“Black man coming,” said Shandi sadly.
“Yes, Precious,” Aradin said softly, and stroked the child’s soft cheeks. “Many black men are coming.”
Suddenly, Rhuna also felt seized by disbelief and asked Aradin if they were doing the right thing to leave.
“Yes, your father said so,” he said firmly. “Despite some misgivings, I do trust him – don’t you?”
Rhuna nodded, and then admitted that she was grasping at the hope it may be a mistake, and that they would not have to leave after all.
“Our home!” Rhuna said, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes.
“Maybe we can return in a few days,” Aradin said unconvincingly. “…when the Ubanti realize that most of us Atlans are innocent and not their enemies,” he said, then quickly shifted his gaze to Goram resting on the carry-seat.
“They would surely kill him,” Rhuna whispered, reading her husband’s thoughts.
A short while later, Rhuna heard noises and several shouts in the Benshi language which signalled that the ferry was ready to be boarded. She took a firm hold of Shandi with one hand as she rode on the carry-seat, and grabbed Aradin’s arm with the other as they began to move with the crowd.
Rhuna noticed that despite the restless confusion, everything took place orderly and without incident. Benshi men assisted Atlans onto the ferry, signaling for the rowers to depart, and then tying up the next vacant ferry. Rhuna counted the people standing ahead of her, and estimated that about forty people were able to stand on one ferry.
On the other side, everyone walked along the well-trodden path, and Rhuna saw a few of The Reigning One’s attendants ahead, carrying large bulky items which she assumed were tents and other necessities for sleeping outdoors.
As the crowd of reluctant Atlans walked along the path through fields of lettuce, parsley and beans, Rhuna was able to look ahead and behind, and she scanned the faces, hoping to see her father soon. A movement caught her eye, and when she focused on the figure in the distance, she recognized her father. She waved back eagerly, a tear in her eye.
“Who is he?” asked Possessor of Discernment who had been standing behind Rhuna. She turned to the old man and told him about her father.
“It is as I always hoped and believed!” he said with awe when Rhuna had explained her father’s exile in faraway lands. Damell walked briskly to catch up to them as Rhuna finished telling the old man about his former student.
“Avenger of Justice, is it really you?” said Possessor of Discernment with awe and wonder. The men embraced and greeted each other heartily, and Rhuna decided to leave them to talk a while. She looked around constantly, reassuring herself that all was as it should be, but still she could not escape the dread she felt deep inside. The vegetable gardens gave way to broader fields of wheat and barley, and Rhuna felt that they were exposed in this open area, and only the mass of people all around gave her a small sense of safety.
The sunny day warmed the ground and made walking uncomfortable after a quarter of a day, and as soon as the meandering crowd reached an open plain, it was agreed to stop and assemble for further instructions.
Rhuna looked around and realized they had left the irrigated fields of wheat and barley behind already, and were already in wilderness, even though the track on which they walked seemed well-trodden.
“Who takes authority here?” shouted someone. People milled around, agitation and confusion arising again as everyone looked at each other questioningly. Suddenly a familiar voice startled Rhuna, and every head turned in the same direction.
“I do!” shouted Damell, who stood on a boulder with raised arms waving to attract everyone’s attention. “I am Avenger of Justice, and I have brought you into this wilderness to protect you from the Ubanti Army,” he called at the top of his voice for everyone to hear.
“Why do they attack us?” an angry voice immediately called out from the crowd.
“They mistakenly believe that we, the people of Atlán, have attacked them in their own land,” Damell answered, and then waited for the murmuring to subside.
“Despite efforts to clarify this misunderstanding, the Ubanti seem determined to reclaim the land of Safu, driving out the people they view as their enemy, namely Atlans,” Damell continued. Rhuna admired her father’s ability to speak with such power and authority, taking control of such extreme conditions.
“How long do we have to stay here?” was the next question on most people’s mind, and Damell explained that they were not yet out of reach of the Ubanti armies, and therefore still in danger. He urged the Atlan throng to keep walking until the darkness of night made it too difficult to continue, and then to reassess the situation.
