by Avell Kro
After some more casual exchanges and comments about the weather, the group of friends
began to enter the special windowless room where they could conduct their meetings in private.
The soft light and comfortable seating cushions made the room very inviting, but its special feature
was the unusual set of receptacles, one in each corner of the room. Designer of Workshad
constructed them to prevent the followers of the Dark Master from summoning visions of their
meetings. Rhuna was constantly in awe of this remarkable invention which looked like decorative
urns but contained certain metals and chemicals which created amagnetic energy field.
Rhuna always felt safe when she heard the low buzz of the magnetic energycurrent
circulating around them, but today, Rhuna reluctantly lowered herself onto a seating cushion in the
middle of the room alongside The Observers, then waited in silence for Aradin to move the lever
near the door which activated the protective force field around them.
“A storm is looming on the horizon,” said Divider of Fortunes again, and Rhuna realized he
meant it in a figurative sense as well as literal.
“We have been seriously negligent!” continued Designer of Works with dismay as he shook
his head and tugged at his long bushy beard. “We dismissed the activities we observed in recent
solar cycles as meaningless, yet our latest hallucination-induced visions reveal disturbing activities
by the Dark Ones.”
Rhuna recalled how horrified she had been when she first learned of the hallucinatory herbs
used by some Atlans in Safu, in violation of the principles followed in Atlán. Since then, she had
come to understand and even admire The Observers’ noble quest to stop the fol owers of the Dark
Master by observing their hidden activities. The Dark Ones performed strange rituals in secret
rooms under the pyramids, visions of which could not be summoned by means of the Gazing of the
Waters. The Observers, however, had discovered thatinhaling certain hallucinatory herbsenabled
them to experience visions of the Dark Ones’ hidden activities.
“The Dark Master has left a formidable legacy,” said Revealer of Truths, who wore a Masters’
robe. Rhuna found that her long red hair looked even more striking against the white of her
robe.“Despite his demise almost twenty solar cycles past, his followers not only continue in their
master’s path, they even extend and enhance the Dark Knowledge and activities established by
that One,” she said with a pout of her sensuous lips.
“The followers of the Dark One have resumed their abhorrent behavior of several solar cycles
past?” asked one of the Observers aghast.“Taking animals and even small children at night from
the Commoners’ part of the city to kill….as if the spilled blood increased their powers and pleased
their leader, the Dark Master?”
Rhuna sensed a shiver of abhorrence ripple through the entire group as each one
remembered the events of several solar cycles past.
“Much less direct and obvious, sincethey were exposed by The Star Child,” said Revealer of
Truths nodding towards Rhuna. “Their Dark Activities continue in a much more subtle manner to
avoid detection and possible reprisals at the hand of The Reigning One’s army,” she explained.
Rhuna shuddered as she recalled how The Reigning One’s army had executed the Dark Ones who
had so blatantly pursued their Dark Ways among the unsuspecting Benshi people.
“One thing remains constant, however,” interjected Divider of Fortunes. “They persist in
their pretense of being principled Atlans serving the community with good deeds, exactly as in the
recent past, when The Star Child revealed the members of the Atlan Council of Safu to be the Dark
Ones, perpetrating their vile deeds in the dark of night.”
“One could almost believe that the Dark Master has defied death and continues to teach,
guide and lead his followers!” exclaimed Softness of the Clouds in her usual tender voice.
Rhuna reacted quickly. “Yes! His followers actually believe that the Dark One is still alive and
communicating with them, telling them what to do!” she said, remembering her own frightening
visions when she first arrived in Safu and realized that the Atlan Council members she had trusted
were leading a double life as followers of the Dark Master. “We never discussed the question of the
Dark One’s immortality…” Rhuna began, but stopped when she saw that Echo of the Eveningwas
about to begin one of his lengthy speeches.
“Indeed, the Dark Master’s legacy grows ever stronger, becoming deeply entrenched in
society,” Echo of the Evening twittered. The ageing Atlan man reminded Rhuna of a scrawny grey-
headed little bird. “In Safu society, to be precise,” he added quickly, and then took a deep breath.
“In recent solar cycles, as we have all come to hear…and indeed, most residents of the city of Safu are aware…that many people have succumbed to a new and aberrant superstition,” he said as
his fingers twitched nervously. “On first learning of these peculiar beliefs, it was believed only a
certain number of the Benshi populace fell victim to this odd…yes, even fantastic…custom…of
fearing unseen forces that cause ailments or mishaps to befall a person…without discernable
reason.”
“Finding the cause of certain ailments can be very difficult,” said Rhuna confidently, looking at
Roses of the Field for confirmation. The woman with the very long and pale hair nodded firmly.
“As healers, both The Star Child and I know only too well that this is indeed so,” Roses of the
Field stated. Rhuna smiled at the woman’s use of her new title bestowed upon her by the awe-
struck Benshi people several solar cycles past.
