Dawn Of The Aakacarns

by John Buttrick

  The Aaka ended, the hawk vanished, and in its place walked Elusion. He bent down next to his captive. “This particular Melody numbs pain and as you can see, immobilizes the patient. It is even more restrictive than Lock Joints,” Jubal succumbed to the need to teach. “Just so you know, the people were not stolen; they were relocated of their own freewill to communities scattered in every direction. Each settlement is self-ruled and independent of the others. They have decided to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.”

  There was little doubt the judge suspected who had bested him, but there was also no point confirming the fact.

  Since Ra could not move his lips or tongue, Jubal waved his hand at him. “Don’t bother to respond, just wait here while I free my friend from Apophis. By the way, you were correct, I am Elusion.”

  The Bronze-ranked Aakacarn had reverted to his true form and had an emerald-tipped ebony baton suspending Mercury several paces off the ground, but had not yet managed to get the young man to reveal his true identity. Nemesis was still in panther-form and swiping at a lion, who, for an instant glowed in a familiar shade of purple, identifying him. Osiris launched a Melody that slammed into Victoria in cat-form and sent her flying, a flight that ended with her slamming into the base of the very cedar she had dropped from. Cocooned within panther form, the scrappy young Nephilim quickly shook off the blow and launched her potential. A huge ball of light burst forth with her opponent within the sphere and no doubt temporarily blinded. The yellow tint gave her normally angry red a hue similar to that of Ra. Her second strike sent a solidified rope of air into the first conjuration. The brilliant globe abruptly disappeared, revealing Osiris wrapped from head to foot in the bindings, meaning she must have added a Da Capo to Lasso of Air.

  Luna’s opponent no longer fought in the form of a lion. Geb’s purplish potential lashed out with, Lasso of Air, but his target levitated up twice her height and sent her yellow-tinted pink blast of energy right back at him in a single bolt of lightning that knocked the man off his feet and burnt him badly. He would require healing.

  Lynx and her prey were circling, looking for the right moment to strike. Neither of them had stayed in animal form. Anubis possessed a Jade Trident and she had a single lightning bolt, potential-wise they were equals. The young man had more experience collecting the dead than he did facing a live foe, unlike Bast who had been a Weapocarn on team Artemis for many years. The former hunter threw a punch with her right fist and he moved to block, and at the same time a beam of light shot out from the pointer-finger of her left hand, striking him in the hip while his attention had been on the fist. He stiffened and fell over, joints locked.

  Elusion walked over to Apophis, who seemed to only then realize he was the only member of his team still standing. Like Ra, the man had shaved off all of his hair, and had a silver ring, but with a ruby that contained the Aaka, Sparking the Flame. “I heard your brief conversation with my cousin,” he stated in a conversational tone. “I had the impression you were a dastardly person in the habit of abducting innocent men, women, and children from their homes.”

  Jubal knew Set and his team would be arriving at any moment and so did not have much time to spare in small talk. “As you heard, I relocate people who desire to fulfill the great commission to go and multiply and fill the earth. Nothing dastardly has been done to anyone. If you believe that, release my friend now and stand down.”

  Apophis lowered the baton and when Mercury’s feet touched the ground the energy beam ceased. “The harmonic blast lent credibility to your words. There are only five Aakacarns in the world who can overwhelm Ra so completely, Sheba, Lilith, Herara, Thoth, and our ever resourceful instructor. I happen to trust those five individuals.”

  Jubal turned to Hermes. “Mercury, get your group of Tinies where they are supposed to go.”

  “It will be as you say, Elusion,” he replied and went inside the tunnel.

  “Lynx, why is Geb still moaning in pain on the ground?” Jubal demanded an answer.

  Bast, inside the persona, threw up her hands, spreading them wide. “I do not know any of the healing Aakas.”

  “Don’t look at me,” Luna was quick to anticipate who would be asked next. “My repertoire lacks those Melodies as well.”

