Rhuna- New Horizons

by Barbara Underwood

  “Oh, my poor Child,” he said, holding her head to his chest as she released her pent-up tears.

  “It is beyond comprehension,” he said softly. “There must be a reason, and therefore a means to rectify this situation,” he added soothingly.

  “How? How can feelings be changed?” Rhuna blurted between heaving sobs.

  “Not feelings. Causes, however…allow me to investigate, by means of The Infinite,” he said. Rhuna looked up into his loving blue eyes and nodded gratefully.

  Rhuna felt comforted and reassured as she left her father’s house later in the day, and she decided that attending the forums would serve as adequate distraction from the emotional pain searing through her mind and body. Damell’s counsel to deal with each day as it came made her situation feel a little more bearable, but still close to unendurable.

  Rhuna arrived at the Forum of Healing by Forceful Intervention and found a place to sit on the edge of the assembly. She looked ahead where a man with a protruding round belly and odd hair arrangement stood on the dais speaking with elaborate hand gestures. His manner and appearance distracted Rhuna at first from listening to his oratory, and when she finally paid attention, she realized that he was coming to the end of his speech.

  As the big-bellied man concluded his speech, Rhuna observed the reactions of several people in the assembly, and she listened with great interest to the comments and questions by various ones. A youth suddenly appeared beside her carrying a large flat tray with drinking vessels, and she realized that he was offering her a beverage. Pleasantly surprised, she took the drink and settled comfortably in her seat, curious to hear the next speaker.

  After several animated discussions with people in the assembly, the round-bellied man stepped down from the dais, and Rhuna saw the figure of the next speaker preparing to step up to the raised platform. She choked on her beverage as she recognized the next speaker as the Commander, wearing entirely different clothing and boasting a finely-cut hair and beard arrangement. Although he was introduced as having the Atlan formal name of Voyager of the Ocean, he apparently preferred the name Pre-eminent Master of Advanced Healing.

  Rhuna felt strangely unnerved to see the Commander taking the speaking position and appearing as such a different person, and she sat bolt upright to pay close attention to his every word.

  “My colleagues! Fellow Healers and Pioneers in the Healing Arts! We have come as far as possible in the field of indirect healing by means of herbal tinctures, aromas, laying of hands, even Needle Puncture Therapy,” he began, his voice even and strong. “Some of us have discovered powerful new concoctions using minerals and energy forces,” he continued, and Rhuna realized that he was referring to the New Knowledge of Alchemy, which was forbidden in Atlán.

  Rhuna watched closely as the Commander produced a diagram of the human body that had been painted on canvas and hung on the low wall behind him.

  “With this knowledge of the inner workings of the body, we must progress and accomplish even far greater things, such as the removal of toxic growths, blockages in the digestive tract and even in the arteries!” he exclaimed excitedly.

  “How do you come by this knowledge of the appearance and workings of the inner organs?” asked a woman with a strong voice.

  “By dissecting corpses, of course,” answered the Commander casually. Rhuna heard gasps and expressions of horror from the assembly, and she realized that one of the gasps had been her own.

  “Is it not an unhealthy practice?” asked a man after a while, when the shocked mutterings had faded.

  “One must pay attention to cleaning hands and utensils, of course,” nodded the Commander. “In fact, I have prepared my own cleansing solution for this very purpose,” he added proudly, and then turned to take something from a bag nearby. He held up a glass bottle containing amber fluid.

  “Dissecting a cadaver is like preparing a meat dish,” scoffed a man with a rough voice from the back of the assembly area. “It is not possible to cut the flesh of a living person. The pain would cause the patient to thrash and resist!”

  “Indeed, indeed!” said a man with a frail voice. “The pain, O Healer, the pain!”

  “In the course of my alchemical experiments, I have discovered a combination that shall render the patient unconscious, and thereby unaware of any pain, then regain all cognitive abilities after the procedure,” said the Commander proudly.

  Rhuna listened to further discussions, questions and responses between the Commander and the most vocal members of the assembly.

  “But…the blood! Surely a living patient would die of blood loss first!” mocked another man seated in the front row.

  “The knowledge of blood flow and the means to hinder it is mine as well!” said the Commander, and reached for some utensils to hold up as he explained their usage to clamp shut main arteries.

