Mountain of Shadow: Crystal Link

By Earle Masciantonio

This story is set in the far future, a thousand years after an asteroid has destroyed civilization. Tia has just begun her life. She has trained to be a healer, although she wanted to learn magic. All she has in the world is her training and her giant draft horse Dollar. Then a fabled Eldaran rides in, seeking a healer. He has a magic crystal. Maybe they can make a trade . . . if she is willing to give up all that is familiar . . . perhaps forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524588656

Earle Masciantonio

I am seventy going on eighteen. I believe staying young doesn't come out of a bottle, but the ability to play with your whole heart like a child, to believe in love of life, and to take joy in the simple things. I was raised in the depths of the Oregon Coast range. I am a devout Christian who believes in Science. I love animals and trust them more than humans and I am going to live forever or die trying.

Book preview

-1-

Somewhere a fly buzzed, thumping against the window pane in a frenzied effort to escape the heat and dust of the classroom. Tia sympathized with the small insect, listening to the regular thumps against the glass and willing the fly to find escape even if she could not.

The questions on the paper before her were not easy, but she had studied hard and felt she would do well. She hated tests. It was so hard to visualize what the words actually meant, unlike doing the work, which came easily for her.

A chair scraped, someone coughed, brass-tipped pens scratched against paper and the fly buzzed frantically against the invisible barrier keeping it from the world outside. The afternoon sun slanted into the classroom in visible waves of heat, sleep-inducing warmth that had heads nodding, and eyelids blinking slowly with the endeavor of staying awake.

With Herculean effort, Tia finished before the bell sounded and took her paper to the front. She laid it on the professor’s desk. He nodded his dismissal and she tiptoed out the door, escaping to the cool air of the dark, insulated hallway, noting how many students yet remained in the exam room. She wasn’t the first, but not nearly close to being last to finish the exam. She thought she had done well, but you never knew, really. Tia would be graduating, and she hadn’t learned the thing she had come here to learn, which was magic. A healer was supposed to learn magic, spells, and potions, yet she had learned nothing but the art of healing with medicines and the skill of her own hands. She supposed medicines could be called potions, but you only had to be careful of the ingredients and measurement of those ingredients because there were no arcane spells or magical words you had to say over them to get them to work. Anyone with knowledge could do it. There was nothing magic about it.

At the end of the hall a group of students were gathered at the window looking down into the courtyard. She joined them curiously, and gaining a vantage point by squeezing under the arm of one of the taller boys, she saw a strange, very fine horse being led toward the stables. His coat was black as night with blue glints where the sun highlighted the muscles of his neck and flanks, and although weary in walk, his breeding, and high spirit were evident in the curve of neck and the way he pulled at the reins to gain more lead room. His head was delicately shaped and small, the nose almost pointed, the small leaf shaped ears erect, his mane and tail thick and sweeping. He was beautiful. On his back was a finely formed saddle, intricately tooled, and crafted with skill. The reins also were decorated and inlaid with metal, and something that glinted like jewelry. The horse disappeared around the building and she turned her attention on his rider.

He was in deep conversation with the Dean of the school, a full head taller than that gaunt and lanky Master, and covered from head to foot with a hooded robe of grayish brown. Along the edges of the robe, in a broad band at the hem and around the opening of the hood bright, colorful weavings threaded and beaded in some pattern too small to see from this distance; only that the colors shown with life and vibrancy, metallic in quality. Her belly tightened and her breath caught in her throat, because the style of the robe and the livery of the horse were things of legend. The rider was an Eldaran.

What was such a creature of legend doing thousands of miles from home, and more importantly, what was he doing here?

Tia looked at the silent faces around her and knew they had come to the same conclusions and were wondering what the outrider heralded. There was only one reason such a man would come to the college at graduation. He’d come to buy a skill.

The Dean, Master of the School, led the stranger toward the guest quarters as they watched. He was evidently to stay at least the night which meant he had business here else the Dean would have directed him to an Inn or Wayside.

