“Everyone who has traded there can tell a strange story.”
“Have you ever seen the Mages?” Mohandu asked, his head wobbling nervously.
“Yes, yes,” answered the man in white headwear. “They are the people in black garments and hats our fellow-traders met at the intersection when the weapons flew by themselves.”
Rhuna remembered several of her first unsummoned visions after the Dark Master vanished through a time-manipulating portal. She recalled that the black-clad people in her visions had black hats, and they fought a group dressed in bright yellow.
“Are there also yellow-hat people?” Rhuna asked.
The black-bearded men all turned their heads to look at her for a moment.
“Yellow-hat people?” Several men frowned as they struggled to remember.
“I think the people from the land of Ling-Yu once had such leaders who wore yellow hats and cloaks.”
“You should ask the Ling-Yu traders,” suggested one of the men. “Their caravans pass us frequently along the Route.”
“Some were here yesterday already,” Aradin remarked. “Our first guests, but we couldn’t speak their language.”
“Ah yes, they speak a strange tongue!” laughed one of the men. The others began to nod and laugh as they related amusing observations of their trade partners.
“Their language sounds like funny animal noises!” guffawed one man.
“Sometimes you do not know if their eyes are open!”
“They eat strange food using sticks!”
After shared laughter and more sweet foods, the guests became quiet again and Rhuna noticed that Mohandu leaned forward in preparation for an important question.
“We heard that one must give something to the Mages when trading in the Black City – is that so?” he asked.
“Yes. They demand a high toll for making trade in their city,” complained one of the men.
“You have to give them some of your goods?” Mohandu asked.
“Yes, yes. They are strict and demanding.” The men nodded solemnly.
“They are dangerous, I say,” one of them added.
“We heard that, too,” Yarqi commented. “Did you also see The Immortal One?”
Rhuna held her breath at the daring question, and waited with bated breath for the men to answer.
“We have heard stories, that is all.”
“He is a legend.”
“But where is he now, if he is the Immortal One who does not die?” Yarqi pressed.
The men looked at each other and shook their heads.
“We do not know.”
The guests finally returned to the lodging house and Rhuna entered the main house to relate the account of flying weapons to the Atlan representatives. She noticed that Tozar was seated closer to the others, and that Lozira stood nearby.
“We must assume that it is a factual account,” Protector of Remembrance stated.
“Such uncanny powers are not known to us,” Stillness of the Lake remarked, shaking her head in disbelief.
“The Dark One has misused his inherent Atlan powers in many ways,” Preserver of Faith said. “This must be an extension of such an abuse of natural ability.”
“They also told us who the other people in my unsummoned visions were,” Rhuna continued. “The people wearing yellow were leaders from the Ling-Yu Empire.”
“It was once part of the Atlan Empire,” Tozar commented in a low, coarse voice.
“Yes, like Varappa. We hear nothing about this former colony in Atlán,” Preserver of Faith remarked.
“When did this occur?” Protector of Remembrance asked, stroking his beard with one hand.
“The men seemed to think it happened a very long time ago,” Mohandu answered.
“Then my mental visions of the Dark Master were of the distant past,” Rhuna said with a frown.
“He is from our time,” Shandi said, startling everyone. The small girl sat on the floor with her back towards Rhuna and the Atlans. Panapu sat opposite her as she played with small pebbles on the floor.
“She keeps saying that,” Rhuna said.
“Hmm,” Protector of Remembrance mused as he gently tugged his beard.
“We still have the question of where he is now, in our present time,” concluded Stillness of the Lake.
“We asked the men from Farsa, but they do not know where the Immortal One is at this time,” Yarqi said.
“Should he not be in our present time, then perhaps he died a natural death some generations past,” suggested Preserver of Faith.
“No,” stated Protector of Remembrance firmly. “Your visions are of the present time,” the senior Atlan said with sudden conviction as he looked directly at Rhuna. “The present for the Dark One, who shares a mental bond with you, is the same as our present time period.”
Rhuna and the others looked at the white-haired Atlan in silence.
“He took part in this attack on the yellow-robed leaders not long after he manipulated time and established himself in the Black City,” Protector of Remembrance began to explain. His time there runs parallel to our present time.”
“So then…he has only been in the past for seventeen lunar cycles, since he stepped into the past time,” Stillness of the Lake ventured carefully.
“So much has changed in the past seventeen lunar cycles,” Mohandu remarked. “More than a single man could possibly do, even the Dark One!”
“Ah, you forget that every action taken by him has had long-reaching effects over ten generations,” Greeter of Friends said.
Mohandu shook his head vigorously.
“Take an illustration of the sowing of seeds,” Protector of Remembrance said. “Imagine the actions of the Dark One as a sower of seeds. It takes many lunar and solar cycles for a plant to grow from a small seed, and after ten generations an entire forest has grown from those few seeds.”
“Ah yes, I see it clearly now!” Mohandu exclaimed, slapping his forehead.
“This is an important revelation,” Tozar said. “Beacon of the Night should hear this information.”
