Under a Starless Sky

Chapter 8

The induction ceremony to become an apprenticed Sister was not a secret affair. Men and women

were invited to witness. It was meant to be informative and inspirational. It was meant to encourage

respect for the Sleeping Forest. There were people from Midelay, and province outside of West

Midelay, along with a party from Easterly. Midelay was in charge of the ceremony. Fourteen candidates

were accepted. Candace was one of them.

The group in attendance stood some distance from the forest. The candidates were lined up ready to

go. N’Ma instructed them. “Just within the edge of the Sleeping Forest, there are painted trees. The first

three to touch such a tree and return here will be apprenticed. Go.”

The girls ran. The girl in the lead ran as if she knew nothing about Sleeping Trees. She didn’t trip over

a root. Her speed and momentum from running and jumping made her foot ‘tap’ significant enough that

the tree responded. A psychic burst put her to sleep, along with the girl that was right beside her,

competing to be first. They both went down hard.

Shen immediately moved as if he were going to render air, but G’Ma tripped him. “What the hell is

wrong with you?”

Candace was spread out from the groups, wanting to avoid being taken out by someone else’s

misstep. There was audible gossip about her being coached. Six girls, Candace included, made it to

the thick of the Forest. The light only penetrated so far, shadows seemed alive, indicating a silent

rustling of leaves. Candice hesitated at this boundary. Inside, clearly marked by human hands, were

Sleeper Trees painted from root to about the height of an adult’s reach. She chose one and went in, her

speed cautiously reduced. There was no clear, fast track to a tree, as roots went in every direction,

crossing each other. If she stayed feet to earth only, she risked breaking an ankle if she fell. She put a

hand on a tree, singing softly to it. Prayerful, asking permission to touch it. She balanced on a root and

went in. She made it to the painted tree, and saw another, just beyond this. It was this side of Heart’s

Wall, and visible. She tried to stay Heart, but the sound around her, and the flickering of light through

trees kept bring her out. If she closed her eyes, the movement of leaves reminded her of fire. She went

to the next, deeper painted tree. There was another deeper in. She looked back. She could see out.

One of her peers met her eyes, smiled, and went further in. Candace went in. Her Heart confused her.

There were a circle of trees all around, tightly enough that if she thought she were enclosed by trees.

With her eyes, she could discern darkness and lightness, and knew which way was back by this alone.

There was no painted trees behind her. She circled her tree, and found that painted side was on one

side. She circled their tree, and headed back, drawing a straight line from painted side out. She was

baffled to find herself emerging simultaneously with another sister. She felt for sure they would have

been ahead. The one that emerged with her had gone as deep, if not further in, as she. There were

more girls at the edge, asleep. Had they hit a root? As she and her fellow candidate emerged, a thud

sounded. A Master had shot a bolt from a cross bow and tagged one of the trees. As she went down,

she saw two other bolts. She and her peer slept.

Shen went forwards.

“Hold your ground, or I will make you sleep,” Lanore said.

The group dispersed into smaller groups, sat down on the Earth and on blankets, and began to eat and

drink. Lanore, Tell, and Neva sat at their campsite with their apprentices and their families.

“Come on,” Tama said.

Shen looked to her and then approached Lanore. “L’Ma, I am worried.”

“Boys will do that,” Lanore said, garnering appreciative smiles from her group.

“They could be hurt,” Shen tried.

Lanore looked at him. “They could be. They may die. This is not your concern.”

“This is the way it has always been done, boy,” G’Ma said.

Shen started to walk away.

“Where are you going?” Tama called.

“Home,” Shen said.

“Come back and sit your ass down here,” G’Ma said.

Shen was in tears. “You sent your own daughter out there to die?!”

Lanore clinched her hands. She stood. “You think I don’t know? You think any mother here doesn’t

know what’s in line for us? We do what we do, all of us. The sooner you come to grips with reality, the

easier this path will be for you. Get over here, sit down, eat your meal, and stop emoting like 2 year old!

You’re not Fiver.”

“No!” Shen said.

Lanore tagged his forehead with the palm of her hand. He went down as easily as the Candidates,

sound asleep.

“It’s about time you…”

Lanore hit her mother. She fell over sideways, sound asleep against Ceolla who eased her all the way

to the ground.

“Anyone else tired?” Lanore asked.

No one from her group met her eyes. Tell seemed amused. Neva struggled not to judge. Tama’s eyes

were on her knees. Someone from another group met Lanore’s eyes.

“Mind your own camp. And accuse me of coaching again, and I will have your hide,” Lanore said.

Tell and Neva got up and managed to get Lanore to walk with them without it being apparent they were

trying to coach her. She calmed as they drew out of earshot of the gathering.

“What is wrong with me?” Lanore asked.

“Maybe we should give the boy more information. He only reacts emotionally when he is concerned for

the wellbeing of others,” Neva said.

“I am confused by all this double talk. Treat him like a boy, I get grief, and now you want me treat him

like a woman, make him privy to our ways?” Lanore asked. “It’s not his place.”

