Spring Showers Box-set

by Avell Kro

  “You have not come to see us lately,” said a well-dressed man who could speak Rhuna’s

  language with ease. “Ah yes, of course! The Little One!” he said, smiling fondly at Shandi. Rhuna

  recognized the man as one of the translators who helped her communicate with a crowd of

  unhappy Benshi people during her first lunar cycle in Safu.

  “Will you meet with us again, to hear us and help us?” he asked hopefully, and Rhuna felt

  she could not decline, even though it was raining and she had other reasons for being there.

  The translator ushered the crowd to an area where some trees provided shelter, and a

  canvas tent was quickly erected for Rhuna and the attendants carrying her. Then the people

  organized themselves, allowing those with special requests or questions to move forward and

  approach Rhuna.

  “Need to move stone!” said an old man without any teeth, pointing a shriveled hand to his

  humble home next to a large boulder.

  “Is this something you can do?” asked the well-dressed translator.

  Rhunamotioned for the attendants to carry her over to the immense rock that was nearly the

  size of the old man’s shelter, and thentook a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she focussed her

  mental energies on the stone, creating visual images in her mind of the stone’s elemental structure

  and then imagining it falling apart into individual and separate elements. She sensed the familiar

  low hum and vibration passing through her body, and before she opened her eyes, she

  heardvoices raised in awe, followed by excited chatter.

  The boulder had disintegrated soundlessly within a few blinks of an eye, and the old man

  exposed his gums in a wide and toothless grin. He gestured his gratitude and promptly began

  scooping away the sand that had been solid rock only a moment earlier.

  “No teeth!” exclaimed Shandi, pointing at the happy old man.

  “Be quiet now, Honey Cakes,” Rhuna said, patting Shandi’s head.

  Returning to the canvas shelter, she beckoned for others to approach with their questions

  or requests.

  “Can your daughter do the things you can do?” asked a young woman through the help of

  the translator.

  “I don’t know,” Rhuna answered honestly. “Most children have some of their parents’

  special powers, but she is still too young. In a few more solar cycles we’ll know,” she said, thinking

  of Shandi’s ability to foresee future events which was not an Atlan power, and which Rhuna could

  not fully explain yet.

  “Some people sick,” called out a man with a rough, deep voice, and Rhuna quickly looked

  towards him.

  “What kind of ailments,” she asked, thinking of the belief that ailments were curses, and

  wondering whether the Benshi of the vulnerable Commoners’ city had once again been targeted.

  “Don’t know,” answered another man standing next to the deep-voiced one.

  Rhuna reminded them about always drinking clean water and washing hands regularly.

  “Some sick come from bad spirits,” said one woman, and Rhuna realized she must be

  referring to the curses.

  “What do you mean, from bad spirits?” she asked, and when the woman was reluctant to

  answer, she added, “If I knew where the sickness comes from, I could do something to stop it.”

  “It curses – only special thing can stop,” she said with firm conviction.

  “I’m sure I can stop it too, if I know more about it,” Rhuna tried again.

  A Benshi man who looked like he could be the woman’s husband stepped forward to speak.

  “Curses from other lands,” he said with firm conviction.

  “I see,” said Rhuna, trying to think of a response. “Do you know from what lands?”

  He shook his head.

  “Does anyone know? Who could tell me more about this?” she asked the crowd, and when

  no one responded, she asked the crowd some more questions.

  “How do you know the curses are from other lands?” she tried.

  “The Powerful Ones…Atlans, like you…they tell us,” said a voice from within the huddle of

  Benshi people.

  “Who are these other Atlans? What are their names?” Rhuna asked, feeling both excited and

  a little afraid, now that she was suddenly getting close to the Dark Ones and their activities.

  “Do not know…you Atlan people have strange names…we can’t remember,” the translator

  said after several people muttered a reply.

  “Where are they? I want to meet them,” Rhuna said, hoping for a more positive response,

  but then saw people shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders.

  “They come and seek out the sick ones, then give them protection from the curses,” the

  translator explained after various people spoke excitedly in the Benshi language.

  “But I am an Atlan, and I’m also a Healer,” Rhuna said, then waited for the translator to

  convey her words.

  “Atlan Healers can’t help,” said one woman from the crowd. Rhuna frowned and told the

  crowd that Safu has some of the best Atlan Healers, but the woman and several others continued

  to insist that these Healers could not help.

  “Only you can heal us!” called out a man from the edge of the crowd. “Like the girl, Lila, and

  the sick mother,” he added, and Rhuna recalled how she had discovered that an energy surge

  caused by strong emotion, such as pity or compassion, allowed her to heal several people with a

  mere touch.

  “But it doesn’t work every time,” Rhuna reminded them. “Even so, I wish you had called for

  me so I could have at least tried to heal some of your sick ones!”

  The translator listened to several people’s lengthy comments, and then summarized them

  for Rhuna.

