The Destiny of Amalah

by Thandi Ryan

  By day, the people would venture down into the snow-levelled forest and hunt and by night, they would return to their caves: eat, make clothes or tools and sing and talk. The mountains were alive and each mountain had it own community of people with its own intricate network of caves. While there, they lived in the caves with the mountain people for a few weeks, and although the weather was cold and bitter, they felt safe and warm in the mountains with the local people.

  When the harshest time of the winter had passed, the six prepared to head east to Parades and for the first time in their lives, they rode on sledges driven by huskies; to them the ride was exciting and exhilarating, and they looked on in awe as they rode across the blanket of white snow that covered the land. They then travelled through the snow lands of Parades among the Nordic people and then they reached the lush green prairies that were rare in those parts.

  From Parades they headed east towards Lansten and travelled by sledge again, only this time; the sledges were driven by reindeers and the people were tall and white, with long blonde hair both the men and women.

  “Ice people!” Kalon thought to himself as he noticed their features; the blonde hair, the steely blue eyes or emerald green eyes and the chiselled features.

  They stayed in Parades for a while and watched the northern lights in Greenland and then went on to Lansten, now known as Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan and then finally returned to Amalah after travelling for nineteen months. Rakan, Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz were eighteen or nineteen years of age and Kalon and Ellora were both sixteen.

  They were home, and it felt good to be walking and riding on Amalah’s soil. They still had a long way to go until they reached Amalah City, but they were home. They rode inwards to the city and the nearer they got to Amalah City the more people began to recognise them and greet them and welcome them back. They had travelled around the world and it had taken them nineteen months and now they returned and they could not believe that so much time had passed.

  ‘I cannot believe we are back,’ Kalon said in a melancholy tone.

  ‘I cannot believe we all survived,’ Rufus replied.

  ‘Did you ever have a doubt?’ Kenaz asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Rufus replied soberly. ‘A few times, might I add!’

  The others laughed softly and nodded in agreement.

  ‘We did come pretty close,’ Rakan agreed.

  ‘Pretty close?’ Rufus said raising his eyebrows. ‘Are you learning how to be a master of the understatement?’ he asked acerbically.

  Rakan raised his eyebrows and smiled, he had grown used to Rufus’ sarcasm and he knew the best response was no response at all and when Rakan did not rise to the bait, the six of them resumed their conversation about their travels.

  ‘What do we tell everyone about Qomolangma?’ Ellora asked.

  ‘I think we don’t tell anyone anything,’ said Rakan.

  ‘I agree,’ said Kalon.

  ‘I don’t think my parents would mind,’ mused Waldon.

  ‘Perhaps not,’ began Rakan; ‘but our father and Amara certainly would.’

  ‘Do we agree then?’ Ellora asked.

  ‘Agreed,’ they all said in unison.

  ‘What about my being bit?’ Kalon asked.

  ‘I think we should omit all references to situations where our lives were in peril,’ said Rakan.

  ‘I don’t like the idea of secrets and hiding,’ said Kenaz.

  ‘Neither do I,’ added Waldon.

  ‘Neither do I,’ said Rakan. ‘But I like the idea of being confined to the house until I am twenty-five even less.’

  The others laughed, knowing that he was half joking and half serious.

  ‘Alright,’ said Kenaz. ‘We won’t mention it but I do hope that you tell your father before you reach the age of twenty-five.’

  ‘Don’t be so sure,’ Rakan laughed.

  Soon they were a day’s ride away from Amalah City and the palace and when they had finished breakfast one morning, they rode hard and fast to Amalah City and by the early afternoon, they were at the road that led to the palace gates. On they rode until they came to the front of the palace and when they did they came to a full stop.

  ‘Home!’ Ellora exclaimed excitedly as she dismounted her horse.

  ‘Indeed,’ Rakan said.

  The palace gates opened and out came some of the guard and the staff who were on duty, they greeted the six warmly and enthusiastically and one of them rushed off to find Amara and moments later Amara came running out of the door.

