The Power of the Crystalline Trees Read online

  The Power of the Crystalline Trees

  Book One of the Golden Spiral Series

  by g.c. ramirez

  Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved by g.c. ramirez.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Soluna Press

  Box 1158

  Ennis, MT 59729

  For accompanying information about trees, the characters, and the invocations, please visit http://goldenspiralseries.com/

  Table Of Contents

  Dedication

  Turtleback Island

  Invocation for a Leader

  Prologue

  Chapter One: The Map Compass

  Chapter Two: Lost

  Chapter Three: Starting Over

  Chapter Four: The Vision

  Chapter Five: The Mother Tree

  Chapter Six: Safe Haven

  Chapter Seven: Under the Double Full Moon

  Chapter Eight: What the Firebird Knew

  Chapter Nine: The Badlands

  Chapter Ten: Arriving

  Chapter Eleven: Painful Lessons

  Chapter Twelve: Escape

  Chapter Thirteen: No Turning Back

  Excerpt from Book Two of the Golden Spiral Series

  Afterword

  About the Author

  Dedication

  To my favorite Crystallines:

  Julian and Quincy

  Turtleback Island

  Invocation for a Leader

  I have seen that the accepting of Crystalline Responsibility

  is the equating of my mortal self

  with the power of wind and lightning

  and of the morning dew

  and of the seas and storms

  and of the wolf song

  and of stars and comets and of an autumn leaf

  and of suns and solar winds.

  It is the accepting of my Crystalline Power, my Cosmic Self.

  Only thus may I live a Life

  that has caught the Essence, the Truth,

  and will stand into eternity.

  Only through total acceptance and surrender to the awesome scope of Crystalline Responsibility,

  Only thus may I know that I have come to the Balance of All That Is

  And it is me.

  Prologue

  As the oldest living survivor in the forest before and after the Great Shift, I am the keeper of records and the great awakener of the seedlings. Forty-three rings have passed since the Great Shift. For the few remaining animal species, this has been a time of simple survival. For us, it has been a time of mastering our skills. Before the devastation of Earth during the Great Shift, was our Great Devastation by Humans. That was a time when we were at their mercy, cut down and destroyed by their greed, not their needs. Our vast communication networks were destroyed. Our living systems were broken. Then a hush descended on Earth, followed by tremendous shaking, winds and floods. For many, the Great Shift was the end. For us, it was the beginning. We woke to a new dawn on Earth, an essential creator of the Balance of All That Is. Now, those who align to us become our allies. Those who don’t are eliminated from our midst. As the oldest living survivor in the forest before and after the Great Shift, I am the keeper of records and the great awakener of the seedlings.

  I am the Mother Tree of the Forest of Dandaka.

  Chapter One

  The Map Compass

  "Boy, come here.” Boosha spoke from a dim corner of the room. The small shafts of light coming from under the door and around the shutters highlighted the dust motes barely moving in the air. The old woman on the simple handmade bed lay still, conserving her energy, but her quiet voice conveyed her usual power and authority.

  Lan crouched awkwardly at the hearth, not quite comfortable with his recent growth spurt and lanky limbs. He stoked the fire while bringing the finishing touches to a pot of tea, hoping not to make a mess. Normally Boosha took care of this task, while he handled the gathering and chopping of wood. Being outside was always preferable to inside where he was prone to bump into and break things.

  Standing up with a cup of tea in his hands, he lurched unevenly across the room toward Boosha’s side, trying not to trip over his feet or hit the table.

  “Boosha, let me get the doctor for you,” Lan said, his voice strained. He set the tea down with a rattle on a little side table, managing not to spill any of it.

  Boosha snorted. “Well, I might be close to dying, but he’d kill me for sure,” she said.

  Leaning forward, she grabbed his wrist urging him with her touch to listen to her message and not leave because of his fear.

  “Take that,” she said, pointing with her free hand at a leather rucksack leaning against the wall. He’d never seen it before.

  “I’m sorry we’ve run out of time together,” Boosha continued “There are things I still wanted to teach you and you haven’t received your third initiation yet. You will have to get it from someone else. Don’t worry, it will happen.”

  As he picked up the rucksack, Lan felt disoriented. What was Boosha talking about? What teachings and initiations was she referring to? He was completely confused by her message, but his concern for her divided his thoughts.

  Lan tried to calm her. “You can tell me all this later, when you feel better.”

  “No, no, no!” she said. “This is the last chance we’ll get. It must be now. You have been like a grandson to me, but I haven’t told you everything. I thought I would have more time.” Boosha struggled to sit upright.

  Lan put his arm underneath her shoulders and helped her sit up, while wishing she would lie back down. He felt twisted inside. What did she want to say that was so urgent she overrode her own need to rest?

