Translated From Sarconain Highway

"I'm going to turn into a white mole," said Jasper as he dug at a snowdrift with Jack. 

Jack grinned, tossing a shovelful of snow to the side.  "This is better than doing  nothing."

"I guess."  It was wintertime, but both boys were kept as busy shoveling snow as they had been when the crops needed care.

Jack tossed another shovel of snow to the side.  As the whiteness settled, he saw a figure.  He watched it for a moment, then sprang to the top of the trench the boys had been digging towards the barn. 

"What is it?" Jasper asked.

Jack paused a moment.  "Melissa!!" he yelled, racing awkwardly forwards as his feet sunk at intervals into the snow.  The other figure began to run towards him, uttering a cry of delight.  Brother and sister floundered through the snow, crashed into each other, and fell to the ground together.  Laughing, they sat up and hugged each other.

As he watched them, Jasper thought of Kaia with a pang in his heart.  Though his little sister had often driven him nuts, he missed her.  Jack and Melissa moved towards him now, Jack's arm around Melissa as they fought through the snow.  They came to the edge of the trench.  Melissa dropped down lightly; Jack followed her.

"I don't believe we've met," said Melissa to Jasper.  She was dressed like a Northerner; the hem of her skirt purposefully made with one side longer than the other.  There was a trace of a Northern accent in her voice, a sign that she had been with them for some time. 

Leaning on his shovel, Jasper kissed her proffered hand.  "I'm Jasper Watson.  I've been living here with your aunt and uncle since this fall."

"It sounds like you might have a story," said Melissa.

"A short one," said Jasper, smiling.

"I must hear it," said Melissa, "though I am content to wait until later."

Jack now spoke up. "We are just as anxious to hear your tale, Melissa," he said.

Melissa laughed.  "Very well.  I shall bring you up to date tonight."

 

"I really went out of my head," said Melissa that evening as they sat around the fire.  "I don't remember much, save that I was miserable.  I saw signs that the Aranara had started the rockslide and suspected that they might come back to kill any survivors.  So I ran, terrified and sad.  I don't remember much from those days.  Then, one day, I decided to jump off a cliff."

Jack looked shocked.  "Jump off a...oh, Lissa."  He took his sister's hand.  "I should have stayed conscious after the slide and given you hope."

"What's done is done," said Melissa.  "I was saved by Glithoniel Dragontongue, a Northerner.  She said that you, Jack, asked the Scouts to look for me?" 

Jack nodded.  "Something like that.  I said that it was likely that you were still alive and asked them to tell all Scouts going on missions north to keep an eye out for sign of you.  Apparently they passed that news on to the three Northern clans."  Jack caught the question in Jasper's eyes and gave an explanation.  "The Northerners are made up of three clans - the Dragontongue clan, who are mostly warriors, the Nitrasi clan, who are mostly fishermen or craftsmen, and the Bartel clan, who are mostly farmers."

Jasper gave a nod of understanding.

Melissa continued.  "Gilthoniel took me to her home.  Over the weeks, as I regained my senses, she asked me about what I had learned from my instructors.  When she had finished quizzing me, the lessons began.  Stealth, archery, knife-play, swordsmanship, herbcraft, everything.  And at a level I never imagined possible."

"It's said that the Dragontongue clan is very skilled with the sword," said Jack.

"And it's no idle tale," said Melissa.  "Gilthoniel is very good; it was an honor to study with her."  Melissa paused before she continued, remembering.

 

"A get the feeling that things are about to start happening, Melissa," said Gilthoniel during one of her swordplay lessons.  "Ye will need talent in this craft.  Next spring, send yer brother north, for he needs to train with me."  Gilthoniel stopped speaking for a moment, as if weighing whether to tell Melissa something or not.  At last she continued.  "There'll be another, a close friend of yer brother, as they will share a story.  He is to come, too."

"Who is he, this other?" Melissa asked.

"Ye'll find out in due time, Lissa, and ye'll know when you 'ere 'is story.  And Lissa, don't tell 'em why A want 'em to come.  Just tell 'em A want to see 'em.  If they ask any questions, tell 'em that they'll find out when they meet me."

 

Deciding that this information did not need to be imparted yet, at least until she found out who Jack's friend was, Melissa skipped the conversation and continued.  "Well, I stayed with her through the summer and fall.  I wanted to be back for the festival, but Gilthoniel wouldn't let me leave; I don't know why.  She wanted me to stay with her through the winter, but I couldn't stand it anymore."

"Stand what?" asked Jack.

"Being away from you; knowing that you didn't know if I was alive or not.  I couldn't take that sort of thing anymore.  So A came back."

"I'm glad you did," said Jack.

Melissa slid into the same chair with her brother.  The chairs were like cubes whose top and front had been cut off.  The arms were the same height as the back, and the entire piece of furniture was padded with cushions.  It was incredibly comfortable, and had room for two people if those people didn't mind being a little squashed together, which Jack and Melissa apparently didn't.

