Rhuna- Black City

by Barbara Underwood

  “Behold!” Goram shouted, startling everyone into stunned silence. “My demonstration of power!”

  Goram raised his arms and then turned his upper body so that his outstretched arms pointed to the clay vessels he had placed on the edge of the terrace. With the flick of his wrist he caused the first earthenware jar to burst into pieces. Rhuna stared in disbelief as Goram raised a pointed finger out towards the other clay pot, causing it to crumble into coarse sand in an instant.

  Then Goram reached inside his outer garment and produced a shiny metal blade with an elaborately-carved grip. Rhuna wondered where he had obtained such an item unlike anything she had ever seen before. He held it out flat across in the palm of his hand for everyone to see, and then he stood very still as he stared at the strange-looking dagger.

  Rhuna held her breath in anxious suspense as the weapon twitched and then moved of its own accord. Several people gasped as the dagger raised itself into the air above Goram’s hand and turned to point at a nearby tree. Goram jerked his head slightly in the direction of the tree, and instantly the blade that had floated in front of him flew through the air with sudden speed.

  “Oh!” said several of the Atlan representatives as they stood up and stared at the dagger, its sharp point wedged in the bark of the tree.

  “You can make weapons move without physical interaction,” Greeter of Friends said breathlessly.

  Goram smiled and then snapped his fingers with a flourish of waving hands and outstretched arms. In the blink of an eye he disappeared from everyone’s sight.

  “Goram!” Lozira cried as she ran towards the place where he had stood. “Where is he?”

  “How?” asked Aradin, spinning around in an attempt to find Goram.

  “He is truly a Great Master!” Yarqi exclaimed in joyful awe. “He is surely equal to the Dark Master now!” she gushed.

  “We saw the Dark Master do the same thing in his demonstration of power in Judharo,” Mohandu added, his head nodding excessively.

  Rhuna gasped and realized she had been holding her breath in astonishment. Then she remembered that Goram had said when one had acquired the knowledge of the Great Secrets, there would be no limit to what one can do.

  “I can see him!” Shandi exclaimed with a giggle. The young girl sat between Kiana and Panapu and smiled at the disconcerted faces of others around her.

  “Where, Shandi?” Aradin asked in a tone of frustration.

  Shandi pointed towards the window doors of the main building, and in that moment Rhuna saw Goram standing there.

  “A restrained demonstration only, lest I should destroy the entire building,” Goram stated as he stepped back into the middle of the terrace and looked around at his audience.

  “An impressive display of advanced powers,” Protector of Remembrance said with sincerity.

  “You are most competent indeed,” Preserver of Faith said, looking at Goram with new regard.

  “Those are the powers you propose to use against the Dark One?” Damell asked.

  “You do not approve?” Goram charged at Damell, and then looked at the other Atlans. “Do you disapprove of non-traditional Atlan powers such as these you have just seen?” he challenged them.

  “We neither approve nor disapprove,” Protector of Remembrance said firmly. “The powers you demonstrated are neutral. They are neither good nor bad. It is the purpose for which they are used which determines whether the act is good or bad.”

  “And what is the act of destroying the Dark Master?” Goram said as he placed his hands on his hips in a challenging stance.

  “You desire that we contradict our Atlan principles,” Stillness of the Lake said calmly. “Yet this desire is an expression of your own grievance and frustration with Atlan society.”

  “You oppose the wilful destruction of life, yet you wish to be rid of the Dark One,” Goram said angrily as he began to pace and clench his fists. “The only way to rid the world of the Dark One is to kill him, both his physical and immaterial being!”

  Protector of Remembrance stood up and walked towards Goram, then made a subtle and barely visible motion with his hand. In that moment, a garden rock at the outer edge of the terrace suddenly popped and crumbled into a pile of sand.

  Lozira and Yarqi let out a muffled scream while others gasped.

  “What is this?” Goram shouted angrily.

