Secret Of the Sighing Mountains (The Quest Trilogy)

by Iram Dana

  Diego stared at him. Obviously, he had intended to do just that. Sierra gave an exasperated sigh and began to forcefully shove Diego’s arms through the sleeves of the shirt he was lending him, since Diego had brought none of his own.

  “Just… put … it… on, D!” he puffed, trying to reach Diego’s other arm, which Diego kept moving out of his reach.

  “Think of it as payback for all the times I borrowed your clothes!” he said, hoping it was a tempting enough offer. Diego stopped resisting and stood still, giving the proposal a thought. Sierra seized the moment of indecision.

  “You could dirty it! Or tear it up accidentally, or drop sauce all over it. Any of the stuff I’ve done to your clothes over the years!” said Sierra, shoving Diego’s other hand into a sleeve, and buttoning up the shirt quickly.

  “See? That doesn’t look so bad, does it?” he panted, admiring the rare phenomenon of clothes draping his brother’s body, rather than some simpering female.

  Diego smiled at his reflection and Sierra gave an inward sigh of relief. Their dispute over, they each put on the red and gold ceremonial robes they had been given for the occasion and headed towards the open grounds, where most sequestors had already collected. Sierra had tied the sash meant to be around the waist, onto his forehead, pretending to be a ninja. He snapped off a slim branch from one of the trees and proceeded to deftly execute a few martial arts moves, yelling, “Watch out for the Questerminator!”, before turning and poking Diego in the eye. Diego growled and snatched the branch from Sierra, breaking it into several pieces. He lifted Sierra up by the collar, jamming it onto the stub of the branch that he had just broken and leaving him hanging there, kicking and protesting, until Diego saw master Shengdu approach. Then, he quickly freed Sierra and before the latter could retaliate, yanked the sash off of his head and tied his hands behind his back in a lightning quick move. Sierra glared at his twin, muttering threats and warnings, while futilely yanking and pulling at the knots on his wrist.

  A temporary stage had been erected towards one end of the plateau, directly opposite the monastery, with the fruit trees to the left of it and the vast open ground to its right and behind it. All the sequestors had collected before the dais and were chattering away excitedly.

  A hush fell over the crowd as Master Shengdu approached and ascended the dais, dressed once again in the resplendent robes he had worn on the day they had all arrived at Mt.Chimpu. He stood before the mic, looking solemn and regal, as he surveyed the crowd assembled before him. He coughed once to clear his throat, and then began speaking in his gentle, yet commanding, voice.

  “I am proud today … because standing here before me, are a capable, worthy, strong and confident lot. They are brave, they are courageous … And they are prepared. Yes, standing before me today are no ordinary people … they are Sequestors!”

  Claps and cheers rendered the air, and then piped down as Master Shengdu continued, “But mostly … mostly I am proud … because I was responsible for it!” he paused and smiled as a ripple of laughter went through the crowd. “I have not trained you to rule a kingdom, nor have I trained you to lead an army. No. but I have trained you to be the most important of them all. I have trained you to be survivors.

  Three years have passed since you entered through the Seekers Pass. And I have stood here watching, as you have gone from awkward teenagers, to armed and ready soldiers of destiny. We have shared laughter and pain, joys and sorrows, good times and bad times. Now we have come to a point in our journey where we must part. Once again, I find myself facing a batch of disciples I have cared for, nurtured and looked after. And to whom I must now bid farewell. At this moment, mere words cannot describe the way I am feeling…” he stopped for a beat, his eyes growing misty and then resumed once more.

  “So I wish you luck and success on the journey ahead. May you do well, my children.” he swept his hands over the crowd. “And now, I am sure you are anxious to get to the best part of tonight, discovering your Core Names and receiving your Geeyas. Therefore, let us not waste another moment of this precious night and get on with it, already.”

  Roars and cheers split the night air as Master Shengdu finished his speech. Two assistants came running onto the stage to take the mic away and Master Shengdu stepped behind to give them way. Then they came rushing back and placed two beautiful, transparent crystal bowls in front of him on two tall stands. One of the bowls was filled with water, and the other was filed with ice.

