The Fledglings ~ A Beacon

By E. DeLaurentis

The final book of the Sakrosians Series trilogy.

The Seer El has been seeking a resolution ever since the Sakrosian Council set the Directive to ensure the Fledglings survive, despite the threats to their own existence. Now she has even more questions and less time. She is convinced they can do more to ensure Fledglings accomplis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writing Studio LLC
• Release date: Sep 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781733792066

E. DeLaurentis

Elizabeth DeLaurentis is an author living in Florida, writing Fantasy and Historical Fiction. Her debut novel was The Fledglings - A Great Divide, the first book in the Sakrosians Series trilogy.After years as a designer building physical environments, Elizabeth pursued creating imaginary worlds inhabited by thoughtful, struggling, witty, and sometimes ridiculous characters.Elizabeth's writing emphasizes strong female characters who face the challenges of their time in history and, with perseverance, choose to make an indelible impact.

Book preview

The Fledglings

A Beacon

Sakrosians Series

Book 3

Elizabeth DeLaurentis

© 2021 Elizabeth DeLaurentis

No part of this document may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of

Elizabeth DeLaurentis, Writing Studio LLC.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Cover Art © 2021 Elizabeth DeLaurentis

ISBN 978-1-7337920-5-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-7337920-6-6 (ebook)

* * *

What made this celestial orb, this Gaia, so special is that we decided to manifest our form here. Granted, the Gaia has majestic qualities—frost-tipped mountains, wobbly seas, fluttering foliage, and creatures that survived sporadic upheavals. We were filaments of energy before, with the intention to change. That is the critical aspect of Sakrosian history. Not content to remain static. So it is not surprising, really, that we now have come to this drastic change in our form, from ethereal to physical…

I do not have a conscious recollection of when we transitioned from energy filament to Sakrosian form. None of us would argue that was ill conceived. But we have gaps in what we envisioned in creating the Fledglings, gaps larger than any chasm on the Gaia.

We have not determined every aspect, we cannot anticipate what will arise, and so much could go wrong.

–Gno from The Fledglings ~ A Great Divide

* * *

Contents

Altered Directive

Reluctant Leader

Seer’s Obligation

Diversion

Chant in Unison

Flee to Ravine

Newyk Concerns

Keep Moving

Hidden Tracks

Ridge Rocks

Injuries

Ravine Crossing

The Grotto

Overwhelmed

Norwyk Destroyed

Unfamiliar Path

Magistrate and Myths

Woodland Conversation

Seers

Ak Dissipates

Discoverers

Finding the Path

Reunion

Seer’s Help

Origins

Guided Intention

A Conjured Bridge

Council Reports

A Different Light

Council Confrontation

Birth

Departure

Remembering

Relieved Travelers

Concealed

Ak’s Plan

Unseen

Reflections

Newyk Directive

Inevitable Destruction

Willing Participant

Show Them

The Collapse

Messenger

Someday

The Leader

The Next Journey

The Chant

A Strategy

Angst

Shock Wave

Extracted Essence

Defend Yourself

Rebirth

Dying Embers

So Be It

Sakrosians Series Characters

Altered Directive

El stumbled down the steps of the Sakros City Council Complex, needing to get away from the discussions in the Chamber. How can they be so calculating after what happened? she thought as she raised her hand to her face, astonished at the tears streaming down her cheeks. We are not supposed to weep, we conjure what is superficial. A Sakrosian wearing a red fluffed hat stared at her as she staggered across the promenade. El flicked her hand, a cape materialized, and she pulled the hood up to hide her distress. As if a hood could shield my thoughts from their intrusive peering. Embarrassed that her emotions were too obvious, she lurched quickly toward a hovercraft platform.

A white-cloaked Nurturer disembarked from the hover, glanced at El’s hooded figure, and stepped in front of those waiting to board. Let the Seer reach her destination alone.

To the western woods, El commanded as she boarded. The craft surged forward, hovering above the river of energy that meandered through the city. She alighted when it reached the meadow platform and swayed unsteadily toward the trees in the distance, her cape billowing in the cold breeze, as her Seers’ skill splintered in a whirl of images. She glimpsed Behra running through trees far north of Sakros City, reminding her of the first time she had seen the forest dweller three years before, when Behra carried her Fledgling child through the western woods El approached.

