“I am a frequent visitor and admirer of the Sanctuary Gardens, and in fact, I have mingled with The Reigning One’s guests on many occasions,” Damell explained as he escorted her to the doorway of his chambers, and then gave her a parting kiss on her forehead.
Rhuna left The Reigning One’s residence, thanking an attendant at the door who handed her temporary wet-weather footwear and a portable rain shelter for the walk back to her home. She barely noticed the cool dampness at her feet as her mind turned over all the things she had experienced in just a quarter of a sun’s arc. Just as she caught sight of the house she shared with Aradin, a strong gust of wind whipped her hair across her face and sent a chill down her spine. A dark feeling of foreboding flashed through her at that moment, making her gasp and look around. The evening darkness had encroached upon the beautiful city of Safu early today, and another cold gust of wind scattered leaves onto the wet paving stones.
As she approached the door of her house, Rhuna noticed that her skin prickled from the chill air. She looked around once more and noticed that the delicate roses Aradin had planted for her in the well-arranged garden were sagging under the weight of the rain, and suddenly she felt overwhelmed by sadness. She wondered why the drooping roses would make her sad and give her a feeling of losing all the beauty, peace and happiness she had found with Aradin in this house.
Aradin was leaning out of the doorway of their special room, looking expectantly at the doorway as Rhuna entered. She understood his silence and strode firmly towards him. He closed the door and operated the switch to close the circuit of protective magnetic energy behind her.
Inside the room, The Observers were seated on the floor in a manner that told Rhuna they had been engaged in intense discussions, and their shining faces confirmed their determination and resolve.
“Star Child!” said Divider of Fortunes cheerfully. “How pleased we are, one and all!”
Roses of the Field stood up to take Rhuna’s hands in hers. “A very satisfying outcome,” she said squeezing Rhuna’s fingers. “Our deliberations had not reached far enough to encompass the possible reasons for your father’s evasive actions.”
“I’m just relieved that Keeper of Justice came with me and saw him,” responded Rhuna with an awkward laugh.
“No doubt it was unpleasant to consider the possibility that your father was a mere image of your troubled mind,” Roses of the Field said as she lowered her head in apology.
“We are eager to learn more about the insight Avenger of Justice has acquired,” said Divider of Fortunes. His deep voice resonated in Rhuna’s head, and she was reminded of the vibrations her father had explained to her. As she looked around the room and took a seat on one of the plush seating cushions, she wondered whether Damell’s Extended Consciousness was somewhere in the room with them.
“May I repeat our plan of action,” asked Revealer of Truths, looking at Rhuna. She nodded eagerly, and the red-haired woman began her summary of the plans made by The Observers in her absence.
“It is imperative that we acquaint ourselves with this dangerous new belief system, and seek further insight into the activities of the Dark Ones by means of visions induced by hallucinatory herbs,” he stated firmly.
“Each one of us has taken the required amount of hallucinatory herbs from our stash,” said Designer of Works, his hand gesture indicating the hidden compartment in the wooden floor boards under the floor rugs of the secret room. “We shall report, analyze and discuss our observations at our next meeting at the end of this lunar cycle,” he said.
“However, according to our usual custom,” Revealer of Truths added, “any event or report of great significance shall be relayed to all Observers in the accustomed manner of coded messages.”
“Reaching the Moon and Softness of the Clouds will feign superstitious fear and belief that the amulets may provide protection, thereby gaining access to the Dark Ones and their manipulative control of vulnerable people,” Divider of Fortunes continued the summary.
“Maybe I can learn something from the Benshi people, like I did last time when I first arrived in Safu,” Rhuna offered, and the Observers nodded their approval.
“They named you their Star Child,” said Divider of Fortunes with a smile. “They have complete trust in you, and treat you with reverence and awe. Therefore, gaining their confidence in such matters of fears and superstitions should not be difficult,” he said with a nod.
