Discovery at the Juniper Observatory

The mages who dedicated their lives to the study of the Churning Wastes had been studying the changing landscape of the land they observed from Juniper Observatory for nearly a century before one of their order deciphered a fascinating rhythm to the undulating landscape. She was young and new to the order and wanted to be sure before approaching the elders with what she was sure she was seeing.   Each time it was her turn to 'man' one of the scopes, a variety of enormous telescopes previous tenants over the century had built and refined as the tools needed to peruse their study of the Churning Wastes, Altain would eagerly set her scope to the widest angle possible to see the overall land mass from her position on top of the mountain. Some of the order would focus all their study one a particular point but Altain had taken a different approach. She had several notebooks with her. One was for her to scrawl in a sort of short hand she had created as a student and that was the one she used to record the observation that made her tremble with excitement. Altain was overcome for some minutes by her discovery.   Altain's truest gift was language. When she had applied for a position at the Juniper Observatory she didn't think she had much of a chance of being chosen for such an important duty but she had been. And now, after seven years, she was sure that what she was seeing had an order to it. The churning of the wastes was spelling out something for anyone with the ability to recognize it, instructions.   Altain wasn't known for self-confidence, and she had questioned what she thought she was seeing for four years. In the last three years, she had felt sure but she wanted to be sure that she could tell the others what she was seeing and show them that the rhythm was more than just random movement of the wastes.   Altain had began this day's period of observation by scrawling out what she was observing without looking at the paper when she noticed something she hadn't seen before. Or perhaps she had seen but hadn't recognized it as actual movement. When she saw it, it changed everything.   Altain then did something she had never done before. She abandoned her post and went running out into the corridor that had numerous doors leading into sedate observation rooms where she knew other mages were working. She passed all the doors, breathless, until she reached the platform at the end where the group of elders, the oldest and most learned of the group met daily. Without hesitation, Altain launched herself into their midst to tell them what she had been waiting some seven years to reveal.   The eldest of the mages looked on the young mage with only a raised eyebrow as if he had seen everything in his time here atop Juniper and nothing could surprise him.   Breathless, Altain stood before the group of eight, all of whom were much older than she was, and said, gasping for breath and trying to make sense, "They're speaking."   Chamberlain, the oldest of the elders, the one whose eyebrow had quirked upwards merely said, "Come in, Altain. Take your time. We aren't going anywhere."   Grateful for his calm presence and words, Altain gathered her breath and her wits and when she could speak clearly, she told them. She told them how she had seen the movement of the wastes from the beginning, from her arrival in this place of wisdom and learning seven years ago, as something more than just movement. She had felt all along it, rather, the land itself, was trying to tell them something. She noticed that several of the elders nodded as if they understood and perhaps had seen this too.   Altain continued. "It's speaking. It's language. It's not just land shaping and re-shaping itself. It's a language. It's speaking and after seven years, I've deciphered what it's saying."   The council of elders looked to Chamberlain to see his reaction. "Altain, can you show us?"   "Oh yes. Yes, please, follow me." Altain led the council to the room where she had been observing the churning of the wastes the past seven years, embarrassed only slightly as she entered the room and realized all her notes and papers were scattered about in a manner that had allowed her to keep a record but which might look like an unorganized mess.   "Please, don't touch anything. I will show you. I discovered the missing bit of the code today. But it's all here." Altain spread her arms in a circle, showing them she meant the paper, notes and drawings she had spread out. She began to tell them.   The Council listened skeptically at first, then with wonder and finally with awe as Altain explained the notes, the scrawls, the recordings she had made. The council did see. The Churning Wastes was speaking and now they knew what it was trying to tell them.