“Here I am,” Goram said loudly from the back of the room. His face and bare chest were smeared with sweat and sand, but his green eyes seemed to shine brightly in the low evening light. “My own calculations have led me to the same conclusion,” he said.
Part Five
(Goram)
Rhuna listened with deepening dread as Goram explained the various special features of the small pyramid to her the following morning. A tall, cone-shaped pile of shovelled sand stood next to the pyramid like its offspring, and between them loomed a gaping pit. Goram paced around the sand pile holding a length of measuring string as he repeated his instructions.
“Find straight and even wood beams to make a mould for the stone blocks that are required to make the underground cavity,” he instructed.
“Are you really going to make a…a time portal using this space under the pyramid?” Rhuna asked, grappling with the radical concept.
Goram stopped abruptly and turned to glare at Rhuna. He remained silent and Rhuna thought she could feel his keen green eyes burning a hole through her. Reluctantly, she agreed to find the wooden beams he requested, and walked around the back of the inn’s buildings to forage among the remains of broken furniture and other rubble.
When she had found suitable straight and even pieces of wood, she returned to Goram for precise measurements and tools with which to mark, cut and join the panels. He carefully shovelled sand from the large pile into each mould, then stamped the sand firmly until finally running a flat rod across the top to create an even surface.
“Now the sand may be transformed to stone,” he said. “A dense and hard stone, with large amounts of crystal.”
“That’s difficult,” Rhuna said, annoyed by his specific and challenging demand.
“We shall perform the transformation together to ensure that the stone shall contain sufficient quartz crystals.”
Rhuna remembered that the D
ark Master’s time portal was made entirely of pure crystal, and she wondered whether the pyramid’s energy-harnessing properties would compensate for the lack of crystal in this case.
“How do we transform together?” she asked.
“You focus on the hard, dense stone while I contribute the crystal,” Goram answered.
“I’ve never partnered in a transformation before,” Rhuna said, suddenly uncertain of the outcome.
“You can do it,” he snapped. “Commence!”
Rhuna breathed in and out deeply several times, firstly to rid herself of the negative tension Goram created, then to calm and energize her mind for the challenging task. She closed her eyes and focussed her thoughts deep inside her mind until she reached a dark stillness. When she heard the faint buzz of a vibration, she knew she was ready to transform an element by projecting the energy from her mind.
Rhuna began to visualise the fine sand particles in the mould in front of her, then willed them to change in structure and vibrational frequency so that they formed minute particles of a hard and dense stone. She allowed small spaces to form between the particles for the crystals that Goram transformed using the same process.
“Excellent,” Goram stated when he had touched and then struck a stone block with his flat metal rod. “It is the correct balance of stone and crystal for my purpose,” he said contentedly.
“How many more?” Rhuna asked, as she began to remove the wood that formed the mould for the blocks.
“At least fifty.”
“Fifty!”
“We must construct walls, floor and ceiling of the underground chamber,” Goram explained defensively.
“I have other duties here…and so do you,” Rhuna said begrudgingly.
Goram huffed angrily. “It is not necessary to work constantly at this project, yet is it not preferable to stop the Dark Master sooner rather than later?”
“How do you plan to stop him single-handedly, even if you do succeed in going to the same time period of the past?”
“It is certain that I shall succeed!” Goram insisted, thumping his fist on a newly-created stone block. “My calculations are accurate and precise!”
“Very well,” Rhuna said soothingly, feeling slightly unnerved by Goram’s sudden temper. “Then how will you proceed in the past to stop him? He is the most powerful Master of all!”
“Not the most powerful!” Goram corrected emphatically.
Rhuna suddenly felt she was looking at a stranger as Goram’s face contorted in anguish as he clenched his teeth and fists.
“I see now,” Rhuna said aghast. “You are blinded by jealousy and the ambition to be greater than he is!” As she spoke the words, fear and pity for Lozira welled up inside her.
“Not blinded by jealousy,” Goram hissed between clenched teeth. “It is a fact that I am the Dark One’s match, his inarguable equal! His only equal!”
Rhuna was taken aback by Goram’s intense outburst and rant about parity with the Dark Master.
“You cannot really believe that your powers are anywhere near equal to his!” Rhuna protested.
“What do you know of my powers and knowledge?” Goram challenged through clenched teeth and narrowed, piercing eyes.
“I admit I don’t know the extent of your powers because you’re very secretive about everything you know and are able to do,” Rhuna conceded. “But the Dark Master has always been far ahead of…”
“Merely a small step ahead due to his excessive guile and deviousness!” Goram corrected, still clenching his teeth and fists.
Rhuna decided to step back from the angry man and evaluate his mental condition before attempting to debate the issue any further.
“It disturbs me that your emotions are so intense,” she said honestly.
Goram huffed angrily and then spun around on his heels to reach for his digging tools. She watched as he jumped into the pit and began to hack at the hard sand underneath the base of the pyramid.
“Come back when you have time, and we shall discuss some important matters,” he said in his normal voice.
Rhuna walked back into the main house feeling slightly dazed by the revelation that Goram had become unbalanced. Lost in deep and disturbing thoughts, she was startled when someone suddenly stood next to her when she entered the building.