Shortly after, Aradin moved the switch at the door that broke the circuit of the energy shield around the room, and the Observers began their pretense of casual friends talking about mundane matters, commenting on the persistent rainfall and taking up their portable rain shelters and footwear as they parted company.
As Rhuna stood in the passageway farewelling their guests, an irresistible cooking aroma swept her attention completely away from The Observers and their meeting.
“Faleesh has cooked the evening meal!” she said joyfully to Aradin, who gestured with closed eyes and deep inhalation that he also welcomed the aroma. The silence of their home after the commotion of visitors felt good, and Rhuna let out a long sigh of relief. She put her arm around Aradin as they strode into the warm room where Shandi already played with some soft toys on a thick floor rug.
“I saw the yellow cat today,” Rhuna said to Shandi as she got down on the rug next to her daughter. Faleesh looked over at them with astonishment as she walked past, carrying bowls of food to the table nearby.
Shandi looked up with big round eyes full of anticipation.
“The Reigning One has a new statue…a big cat all made of gold,” Rhuna told her.
“Gold!” Shandi repeated, tasting the new word, and then picked out a cat from her collection of toys to hold up and show everyone. Aradin laughed happily and Faleesh’s face was filled with deep contentment. Rhuna looked around the room and at the people dearest to her, grateful for the comforts of a beautiful home and a new family. She looked at the wall across from where she sat, and admired the colourful wall-hangings once more. Some of them were unique even in Safu because Aradin’s trade clients came from remote and isolated lands where different styles and techniques had developed over generations.
Rhuna picked up Shandi and moved towards the low table that boasted many bowls and plates of food, then waited for Aradin and Faleesh to also be seated on the cushions around the eating table.
“You’ve prepared my favourite food!” Aradin said cheerfully, and Rhuna was glad to see him in his usual good spirits. “Chicken cooked in milky sauce with herbs and spices from Varappa!”
“Varappa!” repeated Shandi in her crisp, clear voice, and Aradin laughed again, saying that Varappa is his homeland.
Rhuna’s hungry eyes surveyed the table that could barely hold any more bowls or plates. She reached for freshly baked bread, then scooped the chicken in sauce, along with some common garden vegetables onto her plate. Aradin enjoyed a large cup of brewed and fermented barley with his meal, but Rhuna still held to the Atlan principle of avoiding any intoxicating beverages. She reached for the fruit juice and then poured plain water for Shandi.
Faleesh sat as far from them as the small table would allow, and Rhuna wished the kind woman would finally overcome her servile attitude and feel more equal with them so that she could be more comfortable eating at the same table.
Her small and precious family gave her deep comfort, and the mundane activity of eating the evening meal calmed her strained nerves and racing mind, allowing her to focus better as she reflected on the events of the day.
“Gold cat!” Shandi piped up between mouthfuls, and Rhuna described the elegant statue she had seen in the grand hallway of The Reigning One’s residence.
“Such exquisite workmanship!” Rhuna said, then laughed when Shandi tried to repeat her big words.
“Created by remarkably skilled craftsmen,” Aradin nodded. The gold comes from the Land of Ubanti, where there’s a lot of gold. One of my c
lients was involved in the arrangements of this gift to The Reigning One of Benshu from the people of the Land of Ubanti,” he explained.
“What’s gifts, Din-Din?” Shandi’s melodious voice piped up. Rhuna chuckled each time Shandi deliberately said ‘Din-Din’ because she had found ‘Aradin’ too difficult to pronounce.
“It’s what people do, to keep good and happy relations,” he said in plain and simple language for Shandi. “Like we give each other things to make us happy,” he said, reaching for a nearby toy and waving it in front of her. Shandi squealed with delight and grabbed her toy, and Rhuna relaxed some more as she saw the normal, happy family interactions. She glanced across at Faleesh, who had been silent out of respect, but whose eyes expressed her deep fondness for the small child.
Rhuna undressed in the sleeping chamber and commented on the heavy rain pounding on the roof, but Aradin merely responded with a grunt.