  They left and Master Shengdu stepped forward again, waiting patiently for the cheers to die down into sporadic laughs and murmurs. Then further, until the murmurs died down too, and it became so quiet, you could hear the wind rustling through the leaves.

  Slowly, the atmosphere around them began to change, making all the sequestors nervous and cold. Master Shengdu lifted his hands above his head and clapped thrice. Everyone collectively gasped as hundreds of lights appeared in the trees, bushes and even on the grass below them. But that was not all, twinkling and dancing, like tiny golden fireflies, a million dots of light were falling gently from the sky like snow.

  It was so beautiful to look at and so magical, that everyone forgot to breathe for a few moments, gaping in open- mouthed awe as the dots of light fell on their skin and then disappeared with a bright glow. Sierra opened his mouth wide to let some of the dots fall on his tongue, while Diego could only stare in mute appreciation.

  “These are grains of truth, don’t eat too many or you will never be able to lie again.” Master Shengdu’s voice floated from the dais, and Sierra snapped his jaws shut.

  A few moments later, Master Shengdu raised his hands and clapped thrice again. The ground started to rumble and shake gently. Master Shengdu looked expectantly towards the open space to the right of the stage and everyone automatically followed his gaze. There, rising slowly from the shaking grounds, seemed to be the curved heads of mushrooms sprouting from the earth. They watched in astonishment as the mushrooms kept rising above the ground, increasing in width and height until it became obvious what they really were – eggs. Many, many eggs in all sorts of colors imaginable and so huge, they were the size of a full grown human. The shells of the eggs were made entirely of jagged, crystal-like shards, glittering and sparkling under the glowing lights. The sequestors counted the number of eggs- ninety eight exactly. This must be their Geeya, they said excitedly to one another.

  They didn’t know what their Geeya looked like as yet, since they had not been told anything about it by Master Shengdu. So they speculated among themselves as to the nature of the Geeya. Some hoped a Geeya was a dragon or a phoenix. Others felt sure it was an animal not seen before; while a few fools vouched that the eggs themselves were the Geeya.

  Master Shengdu moved to stand near the crystal bowl filled with water and closed his eyes, turning his face skywards and letting the grains of truth fall softly on his face. He began to chant strange words, occasionally sweeping his hands over the bowl, which slowly began to glow a dull red color, growing brighter and brighter as Master Shengdu continued to chant. He stopped chanting when a brilliant flash of light erupted from the bowl, painting everything red for the briefest of seconds. Then, it disappeared along with the grains of truth, the twinkling lights, plunging the grounds into near total darkness. Master Shengdu stood before the bowl, its dull red glow causing his face to appear a little sinister as he looked into it. Silence reigned supreme as all eyes fell on the bowl. There were now small, oblong shaped stones deposited at the bottom of it.

  Master Shengdu swept a gaze over everybody. In this span of time he seemed to have acquired an aura of power that no one had realized he possessed, until now.

  When he opened his mouth to speak again, his voice reverberated with authority. He spoke without a mic. He didn’t need one.

  “It is time. Come forward all of you.” said Master Shengdu, and they all shuffled nearer to the dais.

  “Now, do you know what a Core Name is?” he asked, then continued without waitin
g for a response, “This entire universe is interconnected. The phrase ‘we are one’ holds absolutely true. All of us are connected in some way or the other to a portion of this universe. It may be one of the simple elements, like mercury, oxygen, helium… it may be an element of nature, like the sun or the moon… it may even be a personality trait, like generosity or hostility. A Core Name may be anything. There may also be several of you with the same Core Name. For example, one time I had two sequestors who were both named Flower. One of them was so gentle and kind to people, that the most useless and worthless of them bloomed when they were around her, becoming better people, both for themselves and for the society. The other, well, he had a unique power. He could make a gray, ugly looking flower sprout from the earth. He used its sap to make poisonous darts. The poison from this flower was so potent, that a tree hit with one of the darts slumped to the ground after just fifteen minutes … Its insides turned into pulp. In the end, he was killed in a fight … with one of his own darts.

