After an indefinite time in The Infinite, hovering around the Ubanti commune food area, Rhuna sensed that her father was ready to return his Extended Consciousness to his body.
“The Ubanti people’s plight is due to contaminated water in the food preparation areas,” Damell stated as Rhuna sat up from the reclining cushions.
“I’m relieved,” said Rhuna. “I was really afraid Goram had put a curse on them!”
“The Ubanti may not be so easily convinced, in view of everything that has already happened,” Damell said gloomily.
“But they know that Atlans would never start a war with any other people!” Rhuna scoffed.
“Do they? They judge Atlans as they judge themselves, according to their own precepts. They do not understand that Atlan mentality precludes any hostility towards another being.”
Rhuna remembered Uxbana’s surprise when she told her that Atlans simply do not spy on others or misuse the ability to summon visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters.
“This could be a serious situation,” Damell continued as he began to pace. “We shall observe the Ubanti carefully.”
Rhuna hurried back to the Attendance Hall where The Reigning One and Uxbana still sat in uncomfortable silence.
“The illness is due to contaminated water!” she announced.
“What is that word?” Uxbana said with a frown.
“It means that the water in your food preparation area is dirty, and this can cause the symptoms your people are suffering from,” explained Rhuna.
“Dirty water causes illness? I have never heard of such things!” Uxbana scoffed.
“But of course!” Rhuna said emphatically, and then attempted to explain why dirty water can be dangerous to people’s health.
“It sounds like the water has been cursed!” Uxbana stated adamantly.
“No, no! Our summons showed only the dirty water, not someone making a curse! My father would have discovered any curse!” Rhuna said forcefully.
“Really? You are certain of this?” she said skeptically. “Who is your father that his word should have such weight and authority?”
“He is a valued friend of many solar cycles,” interrupted The Reigning One gruffly. “His word is as law to me.”
Rhuna was pleasantly surprised by The Reigning One’s statement, and gave him an appreciative smile.
“My uncle and brothers await my report,” Uxbana said. “You have not convinced me that this is not an act of war by the Atlan people towards the Ubanti people. Previous events favour this conclusion. Furthermore, even if you convinced me otherwise, my uncle and brothers make their own decisions and deliberations.”
“But I assure you,” Rhuna began shakily, “if it really were a curse, then only by a few individuals, and not on behalf of all Atlans!”
“Why do you tolerate those ones who make curses?” Uxbana challenged.
The Reigning One grunted.
“If we had such ones among the Ubanti people, they would be punished, and probably killed!” Uxbana continued.
“This is what happened before already,” Rhuna began, looking at The Reigning One whose Army had killed the previous group of Dark Ones. “We, I…and the new Atlan Council are doing something, but they are sick...”
“What? They are also sick?” Uxbana’s eyebrows shot up, and her lips twitched. “Also from dirty water? Why would they use such water when they believe it causes such severe illness?”
“It was…something else,” said Rhuna, flailing for the right reply.
“It was a curse!” Uxbana shouted angrily.
Rhuna was taken aback by her loud outburst, and failed to give any answer at all.
“And you do nothing? Nothing but talk, summon visions in the seeing waters,” spluttered Uxbana outraged.
“That is a different matter!” Rhuna protested.
“Your daughter has a liaison with their leader!” spat Uxbana viciously. “How can I trust your words when you condone such a union!”
“I do not condone it!” spluttered Rhuna, feeling her composure crumble.
“My emissaries report that she engages in sexual relations with him every single day!” Uxbana shot at Rhuna.
“I have t-tried everything…” Rhuna stuttered, shocked by Uxbana’s words and feeling utterly defeated in front of both Uxbana and The Reigning One.
“Hmph!” Uxbana grunted as she stood and left the Attendance Hall without a word. Rhuna excused herself and hurried home, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.
Finally in the comfort of her home, Rhuna had barely finished changing clothes when she was assaulted by another unpleasant feeling. Shandi came waddling towards her wearing a new red dress, and Rhuna instantly recalled the vision Gamu-Bet had foretold several solar cycles past.
