Spring Showers Box-set
Page 52
“We are perplexed and concerned that you saved his life, and now you have brought him
with us, in a carry-seat like an important and valued member of society!” added Revealer of
Truths.
“We are forced to endure him in our very own midst!” gruntedDivider of Fortunes
outraged.“He has directly caused this calamity to befall all Atlans!”
“My daughter loves him,” Rhuna answered flatly.
“She would soon recover from the loss!” argued Revealer of Truths.
Rhuna shook her head. “She was so devastated when he almost died…”
“You see? It is as we have said: you have been seriously compromised!” scolded Divider of
Fortunes. “Surely it is possible to convince her that she has no happy future with such a man!”
Rhuna shook her head vigorously. “We have tried everything except drastic measures,
which would only propel her further towards him.”
“Perhaps you should have let him die!” hissed Revealer of Truths.
“Go away, both of you!” Rhuna said angrily, her rage shooting to the surface. “I don’t want
to hear any more of this! Listen to yourselves, both of you! You want the death of a fellow Atlan!
You sound as bad as those you condemn, and don’t realize you have strayed far away from Atlan
principles. We should be trying to readjust people, not condemn them!”
“The Dark Master could not be readjusted, so should we not expect the same from his
fol owers?” replied Divider of Fortunes.
“I believe that Beacon of the Night is different,” she said, and took a determined step to
leave.
“What a travesty!” muttered Divider of Fortunes as Rhuna briskly walked away. Her mind
was still reeling from the verbal assault she had experienced when she reached her own small
encampment and saw several people huddled around the carry-seat.
“Don’t worry,” said Aradin as he rushed towards her, seeing her sudden fear. “He is much
better. Sitting up and talking to his…friends,” Aradin explained, and then took the heavy gourd
from her. Rhuna felt relieved that Goram was recovering and able to converse with his fellow
Guardians of Knowledge, but she was still unnerved by the encounter at the water source.
“They can only see things from their own perspective,” Aradin said when Rhuna told him
about the exchange at the pond.
“In case I haven’t told you lately,” said Rhuna looking at her husband appreciatively, “I value
the love and support you always give me.” She cupped his face in her hands and he smiled gently,
his eyes expressing more than words ever could.
A short time later, Rhuna sensed heightened agitation all around her, and assumed that
Atlans were using the water to summon the disturbing visions of events in Safu. As she looked
around, she saw The Observers making their way through the crowd towards her.
“Messages and images inform us that the UbantiArmy is pursuingus throughthis wilderness,
and would soon catch up with us due to our slow pace,” reported Reaching the Moon.
“They have used violent force towards some Atlans who remained in Safu!” exclaimed
Softness of the Clouds with deep anguish in her voice.
“My summoning has revealed their intention to keep several Atlan Masters alive and to
coerce them to give them the Atlan Knowledge they want,” said Designer of Works. “Those for
whom they think they have no use are simply…executed!”
“This-is is horrendous!”stammeredEcho of the Evening.
“People of other lands do not view such matters the same way as we Atlans,” reminded
Aradin.
Rhuna noticed that not only had The Observers gathered around, but many other Atlans
whose personal encampments were nearby, or who were wandering around seeking information
had also stopped to listen and ask questions.
“The Ubanti believe Atlans provoked them, causing the death of many of their own!” Divider
of Fortunes said to one of the strangers who had joined them.
“Why did they think we Atlans caused such a calamity?” asked someone else.
“The Guardians of Knowledge - as they call themselves - they are apparently followers of
the Dark Master,” answered Echo of the Evening nervously. Several gasps and urgent mutterings
ensued and quickly spread to other people like ripples in a pond.
“They are able to cause ailments and afflictions, even accidents and bizarre events by means
of acquired Dark Forces!” added Designer of Works.
“Their leader - the green-eyed one - he is the most dangerous and powerful of them all!”
spoke another stranger from the growing crowd.
“What is this? The Dark Master is in our midst?” croaked an old woman from the
gathering.
“His followers are alive and among us!” answered a younger woman.
“The one healed by the Star Child?”
“Why did she heal him, if he is as bad as the Dark Master himself?”
“He is the one the Ubanti should be chasing, not us!” said an angry man.
“All these things are being reported to the High Council in Atlán. Let us await their verdict,”
said someone with an authoritative tone.
The turbulent chatter was interrupted by the clang of pots to announce meal time, and
Rhuna felt grateful for the interruption. The crowd dispersed, eager to be fed after an arduous day
of walking and plain boredom. At the food-dispensing area, Rhuna stepped near the fire to warm
up as the cool of eveningdescended on the Atlans. Lozira approached with Goram, who used a
thick branch to support him as he walked. As they stood and waited their turn, Rhuna saw Peace
of the Valley approach Lozira, grinning broadly and his eyes shining as he looked at her.
