“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 fellow 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 painfully 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 method.”
Rhuna thought carefully 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 phrases Rhuna 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 the soldiers were seeing many mirrored reflections of themselves in every direction they looked, and those who recognized repeated images of themselves were screeching with fear. Others fumbled and kept turning around, like trapped animals in a cage with no way out. They began to run into each other until eventually they found the narrow funnel opening where no mirrors entrapped them. Running as fast as possible through this opening, arms and legs flailing in panic, they headed directly back to Safu.
Goram slapped his thighs loudly and roared with laughter. Lozira flung her arms around him, and he turned his head to give her a long, hard kiss. Around them, the Guardians of Knowledge began to cheer, clap, sing and dance, while some New Arrivals and other Atlans joined the celebratory uproar. Others muttered uncertainly, whispering to each other and looking at Goram with suspicion.
Rhuna saw her daughter’s glowing face, full of pride and adoration for Goram’s great feat and thrilled to be standing at his side as people approached to congratulate him. Even as some clapped their hands on his back and cheered praises, Rhuna overheard the murmurs behind her.
“What have we witnessed here?”
“Was this not Dark Powers even more sinister than the Dark Master himself wielded?”
“The High Council of Atlán would never condone this manner of Power!”
“We are in grave danger as long as they are in our midst!” said an Atlan Master with grave determination.
“We shall remain here for the time being,” Rain of Refreshment called out to the Atlan community as she stood on a wooden crate with Damell and other Atlan Masters nearby. “We shall wait until the Ubanti Army returns and reports to its leaders, and then await the outcome. We expect the soldiers to be too frightened to pursue us again – at least for a period of time. This gives us time to plan our next steps and indeed, our entire future.”
As the sun continued to rise, a rift emerged in the Atlan encampment as many Atlans distanced themselves from Goram and his fellow Guardians of Knowledge. Rhuna returned from washing in the nearby small lake and approached Goram and Lozira.
“Still happy about this morning’s success?” she asked as she looked into their bright, glowing faces.
“Lozira has agreed to become my wife!” said Goram beaming.
“Oh,” was all that Rhuna could manage after a moment o
f surprise. She looked at Lozira and thought that she had never seen her daughter so happy. Lozira looked at her mother expectantly, and after a moment of silence, Rhuna leaned over to kiss her forehead. “It’s time for the morning meal,” she said absently, and turned towards the food dispensing area.
As they ate their morning meal, Rhuna noticed that Possessor of Discernment had been quiet and appeared to be pre-occupied.
“A weighty responsibility rests upon me,” he answered. “The secret knowledge of the Pyramid has been handed down to each generation of my ancestry. I received it from my father, and he from his father – now I must pass it on before I expire,” he said with a deep sigh.
“But you have no children,” Rhuna said, concerned.
“This is irrelevant,” he answered. “It shall be passed on to the right person with the wisdom and ability to utilize and disperse it correctly.”
Rhuna felt unable to give a satisfactory response, so instead she offered the ageing Atlan Master some extra food and water, and then turned her attention to Shandi who had been sitting between them.
“Dead man,” Shandi said suddenly.
“What did you say, Honey Cake?” asked Rhuna startled.
“Dead man,” she repeated, then looked at her mother with large, round eyes.
“What does this mean?” asked Possessor of Discernment looking down at the small child with deep fondness.
“She can foresee things,” Rhuna answered, and then told him about the instances where her words had come to pass a short time later.
“It would not be unreasonable to expect a few deaths among us,” Possessor of Discernment said gravely. “Merely the stress of being forced from one’s home would crush a fragile constitution.”
Rhuna said that she also expected some serious ailments and even deaths, and then expressed her concern that a young child like Shandi should already be confronted with such harsh events.
When the morning meal had been consumed and Rhuna cleared the small area that was her personal encampment, Goram approached her, intent to speak his mind.
“You barely revealed a reaction when I told you that Lozira had agreed to become my wife,” he said.
“Does it matter to you what I think?” she retorted gruffly.
“Of course it does,” Goram answered. “Furthermore, I wish to express my desire that we remain in close proximity to you…wherever that shall be,” he trailed off as his thoughts wandered for a moment. “Lozira is so young, and still has emotional need of her mother’s love and guidance,” he said, looking directly at Rhuna.
Rhuna felt a rush of relief, followed by gratitude that she would not lose the daughter with whom she had only recently been re-united.
Before she could savour this small comfort among so much turmoil and upheaval, Rhuna’s attention was drawn to some commotion at the far side of the encampment, and she knew instinctively by the tone of the voices that something serious had occurred.
Rhuna rushed towards the sound of the commotion, expecting that her skills as a Healer might be needed. When she saw the distraught face of a woman in the midst of the growing crowd, she asked what was wrong.
“The youth named Peace of the Valley has been found dead!”
Rhuna felt stabbed in her heart with sadness and loss. Stunned, she stood still for a while as she listened to the woman speak.
“He was lying in the tall grass,” she said as she shook her head in dismay. “Otherwise we would have seen him earlier, but the tall grass obscured our view.”
“Therefore you believe he had been lying there for some time already?” asked one of the men who had been assisting Damell and Rain of Refreshment. “A Healer should examine the body to determine the cause, and also time of death,” he said with authority, and then glanced across at Rhuna.