“Yes, yes,” twittered Echo of the Evening as he prepared to continue his speech. “This very
manner of thought prevented us from considering the possibility that the mysterious afflictions
befalling many Benshi…and indeed some Atlan residents of Safu, may indeed by caused by…by
unknown forces…perhaps even Dark forces…”
“Surely it is merely superstition!” said Roses of the Field looking horrified.
Echo of the Evening shook his head and raised his hands to gesture patience as he
continued.“Divider of Fortunes, Designer of Works and I…yes, all three of us, have observed by
means of hallucination-induced visions that certain Dark Ones are involved in performing
uncanny activities, and in so doing, we observed them discussing individuals who had succumbed
to ailments or mishaps…discussing them in such a manner as believing to have directly and
deliberately caused those ailments!”
“Who has been afflicted?” Rhuna asked.
“Mostly traders and travellers coming to Safu for various reasons,” answered Divider of
Fortunes. “It has even been assumed that these incidences have been acts of sabotage, yet they
cannot be proven.”
“But why would someone want to…sabotage…these traders?” asked Rhuna, carefully testing
this unfamiliar word.
“Some of my clients have expressed concern,” nodded Aradin. “But they don’t know who
would want to do such a thing, nor why. Safu has always enjoyed very good trade relations with
near and distant lands, and these worrisome events have only begun in the past solar cycle,” he
added with a frown.
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Echo of the Evening continued his report with rhythmic movements of his long, narrow
fingers. “These Dark Ones have been colluding, yes, meeting in secret in the depth of night, to be
precise…to combine their powers and skills to…to cause injury or illness to certain individuals!”
His last words sounded like a strangled tweet.
“Pictures on walls or clay tablets, also figurines and statuettes are made to represent certain individuals,” Revealer of Truths added, “and when these objects are subjected to various forces, the
individual connected to the object succumbs to ailments.”
Rhuna suddenly remembered the last report by Wanderer of Plains, an Atlan scout who
journeyed with her from Atlán to Safu nearly four solar cycles past. His initial account of
mysterious behaviour by the Atlan Council of Safu was the reason Rhuna came to Safu, as a
representative of the High Council of Atlán, and she had received further reports from the scout
during his short stay among the inhabitants of Safu.
Rhuna spoke up and told her fellow-Observers what she remembered from the scout’s
reports.
“That’s right, I remember this,” said Aradin with a firm nod. “He also reported that the
general populace had become afraid, superstitious, and had begun believing in the protection of
amulets…which we dismissed at the time because it sounded too absurd!”
“These are matters we, The Observers, must investigate!” said Divider of Fortunes with
authority, and Rhuna observed the determined nods of agreement by everyone in the room.The
Observers muttered amongst themselves, nodded and then looked at Revealer of Truths as she
moved from her seat and spoke up. “May one of you summon visions of these amulets, here in this
water basin using the Gazing of the Waters?”
“Excellent suggestion!” twittered Echo of the Evening, and promptly all Observers huddled
into position around the basin.
“Divider of Fortunes, you are most qualified in the summoning of the Gazing of the Waters,”
Aradin said to the deep-voiced man who merely nodded solemnly.
Rhuna watched as the skilled Atlan Master spoke the words of incantation for the
summoning of certain visions, his intense concentration taking the place of the coloured powder
that most Atlans must use as an aid in summoning visions in a still body of water. Rhuna held her
breath as the familiar swirls of colour appeared in the water. The water’s reflection turned opaque
for a brief momentbefore revealing a clear image of a past event.
Rhuna watched intensely as the vision revealed three men in Atlan robes conversing with
Benshi people, giving them strange items of jewel ery.
“This amuletshall protect you from curses of physical ailments,” said one of them to a woman
who gratefully accepted the item and immediately hung it around her neck. A man standing
beside her stepped forward to ask a question of the Atlan men.
“I am a trader, travelling many treacherous paths through wilderness,” he said with a lilting
accent, and Rhuna assumed he was from Aradin’s homeland, Varappa. She had met many traders
from this mysterious and distant land through Aradin’s occupation as maker and keeper of deeds
and trade agreements.
“May you walk in peace and security!” announced the leader of the Atlans as he handed him a
large item of shining metals and gemstones. “This is a talisman imbued with protective power,” he
told the trader. “Be fearful no longer, My Friend!” he said as he clapped a hand on the trader’s
shoulder in a gesture of friendship. Rhuna felt there was something familiar about the Atlan man,
but before she could examine his face more careful y, the image in the Gazing of the Waters faded.
“It is a fact that traders and wealthy merchants seeking trade with Safu have been targeted by
strange ailments or unexplained mishaps,” commented Revealer of Truths.
