Under a Starless Sky

Chapter 2

N’Ma’s village, Midelay, was built into the side of a cliff, with one narrowing path up, followed by an S

shaped bridge that led to the main entrance. The bridge had no walls or barricade. Those who didn’t

follow the heart would not arrive at the gate. Anyone who used a torch or a staff light would likely be

shot the moment the touched the bridge. Three guards emerged and came out onto the bridge. One

came silently forwards. Lanore stepped forwards. Lanore brought her hands together and bowed.

“Forgive my intrusion at this time of night, but I wish to see N’Ma,” Lanore said.

“Lanore,” the guard said. “I hear your voice, and my heart recognizes you. Come in out of the dark.”

They followed the guard in, and only after the doors were closed did the lights come up. Wall torches

fueled by gas. The guards measured the travelers under the light and found the information consistent

with their hearts. Eirwen was a strange bird. She was ghost white, thick muscles, tall, and blond, and

considered one of the ugliest women to ever show up this side of Tamor. Her continued existence was

due to N’ma’s mercy. She was found and raised into the light of the Heart Path clan, and though she

would likely never rise higher than village guard, she was esteemed for her courage. Her courage

made up for her ugliness. Compared to the others, she was an alien.

“Your attendants seem too old to be in training,” Eirwen said.

“We’re not training,” Tesh said.

“Forgive me. I see no injuries, and I assumed an explanation,” Eirwen said. “Shey will escort you to

N’Ma. Toli will escort your attendants to a room.”

“You assume we will be separated,” Tesh said.

“She assumed right. I will speak with N’Ma alone,” Lanore said. “Go, rest. Thank you for accompanying

me.”

“It is our duty,” Tesh said.

Lanore bowed. She followed Shey down a corridor, up a corridor, up a winding stairs, over to a room

where she was offered a place to bathe, fresh linen, and then brought to another room where she was

left to herself. There was a fireplace. A table with fruits and cheese. She warmed herself by the fire.

N’Ma entered. She did so without knocking. Her face was old, but her eyes seemed much younger than

her face. If asked, she would explain if you use your heart to peer into the darkness, your eyes will stay

young. She measured the room with her heart before entering in further. She avoided eye contact,

going past Lanore to the fire to warm her hands.

“What’s the matter, child,” Neri asked.

“I’m concerned. I felt movement, and distress. Surely it’s too soon for such activity,” Lanore said.

“Have you been thinking about re-absorption?” Neri asked.

“No, N’Ma! I plan to bring it to full term, and share life,” Lanore affirmed.

“Tian!” N’Ma called out.

Tian, her apprentice, was suddenly in the door way. “Yes, N’Ma. How may I serve you?”

“Fetch me a lavender candle, two of the sandal wood scent sticks, lilac mint drops, and the rose oil,”

N’Ma said.

Tian bowed, withdrawing. Neri asked Lanore to follow her to her office. The office contained a stone

table, several chairs, a wooden desk that stretched the length of the wall, and above the desk book

cases. She opened a valve and fresh water flowed into a basin, down a path, and dropped into a hole

that took it out. Neri washed her hands to the elbows in a ritualistic manner, chanting a few sacred

words her own teacher use to chant, shook her hands in the air and then dried it with a white towel.

When her hands were dry, she turned off the water with the towel. She turned to find Tian with a tray

containing the things she had asked for. They lit candles and placed it on thin pillars that stood higher

than the stone table. Tian withdrew, but remained in the room.

Lanore had taken a seat on the table. She didn’t need to be asked to sit. It was part of the ritual. She

was once as Tian was now.

“May I touch you?” Neri asked.

In many cultures, the doctor or Shaman wouldn’t have even asked the patient or client for permission,

but would have just assumed the right from their role in society.

“Of course, N’Ma,” Lanore said.

The first thing Neri did was put her left hand upon Lanore’s forehead, closed her eyes, and leaned in

close to her. She inhaled slowly, observing the smell of Lanore’s breath, her hair, and then her ear. With

her eyes still closed, both hands came up to examine the head, manipulating it ever so carefully

through angles of articulation. She continued this down to the neck. She pulled the string and allowed

her dress to fall to her waist. She extended arms, and moved the limb through its points of articulation,

even the fingers, and came back to feel under the armpits. She examined the breast. She moved her to

lay down. The cold stone caused her back to arch. N’Ma reached in and felt the small of her back,

traced up to the stomach, feeling, tapping. He held her hand over the stomach for a moment, as if

trying to discern something. She followed the sternum up to the heart and placed her hand over the

heart. She came up again to her mouth, smelling, and pushed on her cheeks, drawing down on her

chin, and opened her mouth.

N’Ma leaned in and kissed Lanore. She held this kiss for a moment, breathing in, tasting. She came up

and away. Neri opened her eyes, and examined Lanore’s mouth, inserting her fingers in, scrutinizing

the teeth and the gums. Neri went to her desk and unwrapped a thin piece of amber, which had the

strange property of self illumination. She asked Lanore to open her mouth wide and used the amber to

push down on the tongue, examined the back of the throat. She cleaned the amber and returned it to

the cloth, leaned against the desk and studied her patient.