Megan breathed a sigh and then broke the silence with a tremulous voice, stating, Well, I, for one, am going to barricade my door tonight, and I doubt I sleep a wink.

Brink, a short, heavyset boy, snorted in derision, If he is going to kidnap a bride, he won’t be knocking on your door, Megan. He would want prettier children.

The group giggled when Megan’s face grew red, both from anger and embarrassment. Well, you know the stories as well as I do and why else would he come here? Megan was rather vain about her looks and fancied herself as one of the prettier people. She often judged a person on their physical attributes first. It was the reason she had first singled out Tia for a friend. Tia, simply, was beautiful. She had a fine oval face with everything placed perfectly symmetrical, nothing too large, nothing too small, each promoting her face as a perfect whole. Her eyes alert and penetrating were emerald green and her hair, which fell to her waist, was a rich dark auburn, sleek and silky straight. Unlike Megan, Tia never seemed to consider her looks at all and rarely cared about anyone else’s as long as they were presentable and personable. Mostly she preferred the company of a book and her horse to human companionship.

Maybe he needs a healer? They were looking at Tia, trying for a response. She ignored them, arched an eyebrow, and rolled her eyes at Megan.

The group filtered away chuckling, leaving Tia and Megan standing alone. Tia slung an arm over her friend’s shoulders and said, I’ll protect you Megan, and I will go in your place.

Megan laughed, her face taking on a more normal color as she retorted, You think he would take you over me?

Giggling the girls went off down the hall to the exit that led to their dorm. Once outside, Tia suggested a side trip so she could see to Dollar’s evening care before going to their supper. Dollar was Tia’s horse. He was unusual in that he was one of the huge Drays bred to haul heavy loads. He was very large, yet he was hers because he had been born a runt. When he would have been killed as meat, she had begged desperately for his life and her Uncle had at last given the colt to her as her own. He was gelded and gentle, and Tia thought he was probably the smartest horse of his kind she had ever seen on her uncle’s or any other horse family’s ranch. Her Aunt had at first been disapproving, but when the colt had begun taking up so much of the girl’s time and kept her away from the main house so much, her Aunt had relented her first opinion. When Tia had first seen the colt, she had been reminded of the collection of metal discs her Uncle had framed in a glass case over his study fireplace mantle. He called them dollars, which had been a medium of exchange to the ancient people who had ruled the land before the asteroid Worm had destroyed the civilizations that existed in the old days. Tia had been fascinated with them, wondering just why they would be worth anything. They were not made of any valuable metal, and were too soft to be made into anything useful. Yet, when she had seen the silver circles on the rump of the darker gray colt, she had exclaimed, His back is covered with Dollars, and that will be his name.

Her Uncle had laughed and Tia remembered it as one of the rare times she had felt close to him, and maybe, he to her.

When they entered the stables the sun was filtering through the southwest window and it blinded them momentarily, yet a few steps inside they were again in shadow and Megan saw the Outrider’s horse in the stall beside Dollar. They were nose to nose and seemed to be having a conversation, although Dollar made the black horse look doll sized beside him. She held out an apple from the two she had snagged at lunch for herself and her horse, which Dollar took into his cavernous mouth in one bite, and crunched happily. She took her knife and sliced off a piece from the second apple for the black horse, and gave the rest to Dollar. Both horses munched contentedly while Tia filled the feed box with a dollop of grain and fresh sweet smelling hay. She attended to her chores quickly and efficiently while Megan rubbed the soft nose and scratched the ears of the Black. He nibbled gently at her sleeves, searching for another treat.

Be careful, I’ve heard their horses have magical qualities and they might help their master choose his bride… Tia teased, speaking over her shoulder as she walked toward the door. Megan jumped away from the horse with a surprised little gasp, causing the Black to throw up his head in surprise. Megan gasped worriedly, Have you really?

Tia laughed and said, without turning, No, silly, I haven’t and you worry so much I think you might be wishing he would choose you as a bride, but he looked awfully old to me, so you might better think about it.