“Tozar!” she gasped. “I was…I was thinking about other things.”
“Goram,” Tozar stated in a grave tone.
“You heard him?”
Tozar nodded grimly.
“I fear he is in danger of becoming irrational,” she whispered.
“It was discernible to me a very long time ago already,” Tozar said tersely.
“It was?”
“At the School in Atlán, when you studied with him.”
“Oh yes,” Rhuna said as she remembered. “Yes.”
“Lozira has found various tasks to occupy and distract herself,” Tozar continued in a soft and compassionate tone.
Rhuna looked through the doorway ahead and glimpsed Lozira with Preserver of Faith and Greeter of Friends in one of the storage areas.
“They are organizing supplies and making a list of items that we require,” Tozar explained.
“That’s good,” Rhuna said absent-mindedly as she resumed walking, her thoughts centred on Goram. She ascended the stairs to the upper level to find Aradin who was cleaning and re-arranging furniture in some of the rooms.
“What is it?” Aradin asked when he looked at Rhuna and instantly knew she was troubled.
“Goram has become unbalanced,” she answered, lowering herself onto the pallet. Aradin sat down next to her and listened as Rhuna related Goram’s words and how he said them.
“He thinks his powers are equal to those of the Dark Master,” Rhuna said, shaking her head. “It’s possible he is one of the most powerful and skilled Atlans, but it was the way he said it with such ferocity and anger…”
“It’s very unsettling,” Aradin agreed. “But at the same time not a surprise, considering his life course.”
“I know,” Rhuna admitted. “We knew he might be trouble one day, and now he’s obsessed with making a time portal so he can go into the past and defeat the Dark Master all by himself.”
“We should simply let him go ahead with his plans, like the Representatives said.”
“And if it works and he goes to another time…and can’t come back?”
“What of it?” Aradin said, looking seriously at Rhuna. “Perhaps it would be better if he were gone. Better for Lozira.”
Rhuna sighed loudly and nodded. “I know. I’ve thought about all that, too.”
“Come!” Aradin said, jumping to his feet. “I need your help with this furniture,” he said cheerfully, and Rhuna was grateful for a mundane task to distract her worried mind.
A pleasantly steady routine quickly set in as the new proprietors of the inn acquired supplies and other goods from their guests, made repairs and settled into their chosen rooms of the spacious building complex. The warm sunshine melted away the rigid habits they had acquired by necessity when confined by snow and ice in the mountain side abode of the Masters of Ancient Wisdom. At times, Rhuna found herself lazily reclining in the garden between various tasks, especially after the mental effort of transforming sand to stone for Goram’s special chamber.
“These flat bricks shall serve as the floor to the entrance and for the steps,” Goram said as he took two stone blocks at a time into the pit and laid them carefully side by side. The task was finished quickly due to Goram’s precise plans and his use of various measuring rods and strings.
“Now we can construct the special chamber with the blocks we transformed containing the crystals to facilitate the manipulation of the time loop.”
Rhuna walked down the newly-built steps and sat down in the small brick-lined area in the cool shade of the pyramid above. Goram sat next to her and leaned in closely, bewildering Rhuna at first.
“We must discuss an important matte
r,” he whispered.
Rhuna waited, hoping he would finally reveal the matter to her.
“The Secrets of the Pyramids must be passed on to a worthy keeper,” he whispered. “You are the one I have chosen.”
“What?”
“You shall be the next keeper of the Great Secrets,” Goram repeated with some agitation.
Rhuna stopped herself from objecting, knowing she would only stir his growing impatience and short temper. She nodded her understanding and waited for him to continue.
“We shall begin the transference of knowledge tomorrow, and each day henceforth.”
“Tomorrow?” Rhuna repeated with alarm. “You want to teach me now already?”
“Of course! The chamber and pyramid shall be functional in two lunar cycles, and the Secrets of the Pyramids must be passed on when the keeper’s death…or departure…is imminent.”
“Oh,” Rhuna said weakly. “So you really think it will work…”
“Yes, of course it shall work!” Goram snapped, jumping to his feet with agitation.
“And you will readily leave Lozira to pursue such an uncertain goal?” Rhuna challenged.
Goram spun around and glared at her with poisonous green eyes.
“Not readily!” he spat. “Not uncertain!”
“Then tell us your plan!” she said, trying to reason with Goram. “Explain to us how you plan to defeat the Dark Master when you arrive in the same time period of the past!”
“It is my intention to do so, when I am ready,” he said, visibly struggling to control his strong emotions.
“Come tomorrow at the same time to continue the construction of the chamber, and to commence the transference of the Secrets,” Goram said after a moment.
“How do I remember it all? I don’t know if I have the mind for such knowledge,” Rhuna said, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the prospect of accepting such a weighty responsibility.
“You shall repeat what I tell you; first when I have said it, then a second and third time during the course of each sitting,” Goram answered. This is how Possessor of Discernment transferred the knowledge to me”.
Rhuna wished she could decline or merely have time to think about the enormous subject first.
Rhuna- Black City Page 16