Gaia's Plea

Gaia's Plea
by Shirley Heelas1

Opening Chapter2

Flashes of crimson, swirls of neon yellow, flickering tongues of orange reaching upwards, the vivid colours appeared with the first spin of the wheel.
Shedeem spun faster, the spokes just a blur. She wanted to draw back from the intensity of the vision, but was transfixed by the images appearing before her.
The fiery tableau quickly cleared, to be replaced by a cold, grey scene. Strange beings scurried about beneath tall shapes in an angry sky.
Shedeem shivered. Her Mazikeen divining powers were peeking into a dark, uninviting place, nothing like her world of beauty and colour. Her frail arms began to tire but she felt compelled to go on, and the wheel kept spinning. The sky in the vision erupted, streaks of light and fire raining down on the towering shapes beneath, chasms opening up at the feet of the terrified creatures.
Shedeem had never before in her young life witnessed such horrendous scenes. None of what she was seeing made any sense. Her heart racing, she finally pulled away from the wheel and lay back.
The bed of dog violets was soft, and she tried to relax as she looked up at the sky. It was clear and blue, with feathery clouds drifting across her line of vision. Summer had passed many moons ago, but the air was still warm and the wind was silent, yet another blissful day beginning in her home region of Jermedia. But now, try as she might to think about the day ahead, the visions would not leave her in peace. Closing her eyes, she found that she could not forget what she had seen. … ‘Why did I spin the wheel this morning?’
Moments passed, but the images remained vivid in her mind. She was often given messages while scrying, but if this was one, she didn’t understand it.
Birds sang in the trees of Kappa Wood. Raising her head, plucking small tufts of moss out of her auburn plaits, she looked across the expanse of heath to where the first trees guarded the entrance to the cool, shadowy woodland.
‘I think I’ll tell the Dryads what I’ve seen. If anyone can explain the visions, they can.’
Walking barefoot across the heather, she stepped lightly onto the cushioning grass of the Pine Glade on the western edges of Kappa Wood.
The sun twinkled a welcome through the canopy of leaves above her head. A bee hawk-moth gathered nectar from the golden flowers in the glade, and the air was perfumed with their blossom. With the breeze softly murmuring through the trees, it was one of her favourite places to spend time, but today her pleasure was spoilt.
Just through the Pine Glade lived her friends the Dryads. Shedeem loved to listen to the storytelling of these female tree nymphs. Living amongst the woodland trees, they were attuned to the essence of the towering oak and ash, and could assimilate knowledge from them.
Sometimes they spoke of esoteric ideas that Shedeem knew little about, but still she liked to sit and listen to their mesmerising voices and the rhythm of the words.
She hadn’t stepped far into the wood before she spotted their naked, mottled brown bodies amongst the entwined branches of a young oak. Shedeem recalled her childhood friends, the Mimis. The Dryads were so much like them, slender and long-limbed, their ephereal bodies hiding in sheltered places because of the wind.
Shedeem greeted them with her usual shy smile. They were older, wiser. She always deemed it a privilege to be allowed to spend time with them. Stick-like arms reached down towards her, bony fingers beckoning her forwards. Spreading her wings, she floated up to join them.
‘Beautiful morning friend. Why do we sense something is amiss with you?’
Their faces wore concerned expressions as the words soundlessly appeared in Shedeem’s head. She never failed to be stunned by their ability to see and know everything. “You’re right, I am worried about something. … One of my visions.”
‘So you have seen something. … We were expecting a happening soon. We can feel unrest in the wind. Jermedia is unsettled. There are bad vibes all around.’
Shedeem settled into a comfortable position in the fork of a branch, trying to relax, although the Dryads’ words so far had far from reassured her.
‘As you get older, you must learn to listen to the cosmos. It will strengthen your powers.’ The subliminal messages came through gently, as the Dryads all smiled warmly at her. But their smiles vanished all too soon. ‘The vibes are giving us feelings of hate. It is all around us in the ether.’
Shedeem remained silent, not understanding why they were talking about hate. She couldn’t feel it.
‘Tell us about your visions.’
Shedeem described as best she could the scenes she’d witnessed while scrying. The Dryads seemed to understand them without any hesitation.
‘Your visions are of another plane of existence. Instead of scrying into our world, you peeked into theirs.’ They seemed to wait briefly for a signal from Shedeem that she’d understood so far. ‘In the world of forms, there are many levels. We exist in one of those levels. The matter in our bodies and everything around us vibrates at a high frequency. But all around us there are other levels of reality, other worlds that exist alongside ours. They occupy the same physical space but vibrate at different frequencies. So the different worlds are invisible to each other.’
Shedeem’s eyes were downcast, her long, white fingers nervously playing with loose threads in her dress. She had heard stories from the Dryads before about other worlds that linked with their own, and the different creatures that were said to live in them. She didn’t really understand all that they had told her. Other worlds existing in parallel with theirs seemed just fantasy.
“But what has that got to do with my visions?” Her eyes momentarily flashed up to search their faces. No reassuring smiles were forthcoming.
‘Your visions are of a world that interconnects with ours. The frightened creatures you saw are its inhabitants. You have been given a glimpse into their reality.’
Shedeem struggled to believe that the place she had seen really existed. It had looked so unlike anything she’d ever known. “But why was I shown it?”
‘Gaia is crying for help. Something bad must be occurring on the vibrational level you witnessed. It is the source of the hate permeating the ether.’
The Dryads never travelled out of Kappa Wood, but she trusted their knowledge and intuition. Knowing they were probably right didn’t make the interpretation of her vision any easier to hear, and the prickly fingers of fear ran up and down her spine. “So why did Gaia show it to me?”