Megan snatched up a grooming brush, threw it playfully at Tia, who whirled and caught it deftly before it hit and stuck her tongue out at Megan.

How do you do that? Megan exclaimed, more than a little envious of her friend’s agility. No matter how she threw an object Tia always managed to catch it before it hit her. She had tried many times over the last few years. Never anything that would hurt Tia, just trying to catch her off guard. She never had been able to surprise her.

They turned from the stalls to head for the exit and almost ran head first into the tall, cloaked stranger. Tia’s mouth went suddenly dry, and for a single instant she stared into the bluest eyes she had ever seen, then Megan grabbed her by the arm and hauled her in blind panic toward the doors. Tia also remembered silver hair, and an aged face, but the eyes had been bright, alert, and intelligent.

He had been smiling.

The girls collapsed on the floor of Tia’s room, gasping and laughing at their flight and fright and near escape from the clutches of the Eldaran Bride snatcher. When they caught their breath, Tia remarked soberly that he’d seemed a nice enough old man, jovial even and not in the least bit dangerous. Both girls fell silent considering the implications of the presence of the fabled Eldaran, each following, for a few minutes, their widely differing imageries to the farthest reaches of imagination. Megan broke the reverie by getting up and heading to her own room to get ready for the evening meal.

Tia took off her school robes and slipped into her favorite dress. It was loose, but fastened at the waist with a sash, showing off her small waist. The sleeves were slender, buttoned at the cuff to a snug fit. The hem showed just the tips of her shoes, and the V shaped neckline was bordered with delicate embroidered vines, leaves and flowers. However, it was none of these that made the dress her favorite. The color of the dress was a vibrant rich brown, which made her dark auburn hair shine with copper highlights and brought out the emerald in her green eyes. She loved the color. She braided the side locks of her hair and fastened the braids with yellow ribbons, leaving the back to hang loose to the center of her back.

She left her room and walked across the commons toward the cafeteria, the evening air warm and soft. She stopped for a moment looking at the old buildings with ivy growing over their brick-walls, the huge white oaks soaring eighty and ninety feet into the sky, dwarfing the large buildings they shaded and protected. The lawn beneath well-tended and verdant, soft beneath her feet and smelling slightly of watermelon, invited her to slip off her shoes and walk barefoot. She filled with a swell of affection for this place and she smiled at the flood of emotion.

She would hate to leave when they gave her a posting after she graduated. She actually didn’t want to use her skill as a healer, although she was capable and talented surgeon, and at times actually enjoyed the work. She had had a completely different perspective on the field of her degree when she first came to study here in this aged college. She thought she might like to go back home for a while before she took up the post. She would have to be posted; it was a part of her tuition. If her family had been rich, well then maybe she would have a choice. She was but the poor niece left to her indifferent Uncle’s care when the accident that killed her parents had left her alive and homeless. She’d been found in the wreckage of her parent’s house the day after a tornado had ravaged their farm and her uncle who owned the land had taken her into his household and given her into his wife’s reluctant hands. She had not been mistreated, nor neglected in any physical way, but neither her Uncle nor Aunt had been interested in her as a person and except for necessary care and attention left her to her own entertainment most of the time. She had her chores and was expected to take part in the family’s daily life, yet she had always understood it was a favor, not a right.

Because of this, her cousins were actually decent to her most of the time and had included her in things their parents would never have shared with her. She had been quite happy at times; however, she had never known love for herself from another person and had concluded it would not happen for her because she had never learned how to love in return. She actually enjoyed her solitude and took pride in her independence. With the exception of Dollar and her own clothes, she had taken nothing with her when she left. If any of her male schoolmates were interested they had never shown her a sign of it. Megan often told her it was because she was so forbidding and standoffish that no one could make a move for fear of rejection. If that were so, she didn’t know how to change it; maybe she wouldn’t even if she could.

She didn’t really want to go home again knowing her Uncle believed she would be posted somewhere far away from his home and he would be finished with his obligation to his sister’s child.