What stark changes had occurred since then. Now Behra’s daughter lived with a family in a village on the outskirts of Sakros City, and the woman of the forest was fleeing an attack on the Norwyk community with the Fledgling hunter Velar and two little forest dwellers. El glanced up at the thick gray clouds blowing above the woods. Let it not snow on them, they need to hide their tracks.

El swooned, overcome by a vision, and fell forward. Her hands clenched against the frost, turning white and prickling from the cold. The image showed her what she should have seen when she attempted to watch the two cousins, Reu and Ereu, before she realized her images of forest dwellers were hindered by Ak. She now saw what the little ones had seen as they traveled alone from Newyk in Terrenor toward Norwyk, when they followed the tracks of a forest dweller tribe. They’d climbed trees to peer over a ridge and seen a wide valley where a river ran north to south between rocky patches and quivering rushes. Hundreds of tents were clustered along both sides of the river.

The two had gone on to find Behra and warn her of the gathering tribes. El had watched them after they arrived in Norwyk, because—she learned after Ak’s scheme was exposed—she could see forest dwellers when they were in the presence of Fledglings. But at the time, when she tried to see what they described of the valley, all her images were obscured. Now, as the vision resurfaced clearly, she saw the throngs gathered. She smacked her fists on the ground and pushed herself up. If only I could have seen the tribes before it was too late.

El stared ahead at the line of trees, the western woods. She had learned in the chaos of the Council meeting that she had been kept from seeing its secrets. Too many secrets, concealed by other Councilors, including Ved. At one time, she had trusted the Logistician, trust she ruined when she betrayed his confidence. She thought they had resolved their disagreement; but Ved hadn’t explained why her images were suppressed, even when she confided in him that she thought her skill was diminishing.

The concealment decision—and many others—were made decades ago, before she joined the Council. She was prevented from watching the Secrecy Magistrate experiments when they genetically modified the offspring of existing Gaia creatures. Their intention was to produce a new species to embody Sakrosian ideals. The results were not what they expected; nevertheless, they decided to focus on one experiment: the Fledglings. Seers’ images were intentionally hindered to shield them from witnessing what the Council decided about the other prototypes. Ved might have thought he was protecting her from seeing the purging atrocity that ensued.

Ved was now in Terrenor with two Sentinels, who would perceive information via their chant. Sentinel General Vokr had witnessed her images in the Council meeting. What she saw at a distance—the brutal attack on Norwyk—was displayed on the Chamber wall. But if the Sentinels only communicated at dusk, then Ved might not yet have learned of the tragedy.

Ved, she beckoned, hoping he heard and would dissipate, projecting an aspect of his ethereal form to be near her. Do you know about Norwyk?

There was a flicker among the tree shadows, and El rushed forward, relieved. His voice resonated as his dissipation emerged. Tell me.

There were so many forest dwellers who attacked, we could not help the Norwyk village! El sobbed as she blurted out her distress.

What happened? Ved asked, extending his hands toward hers. El wished they could touch, but if he had been in Sakros City instead of northern lands far away, Sakrosians’ energy prevented their contact. She lowered her chin to her chest. Even if she had been in Norwyk to help the Fledglings, she couldn’t have held Astra as the elder took her last breath.

There were tribes who gathered. I was prevented from seeing, until it was too late, El said. Did you know I could not see them?

Ved furrowed his brows. Forest dweller tribes in these western woods?

El raised her head, clenching her fists to quell her shaking. There is a valley, leagues west of Norwyk. A tributary from the Great Divide river runs through it. Hundreds of forest dwellers had gathered there.

I only know of four or five men who were here in Terrenor, then were sighted going south. The two little ones followed cautiously to warn Behra not to return to Newyk the way she, Deik, and Velar had traveled.

I tried to watch Reu and Ereu; that was what made me realize something, or someone, was interfering with what I could see. You thought the Nurturer Aza had manipulated you, but she was just doing what Ak wanted. He did not want me to see when he appeared to some of the tribes, so he had the Sentinel chant modified. I could only see forest dwellers if they were near Fledglings.

The Directive has no such stipulation. Ved scowled as he recalled Council decisions. You, uh, all Seers, were permitted to watch Fledglings, but constrained regarding the other Secrecy Magistrate experiments. There was never a discussion of broadening…it was meant to keep you from seeing—

You cannot defend that decision, El interrupted. Ak, as Council Leader, determined he could influence what I could and could not see. Evidently, he convinced Vokr and Aza that the Directive justified his actions. The Directive—we will do whatever is necessary to help the Fledglings survive—emboldened his scheme.

