15ish

Ved had anxiously scanned the horizon for the approaching caravan ever since the early afternoon, but nothing was to be seen across the dunes apart from the little dust devils that whirled here and there. The Kedonese called the little swirls of sand and dust hadji, and made a sign to ward off evil whenever one appeared. Ved did the same when in the presence of others, but at times like this she simply preferred to watch the little dervishes whirl away; she did not believe in any such evil spirits as the hadji. Evil spirits there probably were, but she doubted that they would bother to live in a cloud of dust, or that they could be thwarted by a simple gesture.
She prepared the household dinner, and made sure that everyone had enough to eat. If the caravan did not return the following day, she would need to go to the market.
A long undulating cry rang out over the sands, and Ved dashed outside to see what on earth it could be. With a joyful cry, she saw the caravan, figures shimmering the heat radiating from the sand; she ran back into the house and rang the bronze chime, bringing the rest of the household out into the courtyard to welcome the family home.

The next day, when Mushad had left to attend to his business in the village, Ved and Zula unpacked the bags from the caravan.
“Did you have enough water?” Ved asked as she stacked the empty water skins in a neat pile.
“Oh, yes, there was plenty. Mushad knew of an oasis in between here and Perzelsis, and we were able to refill there, but I think we could have made the trip on your supplies alone!” Both women laughed, and Zula cast a glance towards the cradle where Mado was sleeping.
“I have heard that the blessings given in the great temple are like no others,” Ved continued. “They say that any child blessed there will go through life with great strength, though I suppose that is the point of the whole blessing.” She folded a curtain with a quick flick of the wrist, and laid it aside. Zula fingered the beaded edge of a robe, and stared off into the distance.

“My lady?” Zula started, and looked up; she realized that Ved had been calling her name for some time.
“I’m sorry, Ved, I wasn’t paying attention. What was it you needed?”
Ved held up a pile of folded curtains and sheets. “Where shall I put these? Will you be needing them again soon, or should I store them away again?”
“Oh, no, we will not be using them again for some time, I would imagine. Just put them back where they were, thank you.”
Ved moved to carry the fabric away, but paused at the door. She thought for a moment, then set the stack down by the curtained doorway, and knelt beside Zula. “If you will excuse me, lady, I could not help but notice that you are not quite yourself today. Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?”
Zula shook her head, and a strand of long black hair slipped from under her chali and lay across her forehead. “No, Ved, it’s nothing. I just.,.” She covered her mouth with one hadn, and turned away, staring into the distance. “I…Have you ever had a vision?”
Zula regretted her words almost as soon as she said them; after all, Ved was not a priestess, and how could she care what odd things happened to Zula? But Ved did not seem surprised, and asked,”What sort of vision do you mean, lady?”
“Oh, just an odd dream I had. I found myself in what looked like another temple, doing things that I know I have never seen or done in my life.”

Ved paused for a moment before answering. How mcuh should she say? Would the whole truth frighten Zula, or would it free her to accept what was happening and move forward. She whispered a quick prayer to Suk, and turned around with a smile.

"Lady, may I tell you what my people believe about such things?" Zula was starteled, but nodded for her to continue. Ved collected her thoughts, and began. "We believe that the world was created by the god Suk, father of all other gods. He created the world, and flung out the sky like a blanket around it. Each of the gods was assigned to a place around the world, and Suk began to create the souls who would populate the world. But then Servaka, the trickster came by and, seeing the work of Suk's hand, was jealous. It distracted Suk, and substituted some of the material with his own. When Suk placed the souls in the world, they began to go to and fro, chasing the wind. When Suk discovered what had happened, he grieved, for the great design of the world was marred. Perzala encouraged him to wipe the world clean, and begin again, but Temala intervened. The plan might be changed, but not lost, he argued. If each soul lived many times, and strove to rid itself of the dross of Servaka, then it might be purged and redeemed. Suk assented to Temala's plan; the lvies of men were shortened, but their souls were given wings so that they might fly into another life when the old one was ended." Ved took a deep breath, and scanned Zula's face quickly. She could not read her expression, but she did not seem firghtened, so Ved continued "When we die, our souls fly away to born into another life, another place. Sometimes we can remember bits of the preivous life, sometimes we cannot, but whether we remember or not, our souls were changed and shaped by the lives that have come before. If we make the right choices, and purge ourselves of all of Servaka's dross, we will eventually be taken to live with the gods. When a soul has learned the lessons it must learn and cleansed itself, it is taken bodily and placed in the sky; they shine so brightly that we can see them here, and call them stars. When a soul remembers a portion of its previous life, it means that the learning is progressing and that the soul may be ready to move to a new stage of learning."

Zula stared at Ved; her whole countenance had changed as she told her story. She was kneeling elegantly, and spoke with a fluidity and grace that Zula had not heard from her before. Her back was straight and her hands were held palms upward, almost as if in prayer.

Ved suddenly seemed to become aware of her surroundings again, and quickly scrambled to her feet. She bustled back over to the stack of items, and picked them up again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go on so long." She swished through the curtains, and was gone.

Zula sat for a long moment, baffled by the scene that had just transpired. Her eyes drifted distradtedly over the beam of sunlight that streamed through the window, and illuminated the chipped stone of the floor. Dust motes whirled through the beam: little specks that could barely be seen flamed with sudden brilliance as they rose into the light, other fragments dulled and disappeared as they sank into the shadow. She reached into the beam, and saw her skin blaze like copper in the sunlight, almost glowing.
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Zula and Ved never spoke again of the visions that began to plague Zula's waking life, but both were aware that they were more than housekeeper and mistress now. Though their ranking in the social structure could not change, they had become friends.