Chapter 15: Snow Fall and Darkness

"T.C. Be reasonable," Cor said into the phone. "We aren't going to be able to come home for Christmas, so we want Mom and Dad to come spend Thanksgiving with us. We're talking just five days. You will have them all to yourselves for Christmas."

"We'll all get together on New Year's Eve, how about that? We're planning on going to the big Obsidian Technologies party in London. Would you guys like to go with us?"

" ... Okay, yes email me the details later and I'll call when I know for sure what the schedule will be, okay? ... Okay, Love ya Sis!"

Cor disconnected her cell phone with a triumphant flip of the cover.

"Yes! We're good to go, and all it cost us was our New Years Eve in Rio De Janeiro."

"You can make it up to me. We'll do Rio for Carnival in February instead," I responded.

"You smooth talker, it's a deal!" Cor said with a laugh. "Now all we have to do is get Mom and Dad to agree to Thanksgiving at our place."

"Well, that and the whole other worlds, facets, Magic, mind reader stuff..." I teased.

"We just tell them that stuff first. If they can accept that, they can accept Thanksgiving on Arbor."

"Ten days. We only have ten days. Let's start today. If we don't, Mom will start making preparations. She probably has already."

"That's fine, but you know I have things to do today, so it will have to be sometime this evening."

"That's fine. I have to make a quick trip to Precipice and do some other running around myself, so lets not get too stressed out. Meet me in front of the Forbes at four, okay?"

"Okay, Don't be late!" Cor said, giving me a kiss just before she disappeared. Her jumping skills – no, her Light skills in general had improved significantly in recent weeks. Her desire to be independent and focus on her work on the environment suit without being stranded anywhere had motivated her to dig down and find that part of her. Miss Meticulous did the rest.

I hadn't quite lied to Cor, though it almost felt like it. I did have an appointment with General Kru this afternoon, but the running around was not all as innocent as I let on.

My first stop was Meadow, and the Great Library to visit Laik and Riah Hulin. I jumped directly into the study, and I was standing there staring at the map of Meadow that covered one wall.

"Exactly as you were the first time I met you Andy," Laik's voice came from the doorway. Riah was right behind them, and I got hugged simultaneously by the both of them. I looked down and saw the slight bulge off her tummy.

"Again?" I asked. "I thought three was going to be enough?"

"My darling bond-mate insists on remaining romantic and dashing, and when he does romantic things ... there is an inevitable result."

"But the worst! Oh my God!" Laik said. "Riese told me she will be bringing a boy to the Midwinter Fest in Eruda, as her date!"

"Riese is twelve now?" I asked.

"Yes. Almost thirteen," Riah answered with a sigh.

"And the spitting image of her mother," Laik said. "Tall, long legged, with wavy red hair down to her back and big eyes. Lords! What little boy stands a chance?"

"A fate every young man dreams of Laik, as you did."

"True enough," He said, giving Riah a kiss. "Now, speaking of young men's dreams. I believe you have been asking about these?"

Laik handed me a soft piece of leather, rolled into a tube and a large leather pouch. I opened the pouch and checked the stones within it. Moonstones, dozens of them. They were the only gemstone on Meadow that shared its name with its Earth version. I dropped the egg-sized stones back into the bag and closed it. I sat the rolled leather tube on the table beside us and untied the buckskin strap that held it closed. I unrolled it, revealing an inner silk lining. As it lay completely unrolled, my eyes drank in the gleam and sparkle of the stones and metal.

"Beautiful!" I said softly, without even realizing it. Far more than stones and metal, they were the perfect set, engagement ring, two wedding rings and a pair of identical necklaces.

"They're perfect," I said.

"More than perfect." Laik said. "They were destined to be yours."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The Skystones, or Aquamarines as they are known on Earth are from my homeland of Espos. They were found in the great gorge that runs out of the Great Mountains, dug by the swift flowing water in the upper reaches of the Nakreg river. There is a large twisting spur of canyon that snakes suddenly west almost a hundred miles. The river ran through it once in ages past, but the river cut itself a new, straighter course and left the spur dry and empty."

"They are exactly what I would have hoped for."

Do you know what the dry gorge where they were mined is called by the Esposians?" Riah asked.

"You're going to tell me, and I'm going to be amazed, aren't I?"

"The Cradle of the Wind." Riah said.

Of course.

I loved the Iron Islands. They are a far southern section of islands on Archipelago, and one of the few places that had become an attraction on its own, rather than as a setting for the sea and the surf and the rising and setting sun.

