Sada saved Tsomis. The ceremony had been complete when she found him held by the elves. It was a violation of the most important law that the elves had: no human would ever enter the elven caves for any reason. It was their separateness; it was what made them elves. A human who entered the cave would gain some of their elveness. It was the concentration of the dust under the mountain that they derived their power and their weakness from. The humans would not understand how to control that power. They would abuse it and they would take dominion over the elves, who had spent centuries cultivating and learning to control their powers.

Sada did not have the power to save him. The elven prophet power was limited by the elven council. Her power was in selecting and advising the new monarch.

“Release him,” she said to the elves surrounding Tsomis.

“We cannot do that, prophet,” the elf pinning Tsomis’s arms behind his back said. “You know the penalty for a human coming into the cave. We do not have even have a penalty for a human observing two of our most sacred ceremonies. Clearly he must be put to death.”

An older elf approached them. He was very short and wore his hair long. It had grown gray in the past few years as he reached in to his forties, which was ancient for an elf. He was the leader of the elven council. There were rumors in the caves that he spent much of his time among the humans in the valley, escaping the orange dust to elongate his life. Sada never believed in these rumors; although it seemed strange for the elves to gossip. There must be some truth in it for such gossip to survive.

“You know the law, prophet,” the old man said. “The elven council will meet and they will find this human’s fate.”

“His name is Tsomis,” Sada said.

“Very well, you know Tsomis’s fate.”

Tsomis could barely move against the rock hard grasp of the two elves. “I was only looking,” he said. He was cut off by a quick punch to his kidney area. The strike cut off his air and he could only gasp trying to find breath.

“That is not necessary,” Sada said.

“It is necessary,” the elder said. It is bad enough that he came into the cave and desecrated our two most ancient ceremonies. To then destroy our halls with his human voice afterwards. It is almost too unbearable for me to take.”

Sada realized that she loved Tsomis. She did not know where that love came from or how long she had the feelings. He was so sweet and innocent looking. She could not let them do what they were planning to do. It was unacceptable. She had to save him. She did not have authority over the elven council. In the caves, her authority was almost nonexistent. She could sit on the council and advise them, but she held no official sway outside of testifying and arguing. She did not vote.

“You cannot judge him,” Sada said, making her decision then and there. She realized it was the only way she could save him.

“What do you mean we cannot judge him?” the elder asked. The elves were quick to anger and the elder used his emotions to convince others to obey him. He was not used to being questioned, even or especially by the prophet. Whenever the prophet came to the council, it was usually to receive instructions. The last prophet had tried to follow those instructions; but there had been times when the prophets only listened as the council spoke, but never implemented their policies in the valley.

“I chose him,” Sada said.

“What?” the elder asked. He did not understand what she was saying.

“He is the next king,” Sada said. She grabbed Tsomis’s arm and pulled him away from the guards. “Come with me, Tsomis. There is much we need to discuss now.”

The elves parted for the two of them to walk by. Much to their surprise, she did not lead Tsomis to the exit. Instead she led him deeper into the caves. She was going to bring him to the council’s chamber. There was much she needed to tell him about the world he had just inherited.

“I do not understand,” Tsomis said. “What do you mean you chose me to be the next king?”

“You know what that means,” Sada said. “I am the prophet, and the old king was assassinated along with the old prophet. I chose you to be the next king.”

“You did that just to save me?” Tsomis asked. He was concerned that she had made the wrong choice. “What about choosing based on what feels right? Did I feel right? Was I the one that was right for the future of humanity and the valley?”

“Saving you felt right,” Sada said. She was not sure of her answer, but wanted to sound sure for Tsomis’s benefit. “Whether it is the right that we think it is we will not know for some time. You do not inherit a good place, Tsomis. There is much chaos and there is much mistrust between our peoples. We are also entering the time when we approach the next Event. The valley must be prepared for it. Our people predict it will be catastrophic. It will not be like the previous events that have been light by comparison.”

“I still do not understand any of this,” Tsomis admitted. “I need to sit down. I need a moment to understand what just happened.”

“You will not have many such moments,” Sada said. “There is chaos in the valley. The murder was a coo. The human council was trying to take over the valley government. They think they know what is best, and it is not what us elves choose. They will not welcome me as their next prophet, and they will not welcome you as their ruler. But they will accept us with closed arms and knives behind our back. There is much we need to plan and little time to do it.”

The people behind the rebellion were the children who arrived from the tent city. They came to rescue their friends, and it became apparent that they would have to use the government. The developed sympathy in the council, and then conveyed that sympathy into power. What they knew about was survival. And they used that survival skills to co-opt the council and begin to move it in the direction they wanted.

Theodore did not realize that he was an orphan of the previous queen. The queen and her prophet were his parents. Like Tsomis and Sada before them, there had been a relationship there that went beyond the normal relationship their professional relationship.

The murder of his parents should have been the basis. As to the magic, I do not know where that came from. Theodore and his comrades want to find the truth of the tent city. Sada knows the truth and it was a sad heart she tells Tsomis about the tent city and the children that are raised there, and the trade that they need to survive. It is a time of upheaval as the Event approaches. It is a year away, and the valley as they know it will change. No longer will they have plenty of food or be able to spend their days studying. The valley is not greatly affected by the descending meteors. They do not crash on earth; instead, they release their orange dust as they make their way through the atmosphere. Living outside of the valley becomes more difficult, and there are attempts first by the tent city people and then by more violent gangs to invade the tent and get away from the rank air. People try to settle on the mountain but they are not successful. The weather they know is too unstable during the winter to live there.

The people outside the valley live lives that are shorter and more energetic. Like the elves, they learn powers based on the orange dust. They want to use those powers to take over the valley. The valley dwellers do not believe there will come such a time. The pacifists take control, and it is up to Tsomis and Sada to regain their place as rulers. Sada does not want to make the same mistakes as the prophet before her. She wants to avoid a relationship with Tsomis.

Part of being the king is not having any family. It something that Tsomis will have to learn with to rule the valley and guide it through its very troubled times. Theodore and Tsomis face off when Theodore finds out that he is the rightful heir of the throne. It does not matter that the throne is not inherited. He feels he is the proper person to rule the valley, and destroy the elves, who he blames for setting up the tent city and keeping him in captivity for so many years; Melinda blames them for more: for the deaths of all of the children that no longer live thanks to the brutal ways.

“Will there be a future?” Tsomis asked.

“For your people,” Sada answers. “Yes, the humans in the valley will survive. They have to survive. It is through them that our prophets have said the people will retake the entire earth and repopulate it in an orderly fashion. Without you, the monsters will create a world that is not fit for living for too many years.”

“That was not my question,” Tsomis said. “I want to know if there is a future for us.

To this question Sada was silent.

“You know the rules,” Sada said.

“They have been broken before, “ Tsomis said, referring to the last prophet and his queen.

“With dire consequences,” Sada said. “It is not the consequences I worry about, however. It was set up for a reason and the reason is a good one. We have to be strong, Tsomis. We have to somehow survive with the two of us know what we want to be.”

“When I step down,” Tsomis began, but left it at that. If he was a true king, he could not step down any time soon. He had to see the valley through the next couple of years and lead the fight to keep it independent and safe. There would be a whole world out there that was trying to reach the only safe place. It was not a time for such foolish thoughts.

He stood in the dark of the caves and looked out to the winding paths that led to the valley. “We should go,” he said simply. Sada nodded, her shoulders dropping in relief and sadness.

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It is done. I’ll write more about my experience tomorrow if my fingers feel up to it.