Crickets chirped in the garden around him and the temperature had dropped enough that Owen could feel the chill beneath the light robe he wore. 

The softness of the woven rugs placed atop the reed-strewn floor tickled his skin as he crawled into the sauna. He straightened up once he passed through the entrance and used the wall to guide him to the back, walking carefully on his knees. He stopped across from the entrance, turned around, and sat cross-legged. This was the hot seat, the place in the sauna where the heat was most intense. It was usually reserved for the guest of honor, but since Kaz had never done a ceremony like this before, he had taken the place instead. He had plenty to figure out himself, anyway. 

Kaz was already getting situated. She had asked so many questions about the ceremony that Owen could tell how deeply nervous she was. He wasn’t usually nervous for ceremonies, but the consequences of this one scared him. Would he be able to stay here? Would he be compelled to leave his home, his family, and everything he had ever known? More than anything else, he wanted clarity, but would he regret it once he had it? How did he fit into this whole confusing mess? 

Orlando was entering now, conferring quietly with Maria. Jess was off sulking, having been denied her customary place as Orlando’s assistant in this ceremony. Instead, maria would be passing in the fire-heated stones, replenishing water both for drinking and maintaining the steam, and tending the fire. 

There was a series of thumps, followed by scraping as Orlando adjusted the rocks that had just been dropped into the pit. The entrance flap rustled closed and Orlando addressed them. 

“Kaz, Owen,” he said. “This is a serious ceremony that lasts for several hours. You have both been informed about how it works. Are you ready to begin?”

“Yes,” said Owen without hesitation. Nervous as he was, he still preferred to be informed than to remain ignorant. 

“Yes,” said Kaz. Owen could hear her voice shaking. 

“Good,” said Orlando. “Then each of you remove your robes. Then throw one ladle of water on the stones and speak your intention to the elements.” 

There was a rustle of someone moving over the floor. After a pause, filled only by the gentle sloshing of water, Orlando’s hand found Owen’s and raised it until it met the wooden handle of the ladle. 

“Forward about three steps,” he said. Owen reached forward until he felt the edge of the pit before he took a deep breath and poured the water onto the rocks. 

Steam poured out of the pit, stroking his bare skin in warmth. “By the Dreamer and her Elements, I ask for clarity,” he said through the hiss of the steam. “Help me to understand all that has already occurred in the last day. Help me also to make sense of what I must do next in order to honor whatever responsibility has been entrusted to me. Thank you. I await your wisdom.” 

Orlando’s hand on his back guided him to the wall and then his father picked up the bowl and moved around the pit to where Kaz was breathing a little more heavily than the situation really warranted. 

“Here’s the ladle,” murmured Olando. “Now just reach forward until you feel the edge and - there you go.” 

The hiss of steam told Owen that Kaz had thrown her water on the rocks. 

“By the Dreamer and her Elements, I, too, ask for clarity. And also for guidance.” Kaz’s voice no longer shook. It had taken on a polished tone, with clear, precise speech. It was the first time Owen had really heard her sound like a princess. “Help me to understand what place I have been given in the events unfolding around me. I wish to understand what Chukulla has planned for me, where would it be best for me to go next, and how I can judge who to trust. Thank you. I await your wisdom.” 

“Thank you Kaz, Owen,” said Orlando, now returned to his spot across from Kaz. “Let’s begin.” 

There was a hiss of steam as Orlando added his own dipper of water to the rocks. 

“Dreamer and your Elements, I call on you to help guide these young people. Help them to understand as much of the big picture as it is given to them to grasp in this moment. Take this opportunity to communicate  clearly with them and to share what their new responsibilities may be. Please keep in mind that they are human and have the mental and physical limitations that accompany this state of being. Finally, please make clear what importance they may have to one another. 

“I call on the twins, Inti and Killa. May your light illuminate this ceremony. I call on Yaku. May emotion flow with your ease. I call on Yapuna. May you keep this ceremony safe and grounded. I call on Wayra. May you awaken our intuition and remind us of the value of play. I call on Chukulla. May you bring your decisiveness. I call on Nina. May you lend us your passion. And finally I call on Ch’usaj. May the value of absence never be overlooked.” 

As Orlando named each element, Owen felt the power around him grow. He knew that his father’s invocation was enough to call each one to full presence, and his skin began to prickle as they each made their entrance. When Orlando called on Ch’usaj, Owen once again felt the aching numbness in his core. The physical sensations around him began to dissolve until all that was left was the powerful urge to sing. 

Go ahead, said Void’s voice, much more gently than before. It won’t disrupt the ceremony. 

So he took a deep breath and luxuriated in the sheer pleasure of song. As the melody took form, the emptiness expanded inside him and...sang with him. No, that wasn’t right, he realized. It was more like it sang before him. It opened a space from which his music could emerge.

As he sang his questions, his confusion, and his worry, clarity began settling within him, as though each note formed from the nothingness contained a nugget of truth. 

He understood that his music had always surfaced from the familiar nothingness of the void, that Ch’usaj was so much more than rage and destruction. She was also pure potential, the most essential ingredient to creation. This was what had prompted her to fight for him, who connected naturally to her in this way.

He sang his awe as this realization humbled him. 

He understood that he must go with Kaz, that their destinies were connected, though Ch’usaj did not elaborate. 

He understood that any time he wanted to communicate with Ch’usaj, all he had to do was sing. Control of his gift would take time and practice, but singing would be its foundation. Ch’usaj did not reveal what this gift was. 

Ch’usaj’s presence, so different without its earlier layer of anger, began to recede. Owen let the notes fade, ending the song. 

Next Chapter: 15: Kaz - Seeing