Ember's World Chapter Three

Bowne (bow-knee) ~ food
Domaw (do-maw) ~ father
Image-maker ~ TV Kela (key-la) ~ friend
Lawto (law-too) ~ cup
Learay (lee-ray) ~ Village Elder
Meno (me-no) ~ girl, lady
Momaw (mo-maw) ~ mother
Nebow (knee-bow) ~ water
Notay (no-tay) ~ brother
Nomay (no-may) ~ boy
Portal ~ door
reato (ray-too) ~ cigar or cigarette
Sonsa (sun-say) ~ cricket milk
Tolaw (too-law) ~ plate
Veldor (vel-door) ~ cloth
Veldorae (vel-do-ray) ~ clothes
Wakela (way-key-la) ~ best friend
Yesmay (yes-may) ~ girl
yestay (yes-tay) ~sister

Rylings ~ humanoid with webbed feet, long thin arms, upward slanting eyes, flat nose with two slits, no visible ears, two slashes of ‘their’ color on cheeks. When they hit maturity two suction cups appear on the index finger and thumb of both hands. Suction cup are not strong enough to hold their weight. Each one has their own unique color.

Chapter Three

Out of the corner of the one room hut came deep throaty voice, worn by age, “please sit Ember.”

I hesitated before shuffling to the center of the round room. I crossed my thin legs before sitting down on the hard packed dirt floor to wait my judgment. I glanced at the woven grass walls and noticed that they were bare. There wasn’t a talisman or tapestry hung anywhere.

Around me a steady murmur of hushed voice rose and fell just out of reach of my hearing. A sea of familiar faces peeked out from the shadows while Dome Quince sat on his crimson rug watching me, his blood red slashes looking calm and cool. Time and the pressures a leadership, a map of years played across it wore his face.

To his right sat Larme, wise one, with his silver color and almost translucent skin. To the left and around the room sat the various heads of the other families.

I started to feel uncomfortable, sitting alone in the middle of the room, under the intense looks of these female and male Rylings. I shifted my weight and stretched my neck trying to release the tension I felt between my shoulder blades. Despite the coolness of the hut I had started to sweat and could feel a trail of salty liquid run down my back.

Somewhere behind me near the portal, I heard a match being struck and the sweet odor of a raeto tickled my nose slits.

It must have been what the Learay was waiting for, because he cleared his throat and spoke to me. “Ember Violet Strongarm.” Here he paused and gave me a small secret smile, “Ember, it has come to the village elders notice that you have a keen interest in the ‘Giant’ and his world outside the barrier.”

He pause again and I took a deep breath. So this wasn’t about the pie and Old Man Tooma. To him I nodded.

“Last light dark the ‘Giant’ left the high barrier off slightly after delivering the much needed crickets.”

This confused me and it must have shown on my face because he went on, “I am telling you this because it has been decided that someone must leave our world and travel into his. We must find the source of the crickets”

I was still confused, but I schooled my expression to show only curiosity. “And my role?” I asked.

Dom Quince looked at the others around the room, who in turn nodded to him. “I am reluctant to ask. I am reluctant because I don’t feel you are old enough for this task. But I have been out voted.”

I licked my lips and still tasted the dirt from the lane as I waited for him to continue. My nerves were tingling with anticipation and I was practically jumping up and down with excitement. Was he really going to ask me to go into the ‘Giant’s’ world?

He cleared his throat again and griped his hands together tightly as if he were trying not to throw his hands up in the air. “We charge you Ember Violet Strongarm to go forth into the ‘Giant’s’ world and find where the crickets come from. Will you accept?”

I waited for what I felt was a descent amount of time before saying quietly and calmly, “of course, Learay Dom Quince.”

I was calm on the outside, but inside I was bouncing off the roof. A raging sea storm could have been called peaceful compared to me. My dream was coming true. I was going beyond the barrier. And if I took a side trip to the image-maker no one would be the wiser.

“There is one requirement.”

I looked at him from lowered lashes and tried to keep the satisfied smirk off my face. “Yes Learay?”

“You must take another with you.” He laughed deep and long before going on. “You must take Pentop.”

My mouth dropped open with shock while the others joined Dom Quince in laughing.