El started to pace as she thought back on what she had only glimpsed in a scattering of images; she kicked the crinkling leaves on the forest floor in frustration. If only I had realized something was wrong when Behra’s village was burned. Ak was encouraging forest dwellers to attack other tribes in order to reduce their population.

Thunder! He never discussed that with the Council.

He thinks forest dwellers pose a threat to Fledglings. Unfortunately, their attack against Norwyk proved he is right. And because he kept me from seeing them, we could not protect the village. I…saw them…kill Astra. And Mereg, and Pylor, and other elders who stood bravely while younger villagers escaped.

We took most of their weapons with us when the band of men traveled from Norwyk to Terrenor, Ved said. I failed to think logistically; that was my own fault in believing Newyk was threatened. It never occurred to me Norwyk faced danger.

It never occurred to Ak either. The elders we sat with at their lodge—El’s lips trembled as she swiped at a tear—are gone.

A twig snapped nearby. Ved turned slowly in his dissipated form. El looked up and gasped, stumbling back, her cape flailing around her as she fell. A creature stepped from behind a tree and adjusted a bow slung across his shoulder. His tunic was cropped short, a belt strapped just below his chest. He stared intensely toward the two Sakrosians with his black eyes, assessing them. He nodded toward Ved, then turned on his four legs and cantered away. Other hooves pounded through the woods.

What…what was that? El whispered as she struggled to stand and compose herself. She was glad Ved had turned away from her.

The Mythmakers call them centaurs, Ved said as he stared through the trees.

But he was half…

Half stag, half Sakrosian in a physical manifestation. One of the experiments from the Secrecy Magistrate who managed to survive. I had not realized they remained this close to Sakros City.

El stomped her foot, sending a flurry of leaves scattering. This is what has been kept from me, and you knew!

Ved turned and matched her gaze. It was not my decision alone to keep you in the dark. Previous Seers left their Sakrosian existence because they abhorred the destruction they witnessed.

Like the destruction of Norwyk? Which we could have stopped if Sentinels—

No. The Sentinels would not have intervened.

Another secret you knew about. Sentinels are the only Sakrosians who can wield weapons.

Ved glanced over his shoulder to the tree near where the centaur had stood. But the only use of weapons sanctioned was to cull the experiments, if the creatures posed a danger.

The Sentinels can kill creatures resulting from the experiments, which means they could kill Fledglings! Yet you took two Sentinels to Terrenor while traveling with the Norwyk men?

It was the only way we could travel so far from Sakros City. Ak modified the alchemy of the Sentinels’ emblems to function as an energy source so we could maintain our form. I was aware of their inclination; if faced with a dire situation, the Sentinels might use the weapons as originally intended. But we watched them vigilantly on the journey, and once we reached Newyk, we kept them away at the grotto to avoid any destructive impulse.

I assume Vokr communicates to them via the chant at dusk, so they will know tonight that their instructions have changed. They shall not use their weapons against Fledglings, but instead do what they can to protect them.

Ved nodded. It was only a matter of time for that decision to be necessary. You said some Fledglings escaped from Norwyk?

Behra, Velar, and the two little ones caused a distraction running south from the village while other families fled east. Deik is leading them to the ravine, but they have carts and children, which will slow their progress. They have an arduous journey to reach Terrenor and could encounter more tribes on the way.

Ved slumped against a tree. Ak will take Sentinels north, then.

Yes, they are in the Council Chamber planning their mission. Oh, the superior Sakrosians deciding what happens to others on the Gaia. Was Lita’s prophetic notion that we should not intervene always a pretense? We conjured a magnificent city unlike anything else. Our collective energy is tethered to maintain it, with the coercive chant aligning us, keeping us in place. Until Ak used his alchemy and sent four out to test how far you could travel, all the way to Terrenor. Now nothing will stop him. He no longer needs to dissipate to encourage tribes against each other since he can use the Sentinels. It disgusted me to watch how easily the Council agreed with Ak’s intent to kill, even though violence contradicts the Sakrosian ideal of harmony we profess.

