Rhuna- New Horizons

by Barbara Underwood

  “Are you there, O Master?” she asked under her breath. “Are you there, O Master?”

  Almost immediately, the pendulum began to move, and within a few blinks of an eye the pendulum had begun to swing in a straight line, towards Yarqi and then away, steadily back and forth.

  “This means ‘yes,’” she said, her voice full of awe.

  “Who is answering?” Rhuna whispered.

  “The Master, of course!” snapped Yarqi irritably. Rhuna felt a wave of cold fear rush through her.

  “Are you faring well, O Master?” asked Yarqi in the same reverend tone as earlier.

  Rhuna watched transfixed as the pendulum began to swing in the direction indicating a positive reply.

  “Do you require your servants to continue giving you the life force of animal blood?” Yarqi asked after a moment. Rhuna noticed she was holding her breath as she and the others watched the pendulum, this time swinging in the other direction, answering in the negative.

  After a long silence, Charmer of Snakes looked up at Yarqi. “Why do you not ask the reason?” he urged.

  “My questions must be limited to only answers in the positive or negative!” she snapped back.

  “Have you found other servants to provide you with the necessary ethereal energy?” Yarqi asked carefully. The pendulum appeared to hesitate a brief moment, and then began to swing in the positive direction.

  “Do you have servants in Varappa?”

  Rhuna watched as the pendulum continued to swing in the positive direction with renewed vigour. The answer indicated by the pendulum confirmed the words her father had spoken to her earlier in the journey, and she realized that she had neglected to observe the Dark One’s followers in Varappa as Damell had instructed her. An icy chill swept over her as she watched the pendulum and dreaded what might lie ahead of her in Varappa.

  Part Two

  (Varappa)

  Rhuna felt a thrill of excitement course through her body as she looked at the large brown mass of land on the horizon, and she realized how much the sight comforted her. The past lunar cycle had been tedious and unpleasant due to traversing the ocean that separated Varappa from the large landmass they had left behind.

  “We are approaching the land of Varappa!” announced Namzu Toma as he stepped up beside Rhuna. His bulging eyes seemed to wobble with excitement, and Rhuna wondered whether even the Deputy of a fleet of ships longed for land after a long sea crossing. He pointed a thick finger towards the horizon. “See the strange formation on the other side?”

  Rhuna focused on the distant land mass and soon identified the strange formation which stood out from the rest of the even shoreline.

  “We call it The Sentinel because it looks like a guard watching all ships approaching the land of Varappa,” Namzu Toma explained. “We shall arrive in a matter of days,” he said happily.

  Rhuna returned to the private chamber she shared with Aradin, and excitedly told him the news as she began to pack some of her belongings.

  “You cannot wait to get there, eh?” Aradin laughed as he watched her.

  “We go home now?” asked Shandi looking up at them both.

  “Yes, Honey Cakes. We’re going to find a nice new home,” Rhuna answered.

  “Nice new home,” Shandi repeated. “White mountains,” she added.

  “What was that, Little One?” asked Aradin.

  “White mountains. Nice new home,” repeated Shandi.

  “It must be something she has foreseen,” Rhuna whispered to Aradin.

  Rhuna gathered her meagre belongings as her thoughts turned to the challenges of starting life in a new land. Her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar ringing of bells which signalled meal time.

  As Rhuna entered the large room where the food was served, she experienced a rush of dizziness accompanied by nausea. She stopped and waited for it to pass, and then told Aradin that she did not want to eat anything.

  “Possessor of Discernment is also unwell,” Damell said as he placed a comforting arm around Rhuna.

  “It is not uncommon to become ill after eating creatures that feed on the bottom of the seas,” stated Goram making a face to express his dislike of the food.

  “Nor is it uncommon to become ill from the motion of the ship,” added Aradin.

  “Does Possessor of Discernment need a Healer?” Rhuna asked her father. “I brought many herbs with me, including some for nausea caused by movement of the sea.”

