The Purple River

by Shane Cogan

  ‘Welcome Lanith,’ said the one whose beard and mouth were mixed in the drink. ‘Come. Drink some berry wine with us. We want to hear you sing,’ he said while wiping the hair away from the cup. He spat out some of the ground. Think of your training. No mention of the sober palace and their customs. Think. ‘What bush is your wine from?’ Tiuus asked. The crowd laughed. A woman with a large metal jug went to a tap and filled its contents. She came over to Tiuus with a cup and poured him a glass. Tiuus looked at the glass. ‘Ah, the purple nectar,’ he said and smiled. All eyes of the crowd were on him as he sipped from his glass. He drank half of it. The crowd looks displeased. ‘Oh. I forgot,’ he said as he wiped the slops from his mouth. They went quiet, looking at the glass. He raised it and threw the rest down his mouth and into his belly. Its bittersweet taste reminds me of the old days. He finished the glass and the crowd shouted with pleasure. One of the crowd shouted ‘Manith Berries. The finest berry for any wine,’ he said. Another shouted ‘But Lanith, our guest would know all about those Manith berries,’ he laughed as he said it. The whole crowd joined in. Tiuus reached for the jug and poured himself more wine and sat down beside a female. He watched as her yellow hair began to curl, as she played a triangle shaped instrument with strings. She plucked on each string. And with it, she sung a note to synch with it. Others now joined in with her singing. The woman, halfway through her song, turned to Tiuus and said, ‘we are the last of the great storytellers and music makers of Atis. But you knew that Tiuus,’ she said with a smile.

  C H A P T E R 46

  The Eappi

  Kassobra was face down on a rock, her arms stretched forward, her breath pounding its surface, her heart moving faster and faster. The Sloua was tapping its foot to her beat, while its head lay still on the rock. She moved her head slightly to see the guide’s tail move ever so slightly. It’s still at cat, despite its power. Kassobra slowly arched her head around. No more mud cats. She pulled herself around on the rock, grimacing her face as she looked up to where she leapt from. The distance was high, and it was dark, but she could see them clearly. Sets of red eyes are peering down at us. Each of them focused on the river below. She grabbed her ankle as it slid off the rock as she moved around. I must have hit something on the way down or on impact. She dragged her foot back into the water and watched as the moonlight caught the red line moving away from her. She looked back up again. The mud cats above would not jump. The water alone was their fear, unlike our own guide. She counted the sets of eyes again. Something was not right. She looked around again. Nothing but the mud silt from the river bank and the guide beside me. She leaned closer and could see that the guide was not breathing. She touched the creature, but then heard Samarth scream. Then she heard another sound. That hiss, I know it. His screams were getting louder and louder. But he seemed close by. He must have been the last one to jump!

  She pulled herself up and dragged her body down the river bank. The moonlight crossed her frame. The current is going towards him. She pulled herself into the water and swam downstream towards his voice. As she swam around the bend, the night skylight lit up the river bank. She could see that Samarth’s clothes were torn. His leg is exposed and bleeding. She slowed her swimming, catching sight of a moving shadow. She moved closer to the river bank and grabbed hold of something solid. She held it in her hand. Hold your breath and judge the distance. Kassobra went under the water and swam in his direction.

  The noises above were muffled, yet she could make out where they were. It’s so dark under here. Hold your breath longer. You know what to do and when. Hold your breath. Count. She arched her head and her body, holding the piece of wood firmly in her hand. Now. Water flew over him and around him. Samarth ducked as Kassobra came through the air and landed a blow to its head. ‘Samarth, move out of the way,’ she screamed as she launched the wood against its head again. She heard its life end with a thud of the wood. She hit it again and again. Samarth crawled over and grabbed her and the wood from her hand. ‘Enough. The mud cat is dead,’ he shouted. Kassobra was now lying beside the dead mud cat, the piece of wood all bloody. Her heart beat the only sound on the river bank, the water and mud dripping down her skin. Samarth was standing, holding his left leg. They both looked up on the Mud Cat’s final hiss.

