“This item contains parts from my body such as fingernails and hairs,” Goram explained. “It is the Art of Sympathetic Representation taught by the Dark One to the Conjurers and others. When the danger in Judharo escalated, I adapted the Art of Sympathetic Representation to create a bridge for thought transference.”
“You did that?” asked Lozira in astonishment as she stared at Goram.
“When I realized I was in danger and could not use any common means of communication, I rubbed the pendant to signal Goram, then concentrated hard, over and over again, on my predicament,” Yarqi explained.
“Her thoughts entered my mind so that I understood her situation and was thereby able to offer my assistance,” Goram continued.
“He also conveyed instructions through this mental bridge of Sympathetic Representation, telling me to meet him near the white pyramid at a certain time,” Yarqi said.
“Which is where Goram and I met you!” Rhuna exclaimed. “I always thought it was by chance that you met us there.”
“Goram advised me not to tell anyone. Only Mohandu knew because he was with me in Judharo,” Yarqi explained.
“You never told us this before,” Lozira remarked, sounding aggrieved.
“My extensive knowledge has been entrusted to me by Possessor of Discernment who passed on the Great Secrets to me,” Goram explained, looking at Lozira apologetically. “It is my duty to protect this knowledge and only reveal it when deemed absolutely necessary.”
“And it’s necessary now?” Rhuna asked.
“The situation is critical, and I am in the process of demonstrating my knowledge and power to all of you as I construct the special chamber underneath the small pyramid outside,” Goram said forcefully.
“Does the mental communication only work between certain people?” Lozira asked, looking wide-eyed with concern at Rhuna.
“The Sympathetic Representation assists in connections as demonstrated with Yarqi and me,” Goram answered. “Yet the Dark One is another matter.” His intense green eyes shifted towards Rhuna.
The Atlan Representatives also returned their gaze to Rhuna, and she was suddenly overcome by dread and the innate urge to resist.
“No!” she exclaimed vehemently. “I don’t want to do this! I don’t want to beckon his thoughts and have the Dark Master’s intimate thoughts inside my mind!” Rhuna gasped in horror and felt her hands tremble.
Aradin immediately grabbed Rhuna’s hands with his, squeezing firmly with comfort and reassurance.
“You cannot expect this of her!” Aradin shouted at the Atlan Representatives.
Protector of Remembrance immediately raised his hands in a gesture of peace and calmness. “We do not desire to make anyone uncomfortable,” the senior Atlan quickly replied. “Be at peace, Keeper of Wisdom,” he said to Rhuna in a gentle tone. “Be calm.”
“It is merely a suggestion, a possible course of defensive and protective action,” Preserver of Faith added softly.
“Defensive? Protective? You have abandoned the direct, offensive approach?” Goram challenged loudly.
“Yes, since it is not possible under current circumstances,” Protector of Remembrance stated. “Furthermore, the High Council of Atlán has advised that we do nothing to aggravate the Mages or the Dark One himself.”
“They have conceded defeat!” Goram spat with contempt.
“No!” Protector of Remembrance shot back. “It is a wise course of further observation, consideration and cautious planning with the purpose of preventing any further deaths or even massacres.”
The senior Atlan glared back at Goram as the room fell silent again.
“Very well,” Goram huffed. “Then I shall demonstrate the proper offensive course when I step into the past time period to stop the Dark One!”
“How do you propose to do this?” Stillness of the Lake asked, shaking her head with incomprehension. “You cannot believe that you are able to defeat him by yourself!”
“Indeed, I do!” Goram roared indignantly. “And I shall demonstrate to you my knowledge and power when I am ready!”
Rhuna watched with dismay as Goram stormed out of the room, leaving Lozira to momentarily hold back an outburst of tears.
“Do not let him go!” Lozira pleaded. “Reason with him that it is futile!”
“Of course,” Preserver of Faith said in her deep and soothing voice. “We shall reason with him when he is ready.”
Lozira nodded and smiled briefly in gratitude, then stood up to retire for the night.
The Atlan Representatives also stood up slowly.
“We have prepared a room solely for the purpose of summoning visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters,” Stillness of the Lake said. “It should only be accessed infrequently, until we are better acquainted with the Mages of the Black City and their ability to observe our activity.”
“Tonight we shall summon messages from the High Council of Atlán and then give our daily report to the Council…including these discussions,” added Greeter of Friends.
“Accompany us to view the special room,” Preserver of Faith offered.
Rhuna and Aradin, along with Mohandu and Yarqi followed the Atlan Representatives through the garden and into the smaller building of the inn. They stopped at the end of the long corridor where a room had been sealed with heavy drapery across the doorway. Rhuna peered inside as the Representative entered, and she felt reassured by the familiar sight of a round stone basin containing clear water, with only the glimmer of a few candles in each corner of the small room.
“We’ll return to the main building now,” Aradin said as they turned and left the Atlans to communicate with their superiors in the distant land of Atlán.
“Perhaps the Gazing of the Waters can reveal answers about the foretelling of the Sula-Tana,” Mohandu whispered as they walked across the garden.
“You heard what they said,” Yarqi replied. “We should use it sparingly until we know whether the Mages are watching us.”