“Do you remember me?” he asked her shyly.
“Peace of the Valley! Of course I do!” Lozira said with a happy smile, and then proceeded to
ask him questions about his wellbeing, his mother and what he had been doing since she left Safu
several solar cycles past.
Rhuna observed the sparkle in the youth’s eyes as he spoke with Lozira, and for a moment
she wished Lozira would love him instead of Goram. Then Rhuna’s gaze shifted to Goram who
stood close by, and a cold shiver of dread shot up her spine. She had never seen such dark and
vicious venom in a person’s face as in that moment when Goram observed Peace of the Valley and
Lozira smiling and enjoying pleasant conversation.
Before she knew why she was doing it, Rhuna stepped towards Goram and tugged at his
arm with enough force to turn him slightly away from the sight that caused him such dark rage.
“Are you sure you are well enough to stand and walk around like this?” Rhuna said
forcefully, hoping to distract him from Lozira and the boy.
“Yes, of course!” he hissed angrily, jerking his arm out of Rhuna’s grasp.
“Come eat, you two!” called Aradin, and Rhuna was again grateful for the interruption. She
heard Goram grunt as he shuffled behind her towards the fire where cooked meat was being
dispensed by the attendants.
As they ate and mingled among each other to obtain more food and water, Rhuna once
again listened carefully to the conversations around her.
“It is not so simple,” she heard Rain of Refreshment tel someone. “They see all Atlans as
one – namely as those who inflicted ailments and curses.”
“The amule
ts! We were fooled into believing they would help us!”
“The Dark Ones help no one but themselves!”
“This was discussed at the Council Address, was it not?”
“Now the Council members are all dead, save two of the men with transforming and other
traditional Atlan skills!”
“The Ubanti killed them?”
“They shall kill us, also!” screamed a panic-stricken woman.
“We must separate ourselves from the followers of the Dark Master!” called out a man with
a shrill voice.
“The Ubanti Army will catch up with us tomorrow!”
“What does the High Council advise we should do?” a man asked.
“They have no advice,” answered someone with a weak voice.
“The High Council cannot do a single thing to help us!”
“We are abandoned here in this wasteland!” wailed a woman loudly.
“We are Atlans – surely we can use our skills to save ourselves!” insisted a man.
“How? There is nothing here to transform. No stone to build a protective wall, no metal to
use for tools or weapons!” answered another.
Fear and panic rising all around them,Rhuna turned to ask Damell if they could do
something in The Infinite.
“There is always something that can be done in The Infinite,” Damell answered with a
frown. “Although I have not yet thought of what could save us from this predicament,” he said
gloomily.
“Allow me to redeem myself before my fellow Atlans!” Goram said as he rose slowly to his
feet. “It is due to my actions that this has befallen us – now I must attempt to correct the situation.”
“Do not cause the loss of life!” admonished Rain of Refreshment.
“Causing ailments would also transgress Atlan principles!” added another Master from the
elite group assisting Damell.
“Oh, may we never transgress Atlan principles!” mocked Goram with a sneer. “A harmless
Atlan gesture is not enough to deter an angry Ubanti army,” he said forcefully. “Assist me, Brother,”
Goram said to Progress of the Wind as he struggled to his feet.
“Instruct me, Brother!” said Progress of the Wind with excitement.
“First we must find the most efficacious confluence of earth energy currents,” he said,
pointing in the direction of the setting sun. Lozira promptly went to his side and secured her arm
around his back to support him.
“How do you find them?” Rhuna wanted to know.
“My short experience as teacher of harnessing earth, solar and lunar energies taught me a
great deal,” he told Rhuna. “Harnessing these energies has given me a high sensitivity to their
vibrational frequencies, allowing me to sense them both physically and mentally.”
Rhuna thought of the vibrations she always felt and heard whenever she summoned
visions or transformed elements.
“It is very fortunate that we shall experience a full moon and a cloudless night sky tonight!”
he said enthusiastically.
Rhuna walked behind Goram, his steps still shaky from the weakness of blood loss. Aradin
took Rhuna’s hand as they walked slowly behind the pair as every gaze fol owed them. Damell
and his new assistants walked behind her, and before long, Rhuna noticed that many others had
also begun to follow them.
“Here,” said Goram coming to a stop and indicating an area directly in front of him. “Allow
me to find the precise axial point in this circle of energy,” he said as he disengaged himself from
Lozira’s firm hold. “This, I must do alone,” he said to Lozira softly.
After shuffling around for a short time, Goram indicated the exact spot where he should be
seated, and one of the Guardians scurried to provide a seating cushion for him. Once he had made
himself comfortable, he looked around at his fellow-Guardians who stood around him, ready for
instructions.
“Now, we need models of the Ubanti Army,” Goram said to Progress of the Wind. “Find clay
or make stone soft enough to mould, then make spears and swords from twigs or blades of grass.”