“Black man coming,” Shandi shrieked, and Rhuna promptly swept the little child up into her arms. Aradin appeared from an adjoining room and embraced them both.
“Gamu-Bet’s vision,” she whispered to Aradin as she stroked Shandi’s hair and face, quickly comforting her little daughter.
“Yes, I know,” Aradin answered, and kissed the top of Shandi’s head.
When Shandi appeared to have recovered, Rhuna cheerfully commented on her pretty new dress, and then turned to tell Aradin about the upsetting events at The Reigning One’s residence.
“The Ubanti people have waged wars before,” Aradin said looking into the distance as he recalled what he had heard.
“You mean, they are not as peaceable as Atlans, or even the Benshi?”
“Definitely not!” said Aradin shaking his head.
“We should tell our friends, and observe the Ubanti closely, just like Damell said,” Rhuna said solemnly.
Rhuna and Aradin diligently summoned various visions of the Ubanti people in the following days, fearing reprisal when many succumbed to the disease, including several members of Uxbana’s immediate family. Rhuna observed by means of the Gazing of the Waters how Uxbana and her family wailed and grieved, then held a sombre ceremony for the dead. Everyday life slowly returned to the land of Ubanti, and the ailing ones who did not perish gradually recovered.
Rhuna concentrated her summons on Uxbana’s uncle and brothers, wondering whether they still believed the illness to be an Atlan curse and act of war, but they appeared not even to discuss the matter anymore. When she summoned visions of the Ubanti’s water and food preparation area, the images revealed that they threw out the old water and replaced it with fresh water from the river.
Damell became a more frequent visitor to Rhuna’s home, much to Shandi’s delight, and when the little girl had her daytime nap, Rhuna expressed her concerns.
“If only we knew exactly what Shandi foresaw when she said that a black man was coming,” she said. “When I asked her several more times, she only repeated the same words.”
“At the time we thought she might have seen one of the Dark Ones,” Aradin recalled.
“Goram, perhaps?” Rhuna offered.
“Or one of Uxbana’s men?” Aradin said. “But all our summons reveal nothing out of the ordinary in the land of the Ubanti.
“That is unusual,” Damell said frowning, and Aradin mumbled some words of agreement.
“Perhaps their grief has overwhelmed them,” Rhuna suggested, but Damell dismissed her words with a wave of his hand.
“On the contrary,” he said shaking his head. “One would expect them to be more determined to mete out justice on those they hold responsible,” he said. “It is almost as if they know we are watching…”
“They know we can watch them!” Rhuna exclaimed, recalling how she explained the Gazing of the Waters to Uxbana in lengthy detail. “I wish I had not done that!”
“You did nothing wrong, My Precious,” said Aradin soothingly, and Rhuna showed her appreciation for his kindness with a gentle touch.
“Let us continue to be vigilant, lest the Ubanti are merely letting the pass
age of time dull our alertness to their plans,” Damell advised.
“Does Lozira reveal any knowledge of the Dark One’s activity?” Damell asked after they had partaken of fresh fruit and beverages in the courtyard garden.
“No. She only talks about how much she loves him,” Rhuna said with a deep sigh.
“She sits with us to share the evening meal, but her thoughts are always with him,” added Aradin.
“But I keep observing them, and also the other Dark Ones,” said Rhuna, and Damell nodded in approval.
Rhuna continued her daily practice of Inside Focussing, special breathing techniques and exploring The Infinite with her Extended Consciousness. She had begun to hone her skills in manipulating matter on the level between the material and ethereal planes, but on one mild and pleasant afternoon, she felt like simply observing the people of Safu randomly.
Once she had fully relaxed her body and allowed her Consciousness to rise freely, she roamed aimlessly in her immediate vicinity in the paved and tree-lined avenues of the Atlan part of Safu. Suddenly, intense alarm overwhelmed her, and she focused on the movement causing the ripples in The Infinite. She was shocked to recognize her father running with great urgency, his tunic flapping and his breath rasping with effort. Rhuna focused her Extended Consciousness in the direction he was running, and immediately saw Lozira and Goram walking out of his house onto the street. She sensed the state of bliss that emanated from them, and when she found no reason for her father’s distress, she quickly surveyed their surroundings.