  “They said some of them wanted to request your help, but thought you would not

  come…because of your new situation,” the translator said, gesturing at Shandi. “A mother with

  infant is too busy for other things,” he explained, and Rhuna nodded.

  “But also because the Atlans with the amulets told them not to bother you,” the translator

  added in a different tone, and Rhuna looked up sharply.

  “Why did they say that?” she asked, and then looked at the crowd for an answer.

  “They know how to make curses go away,” answered the woman who had spoken up

  earlier about the curses and amulets. “Why you not give us the…the…” she called out, and as

  she struggled to find the word, she reached into the front of her garment and pulled out a large

  shiny object that hung around her neck by a thin leather strap.

  “Is that an amulet?” Rhuna asked, holding out her hand to take it. The woman refused at

  first, but prodded by others around her, she reluctantly removed it from around her neck and

  passed it to Rhuna.

  Rhuna grasped the large round object and instantlyfelt dizzy and nauseous. She took a

  deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment until the unpleasant experience passed. Then

  Rhuna examined the amulet, curious and excited because she had never seen such an item of

  jewellery before. It displayed intricate patterns, perfectly balanced and pleasing to the eye. Small

  gemstones of various colours were inlayed in the metal which looked like gold mixed with other

  metal alloys.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it!” remarked Rhuna, and then moved it out of reach when

  Shandi’s curious hand groped for the amulet
.

  “Now give back!” the woman who owned the amulet demanded fiercely. “Why you not give

  us this? Work like Healer, and better!”

  Rhuna promptly passed the amulet back to the angry woman and explained that she had

  never seen such amulets in Atlán, nor heard of them before she came to Safu.

  “But Atlan give us!” she protested, and Rhuna shook her head, repeating her words that it

  was not an Atlan product.

  “This man over here says that he could not walk, but when he wears the amulet, he can walk

  again,” explained the translator.

  “Really?” asked Rhuna, astounded and perplexed. She asked the translator to convey some

  more stories of people struck down by some strange condition, and who recovered as soon as they

  wore an amulet.

  “Is there someone here who has been made sick by a curse, but has not been given an

  amulet yet?” Rhuna called out to the crowd, her eyes sweeping across the gathering throng of

  brown faces, hoping for an answer.

  “Here!” a woman finally called out, and Rhuna focused her attention on the smal figure

  crouched among people seated on some rocks under the shelter of a tree. She motioned for the

  woman to approach, but she shook her head.

  Rhuna motioned for the attendants to carry her to the woman so that she could examine

  her condition. The crowd respectfully made way for her, and when she approached the shelter of

  the tree, she stepped out of the carry-seat and walked towards the ailing woman.

  “Can you heal me?” she asked faintly as Rhuna observed the woman’s pale and distressed

  appearance.

  “What ails you?” Rhuna asked as she made a quick visual examination and concluded that

  despite her slender physique, she was not lacking sufficient nourishment.

  “Bad pain, all the time!” she said with effort, and put her hand on her side. Rhuna

  indicated that she would like to examine the area, and the woman hesitantly raised her tunic on

  one side to allow Rhuna’s hand to feel her body. The cotton undershirt felt rough on Rhuna’s skin

  as she tapped the firm flesh, then gentlypressed certain areas to check the liver and other inner

  organs.

  “Your inner organs appear to be in good health,” Rhuna said, and then pressed more firmly

  with her thumb. “There’s no pain or sensitivity when I press here, and here?” she asked, and the

  woman shook her head.

  “Do you have any other problems?” Rhuna asked, hopeful for a clue of the woman’s trouble,

  but she shook her head again. “Pain all the time! Cannot sleep!” she lamented.

  “I can give you some medicine to dull the pain and help you sleep,” Rhuna said, and the

  woman nodded gratefully.

  “Give me amulet?” she asked Rhuna.

  “I…don’t have one right now, but I will get things to help you,” she answered, and relief filled

  the woman’s sad face.

  When a strong wind began to ruffle clothing and whipping hair in faces, Rhuna gestured

  that everyone go into their houses to dry and be warm. Feeling satisfied that she had

  accomplished a great deal within a short time already, she asked the attendants to take her to the

  pyramids where she planned to have a meal.

  Shandi looked up at Rhuna as if she had seen something exciting.

  “Lozira,” she chimed, and Rhuna looked down at her, startled.

  “How do you know that name, Honey Cakes?” she asked.

  “Lozira on boat!” she said happily.

  Rhuna thought for a moment, and then asked Shandi if she knew who Lozira was. Shandi

  nodded and smiled. “Your daughter!”

  Rhuna was stunned. The bald attendant looked at Rhuna questioningly.

  “She’s learning to talk,” Rhuna said, dismissing Shandi’s words.

  The man nodded and chuckled. “Of course! Very good child, very good!” he said smiling.

  The wind had eased by the time Rhuna arrived at the pyramids, but the rain fell

  incessantly, and Rhuna directed the attendants to take shelter under some large canvas tents that

  had been quickly erected due to the rain.

