Spring Showers Box-set
Page 46
Revealer of Truths.
Rhuna described the words Beacon of the Night had used to express his sincere feelings for
Lozira, and said that she believed them.“Someone who can love truly cannot be so bad…”
“No, no!” interrupted Divider of Fortunes in his deep and resonating voice. “Such a person
seldom changes. Once given to indulgence of self-serving, personal desires without consideration
for others, the course of life is firmly set,” he said shaking his head.
“After our last discussion,” began Divider of Fortunes, “I took the liberty of summoning
specific visions of this man’s activity, and he has given such assurances of sincerity to others
before. Once, he adamantly professed true love until he received certain rewards from the father of
the young woman in question. Once he acquired the coveted items, he left without even a word of
farewell.”
Rhuna felt an ache in the pit of her stomach as she thought of the devoted love Lozira
displayed for Beacon of the Night.
“My summons by means of the Gazing of the Waters has revealed that he appears to have
indeed left this manner of behaviour, as he assured us,” said Aradin, placing a gentle hand on
Rhuna’s arm.
“Understand, that we must nevertheless be on guard and suspicious of anything the
followers of the Dark Master might say,” said Revealer of Truths. “It sounds too idyllic, especially
from a personal aspect, that your daughter’s lover may not be as ruthless as it appears.”
“Would it not be possible, if not even highly likely,” chattered Echo of the Evening, “that he
seeks to compromise your stance, Star Child…make you vulnerable through your daughter, use her
as leverage even, to coerce you at some later, pivotal point…”
“Why go to such trouble when I’m no threat to him – why compromise me?” argued Rhuna.
“You underestimate yourself, Star Child!” responded Divider of Fortunes. “Your deeds and
special powers are known everywhere, and your name creates awe and admiration among all. To
cross you is unwise. How better to have you compromised so as not to be his worst enemy, should
the case arise.”
“We cannot share your optimism, Star Child.He is, after all, the leader of the Dark Master’s
followers!” added Reaching the Moon.
“It is understandable that you should approach him in this manner, in view of your deep
concern for your daughter’s welfare,” said Roses of the Field, smiling gently at Rhuna.
“Needless to say, to most of us, it appears to be a trap, and he has cunningly led you along
the path you wished to pursue,” summarized Designer of Works.
“Time will tell,” said Aradin, trying to end the conversation and usher Rhuna away.
As soon as The Observes had left her home, Rhuna slumped onto her plush seating cushions
feeling deflated and confused.
“Is it foolish of me to think that Beacon of the Night can’t be so bad because Lozira loves
him? She wouldn’t love him if he were as bad as the Dark Master himself, would she?”
“Hmm, it’s never that simple,” said Aradin shaking his head and lowering himself onto a
cushion next to Rhuna. “There’s always some good with the bad, and Lozira only sees the good,
and is unwil ing to see the other.”
“Have I been misled? Am I really so gullible and naïve?”
“No,” Aradin answered. “Sometimes we just have to use our own judgement and follow our
instincts. But it’s still important to hear various opinions because they balance out each one’s
viewpoint so that no single precept overrides the others.”
Rhuna thought about her husband’s words for a moment and then sighed deeply.
“It’s just that I’m so afraid of making a terrible mistake because I’m responsible for Lozira’s
happiness.
“Not entirely, as she’s no longer a child,” Aradin reminded her. “Come. It has been a long day,” he said standing up and taking Rhuna’s hand. She slipped her free arm around his waist and
held him close to her, grateful for his unwavering loyalty and support.
After a long and restless night, Rhuna rose early and did some household chores to release
some excess nervous energy. She looked at the clear blue sky, and wondered whether the wet
season had come to an end. She busied herself in the garden, examining plants and flowers while
her family rose and prepared for the morning meal.
The normal routine of gathering around the table to share food comforted Rhuna, and the
mundane conversations about weather, food, daily activity and some local gossip further helped to
ease her tension. When they had eaten and left the table, Rhuna quickly dressed and left the
house to visit her father in his chambers at The Reigning One’s residence. Abu-Malech greeted her
in his usual cordial manner, and then directed an attendant to prepare a light meal and
refreshments for her and Damell.
“Practice the breathing exercise first,” Damell advised her. “Pay particular attention to the
release of tension with each exhalation.”
Rhuna gratefully followed her father’s instructions, confident that his guidance would always
lead to positive results. After a little while, she began to feel elated and refreshed, ready to begin
their daily sessions of exploring The Infinite. Rhuna reclined on the cushions and allowed her
Extended Consciousness to be released, feeling the usual tingle of anticipation.
As soon as Rhuna’s Extended Consciousness reached the first plane, she knew something
was different, and felt all her senses throb with heightened alertness.
“Rhuna! How thrilled I am to encounter you in my own realm!” came the words in thought
form, and she immediately knew that the Dark Master’s Extended Consciousness lurked in the
swirling colours of clouds nearby. His thoughts were powerful and seemed to hit Rhuna like
crashing waves of the sea.