At some point, many eons in the distant past, a volcanic eruption had buried these islands in ash, and then in the sea, as a shift in one of the tectonic plates beneath them drove them below the surface. For many millennia the soft salt water of the sea kept them, until finally another shift broke of a piece of the plate below and slowly, the islands rose from the sea again. In the intevening years the ash and mud had been worn away, exposing the Iron Forest.

There had been a high concentration of iron compounds in the ash of that ancient volcano, and over time the petrification process had replaced the wood fibers of the buried trees with an interesting mixture of ash-turned-clay and iron and iron compounds.

Whatever the alchemical fortunes of those geologic events could be attributed to, their results were what interested me. The Sea of Wands was what they called the particular patch I was standing in. Thousands if not millions of slender saplings stood here, all of a size, between eleven and twelve feet tall and born to fit in a hand. I reached out with my mind and fifty of them, scattered here and there though the vast stand broke off at the ground and lifted into the air. I gathered them to me and jumped.

I bathed in the waters of the pool, and in my hands I held the rings and necklaces from Meadow. The Aquamarine and Silver. I dipped them into the waters around me and let the Light and Magic seep into them. I wove it as I did, created threads and connections. I felt the last of them complete and I tugged a little at the Dream Stuff and wrapped them all in a thin shell of it before I removed my focus. I carefully put the jewelry back in the leather and silk wrap, and then I turned to the pouch of Moonstones.

I built up a bundle of Light and with a Moonstone in my left hand, dipped it directly into the glowing water that fell from the cliff. I let the Magic bathe the stone and once it was glowing brightly with the waves of magic trapped within it, I reached down into the water behind me and pulled one of the Iron Island staves I'd carefully shaped, and slapped the Moonstone against the raw flat end of the staff. At the same time I sent the bundle of Light surging into their union. I felt a rush of energy and when my vision cleared, I had a staff with a glowing blue Moonstone perfectly affixed to one end. I reached for another Moonstone, flipping the staff over. I let another bundle of Light build up, and then repeated the process. I lay the completed staff down in the soft grass beside the pool, wiped the sweat from my brow and reached for another Moonstone. Only a dozen more staves to go.

On Precipice, it was a school holiday, and there were Preci children running and playing everywhere. The sound of little voices laughing and giggling followed me as I walked through the streets of New Armost. With the sights and sounds of children all around me I kept thinking back to Laik and Riah and her swollen tummy.

I met Kru and Vic Green in the Red City Tavern. Kru had Liala Lanam with him this time, and I greeted her with a kiss. She had a slight streak of gray in her temples, though she couldn't have been more than thirty, and eyes like an eagle's. The eyes of command. I saw them soften though, whenever they locked on Kru.

I asked for whatever beer Kru recommended, unless they had a wine he thought I'd like.

"After tasting that nectar of the gods you brought with you the last time? There is no wine on Precipice that would leave you feeling anything but disappointed." Kru said. "We've not gotten around to re-mastering the art of beer making yet either. Most of the beer on Precipice is imported from Earth.

"Ooh! Do you think they have Guinness?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Vic said. "Its very popular here."

"I wonder if the bartender knows what a Black and Tan is, and more importantly, if he can make one?" I asked.

"I'll find out for you," Vic said. "I assume you want one if they can?"

"Absolutely!" I repeated. "I'll go with the Guinness by itself if they can't. Or I could offer to show the bartender how to make one if they have Harp or Bass, but not the knowledge."

The bartender it turned out was from Schenectady, New York, and yes, he knew how to make a Black and Tan. Vic returned with four of them, one for each of us.

"I've got your twelve Warriors," Vic said as he sat down. After several contented sips of his Black and Tan, he added. "They'll be ready to move out in a week."

"What, have you stashed them away in some rehab joint to dry out?" Kru said jokingly.

"Now you know I'd never unload drunks on Andy!" Vic answered, full of mock pain. "shiftless deadbeats yes, but not drunks."

"Where do you have them?" I asked.

"I've had them back in the Physical Conditioning Camp on Cascade, and their spending most of their time on Mesa, running drills on the plateau and the canyon walls, just like we all did before the war. They've grumbled a lot, but in some ways its a good time for them. It almost feels like a reunion. They're in camp today though, waiting to hear from me."

"Lets go see them then. I have something for them they should get used to carrying."

We finished our beer and paid the tab, or at least tried to. It had finally registered on the bartender exactly who Kru and the rest of us were, and he refused to charge our accounts.

"I get that a lot, kinda takes the fun out of going out for a beer with the guys," Kru said.

"I don't know why it bothers you. I'm quite used to never paying for a drink," Liala teased.

"Of course, thats easy to say when you're the hottest dish this side of Three Worlds." Kru said. "Andy's Mom intentionally excluded."