Rhuna observed several people going about their daily routine in the street, and she scrutinized each person carefully with her Extended Consciousness. Two men who appeared to be carrying some textiles struck Rhuna as being odd, and before she could examine them more closely, they each removed a long object from the packages they carried. Rhuna had never seen such things before, but she immediately knew that they were sharp sword blades, curved and varying in thickness, with a large hilt.
“Beware! They are instructed to take Lozira and kill anyone who interferes!” Damell shouted breathlessly as he approached Lozira and Goram.
Goram pulled Lozira behind him and then turned to face the approaching swordsmen.
“What is this?” he demanded of the men. “Put down your weapons!” Goram shouted, still sheltering Lozira who stood stunned and speechless. Damell stepped to the other side of Lozira, blocking the men’s approach, but the men raised their swords in readiness to strike.
“No!” shouted Goram as he lunged forward to snatch the sword away from one of them, at the same time immobilizing him with a hefty kick to the groin. The second man promptly thrust his sword into Goram’s abdomen, and then prepared to strike Damell. Rhuna watched transfixed as Goram stood stunned, blood gushing from his gaping wound. Mustering his remaining strength, he slashed the sword he had taken from the first man across his assailant’s throat before collapsing to the ground. A bright red arc spurted from the assailant’s severed throat and landed in heavy splats on Lozira and Damell. A strange long silence followed, and then Rhuna sensed Lozira’s shrill scream.
Rhuna forced her Extended Consciousness back into her body as fast as possible, and then jumped to her feet, breaking into the fastest sprint she had ever done. She heard Lozira’s scream above her own panting and pounding heart as she ran down the street, and as she turned the corner, she saw Damell holding Lozira as several people also came running towards the bloody scene.
“Rhuna! He is mortally wounded!” Damell said horrified.
“Lozira!” Damell shouted as he shook her out of her state of shock and perpetual screams.
Rhuna dropped to the ground next to Goram and looked at his pale face and unfocussed eyes. She heard his rapid and raspy short breaths as a pool of bright red blood expanded around him on the ground.
“Goram! Goram!” Lozira wailed with such anguish that it tore Rhuna’s heart apart. She fell to her knees and took Goram’s head in her hands as dry sobs racked her body.
“Rhuna!” screamed Lozira, her face contorted in red and purple desperation.
“I can’t heal this wound!” Rhuna cried with dismay, realizing that his life would ebb out of him within a few short moments.
“Noooo!” cried Lozira with such torment that Rhuna felt a sudden violent gush of heat come over her. She recognized the feeling of hot power and loud vibrations throughout her body, and quickly pushed her hands onto the bloody wound. She closed her eyes and felt the hot current pass out through her hands, like it had on two previous occasions when intense emotion allowed her to heal an incurable Benshi girl and a woman.
“Rhuna! What is happening?” Lozira shouted with horror, looking down at the man she loved. His breathing had slowed and his eyes had closed. Rhuna quickly touched his wrists and neck.
“He’s breathing normally, but he’s very weak,” she said, and then tried to inspect the wound. Damell handed her an item of clothing which she used to quickly soak up the excess blood so that she could inspect the wound.
“It has stopped bleeding,” she said with awe, knowing that such a deep wound could never be healed, nor the blood flow staunched by normal means.
“Will he live?” screeched Lozira desperately, her shaking hands stroking his cheeks and then his hair.
“Yes, I think so,” Rhuna answered. “We have to treat his blood loss, and make sure the wound heals properly, without infection.” As she spoke, she became aware of agitation around her as more people approached and shouted to each other. A warm hand gripped her shoulder, and she knew without looking that Aradin stood reassuringly behind her.