El’s agitation flared, with the woods distant enough from the Chamber to lessen the restraint she typically felt.

Councilors shifted quickly from concern about the villagers’ deaths to sanctioning the Sentinels to act as predators. Is that what happened years ago when Sentinels came to these woods to slay the creatures who were an inconvenient result of experiments? Now they talk about vanquishing forest dwellers because they pose a threat to the Fledglings we are transforming into. Is there no other way to accomplish the Directive? What happens if the Sentinels shift their focus and fail to monitor how many Sakrosians leave? How long until there is insufficient energy to maintain Sakros City? Despite my obstinate dissent with many Council decisions, I agree with Lita’s conjecture for once; there will be unintended consequences when weapons are deployed.

Ved stared at her intently while she ranted. El started shaking her head, anticipating what he would say, but he forged ahead. You must go with them. They will need your ability to see.

Lita, the Prophetess who failed to see what could occur, has now determined that I should see everything. El spat the words.

If you defy the Directive now, you will not fulfill your purpose.

A year ago, I thought my purpose would be achieved if I could determine what the original Council neglected to do. More than a century has passed, but you were in the room while decisions were made, when they realized Sakrosian limitations are because we lack a physical form. They chose to initiate the transformation process, to be born as Fledglings, despite the flaws and what it meant to our possible demise. The Council failed to foresee how the new species could become the enlightened beings they intended. I wanted to perceive if Fledglings could evolve as Lita claims, wishing to see more than what a Seer typically watched unfold at a distance. Instead, I flailed for a year, wondering if my ability was so diminished that my existence as a Sakrosian was irrelevant. Now I know Ak kept my images obscured for his scheme. How naïve I was to think that I, the last Seer, could discover what was left unfinished. A flock of birds fluttered from the branches as El’s shrill voice rose. Am I expected to help Ak after what he has done?

We will do whatever we can to help the Fledglings survive, Ved repeated the Directive refrain. You are not helping Ak. Think of Deik and the others who need your skill so the Sentinels can protect the travelers. You are the one who can see what needs to be accomplished.

El shook her head. He is as stubbornly logical as ever. She gazed at him, taking in his faint bronze dissipation in the Fledgling attire he conjured. Boots caked in mud from tracking through woods, hide leggings, and a tunic tied at his midriff with a wide belt. She studied the pouch tethered to his thigh, hardened leather like ones Iwar made. Ved wouldn’t need to carry water for himself. Staring at the flask, El realized it was not conjured but something Wenda had used.

Sakrosians could modulate their senses to hear, smell, and hold physical objects like creatures of the Gaia. The Nurturers, and a few others, had managed to reduce their energy pulse enough so they could actually touch Fledglings without causing harm in order to act as healers. But Sakrosians didn’t need food, energy was sustenance. Ved was willing to do this small task—carry water for Wenda—to comply with the Directive. All El could do was watch the girl, the one who had found Behra when the travelers had desperately tried and failed to cross the turbulent Great Divide river. It was the woman of the forest who led them to a path behind a tumbling waterfall when not one Sakrosian knew how Fledglings could reach Terrenor.

Wenda tends to forget her flask when she carries her bow, quiver, and a pouch of grain for bread. Nila makes pockets on her tunic for her to carry small objects. Wenda still has the stone she picked up at the Great Divide where her brother died. I carry this in case she needs it.

El could pound her fists into frost-covered moss; but in her ethereal form, she would never know how it felt to be held in a loving embrace. She was not alone in that Sakrosian desire, which had lingered for millennia, until the Council decided to change their destiny.

She sighed. You will have to tell Wenda…about her aunt and uncle. And Luken’s grandparents who raised him, and Onkos’s father…all stood bravely. The others in Newyk will be concerned about those who fled the Norwyk attack. I saw Enek’s wife, Ty, and her sisters flee east with Deik.

Reluctant Leader

The pelt attached to Deik’s vest swung in time with his long strides as he hurried to keep pace with the hunter, Kem. Deik kept glancing back at the families behind them on the path. Carts rumbled along, pushed by woodsmen. Deik feared the thudding noise could give away their location. Supplies filled most of the space in the carts, but a few children rode who were too big to be carried yet too small to run. As much as he had hated hearing the screams from Norwyk, and dreaded what it meant that they no longer heard them, the cessation meant the tribes might soon follow their tracks. He coughed from the smoke drifting in their direction and wondered how much of the village had burned.