  The eyes above on the ledge turned into loud hisses. Screeches and more yelling from the creatures. ‘We need to move fast. I suspect that was the leader of the pack. An intent of a kill and a slaying is all that is on their mind,’ Samarth said. ‘How do you know that?’ Kassobra asked. He pointed at the dead mud cat. ‘Male genitals. One less breeder,’ he said. They both looked back up at the ledge. Samarth let out a series of whistles. One of the guides returned and shook its wings forcefully. The Nasp nodded at the prince and took off. Kassobra pointed back up the river. ‘The Sloua. I fear he is hurt badly. Should we go back? He saved me, Samarth,’ she said dabbing her eyes. ‘He has done his duty. He will return to me in one form or another. Quick, we need to move. How injured are you?’ he asked. ‘I think you need to focus on yourself,’ she said as she pointed at his leg, with blood now pouring fro his foot. ‘Wait a short while. Let me look,’ she said. She unzipped her small belt and pulled out an instrument. ‘It’s badly infected. That cat’s sharp teeth caught you deep. Looks like it sunk right to the bone,’ she said. ‘Indeed. We have no time now for a clinical trial test. We need we move and fast. Kassobra, the remaining cats will have already started to run and trying to make their way down to the river bed,’ he said. ‘Wait,’ she said.

  She looked at him. ‘Think of something fun, now,’ she said as he jabbed the contents of her hand right on the wound. She hit it with full force, leaving her creation attached to the wound. Samarth let out a howl. She put a hand to his mouth and grabbed him around his waist. Holding on to each other, they slid away from the river bed and back into the singing forest. Looking around they could see no visible paths. Samarth heard a whistle and responded. ‘This way. Fast!’ he said.

  Kassobra kept an eye on the prince’s foot as they tried to run. The gold will keep the blood in, but the infection will get worse. Mud cat’s salvia is toxic. Samarth spotted her looking at him and his wound, as he bent under a low lying tree branch. ‘It’s fine. The Sasa will heal it, if we can find him,’ he said and let out low pitch whistle. He listened carefully and heard a response. ‘The Sasa?’ she asked. ‘The Sasa is the reptile creature that you did not like. A gentle animal. His tongue has incredible taste and healing powers. Don’t worry,’ he assured her. I am more worried about the growing darkness than life saving lizard tongues. ‘And where are these creatures of yours taking us now?’ she asked. She held him tighter, her belt rubbing against his skin. She pulled it around towards her back. He panted and breathed into her face. ‘I suspect to higher ground and preferably one with water again. They will have picked up on our trail, or more so the blood. Blood drives the mud cats’ senses into a crazed frenzy. A total focus on the death of their enemy is all that will occupy them now. I can walk on my own now,’ he said and nodded at her. ‘The patch is working,’ she said. She quickened her walk to a sprint, while holding her side. ‘The Edaark will have gone ahead and seen where we can rest tonight. And be safe,’ he said. He waited for an answer but she understood and smiled. ‘I have left logic behind at the palace. It no longer applies in this forest. I trust you,’ she said.

  Kassobra tried to focused on the walking. But her mind wandered again to her father. They passed other creatures of the singing forest. Some Kassobra glanced at. The night brings more challenging ones. Some with reptile skin. Some with feathers. Some with soft skin. Some with many eyes. Some with oddly-shaped ears. I have not been this far into the forest since I was young. She recalled her father’s first words as she ran through the forest. They won’t bite. They won’t attack you. And they will not kill you, unless you attack them. Purely self-defence, he told me. If he could see me now! Yet, those mud cats were neither interested in becoming friends nor retreating. T
hey were something else. They approached a dip in the small path. She heard his words drift back towards her. ‘We need to crawl under this dense underground. Faster,’ he shouted back at her. She heard a familiar noise behind her. Its tail hit her on the face as it limped past her. ‘The Sasa,’ she said out loud. It glanced back at Kassobra, before making a puffing sound with its long snout. Kassobra gave it a smile. She pulled herself under the small tunnel.

