives and friendship, rather than wrestle fruitlessly with fate,” Tracery said tenderly. Barume’s expression softened and Castalia thought he would cry, but he didn’t.

“All right. Let us talk of old times.”

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Strerra, on the other hand, did cry. Castalia couldn’t blame her, Tracery was her last family left. Finding out that she was losing him was devastating to her. It was the most emotion Castalia had ever seen her express. Tracery held her for a long time as she cried. They didn’t talk of old times, but they did assure one another of how much they loved each other and Strerra said over and over that she would miss him terribly. It was an unhappy spectacle to watch.

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Finally, Ravenea arrived and Castalia went to fetch Seizan and Rei. Seizan was not known for his friendliness, being a member of the Dolichos family, and Rei was deaf so she rarely interacted with others. The Clan knew that she could be communicated with and some saw Seizan use hand gestures, but they kept to themselves so no one knew how to communicate with her. Castalia felt a bit intimidated when she went to their den. 

“Excuse me, Tracery needs to speak with you, if you could come with me?” she said, projecting her voice into the den. Seizan had a fairly large wingspan for a Skydancer and he used it now to seem larger than he was. He eyed her suspiciously as he sat on his haunches, wings partially outstretched.

“What does he want?” he asked at length. Castalia felt impatient, but tried not to show it.

“He wants an audience with both of you. He would not ask if it was not important. Please fetch your mate and come with me,” she said firmly. Seizan gave her a resentful glance before turning back into the den for a moment. He was joined by Rei, who was quite small for a Pearlcatcher, only half Castalia’s size in fact. Windchimes hung from her wings, tinkling gently as she moved. Rei stared quizzically at Castalia. Seizan gestured with his hands and seemingly mouthed the words, “she needs to take us to see someone”. Rei simply nodded in response.

“Okay, let’s go,” Seizan said, suddenly impatient.

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“Well, I got everyone you wanted. Are you going to explain what this is about now?” Castalia whispered to Tracery. Tracery gave her a look and she fell silent. 

“I’m glad we could bring you all together so early in the day. I have a very unique request today. Seizan, Rei has a latent talent for clairvoyance. This clan has not been without a seer for a long time, we need to keep that advantage as a warrior clan. My talent tells me that today is my last. To pass away in peace I must know that the clan will not be without a seer. With Ravenea’s help, we can bring that talent out, but I don’t want to do it without her consent. It is a difficult burden to bear, it should not be taken lightly,” Tracery explained, making sure to face Rei so that she could watch his lips. Seizan seemed taken aback at Tracery’s announcement. He looked at Rei, who was waiting for him to communicate with her. He spent a moment processing the information before he began to “talk” with her. She responded a few times. The three other Pearlcatchers watched the exchange in silence. Castalia glanced at Ravenea, who seemed nonplussed by the whole business. Perhaps, as a spellcaster so intimately familiar with death, had known what he had been summoned for all along, or perhaps he realized what was happening when he saw Tracery. Whatever the reason, he was even calmer than Tracery. After a lengthy discussion, Seizan turned back to Tracery. 

“She says she will do it. Please begin,” he said quietly. From then on it was Ravenea’s show. He beckoned Tracery and Rei to sit opposite one another in a circle he had drawn on the ground. He stood on his hind legs and placed his hand on Tracery’s head. He outstretched his hand to Rei and seemed to be seeking where to touch her for a time. After a few moments of slowly moving his hand around her face, her took hold of her ear. He began to chant under his breath. Castalia reached out to touch his mind, to find what he was doing. A darkness assaulted her and she pulled back. Ravenea opened his eyes briefly and bored into her with a deadly stare. She instead focused on Rei, who was about to be blasted with new sensory information. She would need to help her adjust.

Her mind was filled with a perfect silence, then, suddenly, there was the faintest sound of a windchime. Castalia watched as Ravenea pulled his hand away from her ear and there, where there had been nothing, was now hanging an ethereal windchime. Rei’s eyes widened as she heard the sound. Castalia was amazed and totally baffled all at once. Had the process worked? How was the future to be found through this?

She looked over at Tracery, who was smiling peacefully. She returned her mind to Rei, communicating to her gently what that sound was. She was startled when Seizan spoke.

“She knows what that sound is. She is thankful for your help, Castalia, but she doesn’t need it.” Castalia looked at him, Rei gave her a slight nod. She gestured to Seizan and he translated.

“The future is secure in me, Tracery. You can go in peace now. Thank you for this gift,” he said, respect and gratitude in his tone.

“Thank you, Rei, Ravenea. This will allow me to rest in peace,” Tracery said. Castalia began to feel angry, but before any of that anger could spill over, Tracery addressed her.

“My love, let’s go for a long walk together. I want to spend the rest of my time with you.” Castalia blushed and felt guilty for her anger. He had been getting everything out of the way so he could focus on her in his last hours. She smiled and nodded, keeping resolute until they got outside and a bit away from the lair entrance. Finally, she wept openly. Tracery pulled her into an embrace and led her to the shade of a tree. There, he let her cry and rage against the ending of their time together. Castalia worked to eventually calm herself. She wanted their remaining time together to be as happy as possible.

They talked for a long time and as the sun began to set, they just held each other. Castalia had almost forgotten the reality of the situation when she felt him slowly begin to slip away. 

“Castalia,” Tracery whispered.

“Yes, Tracery?” she gasped.

“I love you,” he said, his eyes beginning to flicker.

“I love you too,” she said, hugging him tightly. She dove after him in his mind, chasing desperately behind him as the lights flickered out and the future died. She almost caught up when she heard his voice.

“Go back, Castalia, you cannot follow me now. You belong to the future still.”

She pulled herself slowly from his mind and held his cooling body. His muscles slackened and his pearl, still set with its fortune telling grooves, rolled free.