Spring Showers Box-set

by Avell Kro

  merely had to think of an object for it to appear, like the sword with which she shattered the

  pulsating noisy mass that was Tozar’s message.

  When she was unable to think of a tool, Rhuna wondered whether her transformation skills

  would be enough, and she recalled how she had caused the big stone block in the Commoners’

  part of the city to disintegrate. She put her mind into the transforming mode and focused her

  mental powers onto the strange spear, willing it to dissolve. In a short time, Rhuna watched as the

  spear appeared to melt and become viscous, until everything had completely dissolved.

  Rhuna returned her Extended Consciousness to her body, and then slowly sat upright as

  she let out a satisfied sigh. She decided to visit the Commoner’s part of the city in the next days to

  determine whether the woman’s pain had finally gone.

  The following lunar cycle was filled with joyous anticipation, as Rhuna continued to

  summon images of Lozira by means of the Gazing of the Waters every morning and evening, and

  was reassured each time she saw her daughter engaged in various practical activities. Some days

  Rhuna observed Lozira sewing and making new clothes, and other days she assisted the two Atlan

  women in weaving a large floor covering with a complex and colourful design. Other times, Lozira

  sat playing various games with her travel companions, or just sitting silently, gazing out of the

  window at the horizon.

  Almost daily, Rhuna visited Damel at The Reigning One’s residence, and when the weather

  was pleasant, they enjoyed a stroll in the Sanctuary Gardens where they watched birds and other

  animals that were kept there.

  Rhuna also closely observed the Guardians of Knowledge, summoning mental visions of their

  secret activities which she noticed occurred regularly at certain phases of the moon.

  “Brother, should we not attempt to hinder the new Atlan Council’s arrival in Safu?” asked one

  of the female Guardians in Rhuna’s vision. Her face was in the dark shadow of his black robe so

  that Rhuna could not recognize her.

  “No. We shall deal with them according to their actions when they are here,” Beacon of the

  Night said decisively.

  “In the meantime, we shall continue to thwart the Ubanti’s attempts to enter Safu!” said

  Charmer of Snakes, rubbing his hands together with glee.

  The short vision ended, and Rhuna felt relieved once again that they no longer attempted to

  prevent the Atlan fleet from arriving at Safu.

  The day of Lozira’s arrival had finally arrived, and Rhuna felt it had been many lunar cycles

  instead of merely one cycle and several days. Sheawoke before the break of dawn and felt too

  excited to stay in bed a moment longer. Packing a small bag with some food for the morning meal, she left the house to wait at the dock, while Aradin and Shandi planned to leave later in the

  morning.

  Rhuna watched the sun’s first rays glisten on the Great River, its surface flat and smooth, as

  if it were still asleep. Some birds awoke and began their morning calls, and nearby two fishermen

  cast out their nets. The thrill of the beautiful morning and the knowledge that Lozira would soon

  be with her at last made her entire body tingle with happy anticipation.

  Aradin and Shandi, along with many other people began to arrive at the dock as the sun

  progressed across the sky. Rhuna’s heart began to pound as the ships came into sight,and she

  wished for a stronger wind to carry them forward faster. When they finally arrived at the docking

  area Rhuna could barely contain her happiness and excitement much longer.

  “Lozira!” Rhuna called out and waved her arm vigorously when she saw the tall and slender

  figure of her daughter emerge from one of the cabins. The wind picked up her loose long hair and

  Rhuna thought it looked like a golden aura around her face.

  Lozira hurried to disembark and walked briskly to the edge of the vessel where she was

  guided onto a ramp that connected to the dock. Finally on solid land, Lozira let out a cheer of relief

  and delight as Rhuna ran towards her with open arms. After a long, tight embrace, there was

  laughter and many more expressions of joy.

  “You are taller than me now!” exclaimed Rhuna, stepping back to have a better lock at her

  grown-up daughter. “You look more like your father now.”

  Lozira’s bright face suddenly darkened at the mention of her father, and Rhuna immediately

  regretted her words. “But also a lot like me!” she quickly added, and then felt a tug at her dress.

  “What’s this?” Lozira asked, looking down at Shandi. “I have a little sister?” She bent down

  to be almost level with Shandi’s rosy round face.

  “Lozira!” the little girl squealed excitedly. “Lozira! Come on ship!”

  Lozira took the child in her arms and then kissed her soft round cheek. “I am very

  fortunate to have a sweet little sister like you!” Lozira said with a bright smile.

  “You talk more like your father now,” observed Aradin, and Lozira stood up to greet him.

  Welcome back to Safu,” he said, and gave her a quick but heartfelt embrace and kiss on her cheek.

  “I am so very happy to be here!” Lozira exclaimed, wiping a tear from her cheek. Shandi

  kept tugging at Lozira’s dress, so she took her little sister’s hand and smiled down at her fondly.