  It is only a short distance, and I can see light at the end. But it is dark inside. She crawled on her stomach to get through to the other side. As her hands dug into the tunnels soil, she felt its occupants slither around her hands and lower body. She dragged herself through to the other side as more soil creatures tried to make their way into her skin. She came out on the other side and saw that the creature Samarth called the Sasa was licking his foot and the gold patch had fallen off. Kassobra picked up the patch and put it back in her bag belt. The Sasa flicked its eyes at her, but continued to lick the prince’s foot. Seeing Kassobra, Samarth moved the creature’s head gently off his foot. He licked Samarth on the face. ‘Time is up and we need to move on. Total darkness is now upon us. New sounds are in the air in the forest, and the daylight ones gone, as well as the evil ones. Other forces were also getting ready for the night ahead,’ he said pulling himself off the ground and towards Kassobra. ‘I sense those dark new creatures too. And I know your guides do too,’ she said.

  She saw that all five of his forest friends were now together. She looked around and surveyed the area. They had arrived at some stone structure in a circular shape. The tunnel had come up in the middle of it. She saw Samarth cover the opening of the tunnel with a large sheet of thick wood shell. He placed a heavy rock on it. ‘Nothing can come up here. In nor leave,’ he said as he moved around their clearing. Kassobra could see that the flying guides were already on top of the stone structure. Looking around and looking down at them, she arched her neck to see the full height of the place. She joined Samarth in the middle of the stone structure. ‘Welcome to the home of the singing stones and the ancient Darra people,’ Samarth said.

  C H A P T E R 47

  The Dead Zone

  The noise beat in sync. It stopped and then it started again. Her eyes blinked in rapid movement to it. Slowly, she crawled from her bed. That noise again, outside. Zirva walked through the door as beads clicked and banged against her skin. Looking out beyond, the sound again. She moved her head to the side to listen. A long delay this time. And there it was. She smiled. She looked down below. Nothing, just the darkness covering the mountain, its forest and landscape. Looking up, she counted the small dots in the sky. Distant galaxies. Distant worlds, perhaps. Even maybe life on a different planet, like ours. But we are only concerned with life on Atis. She smiled. If only they knew what was coming next. The noise had drifted off. It must have flown away to another part of the deep forest below. Its distance was too great. ‘Impossible. And no one can reach me up here,’ she said calmly.

  Zirva moved around the mountain lodge. She opened all the windows and doors, the sound of cloths pulling at its frames on her ears, the broken glass under her feet. She turned to see its layout. New and fearless. She went outside. Zirva bent down and pulled out a bottle, its blue shade crossing her hand as she poured the water into a glass. She counted the remaining bottles and made a note to prepare more of it later in the day, once the sun emerged. Going back into the cabin, she pulled a robe on and flicked on a light. The light flickered as the barest of light caught her face and body. It continued to flicker. Zirva moved back to the large open room, pulling a large book from the shelf and sat down at a table overlooking the night sky. She flicked on a side light and it eased to a low level. She wiped the cover and blew its contents from her palm. Running her fingers over the symbols on the front cover and flipping the large book open, Zirva continued to read, its year, date and name displayed at the top. She smiled and ran her index finger over each of the numbers and back again. She smiled again. Only my name beside its year.

  ‘Destiny,’ she said aloud. ‘Atis will be ours again. It is written and pre-determined. My year. My rule and my planet,’ she said. The window drapes fought against each other in the open windows. In the distant, the noise began to screech more. Its noise faded as Zirva walked to the terrace to look out at the darkness below. Her face itched as she heard the creature below making its call again. And again. Then another new noise joined it. And another. The flickering light caught her face as she passed it. Zirva gripped her robe tighter. Rain is coming. The creatures below in the mountain forests went silent. I know what they are and who controls them. I am prepared. Her face dropped as the final light went out. The sun will recharge it later. Now comes the darkness. She moved around the house deep in thought. Her eyes closed. No glass under her feet. No skin on wood. She smiled.

  ******

  Too bright. Fareth opened his eyes. Vufus was standing in his room, holding the book in his arms and shouting something at the King. Fareth rubbed and pulled at his ears. What was that ringing noise like a bird? ‘What is wrong? Can you not sleep?’ Fareth asked as he grabbed a robe close to his sleeping mattress, pulling it on. ‘Could you turn around, so your King can dress himself? And why are you here in my private chambers?’ he asked, rubbing his eyes. Vufus shuffled around the room, focusing on a picture that was hanging on the wall in the King’s chamber. I like its outline. Even the crooked angle that it hangs at. The nature, the colours, the strange looking animal that sits on a rock and its head was… ‘You can turn around now and look at me, rather than that picture,’ Fareth said. I need to show him what I saw in the great book. ‘You said I can enter any time, if I find something…,’ he said while looking back at the picture. ‘Have you found something of note, as our last look at that book was futile, my friend?’ he said as he patted Vufus on the head and moved towards the open seating area.

