The ocean's voice was lower than usual. Ardin wondered if there was an early winter storm looming off the horizon... but usually, that was a louder voice. Perhaps this was something more prophetic than usual... a warning from the guardians of the deep.
He hoped the weather would hold.
He was glad of his anticipated journey to Ilim City in the morning. He had many creations to sell. Hopefully, the throng of voters would be enticed to become buyers for the weekend and part with their hard-earned cash to help him buy needed supplies.
The remote roads were dilapidated following the conversion of society to wheel-less traffic. Sure, for the past twenty years, local travel had returned to less-advanced methods, but most still traveled by hoverbus if they were going into the city, small as it was. The wealthiest could afford the severe taxes for a hoverbil, but Ardin only had an antiquated bicycle and a small trailer. As no one in the elite cared about the roads this far out, they were in poor repair requiring one to become proficient in tire repair in order to ride anywhere.
People often thought he was at least 20 years older than he was, but maybe that was because he didn't cut his hair and was very knowledgeable in anything which interested him. Maybe it was because people made him feel old...
The past fifteen years since the deaths of his parents and siblings in a battle and explosion in Ilim City had been drudgery. He barely had enough to live on, still living in the shock of loss and the inability to trust those who had been placed above him.
He carefully packed up his beads, paintings, collages, seashell buttons and all his many treasures that he offered to buyers once a month. It didn't make sense to make the trip more often, and to be honest with himself, he didn't enjoy the company of people that much to make more of an effort.
When he grew lonely, he turned on his old-fashioned radio. True, the analog signals had not been broadcast for as long as he had been alive, but a little tinkering around found that he could receive the audio signals put out by the HoloNet Media news programs. Not that he trusted them. The big corporation pretty much had the monopoly on Terrenden news. They more-or-less owned the news... And no competition means a degradation in quality, by definition.
Before going to bed, Ardin went back outside to listen to the ocean... He wondered what the new sound meant. Maybe it was nothing. But that didn’t put his mind to rest.
He retreated to his upstairs bedroom. He added that to the old beach-hut shortly after he arrived. It gave that little bit of extra security in the event of an extra high tide. He did worry about tsunami, but he really didn't have many options anyway, and his bicycle could give him a means of escape – at least as far as the bluffs down the coast road. If a tsunami was higher than that, well, then that would be the end for him. There weren’t many places on the Isle of Varkevand which were safe in that event.
The sound of the ocean was also his lullaby at night. The constant sound like the beating of Terrenden's very heart... comforting... and he was asleep.
The A’mara of Varkevand were having a late meeting in last-minute preparation for the elections the next day. The leader of the group paced the room as was usual for him, his forest green cloak fluttered behind him, the customary fringe of the abári glinting green in the lights.
“We need to change some of our assignments for the next two days – and increase our level of vigilance and security,” Laisen began.
“What’s going on?” Alyona asked her father. “Although party tensions have been higher than usual, surely it’s nothing more than heated party politics, right?”
“I wish it were as simple as that, Alyona. A couple of days ago, I received a communication from Saraca relaying a credible threat to the elections,” Laisen began. He waited for the predictable response. “I wasn’t too worried because I didn’t think it would change how we handled things. I always keep a close eye on the elections, but did take measures to keep a closer eye than usual.” He omitted the fact that he was also told to keep a very close eye on his wife, Jessten.
“Today, however,” Laisen continued. “She talked to me again. One of her charges had woken her up in the middle of the night to investigate a bad feeling of his, which has turned out to be quite credible – that her original warning about Gaskarii (and the reason she sent two A’mara there to begin with, one of whom died) came from the man suspected of causing the blast to begin with – Dr. Jasper Jarly. In other words, the whole thing was a trap from the word ‘go,’
“This means, of course, that our own vigilance must increase to extreme levels – to the level that, honestly, some of us should be monitoring the elections starting right now… to make sure no one has the chance to set up bombs or otherwise destroy the peace of our elections. Our primary job, after all is to help keep the peace.”