  Damell smiled and shook his head. “No, My Daughter, it is the stress of the entire voyage that plagues him. His advanced age makes him more vulnerable.”

  Rhuna awoke from a brief sleep in her private chamber and looked around, seeing Shandi asleep in her cot and Aradin sitting nearby.

  “I’m feeling well again,” she whispered to him. “I’m going outside for fresh air.”

  Rhuna stood at the rail where she had been earlier that day, and looked at the landmass ahead. She felt a sense of disappointment that the shoreline appeared unchanged since that morning, and then chided herself for being so impatient. As she turned to walk away, a strange formation on the horizon caught her eye and she spun around to look at the land again.

  “Oh!” she exclaimed, and then looked around to see Namzu Toma standing nearby. “It’s a land formation exactly like The Sentinel we saw earlier today!”

  “There is only one Sentinel,” he stated bluntly. “We have repeated part of the day.”

  Rhuna turned to stare at him as she tried to comprehend his words.

  “It is a frequent occurrence in and around Varappa, due to irregularities in the energy fields,” he continued casually. “Sometimes you can feel it – a feeling in the air, like a vibration causing dizziness and uneasy sensations.”

  “Yes, that’s what I felt!” Rhuna exclaimed. “I thought it was the food, or the movement of the ship on the water!”

  “The proximity to Varappa exposes us to these time lapses,” he continued, his big eyes bobbing as he looked back and forth.

  “That is extraordinary!”

  “I heard about them in my childhood, growing up in Varappa,” Aradin said as he came up behind Rhuna. He was carrying Shandi who had awoken from her nap.

  “Much more frequent and even troublesome nowadays,” Namzu Toma said, lowering himself onto a wooden crate so that he could relate an incident in which he was greatly inconvenienced by a time relapse. Rhuna and Aradin also seated themselves and listened intently to the Deputy’s account.

  “It was a strange day,” he began, shaking his head and chuckling. “…when everything seemed to go wrong, from the moment I arose in the morning. First, I spilled my morning juice on my garment, and then injured my finger as I cut food for the morning meal. Later, as I went about my errands in the city, a sudden downpour ruined my clothes and footwear, as I did not think to take an overcoat or portable rain shelter with me. As I hurried home, I slipped in some mud and twisted my foot so that I was unable to walk!”

  “That was a really bad day!” said Aradin laughing.

  “Some people came to help me, but as I am so big and heavy, it was not so easy…” Namzu Toma chuckled again, and Aradin grinned broadly. “But then it suddenly happened!”

  “What happened?” asked Rhuna. “The time relapse?”

  “Yes. Suddenly, I was dry, comfortable and still in my bed at home!” Namzu Toma’s face expressed awe as he recalled the phenomenon. “When I realized I was back in my sleeping chamber, preparing to dress and begin the day again, I decided to correct all the things that had gone wrong.”

  “Oh, you can do that?” Rhuna asked with awe and amazement.

  “Our memories are not affected by the time lapse, so it is possible to change one’s own actions, within certain boundaries which cannot change.”

  “Oh, I see,” said Rhuna, struggling to imagine living with these repetitions of time.

  “Sounds like a good thing when you are having a bad day,” remarked Aradin breezily, and the two men laughed
while Rhuna silently pondered the extraordinary condition.

  Rhuna stood at the wooden railing of the ship and looked intently at the multi-coloured mass of land rising ahead of them. The clear sky and bright blue water made the colours of the coast glimmer in the sunshine, sparkling in many various colours. The sight thrilled her, and she bounced Shandi excitedly on her arm.

  “Big cloud!” Shandi suddenly said between happy giggles, and pointed her chubby little hand towards the land Rhuna had been admiring.

  “There’s no cloud anywhere,” Rhuna answered, scanning the horizon again for anything resembling a cloud.

  “Big cloud,” repeated Shandi, then looked up at her mother’s face. Rhuna realized that her little child had seen a big cloud in a vision and she quickly turned to Aradin who appeared to have reached the same conclusion.