Progress of the Wind nodded eagerly and promptly proceeded to do as he was told.
“Charmer of Snakes,” Goram said, turning to the dark-skinned man with the lopsided smile.
“We require ten small mirrors.”
“I shall make them by transforming sand into glass!” he said proudly, and Goram gave him a
nod of approval.
When the clay models and mirror pieces were ready, Goram assembled them at the point he
had deemed most efficacious for the harnessing of earth and lunar energies.
“This is the point of convergence, the confluence of energy currents,” he explained, indicating
the precise position with his hands. He placed the mirrors like a wall around the group of
encamped soldiers, leaving only a narrow funnel pointing in the direction of Safu. Rhuna bent
down to look at the models and was taken aback to see endless reflections of models in all the
mirrors, as if the models were a vast army reaching from one horizon to the other.
“Make a large circle around me,” Goram instructed his fel ow Guardians of Knowledge as he
made himself comfortable on the ground.
“Lozira, sit outside this circle,” he told her gently. Lozira remained seated, and Rhuna heard
her ask about his weakness and wellbeing.
“The conflux of energies shall most probably strengthen me physically, as well as mentally,”
he told her. Reluctantly, Lozira stood up and walked towards Rhuna, sitting next to her on the
perimeter of the large circle made by the Guardians.
“Why do we have to sit so far away?” Lozira complained nervously.
“Any person within a certain range would interfere with the energy flow Brother Goram is
harnessing,” came a voice from behind them.
Rhuna looked around and recognized one of the Guardians of Knowledge she had seen in
visions. She was a woman with long dark hair, which Rhuna found unusual for an Atlan. Seeing
her so close, Rhuna noticed that she was an older woman whose eyes revealed a wealth of
knowledge and experience.
“My name is Seeker of Knowledge,” the woman said after Rhuna had introduced herself and
her family.
Sudden silence descended on the Atlan observers when Goram and several of the Guardians
on the other side of the circle began a strange and eerie chant.
“Oh!” gasped Rhuna. “It gives me awful prickly skin all over!”
“That is how it should be,” whispered Seeker of Knowledge. “The frequency must be
precise in order to affect the correct vibrations enabling access to the ethereal spheres.”
Rhuna recognized the words the woman spoke, and wondered whether she knew about
accessing The Infinite.
Listening to the chant made Rhuna begin to feel disoriented, as if she had lost sense of time,
and wondered whether this was part of the chant’s effect.
“He is in a state of trance,” Seeker of Knowledge whispered with awe.
“Trance? What is that? How does he put himself into this state?” Rhuna was suddenly
painful y curious and even slightly excited.
“The trance is the state of accessing the deepest recesses of mind power from within and
without,” the knowledgeable woman explained. “Brother Goram is the most capable of us all in this
regard. He can enter the trance state without the aid of mirrors, incense or other manual met
hod.”
Rhuna thought careful y about the words she had heard, and then watched in silence,
hearing only low murmuring and gentle shuffles of movement by the people watching.
“What is happening now?” asked Lozira, who had sat rigid with nervousness for a long
time.
“Wait…” whispered Seeker of Knowledge.
Out of the lethargic silence, Goram suddenly called out in a strong voice a series of repetitive
phrasesRhuna did not understand. The words sounded completely foreign yet also deeply familiar
at the same time.
“They are the Words of Power which will bring the curse into effect,” Seeker of Knowledge
explained with a quiver of awe and excitement in her voice.
Rhuna wondered if he was accessing The Infinite and using these Words of Power to affect
something. She looked over at Damell whose face was expressionless, but when he caught her
glance, he blinked slowly, as if nodding with his eyes.
After Goram had uttered the strange and eerily familiar sounds, he sat in silence again, his
body motionless, as if his mind were elsewhere again.
Rhuna had begun to feel numb from sitting still so long, and was relieved when Goram
finally moved and released a long, groaning exhalation as if he had undertaken strenuous activity.
Progress of the Wind stood up to approach Goram, and Rhuna assumed that the session had
finally finished.Lozira immediately jumped up to go to him, and Rhuna turned to Aradin saying
that she was extremely tired and ready for a good night’s sleep.
“What do you think will happen?” she asked her father as they walked back to their
encampment.
“An impressive display, I am sure,” he answered.
Part Eight (Voyager of the Ocean)
At the hint of the first rays of sunlight, Rhuna and many other Atlans with access to a still
body of water began their summons of the Ubanti soldiers by means of the Gazing of the Waters.
Rhuna watched with intense anticipation as the waters cleared to show the encampment of
soldiers, most of them still asleep on the ground. Aradin moved closer to Rhuna and put his arm
around her as they waited.
After a short moment, several soldiers began to stir and sit up, and one shriek of fright
quickly escalated to a frenzy of shouts and screams. Rhuna looked more closely and realized that