“You’re still uneasy about Damell, aren’t you,” Rhuna said as she sat on the bed, hoping to draw out his thoughts so that she could address them properly and resolve the issue.
“I was just remembering…” said Aradin slowly, easing onto the bed next to Rhuna. “People from the Land at the Top of the World have been the subject of scary stories since my childhood in Varappa.”
“What kind of scary stories?”
“Like those you heard about the Dark Master in the early days,” Aradin answered flatly.
“But that can’t be…I mean, my father wouldn’t do any of those things!” Rhuna protested.
“But others like him, with his formidable abilities who honed their powers in the Land on Top of the World have done so,” Aradin countered.
“But there’s only one Dark Master, so the stories you heard must have originally been about him,” Rhuna reasoned.
“The only Dark Master known to us,” Aradin corrected.
“What are you saying, Aradin?” A cold shiver ran up Rhuna’s spine.
“People who are as powerful as the Dark Master was, with the extraordinary abilities your father has, are in much greater danger of giving in to selfishness or other weaknesses of character. They have to keep their mind strictly disciplined so that they never use their powers to cause harm of any sort. You understand?”
Rhuna nodded slowly, and agreed that other people from the Land at the Top of the World could have given in to weaknesses and done something wrong. “But not my father!” she insisted, but when Aradin continued to frown, she asked him to tell her exactly what was on his mind.
“For one thing,” he began with a heavy sigh, “your father said that he stayed in hiding so that the Dark Master would keep thinking that he was dead. But don’t you remember, Rhuna? That message you got from the Dark Master himself not long before his demise in which he said that he knew your father was still alive?”
Rhuna shook her head. “What message? I don’t remember…and besides, his messages were all lies and only meant to taunt and upset me!”
“Let’s go summon the message by means of the Gazing of the Waters to hear what his exact words were,” stated Aradin as he stood up. Rhuna followed him into the special room where the basin of water stood on a small pedestal in the middle of the room. Aradin closed the door and moved the switch that activated the protective energy field.
“Let me think,” said Rhuna, as her shaky fingers opened the pouch of coloured powders that always lay next to the basin. Powders and words of incantation were commonly used by most Atlans to assist them in the summoning of visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters, but Rhuna’s skills were already so enhanced from a young age that she hardly used any powders at all.
“Ah yes, a summon of a message in the past,” Aradin said with a nod. “Such summons are only used by members of the Council to ascertain the facts in a matter of judgement.”
Rhuna flinched at the thought of the Atlan High Council of which she had been a member for many solar cycles, often summoning visions and messages to confirm the facts of a matter in dispute which had come before the Council. Rhuna recalled that it was necessary, not because many people lied about what was said or done, but because people’s memories easily became distorted, and their differing perceptions led to misunderstandings.
“I know,” Rhuna said, taking the green and yellow powders, then sprinkling them over the water in the basin as she spoke the words of incantation to summon a message in the past. Her mind focussed exclusively on a message from the Dark Master to her, in which he mentioned Rhuna’s father.
Rhuna watched with bated breath as the green and yellow swirls slowly turned opaque, and then suddenly cleared.
Rhuna gasped. The sight of the Dark Master always shocked her and filled her with horror, even though the face that appeared in the Gazing of the Waters was not ugly or repulsive. The long and narrow face was unmistakably Atlan, but his long grey hair was unkempt and hung wildly down to his shoulders. Dark rings accentuated his unsettling bright eyes, and Rhuna tensed as the man in the vision began to speak.