  “Like a big storm?” Rhuna asked, wondering how the weather in Varappa would be.

  The little girl shook her head adamantly. “Bad cloud!” she said firmly.

  Rhuna looked at Aradin who shrugged his shoulders. “She must mean a particular kind of storm or weather phenomenon.” Shandi looked up at her father at his use of the big, unfamiliar word.

  “At times Varappa experiences extremely heavy rainfall,” Aradin said after a moment. Rhuna nodded, but wondered whether Shandi foresaw something more sinister than a bad rain season.

  “Now we go up the river,” Namzu Toma announced, coming up behind Rhuna and Aradin. He pointed towards a gap in the shoreline ahead of them, and then explained that most Varappan settlements are situated along this mighty river.

  “Its origin is the Land at the Top of the World,” he added. Rhuna remembered the eerie images she had once seen of this place which she always imagined remote and inaccessible.

  The large ship seemed to merely drift as they followed the course of the river, and Rhuna was astonished to see such vibrant green hues in the trees and plains all along both sides of the river. She realized that Varappa must have trees and plants unlike those she had known before in Safu and in the land of Atlán, and the thought of discovering new things thrilled her.

  After almost two days the scenery began to change, and Rhuna admired the many small agricultural settlements with houses made of light wood or even dried grass. She could already smell the moist soil and fragrant plants, and she became increasingly impatient to finally reach the main city of Varappa.

  The following morning, Rhuna awoke to the shuffle of feet and bustle of movement outside her personal chamber, and she eagerly jumped out of bed and swept Shandi up into her arms. Aradin grabbed their bags of basic belongings and hurried to dress himself.

  Rhuna stepped onto the outdoor deck and watched the activity as the ship’s crew waved to people standing on a large wooden wharf. She admired the construction which had a solid stone foundation typical of many Atlan structures, but a pier and also a roofed section made of wood and decoratively painted.

  “Welcome to Varappa – at last!” said the Commander as he stepped towards Rhuna and Aradin. “It was a pleasant voyage, without incident, yet I, also, am relieved to be on land once more.”

  Aradin addressed the Commander with words of gratitude for their rescue from the wilderness, and Rhuna added the polite words that were expected of her. She looked around at the others and suddenly realized that their time together, not only on board the ship but several lunar cycles earlier in the wilderness, had finally come to an end.

  “What will you do?” Rhuna asked the group of Dark Ones who stood together watching the smooth operation of tying up the ship to the wharf.

  “We shall find our Brothers,” said Charmer of Snakes, and Rhuna understood him to mean the followers of the Dark Master residing in Varappa.

  “Brother Goram,” Yarqi said urgently. “We must meet with you again soon!”

  “Yes, yes,” Goram answered with a dismissive wave as he walked away from the group of Dark Ones. He put an arm around Lozira and then looked at Rhuna as he followed her along the gangway off the ship. Rhuna gave a farewell gesture to Charmer of Snakes as he departed with Yarqi and Progress of the Wind, certain that she would meet them again soon.

  Rhuna looked back at the tall ship when she stepped onto the wharf, and then turned to Aradin who was carrying Shandi. The young child’s eyes were larger than ever, taking in the new sights all around her. Namzu Toma and Berk stood with them on the wharf, instructing the other crew as they carried supplies and other goods back and forth.

  “We shall proceed to my residence,” said Damell, looking around at his ageing white-haired teacher. “Our belongings are being taken there.”

  Panapu carried several bags, while two of the crew under Namzu Toma’s direction carried the other belongings. They all followed Damell through the roofed area of the wharf and then on to the city of Judharo.

  Rhuna looked up at the towering solid city walls in front of her as they emerged from the wharf building. Directly ahead was an open gate which looked formidable despite its wide open welcoming doors.

  “Why is there such a big wall around the city?” Rhuna asked.

  After some hesitation, Namzu Toma answered. “To protect the city from the river during the heavy rainfall season. The plains here,” he said sweeping his arm across from his left to his right, “…all this is flooded, and Judharo would be flooded each time, also, if not for the walls.”

