Chapter 5 - The Tree

It is the 12^th of October. The year is 2102. Tomorrow is the birthday that Lucy picked for herself. On her birthday, she always goes out of town and down to the river. She found a hidden place that she goes to bathe. Then about six miles further down is an even more remote spot with an island in the middle of the river. The island seems to only be accessible in the fall because the river is too deep any other time. The river there runs too quickly to freeze in the winter. That island is where she goes for her birthday. The remoteness allows her to wear normal clothes for a while. She has also made friends with the small wolf pack on the island. There is a cave that runs under the river and comes out on a hillside near the riverbank but its entrance is hidden underneath the roots of a tree. The pyramid symbol on the door is also on the island, carved into a tree that is appears to be a huge, perfect, oak tree. It has regal, deep brown bark and emerald leaves the size of a small plate. It seems to give off an aura that calms you to the very core. The symbol on the tree faces the rising moon. On nights of the full moon the symbol is illuminated perfectly at midnight. The trees around this center one block all moonlight except a perfect amount to light up that symbol. Lucy has been there during full moons before and nothing happened. Now tonight is the new moon so she decided to head down there early. As she gets closer to the island it almost feels like something is tugging at her subconscious to bring her to the island. As she is about to step in the water, she feels the wind begin to pick up. It is closing in on sunset now. The world begins to turn dark. As she begins crossing the river, Lucy notices that the water is running slower than usual, almost as if the whole world was slowing down to watch her approach the tree. The pull in the back of her mind becomes stronger until she can no longer ignore it. She begins running as fast as she can push herself to the center of the island. As she approaches the small clearing in front of the tree marked with the symbol, the pull disappears and she gets a sense of great relaxation. She removes her bandanna, her jacket, her boots, and socks, and she lets her long hair down. She spends a little time pacing the edge of the clearing, just feeling the ground under feet and enjoying the great calm she always feels on the island. After her third time around the clearing, the sun had completely set and darkness had set in. There was a fog rolling in but it appeared to flow around the clearing like water around a rock in a river. Lucy headed to the center of the clearing and sat down. She crossed her legs, Indian-style, and put her hands in front of her, palms against the tree. As she closed her eyes, she felt a tap on her shoulder and she screamed. As fast as she could she had jumped up and spun around to protect herself from the potential attacker. To her immense surprise, there was no one there. She stared intensely into the unnaturally thick fog to see any sign of movement. Once she was confident there was no one around, she returned to her sitting position with her hands against the tree. She closed her eyes and once again she felt the tap on her shoulder. This time, instead of jumping up, she slowly opened her eyes and began to turn around. Close your eyes and turn around! Lucy was struck with disbelief. That voice brought memories very close to resurfacing. Memories of her past. Memories that could explain why she was being chased by the law. Close your eyes! That voice again, but more insistent this time. She decided to listen to it. As she closed her eyes, she realized that it was not a tap on her shoulder. Someone was laying their hand on her shoulder, but her reaction was too fast and violent for her to realize that. The touch felt familiar, yet foreign. She knew she should recognize their touch but she couldn’t figure out why. You may open your eyes. Do not remove your hands and do not turn around. She began to open her eyes and was temporarily blinded by the amount of color and light around her. When her eyes had properly adjusted, she saw that the light was coming from inside the trees. She saw that every living thing in her field of vision had these colors running through them. She saw the lines in a wolf that was weaving between the trees. She saw the pinpricks of lights that were all the bugs and small wildlife. The light is their life force. The different colors represent different types of chyra. Chyra is an energy that runs through all things but only accessible by a few. Its use has been honed by vampyres for millennia. Humans have only recently found it. Of course, humans immediately went to work to see how it could be used for battle. This displeased all of us, the chyrand. We take many forms. I chose a tree so I could be the Keeper of the Secrets. Your wolf friend is also one. He is the one with his hand on your shoulder. Chyrands that chose an animal form can easily change between human shape and animal shape. You were one of the projects of the human scientists. They took the blood of a vampyre, the blood of a chyrand, and pure, concentrated moonlight and injected you multiple times. This will allow you to control chyra in time with training. Master Long Tooth will be your trainer. You two have already met. You may now turn around. Lucy turned around and looked up. Her jaw dropped in astonishment. Master Long Tooth was seven feet tall. He had dark brown hair that hung to the middle of his back. He had a thick beard and a huge smile on his face. His teeth were all pointed. One of his eyes was blue and the other was yellow. He had a scar running from his left temple to the right corner of his mouth across his blue eye and his nose. He had a wild look in his eyes but somehow she still felt immensely safe in his presence. Please break the connection with the tree, Lucy. This voice spoke of centuries of wisdom yet also of youthful curiosity. It soothed you and set you on edge at the same time. It spoke of kindness but it was commanding. As Lucy broke the connection with the tree, the lights disappeared. Master Long Tooth was still there though. When would you like to start training? She thought about leaving and going back to her building and just staying there forever. She didn’t like the idea of being special like this. After a long deliberation with herself, Lucy decided that she should start training immediately to find out what she can do. Wise decision, young one. Tonight, go home, pack anything you need, and return before sunset tomorrow. If you are not back by dark, I will assume that you are not coming and I will return to wolf form for another couple centuries, until someone else comes along. So Lucy ran.