from the Junoesque Jungle and onto an excavation site. She was carrying only one thing.”
He pointed a remote to the wall-mounted screen behind Jonathan, and he scooted out of the way. A picture of an old vase flashed into view. “Parrot, do you know what this is?”
Parrot didn’t answer at first as he studied the screen. “That can’t be the Mother Nature vase.” He looked at TL. “I thought that was a Native American myth.”
TL nodded. “Not anymore. What do you know about it?”
“I know that it’s a centuries-old artifact believed by many native tribes to control Mother Nature.”
TL zoomed in on the brown, weathered pottery. “Exactly. This vase is believed to control the elements. It gives the one who holds the vase the power over nature. It is coveted by various Indian tribes.” The vase rotated slowly on the screen. Cracked, and missing chunks, the vase was divided into four sections, each engraved with symbols and pictures.
TL froze the screen on one of those sections. “Notice this is a rough depiction of rain. The symbols above and below the rain are a prayer. Whatever it is a tribe needs, they say the prayer corresponding to the picture.”
The vase rotated again, showing us the other roughly chiseled pictures of nature: the sun, a gust of wind, snowflakes, and again the rain.
“How big is it?” David asked.
TL referenced his notes. “It holds approximately a pint of liquid.”
A slender Junoesquian girl appeared on the screen, standing with the jungle at her back. She wore a white cotton dress with tiny blue flowers embroidered on it. Her long black hair hung straight down her back. Leather straps attached to the sandals on her feet and crisscrossed up her calves.
As deep blue as my eyes were, hers ran the opposite spectrum. Their icy color contrasted dramatically with her dark skin and hair. Her eyes held uncertainty, and her slight smile spoke hesitance and shyness.
She was beautiful.
Before joining the Specialists, I’d never paid such close attention to a person’s physical details. I’d never searched for answers in their eyes and smile. It was incredible how much I could learn about someone by observing them.
“This is Jaaci,” TL explained. “She’s the only surviving member of the Muemiraa tribe. She’s lived in the Junoesque Jungle her entire life.”
I leaned back in my chair. “This is the girl who found the vase?”
“Yes.” TL folded his hands on top of the table. “Here’s where things get tricky. This vase has popped up here and there throughout history. Roughly a century ago it disappeared, seemingly into thin air. It has been a much sought after artifact. And numerous different tribal nations have it documented as being in their possession at one time or another.”
TL nodded toward the screen and the picture of Jaaci. “On her father’s death bed, he told her about this vase and where it was hidden. He told her to locate it and, once she did, to pay homage to the Muemiraa gods by finding the ocean and throwing it in to reunite the vase with its creator.”
“Find the ocean and throw it in?” I couldn’t imagine living in the jungle my entire life and my dying father telling me to find the ocean.
Would that be left or right, Dad?
“I suspect her father knew that if the vase got into the wrong hands, it would be used for evil. The vase is intended to work with nature, not control it.” TL stood. “But when she walked from the jungle she strolled straight onto an excavation dig. One thing led to the next, and now the whole world knows about this.”
He got up and made his way around the table. “As I mentioned before, the vase is centuries old. Documentation shows fifteen different tribal nations have held the artifact at one time. No one can prove they are the rightful
He pointed a remote to the wall-mounted screen behind Jonathan, and he scooted out of the way. A picture of an old vase flashed into view. “Parrot, do you know what this is?”
Parrot didn’t answer at first as he studied the screen. “That can’t be the Mother Nature vase.” He looked at TL. “I thought that was a Native American myth.”
TL nodded. “Not anymore. What do you know about it?”
“I know that it’s a centuries-old artifact believed by many native tribes to control Mother Nature.”
TL zoomed in on the brown, weathered pottery. “Exactly. This vase is believed to control the elements. It gives the one who holds the vase the power over nature. It is coveted by various Indian tribes.” The vase rotated slowly on the screen. Cracked, and missing chunks, the vase was divided into four sections, each engraved with symbols and pictures.
TL froze the screen on one of those sections. “Notice this is a rough depiction of rain. The symbols above and below the rain are a prayer. Whatever it is a tribe needs, they say the prayer corresponding to the picture.”
The vase rotated again, showing us the other roughly chiseled pictures of nature: the sun, a gust of wind, snowflakes, and again the rain.
“How big is it?” David asked.
TL referenced his notes. “It holds approximately a pint of liquid.”
A slender Junoesquian girl appeared on the screen, standing with the jungle at her back. She wore a white cotton dress with tiny blue flowers embroidered on it. Her long black hair hung straight down her back. Leather straps attached to the sandals on her feet and crisscrossed up her calves.
As deep blue as my eyes were, hers ran the opposite spectrum. Their icy color contrasted dramatically with her dark skin and hair. Her eyes held uncertainty, and her slight smile spoke hesitance and shyness.
She was beautiful.
Before joining the Specialists, I’d never paid such close attention to a person’s physical details. I’d never searched for answers in their eyes and smile. It was incredible how much I could learn about someone by observing them.
“This is Jaaci,” TL explained. “She’s the only surviving member of the Muemiraa tribe. She’s lived in the Junoesque Jungle her entire life.”
I leaned back in my chair. “This is the girl who found the vase?”
“Yes.” TL folded his hands on top of the table. “Here’s where things get tricky. This vase has popped up here and there throughout history. Roughly a century ago it disappeared, seemingly into thin air. It has been a much sought after artifact. And numerous different tribal nations have it documented as being in their possession at one time or another.”
TL nodded toward the screen and the picture of Jaaci. “On her father’s death bed, he told her about this vase and where it was hidden. He told her to locate it and, once she did, to pay homage to the Muemiraa gods by finding the ocean and throwing it in to reunite the vase with its creator.”
“Find the ocean and throw it in?” I couldn’t imagine living in the jungle my entire life and my dying father telling me to find the ocean.
Would that be left or right, Dad?
“I suspect her father knew that if the vase got into the wrong hands, it would be used for evil. The vase is intended to work with nature, not control it.” TL stood. “But when she walked from the jungle she strolled straight onto an excavation dig. One thing led to the next, and now the whole world knows about this.”
He got up and made his way around the table. “As I mentioned before, the vase is centuries old. Documentation shows fifteen different tribal nations have held the artifact at one time. No one can prove they are the rightful
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