by Avell Kro
preserved in salt, as well as olives, some vegetables and fruit pickled in vinegar and spices.
“Eat fresh food with the long-lasting stuff,” said the bald attendant who had followed Rhuna
to the wagon. “I like pickled vegetables!” he said happily. At that moment, Rhuna felt deeply
grateful to The Reigning One for providing soldiers and attendants to carry such food and other
provisions for the Atlans. She asked the bald attendant for his name, and learned that he was only
part Benshi.
“Panapu is my Benshi name,” he said. “More easy to say than my other name,” he said
laughing, and Rhuna found herself liking the burly man more and more.
Before long, Rhuna could smell the smoke of fires, followed by the enticing aroma of cooked
food, including onions and lentils, and freshly-baked bread. People had gathered together in their
groups of family and friends, or strangers who were quickly becoming friends, all finding comfort
in the smel of cooked food.
“How many people are we?” someone asked.
“Around three hundred and eighty people,” came a confident reply.
“Is there enough food?”
“What do we do when the food runs out?” asked a woman with a creaky voice.
“When can we go back to Safu?”
“We have never been away from our Atlan houses!” wailed another woman who fussed over
sleeping arrangements.
Rhuna looked at the pile of blankets and thick textiles that had been piled onto some of the
wagons, and wondered whether she would be able to sleep on the ground after being used to a
comfortable, soft bed for most of her life.
“Find a spot with some grass or vegetation, and then flatten it out a bit,” said Aradin. “That
will make it softer than on the dirt ground.”
Rhuna looked around in her immediate vicinity for a soft sleeping spot, aware of the
complaints and moans of despair from many people around her. She wondered how sleeping in the
midst of such a throng of people, all lying close together in a large area, would be possible.
As darkness descended upon the restless Atlan encampment, Rhuna remembered the
puddles of water scattered about, and reached for one of the small candles she had stuffed into her
bag.
“The low light right now is perfect for summoning images by means of the Gazing of the
Waters,” she said to those around her, and then looked at the tip of her candle. She projected her
mental energy onto the wick, and within a blink of an eye it sparked to life. As Rhuna looked
around to find the nearest puddle, she noticed the flicker of other small flames being lit, some with
Atlan mental powers, and others by manual methods.
“Those of you proficient in summoning by means of the Gazing of the Waters may use
these puddles,” Damell called out. “We must be aware of events in Safu and the land of Ubanti
which have direct bearing on our situation.”
Rhuna huddled between Aradin and Lozira around one of the pools of water in marshy
grassland nearby, and let Possessor of Discernment speak the incantation to summon visions of
events in Safu. The water in the puddle began to swirl in the usual array of colours before turning
opaque, and Rhuna held her breath in fearful anticipation as an image began to emerge.
The first vision showed the tall and sinewy Ubanti soldiers slapping Atlan men and women
across the face, tying up their hands and feet and then dragging them into a building with sturdy
metal doors which were then barred from the outside. Rhuna noticed with deep respect and
sadness that the Atlans did not scream, cry or try to defend themselves when they knew it was
futile to resist.
The second vision showed a large number of Ubanti people on boats travelling along The
Great River towards Safu. Their possessions and other bulky items were packed on several wide
barges, and Rhuna concluded that they were intending to settle in Safu.
Finally, another vision appeared in the puddle water which Rhuna immediately recognized
as the landscape they had passed through after crossing The Great River by ferry. The Ubanti
Army was marching along the well-trodden track, many of them wielding large swords and spears.
Rhuna heard Aradin inhale loudly, and Lozira began to scream.
“They are coming after us!” Lozira screeched with desperation, and began breathing
rapidly between attempts to scream and cry.
“The vision reminded her of the assassins’ attack!” Rhuna said, grabbing hold of Lozira’s
arms and trying to calm her.
“Lozira! Be calm, be calm!” Goram called from his prone position on the carry-seat.
“Lozira!” squeaked Shandi sleepily, awaking from a nap at Goram’s feet. Lozira rushed towards
him as soon as he spoke, and hid her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, one
hand stroking her hair as he spoke soothing words in her ear. Rhuna watched helplessly as her
daughter heaved with sobs until Goram lifted her face to his and began kissing her gently.
“Rhuna! Do you not have treatment for her anxious condition?” Goram asked with effort
when Lozira had finally calmed down. Rhuna said she brought as many herbs as possible, and that
she would prepare some immediately.
Rhuna quickly prepared sedating herbs for Lozira and then watched her take the tincture
with trembling hands. “It will dull the anxiety for a while,” Rhuna said softly, and waited until
Lozira had finished drinking the herbal tincture. Shandi was sitting up and watching with large
round eyes, and Rhuna feared for her little daughter’s emotional wellbeing after experiencing so
many distressing events around her.