Anna pattered down the stairs in her white nightgown and tumbled over the arm of Jasper's chair, landing in his lap with a contented sigh.  Her yarn-haired doll rested in the crook of her arm.

"And why aren't you in bed yet?" Jasper inquired somewhat playfully, looking at the clock.

"I'm not sleepy," Anna declared.  "At all.  Can't I stay up and listen to Melissa's stories?"

"You know just as well as I do, Anna," said Jasper, "that you are supposed to be in bed by nine-thirty."

"Pleeeease?" Anna begged.

Mary Breaker came in from the kitchen.  "Anna?  You should be in bed."

"But I want to hear the stories, Ma."

"You may stay up until ten, then, I suppose, but no later."

Anna settled herself contentedly in Jasper's lap.

"Jasper," said Mary, "Have you seen Alethea?"

"No, ma'am," Jasper replied.

Mary shook her head.  "She's been spending a lot of time around town since she began her diplomatic training."

Jasper nodded.

"If she isn't back by ten 'o clock, you and Jack go into town and get her."

"Yes ma'am," Jack and Jasper replied together.

"What is your tale, Jasper?" asked Melissa, pulling up her knees and leaning her head against Jack's shoulder as Mary left the room.

Jasper took a deep breath, considering where to begin.  "I was born in Brenia Village.  My father was a carpenter.  I grew up helping him somewhat, but I spent most of my time with the fishermen who lived at the edge of Brenia lake, which was north of the village.  They taught me how to handle smaller watercraft, and, when I was skilled enough to go out alone, I would fish.  My younger sister, Kaia, would sell what fish we didn't eat at the market. 

"This...summer, a plague hit the village.  Both my parents will killed by it.  My sister and I were placed with different guardians, and I do not know what has happened to her.  Later that summer, my guardians decided to arrange an engagement between their daughter and I."

"Engagement?" Melissa interrupted.  "How old are you, Jasper?"

"Thirteen."

"And how old was she?"

"Thirteen."

"So," said Melissa, "This kind of early engagement must be sort of an...obscure tribal custom?"

Jasper nodded.  The Strianelians had once been disconnected nomadic tribes.  Although they were now united into one nation, most knew to which tribe they belonged and worshiped the same tribal gods and practiced most of the same tribal customs as their ancestors.  "I am part of the SyDow tribe, and it has always been considered a disgrace among the tribe if a young person is not engaged before they are fourteen.  I believe that we are the only tribe that practices early engagement, but it has still been very important."

"So I take it that your guardian's daughter and you got along?"  asked Melissa.

Jack snickered softly.

Jasper shook his head.  "No, we did not."

"Then why would they do such a thing?"

"I don't know," said Jasper, "besides the fact that most tribes demand that members marry within their own tribe, and none of Misty's circle was SyDow.  I think the union made perfect sense to my guardians; they liked me, that I know."

"They were obviously blind to their daughter's opinions," said Jack.

"Yes, well, most marriages are arranged by parents or guardians.   Then you have four years to fall in love with your betrothed, and if you aren't in love with them by the time you are both seventeen - though.  You are marrying them anyway."

"Ouch," said Melissa.

"Yeah," Jasper agreed.  "Thankfully, in the SyDow tribe, the groom can break the engagement if he wants to after the four years.  Of course, the entire thing is looked at with some extent of disapproval, but it can be done if neither person is happy.  So I was going to wait, but everyone in Brenia makes a very big deal over a marriage, and neither Misty or I could take it anymore."

"So you ran away?"

"Yes.  I will most likely be presumed dead, and the engagement will be broken.  Even if it is not, Misty won't have to put up with me.  I intend to go back there in a few years and make sure that the engagement was indeeed broken after I dissapeared."

"Do you think you'll remember?" asked Jack.

Jasper thought of the ruby ring he wore on a chain around his neck.  "I hope so," he replied.

 

"You mentioned tribal gods?" Jack asked Jasper later that night in the attic.

"Yes," said Jasper.  'There's the sun god, the moon goddess, the star goddess, the night god, the storm god, the river gods, the tree gods, the god of war and a several others that I don't remember at the moment."

"Does each tribe worship all these gods?"

Jasper shook his head.  "No.  We believe in and respect them all, but each tribe has a patron god or goddess whom we worship exclusively.  The SyDow tribe, for example, worships Darti, the star goddess.  There's this one group of people that say that there is only one God.  They call him the Lord of Heaven.  They call the gods and goddesses false, ignore many tribal customs, and even intermarry.  Which on the plains is a big deal.  Not that they're bad...just very strange.  I notice that you Sarconians also worship this God."

"Yes," said Jack, "we do.  He is the God of everything."

Jasper thought for a moment.  "That is a very big God."

Jack hid a smile.  He had been waiting for this conversation for a long time.  Jasper had been respectful and quiet during family prayers and devotions, but it was obvious that he did not hold the same religious beliefs as the Breaker family.  "The Lord is everywhere," Jack said.

"I don't think I understand this God."

"Have you gathered anything from the devotions?"