“I need to find out more about what was foretold about me,” Rhuna said, feeling uneasy.
“We should talk to our guests about it in the morning,” Aradin said before they slowly retired to their respective sleeping chambers.
Rhuna awoke early the following morning, eager to speak to the Ling-Yu guests again about their foreknowledge of her.
“It’s so strange,” Rhuna whispered to Aradin as he slid out from their comfortable pallet. She looked at Shandi still asleep on her big, new cot in the corner.
“Maybe we’ll find out more soon,” Aradin whispered in reply as they both hurried to wash and dress.
Rhuna strode out across the terrace, holding Aradin’s hand as she relished the fresh, cool morning air and pale lilac sky over the horizon.
“They’re gone!” Aradin exclaimed as they both stopped abruptly.
Rhuna looked past the lodging house to the empty holding pen, and then scanned the low grassy hillocks in the direction of the trade route track. Instead of the Ling-Yu caravan, Rhuna was surprised to see a different group of people coming towards them, and she instantly recognized their Farsa headwear.
“They left so early,” Aradin remarked.
“And already new guests are arriving,” Rhuna added, resuming her walk towards the lodging house and sandy track which led to the trading route.
Rhuna and Aradin welcomed the new arrivals, and then negotiated a trade for their lodging, meals and food and water for their camels.
“We do not like to stay in the Black City,” said a man in a deep voice who took the lead in trading goods. “We are happy that we can stay here,” he added with a broad smile.
The daily routine continued after the new guests settled into their lodging quarters, and everyone was kept busy with various chores around in the inn. The evening meal preparations for guests was the busiest time, and Rhuna valued the latter period of the sun’s descent when daily tasks had been accomplished, and she could relax before meal preparations began.
During such a quiet period, Rhuna entered one of the storage rooms and took the bundle of parchment papers she had put aside for a special task.
“What are you doing?”
Rhuna spun around, startled by the slightly unfamiliar whispering voice.
“Tozar,” she said with a sigh of relief. “You startled me again. I’m using my new writing skills to keep a record of supplies, goods received in trade and items that we need.”
“A very good idea,” he said with a faint smile. “Perhaps I can assist,” he offered. “You see, I have also acquired the skill to read and write.”
“You have?”
“While I was learning from a Master in the Land at the Top of the World,” he answered. “The script he often perused aroused my curiosity, and I insisted he teach me.”
“So, you can read this?” Rhuna showed him the entries she had written with a pointed charcoal stick.
“Yes. It is our Atlan language written in the phonetic symbols used by the Masters of Ancient Wisdom,” he said confidently.
“It was a very big step for you to seek out a Master in the Land at the Top of the World,” she said, remembering his fragile mental condition before he left the land of Atlán. “A very wise one, too,” she added.
Tozar nodded in agreement as his gaze moved across the storage room to avoid eye contact with Rhuna.
“Have you managed to spend some time with Lozira?” Rhuna asked cautiously.
“Yes, yes, I have.” His ragged voice expressed a contented and hopeful outlook, and it made Rhuna happy.
As the day progressed, the prospect of learning the Secrets of the Pyramids gradually pushed aside Rhuna’s troubling thoughts over being the foretold Sula-tana, and she walked towards the pyramid at the agreed time to meet Goram. She found him digging laterally underneath the pyramid, and he stopped shovelling when he heard her approach.
“We shall conduct the transference of knowledge in a private area,” Goram said as he stepped out of the pit. Rhuna followed him across the garden and into the adjoining building of the inn where the Atlan representatives had secured a room for the purpose of summoning visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters.
“Upstairs,” Goram said, moving side-ways into a small staircase that lead to only two small rooms on the upper level. Rhuna realized that she had not even discovered these steps yet.
“We shall be seated in this small chamber,” Goram said, entering one of the small upper level rooms with one small window. Rhuna noticed a layer of sandy dust on the furnishings, and she assumed that her mother had not yet discovered this room either.
Rhuna sat down opposite Goram on the sandy and weather-worn seating cushions, and then looked at him expectantly.
“You must not reveal any of this knowledge carelessly in conversation,” Goram began sternly. “Nor in any written form,” he added. “Yes, I have seen you writing,” he said when Rhuna reacted with surprise. “And be wary of Goll! He sneaks about like a wily cat, recording everything he sees and hears!”
“He does not!” scoffed Rhuna.
“He does, indeed! Watch, that he does not follow us into this room.”
Rhuna could not resist the urge to quickly glance through the doorway at the staircase behind her.
“Let us commence,” Goram began. “The Great Secrets do not pertain to the Pyramids only, rather represent the entire gamut of knowledge and power held by the First Atlans.”
Rhuna was surprised, but quashed her urge to express it.
“When you acquire this knowledge, you shall also know that there is no limit to what you can do,” Goram continued.
Rhuna once again resisted interrupting him with her expression of surprise.
“The First Atlans were few in number, yet like-minded and without challengers so that their powers were unbridled. The first and only thing you must understand is…” Goram paused and narrowed his intense green eyes at Rhuna. “…everything is merely a thought-form.”
