*SONG* “Stand Up Before It’s Too Late” by Steve Perry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh6-YY3_8To

In the dark hours…when the sun has
Set and the natural light has faded…
Even on the crest of the eve of
The Longest Day…To see, you
Must consciously choose to turn a light on…
Only cats and few other gifted animals
Can see in the dark…
Few humans have senses that are gifted…

And sometimes we learn the most…
Especially in dark times…
From those whose senses are impaired.
Because they are gifted with ways most
Take for granted…Remember that…

A shower of golden light…forms the circle…
No hesitant pause, she is there with a
Commanding presence waiting. Fiery ice blue
Eyes…even her long wavy golden hair
Seems ready for a fight…Ceres just
Gave Valerius a brief glance, then turned
To me sharply. “May we continue now?”

“Continue?”

“With the rest of the story.” Valerius replied.

“I can do that?”

“Of course.” Ceres smiled…but it was one of
Her…plotting smiles. “The book responds
To whoever is holding it. And it is clearly
Telling a story…But first,” she held up her
Hand, “I would like to invite my sisters
To hear this…Rana, Vala…” she called to
Them, at which time they suddenly appeared
In the circle eagerly. She again
Turned to me.

“But before we begin,” she leaned over towards
Me, “There is something I have to
Say…” Again that very
Secretive smile…

“Pay close attention…Please…
Climates are a fascinating thing to study…
But even more so are its animals…
Polar bears…Moose…Reindeer…
Foxes, wolves…share one of the largest
Climates in the northern hemisphere…
Killer whales are found in EVERY
Sea.” That smile again. “They are
Very hardy animals…like the brown
And black bears. I give you this as
Just something to consider…Now please,
Continue…”

Valerius at once presented the book…opened it…
And the Hour Glass began to glow…

The morning hours of a long lost day
Where the story returns…
The scene…There is a meadow, alive
With animals…Birds fill the air…
Eagles, Hawks and Ravens…
Bears are active out of the Wood.
The Forest is alive with squeaking and
Chirping noises of all the local creatures…
And a White Stag stands Tall and Fearless
Boldly in the Treeline on the Farside…

A shimmering, mystical light showers
Upon a very strong White Oak Tree.
Beneath it First sat calmly a young
Beautiful copper skinned girl…but she
Was startled and stood while clinging
To the tree when suddenly she was
Struck by the sight of a strange looking
Fur clad man, tall and blond
Watching her.

Now this is not a dream…
This story was given,
By no mistake…Now the Hour Glass
Glows and continues the lost
Story with a band of Vikings…that
At first had been too busy, preoccupied
Chasing a renegade from their camp. He
Stood in shock with the boy Mika
Supporting him…Janson’s back burned from
The stab wound of the knife Rogar
Had stabbed him with. Was his
Mind lost, delusional? The signs filled
The air! The birds! The animals!
“Is that a girl?” He kept mumbling
To Mika, who clung to him to support him
As the noise of the rest of the
Vikings grew closer, until all
Of them filled the forest around
Him…There were so many
Signs all around them it was
Hard to not be mesmerized.

It was the robust Danor who declared,
“Praise Odin…For if this
Is magic…than it surely must be
A sign of the Gods!”

Mika held to him very tight, “What
Is this place?”

Janson couldn’t speak…only stood with
Awe… “I don’t know…”

The Vikings just stared numbly…Their
Warrior spirit had been stolen from
Them somehow. They were utterly
Spellbound. Mika was terrified…and
Yet somehow curious too. He studied the
Girl, who didn’t seem much older than
Him… “She doesn’t seem much older
Than me?”

“Is she a maiden of Valhalla, of
Asgard?” Danor wondered aloud about
The girl. “I’ve never seen such a girl
Before…” For it’s true, in all the lands
They plundered so far, they’d only
Seen skin so fair…none like this. “She
Commands nature.” He said staring at
The birds. Occasionally a hawk or
Raven would dive, and it kept the
Vikings still from moving.

Bulvar, the leader even seemed in fear
Of all of this. “A witch of the gods
Maybe?” No one could argue with him.

Janson thought fast as he and the
Girl locked eyes. She was a mortal
Girl, this he knew somehow…But
Something beyond their power was at
Work here…you could feel it in the air.
The girl seemed too terrified to be from
The gods…Why was she so scared? How
Was this all happening?

Suddenly more of the girl’s people
Began to appear…The noise must have
Gained their attention…As more and
More of these copper skinned people
Appeared to join her…All wore the
Same deer skin garments, they had
Longish hair…They did not appear
To be built like warriors, they seemed
Small compared to Vikings…and yet
They possessed some regalness somehow…

“Can you speak?” Bulvar yelled to them.
“Is this Asgard? We have come from
Far to look for Thor…”

The Tribe of copper skinned natives
Looked about each other with stern faces…
They were concerned but not nervous
And stood strong. Who were these tall
Strangers? They had never seen such a
Tribe…so pale skinned, fair haired…
Those bulking clothes. They all seemed
Built so strong. No one could speak.
But the young White Oak Woman
Found the first nerve to stand in the
Center of her people to study these
Men…For now they knew and recognized
Her as a shaman of the tribe, wise
Beyond her years. She pointed for them
All to look around…to see the sky full
Of birds…to see the animals, how they all
Behaved…this was far from natural…Higher
Forces were at work here.