Once we were out in the street and away from everyone, I jumped us to the PC camp on Cascade. It had been quite a while since I'd been here. This was where us kids had spent quite a bit of time doing the PNM dumps into the incoming Preci who had been rescued and determined to be stable enough to undergo the military training.

I stood, staring for a while, letting the feelings soak in, but finally it was back to business. I reached out to Arbor, expending some real effort, and pulled a large, long canvas bag to me.

The bag looked a lot like the kind that baseball teams used to carry their bats, except quite a bit longer. It was the same ubiquitous military green color, made of heavy canvas and had a handle in the middle. I grabbed the handle and picked up the bag.

"Okay, lets go see them," I said.

We walked from the processing center where I had jumped us across the Yard, a large rectangular field, the equivalent of the parade grounds back at the main camp. Vic must've piped a link to them while we were walking, because I saw a dozen figures come running, in step, towards the far end of the Yard. When they got to it, they stopped and formed up into two rows of six.

<They seem eager.> I sent to Kru.

<They are, and that's amazing all by itself. Every one of these people was at least Master Sergeant grade or better when they ended their service.>

"Ten hut!" Vic called as we drew close. A dozen figures snapped into perfect attention as we came to a stop before them.

"At ease!" I said immediately. I nodded to Vic.

"Boys and girls, this is your new commander, Andy McKesson. You know what that last name means to me, and I believe I know what it means to you. Put that aside and see the man who stands here beside me. He deserves your respect as much as the name does," Vic turned and saluted me. I saluted back and turned to the twelve 'boys and girls'. They were indeed a mix of genders. There were seven men and five women.

"thank you for that reception. I hope we will manage to throw most of the spit and polish side of your training into the bottom of the locker and only pull it out when we're trying to impress visitors.

I asked General Kru to give me Vic and he did. I asked Vic to find you for me, and he has. To this point I know nothing about any of you, but that will change over time. For now, please go down the line starting in the back left and give me your names." I nodded at the woman who was the person at the far left in the back row.

"Giana Emera sir! Earth," She announced. Of course, name and facet, just like in boot camp.

"Rete McLamor Sir! Preci," A tall, loose skinned fellow.

"Darid Sembel Sir! Taluat," A red headed fellow.

"Zania Sir! Preci," A small brown haired woman.

"Vec Sir! Preci," A man with a wide, toothy grin.

"Yaro Sir! Preci," A woman with long, black hair tide into a ponytail at the moment.

That finished the back row. With out having to be told, the roll call continued from the left end of the front row.

"Stec Sir! Preci," A barrel chested man with huge hands.

"Aqadu Sir! Preci," Another tall man, much beefier than Rete though.

"Tem McArat Sir! Preci," A gray eyed male with a sad face.

"Fera Sir! Preci," A slender woman with a streak of green in her dark brown hair.

"Pol Sir! Preci," A short, wiry looking male, younger than the rest it appeared.

"Zho Sir! Preci," A tall blond woman with green eyes and a tattoo on her neck that I assumed continued on under her uniform.

I had heard of the popularity among some Preci after the war of taking on a second name, usually starting with 'Mc' for McKesson and ending in the name of the town or region from which they were rescued. Rete and Tem were the first two I'd met. I decided to avoid the topic for now, along with Pol's age.

"You have another week, as I understand it, and then I will be back to take you to your new home. In the meantime, I have a gift for you."

I stood the bag up on its end and opened it, letting the canvas slide off the ends of the staves.

"Hold that for me, would you Vic?" I asked.

With Vic holding the bag I pulled the first staff out and began handing them out in reverse order, starting with Zho. Once everyone was back in line, holding their staff, I took the bag back from Vic and pulled the last staff out of the bag before I jumped it back to the store room in the Tower. I handed the last staff to Vic.

"This will be the primary weapon you will use in your duties as Guardians of the Valley." I said. I jumped NeedleThorn into my hand as I did. "I know you all received some instruction in stick work when you went through Physical Conditioning Camp here, and later during Basic. You will need to get better, and I will have an arms master whose job it will be to see you get better."

I began spinning NeedleThorn around me, stepping away from Vic, Liala and Kru, and slipping into the familiar forms.

"Do not be fooled by the seeming simplicity of these weapons." I said. "They are more formidable than they appear. And I have spent a considerable amount of personal time and energy making them so."

I moved from the basic form I'd been running through into a much more difficult form, one with a lot more aerial moves and attacks. I ran through it completely in silence, until I stood at the end, NeedleThorn at the ready, high above my head.

"There will be other weapons training and other considerations, but for the next week, carry these with you at all times. Make them a part of you. I will see you all in a week.