“Oh, but I knew the boy…”
“Understandable,” the man in the Master’s Robe answered briskly, and looked around until he recognized Roses of the Field approaching them quickly.
“Has someone succumbed?” asked the woman with the long pale hair who was one of The Observers. Rhuna watched the group follow the woman who had reported the death, reluctant to join them to see the lifeless body of the young man.
“Most likely a bite from a venomous snake,” said a man looking fearfully at the expanse of tall grass nearby.
“Someone competent in gathering information by means of the Gazing of the Waters should summon the cause of death, or at least the last moments of his life,” said the man in charge as they walked towards one of the large ponds surrounded by tall grass.
Rhuna meandered through the Atlan encampment which was now abuzz with the latest announcements, messages and tragic news. Her vision blurred as tears began to fill her eyes, and she hurried back to find the comfort of her small family.
“What happened?” asked both Aradin and Possessor of Discernment together as they saw Rhuna approach their site. As she reluctantly told them, shock and deep sadness showed in their faces, and Rhuna looked at Lozira with special concern.
“How?” she stammered, looking fragile. Rhuna explained that a Healer was attending to Peace of the Valley, and that we should soon know what happened.
Possessor of Discernment caught Rhuna’s eye, and she saw him look down at Shandi, who was playing with her long-eared toy, oblivious to the conversation.
“She has a remarkable gift,” said the old Atlan quietly.
“This is unbearable!” shrieked Lozira suddenly. “We are all going to die in this horrible place!”
“No, no, My Cherished One,” said Goram soothingly, as he took her in his arms. “This tragedy has merely shaken you temporarily. Things are not as bad as they seem at this moment.” Rhuna watched with amazement how Goram’s words and comforting touch rapidly eased Lozira’s anxious state, and soon she appeared balanced again.
After more expressions of sorrow for the young man, several of The Observers approached Rhuna’s family wearing grim expressions.
“Divider of Fortunes has summoned the event of his death by means of the Gazing of the Waters,” said Revealer of Truths. “He approached the water with a distinct limp and general lethargy, and then simply collapsed and expired.”
“The Healer found no wounds or abnormalities on the body,” Divider of Fortunes added. “We have been informed that the boy was afflicted with an undiagnosed ailment.”
Rhuna said that she also knew of his illness, and agreed with everyone that this must have been the cause of his death. Deeply saddened, she walked away slowly towards the perimeter of the encampment to find an isolated, quiet place among the shrubs and sparse trees. Finding some soft grass at the base of a tree, Rhuna sat down and moved into the Inside Focussing position so that she could summon a mental vision of Peace of the Valley’s tragic demise.
It took longer than usual for Rhuna to find the dark and quiet inner place of her mind, and she knew that this was due to the stressful environment and circumstances of the past days. Concentrating hard, she focused on what caused the boy’s death, and her misgivings were immediately confirmed when an image of Goram appeared in her mind.
Goram was seated motionless and apparently in a trance, and Rhuna recognized the scene as the moonlit night of his great feat to confuse and frighten the Ubanti Army. In the second vision, Peace of the Valley suddenly began to stagger as he walked, falling into the tall grass where he was later found.
Anger and anguish surged within her as Rhuna jumped to her feet and strode determinedly back to the encampment. Locating Lozira with Goram near the water, she approached them with the pretense of checking Goram’s wound and changing the bandages.
“You can go bathe and wash your hair now,” Goram said to Lozira. She left reluctantly at first, but was reassured when she saw that Rhuna would be tending to Goram’s health.
“She is afraid to leave my side,” Goram said quietly. “She lives in constant dread that death or some other calamity ma
y befall me. Only your presence puts her enough at ease to leave my side for a short time.”
“I didn’t know it was so bad – it will take time…” Rhuna said gloomily.
As Goram lifted his garment to expose the bandage across his abdomen, Rhuna leaned over to carefully remove it.
“Did you do something to that poor boy?” she whispered forcefully.
“I?” Goram responded incredulously.
“You!” Rhuna hissed back. “I saw how you looked at him with such hatred when he was talking to Lozira!”
“You ask me whether I caused his death?” Goram whispered back with outrage.
“What did you do?” she demanded to know as she roughly pulled away the bandage.
“Nothing! Nothing that would have caused his death!” he answered angrily.
“What did you do?” she asked again firmly in a low tone, looking around to make sure no one was within hearing range.
“It was only a brief attempt at a curse, and as I had not prepared for it, I did not expect it to work.”
Rhuna breathed in sharply. “You had been in the confluence of energy currents at a full moon, and your powers were probably heightened tenfold for some time that night,” Rhuna said growling.
“Yet I firmly believe that my actions would not have caused death!” he stated firmly.
“He had been in poor health for some time,” Rhuna said as she recalled what the young man had told her about his incurable ailment.
“I am grieved by his death, and remorseful that I had such anger,” Goram said quietly. “It was an overpowering emotion unknown to me until then,” he went on to explain. “Such unbearable jealousy!” he spluttered as he clenched his fist. “A feeling I would never have imagined could exist!” he said almost desperately, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Does Lozira know what you’ve done?” Rhuna asked.
“Do not tell her!” he said grasping her arm, his eyes glaring. Rhuna pulled her arm away angrily.
Rhuna, The Star Child Page 27