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The Destiny of Amalah

Page 24

by Thandi Ryan


  For the first leg, the six trekked for three hours before fatigue, cold and hunger overcame them. They took refuge in a small cave at the bottom of the mountains. They lit a fire and ate a little of the food that they had and made hot black sweet tea which warmed them slightly but not as much as they would have liked! When they were done, they set off once again to face Qomolangma.

  On they trekked through the snow and ice and up the small crevices that had served as narrow paths, albeit slippery and treacherous ones up to the top of the mountain. For five days and two nights they continued on their journey getting colder and colder and wetter and wetter, while their spirits were getting lower and lower.

  Even though the six were lifelong friends the conditions they had to endure were getting to each and everyone of them and – before long – tempers became frayed and the patience of some was in very short supply, as their journey of a lifetime turned into the journey from hell.

  They had not travelled as far as they had wanted to, or planned to and they were becoming increasingly disillusioned and dejected. One evening they sat huddled together in silence, in another previously dug out cave; all of them were wet, frozen to the bone and feeling very sorry for themselves. Rufus was the first to break the silence.

  ‘If we continue, we’re going to die,’ he said solemnly.

  ‘I know,’ Ellora replied shivering. ‘And I’m not the only one to feel that way.’

  ‘I had never anticipated the mountains would be so jagged and perilous,’ Waldon said shaking his head. ‘Not for one minute did I think that we would be so overwhelmingly defeated by nature.’

  ‘She truly is a stubborn one,’ Kenaz said almost smiling.

  ‘Who?’ asked Kalon.

  ‘Nature,’ replied Kenaz.

  ‘To continue this journey is madness,’ Waldon continued.

  ‘Then let us return to the bottom and follow Gangay’s trail around the mountains, not through and over them,’ Kenaz said.

  ‘No!’ Rakan said suddenly. ‘We go on,’ he said almost commanding them

  ‘Rakan if we go on we will surely die,’ Waldon said, trying to reason with his friend. ‘There is still so much of the world that we have yet to see and I for one, have seen and experienced more of these mountains than I would want to in an entire lifetime.’

  ‘No, we can do this,’ he said stubbornly.

  ‘No we cannot,’ Kenaz countered. ‘Physically, I know that Waldon and I are the strongest of you all and I am weakened by this. I know I do not have the strength to conquer Qomo and neither do you Rakan, neither do any of us.’

  ‘We do not need strength,’ Rakan replied firmly and unmoved by Kenaz’s short oration.

  ‘Then what do we need?’ asked Kenaz, slightly defensively and slightly annoyed by Rakan’s stubbornness.

  ‘Magic,’ Rakan replied evenly.

  ‘But you are not to use magic unguided,’ Kalon said, objecting to Rakan’s proposal. ‘Neither you nor Rufus may use it,’ he finished.

  ‘That was before we left Amalah and before we were freezing to death on Qomolangma,’ he said firmly.

  ‘I do not like the idea of unguided magic Rakan. Look what happened to Kenaz when Rufus froze him,’ Waldon said clearly concerned, and the other five nodded in agreement with him.

  ‘I remember, and I remember when Amara was out of control. On both occasions Ellora saved them. She showed Amara what she was doing and she helped Rufus to access his power.’

  ‘But you saved me the first time,’ Ellora said.

  ‘The point is, we have two sorcerers and an empath, who can help us tap into our power, two of the strongest boys I know and one of the fastest,’ he said looking at Kalon. ‘The point is, with all of that power and capability we should be able to go anywhere and do anything,’ Rakan said passionately.

  ‘I still do not like the thought of the two of you unleashing your powers without any guidance,’ Kalon said uneasily.

  ‘Do not worry Kalon, we are not going to do any harm,’ Rakan said trying to reassure his brother and everyone else.

  ‘Not intentionally Rakan; I know that but still we do not know what other dangers lay ahead of us and we do not know if magic will or will not worsen those dangers.’

  ‘I promise we will reach the other side of Qomo, alive and safe and well, I know it!’ he said clearly convinced of it.

  The five looked at Rakan and each other and thought to themselves for a while trying to decide on whether or not they should continue on such a dangerous venture. So far, they were cold, wet and miserable and although they wanted to reach the top of the daunting mountain they did not feel as though they had the heart to continue. It was as though Rakan had read their minds and he spoke again.

