The Gaia Chronicles- Book 1

16: The Cave of Sanctuary

Gaia and Kwame awoke the next morning with Karenia's family before the sun broke through  the horizon.
They all knew what was necessary now that Sabo was under Takana's influence. They had to get away from the village.

Karenia asked
" Father, what's happening? "

"We must go, right away Darling.
It isn't safe for us here anymore. We must go quietly now under the cover of darkness. Ok child?" He said lovingly.
She looked out into the still night. "Ok father. But promise me we will be safe."
He swallowed, but looked back at her nodding with confidence.
They all quietly walked out of the little house. Gaia didn't want to look in the direction of Sabo's house, but Kwame looked through his scope briefly for a moment to make sure the chief wasn't awake. He was not , so they continued on into the star-lit night.
None wished to speak along the walk toward the edge of the forest. The comfort and safety they sought in the black forest was something they had never felt before. 
As they got just a stone's throw away from the forest edge the sun's rays began to break above the jagged horizon. They began to walk more swiftly.

Sabo began stirring in his house when a little light came through his window.
There was a glint of metal reflecting light into his  eyes. He remembered what the Sky Teacher had instructed him the last night. He sat up and saw the shiny dagger she had placed on his tablet. He got up, quickly got dressed, and then he slid the dagger into his belt and pulled his priests cloak over it.

The band of escapees made it into the forest just before Sabo opened his door to look out to the rest of the village. He had a determined look, and eyed Kwame's tent.

Kwame's horse was still tied up at his tent, and everything seemed normal to Sabo.

Kwame picked Gaia up and was now at a running pace along with Karenia, her parents, and a little brother. Karenia's father Onki was a very large and fit man and he picked up his two little children to go faster. They were headed toward a mountain fissure that was a very rough and rocky terrain. It would allow them to escape the village and make it hard to follow them.

Sabo walked cautiously toward Kwame's tent, and pulled it open, only to find no one inside. He saw that his water jug was still full, and all his belongings were still intact. Most importantly, though, he was gone with the girl.

Sabo hurried back to his house, now frustrated.
Takana had left a curious globe on his table last night along with the dagger. It was a clear crystal, and Sabo ran his trembling fingers over it, remembering the night before. He remembered how she handed it to him, and said to call out to her three times and she would come to him. When he touched it , it felt warm, and the backside felt different. Not smooth like the side facing him. He took more notice of it now and turned it around. It had the features of a face. It was a skull. He was a little taken aback by it. But he touched it again and called her name. " Takana. Takana. Ta-kana." And he waited a few seconds in silence, began to worry, but then a light shone from the crystal. The light seemed to come out of the crystal and grew larger in front of him. Then the hazy bluish light formed the figure of a woman. It was her.

Kwame's group made it to the fissure, and they all squeezed through it one by one. They were about two miles outside the village now.
On the other side Kwame spoke ." We will go for the Cave of the Ancients Onki. It will surely keep Gaia safe."
Onki thought this odd. What about the rest if us. But Kwame understood more than Onki how special she was, even though he didn't  quite know why. He also knew much more about the cave's secrets than the rest of the village. All,  except for Sabo. Kwame's ancestors were tasked with the cave's upkeep and annual rituals. Every year they would visit it to make sure the shrines inside were undisturbed and perform a prayer ceremony to remember the ones that came before them. 

In the cave; there is a book on a pedestal. It has some markings on it, from the ancient Dogon ancestors.
When translated, it means : the Waters of Life'.