Rhuna opened her mouth to speak, then waited uncertainly.
“Repeat my words,” Goram instructed.
“Um…everything is a thought-form,” she said doubtfully.
“Correct, yet say it with conviction next time,” Goram ordered, and then began the explanation.
“When we transform sand to stone, for instance, we use thoughts to visualize the grains of sand we wish to alter, do we not?” Goram asked.
“Yes,” Rhuna answered obediently.
“What is it that creates the stone?” Goram asked.
“Um…our mental energy…ah, our thoughts!”
“Correct. What is it that creates the stone?”
“Thoughts,” Rhuna answered more confidently.
“Then what is the stone?”
“A…thought-form?” Rhuna wavered.
“A form that was created by thoughts. A thought-form,” Goram repeated firmly, and then reached across the floor to grab a small clump of sandstone. He laid it in the palm of his hand which he held between in front of Rhuna’s face.
“This can be anything you want it to be,” Goram said. “You change its particles by altering its frequency and vibration, adding or subtracting to them to create a different element. It becomes whatever your thoughts direct it to become.”
Rhuna recognized the basic Atlan teaching she had learned as an adolescent, and agreed that a transformed object was a thought-form.
Goram put the sandstone aside and looked at Rhuna.
“You can change, cause or create anything with your thoughts,” he said slowly. “Repeat.”
“I can change, cause or create anything with my thoughts,” Rhuna repeated.
“Change, cause or create,” Goram said with emphasis. “Anything material and nonmaterial,” he added forcefully.
“Nonmaterial?”
“How do you make heavy stone blocks weightless and easily moveable for the erection of buildings?” Goram quizzed her.
“By altering the frequency of gravity around it,” Rhuna answered.
“A nonmaterial element,” Goram concluded. “It is merely a matter of practice and skill to create any thought-form, material or nonmaterial.”
“And the First Atlans knew that?” Rhuna asked with amazement.
“Yes,” Goram answered. “Transportation through the air, mind-to-mind communication and limitless usage and manipulation of the earth, solar, lunar and cosmic energies were at their disposal.”
“But Atlans today are very limited!” Rhuna remarked.
“Recall that I said they were few in number, like-minded and without challengers,” Goram replied. “Yet when the Atlan population grew and they journeyed to other lands where they met people without the same knowledge and abilities, they were forced to hide and suppress their abilities.”
Rhuna thought about her encounters with other people who were either frightened of Atlans or greedily took selfish advantage of Atlan skills.
“Many people don’t have the foresight or self-discipline to use such power or knowledge safely,” Rhuna commented.
Goram smiled. “Very good.”
“And the Dark Master is an example of the chaos and misery the world would suffer if many more Atlans misused such great power,” she reasoned.
“Yes,” said Goram. “The First Atlans had the necessary foresight and self-discipline to use their powers for the benefit of all mankind, yet they also foresaw that as the population grew, Atlan knowledge and power must be reduced. It shall continue receding until this knowledge becomes extinct.”
“Extinct?” Rhuna repeated, feeling a chill pass over her. She recalled hearing a similar statement once before already.
“By necessity, for the survival of humankind,” Goram said.
“But the things Atlans can do right now are all beneficial to mankind,” Rhuna argued.
“In the present time. In the distant future, many people will lack the discipline and integrity to use Atlan knowledge and power unselfishly, and therefore
it must eventually die.”
“Ohhh,” Rhuna said softly as she contemplated such a future world.
“Repeat the key points of this first instruction,” Goram directed.
Rhuna summarized the important things she had learned about thought-forms and the First Atlans, including the reasons for the diminishing use of Atlan powers.
“Come here in two days to continue the transference of knowledge,” Goram said as he stood up. Rhuna realized that she was keenly curious and eager to learn more. “In the meantime, practice in private to create any thought-form you desire,” he added.
“Really? Is that what you’ve been doing?” Rhuna asked, thinking of the many times he was absent from the groups when they resided in the mountain-side dwelling of the Masters of Ancient Wisdom.
“Whenever the opportunity arises, it behoves me to hone my skills, in order to be equal, if not superior to the Dark One himself.”
Rhuna’s skin tingled.
“What can you do now already?”
“Before my departure into the past time period, I shall demonstrate my capability to all of you,” Goram said as he left the small room and descended the stairs.
The following days were filled with pleasant activities around the inn as guests offered their various goods which replenished the storage rooms and added decorative furnishings to the many occupied rooms. Rhuna looked forward to meeting Goram in the small upper room to learn more about the secrets of the First Atlans, and afterwards she fought the urge to tell Aradin and Damell of the exciting knowledge she had acquired.
Rhuna was often so pre-occupied with learning and retaining the Great Secrets that she had almost forgotten the unsettling words about the foretold Sula-tana until a caravan of Ling-Yu traders arrived. As usual, Rhuna and Aradin, accompanied by Goll, Mohandu and Yarqi walked the short distance to the lodging house and holding pen to welcome the new guests.
“Is the Sula-tana residing here?” asked one of the traders immediately. “We heard from our fellow traders we met on the Route that the Sula-tana is here!”
Rhuna- Black City Page 18