  ‘It won’t be like it is now, we will be warm and fed and it will be fun,’ he said to them all.

  ‘How can you be so sure?’ Waldon asked.

  Rakan smiled and looked at Ellora. ‘Ellora have your bow and arrow ready,’ he told her. She and the others looked at him confused and curious. ‘Trust me,’ he said, before he winked and looked at Ellora again. ‘You see the back of the cave behind me?’ Ellora nodded. ‘Get ready to aim,’ Rakan said, before he crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

  He began to recant a mantra in his mind and focused and while the others watched him, Ellora tentatively watched the empty space behind them. Just over half a minute had passed when a kid goat appeared from nowhere at the back of the cave and Ellora drew in a sharp intake of breath in surprise; she raised her eyebrows before she pulled herself together and realised what the bow and arrow was for; she took aim and fired, killing the goat instantly.

  ‘Evening meal,’ Rakan said satisfied.

  ‘How?’ Kenaz asked taken aback.

  ‘Conjuring.’

  ‘I think we all realise the goat was conjured,’ Rufus said dryly.

  ‘I’ve been practising; Gaerwen introduced it to me. I conjured small and in-ornate things mostly. This was the first real live animal and the biggest,’ he said proudly.

  ‘Well now food isn’t going to be a problem,’ Rufus said.

  ‘No it isn’t, but shelter, clothing and the weather will be; not to mention the mountains themselves.’ Kenaz reminded them.

  Rakan looked at the fire and pointed to it ‘Superus!’ he commanded and the fire immediately grew more powerful, heating them and the cave.

  ‘Shelter from the outside,’ Kenaz asked hopefully.

  ‘Sigillo!,’ Rakan commanded again and this time, the exit of the cave was sealed by an invisible, yet impenetrable barrier that kept the wind out. Rakan smiled and looked at his five friends. ‘Who will follow me to Qomolangma?’ he asked.

  ‘I will,’ Kalon said almost immediately.

  ‘As will I,’ said Ellora in a resigned tone.

  The three remaining boys were still wary and cynical but they also vowed to continue on the journey together and the friends were once again destined to reach the apex of the great Qomolangma. They sat in the now warm cave watching the goat that Rakan had conjured and Ellora had killed with her bow, rotate on the makeshift spit and when the time came; they all ate hungrily until they were all pleasantly full. As the heat returned to their bodies, so did their good cheer and patience and when they talked about their journey through Qomolangma; they once again talked with excitement in their voices and their hearts.

  They remained in the cave for the remainder of the night watching as the snow continued to drop relentlessly, it looked so beautiful when they watched it fall from the comfort of their newly warmed cave, but when they had been trekking in it for hours on end it was cold and wet and a damper to their spirits.

  They watched the white snow fall in the background of the black night and smiled to themselves, thinking that this is how Qomo should be seen. The next day they put their belongings together and made their way into the cold and snow once again; they began to climb the mountain and walk paths whenever one was available to them.

  Whene
ver they wanted to rest, they found a small cave that they could huddle into and Rakan sealed it with a magical barrier, while the others lit a fire and prepared what food and drink they had. The friends found that the further they ventured, the smaller the caves got and by nightfall; they found themselves looking for somewhere to eat and rest for the night, but their search was to no avail. At one stage, they stood on a ledge and looked up at another cave that was located at least six feet above the heads of Waldon and Kenaz and they wondered if they could fit into it.

  ‘I will climb and see,’ Kenaz said, as he moved closer to the mountain wall and began to climb. It did not take him long to climb up to the cave and hoist himself inside and once there, he positioned himself so that his belly was on the floor and he looked down to the others. ‘It’s nowhere near big enough for the six of us,’ he shouted down.

  ‘What now?’ Ellora asked. ‘Nightfall is here and the caves are getting smaller every level we ascend.’

  ‘Sleep in separate caves,’ Kenaz suggested.

  ‘Then five of you will freeze to death,’ Rakan responded.

  ‘We make the cave bigger,’ Rufus said simply and the others stared at him with puzzled faces, waiting for him to elaborate. ‘Well, I’ll make it bigger,’ Rufus finished.