  “Did you believe us representatives of Atlán to be completely incompetent?” Protector of Remembrance asked with raised eyebrows. “The High Council of Atlán chose us not merely for our knowledge and skills in certain intellectual fields. We each have certain dynamic powers which the High Council deemed valuable in the case of a physical confrontation with the Dark One.”

  Rhuna stared first at the representatives and then at Goram as each glared at the other.

  “We propose that you complete your time portal as planned, and we shall accompany you into the past time to defeat the Dark One,” Protector of Remembrance said to Goram. “Five of us against him alone – or even with a minor apprentice or two - are acceptable odds, do you not agree, My Friend?”

  Goram’s nostrils flared with rage as his cheeks turned deep red.

  “NO!” he screamed, as spittle blew from his mouth. “No! I shall go alone! I shall challenge and defeat him on my own!”

  “That is a very unreasonable attitude!” Protector of Remembrance stated forcefully. “Perhaps your true motive is to usurp the Dark One and take his place?”

  “No!” Lozira shouted as she lunged towards Goram and the senior Atlan. “That is not so!” she cried, grabbing the arms of each man and looking from one face to the other.

  Goram clenched his teeth as his entire body trembled visibly.

  Rhuna held her breath as the two men continued to face each other in a silent stand-off.

  “I shall adapt the time portal to allow only one person – one person! – to step through!” Goram thundered, then stormed away furiously to the back of the inn’s main building.

  Part Six

  (The Black-Hats)

  Rhuna looked at the dazed and stunned expressions on the faces around her, and then looked at Lozira as she spoke fiercely to Protector of Remembrance.

  “You are wrong!” she screeched. “Goram would never take the Dark Master’s place!”

  Protector of Remembrance turned away from Lozira and walked back to the other representatives who looked on with expressions of sadness and concern.

  “You should prevent him from going into the past time period!” Lozira accused the senior Atlan. “You should prevent him from being killed!”

  Rhuna quickly stepped across to Lozira to stand at her side, ready to comfort her as necessary.

  “Lozira crying,” Shandi said softly, looking into the distance. Rhuna remembered the vision Shandi had expressed several times already, and wondered once more which particular moment her youngest daughter foresaw.

  “I am not crying!” Lozira said firmly as she took in a deep and fortifying breath.

  Protector of Remembrance turned around to face Lozira again, his face kind and gentle.

  “We always endeavour to prevent harm from befalling anyone,” the senior Atlan said. “For this reason we desire to accompany Beacon of the Night, should he succeed in entering the past time period.”

  Lozira nodded and breathed deeply again before leaving the terrace without another word.

  Rhuna watched her daughter enter the main building, and then focussed her attention on Protector of Remembrance.

  “I didn’t know that Atlans could do such things,” she said quietly.

  “No,” the white-haired Atlan replied. “Only a few people know.”

  Rhuna waited for a further explanation, and was startled when Tozar stepped closer to the centre of the gathering and cleared his throat.

  “It is a secret,” he began, his voice a little shaky. “When the Dark One first emerged in the land of Atlán, harming and killing the innocent, subverting Atlan society and p
rinciples, the High Council decided to choose a few skilled individuals to teach and train in the old and almost forgotten ways of the First Atlans. Those powers – learned by only a select few individuals – were to be used only to defeat the Dark Master.”

  “I never knew that,” Rhuna said, thinking of what she had learned from Goram as he transferred knowledge of the Great Secrets to her.

  “This is a good thing, is it not?” Mohandu said, his head wobbling in an uncertain nod.

  “The more Atlans with powers similar to those of the Dark Master, the better our chances of defeating him,” Aradin surmised.

  “That is one of the possible plans of action to which we agreed when approached by the High Council in Atlán,” Preserver of Faith explained.

  “When it appeared that we could not stop the Dark One directly, the High Council advised us to contain the damage he has caused,” Greeter of Friends said. “Yet now that Beacon of the Night appears to have the correct formula to enter the past time period, we must consider taking direct action to stop the Dark One.”