“It’s his place to care for the tribe,” Neva said.

“He challenged me in public!” Lanore said.

“He can’t challenge you in public,” Tell said. “He can’t question you in private.”

“You agree with Neva?” Lanore asked.

“No. Her kind are much too soft on males,” Tell said. “But then, if you make anyone sleep in water they

drown. So, naturally their way is different.”

“But you would do something different here?” Lanore said.

“He knows things,” Tell said.

“Useless things,” Lanore said.

“He knows things with so much confidence that you’re not going to beat compliance into him,” Tell said.

“False things,” Lanore said.

“The validity of his beliefs are irrelevant,” Tell said. “He will respond to those beliefs, then to ours. He is

resistant to our ways, but he has shown willingness to understand, to negotiate. That is something.”

“You can’t negotiate with crazy. Rabbits and science and nonsense words that mean nothing, gift us

nothing,” Lanore said.

“Have either of you entertained that he is a tree tulpa?” Neva asked.

Both Lanore and Tell looked at her sideways. A slight breeze touched them and Neva offered her

empty hands as if that was evidence enough.

“You know the stories. The Trees were the first people standing. They created us to care for the world

and the sea, so there can be more plants,” Neva went on. “Some of these people they created were

spectacularly useful, like the ant and bee people and the glow beetle people, and the bird people. They

were the first to distribute the seeds of life. Tree Sprites, fairies, unicorns, elves, all of these beings are

simply manifestation of the trees. As the trees aged, their sophistication in bringing forth life increased.

We, the people, are also manifestations of the trees. Each of us is tree spirit, dreaming of being human,

and when we die we return to the tree, bringing them stories of the minute world. They hold the ages,

we hold the days. Each incarnation of us lives on in the spirit of the tree, giving them a measure.”

“Have you been drinking spirits?” Lanore asked.

“I thought you were going to say we all return to the ocean,” Tell said.

“Trees. Oceans. They’re all one,” Neva said.

“How do you figure?”

“The ocean is in the trees. The trees are in the ocean. The earth is in the trees, the trees are in the

earth. The air is in the tree, and the trees are in the air,” Neva said. “We walk the earth they hold

together, we move through air and water that they give us. We are all one.”

“We are all one,” Lanore repeated. She repeated it as she, too, had heard it. She accepted it as sacred,

but said it like reciting multiplication tables.

“I heard Shen say the Sleeping Forest was likely one tree. He said it was similar to Pando, the

Trembling Giant,” Tell said.

“Meaningless. Absurd. Look at that. Does that look like one tree?” Lanore asked.

“It looks like one forest,” Neva said.

“Says the girl who says all trees look alike,” Lanore said.

“Says the girl who thinks all waves look alike,” Neva said.

Lanore chuckled. “I love both of you.”

The group cheered. They hurried back to see one of the girls get up. She was staggering to her feet.

She seemed confused. She turned as if hearing something. She walked into the forest to never be

seen again. The father raged and had to be brought down to his knees where he pounded the earth

and was sedated by a nearby Master. Candace got up next. She, too, staggered. She walked towards

the group. Stopped. She turned back to the forest. She took steps towards the forest. Tell and Neva

took Lanore’s hands in theirs. She paused inside the forest. She took a step forwards. She touched a

tree, kissed it, turned and walked back to the group, to her family. Lanore hugged her fiercely. She

didn’t hug back. She was clearly dazed and full of questions.

She led with, “Why is G’Ma and Shen sleeping?”

They offered her food, she accepted water, and then she threw up. Tell had a bucket ready to catch it.

N’Ma came and examined her. She checked her eyes, her temperature, and listened to her heart.

“If you had a vision, do not share it,” N’Ma said. “It would be best if you sleep, if you can. Also, I want

you to leave Tama and Shen with me for a spell, maybe a full season.”

Lanore bowed, “Of course, N’Ma. Should I leave Ceolla?”

“I think I can handle a child or two,” N’Ma said. “I got them. I will return them to you.”

Lanore bowed.

They had a space set for Candace. They unrolled blankets and she took to it. She was asleep when

the next girl came about, about an hour later. This girl rose from her sleep, heard something and

started running, neither towards the group, nor towards the forest. She hit a root and went down again.

She fell over top of another girl. They would both be lying there the next day, when the bodies were

allowed to be recovered. Another girl got up and started yelling at the forest. She remained yelling until

she was recovered. Another girl got up and walked back. She didn’t speak. She did go to sleep, but

she never spoke again. Another girl came out, she spoke, she had a bite to eat, and then asked if she

could be excused. She laid down and took a nap. Both she and Candace woke up the next day,

functioning, but different. They were each accepted by a Master, said goodbye to their family, and were

led away.

The remainder of the ceremony was gathering the Sleeping. They were cremated as one on a funeral

fire. The father whose daughter had gone into the woods slipped into the forest while eyes were on the

fire. He was never seen again.