‘The creatures you saw sound like creatures we are aware of. They exist on a lower vibrational level. They are called manochs. Have you heard of them?’
“Yes …in stories…. but they don`t really exist, do they?”
‘It is true that many elemental beings do not believe in them. But that does not mean they do not exist.’ They sensed that she was even more nervous than usual in their presence. She was very young to be given such a message. ‘You have been given a glimpse into the manoch world. Their level is not so subtle as ours. Their limited senses cannot detect us, and ours are too fine to detect them. But there are many sensitives who say they have actually seen these creatures. There are even those who say they have spoken with them.’
“So what do my visions mean?” Shedeem found herself repeating the same question. “Why have I been shown them?”
‘There will be a good reason. … But Gaia usually chooses more experienced souls to do her work.’ They smiled to try to reassure her as their unspoken messages were received. ‘It is said that these manochs do not live in harmony with nature as we do. Gaia is not happy with them. They take from Gaia without giving back. They are disrespectful of her. From your visions, we believe that something bad is happening in their world. Something that Gaia wants to prevent. There must still be a chance to save the manoch world from whatever catastrophe you witnessed. … You have been shown your visions because Gaia wants you to do something.’
“What could I do?” Shedeem spoke very quietly, suddenly feeling very small.
The voices in her head softened. ‘Don’t be afraid. Gaia would not ask you to do something that you weren’t capable of.’ The Dryads’ heads were down, in a deep, silent discussion.
‘We think you should search for these manoch creatures. You need to discover what it is they are doing that is putting their world and ours in danger.’
“Why are we in danger too?” Shedeem’s eyes widened in surprise, their black depths betraying fear within.
‘The two planes are so closely linked that if something truly cataclysmic occurs in the their world, it will also affect ours. … Remember, we occupy the same physical space.’
The sun disappeared behind a cloud and Shedeem shivered, struggling to accept that all that she had been told was true.
“And what if they don’t exist, these manochs?”
There was a collective Dryad smile. ‘Your doubts will vanish in time. But in that unlikely event, then we must find another interpretation for your visions.’
It didn’t seem to Shedeem that she was being given any choice. Inwardly she questioned, ‘Why has Gaia chosen me for this task? I’m too young and not brave or smart enough.’ Hardly had she even thought this than the Dryads answered her. ‘You are wise enough. You should leave us now.’
Shedeem, desperately struggling to resign herself to her mission, flew down to the woodland floor, her tiny feet barely disturbing the carpet of autumn leaves. She attempted to stand tall and confident.
“How do I go about looking for these beings? Where will I find them”
‘The trees have told us of a place where the veil between the worlds is weakest. There is a portal there between our world and that of manochs. We will tell you how to get there if you accept the task you have been given. ’
“Do I have a choice?”
They smiled at her. ‘We would hope that you could make that decision yourself.’
Shedeem looked around her at the beautiful Kappa woodland. In just a few hours her peaceful existence had been rocked. In hopeful desperation she closed her eyes and prayed to Gaia to turn back time, so that she could decide not to spin the wheel this morning, not to be given this task.
But her eyes opened again to reveal the same faces of the Dryads, their voices urging her not to delay.
“Where do I have to go to find the portal?”
‘In the north-east of Wandenstan, this side of the Piniot Mountains, you will find a place called Quatrill.’
“I know that area! I come from Dinfersalyn. My family still live there.”
‘Then you will know of the dangers in those mountains. So will understand that the task you have been given is not without risks.’
“My father and brothers saw me safely into Wandenstan, before we said our final goodbyes. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
‘If you feel you need help, find it quickly. The portal will be open on All Hallows Eve. That is only four days away. And you have a long journey to get there. One last piece of advice. You need to look for two elms. At a crossroads. They will mark the gate between the world of manochs and our elemental world.’
Walking back to her home, she considered all that she had been told. She was only just leaving childhood behind. She would usually have considered it fun to be given the chance to explore more of Wandenstan. But the task she had been given terrified her.
On the edge of her grotto, there was a large outcrop of rock. She called it the Hanging Rock because it seemed to just hang there in space, and she often sheltered in its shade on a hot day. Hidden in a crevice halfway up was a spring. Today on her way home she took flowers there as an offering to the goddess Leisha. She couldn’t help but think she would need all the help she could get.
Although she didn’t often use her scrying powers twice in one day, she wished to be warned if there were going to be any dangers lurking in wait for her. So arriving back home, she prepared to spin the wheel for a second time.
First she had to enhance the psychic energies around her. So she once more put the pot on to boil, adding some more fresh lemongrass, thyme, rose petals, mace, and two whole star anise. Stirring the mixture and inhaling the energies, she chanted:
“Truth swirls before my eyes,
Time unfolds its wisdom wise,
Send down your visions from the skies,
The time has come to prophesize.”
Then she spun the wheel for the second time that day.
There was no sign of the creatures called manochs. No fiery images. But the new visions were even more terrifying. She recognised her world, her fellow elementals. It was a cold stark scene, no beauty, no fauna, mother earth reduced to a stark wasteland where her inhabitants struggled to survive.
“So it is true? Our world is in danger because of the activities in another?”
Shedeem now knew she had no choice, and not much time. It was a long journey, across Wandenstan to the northern border with Ixenfire. Thoughts of the goblins in the Piniot mountains reminded her how young, how vulnerable she was. She would need help, someone to travel with her.
As she put a few items into a small bag, she thought of Bokwus.3