She began walking across the green, lost in her thoughts and not completely aware of her surroundings. Dusk began to create dark shadows in the corners and nooks of the lawn and lights were coming on in the various buildings. Birds were going to sleep, chirping softly and just that quickly night was layering its darkness on the day. She remembered some of the more chilling tales of the Eldaran and felt a chill run the length of her spine. She came aware and hurried on to the cafeteria. If they did steal your life essence she didn’t want to be there. She grinned at the superstition and her playing to it, but it never hurt to err on the side of caution.

The clink of metal spoons on ceramic bowls and dishes provided the backbeat to the voices of student’s boisterous energy. The light was bright after the darkness outside and warm from the kitchen’s heat. Two years ago, the city had finally managed to get the wires strung to the college, before that, only the main grid of the town had had powered lighting. It was called electricity. It was generated by windmills standing in rows of tall, thin birds above the wide, empty grasslands. It didn’t always work, and Tia found the lights too bright and glaring. She liked the oil lamps the students had in their rooms.

She grabbed a bowl and spoon. There was Stew and cornbread today and she loved that particular meal. She helped herself to a large bowl, put a pat of butter into the thick meaty soup, snagged two large slices of the crusty cornbread, poured a glass of milk, carried her tray over to Megan’s table and sat down across from her.

With a sigh, she took a bite and let the flavor fill her mouth before she chewed and swallowed. I love Stew. She said to no one in particular, but Megan answered anyway. I know, because you say that every time.

Tia laughed and began eating in earnest. She loved food, the taste of it, feel of different textures, and the combinations of flavors. She supposed she would be fat someday if she wasn’t careful. Sometimes it was hard to stop filling her mouth when she found something particularly tasty, like the ice cream they sometimes made for the festivals and holidays. She always helped to turn the crank on the ice cream maker so she could get extras. At home, there was no choice in how much you ate. There was a serving and no matter how hungry you might be you had to do with only what was on your plate. There were never extras in her Uncle’s house, for anyone. When she understood, she could have seconds here, she had eaten herself sick the first week, but common sense won out and she now saved her indulgences for really special treats. She rationed her portions a little more generously than her Aunt’s cook, yet far less than she would like to have had on her plate. Megan often made friendly fun of her, but Tia could see no harm in such a small pleasure. There weren’t many in this life.

She gained not an ounce, but she supposed it was because she was active in most of the sports the students were allowed, her favorite being gymnastics. She liked being limber and agile. Her coach had told her she had ‘monkey-flexes’, an instinct for timing, and kitty-cat agility. He then proceeded to push her to her very limits of endurance. Pushing herself to excellence was something she did out of habit, something she had done all her life for the stingily wielded approval of her Aunt and Uncle.

Then, as if a switch had been thrown, the bustling noise of the room went dead quiet. The small hair on her neck prickled and Tia turned to see why everyone was struck silent in a room that was never so. The Eldaran had come into the room with the Head Master and were going to the line. The Professors could have food brought to their rooms, but it came from here, so most of them showed up to eat with the students. They kept to their own tables and their own company, but they were approachable and often chose this venue to talk to a student in conference. It is hard not to communicate with your meal companion and seemed to be a much more effective device than a closed meeting in the professor’s office.

The Eldaran looked out over the sea of silent faces and smiled, his eyes catching a few eyes for a moment and then moving on, roving over the crowd as if searching for something or someone. Tia’s eyes were caught for a moment and she found herself drawn happily toward those blue eyes. She smiled, could not help herself and wouldn’t have in that moment, then his glance moved on seeking other faces and other eyes. She kept smiling.

Megan gasped, He looked at you; do you think he remembers you from the barn?