  “But why would Goram not want your help?” Yarqi asked almost pleadingly. “It would be too dangerous to confront the Dark Master by himself! Surely he would be relieved to have other powerful Atlans fight at his side!”

  Rhuna looked at the dark-haired woman and saw genuine distress and confusion in her face.

  “Yes, even we, Yarqi and I, have considered going to the past time to help Goram!” Mohandu added, nodding fervently.

  “He is irrational!” Damell barked.

  “No!” Yarqi said defensively.

  “You two admire him,” Damell remarked, and then turned around to look at Goll. “And you, also,” he said to the white-skinned scribe whose face appeared to be even paler than usual. “Admire his skills, not his words or actions.”

  Rhuna watched as Goll returned his attention to the piece of parchment in his lap and continued to write, recording every word and action he witnessed.

  “But if he really can prevent anyone else from passing through the time portal…” Aradin began with a frown.

  “Then our plan of action fails,” Protector of Remembrance continued. “We did not consider this possibility,” he admitted reluctantly.

  “Yet we did expect Beacon of the Night to react irrationally,” Preserver of Faith said solemnly.

  “He is blinded by ambition to equal the Dark Master, even at the risk of his own death,” Rhuna explained.

  “He is equal to the Dark Master!” Yarqi insisted angrily. “He does not need anyone’s

  help to defeat him!”

  Rhuna watched Yarqi storm into the house with Mohandu close behind.

  “They are also blinded,” Aradin stated sadly.

  “The display of power by Beacon of the Night has won him loyal followers,” Stillness of the Lake observed. “The same tactic used by the Dark One to garner loyalty and obedience,” she added bitterly.

  A sombre silence fell upon the gathering on the terrace.

  “I saw him,” Shandi said happily, startling everyone.

  “You saw Goram?” Rhuna asked. “…when the rest of us couldn’t?”

  Shandi nodded with a happy smile.

  “How did you do that, Honey Cakes?” Aradin asked, stepping towards Shandi and picking her up in his arms.

  “I always see him,” answered the little girl chirpily. “I can see when you can’t see,” she added.

  “What do you see, Child,” began Protector of Remembrance carefully. “…is it good or bad?”

  Shandi shrugged and then frowned as she tried to describe what she could see.

  “Colours,” Shandi answered. “Blue and orange, then some purple and red moving about.”

  Protector of Remembrance reacted with surprise, and Rhuna quickly looked at Damell.

  “I think she can see people’s auras,” Rhuna said.

  “Yes, some people in Atlán have such a natural ability,” agreed Preserver of Faith, smiling fondly at Shandi.

  “But she could see Goram’s aura when he was invisible to the rest of us,” Aradin concluded, looking at his daughter who appeared uninterested in the concerns of the adults around her.

  Leaving the terrace with everyone else, Rhuna entered the main rooms of the inn and glimpsed Lozira entering the washroom with Kiana. She followed and saw her mother and daughter cleaning the food bowls and plates.

  “Did you talk to Goram?” she asked Lozira.

  “No, it serves no purpose to speak to him now, when he is angry. I shall help Kiana with the cleaning, and later play with Shandi,” Lozira answered stiffly.

  Rhuna left them to finish their chores and walked outside through the garden towards the pyramid. She stopped at the steps leading into the pit and watched Goram fiercely shovelling compacted sand underneath the pyramid base.

  “What do you want?” he grunted angrily.

  “You need my help to finish the pyramid,” Rhuna answered flatly.

  Goram stopped shovelling for a brief moment, and then continued at a less frantic pace.

  “You are not concerned that you may be assisting another Dark Master?”

  “I am a bit concerned about you, but I’m still going to help you finish the work we agreed to do,” she answered.

  Goram silently continued to shovel a while until he had levelled the hole with the pit he had paved earlier. He put the shovel aside and turned to face Rhuna.

  “You realize, don’t you, that your reaction to the representatives’ suggestion to help you was totally irrational?” Rhuna said, hoping to reason with Goram.