From the Vikings’ side the warriors forgot
Their reason to chase Janson and the boy,
And could now only stand in wonder
Staring at the natives…Bulvar held the
Voice for the men. “Are you Odin’s people?
Do you hold the gates to Asgard?
To Valhalla?” He called to them. But
None answered. Then he turned to his men.
“They don’t speak our language.”

“But the signs…” Tovar said gesturing
To the sky, to the animals. “The signs
Are all around.”

The men began making faces of confusion
And continued quietly gesturing to each
Other with their hands, pointing, fingers
And hands making shapes to mimic
Things…A habit of warriors, to quietly
Make these silent hand signals to
Communicate with each other without
Talking; a battle tactic.

And the White Oak Woman studied the
Vikings’ behavior carefully this way…
Their body language…She turned to her
Father Standing Bear. “Look at how
They talk, do you see? With their
Hands?” Then the idea struck her…
There was a young boy in the
Village who had been born deaf. The
Tribe had learned to communicate with
The boy as he spoke making
Signs and gestures with his hands…He
Was known as Talks with His Hands.
Maybe he could help them talk to
The strangers? She immediately went
To retrieve him then brought him
To the front of the crowd of her people
Near the Great White Oak Tree.

She urged Talks with His Hands to
Study the strangers…and spoke with him
Using the sign language the tribe developed
With him to explain her thoughts…

This caught the Vikings’ attention.
“What are they doing?” Tovar asked with
A frown as everyone watched the girl with
What appeared to be roughly an 11 year
Old boy as they made this…hand
Language with each other.

“Are they speaking?” Janson asked
Out loud.

“Do they have no voices here?” Bulvar
Bellowed. “What is this place then?”

It was Mika who caught on fast
As they watched the girl and the boy. “I’ve
Seen this before…I had a cousin who was
Deaf that spoke with his hands…” Then
He turned to Janson. “Aren’t there hand
Signals you warriors use in battle to
Communicate this way?”

“They do not appear to be readying
Themselves for battle?” Danor replied.
“What do we make of this?”

Then White Oak Woman took Talks
With His Hands to them…The boy immediately began
Talking to the strangers with his hands…
With this sign language.
On and on this went, and the
Languages that once separated them
Went away. All the simple words came
First, like the elements Earth, Air, Fire
And Water. Very quickly it also
Eased their nerves to speak
This way. This simple
Language broke the barriers and intrigued them.

Suddenly the brutal warriors
Known as Norsemen became quite
Eager students and teachers using this
Language with these natives of the land.
What a strange sight to see. There was
No fighting, no conquest…and no
Name calling…The communication
Was resolved with basic words and
Phrases and there was laughter and
Smiles. All of this came from one
Innocent simple deaf boy…and Mika.

And Janson had quickly pointed out
To his fellow warriors. “Had it not been
For this boy, they would have never
Made this peaceful exchange.” A
Truly new concept for the Vikings, who
Had never known patience at all…
The complaints vanished, and instead
Became eager quests to learn more in
This new way…To speak silently
With sign language. To make more
Words, more phrases.

And the natives also responded this way.
Very quickly they began to learn
Each other’s languages of the tongue
This way…peacefully. What a gift it
Became.

The Vikings made a camp in
This meadow…And the Indians
Remained there as well for these
New ‘friends.’ It was a turning
Point for both peoples…and they
Continued to share knowledge.

The Norsemen showed the Indians how
They built things, more sturdy and
Solid to endure the weather. And the
Indians in turn showed the Vikings
How they survived off the land…how
They found sustenance and made
The most of every little thing never
Wasting anything…forever changing
Both of them…
And suddenly the quest for Thor
In fact became an age of discovery.

White Oak Woman and Talks with
His Hands became key role players
Here for the people. She, the kind
And patient voice who charmed them
With her beauty and gentleness…And
He, transformed from awkward
Outcast with no voice became the
Greatest speaker of them all. They
Saw how bright he was, and sharp
To see, to notice things and find ways
To express it and thus find solutions.
They were invaluable. As everyone
Is in some way…when they truly
Find their skill. It may not have
Been what they expected but it
Worked…and it worked peacefully.

Sign language…became a mediator
Of peace in a dark and primitive
Time. If only all people could recognize
Such things so peacefully.

