“Most of my female crew members do not speak your language,” said the Commander from behind her. She turned reluctantly to introduce the Commander to Lozira and Goram.
“This is my first daughter, Melody of the Dawn,” she said, using Lozira’s formal Atlan name. “And this is her new husband, Beacon of the Night,” she added, looking at Goram who eagerly extended his arm for a robust handshake.
Rhuna ignored the casual chatter that ensued, and began to choose a small bite of food from each dish. She lowered herself onto one of the large seating cushions and began to sample her unfamiliar food. Most of the dishes contained chewy white meat without much taste in itself, yet the variety of spices and other additions made them new and interesting to Rhuna.
When her family had also chosen their food, each one found a seating cushion near Rhuna so that they could enjoy conversation during the meal. Lozira moved her cushion right next to Rhuna, and Goram placed his close by.
“This food is unfamiliar to me,” he stated bluntly.
“When journeying the oceans for many days at a time, it becomes necessary to partake of anything the waters offer,” Damell responded, his fingers already busy shoveling the oceanic morsels into his mouth.
Lozira began to tell Rhuna about the small but cozy private chamber and with fresh-smelling blankets and cushions, and a large window with thick glass so that they could look outside.
Are you still feeling scared?” she asked her daughter.
“No, it’s much better now, on this ship. I feel safe…on the water,” she said, looking through one of the nearby windows.
“Even though it’s such a strange ship, unlike anything we’ve seen,” Rhuna began, and then shuddered when she saw the Commander enter the room.
“What is it?” Lozira asked, eyes wide with fear and alarm. “Another vision?”
“No no, nothing like that,” she said waving her hands dismissively, hoping to quell any rising anxiety in her daughter.
“It’s the Commander. He makes me feel so uneasy,” she said, shuddering again.
“His smile looks nice, but I doubt I could get to like him much,” Lozira whispered to her mother with a nod. Rhuna waited for the Commander to reach the far side of the room, and then leaned in towards Lozira and Goram.
“It’s what Shandi said when we saw him approach us on the beach this morning,” she explained to them.
“She had been saying ‘dead man’ several times before already, in the wilderness, but when Voyager of the…I mean, the Commander came towards us on the beach this morning, Shandi pointed at him and said it again.”
“Really? She pointed to him?” Lozira gasped.
“What are you discussing?” interrupted Goram with consternation. Rhuna began to describe the various occasions when Shandi appeared to foresee the near future.
“For example, Shandi said ‘black man coming’ before the Ubanti invaded, and before that, she said ‘yellow cat’, right before I went to The Reigning One’s residence, where I saw the new golden cat statue in the hallway.
“Such things are new to me,” Goram said with awe, looking at the little girl in Aradin’s lap.
“We don’t know what some of her words mean, and she is too young to tell us clearly,” Aradin added.
“Something about the Commander? She foresees his death?” he asked.
“No, we don’t think so,” Rhuna answered. “It’s something else that she can’t express in words, so we just have to wait and see.”
Rhuna felt comforted once again as everyone she loved sat nearby to eat and drink, as if the menial task of taking nourishment gave her a sense of regularity and familiarity in an otherwise unknown and strange environment.
After the dishes had been taken away by the mostly female indoors crew, Rhuna observed Namzu Toma and some of the crewmen partaking of intoxicating beverages as they sat in a circle. The mood became carefree and jovial, as the men began to play a game Rhuna had never seen before. She leaned across to see what was happening on the floor in the middle of the excited group of men.
Namzu Toma threw something from his hand onto the floor, and everyone watched the four little cubes tumble and come to a stop. Rhuna could see that each cube had holes or dots engraved on each face, and she wondered how such a game would be played.
“Over there,” said one of the young women who had brought them the food dishes. She pointed to a wooden chest that had been opened to reveal numerous items, some of which she recognized as board games. Rhuna nodded her approval to the young woman as Aradin approached the chest to examine its contents.
As the sun began its descent, and Rhuna tired from the conversations and social activities on the ship, she and Aradin retired to their private chambers for their first night on board the ship taking them to their new home.
Rhuna realized she enjoyed the gentle movements of the ship accompanied by creaks in the wooden beams and floorboards. The smells were distracting at first, until she began to identify each one, and as she became more familiar with her surroundings, the more she relaxed.
Shandi had fallen asleep in Aradin’s lap some time earlier, and he had carefully placed her on a sleeping cot at the other end of their small private chamber. A candle gave the chamber a comforting, soft glow, while moonlight reflected from the water and through the glass window onto the bed.
As she sat upon the bed, Rhuna was surprised to find that it felt soft and fresh, and she assumed that the sheets must have been aired on deck, with a sprinkling of dry lavender, shortly before their rescue from the wilderness.
“More comfortable than I thought!” Aradin remarked cheerfully. “Better than sleeping on the hard ground in the wilderness for several lunar cycles!” he said with a loud sigh of relief as he sat on the bed and touched the sheets and pillows.
“They smell of lavender,” Rhuna said, and in a sudden rush of emotion, flung her arms around Aradin as they fell back onto the bed together. She felt happy and excited again, and wished her feelings would not sway back and forth so furiously, but remain as they were at this moment.