“Perhaps we should ask The Star Child to summon a vision using her superior skills,”
suggested Designer of Works. “More than once have her visions revealed activity hidden from the
rest of us.”
Rhuna nodded her consent, and as she glanced across at Aradin, he gave her a reassuring
nod and smile. She positioned herself in front of the basin and began the gentle deep breathing
her father had taught her. With each inhalation, Rhuna felt the energy tingle through her body and
her power of concentration increasing.
She closed her eyes to focus on the nature of the visions she wanted to summon, and when
she opened them again, the water of the Gazing of the Waters was swirling with vibrant colours.
Rhuna and her fellow-Observers waited silently as the colours turned to opaqueness, then cleared
to reveal a vision.
Three men were huddled together in a dark room lit with only a candle, whispering covertly,
“We have succeeded! The trader has succumbed to his ailment in precisely the manner we had
determined!” The other two men nodded and voiced expressions of both awe and deep
satisfaction.
“Brother, your skills are sublime!” said one of them with an ugly sneer, which immediately
repulsed Rhuna. She watched the men’s movements and expressions careful y, trying to impress
their faces on her memory.
“The many experiments of utilizing figurines at the precise point of the lunar cycle have
produced favorable results!” said the first man in a confident tone, andRhuna now felt certain that
she knew him. She scrutinized his face once more before the vision faded and the water became
clear.
After a moment of thoughtful silence in the room, Echo of the Evening piped up. “There it is,
there it is! As we have surmised,” he nodded nervously. “They intentionally targeted a trader…with
deliberate, malicious intent!”
“May it not be true!” added Softness of the Clouds in almost a whisper.
“We must at all times be receptive to new and unfamiliar activities, else we shall fail in our
quest to stop the Dark Ones!” said Reaching the Moon to murmurs of agreement.
Divider of Fortunes nodded. “Indeed, it would be to our detriment to assume something to be
impossible. Whenever a person, or a people collectively, believe to have complete knowledge of a
matter, then their path becomes stagnant, even decaying.”
Rhuna found these words disturbing, but had no time to think about their deeper meaning.
“I think I know the Atlan man we saw in the Gazing of the Waters,” said Rhuna. “The one
who seems to be their leader. His voice…and those green eyes are so familiar, but I can’t
remember…”
“Perhaps summoning more visions of this man may refresh your memories,” suggested
Reaching the Moon with a smile, and Rhuna nodded in reply.
After a moment of silence, Revealer of Truths cleared her throat and began to speak. “The
most recent vision summoned by us showed the Dark Ones discussing The Reigning One, and
that’s why Divider of Fortunes summoned visions of The Reigning One…”
“And that’s when we saw you,” Aradin said as he looked at Rhuna with deep concern.
The room fell silent and Rhuna tensed with discomfort.
“The vision was so…unusual,” began Divider of Fortunes carefully, “…that each of us
summoned the same event several times, yet the images remained unchanged. Keeper of
Wisd
om…I should say, the Star Child,” he corrected himself, “seated alone, talking as if in
conversation with another person seated opposite.”
“I don’t understand this,”she said shaking her head vehemently. “Are you saying that my
father is not a real person…that I’ve been imagining him all these past three solar cycles?”
Roses of the Field lowered her gaze and carefully began to recount the events leading up to
the arrival of Rhuna’s mysterious father.
“It would not be such an unusual outcome when the events of past solar cycles are
considered,” she said softly, watching Rhuna’s reaction closely.
“But I’ve recovered from those things!” insisted Rhuna, then looked at Aradin. “Since
meeting Keeper of Justice, having our child, living in this beautiful, peaceful home, I have been
happier than ever before in my life!”
Aradin smiled and leaned over to place his arm around her shoulders. “The happiest time for
both of us,” he said with conviction as he squeezed Rhuna’s arm.
“This fact is apparent to all of us,” said Roses of the Field with genuine warmth asthe other
Observers nodded and voiced their agreement.
“However, as you know yourself, Star Child,” she continued cautiously, “emotional imbalances
can remain hidden underneath peace and happiness. Great distress, even trauma, may be buried
deep, and emerge in an unexpected manner.”
Rhuna looked down at the floor as she recalled the many instances of healing emotional
imbalances with Solar Light Healing in Atlán, where she had learned to become a Healer of both
body and mind.
“The High Council of Atlán condemned you, put you on the same level as the Dark Master…”
began Roses of the Field before Rhuna could brace herself for the painful reminders of events only
several solar cycles past. “A devastating ordeal no other Atlan has yet had to bear,” she said
solemnly. “Yet to compound the emotional assault, Harbinger of Solace demanded that you send
your daughter back home, and has forbidden any contact between you and her…a harsh and bitter
wound indeed! The fulfilling and rewarding life in Atlán, the husband and daughter you had in
Atlán…taken from you with such cruel force…” she trailed off as Rhuna lowered her head.