  The lights came on in the room. They sat on the edge of the study table and hovered over the great book. ‘It’s quite a read, is it not?’ Fareth asked still pulling at his ears. What was that bird noise? The boy smiled back at him, while turning towards the window. Vufus pushed the book towards Fareth. ‘Here. I have various pieces of paper marked in the book. Each in exactly the same shape, but with a different colour to index my areas of reference,’ Vufus said starring at the King. ‘Such a large book also for a small Atis being and…,’ said Fareth. ‘I don’t see myself as a typical Atisian, Your Majesty. My blood is that of Tarracullan, as you know on my father’s side. But it is my mother’s tribe, the Darra people. This is where my love and knowledge rests, but I know little of them or where they are now,’ Vufus said as he arched his neck to look up at the King’s face. ‘I suspected you had Darra blood. There are very few left. They are the knowledge keepers of the great mountains here on our planet and…,’ but Fareth was interrupted by Vufus as he said, ‘and the great protectors of our old musical ways. Something we have lost here in the great capital, because of your reign,’ he said. Fareth stopped pulling at his ears and looked at the boy. He rubbed his shaved head. Its tight razor sharp ends feel so good on my hands. ‘We had no choice. All of the old ways were banned. Atis was all but destroyed, as you will have read in the great book,’ as Fareth pointed at the book at the boy’s hands. ‘With music came ills like drinking, unrest and pollution of the minds. We had to eradicate it, after the long Mercury Wars,’ Fareth said. ‘But my people were almost wiped out by you,’ he said as he pointed a finger at the King.

  ‘You might need to read the Great Book more carefully, as that piece of your and our history is often misquoted. Planet Atis was a collection of small tribal nations under one kingdom; a diverse civilisation on a single planet. Perhaps even the only planet in our galaxy with life. Maybe the whole universe. We just do not know much about out there in space anymore, apart from our own astronomy and our earlier technological space explorations that are archived,’ Fareth said, pointing out towards the sky. ‘Anymore?’ asked Vufus. �
�Yes. Once we used to explore this Galaxy. We used to be so technologically advanced, both here on Atis and out there in space. Well, my father and his father’s tribal leaders. That all had to change hundreds of years ago. And since then, while under Tarracullan rule, there has been no borders, no divisions, no enemies, internal or external. And no more explorations of space. And it’s important that you realise that. Our people have short historical memories. We use this now…’ Fareth explained as he walked around the room slowly, tapping at the side his head and looking at the boy every few words. ‘I’ve heard about our old old technology. But where has this new world thinking come from, may I ask?’ said Vufus, sitting back down in this chair looking at Fareth as he walked around him.

  ‘The ancient philosopher, Dyodor placed great emphasis on protecting and safeguarding nature. As he believed, quite simply, that without protecting its growing power, the planet would die, and its people perish. The ancients used what was in the ground to fuel our old great cities, resulting in great ecological destruction and pollution of the skies. Hard to believe that now, looking around us, but they were of a primitive mind set. All of Dyodor’s social, economic, political and sexual teachings evolved around the core value placed on its eco-system. You will learn more about him in the Great Book, in time, once this crisis is over. That is what modern Atis is now built upon. Everything you see around our great planet is based on the eco system and protecting the environment. The Great Mercury Wars destroyed, as you have learned in school, almost two thirds of the planet…,’ Fareth paused, looking down and out of the window. The light catching his finger as he rubbed the moisture under his eye. With his back to the boy, he breathed deeply. Should the boy be told everything? Why don’t they all know this? He turned to face Vufus. ‘But maybe that is a history lesson for another time,’ Fareth said, nodding gently in his direction. ‘I have heard bits of our history, but not in great detail. Our tribe won’t talk about it. It’s almost as if they are in denial. Why is that, even the Yarracullans don’t utter much around the Palace walls. Why?’ Vufus asked. There is only so much I can tell him, I fear. ‘Unfortunately, the Yarracullans were the problem…,’ but he was interrupted by the boy.