  ‘Ellora,’ she screamed, as she ran towards her sister and Ellora ran towards her. ‘Ellora I am so glad you are back. You look so well,’ she gushed. ‘And you look so grown up,’ she said, looking her sister up and down.

  ‘I missed you too,’ Ellora said, hugging her sister tightly.

  ‘Amara greeted and hugged everyone and just as she had done so Garrick and Michael came out of the palace doors.

  ‘Father,’ Kalon said happily as he rushed towards his father who had his arms wide open.

  ‘Kalon, Rakan,’ he said with great joy. ‘How happy it makes me to see you both my sons.’ He said, clearly elated. ‘I missed you.’

  ‘I missed you too father,’ Rakan said as he went to join Kalon in the family hug.

  When they had finished hugging and greeting each other Garrick stood back and looked at his sons proudly.

  ‘My how you have grown,’ he said looking at them with pride. ‘You’ve all grown,’ he said turning to the rest of the friends. ‘And you all look so well.’

  Michael and Garrick greeted everyone and they all chatted happily in the courtyard as the six tied up their horses and minutes later; they were joined by Thaddeus, Häkan and Raynor. As the six talked they unpacked and carried their bags into the palace at which point the staff came forward and took them from them; they all reacted with surprise at first, having had to have carried all their own belongings themselves but then the staff insisted on taking them and they let them go.

  Amara led them to the palace dining room where they all sat down and the staff brought them cold drinks that they took gladly. They sat and talked about some of what had taken place and waited for Rufus, Waldon and Kenaz’ parents to arrive as Häkan had sent the guard to send word of their arrival.

  Just over half an hour had passed before the parents of the three boys arrived in the palace dining room and when they did, the excitement, the greetings, hugs, kisses and tears of joy began again: mostly from the mothers but some of the fathers were misty eyed too.

  They stayed in the dining room talking, eating, drinking and catching up with each other and the events in Amalah. Soon the dining room was filled with a vibrant and happy din as more and more people arrived to welcome the six young friends back home.

  When the early hours of the morning came, the gathering dispersed and the six said their goodnights. It was strange and somewhat sad, for they had all slept in the same place for the last nineteen months and now – for the first time in a long time – they were going their own separate ways.

  ‘You will all see each other tomorrow,’ Michael reassured them but the six still felt sad to be going their separate ways and they hugged each other tightly before saying goodnight.

  The five boys left the palace and went home with their parents and Ellora stayed in the palace with Amara and Michael.

  ‘You must be tired,’ Michael said to Ellora.

  ‘I am – very,’ she said yawning. ‘I have so much to tell you,’ she said happily but sleepily; ‘but I am so tired.’

  ‘You can tell us after you have slept,’ Amara said to her sister. ‘Your bed is made up for you now Ellora.’

  ‘Oh good she said dreamily.’ She bent forward and hugged and kissed her sister and then hugged and kissed Michael. ‘Good night,’ she said before she turned and made her way to her room.

  When Ellora arrived in her room, she wasted no time getting ready for bed. She took a long shower, found her nightclothes and chan
ged into them and then climbed into bed. She smiled and laughed with pleasure at being back in her luxurious night clothes and big comfortable bed and when she closed her eyes, she fell asleep dreaming of the adventures that she and her friends had undertaken and what a happy dream it was.

  Chapter 16

  When the sun rose that morning on Amalah the six young friends rose with it. They awoke in their own homes and it was strange for them to be alone and under shelter on such a warm and beautiful day. They each spent time with their families unpacking and reliving their adventures, starting with the last place that they had been to.

  For the six, in the next few days, Amalah seemed like the foreign land and it was difficult for them to return to some semblance of normality but after a week had passed, they began to settle down slowly but surely.

  One evening, Amara held a dinner at the palace for Ellora and the five boys. Michael, Häkan, Garrick, Raynor and Thaddeus were also in attendance. The evening started so well and Amara began by recounting what had taken place in Amalah while they had been away, then the six began to talk of their times together.