On a quiet evening in Janson’s
Shelter…A tent like structure made
Of wood and woven branches of evergreen
To fight off wind and rain that he
Shared with his friends Danor and Tovar.
Mika came to them as he usually did.
He had become very clingy to Janson
As he acted as his savior and
Protector on the ship from the other
Men. They teased him about it of
Course, but somehow a kind mood
Had settled over the Vikings, one they
Never knew before. Mika went to
Janson’s shelter to sleep…and as
He rested himself close by
Janson watched the boy with
Fascination…Mika was smiling all
The time now, which was so good
To see, he had such a charming smile.

“It’s good to see you this way.” Janson
Said to him.

Mika kept smiling as he laid down
Near him. “I have not felt this
Good in a long time.”

“The journey on the boat was long
And hard.” Janson said with a sigh
As he glanced at the sleepy Danor
And Tovar, listening and watching them.

“Longer than that.” Mika said.

“What do you mean?” Janson asked.

“It was bad at home.” Mika
Explained. “It was worse on the
Boat. But it was bad at home.”

“It’s a hard life…” Janson said…

“That’s not what I mean,” Mika
Slowly replied, reluctant to explain.
“It was just…bad at home.”

Then Janson understood, saw it in
His eyes as his opened wide…This had
Happened to Mika before. Of course
These things weren’t new…Abuse
In various forms was a way of life
For families…each in their own way.
“Others have done this to you?”
Janson asked carefully.

“Yes.” Mika answered simply without
Looking at him.

Then Janson understood…somehow,
Something inside him from some
Mysterious part of him he did not
Know…recognized this in Mika, all
Of it. And he couldn’t speak.

“What is your family name, boy?”
Danor asked him half falling asleep.

“Hollisden.” Mika answered him.

“Your father and his father worked
With metals for many years?” Danor
Asked. “Swordmakers? All metal
Things?”

Mika nodded. “And chains.” He
Said avoiding their eyes. “They made
Many chains.”

“Chains?” Janson asked surprised. But
Of course, that made sense. Still the
Words struck him deep somehow…
Chains…slaves…generations…

The mind wanders…The Hour Glass
Has served its purpose now. The
Light of the book faded, then
Valerius closed it, as he watched
Me. They were all studying me.

“This is too much, my head feels
Like it is splitting open. What point
Exactly are these stories serving?”

“You know why.” Valerius answered
Timidly.

“They were connected before…Mika
And Janson…That’s Hollis and Jansen
From the other story. From the earlier
Stories.”

“Yes.” Ceres nodded, she was as
Fascinated with this information as
I was, as were her sisters.

“Did you know this? Did you
See it?”

“I saw the pattern, yes.” Ceres
Said. “Patterns often repeat themselves.
Especially…until they find their
Resolution.”

“I don’t understand. They were
Together. They came together again?
Hollis was abused again? That’s
Awful, why?”

She nodded once kindly. “You know
Why. That’s the point here. That’s the
Point for them as well. The ones who
Read this.”

“What is?”

“That patterns repeat themselves over
And over through time…” Ceres explained.
“Until they find their peace.”

“But Hollis and Jansen were together
In the beginning…didn’t they have
A happy ending?”

“Obviously not.” Ceres frowned sadly.
“At least it doesn’t appear that
Way…something was left undone…
And so the cycle keeps repeating
Itself…”

“But you’re talking about life times…
Constantly re-occurring traumas? That’s
Agony!”

“It’s horrible, yes it is.” She said.

“My God you have to stop it.”

“Yes, it has to stop.” She said carefully.
“Think about it…write what you
Must, but don’t write everything.”

“So is that the meaning here?” I
Mean ultimately…life times repeating
Patterns…Will people see that
Or understand it?”

Ceres laughed as she looked to her
Sisters. “Understanding is up to
Them.”

“The sign language thing…Is that
The solution then to this problem?”

“I think the book is telling you
How to find peaceful solutions,”
Ceres smiled. “But not necessarily
With sign language. Remember most
People still do not think what they
Are reading here is real at all. For
Them it is some story to analyze…
The point is to make them think.”

“My head feels like it is going
To split open.”

“I know.” She said. “You need to
Slow down. You delivered a wonderful
Message to them…And to us as
Well…We understand it. If they
Don’t that is their problem. That
Solution can help a lot of people…
And inspires ideas in many more.”

“But that really happened? The
Boy, Talks with His Hands? He
Really did that with the Vikings?”

“Yes.” Ceres nodded. “It wouldn’t
Show you otherwise.”

“But who will believe it?”

“Do you believe it?” She asked me.

“I’m sacred to answer that question.”

“I see that. That’s why you need
To slow down.” Ceres said.

“Tell me something to write
Down…to change the subject…to end
On a different note…to give
Me, them, anyone…something
Else to think about.”

“July is coming…” She said.

“What about it?”

“It’s a big turning point for the
Year…so is 2019…so is the
Number 19. That’s a good number
To remember.” She smiled.

That mysterious tone! “Have you
Been talking to Varence, is he hiding
Somewhere watching?”

Ceres laughed loudly. “Varence is a
Watcher. And he is watching something
Good right now.” She smiled softly.
“You need to slow down now…put
The pen down.”

Valiant