"Not much.  It doesn't all make sense.  I worship in my way, you worship in yours, how does it make a difference?  What difference does it make, one God or many?  They are all strange beings who don't really care that much."

"The Lord cares."

"About you maybe, but not about me."

"And why would He not care about you?"

"Why do you think?" Jasper asked.  "I have always followed Darti."

"Have you ever made anything?" asked Jack.

"Ummm....yeah," said Jasper, puzzling over the sudden change of subject.

"Did you care about it?"

"Well, yeah.  I made it."

"God made you, and don't you think He would care about His creation?"

"So, you are saying that I've been taught a lie all my life.  There is no such thing as the star goddess, just one God who made me and cares about me.  That's a whole lot to grasp!  But why should I accept it, anyway?  What proof have you that Darti doesn't exist?"

"Do you believe in eternity?"

"Yes."

"What happens when followers of Darti die?"

"They turn into stars."

"Seen any new stars lately, Jasper?"  Jack asked.

"Well, no.  But that doesn't mean they aren't there!"

"No," Jack admitted, "it doesn't.  Let me give you some proof that God exists.  Have you studied the time before the Dark Years?"

"Just a bit.  Why?"

Jack pulled out a book.  "Have you ever seen one of these?"

Jasper leaned over to look at it.  "Once or twice.  I know it's called The Word and it outlines the beliefs of the Lord's followers.  They say He directed its writing."

"It's also a history.  What are some events from before the Dark Years that you would consider yourself very familiar with?"

Jasper named off a few events.

Jack nodded, flipped through the book, and handed it to Jasper, pointing to a place. "There."

Jasper read it.

"Well?" asked Jack when he was finished.  "Is it accurate?"

"Yes."

"So, what's to say the rest of it isn't accurate?  I can assure you, I've checked up on this through the Archives, and I've never seen an event misrepresented."

"I can believe you that it's accurate.  But what difference does that make?"

"It makes this completely true, every word."

"Yeah, I'm willing to believe that.  But how does that affect me?"

"It says that God commands everyone to follow Him and Him alone.  That's how it affects you."

Jasper considered this.  He had been taught all his life that when a god said to do something, it was best to do it.  But to do what this God said to do was to disobey what the other gods said to do.  He said as much to Jack.

The other boy nodded.  "But that's not a problem if they don't exist."

Jasper thought about that for a while.  "Let me sleep on it."

"Okay," said Jack, not wanting to push the matter.  "Also, it would be good if you talked to Jonathan on this.  He's far better studied than I."

Jasper looked puzzled.  "I thought Jonathan was a Scout."

"And an ardent follower of the Lord, as are all the Scouts.  Their relationship with God is a major part of their lives."

"Their relationship?  Not their religion?"

"You'll know what I mean once you've studied it more." 

 

Jasper was more than happy to study with Jonathan.  Although the Sarconian's religion was different than everything he had been taught, it made some sense to him.  The people who followed the Lord were different.  They did not live in fear of the purposeless wrath of the gods and goddesses, they lived in joy.  There was a definite respect for their God, but not stark terror.  He liked that; it was more reasonable than the muttering priests and strange rituals that he had seen in years before.  His study was interrupted, however, by an announcement from Melissa.

"Jack?  Jasper?  Where are you?"  Melissa called as she came into the barn.

Jasper, pitchfork in hand, stuck his head out of the loft.  "What?"

Melissa looked up at him.  "I want to talk to you and Jack.  Where is he?"

"Trying to milk the goat," Jasper replied.  "Not that he was doing very well the last time I saw him."

"If he's not very good, why do you let him do it?"  asked Melissa.

"That goat is antsy," said Jasper.  "None of us can really handle milking her, so Alethea, Jack and I take turns. Of course," he added regretfully,  "when Alethea leaves for her internship with Master Kall in Corvan, it'll just be Jack and I."

Jack trudged in with half of the milk in a pail and the other half splattered all over his hair and clothing.  "I am in no way endeared to that goat," he said.  "It's trying to drown me."

"You can say that again," said Jasper, swinging down from the hay loft.  "What did you want to talk to us about, Melissa?"

"Gilthoniel said to send you two north," said Melissa.

"Why?" asked Jack.

Melissa shrugged.  "I'm not entirely sure myself.  She said you'd understand when you got there."

Jasper scratched his head, discovered a bit of hay in it, pulled the hay out, and examined it.  "Hu.  Jack?"

"Well," said Jack, "There's no reason to not trust Glithoniel.  She is a Dragontongue, and they like being mysterious."

"Anyway," said Jasper, "we wouldn't have to milk the goat."

"Anything to get out of that," Jack said.  "Let's talk to Uncle John and Aunt Mary."

"I already did," said Melissa.  "They say that you can go as soon as the snow melts."

Jack rubbed the back of his head.  "I thought Uncle John wanted us here for spring planting."

"Joshuel Carzim has graduated from his Junior Scouthood, so he and Jonathan are settling down into a regular Scout's routine.  They'll have time to come over and help with the planting."

Jack and Jasper looked at each other.  "Well," said Jack, "I guess that settles it."