“Rhu-u-na! It is I! Gatherer of Sage. Do you not know my name, Rhuna? You have observed me, as I have also observed you, and with great delight, I may add! Your powers are impressive, Rhuna! I know what you can do, and I am enthralled and delighted! No other but your father showed such great skills, and he has gone forth from where no one can hold him back! Yes, he lives and prospers; free to exercise his powers as he wishes! You are the same, Rhuna. Do not let them hold you down like a bird with clipped wings! They fear you; they fear your greatness, your power and your strength! Your vulnerable husband fears you most of all because he cannot control you when you become so powerful, so much stronger than he. Husbands long to be superior to their wives, this is evident by the way he dominates you in bed. Did you not know, Rhuna? Do not be a slave to your husband and his fellows. Your destiny reaches far beyond the realms they offer you. Remember this, Rhuna! Remember!”
The vision ended and Rhuna let go of her breath, hearing Aradin also release his as he sat silently next to her.
“It’s like a different message altogether,” Rhuna said after a moment of disturbing silence as the Dark Master’s words sunk in. “How can that be?”
“Your perception has changed,” Aradin answered. “Back then, you firmly believed your father was dead, and that the Dark Master was just taunting you.”
“He was taunting me!” Rhuna said angrily. “You can’t believe anything he says!”
“But don’t you think it strange what he said about your father?” Aradin persisted. “He lives and prospers, free to exercise his powers as he wishes. And those words about the heights you could reach if Tozar and others didn’t hold you back like a bird with clipped wings!”
“But he must be lying!” insisted Rhuna. “If he really did know that my father was still alive, then he would have followed him, tried to kill him again…”
“Would he? How can we really know for sure…unless we summon further exact visions…?”
“No, not tonight!” said Rhuna, distraught. “I’ll ask Damell next time I see him.”
“Yes, do that,” said Aradin as he put his arms around her. “Let’s not think about this anymore tonight, he said soothingly as he stroked her hair.
“I know Damell will be able to explain everything!” she continued, and Aradin put his arm around her as he guided her back to their sleeping chamber.
“I believe he will,” said Aradin with conviction, and Rhuna looked up into his face.
“You really believe that?” she asked, seeking some reassurance and faith from her husband.
“I’m certain,” he said with a nod and smile, and then guided Rhuna to their bed as he began kissing her face and neck with slow and gentle movements. Her feeling of unease soon lifted, and she responded eagerly to Aradin’s kisses. His teasingly slow kisses gradually released all of Rhuna’s pent-up tensions of the day, and far into the dark and wet night she finally fell into a deep sleep.
&nb
sp; Part Two
(The Benshi)
Rhuna awoke in the morning with the tingle of expectation coursing through her body. She sprang out of bed and quickly refreshed her face at the wash basin, and then applied the face cream Aradin had given her. She looked at the array of scented body oils, soaps, hair accessories and face paint she had acquired in the time she had been in Safu. Many of them were made in Safu, but her favourite ones were the exotic scents and unusual cosmetic products from faraway lands which Aradin had procured in exchange for his services of recording trade agreements, purchases and other business transactions.
As she combed her hair and chose a clasp from the large tray of hair adornments, she thought of her life before coming to Safu, when she wore only the white robe identifying her as an Atlan Master, and never used face paint, hair accessories or scented body oils. A few soaps and personal items, such as the orrichalcum necklace Tozar had given her, were all the luxuries she ever wanted. Tozar and other Atlan Masters would surely think that she was living an extravagant lifestyle, she thought to herself as she arranged her hair.
“You look beautiful,” said Aradin, rubbing his eyes awake and stepping out of bed. He walked towards her and welcomed her into his embrace, and Rhuna felt the familiar hot thrill pulse through her. “Last night was wonderful,” he whispered teasingly in her ear.
“My life has never been more wonderful,” she said softly in his ear as he held her firmly against him. “I don’t want to lose it after only a few short solar cycles.”
Aradin’s head jerked back and he searched Rhuna’s face. “What makes you say something like that?” he asked, trying to laugh.
Rhuna managed a light laugh and said that she had just been reminded of her old life. “It feels like I was someone else before I came here, and that I only started living since I’ve been here, with you,” she said. Aradin looked deeply into her eyes for a moment and then kissed her.
Rhuna, The Star Child Page 4