  So you see, our Core Names are a mystery to be solved. They give us powers to be used, not abused. Somewhere, something is your true trait, and your core name captures the essence of that in a single word. Today, we are going to find that word.” he promised.

  Master Shengdu held out his hand and was given a roll of parchment by one of the assistants. He put on his slim, gold rimmed spectacles and looked out at the gathered assembly.

  “Now, as I call out your names, please come forward one by one in order to receive your Core Names. The first person I am going to call …” he looked at the scroll, “is Sierra. Will Sierra please step forward?”

  Sierra, who was standing towards the back of the assembled crowd, was still trying to undo the knots that Diego had bound his wrists with. He had been unsuccessful so far, partly because the knots were so tight and partly because once the real ceremony had started, he had forgotten all about his hands. When he heard his name being called, he started to wriggle and pull at his knots in earnest, delighted to know he was going to be the first to find out his Core Name. Seeing no response, Master Shengdu repeated his instructions.

  “Will Sierra please step forward?”

  Sierra felt a tug behind and then the knots holding his wrists together were gone. He would have taken the time to thank Diego for first binding him, and then freeing him, with a few good punches but his Core Name was a waitin’. Sierra ran towards the dais. Ignoring the small flight of steps that led up to the stage he hauled his body up on his strong arms.

  He went and stood next to Master Shengdu, fidgeting with his robes and shifting from one leg to the other.

  “Excited?” Master Shengdu inquired blandly, staring at the spot on his waist where the belt was supposed to be.

  Sierra nodded, grinning widely and rubbing his palms together.

  “Overexcited?” Master Shengdu asked, tilting his head ever so slightly.

  Instantly, the grin on Sierra’s face died and he stopped fidgeting.

  “That’s better.” said Master Shengdu, and then turned to one of the tall men waiting to assist him.

  “Bring me the gift, please.” he instructed.

  Two men rushed forward and uncovered a table laden with gift boxes of all shapes and sizes wrapped in red colored paper with a thin gold ribbon tied around each one. They handed Master Shengdu a box that had Sierra’s name labeled on it.

  “Take this, Sierra. It is my gift to you. Keep it safely. It will aid you in your Quest.”

  Sierra took the small box and stuffed it in his pocket after thanking Master Shengdu, who had turned to face the crystal bowl of water again.

  Master Shengdu began to chant once more. When he was done he turned to Sierra, instructing him to put his hands into the bowl and draw out one of the stones.

  Sierra did as he was asked, then took a look at the stone, turning it around this way and that. There was an inscription on it that he was trying to figure out.

  “This is a Pao.” said Master Shengdu, “Now read what is written on it, Sierra.”

  “I can’t,” said Sierra, still twisting the stone around, “I don’t know what this symbol means.”

  “It’s in English!” said Master Shengdu, looking at him impatiently.

  Sierra took look at it and found that indeed, it was in English! He gave an embarrassed cough.

  “Oh… yeah … it is …,” he mumbled, looking at the alphabet engraved on the Pao, “It’s the letter ‘I’.”

  “Good, now dip your hand in again.”

  Sierra obeyed and drew out another Pao.

  “It’s the letter ‘A’.” he called out, looking at Master Shengdu for permission to dip into the bowl again. Master Shengdu nodded, “Dip into it and search for your name till it allows you to.”

  Sierra dipped his hand into the bowl again, this time drawing out the letter ‘R’. His mind was already a whirl of activity, trying to work out the various permutations and combinations. Is my name Air? Ria? Ira? His thoughts tumbled over one another. Does the name have to make sense or can it be something abstract, like Ari? Please, please let it be something cool, he wished desperately, as he reached forward to dip into the bowl again, drawing the letter ‘N’.

  Iran? … He played around mentally with the alphabets, going for another dip into the crystal bowl. But this time, his fingers hit a solid invisible shield, preventing him from drawing out another Pao.

  Master Shengdu stepped forward and collected all the Pao’s from Sierra.

