Jaden breathed deeply and looked to horizon where the sky met the mountains ahead. ‘The same—living the perfect life on the outside, still lost on the inside,’ he said.
‘Ah, the troubles have remained, then?’
Jaden nodded. ‘Have you thought of anything?’
‘I have—many things, in fact.’
‘What can I do?’
‘I will tell you shortly. First, do you remember the golden wristlet I gave you years ago?’
‘The loh-korah.’
‘Yes,’ said Vennoss. ‘I need you find it and bring it to me at the Gates. I fear dark times await us, so I must tell you of its true nature.’
‘What is it?’ asked Jaden.
‘I will explain at the Gates. Go now and meet me there as soon as you can.’
Before Jaden could protest, Vennoss had stood up and hurried away. It was the most abrupt ending Vennoss had ever made to one of their sittings, and it took Jaden a moment to realise what he was meant to do. After deciding the matter’s nature was serious, Jaden did the same as Vennoss, but in the opposite direction toward his home. He had never thought of the loh-korah as anything more than jewellery, a prized possession at that, but for decoration and little more. He couldn’t imagine a different purpose for it. All he knew was that it had come from another nation he had not heard of before.
As he reached his home, he noticed his mother standing at the door, speaking with another woman wearing strange, yet pleasantly coloured clothing. She wore a robe of autumn design, warm greys mixed with dark browns in leaf-like patterns, seeming to compliment the bushiness of her greyed hair.
‘I was wondering if you could tell me how one becomes a resident here,’ she asked, and Jaden immediately recognised her voice. It was the traveller who had told him of the Forgotten Years.
‘The elders must be consulted,’ said Sayva. ‘You will need to ask them and show that you are able to become part of our community.’
‘You will need a skill of a sort,’ interrupted Jaden. ‘Storytellers are allowed only several days’ stay.’
The woman’s eyes brightened as she turned to him. ‘And this must be your eldest, Jaden.’
‘No, I have an older brother, Ryan,’ Jaden corrected her and then turned to Sayva. ‘Mother, Grandfather has asked for the loh-korah.’
Sayva nodded and went inside at once.
‘And what might be a loh-korah?’ asked the woman.
‘A wristlet,’ Jaden answered simply.
‘Ah, indeed,’ said the woman. ‘You know, we didn’t quite get a chance to finish our conversation. I would very much like to continue it.’
‘I don’t have time today.’
‘Perhaps tomorrow?’
Jaden nodded as Sayva returned to the door, holding the loh-korah, a wristlet seven inches in length that wrapped around and covered only the part of the wrist closest to the hand. Jaden took it and put it on his right wrist at once, then bowed to his mother in gratitude.
‘What did you call that?’ asked the woman before Jaden could sprint away.
‘A loh-korah,’ he said.
‘What is your grandfather’s name?’ the woman asked abruptly.
Jaden looked to his mother for assurance, unsure of the woman’s intention.
‘Vennoss.’
‘Indeed. Might I come with you? Just to meet him,’ she added, noticing Jaden’s expression turn sour. ‘I will not stay with him very long.’
After several moments of contemplation, Jaden reluctantly agreed. He wanted to make the most of his time with Vennoss, but he saw little harm in allowing her simply to meet him.
As the woman bade Sayva goodbye, they left for the Gates of Callibra in the far west. They had to walk almost the entire width of the village, and although it took close to an hour, Jaden allowed little conversation between them on the way. He had been troubled by the tone in which Vennoss had spoken. It made him afraid to think of what he might soon learn. It was a tone he had heard only once before, when talks had not gone well with the neighbouring nations. Those fears had proved false at the time, but there was always the possibility things could turn against their favour and leave them defenceless.
Jaden’s nerves calmed a little as he saw Vennoss standing on a hill, looking to the west. There, five enormous pillars of rock could be seen, each two hundred feet in height and fifty in width, marking the only entrance to the valley. These were the Gates of Callibra. Jaden always felt insignificant as he walked near these great structures of earth, but admired them for their natural beauty. Evidently they impressed the woman, as she had failed to notice Jaden run up ahead to meet with Vennoss without her.