“It’s not your realm – it belongs to everyone!” Rhuna shot back.
The Dark Master ignored her comment, and a new thought penetrated her mind.
“Is it not exquisite that your very own daughter has been inseparably bound, in mind, spirit
and body, to my preeminent servant? It tickles and delights me to no end! Not even I myself could
have foreseen this fortuitous event!”
“What kind of power do you have over Goram?” Rhuna asked, projecting her thought-words
with clarity and precision.
“Power? Why Rhuna, I do not wield power over anyone! People choose to serve me,
Rhuna, and what pleasure to have such a lovely young woman, pure of heart and soul, enter my
domain through her conjoining with my preeminent servant!”
“Their involvement can end at any time,” responded Rhuna, not as convincingly as she
wanted.
“Is that so?” he chuckled nastily. “You do not believe it yourself!”
“Go away!” Rhuna shouted.
“You greatly amuse me, Rhuna! Your gullibility and naivety are laughable!” Gatherer of Sage
continued. “Did you not know that my preeminent servant has enjoyed many wildly indulgent
orgies, gratifying only his physical urges without restraint?”
“Orgies?” Rhuna needed a moment to remember what this word meant.
“Yes, it is true! Why do you not summon these acts by means of the Gazing of the Waters?”
he taunted. “When someone has freed himself from all i
nhibitions, it is impossible to return to the
restrictive Atlan lifestyle. Believe me, Rhuna, I speak from experience!”
“He is not like you!” Rhuna shot back.
“No?” he said mockingly, and then began to laugh anew. “That is what you wish to believe!”
“He talked about sincere feelings for Lozira, and it sounded true,” Rhuna replied.
“And you believed him?” he snickered.
“You’re just tormenting me again, like you always do!” she shouted as she felt her blood
begin to boil.
“Ah, to have a corporeal form once more!” Gatherer of Sage sighed with exaggerated
yearning, ignoring Rhuna’s comment. “I must say, however, that Lozira is somewhat too thin and
formless for my liking. Although such a slender body can have certain advantages…”
“Stop it!” shouted Rhuna, and tried to get away from the Dark Master’s Extended
Consciousness.
“You cannot escape, Rhuna!” shouted Gatherer of Sage so that his voice boomed all around
her. “This is my realm, remember! My realm!”
Before Rhuna realized what had happened, her Extended Consciousness had returned to
her body and she was sitting up, breathing heavily. She opened her eyes and was relieved to see
the gentle and kind face of her father looking at her with some concern.
“You are very distressed,” he observed.
“Gatherer of Sage…he spoke to me,” she said, still catching her breath.
“What did he communicate to you that caused such anguish?”
Rhuna related the thoughts the Dark Master had conveyed to her in The Infinite, and
shuddered as she heard herself speak the words aloud.
“Orgies?” Damell repeated. “It is a simple enough matter to verify this by means of the
Gazing of the Waters,” he said.
“Oh no, I don’t want to see it!” Rhuna said shaking her head vehemently.
“Gatherer of Sage knows this,” Damell said. “Allow me to summon visions of any such
behaviour,” he said as he stood and walked towards the basin of water in the corner of his
chambers. Rhuna sat stiffly and looked at her father’s back, fighting the tears that suddenly filled
her eyes.
“As I suspected. Nothing,” Damel said after a while, and then returned to sit next to Rhuna.
“Nothing? You mean, Goram never took part in any…orgies?” Rhuna asked perplexed.
“No,” her father replied. “Gatherer of Sage knows that you deeply fear emotional damage to
befall Lozira, such as being misled and seduced by a man such as he himself. It was his intention
to make you believe that Goram is the same, and he assumed -correctly, I might add - that you
would be too distressed to verify such things by means of the Gazing of the Waters.”
“He knows me that well,” Rhuna said with a shudder.
“You have come to know the manipulation Gatherer of Sage employs,” her father said,
shaking his head. “You must resist his attempts to confuse, weaken and undermine you,” he said
sternly.
“But why does he do this?” Rhuna asked, feeling both relieved and exasperated.
“Probably out of extreme jealousy,” Damell replied.
“He’s jealous of me?” Rhuna asked incredulously.
“Of course,” Damell answered. “You have natural powers which required half a lifetime for
him to develop, and now you have progressed to even higher levels within a very short period of
time. He is jealous of my abilities, also, and torments me with similar taunts whenever possible,”
Damel said, nodding slowly.
“So…I am not being foolish to think that Goram has true feelings for Lozira?”
“Not at all,” Damell answered promptly. “He is not like Bold as the Falcon and the ones who
took the life of infants and children,” Damell said sternly. “His motivations are completely different,
and his character is not so perverted as to make genuine love for another being impossible, as it is
with Gatherer of Sage, for example.”