“Let us rest here briefly to take nourishment and water,” Damell ordered, and people responded quickly by rummaging for food in their bags. Aradin already held the small sack of Shandi’s favourite food, so Rhuna removed a pouch of seeds, figs and dried raisins, then reached for the blood-building tincture for Goram. He obediently drank the medicine while Rhuna examined his condition by measuring energy and blood flow throughout his body. Satisfied that his condition was at least unchanged, she turned her attention to Lozira.
“This is a horrible place!” Lozira whimpered, and then ran her fingers through her tangled hair. Rhuna looked around and agreed with her daughter as she noted the flat terrain with no rocks or proper trees, only shrubs and patches of tall grass.
Despite grumbles and misgivings, the Atlan people took up their possessions and began the slow trudge further in the direction of the rising sun. The Reigning One’s attendants and several soldiers armed with weaponry also took up the carry-seats or spurred on horses and pack animals transporting bulky items. Rhuna watched as one of the wagons laden heavily with food, blankets and tents rattled alongside her, the wheels frequently getting stuck in the soft ground.
“Completely useless device, those wheels!” grumbled an Atlan man behind her. “They require paved roads, and are therefore confined to cities and a few main roads between centers,” the man continued.
“Yet they have managed so far on this grassland,” Aradin said.
“They cannot proceed much further past this point, as the ground is becoming too soft and muddy for the wheels,” she heard Possessor of Discernment remark.
“As I said, a very limited, inefficient contraption,” the grumbling man said.
Rhuna then turned her attention to the carry-seat where Goram had been lying in silence. Lozira had been walked alongside the carry-seat as close as possible and holding Goram’s hand. It appeared that Goram had been resting well, and the colour of his skin had improved slightly, so she examined Lozira, whose disheveled hair and tear-stained face worried Rhuna.
“How are you feeling?” she asked her daughter, giving her a brief visual examination as a Healer.
“Everything is his fault!” she spat with rage as her face flushed deep red. Startled, Rhuna asked what she was talking about.
“Tozar! It all started with his stubborn, self-righteous, stupid, stupid jealousy!” she ranted, confusing Rhuna until she realized that her tirade had nothing to do with the present situation, rather an outpouring of deep trauma yet to be healed.
“Why do you not say anything about him? Are you not outraged at what he has done? He wanted you and Damell killed!” Lozira screeched, and Rhuna saw the deep anguish in her daughter’s eyes.
“Yes, of course I am,” Rhuna said as she took Lozira’s hands. “My feelings show in a different way,” she said, and then tried to calm her daughter with soothing words and a long, tight embrace.
“Sunlight is beginning to fade,” Damell called out to everyone. “We should rest here for the night.” The sound of many tired voices accompanied the bustling activity to prepare the open area for sleep.
“It is fortunate that the cold season brought much rain, otherwise this would be arid land, without life-supporting water,” said Possessor of Discernment.
“Yes, the rain has left puddles here and there,” Aradin said, pointing to several pools of still water. “We can use them to summon visions of what is happening in Safu by means of the Gazing of the Waters.
“Beware of snakes!” called out Damell, as Atlans began to spread out to find a place to settle for the night. Rhuna looked up at the dazzling night sky of brilliant stars, and for a moment she felt excited to sleep in the open under such a wondrous array. There was no need for tents, only blankets and cushions which were being distributed by The Reigning One’s attendants, while the soldiers checked the perimeter of the encampment, apparently securing it against snakes and other possibly dangerous creatures.
Rhuna made her way to one of the wagons where food and other provisions were being unloaded, and asked one of the attendants what was in the sacks and barrels. She was surprised to learn that the Army had special food to take on long journeys, such as fish and poultry meats 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 smell 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 asking Damell. “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 sai
d 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 pulling out of the vision before it ended.
Rhuna, The Star Child Page 25