At that moment, Possessor of Discernment approached and told them about a message
from the High Council in Atlán.
“They advise us to keep together and frequently summon messages by means of the
Gazing of the Waters. They are scrutinizing events in Safu and beyond, and we shall be informed
of any vital information immediately,” he said in a strong and stable voice that imbued Rhuna with
renewed courage.
“You see?” Rhuna said reassuringly to Lozira. “We are not alone! The High Council is
actively working to help and protect us.”
“The High Council? I hate them!” Lozira spluttered, her face flushing deep red. Rhuna
regretted her words, and quickly tried to reassure her daughter in other ways.
When the sedating herbs began to take effect and Lozira was able to rest quietly next to
Goram, Rhuna began to wander around to see how people were faring under these extraordinary
circumstances. Aradin had made himself comfortable near the carry-seat to be with Shandi, and
Possessor of Discernment had left their small area to eat and talk to people of old acquaintance.
As Rhuna approached Damell, she noticed a gathering of Atlans wearing Master’s Robes, and
she assumed that they would take on the responsibilities of leading and helping the others. She
approached the group and looked at a tall and solid woman who appeared to take the lead among
the elite group.
“Who are you, Avenger of Justice?” Rhuna heard her askingDamell. “Why should we trust
you? We do not know you. No one in Atlán knows you. You bear the name of an Atlan Master who
died many solar cycles past – a generation or two in the past.”
“It is I,” Damell answered
. “Obviously, I did not die,” he said with a gentle smile.
“Inform us, and direct us how we may help,” said one of the Atlan men in the group, and
Damell began talking to them in a serious tone. Rhuna observed her father’s apparently natural
leadership and authority while still being modest and humble.
Rhuna continued to meander through the body of people, some seated or lying down,
exhausted from the long walk, while others also roamed about restlessly. She heard snippets of
conversations as she made her way through the Atlan people.
“This is a misunderstanding,” said an old man with a long beard.
“Surely we shall be permitted to return to our homes in a day or two,” agreed another aged
man next to him.
“When they realize that we are no threat to them, and have done them no harm,” agreed a
third person. Rhuna concluded that denial was setting in, and that most of them believed they
would be able to return to Safu soon. No one appeared to be disturbed by the report of the
summoned visions that the Ubanti Army was pursuing them with weapons.
“No one has ever attacked Atlans before!” Rhuna heard someone say mockingly, as she
made her way back to her encampment in a wide circle. She was reminded of Sun of the Morning,
who also expressed disbelief in an attack on Atlans, and decided she would summon visions of the
Atlan woman as soon as she returned to her family.
Rhuna told Aradin about the conversations she had heard, and that she feared the
consequences of people not taking the Ubanti Army’s pursuit seriously enough. After holding
Shandi and playing with her a while, Rhuna decided to summon mental visions of the Atlan Council
in Safu so that she did not have to leave her family again to find a body of water to summon
visions by means of The Gazing of the Waters.
Seated in the Inside Focussing position, she managed to block out the surrounding restless
shuffles, noises and chatter, and as soon as she felt enveloped by the serene darkness of her inner
mind, she began to see the images she had mentally summoned.
Rhuna saw Sun of the Morning lying on a smooth and polished stone floor, a large pool of
blood around her head, soaking into her greying hair and the collar of her white Master’s Robe.
Rhuna gasped and opened her eyes, feeling disoriented for a brief moment due to pul ing out of
the vision before it ended.
“Oh!” she said, startling Aradin who had been drifting off to sleep next to Shandi on a thick
blanket. Rhuna swallowed hard before she was able to whisper the shocking news to him.
“Have the other Council members also been killed?” Aradin asked in an urgent whisper.
“Who has been killed?” asked Goram brusquely, lifting his head from the cushions and
causing Lozira to stir restlessly. Rhuna told him about her vision, keeping her voice low in order
not to awaken Lozira and Shandi.
“Keep me informed of what you learn,” Goram said, closing his eyes and reclining his head
again. Rhuna took a deep breath to brace herself for what else she might see in further visions
before returning to her Inside Focussing position.
Her next mental vision was similar to the first, and this time she recognized the polished
stone floor of the Safu Council building where the Council had addressed the Atlan people of Safu.
She saw several other people wearing Master’s Robes lying on the floor, large pools of blood
around their heads and necks. Rhuna began to feel sickened when another vision appeared of the
remainder of the Atlan Council of Safu. Two of the men had bloody and swol en faces, and sat on a
dirt floor inside the room with a barred metal door.
“The surviving ones are being held as prisoners,” she informed Aradin, and then glanced
across at Goram who had opened his eyes and heard Rhuna’s words.
“It’s just a matter of time until everyone else learns of this,” Aradin said shaking his head in dismay. “Then at least those with too much good faith will have to take the Ubanti’s attack
seriously!”