After a moment’s pause, Damell continued in a different tone, and Rhuna knew
instinctively that she should pay close attention to his words.
“You must keep in mind, however, that Gatherer of Sage has become so…perverted in his
self-serving course to attain ever greater power and control over others, that he no longer grasps
fundamental motives and feelings. He can no longer love, nor understand the nature of love for
another being. He believes that everyone is like him under a superficial layer which he tries to
strip by means of deceit, temptation or other means to undermine and degrade a person’s moral
fibre. This lack of understanding can be used against him, because it is his one major weakness.
Remember this, Rhuna, whenever it becomes necessary to thwart his attacks.”
After enjoying refreshments and light conversation with her father, Rhuna prepared to
return home. As she kissed her father and stepped through the doorway, an attendant approached
her with urgent strides. She felt renewed anxiety course through her body as she sensed the
alarm in the young attendant’s steps.
“The Reigning One requests your presence,” he said simply, and Rhuna nodded. She turned
back to her father for reassurance, and his gentle smile and nod of approval comforted her.
Rhuna followed the attendant into the Attendance Hallwhere Uxbana and The Reigning One
were seated on elaborate wooden chairs, both rigid and erect, like the gold and bronze statues on
display throughout the sprawling palace. Rhuna immediately felt the silent tension, like static
energy hanging in the air.
“My brother and his family are seriously ill,” Uxbana stated loudly as Rhuna approached.
“Oh,” Rhuna responded as she halted briefly and examined Uxbana’s stiff face. She wore no
face paint and her facial expression appeared hard and inflexible.
“I am sad to hear that,” Rhuna said carefully. “Would you like me to attend to them as a
Healer?” she offered.
“At least a hundred prominent Ubanti people are also very sick, and many countless more
among the common people,” Uxbana retorted bluntly without acknowledging Rhuna’s words.
“They are plagued by ailments of severe abdominal pain with oral and anal expulsions,”
stated The Reigning One in his usual flat monotone.
Rhuna thought quickly, recalling the knowledge and experience she had gained in her
capacity as a Healer, and surmised that at least four different kinds of sickness could cause the
symptoms The Reigning One had described.
“It is an Atlan curse!” pronounced Uxbana angrily, her nostrils flaring and eyes flashing.
“Such an attack on our people in our own land is an indisputable act of war!”
“Of course it is not a curse or act of war!” exclaimed Rhuna, shocked by Uxbana’s accusation.
“They are similar maladies as the individual Ubanti merchants and emissaries who have been
struck down by curses in past lunar cycles,” Uxbana said.
“Yes, but those were isolated cases…” Rhuna began and then wavered as she recalled Lozira’s
proud statement that Goram had struck down the new Atlan Council of Safu with a curse of illness
to prevent them from persuading Lozira to return to Atlán.
“If it really was a curse, then it was done by one or two individuals acting alone, not on
behalf of all Atlans!” Rhuna said firmly as she suppressed the alarm rising inside her. “I
assure you
that I will investigate and find out!”
“How will you do this?” Uxbana demanded to know, her eyes flashing wildly.
“The Gazing of the Waters can reveal everything,” she replied, and then glanced across at The
Reigning One whose eyes reflected her own alarm.“We use the reflective surface of a still body of
water to reveal images of people and things that we summon,” Rhuna explained. “Amazing!”
Uxbana said with awe. “Can you see and hear everything?”
Rhuna nodded, and continued to explain how various images usually appear, according to
the words spoken by the summoner.
“Show me!” Uxbana said as she raised herself from the wooden chair.
Rhuna turned around and guidedthe black-skinned queen to a nearby chamber where a
basin was located in a dimly-lit recess. The Reigning One gave her a dark warning look as she left
his presence.
Rhuna stood in front of the basin and spoke aloud a summonforvisions of Uxbana’s family,
once more explaining the importance of saying the right words to receive the required images.
Uxbana’s tall stature leaned over Rhuna to watch the colourful swirls in the water, then gasped as
the opaqueness cleared to reveal a vision.
“Oh! It is my brother and his wife!” Uxbana exclaimed. She watched wide-eyed and open-
mouthed as the visions showed normal daily activity of a large family, some sitting near a window
talking, others doing chores while small children played.
“How many Atlans do this?” Uxbana asked when the visions ended.
Rhuna answered that almost all Atlans are able to summon visions by means of the Gazing of
the Waters, but many need the assistance of coloured powders and certain words of incantation.
“Can you see what people say and do in secret?” Uxbana said in an awed whisper.
Rhuna nodded. “We only use the Gazing of the Waters to examine private and personal
matters when it is absolutely necessary.”
“You simply trust others to do this?” Uxbana asked astounded.
“It’s an unspoken law,” Rhuna said, slightly surprised by her reaction.
“Show me more!” ordered Uxbana excitedly as she leaned over the basin again.
Rhuna proceeded to summon images of the people suffering from the illness Uxbana had