  Three giant birds dropped out of the sky, a white eagle, a brown spotted owl, and a raven darker than the blackest night. Vashti, Natura, and Pan had arrived. They landed and walked over, choosing to remain in avian form. Mercury and the Tinies exited the tunnel at that moment and the woolen-robed pilgrims followed him closely, but their eyes focused warily on the huge raptors and the sharp-beaked raven.

  The danger had not yet past, Set was still on the way, and Jubal could not in good conscience leave with Geb wounded and in pain. From where he stood, Elusion focused Easing the Pain at the injured Aakacarn and then went over to him. The cooked flesh of his chest had the smell of burnt meat and if not treated soon, infection could set in. The necessary healing Aaka required physical contact and the Weapocarn construct made that impossible.

  Jubal ceased potential to the amulet, revealing his true self dressed in red and black silks, while the notes for Freezing the Flame summoned the needed life-force energy. Indigo hue shown in a nimbus around his body and he placed a glowing hand on Geb’s chest. New and unblemished skin began to form, replacing the horribly damaged tissues, and within moments not a trace of the injury remained. Jubal removed Easing the Pain, which had accomplished the task for which it had been written, to keep the patient still and free of pain until the healing was complete.

  “Thank you, Instructor,” the grateful recipient of the healing said in a tone of voice filled with relief.

  “I heard what you said, yet do not understand why you, of all people, would defy Nimrod,” Osiris commented.

  Jubal turned to the trussed up Aakacarn, who, while bound from head to foot, was in his direct line of sight. “I am trying to save him and his kingdom. He had defied the divine imperative and the duty has fallen to me. If I fail, divine wrath will fall on us all.”

  The son of Ra shook his head as if he did not believe what he was hearing. “Semidon and all of mankind have done nothing but prosper under the rule of my uncle. Outside of a few freak thunder storms, the earth has been calm since before the exodus. Do you seriously believe that same old sermon the priest has been preaching for years?”

  Jubal looked the former Weapocarn team leader in the eyes. “I do.”

  “I believe you,” Geb said while rubbing his bare chest. The healing he received had not extended to repairing his read and black silks.

  “I trust the sincerity of your motives,” Osiris rendered his official judgement as an Administrator. “The third lion over there on the left, one of the four whose joints you locked, is my wife. If you free her and have panther-girl release me, I will promise neither of us will challenge you.”

  At the sound of his voice all four of the Aakacarns suddenly resumed their true forms. Jubal knew all of his former students, a male and three females. Shu and Heket both had amber tridents on their foreheads, Nepthys and Isis each had a Jade. With their joints locked, none of them could open their mouths to speak.

  Jubal released Isis from the effects of the Aaka. “Just so you all know the Melody I used to incapacitate Ra is still playing in my mind with a Da Capo. With a single thought I can put you in the same condition as him. It would be unwise to cross me.”

  Nemesis, in woman form, walked to Jubal and spoke in his ear. “I am not certain you can trust them.”

  Isis went over to stand next to her husband. “I expected to help capture the mysterious Elusion, not to be captured. Avoidance, dodging, the name is fitting. Well, at least I can say it took the most skilled Aakacarn in the world to stop me.”

  Jubal turned to his sister first, “Release him. Trust me,” he told her and when she complied, he addressed the statement made by Osiris, “What you fail to understand is the fact that our efforts are the only reason wrath has
been postponed. If I allow you or even my best friend to stop us now, disaster will soon follow. Perhaps if enough judges and administrators like you joined me in calling on Roddy to respect the divine imperative, he will send pilgrims out with his royal blessing, and we can help him establish many cities to rule.”

  Isis glanced at her husband, who nodded affirmatively. “I also trust the sincerity of your motives and agree to help persuade the king.”

  “I think even my father would agree. Especially if it gives him the opportunity to establish a city where his voice is the highest in the land,” Osiris added.

  The raven brought his wickedly sharp beak next to Jubal’s ear. “Ra has his own agenda, true, but with him it is always tribe and family ahead of all others. He will not choose you over his brother.”