Vic, I'm just dropping Kru and Liala off back at his office and then I'm off to Earth. Can I drop you anywhere?"

"No, I think I have a dozen kids with new toys I need to ride herd on here," Vic said with a laugh.

I dropped Kru and Liala off at their office and checked my time. I had thirty minutes to go until Cor would be expecting me.

I jumped to the Obsidian Research warehouse, the original one outside of Angel's Camp. Nicco was waiting for me in front of the exact same Obsidian Motors Oracle that he had driven that day. He threw me the package of clothes I'd asked him to bring. They were the same exact ones I'd been wearing the day Cor and I met. I'd had to make a few adjustments to the shoulders and chest of the shirt. I had changed quite a bit during my time on Arbor.

I changed into the clothes and Nicco started up the Oracle and we sat waiting. I had the NavCom's monitor switched over to TV mode and I was tapped into the feed from the security camera on the light pole across the street and was able to see Cor as she came walking up the sidewalk.

"Okay, here we go. Remember your line?" Nicco just flashed me a smile of acknowledgment, and with the car in motion I jumped us to the street in front of the Forbes, pulling up in front of Cor.

"Thanks Nicco." I said, looking back into the car.

"Okay kid! You have my number if something comes up. You know the drill."

"Of course Nicco, now get lost will ya, I have a pretty girl to impress here, and you're cutting into my time."

"Andy?" Cor said, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

It was time. I reached into my left pocket and grabbed the ring I had waiting there. I dropped onto a knee in front of Cor and took her hand.

"Corycia Caldwell, Here in this place where we first met, I want to tell you that you are everything to me, you are my Wind and my firmament of stars. I love you more than life itself."

I lifted my other hand to show her the ring.

"Corycia Caldwell, Wind. Will you marry me?"

The world seemed to stand still for a moment. Trapped in a bubble of hope and expectation. Cor's growing smile slowly broke the bubble and the sounds came rushing back in, mostly my own heartbeat. They weren't able to drown out her answer though.

"Oh Andy! Of course I'll marry you! Yes! I love you!"

I slid the ring on her finger and stood, pulling her into my arms for a kiss. We both had tears in her eyes when we pulled apart.

"Good job kid." I heard from Nicco as the Oracle's door closed and he took off down the street.

"This whole meet me here at 4pm was a setup?" Cor asked.

"Yes Damsel. I recreated the day we met. Same car. Same spot. I'm even wearing the same clothes I wore that day."

"Are you going to invite me to have a cup of tea?" She teased.

"I thought we might go ahead and go break the news to your Mom and Dad, and see about letting them in on the rest of it?"

"Okay, but you, my Knight, are in for it later."

In the end, Corycia's parents were a marvel of calm acceptance when it came to our secrets. They were overjoyed when Cor showed them the engagement ring, and a quick trip to Kite, to show them the dying Earth and Moon slowly growing closer and closer to each other was certainly convincing.

We took them to dinner on Taluat, at a place I had been to before called the Piper's Sock.

The obvious differences in the societies and the acceptance of some of the technologies we were just now starting to enjoy on Earth, especially the widespread use of anti-gravity let the truth sink in, while at the same time the basic familiarity and friendliness of the people made it feel comfortable.

We had shrimp and scallops with a delicious salad, and sipped champagne, or the Taluatan equivalent, a sparkling wine that was light and fruity.

"Mom, Dad, we aren't going to be able to be home for Christmas this year, so we were hoping you would agree to come spend Thanksgiving with us at our home," Cor said over a bite of shrimp.

"What about your sister?" Lottie asked.

"She will content herself with having Christmas with you and spending New Year's Eve with us. Well, us and Reggie, assuming they're still together by then."

"You know sweetie, you might cut your sister some slack on Reggie," Ben said. "He dotes on her, and I've actually caught T.C. on several occasions looking with genuine affection at him."

"I'm sorry, I do hope she can find some happiness, and if its with Reggie, that's fine too. I just can't seen to get past the pushiness and the oily manner in which he seems to try to get close to Andy."

"I think that's just force of habit, the shark instinct, so to speak," Ben said. "If you do let him get close, let him get past that initial pattern, I think he'll wind up seeing you both as people instead of goals."

"You know your sister is exactly the same, and if she were less afraid of our disapproval she'd be acting exactly the same way. You've only seen them together when you're around us," Lottie added.

"We'll try, I promise," I said. "Despite that, we still have to keep the secret stuff secret as far as they're concerned."

The waiter brought us a dessert menu and I made Ben and Lottie order for all of us, as I had them do for the meal itself. The quick mental injection of Taluat into the speech centers of their minds would stick better if they took every opportunity to speak it. It tickled Ben to be able to speak another language so easily.