After the exquisiteness of sharing their love, Rhuna looked out of the darkness at the pale white light outside. An unpleasant thought arose in her, and she quickly put it into words with the hope of being freed of it quickly.
“The Commander looked at me as if he knew me, and his eyes bore into me, making me shiver,” she whispered to Aradin at her side.
Aradin chuckled. “I’m sure he was only staring at you because he has never seen someone so beautiful,” he said teasingly.
Rhuna awoke with the morning sun shining on her face, and she sat up feeling startled. Aradin rubbed his eyes and looked around, then smiled at Rhuna.
“We have to get used to this luxury!” he said with a grin.
Rhuna thought about the last few lunar cycles in the wilderness, and how they had to manage with bare necessities and basics. She looked around their cozy chamber and saw towels, cleaning bars and even a few jars and bottles which appeared to be scented oils and hair-cleaning balms.
“Yes, luxury!” Rhuna replied happily, and began to sniff the cleaning bars and scented bottles. While Aradin took care of Shandi’s needs, Rhuna explored the ship and found the bathing area where buckets were dipped in the sea and pulled up to wash, bathe and rinse. After successfully washing her hair and entire body, then applying one of the scented body oils, she concluded that she would enjoy the long sea voyage.
The ringing of bells signalled the morning meal, and Rhuna hurried to the large room where the female crew began serving food and beverages. She looked around at her fellow passengers as they sat around the low table with dishes, some obviously enjoying their food while others ate sparingly.
“Is your private chamber satisfactory?” Rhuna asked Seeker of Knowledge.
“Yes, of course, of course,” she answered irritably as she gobbled down the remainder of food in her bowl.
“Is it true then, that in Varappa it is not possible to summon
visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters?” asked Progress of the Wind. Rhuna looked at his young and smooth face, wondering why such an innocent-looking man should become a follower of the Dark Master.
“It is indeed so,” answered Damell gloomily.
“What exactly makes it so?” Lozira asked.
“The frequencies of the earth’s energy field which vibrate harmoniously all around us have been disturbed by use of those Rapid Transport Enclosures,” answered Charmer of Snakes, proud to have insight which the others lacked. “The Enclosures emit a strong magnetic energy which disrupts the normal field. This is how they become weightless, yet at the same time they tear apart the normal cohesiveness of the surrounding energy fields.”
Rhuna was suddenly impressed by the young man’s intelligent explanation.
“This is an intolerable condition!” exclaimed Progress of the Wind. “We shall be as blind and helpless as a miserable earthworm without the Gazing of the Waters!”
“Yet everyone in Varappa is apparently living without this special Atlan ability,” said Goram with a shrug of his shoulders.
“They are not Guardians of Knowledge, nor followers of the Dark One,” returned Progress of the Wind angrily. “We must continue to use the skills we developed in Safu in order to receive communications from the Master!”
“We must also discover whether the Master has followers in Varappa already!” said Charmer of Snakes urgently.
“Brother Goram, shall you continue to lead us?” asked Seeker of Knowledge.
“No,” he said firmly, turning to Lozira beside him and reaching for her hand. “It is an…agreement I have made…to keep my family free from harm.”
“Your skills are the most advanced among us, Brother Goram!” protested Charmer of Snakes. “Recall the impressive display of powers when you spared all Atlans from the spears of the Ubanti soldiers!”
“Do you not also recall the incident in Safu which almost took my life?” Goram replied.
“It is not possible for a servant of the Master to discontinue his service!” Seeker of Knowledge added.
“The Master would understand the seriousness of my pledge to safeguard my new wife first and foremost,” Goram retorted firmly as he squeezed Lozira’s hand once more.
“The Master has no tolerance for such things!” spat Seeker of Knowledge.
“How can you profess to know such a thing with such certainty?” challenged Damell.
“Perhaps we should not be discussing these matters of our Master so freely among these outsiders,” Seeker of Knowledge said bitterly as she looked at Rhuna and Damell.
“We are no longer foes,” said Damell shaking his head. “Our exile and flight from Safu has thrown all of us together into an entirely new situation. It is even possible,” Damell said gazing up into the distance, “…that we shall be forced to unite once more to attain a common goal once we are settled in Varappa.”
“Hrmph! How do you envision the future, Old Man?” scoffed Progress of the Wind.
“With far more wisdom and experience than you, Young Man,” retorted Damell briskly.
Seeker of Knowledge cleared her throat, and then spoke in her unsettling deep and raspy whisper.
“It is possible to acquire knowledge of faraway lands and people by means other than the Gazing of the Waters,” she said carefully.
“You practice such a means?” asked Goram excitedly. Rhuna looked at him with concern as she saw the curiosity flame up in his brilliant green eyes.
“Yes,” answered Seeker of Knowledge after a moment of hesitation.
“Why did you not reveal this to your Brothers and Sisters earlier?” demanded Charmer of Snakes.
“It was not the time to reveal such knowledge,” she stated flatly.
“This is the reason for your need of privacy, and your secretive behaviour of late, is it?” asked Progress of the Wind. Seeker of Knowledge nodded.