  “Big bird, whoever you are inside all those black feathers, this is not a choice between Nimrod and someone from the tribe of Shem. Jubal is clearly still in favor of my uncle’s rule,” Osiris obviously overheard the caution. “What we have here is a policy dispute and one that benefits my father even more than our Instructor.”

  Out from the tunnel exit ran Set along with Molek, Amora, Chemosh, Hypnos, Janus, Jambres, Baal, Calif, Sobek, and Ashtora, all in red and black silks. The last six Aakacarns had amber tridents on their foreheads, the rest had Jade. All of them had batons aimed and at the ready.

  “They were stalling you,” the raven called out.

  “Halt!” Isis and Osiris commanded in unison.

  The last six actually did as commanded, but Set continued forward wearing his green, gold-threaded, administrative robe of office. The other Aakacarns, Molek, Amora, Chemosh, and Hypnos followed right behind him.

  The eagle, owl, and raven all glowed with potential and were ready to wield their chosen Melodies. Nemesis, Luna, and Lynx did the same.

  Set and his four most loyal followers came to a stop a little farther on, facing the giant avian forms and the three women. Everyone was staring at each other, poised on the brink of Aaka-wielding. He caught sight of the Instructor and seemed confused. “I did not know Jubal had been called in to help out,” he then noticed Ra, Shu, Heket, and Nepthys lying incapacitated on the ground. “Wait. What is going on here?”

  “Jubal did not come to help. He is Elusion,” Apophis chose that moment to join the conversation. His words caused all ten of the newcomers to raise their batons at the Instructor.

  “Point them somewhere else,” Set commanded his team and they hesitated. “He will turn them into useless sticks if you do not. Believe me. I know.”

  His aura, the color of raspberry juice, flared and a beam of light struck Jubal, locking his joints, and at the same instant ten beams shot from the batons, striking his six allies. “With him one must mentally wield the Melody,” the youngest son of Ra explained, and then added, “You are all under arrest.”

  Osiris walked up to Jubal. “Big bird was right about us stalling in the hopes of arresting you. However, as promised, neither my wife nor I challenged you. Although, I still am willing to back the proposed policy change.”

  “He and his followers do not abduct people,” Apophis again entered the conversation. “They escort them to new settlements established by their leader. Nimrod rules one great city while his trusted friend Jubal rules many smaller ones,” giving a twisted interpretation to what he had actually heard, and then added, “A fellow Aakacarn, Mercury, headed deeper into the forest with twenty Tinies.”

  The Instructor of Aakacarns could not speak because his jaws, among the other jointed parts of his body, could not move, but that did not mean he was incapacitated. He would have shaken his head sadly if he could have, but settled for drawing on the vast pool of life-force energy within him, a power that swelled in immensity, making him feel, dare he even think it, god-like, and he focused that potential through the ring on his finger.

  For a few moments the offensive Aaka held sway, keeping the captive well secure and completely unable to move, but no more. Indigo blue, brighter than thirty-six lightning bolts combined, flashed forth in a spherical burst of light that extended three hundred paces in diameter. The energy field easily overwhelmed Set’s feeble hold, as well as the batons that were in use at the time.

  When the flash-burn cleared from his eyes, Jubal noted the effect his casting had on those around him. He could not be discriminatory. Everyone, his wife included, was on the ground in the same condition as Ra, and so were scores of animals, those that had hidden rather than flee from his earlier use of the crescendo.

  With a thought he freed his wife and allies. As they stood up he bent next to Osiris. “I did warn you what would happen if you crossed me and so all of you and those with you are in the same state as your father,” he stated and sighed over his failure to convince them of the danger. “All that I related to you is true, but that does not matter now, my mission will continue with or without your help.”

  “Except they all know you are Elusion,” Vashti pointed out.

  He straightened to his full height and sent energy into the Weapocarn figurine, moments later the elusive Anakim stood facing the white eagle.