Tia felt a letdown remembering that he had probably seen them feed his horse a piece of fruit and felt friendly toward her for that reason and no other, yet this second time looking into those eyes found a desire she had no name for, or even a focus. She tried to shake it off, yet it was as if she had had a bite of some wondrous new delicacy and one bite was all she could have before it was gone forever. Tia had no name for what she had felt in the Eldaran’s smile, although she knew it had something to do with feeling whole. She drew in a shaking breath, staring down at her bowl with no appetite left for her meal. She ate mechanically, the bread dry and the stew tasteless, and turned down a trip to the dessert bar with Megan. She kept stealing glances at the Eldaran who now ate with his back to the student body, talking earnestly to the headmaster in low tones. The Headmaster listened, nodding occasionally, his face grave, and somehow worried, it seemed to Tia.

After trying several times to make small talk Megan fell silent as she watched her friend. Tia was often quiet, but she always listened to what you said and tonight she wasn’t even at this table mentally. She seemed somewhere far away and it had all happened when the Eldaran had caught her eyes. Megan thought maybe the stories were true and the Eldaran had stolen her essence. Strange things were told about them and she didn’t care for the looks of this one at all. He was old, as old as her grandfather, and had the most burning glare she had ever seen. She vowed to keep Tia away from him and maybe she would come back to herself, or the spell would wear off.

She literally pulled Tia to her feet and steered her toward the door. She felt the Eldaran’s eyes watching her and she turned to glare at him, keeping Tia moving. He gazed back without smiling, a puzzled look on his face and then he turned back to his meal.

The cool night air brought Tia back a little from her reverie and she tried to describe her feelings to Megan, but Megan was convinced that the stranger was trying to steal her friend’s soul and wouldn’t listen to the pain and loneliness quivering in Tia’s voice. At last Tia allowed Megan to convince her that it was nothing desirable she was feeling and she did her best to repress the feelings raging through her. However, that night she cried, sobbing for something she had never known and yet, knew she wanted with all her heart, until at last exhaustion took her and she slept a long dreamless night. In the stranger’s eyes, she had felt acceptance, unconditional, non-judgmental, total acceptance. She had never had that from anyone, not even from herself.

-2-

She woke the next morning refreshed and calm. Although her eyes were puffy, she decided she felt pretty good all in all. She headed for the barn to groom Dollar and clean his stall. She did a better than average job at combing and currying the large horse, feeling satisfaction at caring for him. He kept reaching back nibbling at her shirt, and nudging her with his velvety nose as if he knew she was feeling unsettled and enervated. She let him out into the corral giving him an apple to munch as she left him. The black horse trotted up, snorting, and prancing, clearly asking her for a treat. She had saved one apple for her own breakfast, but she carved off a piece of it for the black, and then handed the rest to Dollar.

I suppose I will just have to starve today, greedy gut. She laughed and then noting the time, hurried off to her first class.

She was walking down the tree-lined drive from the stable when she had the strongest feeling of something watching her. It was so strong she stopped in mid-stride and searched with her eyes the surrounding trees and brush for someone nearby. She found no one, but the feeling persisted. A bit frightened she hurried on, but encountered no persons at all along the way. However, she breathed a sigh of relief when she was inside the entry of the main building. She just made her class, slipping into her place just as the professor entered.

Since most of the exams had been taken Professor Turley was allowing this to be a kind of discussion group. No one was asking the question Tia wanted to know. Finally, she gathered her courage and asked, feeling self-conscious about it since she had always seemed to be put off by everyone else, including friends, when she brought the subject up.

Professor Turley, do the Worm Crystals exist, or is that just a made up ‘fairy’ tale?

They exist.

So why haven’t we learned to use them?

Why would we want to do that and to what purpose would we do it?

Aren’t we supposed to be learning ‘old’ magic here?

I would think the Crystals would be ‘new’ magic, and we have learned and studied ‘old’ magic for the last four years; at least, as much as we know of it. Did you know the ancients could take a heart from one person and place it into another without ill effect?

Someone in the back of the class said loudly, Why in the world would they want to do that?

I suppose if someone died with a perfectly good heart, one with a weak one might benefit, or rather that is the conclusion I have come to in my studies of the matter. Professor Turley surmised thoughtfully.