  He looked at the mountain and pictured the cave and Kenaz in his mind and then closed his eyes; he felt the power in his body begin to rise and course through him:

  ‘Cave above encased in snow,

  bring an end to our woe.

  With all my power and my might,

  I wish for you to grown in height.

  With all my strength I do demand

  That you now six fold expand.

  Dilato! Dilato! Dilato!

  Rufus felt a surge of power rush through him and suddenly exit his body and then he opened his eyes. He was surprised to see that nothing had happened to the cave and he was slightly embarrassed as Kenaz and the other four were still staring at him expectantly.

  ‘I though it would work,’ he said clearly disappointed and more than a little self-conscious.

  ‘Never mind,’ Rakan said sympathetically to his friend.

  ‘Maybe you should try again,’ Waldon said encouragingly.

  ‘I would but I feel rather weak and drained,’ Rufus said weakly.

  ‘What did…?’ Ellora began but she was interrupted by a booming and thunderous noise. The five of them stopped dead in their tracks as they listened to the noise grow louder and more menacing.

  ‘What the…’ Kenaz began.

  ‘Avalanche!’ Rakan shouted, the fear and shock in his voice coming through.

  Kenaz had had the good sense to not stand idle whilst they had been chatting and he had unpacked the ropes he had intended to throw down to the others while Rufus had been preparing his spell.

  ‘No it is not,’ Ellora said. ‘Look,’ she said to Rakan and the others as she pointed upwards and saw that the snow was undisturbed. The others looked on with relief.

  ‘What is it then?’ Waldon asked perturbed by a large creaking noise.

  ‘The cave,’ Kenaz shouted. ‘It’s getting bigger.’ He looked around as the cave he was in creaked and stretched at both sides and further back into itself. ‘I cannot believe it,’ he shouted and then grinned at his friends. The others stepped back and craned their necks upwards as they looked up to watch the cave extend.

  ‘You did it!’ Kalon exclaimed as he patted Rufus on the back and smiled.

  ‘Yes I did,’ Rufus said proudly, extremely happy that the spell had worked.

  The cave took a few minutes to move to its new size and when it came to a halt the five looked at each other and smiled.

  ‘We will conquer Qomolangma,’ Rakan said confidently.

  ‘Yes we will,’ Kalon said agreeing with his brother.

  Kenaz had just taken out the rope and had just secured it to the cave, when they all heard a powerful and disturbing rumbling sound. Rakan looked up and was stunned at what he saw, but he wasted no time and shouted avalanche once again. Kenaz also acted quickly and threw the rope back down to the five who were still below him.

  ‘Ellora get it,’ Rakan ordered, as he pointed to the rope.

  She immediately did as she was told and began to climb as quickly as she possibly could. Kalon had not needed any instruction and he was already scaling the mountain to get to the cave: he climbed the mountain quicker than Kenaz had and when he reached inside, Kenaz was trying to pull Ellora up into the cave, Kalon grabbed her and almost threw her into the cave and when he saw that she was safely in, he and Kenaz threw the rope back down to the others.

  Waldon had begun to climb the mountain as well, taking the same path as Kalon had, while Rakan took hold of the rope. As the two young men attempted to scramble to the cave; the rumblings grew louder until they were deafening, and as the snow from and around the cave and mountain began to fall; Rufus, Rakan and Waldon now feared for their lives.

  Their hearts raced and their bodies trembled and panic was setting in as their whole lives passed before them for a split second, Waldon wondered what his life would have been like, for he surely thought he was going to die on the mountain. Rakan thought of Kalon and his father Garrick but felt that if he died now at least he had truly lived and Rufus just prayed that it wasn’t going to end at all for him or his friends.

  ‘Dear God – please not now,’ he begged.

  Rakan grabbed the rope and Kalon and Kenaz hauled him up extremely quickly and Ellora grabbed hold of him as he let go of the rope and pulled him into the cave. The two boys dropped the rope down to Rufus and as they did. Rakan joined in with Kalon and Kenaz to help pull up Rufus. Waldon was almost near the top now and the three boys and Ellora watched him out of the corner of their eyes as he made his way towards them.