  “They know too much, your true identity, the fact that we can fly in these forms, and to go looking for unauthorized settlements,” the raven added his concerns. “By the way, that blast was flooding awe inspiring.”

  “Watch your language,” the spotted owl demanded and then added, “Just what do you propose he do about these people?”

  “We could bury them. No one would ever find the bodies,” Nemesis made a horrible suggestion.

  Jubal held up his hand for silence before Luna, who had opened her mouth, could add her words, and then he ordered, “You are all going to fly back to mine and Vashti’s house and I am going to take care of the problem.”

  Lynx’s eyes widened. “Surely you are not going to listen to Pan and Victoria,” she blurted their true names. The slip showed how strongly she felt about the very idea of killing.

  Jubal had mixed feelings over her reaction, pleased she did not approve of murder, and yet sad that she thought he would do such a thing. “Time is wasting, Kronos would be aghast. You all need to do as instructed so I can do what must be done. It will not work if they see you after I am finished.”

  Vashti stared into his eyes for a few moments and then nodded, trustingly. “Come, we must fly. The authorities will be on hand to arrest Elusion when he arrives for work. I am not sure how the Instructor will handle the situation in the classroom.”

  She had been careful not to speak Loki’s name, but most importantly, Bast and, Ursa reverted to falcon and harrier. Victoria transformed into the winged-panther. “My husband, I trust you to do the right thing,” his wife stated and then all of them shot up off the ground.

  Jubal took one more look at the fallen Aakacarns and then transformed into the giant hawk. He levitated above the treetops, up into the clouds, while the notes for Cleansing the Thought filled his mind, summoning the potential. His green cone of energy shot down, radiating on the incapacitated Melody-wielders, and erased their memories of everything that transpired during the past twenty-four hours. At the same instant, he freed them from Easing the Pain. Poor Geb had to be wondering how the silk over his chest had burned away.

  At the time of recording, Cleansing the Thought, Roddy had said it was Ra’s grab for control that inspired the Aaka, but it had taken a long time to actually compose the tune. The Aakasear was working on one that would wipe from memory an Aakacarn’s entire repertoire, Jubal was in no hurry for that Melody to be written.

  Elusion’s true identity was safe, for the time being. He flew high, using the clouds for cover, gliding in a straight line, and then dropped, as quickly as he could without injuring himself, to the rear entrance of his triangular house. Cassiopeia stood on the grass and ran to him the moment his talons touched the ground. “Quickly, before anyone sees you, change into your true form.”

  Jubal had questions but knew enough to cease the energy
flow to both figurines before asking. He stood in his silks without a cloak. “What is happening? Where are the others?”

  She beckoned with her hand, “Come, we will talk on the way.”

  They walked into the house and for a moment it seemed he would have to ask again, but her head bent next to his as they walked. “The others arrived and are in their true forms. Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Artemis, and Apollo are here with a squad of Weapocarns from the palace to arrest Elusion. When Zeus commanded our instructor to use Truth Speak on Andromeda to determine what she knew about the man she hired, your double refused on the grounds he did not want to stoop to such tactics and thus impugn the character of a trusted member of his household. It worked until Apollo asked a question and apparently received an incorrect answer. They do not know who stands before them in your semblance, unless they learned while I have been here waiting for you.”

  All sorts of thoughts flooded into Jubal’s mind at the news, but one detail nagging at him needed to be dealt with even though knowing would not change a thing. “Did any of them say why they suspected Elusion?”

  The household staff he passed along the way nodded as if satisfied that whatever was wrong, the Instructor was home and would take care of it. He wished he could be so confident. His sister wiped perspiration from her brow. “No one could find a single person related to him, no sister, brother, mother, father, not even a distant cousin. Hades believes him to be the priest.”

  Jubal nodded, understanding it had not been what he did that drew suspicion, but what he failed to do. “Given the circumstances, I can see where our brother would suspect Mel.”

  Her eyes widened at his use of the name. “You are as arrogant as the triplets and Kronos combined. Not even they say his name and yet you shorten it as if the priest is a personal friend.”