Rhuna awoke with a start at the break of dawn, quickly turning to Aradin, and then sitting
up to reassure herself that Shandi, Lozira and also Damel were resting peacefully. She moved into
the position for Inside Focussing to first release the tension and anxiety of the past day, and then to
clear her mind of all intrusive thoughts and feelings. The process took longer than usual, but under
the circumstances, she thought this was not unusual.
Aradin muttered a few words sleepily as she stood up and began walking around, careful
not to disturb most people who were still asleep. She saw a group of people gathered at a clump of
trees and made her way towards them.
“We found some berries,” said one of the women in the group as Rhuna approached.
Rhuna took the handful of red berries the woman gave her, and then carefully sampled them.
“Mmm, refreshing!” she said, surprised that they tasted so good. Then she looked at the
faces of the other people nearby who were also picking and eating the berries. The dim light made
it difficult to recognize anyone, but Rhuna immediately knew one of the young men in the group.
“Peace of the Valley, is that you?” she asked.
“Oh! It’s you, Keeper of Wisdom,” stammered the youth. Rhuna remembered that he had
been a nervous boy several solar cycles past, when she helped him by reprimanding his abusive
father.
“You have grown up,” Rhuna observed with pleasure, finding his features fresh and
handsome, yet tinged with sadness and pain. She recalled the trauma he had endured most of his
life at the hands of his angry and violent father, and concluded that he would no doubt still be
suffering the long-lasting psychological effects. She asked him how he and his mother were faring,
and was saddened to hear that his mother was so ill that she wanted to remain in the Atlan
Healing House in Safu.
“Various ailments have plagued me,” he told Rhuna. “So far, healers have not found the
cause, and much less any effective treatment,” he said sadly.
Rhuna wondered whether he could be a victim of the curses, and asked him about amulets or
other jewel ery he may have recently acquired.
“No,” he said shaking his head.
“Come and consult me later, and I’ll try to help,” she said, and pointed to where she and her
family had been resting.
“I saw you yesterday already,” Peace of the Valley said. “But I did not know the people with
you.”
Rhuna told him about her new family, her father whom she had believed dead most of her
life, and that Lozira had recently arrived from Atlán to reside with her in Safu.
“That was Melody of the Dawn?” he asked breathlessly. Rhuna nodded and smiled at the
young man’s astonishment. “She looks so different! And who is that man she is with?”
“Yes, she has also grown up,” Rhuna agreed with a nod.
“Is that man her husband?” Peace of the Valley asked careful y. Rhuna hesitated, then told
him that although Lozira had no husband, she was emotionally involved with someone. Seeing
the disappointment in the youth’s face saddened her once more, so she invited him to meet with
her family when the opportunity arose.
Rhuna returned to her family, and when she saw that Goram was awake and looking
around, sh
e approached him to examine his condition. She gave him the food she had packed
especially for his weakened condition, and told him that his health was improving.
“How much longer must I lie idly here?” he whispered so as not to waken Lozira who had
curled up alongside him on the carry-seat. Rhuna answered that it could be another half lunar
cycle at least.
When most people had begun to stir, the loud clanging of hammer on metal cooking pans
brought every able-bodied Atlan to their feet in a hurry. Damell found a raised mound on which to
stand and address the Atlan people.
“Prepare to walk as far as this new day permits,” he called out. “Messages from the High
Council in Atlán advise us to continue in this direction with utmost speed, as the Ubanti Army is
pursuing us!”
Squawks of disbelief and panic arose from the large gathering, and within a short time they
were already walking, pack animals were being led, and a few wagons driven by The Reigning
One’s attendants also rattled alongside.
Despite Damell’s insistence that they quicken their pace, the majority of Atlans lagged due
to either age, sickness or simply exhaustion. Small children had to be carried, and Rhuna had
counted four other carry-seats, as well as ten wagons, some heavily laden with food
provisions.Seeing their discomfort, Damell ordered a rest period and then came to sit with Rhuna
and her group.
“It’s fortunate that it is not yet the hot season,” Aradin commented.
“Indeed,” replied Possessor of Discernment, who had been keeping up the pace with Rhuna
and the carry-seat, and at times even letting Shandi sit atop his shoulders.
“And fortunate also, that the cool season has brought much rain this solar cycle,” Damell
observed. “See, we have several sources of fresh running water, as well as ponds and small lakes
of rainwater.”
Rhuna carried her empty gourd to one of the ponds and tasted the water which was sweet
and clear. When she had filled her gourd and turned around, she was startled to see two of The
Observers standing close behind her.
Divider of Fortunes leaned in to whisper in Rhuna’s ear.
“Why did you save him? The leader of the Dark Ones had been slaughtered, as befits the
likes of him, and yet you healed him with your special powers!”