  “They wish to humiliate me!” he spat.

  “No, I think they want to do what they came here for,” Rhuna replied. “To stop the Dark Master. Are you really going to prevent them from going with you?”

  “They tricked me – tricked all of us - by withholding their powers!” Goram thundered.

  “Yes, that was a surprise to all of us,” Rhuna admitted. “But they have their reasons for being secretive and careful,” she explained. “And that’s no reason for not accepting their offer to help.”

  “I do not require any assistance!” Goram bellowed as he became agitated again. He leapt out of the pit to retrieve some flat paving stones.

  “You want to prove yourself equal or better than he is,” Rhuna concluded. “Even if it kills you.”

  Goram pretended to examine the paving stones carefully.

  “I’ll help with the transformation of more stone blocks when you’re not so angry,” Rhuna said as she turned and walked away.

  Rhuna lingered in the garden for a while as the warm sun comforted her jarred nerves and the gentle breeze brushed away disturbing thoughts. She stopped at the patch separating the buildings and the pond, kneeled down and admired the emerging blossoms. Rhuna thought the delicate blooms of two distinctive types in yellow and purple complemented each other perfectly.

  As Rhuna relaxed in her warm and beautiful surroundings, a sudden disorientation overcame her. She tried to move her head, but acute dizziness forced her to remain still as images and emotions invaded her mind.

  In her mind Rhuna saw a view of the Black City, as if from the window of a tall tower, and below her was a courtyard filled with black-robed Mages. She felt great satisfaction as the Mages expressed deep adulation, but then the image changed to an interior view, accompanied by extreme frustration and anger. Rhuna realized that she was experiencing the Dark Master’s emotions and seeing through his eyes as the image in her head moved to reveal more of the tower’s interior. Diagrams, illustrations, measuring instruments and vials of potions lay on a large table under a bright lamp, and she sensed that the Dark Master had worked intensely at some project, yet without success. The anger at this failure became so strong that Rhuna suddenly convulsed and almost ejected her entire daytime meal.

  Rhuna forced herself to breath slowly and deeply as the nausea and dizziness passed, and she was able to see through her own eyes again. The yellow and purple b
lossoms smiled up at her, restoring her equilibrium and calming her mind.

  Rhuna carefully stood up, and then walked quickly towards the adjoining building which housed many comfortable rooms for individuals. She found the room that Damell had chosen for privacy, and gently tapped on the wooden door post.

  “Enter,” Damell said softly. Rhuna was relieved to hear her father’s kind voice as she moved the heavy drapery aside.

  “I just experienced another unsummoned vision of the Dark Master,” Rhuna told him as she sat down beside Damell. “This time, it was as if I were seeing through his eyes!”

  “That is not surprising,” Damell replied. “It supports our assumption that you share a mental bond with him.”

  “But I don’t want to have any kind of bond with him!” Rhuna protested as revulsion and mind panic overwhelmed her.

  Damell reached across and placed a warm, reassuring hand on her forearm. “It is only for brief moments once or twice in a lunar cycle,” he said calmly. “And of benefit to us in these circumstances. Perhaps the visions - and the Dark One himself – shall soon be no more.”

  “Oh, I hope so,” Rhuna said as fear and dread mingled with hope and relief inside her. “Do you think Goram and the representatives can kill him? Completely end his existence?”

  “Terminating his physical existence should not be too difficult when executed properly, yet careful planning is necessary to extinguish his Extended Consciousness which has survived on a level in The Infinite without a body.”

  Rhuna thought about the Dark Master’s ability to survive a long time as a non-material lifeform.

  “The only way is to cause instant death to his physical body before his Extended Consciousness can leave it and continue living on a plane in The Infinite,” Rhuna concluded.

  “Yes,” Damell nodded. “This would require careful planning and execution.”

  “Do you think Goram could do that on his own?” Rhuna asked her father. “He is determined to go into the past time period alone.”