  ‘I think the hardest part was climbing Qomolangma,’ Kalon said, quite by accident.

  As the words left his lips, the room went dead silent and the other five shot irked glances at him. Kalon realised what he had just said and he bit his lip and immediately looked at Rakan, who was shaking his head in annoyance and disappointment.

  ‘You climbed Qomo?’ Häkan asked incredulously.

  ‘Yes we did,’ Kalon replied sheepishly and the room went silent once again.

  ‘You climbed Qomolangma?’ Garrick asked, his voice low but he was clearly seething.

  Rakan knew his father was angry, he could tell by the expression on his face, the sound of his voice and the posture he was in; his father was rarely angry but he knew it when he saw it.

  ‘Well?’ Garrick snapped.

  Still the six remained silent as they watched Garrick and the other adults in the room change their mood.

  ‘Rakan I am waiting for an answer,’ Garrick said, glaring at his son.

  ‘We climbed Qomolangma father, we climbed Qomolangma from the west and reached the top and then we descended to the east,’ he said simply.

  ‘Why?’ Michael asked.

  ‘We wanted to see it,’ Rakan replied.

  ‘You could have seen it without climbing it,’ Garrick said, as even more of his anger continued to surface.

  ‘Father...’ Rakan began.

  ‘There is nothing you can say to me that will abate my anger at this moment in time,’ Garrick said cutting his eldest son off.

  ‘We climbed Qomolangma and survived,’ Rakan said. ‘We are all safe and well.’

  ‘You are lucky,’ Garrick said aggressively. ‘I have seen much of the world and I have seen those mountains in Santeb and been to the edge of Qomolangma. I’ve lived among the people and they all said the same thing – no one has ever climbed Qomo and returned. You must have known that,’ Garrick said, his voice rising and still glaring at his elder son.

  ‘We did, but we knew we could climb it and it was worth the risk. What we saw when we were up there…’ Rakan said passionately, as he tried to find the words to recount his experience.

  ‘I don’t care what you saw when you were up there!’ Garrick exploded. ‘I care, that as my eldest son, you risked your life and Kalon’s life and the life of the princess and everyone else’s in a reckless journey that could have killed all of you and I’m guessing the only reason you survived is luck – sheer luck,’ Garrick said angrily.

  ‘But father…’ Rakan said, trying to alleviate his father’s anger by explaining.

  ‘But father nothing,’ Garrick replied, cutting Rakan off again. ‘I trusted you Rakan, out of all of you I trusted you the most. I know that the six of you do everything together and make decisions together but you were the leader – not by much – but still the leader. I am extremely angry and disappointed in you, in all of you for being so bloody stupid and reckless,’ Garrick finished.

  The six sat at the table in complete silence, they looked straight ahead of themselves and stole glances at each other; Rakan who had taken the brunt of his father’s anger simply looked nowhere. He felt completely ashamed, not because of what he had done but because his father had blamed him and had done so, so publicly and he knew – in public or in private – he could not answer his father back. He had also felt crest fallen and wretched that his father had reacted the way he had.

  ‘Ellora, why did you go?’ Amara asked her sister but Ellora could not answer her sister, she could only look at her and hope that she did not push the matter: she did not – but Michael did.

  ‘Princess did you forget the conversation we had with you before we let you leave on this journey?’ Michael asked his face and tone dead serious.

  ‘No,’ she replied feebly.

  ‘So why would you undertake such a life threatening venture?’

  ‘Because we all decided that where one of us went, all of us would go,’ Kalon said, trying to come to Ellora’s defence.

  ‘So which one of you decided to climb Qomo?’ Michael asked, staring at each and every one of them in turn, but no one answered.

  Rakan sighed and raised his eyes in exasperation at his brother’s ability to keep dropping him in it.

