Auhrnyah's Arc

Chapter 7 of 7

Auhrnyah asked Tak to teach her the healing rite. She told him Nerion's world was dying, that his children were failing, that they had no time. The old man listened. His hands shook in his lap. When she finished, he shook his head slowly. "You ask me to hand you the words," Tak said. "The rite is not words. It cannot pass from mouth to ear." He gripped his knees to steady his hands. "A rite you only heard would die with you. First you must wake a living crystal alone. If you cannot, I have nothing to give." Auhrnyah felt the weight settle on her. "Show me one, then." Tak led her behind the domed hall. A tall crystal stood there, taller than three men. Its facets glowed a bright teal, jagged and sharp. Pink light flickered deep inside it. "This one still breathes," he said. "Reach for it. Not with your hands." She pressed her palms to the cool stone. Nothing came. Her orbs drifted close and dimmed. She pushed harder, willing the crystal to answer. It stayed silent. The teal glow did not shift. Sweat gathered on her brow. "You are pushing," Tak said behind her. "The stone does not answer force. It answered your dream. It answered the man. Stop taking. Listen." Auhrnyah closed her eyes. She let her hands rest without pressing. She thought of the dream that had kept her from sleep. The wall of lavender crystal. The man she had chased across her own nights. The orbs that only burned bright for him. She let that longing fill her chest and did not force it toward the stone. She simply held it. The crystal warmed under her palms. A hum rose from deep inside it, low at first, then rising. The teal light brightened. Pink veins spread across every facet like water finding cracks. Her orbs flared and spun close, blazing brighter than she had ever seen them. The beacon pulsed once, hard, and light washed over the settlement wall. Auhrnyah opened her eyes. The crystal was awake. It pulsed in time with her breath. Tak stared at the glowing beacon. For a long moment he said nothing. Then he lowered himself to the ground, slow and careful, and reached for her hand. "It has been alone as long as I have," he said. His voice broke. "You woke it. Now I can teach you." Relief flooded her. Then Tak's grip loosened. His head dipped. His breath came shallow and fast. "But not today," he whispered. "I am more tired than I thought. Come at first light. Come every day. I do not know how many I have left." Auhrnyah steadied the old man against her. The crystal still glowed at her back. She had proven she could wake the stone. Now the rite was hers to earn, one fading day at a time, against a clock she could not slow.