  She looked up at the Golden Pyramid and felt the same deep awe she had the first time. The

  sight of the colossal structure in gleaming gold, even on a dull and wet day, always stirred

  something deep inside her.

  Underneath the large make-shift canvas shelters and tents Rhuna saw the usual food and

  drink merchants selling their products, and seating cushions on rugs had been placed in an

  enclosed area nearby. Rhuna was glad to finally step down from the carry-seat and take Shandi by

  the hand to walk around the food and drink stalls.

  After trading some small items she always carried in a drawstring pouch, Rhuna took the

  food and water, as well as a small toy Shandi had seen, to the seating cushions in the enclosed area

  out of the wet wind. Shandi began to play with her new toy, which Rhuna assumed was a small

  animal made out of various textiles. Rhuna slowly ate the date and barley cakes she had chosen,

  and watched the activity all around her, surprised that not even the rain and wind could dampen

  the sellers, merchants and other people who regularly gathered for various reasons at the base of

  the pyramids.

  A white Masters Robe caught Rhuna’s eye, and as the man came nearer, she recognized his

  white hair.

  “Possessor of Discernment!” she called out, and then feared his reaction as she remembered

  the Atlan High Council’s pronouncement that it was forbidden to talk to her.

  “How pleasant to see you again, Keeper of Wisdom!” said the old man with warm sincerity,

  immediately putting Rhuna at ease. His blue eyes were as clear and energetic as she remembered,

  and she apologized for not coming to visit him since their last meeting several solar cycles past.

  He waved away her apology, saying that he was aware of her changed circumstances.

  “The Little One…what a delightful child!” he said bending his long and lean stature to look at

  Shandi more closely.

  “Such big round eyes! And round pink cheeks,” he said with a happy chuckle, and then

  reached out to stroke Shandi’s hair.

  “White hair!” said Shandi, looking up at the aged Atlan. “Are you old?” she asked him with

  wide and innocent eyes.

  Possessor of Discernment first stood upright and then leaned backwards as he let out a

  roar of laughter. His contagious laughter made everyone within hearing begin to laugh as well.

  When the white-headed Atlan bent down again, Shandi showed him her new toy and asked if he

  knew what animal it is. Still chuckling, the highly-esteemed Atlan Master, viewed as the ultimate

  source of knowledge about the Pyramids, flopped down on the rug next to Shandi and began

  examining her toy.

  “What big ears it has!” he said in mock amazement, making Shandi giggle and pul its ears.

  Happy with this situation, Rhuna left her daughter in the old Master’s careand strolled around the

  area within the shelter of the tents. Some people looked at her with recognition, while one or two

  Atlans looked away when she approached. The hurt of being unjustly condemned by her former

  husband who sat on the High Council of Atlán still burned deep within her, but she had been

  unable to defend herself and clear her name without exposing the activity of The Observers and

  possibly endangering their lives.

  Pushing a
side these anguishing thoughts, Rhuna strol ed further along until she saw a

  group of young Atlan Masters she had not seen before. Three men and one woman, all in bright

  white Masters’ Robes, were huddled together in intense conversation. One of the men spoke with

  animated hand and arm gestures, and the woman spoke with an unusually deep voice. Rhuna

  remembered her father mention New Arrivals from Atlán, and she decided to approach them

  carefully, perhaps only close enough to hear their conversations.

  Rhuna pretended to be waiting for someone, and sat down near the group while looking in

  another direction. She strained her hearing so that she could understand the Atlan group’s

  discussions.

  “The Golden Pyramid merely requires activation by means of the correct vibrational

  frequency in order to produce static LightningForce, which may then be distributed to the stone-

  shaping devices,” Rhuna heard one of the men saying.

  “New energy sources must be established in other Atlan colonies,” said the woman with the

  deep voice, and Rhuna began to feel alarmed by their use of strange words and expressions.

  “LightningForceshall be revolutionary!” exclaimed the man with wildly animated gestures,

  and Rhuna felt compelled to look at him, trying to understand the meaning of his words. When

  she was unable to return to her pretense of looking out for someone in the other direction, the

  group fel silent and turned to look at her.

  “Oh,” said Rhuna, uncomfortable at having been discovered so quickly. “I couldn’t help

  overhearing your speech about strange things,” she said, hoping they would not react with

  hostility.

  “Feel free to join us!” said the animated man, gesturing for Rhuna to sit next to him in the

  tight circle of Atlans.

  “Really?” she asked nervously.

  “Certainly,” said one of the other men. “Our discussions are not secret. However, our

  terminology may appear to be secretive due to its exclusive use by only a few Atlan Masters

  knowledgeable in the fields of natural forces and mathematics.”

  Rhuna looked at the man who had spoken and experienced a strong feeling of recognition.

  As she cautiously took a seat within the circle she remembered that she had seen his face in the

  visions The Observers had summoned the previous day. She took a deep breath to hide her sudden