  “That is all. Your core name is hidden in these alphabets. I will now unscramble these letters for you.”

  So saying, Master Shengdu closed his eyes and tossed the Pao’s into the air. They went up like small gems and came down in Master Shengdu’s palm in slow motion, glowing one by one. As they fell, Master Shengdu began to call out the real order of the alphabets.

  “R … A … I … N … Sierra, your core name is Rain!”

  The minute Sierra heard his Core Name a jolt went through his body and an incredible weight descended on him, sending him sprawling to the ground with its unbelievable force. Every muscle in his body seemed to be on fire as raw power flowed through it and the cords in his neck stood up, straining against the force pushing him downwards. Sierra’s body quivered with the effort it took not to be crushed by the pressure he could feel. It lasted for a full minute, and then, just as suddenly as it had come, the force vanished, leaving Sierra gasping for breath on the floor of the dais. Somewhere towards the back of the crowd, someone gave a shriek and fainted.

  Sierra looked up weakly at master Shengdu’s smiling face, and then around him. Everywhere he looked, jaws seemed to have dropped to the floor along with him. Sierra felt as though he had been put in a hot furnace and then drawn out; burnt but purified. Curiously, he felt lighter than air and as fresh as the wind, even though the muscles in his body were still protesting violently against any movement.

  He heaved his reluctant body up on his feet, assimilating the new sense of power coursing through him. He knew everything about himself now. Why he disliked certain things – like the smell of jasmine, or why he liked certain things- like soft blankets- his strengths, his weaknesses, every secret was now an open book of knowledge to him. The absolute surety about himself, his worth and his place in this world was highly liberating. He looked at the bowl of ice standing beside the bowl of water.

  “Can I eat these? I feel like I’ve been singed from within!” he joked, looking at Master Shengdu.

  “That has another purpose, my son.” Master Shengdu replied calmly, “Now tell me, how do you feel?”

  Sierra grinned at Master Shengdu and then looked towards the sky. There was a flash of lightning, and it began to rain.

  *****

  CHAPTER 14

  Every head turned to look at the sky from where real rain was now falling, wetting the earth and the collected sequestors.

  An audible ripple of awe went through the crowd as they stared in amazement at living proof of what the discovery
of their Core Name could do. Then the awe-inspired silence of the night was split with whoops and hollers of joy.

  “Geeya, Geeya …,” the crowd began to chant and Sierra punched the air, laughing; “Yeah! Geeya time!” immediately, he winced because his muscles still felt so raw.

  Master Shengdu turned to speak to Sierra and the cacophony died down.

  “Please stand next to the bowl of ice. This is where you will need it.” he said to Sierra, and then turned to address the sequestors.

  “As I informed you all in the beginning, today you will receive your Geeya. But do not worry about choosing one. Your Geeya has already been chosen for you. Why? Because it is only your Geeya who has knowledge of your Quest. Also, nobody but you can see or hear your Geeya. The rest of you therefore, need not get so excited, because you won’t see anything. Let us begin …” he turned to Sierra, smiling as he said the words, “with Rain.”

  A shot of thrill went through his body on being addressed by his Core Name for the first time.

  Master Shengdu looked expectantly at the eggs resting to one side of the grounds.

  “Will the Geeya of Rain please come forth?” he said solemnly, and then waited in silence along with everybody else. Sierra looked at the eggs, wondering which one belonged to him. For a moment nothing happened, and then three eggs began to sparkle brilliantly; one light blue, one bottle green, and one deep scarlet in color.

  Which one? he thought impatiently, come on, which one?

  The deep scarlet colored egg began to quiver, and then with a sharp crack, it split open. Scarlet smoke rose up in curls from within the egg and swirled in circles above it, slowly taking the form of a woman, tall and graceful, dressed in scarlet robes draped around her body like a Grecian gown and hair piled high into a bun.

  With widely set, luminous eyes in a heart- shaped face surrounded by gently swaying tendrils of hair, she was the most exquisite creature Sierra had ever set eyes on. He stared in open admiration at the ethereal creature floating towards him with a playful smile on her lips.