“Reveal it to us now!” Goram demanded, his green eyes flashing.
“No!” Seeker of Knowledge spat back. “Not in the presence of these ones!” she said glaring at Rhuna and Damell.
“Perhaps it is time for us to attend other matters, My Daughter,” said Damell, moving to stand.
Rhuna stood up and followed her father outside.
“We have our own secret means,” he reminded her with a whisper as they crossed the open deck and then ascended the solid steps into the upper levels to their private chambers. Rhuna took hold of the banister and briefly admired the elaborate curves that shaped every piece of wood in this section of the ship.
She waited until they were in Damell’s chamber and the door was properly closed until she spoke the urgent matters on her mind.
“Father, the Commander knows about Gatherer of Sage, and said he is even well-known in parts of Varappa – they call him the Master of Enlightenment!”
“Is this so?” Damell said with slight surprise.
“You are only slightly surprised, Father, and not shocked?”
“Let us be seated,” he said as he lowered himself onto seating cushions on the thick rug floor. Rhuna impatiently sat down opposite her father and waited for him to position drinking vessels and water pitcher within reach.
“The vast reach of the Dark One’s power has not escaped my observation,” he began. “In fact, I have been observing developments in Varappa these past few solar cycles very intensely due to a sudden escalation in strange activity.”
“Activity of the Dark Ones, like in Safu?” Rhuna asked, feeling dread come over her as she recalled the frequent fear she had undergone previously.
“Yes, only far more extensive and advanced, even,” Damell nodded solemnly, his brow creasing showing his deep consternation. “It is puzzling, and I have yet to find a satisfactory explanation for this sudden increase in knowledge of the Dark One, as well as the influx of followers learning the so-called Dark Arts.”
After a long silence, Rhuna reached for her drinking vessel and took a sip of water.
“Can he survive in The Infinite without the Dark Ones taking the life of animals to sustain his ethereal being?” Rhuna asked her father.
“You have perceived only a small part of the entirety,” Damell answered. “There are many others performing various rituals to continually fuel the Dark One’s ethereal powers,” he explained. Rhuna felt shocked.
“I should have thought of that…” she said with dismay.
“Do not rebuke yourself, Daughter. It is only from many solar cycles of observing Gatherer of Sage and knowing his ways, that I have sought out this information and found it.”
“Sought out?”
“The Infinite contains all knowledge, as I have explained to you,” he began. “The secret of power is asking the right questions.”
“But how does one know what questions to ask in The Infinite?” Rhuna asked with frustration.
“This is what you must learn,” Damell answered.
“So, he is active in The Infinite, as before?”
“More or less,” Damell answered ambiguously.
“Perhaps I should summon such information, ask those questions…”
Damell nodded, and then spoke his usual words of caution.
“Return to your body at any time; although he cannot harm you in a physical sense, he has other methods at his disposal to control, intimidate and command matters to his will.”
Rhuna reclined on the thick cushions and breathed rhythmically to fully relax her body so that her Extended Consciousness could be released. The practice felt comfortable and familiar even though she had not practiced regularly in the past few lunar cycles while they were in exile.
Letting her body fall into a state of complete relaxation, her mind could release from its physical vessel and become pure Consciousness. She willed her Consciousness to rise up and out of her body, and with only the slightest resistance and brief moment of disorientation, Rhuna felt herself rise towards the ceiling. Her Extended Consciousness remained floa
ting above her body as she became oriented and then focused on a destination.
Her first destination was Judharo, the main city of the land of Varappa, which she had visited once before with her Extended Consciousness. She recognized the massive wall around the city, and this time she rose above it, soaring like a bird. From high above Rhuna could see other settlements of various sizes further along the river, and in an instant she was hovering above one of them.
As she willed her Extended Consciousness to inspect the other settlement more closely, she noticed that the people appeared different from those in Judharo. They appeared almost white and translucent, unlike the Judharo residents who had appeared like dark blobs during her first visit.
Rhuna willed her Extended Consciousness back to Judharo, and in an instant she was above the walled city again. She decided to look at the buildings more closely, and directed her Point of Consciousness down to a level where she could see through some windows of upper levels. She wondered what it must be like to reside on a plane more than two levels above the ground.
As she looked around, Rhuna noticed that each building was uniquely different in shape, style and also texture, as if built with different types of stone blocks. Some structures had smooth domed roofs which glimmered in the sunshine, while others had a flat roof with a railing around the perimeter. The overall appearance was beautiful and sophisticated, and Rhuna felt a brief thrill at the thought of reaching this city and perhaps making it her new home.
“Rhu-u-u-na!” Her name echoed in her mind, brutally tearing her out of the pleasant mood and sending a cold shiver through her. She instinctively knew it was the Dark Master, once known as the Atlan Master and Apothecary, Gatherer of Sage. His ethereal body roamed The Infinite, apparently surviving as mere Consciousness for the twenty solar cycles since the demise of his physical body.
“Is it you, Gatherer of Sage?” she spoke in her mind, remembering her father’s words of caution.
Rhuna- New Horizons Page 3