  “They are the members of the new Safu Council,” Lozira said, indicating with a nod of her

  head towards the group gathering on the dock nearby. Rhuna examined the faces as they

  progressed along the dock, and said that she recognized about half of them. Then Aradin took a

  large bag that contained all of Lozira’s modest possessions, and began carrying it away from the

  ships.

  “We’ll get you many nice new clothes and accessories,” said Rhuna as she put her arm

  around Lozira. “And so many things we can see and do together!” she prattled excitedly, feeling

  elated and thrilled at the prospect of sharing every activity with her grown-up daughter.

  “I can hardly wait!” said Lozira happily, giving her mother a tight squeeze as they walked

  behind Aradin. Shandi still dangled excitedly from Lozira’s hand, looking up at her tall new sister.

  As they walked down the smooth paved streets of the Atlan part of Safu, Lozira said she

  recognized the area, and remembered which house belonged to Aradin. Along the way, Rhuna

  summarized what had happened in Safu in the several solar cycles since Lozira had to leave and

  return to Atlán, including the recent new living arrangements for Faleesh.

  “Oh, beautiful girl!” said Faleesh as Rhuna presented Lozira to her. The motherly Benshi

  woman took Lozira’s face in her hands and sweetly kissed her cheek. “You grow up tall and

  beautiful,” she said with admiration. Lozira said that she remembered Faleesh, and that she was

  delighted to learn that Faleesh now took care of her little sister. Then Rhuna showed Lozira to her

  sleeping chamber, while Faleesh began fussing over Shandi and talking about preparing the next

  meal.

  As Rhuna showed Lozira the rest of her beautiful home, Aradin gestured that they should

  enter the special room and explain its use to Lozira. Aradin moved the lever that activated the

  circuit, and Lozira looked around startled as she heard the faint hum.

  “I couldn’t tell you before, when you were here last time,” Rhuna began to explain. “W
hen I

  met Aradin, he told me about The Observers – a group of Atlans who meet in this room to secretly

  observe the Dark Master’s followers, and then try to stop them, if we can.”

  “This energy field prevents anyone from summoning visions of this room by means of the

  Gazing of the Waters,” Aradin added.

  “What is it? A kind of lightning-magnetic force?” Lozira asked, looking at the large

  decorative urns in each corner of the room which contained the metals and alchemic solution

  producing the charge.

  “You learned about that at school?” asked Rhuna surprised.

  “Yes…or more precisely, from the new teachers who taught some of the students outside

  regular school,” Lozira answered.

  “Teaching the New Knowledge,” said Aradin nodding. “Why outside regular school? Is the

  New Knowledge not acceptable instruction in Atlan schools?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Ahm…” Lozira started, and Rhuna saw a genuine look of uncertainty in her daughter’s fresh

  young face.

  “Many of the older, traditional teachers do not approve,” Lozira said careful y. “But the new

  teachers say that it is normal for the old ones to be suspicious and critical of the new and young

  ones, and that we should not be discouraged from learning the New Knowledge,” she explained.

  “Hmm, interesting,” said Aradin with a slight frown.

  Rhuna continued to explain how they gathered in this room and used hallucinatory herbs

  to access mental visions of the Dark Ones which could not be summoned merely by means of the

  Gazing of the Waters, and that she was unable to tel anyone for fear that the Dark Ones could

  harm them.

  “Now I understand much better what happened when I was here before!” Lozira said, and

  impulsively embraced Rhuna tightly. “I knew whatever you did could not have been so very

  wrong! If Tozar knew all of this, he wouldn’t be so angry!”

  “I’m waiting for the time when this secrecy won’t be necessary any longer and I can tell

  him everything,” Rhuna said.

  “Why must you wait?” asked Lozira, puzzled. “The last Atlan Council that was engaged in

  Dark Activities was…removed before I left here.”

  “The Reigning One had them executed…killed,” Rhuna corrected bluntly, recalling the bitter

  memories. “But they had partners and what they call operatives in many areas around Safu, so we

  decided to continue in secret as before,” she explained.

  “Good thing we did,” interjected Aradin, “…because in recent times a new group following

  the Dark Master has formed, and we are now observing them!”

  “Yes,” said Rhuna. “This time we reported it to the High Council in Atlán, and in response

  they sent this new Council.”

  “Oh, I see!” said Lozira excitedly, and then hugged Rhuna again, saying that she was proud

  of her mother for doing such important work for Atlán.

  “One day everything will become known, and you will be praised and honoured, instead of

  despised and shunned!” Lozira said emotionally.

  Lozira admired the many scented oils and soaps in her mother’s bath chamber, and asked

  which ones she could use for her hair, especially after washing it in sea water for over a lunar cycle

  during the long ocean voyage.

  The evening was spent with Lozira combing her freshly washed and scented hair, while

  Shandi sat nearby watching intently. When Lozira noticed her little sister’s fascination with her

  hair, Lozira showed her how to comb it. Soon, Shandi was following her big sister around, wanting

  to do everything with her, which Lozira found delightful and amusing. They shared cuddles and

  kisses, and then they playedtogether until Lozira said she had to go sleep after such an exhausting

  long voyage.