She motioned Lanore to bring her dress up and had a seat at her desk. She closed her eyes and

thought for a long time.

“Have you changed any of your routines, your diet?”

“No, Nean,” Lanore said.

“Did the mating occur indoors or out?” N’Ma asked.

“Outdoors,” Lanore said. “In the ocean, actually. The father is Nevin, one of the sailors who works on

my sister’s ship. We were playing in the waves...”

Neri waved off, not wanting more information. She mumbled something about ‘water babies’ being

difficult. Still, babies conceived in play were healthier than the other kind, and water-born children

seemed to have an easier transition. She continued to shift past her inner dialogue into Heart, seeking

truth.

“Is something bothering you?” Neri asked.

“Everything is fine, N’Ma,” Lanore said.

Neri frowned. “Are you certain? No troubles with your new apprentice? Clan drama you are not wanting

to speak about?”

“My apprentice is an intelligent young woman. She will make a fine replacement for me, or perhaps

even run her own Light in the near future,” Lanore said, neither boasting nor bragging.

“I taste fear in you, more than just being concerned for the safety of your child can account for…” Neri

said. “Would you lay down again, please?”

Lanore laid back on the table, and Neri probe her stomach, abdomen, and again asked permission to

probe further. She laid an ear on the stomach and listened. She went and retrieved a wand with a

crystal embedded in it. She lit it and examined between Lanore’s legs. When Neri finished, she again

washed her hands, and asked Lanore to sit up. She took several herbs from her shelf and asked

Lanore to hold them in her right hand, while she performed a muscle strength test. She sighed,

replaced the herbs with a crystal, executed the muscle test again, and did this, exchanging the crystal

for a mineral, and doing this a dozen times.

“I don’t detect an infection,” N’Ma said.

“I could have told you that. I feel fine. My heart is telling me something is different,” Lanore said.

“I can find neither a physical abnormality, nor an emotional cause for this imbalance…”

Lanore quivered.

(Light flared, and the only thing that prevented an onslaught of memories was a fixation on one

particular item. A book he had read, how long ago, in that other place… “Johnny Get Your Gun…” Now

why would I be fixating on that? Oh my god! No Eyes. My Eyes! No Ears, no sounds. I can’t hear and I

can’t even hear my own voice… No voice! A silent, nightmare type screamed echoed through the far

reaches of his mind. He felt weighted down, told himself it was sleep paralysis, couple with fever

dream. There was warmth. He gave into the warmth. He slept.)

“Oh my god!” Lanore said. “Tell me you felt that?”

Neri nodded. She laid her back on the bed and again put her ears against Lanore’s stomach.

“Are you certain of your conception date?” Neri asked.

“I’ve only had one encounter, N’Ma.”

Neri nodded. She went and sat down by the fire, inviting Lanore to do the same. Lanore came to the

chair by the fire and sat, adjusting her dress, pulling the shoulder back up. Neri took up a stick and

prodded the fire.

“Is it bad?” Lanore said.

Neri came out of the fire and stared at Neri. “It is neither good nor bad. It is what it is.”

“What is it?” Lanore asked.

“I tasted fear,” Neri said.

“I am not afraid,” Lanore said.

Neri laughed. “You came rushing to me just after night fall, and you claim you weren’t motivated such?”

“I was concerned,” Lanore said.

Neri smirked. “Fear is fear. Love is love. That is all. There is a great deal of fear in you. I didn’t say it

was yours, but it has influenced you. Heart Path Clan or no, you could have waited till morning. This is

not something that will be cured with an herbal tea and a talk,” Neri said. “I have taught you better

patience than this.”

Lanore nodded. “Not my fear? The baby?”

Neri studied her eyes. “The way I figure it is, either you are bringing in a soul so new to this domain, he

is afraid of the light. Or, he is so old a soul, he is refusing to give up his past life.”

“What can I do?”

“Not rush out after night,” Neri said. “Never make a big decision when you’re experiencing emotions.

Time will sort this.”

“How much time?”

“Time enough for birth,” Neri said.

Lanore chewed on a nail, contemplating. “You said boy. I know I am having a girl.”

“You’re having both,” Neri said.

“Twins?!” Lanore said. “That can’t be…”

“Measure again,” Neri said.

Lanore became serious, taking inventory of herself, closing her eyes, and tapping into her Heart. A

vision began to arrive, a map of the room. The fire crackle washed it out, startling her. She redoubled

her focus. There was the room. The fireplace looked strange, painted with the Heart Light. She could

make out the difference in temperature gradients. There was movement, maybe smoke rising. She

focused on her body. There they were, two babies. Way too young to discern gender. Way too young to

discern anything other than her Heart told her they were there. She came out of her Light.

“How did miss this?”

“I don’t know,” Neri said.

“How do you know one is male?”

“Flavor,” Neri said.

“When will I be as discerning as you?” Lanore said.

“When you have lived so long that no one remembers your real name, and you become L’Ma for the

remainder of your life,” Neri said.

“What was your birth name?” Lanore said.

“Child, that person is no longer with us. There is only N’Ma,” Neri said.