  Boosha reached into the rucksack he was holding and pulled out an odd-looking object. “This is the most important,” she said, handing it to him. It reminded him of long ago compasses that had stopped working during the Great Shift. Even if it could, the needle on this compass wouldn’t point to one direction. As he looked at the face, he saw the needle make a wide arc across a green section, starting in the lower left corner that said Gavilan. He had no idea what that meant. The middle of the green area said Forest of Dandaka. This one he knew. He and Boosha lived right beside this great forest. The needle, stopping at the top right edge of the green section, said Asira. Each time he looked at it, Lan watched the needle sweep in its strange arc from the bottom left to the top right.

  “You must follow the Map Compass as you would any map and it will take you to Asira,” said Boosha.

  Lan was so confused he wasn’t even sure what to ask. “But why?” he finally managed to blurt out. He wanted to smack himself on the head. At the moment, that seemed the silliest question he could have asked.

  Evidently Boosha agreed with him. “I don’t have time to explain it all to you.” Boosha cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Just listen and remember what I am telling you right now.”

  Lan tried to bargain with her. “I’ll go as soon as you feel better,” he said.

  “No!” Boosha exclaimed. “There are dark forces working to change the Balance of All That Is and they must be stopped before the world shifts beyond the tipping point again. We were going to go together to Asira but now The Gatherers are coming. You must leave before they get here or they will take you as they did….” Her
voice trailed off and then she muttered, “others.”

  Lan winced. He knew what she had been about to say. She’d almost said his parents. He was too young to remember when The Gatherers had swept through their village and taken his mother and father, essentially turning him into an orphan. Usually they just snatched up the children with the piercing blue eyes. But that time was different.

  Where they took the children and his parents, or even if they were still alive, remained a mystery. After his parents vanished, Boosha had taken him under her wing and raised him as her own. Through the years, Lan had tried to get Boosha to tell him more about what happened to his parents, but she never answered and left it to him to decide their fate.

  “All right,” he surrendered, nodding sadly. Everything was moving too fast for him to take in, but he knew that the quiet life he’d lived was over and something new was beginning.

  “Tell me what to do.”

  Boosha stopped to catch her breath, and Lan handed her the tea he’d made from willow bark. She nodded her head in thanks and acknowledgement, and stared intently at Lan. It made him nervous. He felt like she was sizing him up for something, but he wasn’t sure for what. He must have passed the test because Boosha reached into the rucksack and handed Lan the next item.

  “When you arrive at your destination, you must wear this,” she said and handed him a deep blue cloak trimmed in gold and made with the softest of wool fibers. Geometric shapes were embroidered throughout the fabric.

  Lan felt his face flush hot. “No way!” he said, rebelling at the thought of it. He had no idea what this task might be that she expected him to complete, but he knew it was NOT going to involve putting on an attention-grabbing cloak!

  Everyone in the village wore the same simple, functional clothing. His sandy-colored tunic and pants were completely comfortable against his skin while not restricting his movements. More than fitting in with the village, though, he felt his clothes matched who he was… someone who could disappear at the back of a crowd or in the fields around the village. He’d spent a good deal of his life not drawing attention to himself. He wasn’t going to start now with an expensive-looking cloak.

  “Boy!” Boosha barked. “We have very little time left. I can’t explain everything right now. You must listen to me and do exactly as I tell you.”

  Reaching into the bag, she pulled out the last item...a large crystal in the shape of a cube. She placed it in Lan’s hand. At first it felt cold and heavy, then a warm, iridescent light shot out of its center, startling him in the dim room. It only lasted a few seconds, but if he bent over and looked into its core, he could still see the swirl of the light. He couldn’t take his eyes off the mesmerizing movement of colors.

  “You must take this to Asira,” she said. “And deliver it with the Three Keys.” Boosha placed her hand over the crystal cube, demanding that he look up at her. “Its name is Empowerment,” she whispered. “Protect it and keep its name secret.”

  Lan’s eyes widened and he stared at Boosha like an animal looking at a hunter. He could barely get himself dressed and out the door without tripping or breaking something. He was never on time, often losing himself in the frisky movements of a dog chasing a stick, or children running through the village center, playing tag and shouting with laughter. He had been told many times by other villagers he was not dependable. Lan liked that no one expected very much from him. A low bar from others meant he wouldn’t be asked to do things that he might mess up.

  Lan knew he was going to irritate Boosha again, but he couldn’t stop his racing thoughts tumbling from his head into the space between them. “But who do I give it to? And why am I giving it to them? Will they know what it’s all about? What if they ask me for more information? What if I give it to the wrong person? How long is this going to take?”

  Then rising from the depth of his being, Lan admitted in anguish, “I can’t do it. Don’t ask me.”

  Boosha held up a finger to shush him. “Listen!” she said. “They are coming. You must leave immediately. Go out the back door and into the forest. They won’t follow you there. Be quiet and don’t make any noise. No matter what happens don’t come back until you’ve delivered Empowerment to Asira. Follow the Map Compass and it will take you through the forest.”