Back to the Crystals Tia said determinedly. Why wouldn’t they be an asset to the work we do, which I would not call magic, but practical skill and knowledge of an ancient art?

Because… simply, they do not work for just anyone. We do not know how they work, but they seem to amplify talents a person already has and not many people have those talents strong enough to be amplified. I have only seen one in my whole life and that one only recently. It is a wonder to me, for I had always thought them a tall tale for children, as most people do, I believe. They are rare beyond rare, and few exist. How did you get the impression you would learn of them here?

Suddenly, Tia was ashamed; because she had believed the tales her Aunt had told her of the University and never had stopped to consider them logically, not even during all the years here. She had wanted to believe because the Crystal would have made her special, which she had never been, but wanted desperately to be needed and special somewhere of her own.

She realized, for the first time, that here was the one place her Aunt would be able to get rid of her without guilt and never have to worry about her being family or being included ever again. She would be posted somewhere far away with letters as the only contact and that, her Aunt would believe, would end her duty to the weary burden of her husband’s sister’s child. She had believed her Aunt was seeing to her future, since only she was to benefit from being sent to the University. She had thought of it as a sign she was cared for after all.

Her Aunt had simply told her things she wanted to hear to make her decide to come here to study. She was stuck because the cost of her tuition was to be posted where she was needed, with little choice as to where. That didn’t count with students that had paid their way through, only those who applied and tested high enough to be credits to the school were allowed the ‘free’ tuition. Indeed, most children were only allowed a local education of basic knowledge. Reading, writing and basic arithmetic were all they would ever learn or actually need to learn. For the few that wanted more, for the ones who had no hope of inheritance or the strength to build their own wealth, if they were mentally able, there was the University. The price of a free education was to go where you were stationed without question. The price of your tuition was paid for by bid through the people who applied to the University for someone to fill their needs. The better the grades the better were the chances at a rich posting. Megan would go home and become a teacher in her small town when she graduated. Her family had paid her tuition. She went home every summer for the few months of no classes and helped her family on their farm. One year Tia had gone with her and she had met several of the young men that Megan would have to pick from for her life mate. Tia hadn’t found any of them especially attractive in anything but their big blonde looks and muscle bound bodies, and none of them found her especially attractive either once she had outrun them all in a mid-summer celebration foot race, then did cartwheels and flips back down the track to the shock of the whole town. Megan laughed and laughed, but Tia believed that Megan’s parents were rather glad when she went back to school. She had been the outsider, always and there would never be a place for her to call her own, or a people to want her companionship. She was totally alone with no one, not even a friend, who would have a place for her.

She came back to herself to find everyone staring at her, waiting for her answer. The Professor looked concerned and she realized she must have been sitting blank faced for several long seconds. She felt the burn of tears flood her eyelids and her throat closed with emotion. She grabbed up her things and fled, running all the way back to the stable pasture to Dollar. He stood still, whiffing gently at her as she clung to his neck and sobbed.

The Black horse of the stranger came over and offered his nose for a scratch, nudging her gently, finally standing sideways, as if protecting her back, resting his chin on her shoulder comfortingly.

In the shadow of the barn, two piercing blue eyes watched, an appraising gleam lighting them with sparkling intensity.

When Tia finally headed to the Dorm rooms she had decided two things. She would be the best healer she could be and make her chosen community love her and never would she seek out the company of her blood family ever again. She would not even write to them of where she was being posted and she would request that the Dean not give out that information in the small chance they would ever request it. It was a small revenge for the hurt she was feeling, but it would be enough, not that they would even care to inquire. Let them believe she was an ungrateful little brat for all the years they had given her, but she had loved them with her whole heart and they hadn’t returned it even a little. She was done.

Another part of her wondered if love was the correct word for what she had felt for them. Perhaps loyalty was more correct, because she wasn’t sure what the definition of love was as an emotion, and maybe it was one she had never been taught to feel. Maybe she would never know