Kem glanced at him. I know how long it takes me to reach the bridge at the ravine on my own. We might need another option.

I only know what my pa mapped of the area. The Norwyk river emerges from the river in the ravine, but the chasm is too wide and steep to cross anywhere other than where they built the bridge, Deik said.

Ty strode beside a cart where her sister, Nima, was trying to reassure her children, Sek and Plek. The brother and sister whimpered as they huddled together in the cart.

What will happen to the lambs? Sek asked.

I don’t know, maybe they will be taken to new pastures, Nima said.

What about— Plek started, but her mother shook her head.

You need to be brave like the other children. We have trusted the plan our Elders made at the founding of Norwyk. We are fleeing as they decided.

Ty gathered her shawl closer to her mouth and inhaled deeply. What the Elders decided. What the men decided, while we women stood to the side. We should have practiced more often with weapons. I’m barely able to hit a still target with an arrow. She glanced around at the cluster of travelers. Farmers had spears and their tools. Woodsmen had axes, which would only be useful if the enemies were close. The two hunters and Deik had bows. She shoved the spears further into the cart as they rattled under the supplies. She had grabbed what she could from her hut, what her husband, Enek, had left behind and what Velar had managed to make.

Nima’s husband replied. I hope we don’t need weapons. If we stay away from the village until the tribes leave—

Reig the builder, one of the Elders, interrupted. We won’t be going back. Don’t you understand what this smoke means? There will be no village to return to.

That silenced them. Only the thumping of the cart wheels dragging along the path continued the rhythm of their shuffling feet.

After a few moments, Ty ran forward beside Kem. Perhaps the two best archers should take positions at the back of our group. If any of the tribesmen follow, you could defend us better. Deik knows the way to the ravine.

Kem nodded and spun out from the path to let the others move forward.

Deik willed his lanky legs to keep going. He reached up to secure his long hair in a tie, thinking of Telek, who used to wear his hair the same way. It was more than a year since they had last seen him, when Telek had confidently led the first group who left Norwyk in their trek to cross the Great Divide. He wished he had his mentor’s determination, although not his temper.

Deik glanced sideways as Ty jogged beside him. I don’t have a plan for what to do.

You’re taking us to the ravine. Onkos and Enek rebuilt the bridge; it won’t be the broken pieces like the last time you saw it.

I told Kem and Reig, I think it took us four days to reach it before. But they want to rest only a few hours tonight. It’s an aggressive pace for everyone.

Fear will urge us on.

But then it’s many days to reach the Great Divide. I don’t have the maps with me, and I think there could be a faster path. I don’t know where to go. I don’t know how this big of a group can travel to Terrenor. If that’s even where we’re going.

We just need to focus on the first goal. Get to the ravine before the tribes follow us, Ty said.

Deik glanced at her again. Her jaw was set in a resolute grimace and her arms were pumping to match their pace. She was forming a plan. He was relieved someone was.

Seer’s Obligation

It was late afternoon when El returned to the Council Complex. She hesitated before tugging on the doors, knowing what would be expected once she stepped inside. But even if she tried to hide in her room at the Twin Trunks, they would come for her.

Inside the entry, the curved corridor was filled with Sentinels, none of them standing stoically in their alcoves as they normally did. El had to weave her way through the crowd. She had never seen so many, although it would make sense that they stood vigil in shifts. She glanced at several as she passed. They looked similar in their black tunics, but small characteristics varied their appearance. One had a curved nose, like a falcon’s beak. Another’s small raccoonish ears were set high, and his hair was streaked in bands of black and gray.

A path cleared as two Nurturers escorted Aza from the Chamber. El stared, noticing she was even paler than usual, her white gown and hair incandescent. Perhaps the trauma of witnessing the massacre, when the Nurturers dissipated in an attempt to ease the villagers’ pain, would force Aza to reconsider her role. "Do you regret what you did to further Ak’s scheme?" El projected her question without expecting a reply. Aza avoided returning her gaze and hurried away.

El entered the round Chamber, squinting to adjust to the low light where the Councilors clustered in whispering groups. Tor, in his dark-gray tunic with black embroidery, stood near the blue-and-gold-robed Star Gazer. They studied an eight-pointed star. Tor gestured to a sketch in a