“Take that man to The Reigning One,” called Damell, and Rhuna looked up to see three of The Reigning One’s soldiers running towards them. They grabbed the second man Goram had incapacitated, and then dragged him away. “Three more men with orders to kill are nearby – everyone beware!” Damell called out, and both soldiers and observers reacted immediately.
“More soldiers are arriving,” Damell said to Rhuna as he finally regained his breath. “Instruct them to assist you, and I shall follow these ones with the prisoner to The Reigning One’s residence,” he told Rhuna. “Come to me there when you are done.”
Rhuna nodded, and then turned her attention to Lozira, whose tears had begun to stream down her face as she continued to sob violently, all the time stroking Goram’s ashen face. Suddenly, the memory of Shandi’s distressing vision of Lozira crying rushed through her head, and Rhuna concluded that it was this incident that her small daughter had foreseen.
“What has…Beacon of the Night!” said a voice behind Rhuna, and she recognized Progress of the Wind and then several other Atlans who had rushed to the scene. A small commotion in the other direction caught her attention, but she dismissed it quickly when she realized that someone had merely fainted.
“Someone get bandages and wound-cleaning ointment,” Rhuna called out at the gathering of horrified spectators.
“I’ll get them,” said Aradin, moving with great haste.
Several of The Reigning One’s soldiers had arrived and stood nearby, ready to follow her instructions. Reaching out to embrace Lozira and move her aside, Rhuna began to instruct the soldiers to carry Goram into his house, remove his blood-soaked clothes and lay him on his bed. She looked back quickly and saw another soldier remove the bloody swords and cover the dead assailant with a large canvas cloth.
In the sleeping chamber of Goram’s house, where Rhuna knew only moments earlier Lozira had been in blissful ecstasy, she now watched her daughter’s distraught actions as she sat on the bed next to him, desperately willing him to cling to life. Aradin entered the room, breathless from his errand, and gave Rhuna the items she had requested. She applied the cleansing and healing ointments to the wound and then bandaged it as Goram slowly regained consciousness.
“Lozira,” he whispered breathlessly, as he tried to focus his eyes and move his head. “I love you,” he said in an ur
gent rasp, as if saying his final words. Lozira sobbed harder and stroked his cheeks, then kissed his forehead.
“You are not dying,” Rhuna said to Goram.
“Rhuna healed you!” Lozira said between sobs. Goram tried to lift his head to see Rhuna, but Lozira had begun smothering his face with tear-soaked kisses.
“Stay still. Be quiet and do what I say, and you will probably recover fully,” Rhuna spoke in her professional capacity as a Healer. “He has lost a lot of blood and will be very weak. Keep him warm with these blankets. Until his body replaces the lost blood, his condition is still critical, so he must lie still and rest,” she said firmly. “I will bring a blood-restoring tincture which he should take frequently.”
Rhuna looked around and saw that Progress of the Wind stood anxiously behind her, so she repeated some of her instructions. The man nodded obediently, and then moved towards Goram so that he could see him.
“Friend, we are deeply distraught!” Progress of the Wind said softly, and Goram managed to focus his eyes and recognize his friend.
“Who is she?” Progress of the Wind asked, looking at Lozira.
“She is the woman I love,” replied Goram with effort.
“We did not know this,” said Progress of the Wind apologetically. “May her loving attentions speed your recovery, Brother!”
Aradin placed his hands on Lozira’s shoulders as he sat down behind her, comforting her with soothing words, while Progress of the Wind settled on a nearby seating cushion.
“Someone should stay with him at all times,” Rhuna said looking at Progress of the Wind, who promptly nodded in obedience.
“I want to stay here,” Lozira said as she looked at Goram.
“Of course,” Rhuna said after a moment. “I’ll bring your clothes and personal items,” she said as she prepared to leave. Aradin stood up to join her, and as they left the house, Rhuna told the soldiers to keep guard on them while she went home to prepare the herbal tincture.
Rhuna stepped outside the house and was suddenly overcome by weakness and nausea when she saw the large pools of blood on the ground. The horror of the attack and the near-death of Goram made her feel she couldn’t breathe.
Rhuna, The Star Child Page 22