  Rhuna slept deeply that night, and the following daysshe took Lozira to textile markets and

  traders, making exchanges of gold and other items of value for anything that appealed to Lozira. At

  home, Rhuna showed Lozira her own wide selection of clothes, as wel as the personal items from faraway lands. Lozira smelled all the exotic body oils and fragrances, touched all the clothes and

  accessories, and commented on Rhuna’s extensive collection of fine jewellery. Rhuna happily gave

  her daughter any of her garments which were not too short or small for Lozira.

  For many days, Rhuna reveled in her daughter’s company, taking her to the many unusual,

  exciting or beautiful places in and around the city of Safu. In the evenings, Shandi sat behind

  Lozira and combed her long hair until her little arms tired of lifting the comb. Faleesh often

  watched teary-eyed as Rhuna’s two daughters exchanged playful cuddles and kisses, and for a

  while, the world was perfect for Rhuna.

  One bright and sunny morning, the entire Atlan population of Safu attended the first address

  of the new Atlan Council of Safu, and Rhuna was full of hopeful anticipation as they approached

  the Council building. She admired the colossal structure made of massive stone blocks, perfectly

  straight and smooth, and concluded that this was the work of the First Atlans. No one had

  mastered their precision and accuracy since that time, and despite its age, the Council building still

  looked new.

  As Rhuna entered with Aradin and Lozira, she admired the high ceiling and perfectly round

  columns towering up to the high roof, giving the assembly area a light and spacious atmosphere

  despite the solid stone walls.

  Everyone soon became seated in an orderly fashion, and Rhuna chose a place near the back

  of the crowd where she could see almost everyone in attendance. She was slightly shocked to see

  all the members of the Guardians of Knowledge present, some wearing their white Master’s Robe.

  In the front of the semi-circle was a raised platform on which the new Atlan Council members

  were taking their places. One of the older women remained standing and faced the audience,

  raising her arms to signal the commencement of the Council’s address.

  Rhuna recognized Sun of the Morning as a member of the Low Council in Atlán with whom

  she only conversed at certain meetings, and never on a personal, social level. Rhuna scrutinized

  her now, seeing her in a different light, and she realized the woman was considerably older, with

  grey streaks scattered through her fair hair.

  “People of Safu!” Sun of the Morning began, her voice resonating in the vast open space

  above the audience.

  “Atlans have established a flourishing empire in all the inhabited world, promoting peace,

  harmony and personal contentment based on mutual respect, honesty, enlightenment and high

  values.

  “We have built all manner of stone buildings, paved streets and irrigational dams and canals

  to serve as a functional and efficient infrastructure for a comfortable life without excessive effort.

  We have put in place levels of Councils to unite people in common goals, ideals and practical work.

  The Low Council has audience with the people, deliberate issues, needs and problems in the

  community and brings the more important matters to the High Council. Members of the High

  Council debate and decide on major issues using our proven and well-established principles of

  respect, compassion, insight, enlightenment and peace.

  “Peoples of other lands without this code have decayed into violence, force and even war,
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  making weapons instead of ploughing utensils; tearing down instead of building up the emotional

  and moral fiber of the people. It is obvious, therefore, that Atlans have the superior code and

  method of implementing it. We lead by example, and educate others to help themselves to improve

  their own people. You are part of this far-reaching Empire of peace, unity and prosperity.”

  Rhuna admired the woman’s faultless oration, and wondered whether she had rehearsed

  this speech many times during the sea voyage.

  “It was granted to the First Atlans and to us, their descendants, for the express purpose of

  establishing a world-wide empire of high living standards, good morals and advanced Knowledge,

  all of which contribute to genuine contentment and peace. However,” she paused for effect.

  “…the so-called New Knowledge, which encompasses the study and teaching of the workings of

  forces of nature, attempting to replicate them with all manner of devices that claim to imitate Atlan

  powers…is not right.” Rhuna felt the invisible impact of her last words clash like a thunderclap

  overhead, and she quickly glanced across the sea of faces for reactions.

  “The power granted to Atlan Masters is for a special purpose, namely that only those ones

  with the responsibility, wisdom and mental acuity should use them to produce, transform,

  communicate and direct the rest of humankind. We, the Atlan Masters, endowed with this

  heavy responsibility, must continue in this path, without compromise or adulterating the work.

  “It is for this reason that the High Council of Atlán has deemed the making of devices and

  contraptions, the experimenting of alchemy and what they are naming New Knowledge to be

  wrong.

  “Furthermore, most of us shall recall that the one named Gatherer of Sage, commonly

  known as the Dark Master, who was once among us Atlan Masters, strayed from the proper Atlan

  path by indulging in alchemy and similar experiments, which eventually led to a twisted mind and

  backwards morals.

  “It is with great dismay and concern that we, the new Atlan Council of Safu, have come to

  learn of a similar trend developing here in Safu, with the use of amulets charged with harnessed

  lunar energy to remove so-called curses causing ailments. This resembles the early works of the