  ‘You must have known it was wrong,’ Garrick said in a calmer tone but obviously still very angry. ‘All of you must have known it was wrong, because before you left Amalah on your travels, not one of you mentioned it and you have been in Amalah for over seven days and you only mention it now, and I think that was quite by accident.’

  Once again the six young friends remained silent and it was for the adults to speak and elicit information.

  ‘Just how did you survive Qomolangma?’ Thaddeus asked, to which three of the six became alarmed and their eyes widened as the questions became more prickly.

  ‘Well?’ Garrick asked impatiently.

  ‘With great skill,’ Rufus replied, refraining from sarcasm on this occasion.

  ‘What skills would they be?’ Thaddeus asked inquisitively.

  ‘The skill of being able to live off the land,’ Waldon answered.

  ‘I know you can all live off the land,’ Garrick said; ‘but living off the mountains of Qomolangma is a completely different story. The nomads have survived many a winter on the dead grounds and the lower mountains and they are experienced travellers living in the harsh winters year in and year out, but none have ever returned from Qomolangma: so the question is: how did six young children survive the treacherous mountains of Qomolangma – a place where there is no food or plant life to live off?’

  ‘They used magic,’ Raynor said, shaking his head.

  Rakan winced at the accurate guess and the six shuffled uncomfortably.

  ‘Is that true?’ Garrick asked, looking at Rakan.

  ‘Yes father,’ Rakan replied feeling extremely hot under the collar.

  ‘Despite me telling you, that you could not use magic unguided?’ Garrick asked, his voice rising once again.

  ‘Yes father,’ Rakan replied meekly.

  Garrick shook his head trying to contain his anger and he looked down for in that moment he could not look at his sons without feeling even more furious.

  ‘Empress, if you will excuse me, I can no long sit down to this meal. I am awash with anger and have lost my appetite, not to mention that after hearing this disturbing news I no longer think it appropriate to continue with this evening.’

  ‘Very well Garrick I understand,’ Amara said.’ Please feel free to leave us.’

  ‘I bid you goodnight Empress. Friends I bid you goodnight also. Rakan, Kalon get up and leave this table and wait for me at the palace gates,’ Garrick snapped.

  The two boys stood up, they looked at their father and each other and then at their friends before they left the table and exited the room. Garrick followed them out and the dining room still remained a tense a
tmosphere after he had gone.

  ‘Rufus, Kenaz and Waldon, I think that now the meal is over the best thing you can do is leave. Go home and I will tell your parents in the morning,’ Michael said.

  The three boys stood up, said goodnight to those at the table and left the palace with their heads bowed down. It was the first time they had ever been asked to leave in their lifetime and they felt truly devastated. They rode home in silence and wondered how Rakan, Kalon and Ellora were faring.

  Back at the palace, Amara asked to be left alone with her sister and the four men excused themselves from the table and wished them goodnight. Amara and Ellora were left alone and Amara stared intensely at Ellora for the longest time before she spoke.

  ‘Do you remember when father died and then shortly afterwards we lost our mother?’ Amara asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Ellora replied.

  ‘How did you feel?’

  ‘Sad,’ Ellora answered; ‘and bereft,’ she added. ‘I was lost and alone and I wanted to cry all the time.’

  ‘And do you remember when you thought you were going to lose me?’

  ‘Yes,’ Ellora replied.

  ‘How did you feel then?’

  ‘Scared, I lost mother and father and I didn’t want to be all alone. I didn’t want to lose you.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I love you and you are all I have left.’

  ‘Then you must know the same is true for me and yet, you risked your life so foolishly. You know you could have lost your life. When we let you travel with the other five we knew there would be risks. But for the life of me, I cannot fathom why you would embark on such a dangerous journey. You know you could have easily lost your life in those mountains.’

  ‘I’m sorry Amara,’ Ellora said humbly.

  ‘I don’t ever want to lose you Ellora and I couldn’t bear it if I did. You are all I have left in this world. I need you - we need each other.’