  Someone behind them grunted, as if he disagreed with Namzu Toma’s explanation. Rhuna turned around and looked expectantly at the crewman with the scruffy beard.

  “That is what they tell everyone,” he said in a hoarse voice. “The real reason is to protect against invasion of the savages!”

  “Pah!” spat Namzu Toma without looking around at the objector.

  “Savages? What savages? From where?” Rhuna thought of the Ubanti, and wondered if a similar people also resided near Varappa.

  “He means the people from other towns and cities of Varappa, who have a different attitude to…things,” said another man who had worked on the ship with Berk.

  “Don’t worry – this is just opinion… talk,” Aradin assured her.

  Rhuna stepped across the threshold into the city beyond the high wall and gate, and was stunned when she realized how large and elaborate the buildings were. She realized that her view from above, when her Extended Consciousness hovered over the city, gave her little sense of depth and size. Now, standing on the smooth and even paving stones, the structures around her appeared like mountains with sheer cliff faces.

  “Oh!” exclaimed Rhuna, and Lozira echoed her expression of awe and surprise.

  “Magnificent!” gushed Goram, looking all around him excitedly.

  “I’ve never seen buildings like these!” Rhuna said, and looked around at Aradin and Damell. Both men nodded and smiled, while Possessor of Discernment continued to gaze ahead of him at the open plaza and wide avenues beyond.

  “They are beautiful,” Rhuna whispered as she realized the ascetic symmetry and colours of each building, as well as the choice of plant, flower and textile decorations placed at regular intervals. Looking up, she saw the sun’s reflection sparkle in many of the glass windows, and the domed roofs shimmered as if made of gold or other precious metal.

  “Judharo is a vibrant city whose residents represent the full gamut of the world’s people!” said Damell as he forged ahead, pointing in the direction of his house. “The sun has barely commenced its arc across the sky,” he stated as he walked. “Most people have not arisen to begin their daily activities.”

  “Everything looks so clean and tidy,” observed Lozira as she looked around admiringly.

  “I like it,” stated Goram firmly.

  “Along this alley,” Damell said as he led them through a narrow paved path between the high walls of buildings. Before Rhuna could grasp the dimensions of the houses around her, Damell stopped and turned around.

  “Welcome to my abode,” he said, and then tapped on a large wooden door with metal tri
mmings. Rhuna noticed that the simple design on the door was inlayed with gold, giving the home a statement of modest wealth.

  The door opened silently and Rhuna almost overlooked a small brown man whose skin colour and plain clothes blended into the neutral brown tones of the house.

  “Welcome home, Sahb!” said the man in a soft voice. Rhuna saw the happiness in the man’s eyes despite his unchanged facial expression.

  “This is Hari Tal, who maintains this residence during my absence,” Damell explained, and then gave the man an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder with his hand. Suddenly, Shandi approached the small man and reached out to touch him gently on his hand.

  “Yes, Little One, it is I,” Hari Tal said in response to the touch as he looked down at the small child fondly. Rhuna continued to watch the unusual exchange and wonder about the invisible connection her small daughter appeared to have with a stranger.

  Rhuna stepped inside her father’s Varappan home and immediately felt overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells. She moved her head around slowly to admire the elaborately carved arches over doorways, the marble columns and wooden platforms boasting luxurious floor coverings. The walls were adorned with intricate wall hangings, and exuded a feeling of calmness and comfort.

  “What unusual music!” said Lozira in a hushed whisper.

  “What is the scent I can smell?” asked Goram sniffing the air.

  “Music to soothe the soul of the weary voyager, and sandalwood incense to freshen the senses,” answered Damell.

  Rhuna noticed the sound of trickling water and looked around to find it.

  “Running water in front of a ventilation window cools the air during the hot season,” Damell explained.

  “I didn’t know you lived in such luxury!” exclaimed Rhuna, looking at her father with wonder. Damell merely smiled, and Rhuna noticed the twinkle in his clear blue eyes again.