Incarnation | Wandering Stars Volume One

Chapter 13

BAHYITH

After months of investigation, trials, training, and practice, Sariel and the entire Chatsiyr tribe were ready. In the pale yellow of the sunrise, they stood in a circle around the pit where the sick man was caged. Everyone seemed quite nervous despite the excessive preparations. Sariel had spent the last hour giving final instructions to the various groups of men and women, pointing to the symbols that he'd scratched into the dirt in front of them, all the while trying to be heard over the screams and moans of the man beneath their feet. Finally, he stepped toward the cage, just out of the tortured man's reach. With a deep breath, he shifted his consciousness toward the Eternal Realm.

"I see that you did not heed my warning," he said to the demons, now digging their claws into the man's flesh as if they were prepared to tear it from his body.

"Leave us alone!" they screamed.

"I promise to leave you alone when you leave this man alone."

"No. No," they replied. "He wants us."

"At one time he may have. But how can you know this now? You've subverted his will so that it is no longer distinguishable from your own."

"It makes no difference," one countered. "You don't have the authority to make us leave, Child of Light. You are dim now. And you have no weapons."

Sariel lifted his chin and straightened his stance.

He opened his mouth and sang a single, clear note and held it for many seconds. When he stopped and restarted the note, Sheyir accompanied him with a slightly lower sound. The simple harmony caused the demons' eyes to flare wide.

Sariel shifted his consciousness back to the Temporal and kept singing. Each time he stopped and restarted, another voice joined in until, after several minutes, all one hundred and thirty women were singing. In the Temporal Realm, the earth vibrated under their feet and the blades of grass seemed to bow down, resonating with the powerful sound.

Inside the Eternal existence, the sounds passed through the air in brightly colored waves, filling the spaces between the tribe and the demons. The visible currents radiated from each human mouth and collided with the evil spirits who clung to the frail spirit of the human. With every impact, the waves of sound scattered—reflections and refractions that gave Sariel an understanding of their true names. He could see what they were made of. He could see their true nature. He adjusted his pitch downward and was pleased when the Chatsiyram followed his lead, the lower notes giving clarity to his knowledge of the enemy. By the time he explored the range of sounds available to him, he was confident that he could name the demons. He was confident that the sum of voices gathered this day would be sufficient to sing Navlagid, a Song of Naming.

Focusing on the core of the demons' existence, he began a melody which the tribe could mimic. Then, moving his own pitch to cover the lowest, unrepresented tones, he began to sing a counter melody which forced that portion of the demon's existence to resonate with it.

The demons understood immediately what was happening. They began to scream out with shrill cries, attempting to disrupt the harmony among the Chatsiyram. But Sariel's rigorous training prevailed and the people repeated the melody, hitting their notes without wavering.