  “But who’s going to take care of you?” Lan asked, not ready to leave her yet. He was acutely aware that up until now his own survival depended on Boosha, even during her illness when she’d become dependent on him. Though she wasn't actually a relative, Boosha was the only family he had. He clutched the edge of her blanket with tight fists.

  “I’ll be fine,” Boosha replied. “I’ll be here when you get back. Now go! They’re coming!”

  When she spoke in that commanding voice, Lan knew to never cross her. He grabbed the pack and the belt that held his simple wilderness gear off the hook by the front door and raced out the back door. He heard shouts and banging off to his left. Crouching low while still trying to run as fast as he could, he crossed the small field between the village and the forest. The dry corn stalks, left over from harvest a few weeks earlier, threatened to trip him while shouting out his location with their treacherous rustling.

  Lan’s heart pounded in his ears and he fought to control his ragged gasps. His mind lurched and he felt the Earth tilt, threatening to rise up and smack him in the face. Behind him he could hear the sounds of marching and cries of fear from the people in the village. He imagined The Gatherers tearing through each house.

  He reached the edge of the forest without anyone seeing him and stumbled into the cool darkness, nearly falling head first when his legs stopped. It was hushed and still, not just the absence of sound but of some living presence, aware and watching. Even underneath the dim forest canopy, a sparkling quality of light emanated from the trunks and leaves. His panic began to fade. He always felt at home in this forest.

  Stepping behind a huge tree with lots of branches, he fought to control his breath and calm his mind. His first thought was of his own safety. Then he flushed with shame. What in the world was he thinking, leaving Boosha in her time of greatest need? He had reacted so immediately to her command, he hadn’t given one thought to her well-being. Behind him came more shouts and cries of concern. What were The Gatherers doing to Boosha? He felt agony at the thought of them harming her. He couldn’t continue one more step without knowing she was safe.

  Lan climbed the tree, the rough bark scraping his hands. He moved cautiously to not create any movement in the branches that could be seen by others. He finally reached a spot high enough to allow him to look back at the village but still hide behind the dark jade leaves. Their soft, quiet touch on his face seemed surreal against the scene in the village. Several of the cottages were burning. People were running in total chaos trying to get away from The Gatherers. His heart lurched in his chest as cries, shouts and the yelps of dogs carried across the field. A group of large men in red and gold leather uniforms dragged Boosha by her hair into the square.

  “Where is he?” they shouted at Boosha. She crossed her arms over her chest and didn’t speak. The Gatherers scanned the crowd, obviously looking for someone.

  “Boy!” they shouted. “If you want to save this old woman, you better get out here right now!”

  Lan felt his stomach quiver but held himself absolutely still. Were they yelling at him? He couldn’t let them do anything to Boosha. He started to climb down but stopped when he felt Boosha glaring across the village and the field, through the leaves and right into his eyes.

  “Don’t you dare move. Do as I have told you.” He heard her words inside his head as if she’d spoken them to his face. His mind raced erratically, not understanding how this was happening. Could she really see him? He instinctively shifted deeper into the tree, afraid that others could see him as well.
>
  Clinging to the branch and barely breathing, Lan watched as The Gatherers continued to ransack the village. They seemed determined to find someone, but Lan still doubted all this was just for him. He was nobody, invisible to most of the villagers. They saw him only as the boy who helped the old woman, fetched her wood and got her herbs.

  Now Boosha, on the other hand, was someone of importance in the village. She used her knowledge of plants to help people heal from wounds and illness. She was also known for her skills in predicting the future, especially the weather. The farmers depended on her for advice on when to plant, harvest or protect their fields. Weirdly, people also sometimes asked Boosha about their affairs of the heart. They made her chuckle. Under the guise of a potion to make someone fall in love, Boosha would dispense wisdom about what a loving relationship really entailed. She showed people how to love themselves first and open their hearts to be in a relationship.

  Lan always watched in amazement when she helped the villagers. She had endless depths of insight that she dispensed with ease and confidence. He wondered where it came from. He felt completely blank inside about the life challenges that people brought to her. He couldn’t imagine giving advice to anyone.

  To him, Boosha seemed to be a part of everything while he didn’t feel connected to anything. He liked her telling him what to do and organizing his day for him, because he had no idea what he would do otherwise. Once in a while, he had wondered what would happen to him when he was older and Boosha was no longer around. He mostly dismissed those thoughts because that time was surely years down the road. Now, for the first time, he began to realize how wrong he’d been.

  Lan snapped back to the present. His hands clenched a branch so hard his knuckles had turned white. Little broken twigs poked into his palms leaving dents. He shook out his hands, knowing he needed to move deeper into the forest, past the place he and Boosha visited regularly to search for mushrooms and other plants. He wasn’t fearful about being in the forest, but he knew most other people were. Many had entered the great Forest of Dandaka but never came out again.