“We will keep watch tonight,” Laisen’s daughter, Alyona volunteered herself and her boyfriend Tamryn. A maqla/chola team volunteered as well.
“Excellent. Keep an eye on our complex, the polling places and the market itself, I can’t think of a better place to cause mayhem than the marketplace,” Laisen said. “Keep your senses open and your connection to the leya strong and healthy. Feel the problem before you get a chance to see it.”
“Tomorrow,” Laisen continued. “We will need to have A’mara monitoring all these places more, even more vigilantly than tonight. Previous assignments are canceled or postponed, this election and the following market are the only things important for the next three days. Jessten will be helping me keep an eye on communications here. We will have our PCS links on ‘open mode’ to ensure we have instant contact with one another.”
“Kami and I can monitor the market itself, Abári,” Moxara volunteered herself and her chola.
“Good. Semyon, Tasya and Inessa, I need you three to help keep the market area polling station safe and keep an eye on the headquarters across the street.”
“Has anyone heard anything about the Neví regarding this election?” Jessten asked.
“You mean other than their confidence of winning?” Tamryn replied.
“They are always confident,” Jessten replied to the young man.
“Technically, they aren’t running,” Alyona said. “They just support the Terrenden Freedom Party.”
“There’s always one,” Alyona’s younger sister, Katya said, rolling her eyes. Their younger sister Lubara almost stifled a giggle. Jessten glared the two into silence. Laisen did the same before grinning inwardly to her. They really did appreciate the camaraderie their daughters had – when it wasn’t in an important meeting, anyway.
“Main points,” Laisen said recovering. “Help with set-up as appropriate. Keep eyes open for anything which may indicate trouble. Help keep things running smoothly and watch for signs of corruption. Basically, be A’mara!”
Glossary Supplement
- abári – (uh-BAR-ee) – the title for the local or global leader of the A’mara
- A’mara – (uh-MAR-uh) - a sub-race of highly-gifted people on Terrenden, usually genetically-marked with red hair. Also the name for the country from which they originated, on the continent of Almara.
- chola – (CHO-luh) - the (usually) teen-aged apprentice of a full A’mara.
- leya – (LAY-uh) – the invisible grid of energy that surrounds and comprises all things – which A’mara are trained to utilize.
- maqla – (MACK-luh) - the teacher and mentor of an apprenticed A’mara.
- PCS link - (PEE-see-ess) - a wearable (usually wrist-worn) version of a communications device, originally marketed by Portable Communications Systems, but now used colloquially for any such device.
Please catch up!
Rebound of Power is available at a digital store near you! It’s also still FREE – if you’re digital store has a price, try another! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free.
Friendship on Fire is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free – limited time only.
Courage to Trust is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free – limited time only.
Elect to Change is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It’s also still available at Dbooks for free – limited time only.
Ocean of Empathy is available at a digital store near you for $2.99! It has not yet been released on Steemit or Dbooks.
At which point, the Rebound of Power collection will be completed.
Don’t forget!
I’m still offering 1 Steem Basic Income share for any newbie (100 SP or less) who asks me a question which prompts an “Ask the Author” post! I’m thinking about putting these into a Dbooks ebook all its own, actually.
Image Credits:
Cover art based on image from Pexels – creative commons, no attribution required.
Shaze based on a katana from Pixabay – creative commons, no attribution required.
Shaze chapter ender from Wikipedia Commons – used within terms of license – sword adapted for use as a shaze.
Grass texture for maps from Pixabay
All maps/editing by myself on GIMP and Photoscape, both free programs.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Although the penalty of knowing me in real life is that you will influence the creation of my characters; any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Writing and artwork copyright myself 2005-2018 – all rights reserved.
If you are interested in helping me publish these works, please contact me on Facebook or Discord, viking-ventures#2883.
Lori Svensen – A'mara Books & Viking Visual
Banner by @shai-hulud