  Rufus stepped forward and went to take hold of the rope but as he stepped forward, his left foot slid right through the snow and into a narrow crevice in the mountain floor; it was large enough to put his foot in but too small to take his foot back out. He stopped abruptly as he realised his foot would not move; he now had hold of the rope and he kept hold of it as he was trying to free his foot at the same time, but the others had begun to pull, so he shouted for them to stop.

  ‘Stop! My foot is stuck!’ he shouted up.

  Rufus tried everything to free himself but it was to no avail, his heart was beating louder and faster but he could not hear it because of the deafening rumbling sound of the impending avalanche. Waldon looked down at Rufus and saw his friend frantically struggling, he looked up to the cave where his friends were and down to the ledge where Rufus was and in a split second decision he began to descend to where Rufus was as quickly as he could.

  ‘Waldon no!’ Kenaz shouted.

  ‘I have to,’ Waldon said.

  Kenaz prepared to climb down the rope and help Rufus and Waldon. ‘No!’ Waldon shouted. ‘Stay where you are! When I reach the ledge throw me the pick axe.’

  The four of them watched as Waldon descended and Rufus stood on the ledge, still frantically trying to free himself. They were all scared stiff and they all wanted to panic, because they did not want to lose either friend, and the thought of doing so filled them with dread as they stood at the edge of the ledge feeling frantic and utterly useless. They observed Waldon as he reached Rufus and then shouted up to Kenaz.

  ‘Now!’ he shouted.

  Kenaz leaned over and dangled the pick axe over the edge of the cave, when he was sure Waldon would be able to catch it he dropped it, but he hadn’t taken into account the wind factor and when the axe dropped, it seemed to fall outwards and beyond Waldon’s reach. Waldon stretched out desperately to catch it, knowing it was Rufus’ only chance of breaking free.

  He barely caught the pickaxe by the handle edge and lost his balance as he struggled to maintain his grip; he teetered precariously on the edge of the mountain ledge with the axe in hand while the others in the cave, who had been watching, drew in a deep breath and gas
ped. Ellora let out a scream before she put one hand to her mouth and held onto Kalon with the other. They all watched as Waldon struggled with his feet and his body, as he fought for his balance and his life – and somehow, after the longest seconds in the world had gone by – he regained his balance with the axe in hand.

  ‘Only by the grace of the Gods!’ Kenaz said, with relief and shaking his head as he and the others let out their long bated breath.

  ‘Waldon, you could have reached the cave by now,’ cried Rufus. He was upset at the thought that his friend was going to die with him – because of him.

  ‘We are all going to Qomolangma! All of us!’ he shouted.

  Waldon tugged at Rufus’ foot but it was stuck and his mind raced as he cleared away the snow. He could see Rufus’ foot stuck in the crevice with some weed, which was – to his surprise – still alive in this freezing weather. He took hold of the axe and swung it hard, down onto the floor just at the top of the crevice, but nothing happened and the two boys looked in shock at the unchanged floor.

  Waldon let out a huge roar of anger and frustration at the crevice that was trapping his friend. Waldon let his anger and frustration consume him and he then swung the pickaxe down with great fury and strength, time after time, after time and as he continued to bring the axe crashing down; the stone and ice eventually turned to rubble and Rufus was able to pull his foot free.

  They looked up to signal to the others that they were ready to come up to the cave but all they saw was a mass of snow hurtling towards them. Rufus had one thought that left his mind and when it did, he grabbed Waldon by both arms and dragged him to the wall of the mountain.

  ‘Trust me,’ he said to Waldon intensely as he closed his eyes.

  The snow fell onto the two boys like a heavy river fall but there was no way to swim through it and nowhere to swim to. The two of them felt the ice-cold snow brutally descend and cover them and soon, it was pouring over their heads and then it quickly buried them.

  Waldon could only hold his breath for a few more seconds and he knew, that when he let go, it was the beginning of the end for him. He held on for as long as he could and then let go. Immediately after his body and mind began the inevitable struggle for air and ultimately – life – as it does when it is threatened. Eventually he gave into the panic as he felt his lungs heave and burn, his mind raced for an answer but none came, but in the very next moment, he was being pulled into the cave where: Ellora, Rakan, Kalon and Kenaz were.

 

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