  “Once the patient is unconscious, and blood flow has been hindered or minimalized by various means, we shall be able to cure the most severe injuries, even a severed limb,

  “It is indeed so!” shouted a young man as he shot to his feet, and Rhuna turned her head to see him more clearly. His eyes and hair were so exceptionally light that Rhuna found his appearance strangely disturbing.

  “Allow me to recount my own successful experience utilizing the very techniques taught by the Pre-eminent Master,” said the pale young man in a thin voice. “My patient suffers from advanced growths in his digestive tract, and with the Pre-eminent Master’s guidance and tutoring, I have successfully removed them and given my patient much improved health!”

  “You used the methods described here just now?” asked a woman with an expression of horror on her face.

  “Most certainly I did!” answered the young man proudly. “Applying strong alchemically-produced treatments to cause temporary unconsciousness, I cut open the abdomen, clamped the major blood vessels, removed the offending growths and repaired the incision with needle and thread! When the patient awoke, I administered further strong alchemical mixtures for pain relief and to escalate the healing process.”

  Rhuna was impressed by the young man’s speech, and concluded that he must be older than he appeared to be. She looked more closely at the metal instruments he held in his hands as he spoke, and then saw the same objects on the pedestal in front of the Commander.

  “These instruments are of my own design and manufacture,” he stated proudly, and proceeded to hold up each item for everyone to see while he described its function. Rhuna listened carefully as he named a thin and sharp metal knife, some other cutting tool, pincers, tongs, a tourniquet, and various sharp, pointy instruments like needles.

  “It is possible to demonstrate my techniques on a recently deceased animal,” he suggested to the Forum, and the reaction was varied.

  “May I say,” exuded the young man with strange light eyes “You are brilliant, Sahb!”

  “So much blood! We cannot bear to see such blood and inner matter!” said a man with a long grey beard.

  “You are weak and set in your old ways!” said a pale young woman who Rhuna immediately assumed was related to the fair young student of the Pre-eminent Master of Advanced Healing.

  Rhuna turned around to look at the Commander again, when suddenly she was overcome by intense dizziness and nausea. When it passed, she realized she was looking at the man with the protruding belly and strange hair arrangement. He appeared to have stopped in the middle of speaking a word, and looked as dazed as everyone else around him.

  “Oh, I am here again…” the big-bellied man huffed in annoyance, quickly recovering from his daze. Rhuna heard mumbles, groans and words of frustration around her in the assembly of people. “My speech for today ended with these words, so I shall resign to my seat now,” he said with another huff and stepped down from the podium.

  Rhuna watched the Commander step back up onto the dais and clear his throat. “Continuing where I was before the time relapse…”

  Rhuna found it difficult to concent
rate after this time lapse event, especially when she recognized the boy offering drinks approach again.

  “Anyone desire another drink?” he called out lethargically.

  Rhuna felt unsettled by the time relapse and decided to leave, ambling along the bustling street until the sun reached its final descending arc. She walked back to the RTE so that she could return to her home in Cha’al as daylight faded. As she operated the controls, she thought with sadness that going home should be a happy feeling, yet the prospect of seeing Aradin made her reluctant to even be near her beautiful new home.

  Rhuna still enjoyed the pleasant evenings at home with her family, but dreaded the night when she shared the sleeping chamber with Aradin. Neither of them spoke a single word, and Rhuna fought back tears as she lay awake most of the night, trying to understand the change in Aradin’s feelings.

  As soon as the first rays of sunlight filtered through the windows, Rhuna got up and prepared to leave Cha’al in her RTE. On several occasions, she practiced navigating the RTE to different areas of Varappa where she had not yet been, and most days she visited Judharo and its active forums.

  On her way to the forums one day, Rhuna saw Namzu Toma in one of Judharo’s main streets, walking briskly and with purpose.

  “Many things to do, cannot talk long,” he told Rhuna after a hurried greeting. “The fleet of ships belongs to me now,” he explained as Rhuna tried to keep up with him.

  “What about the Commander?” she asked, thinking of his knowledgeable speech at the Forum of Healing by Forceful Intervention. “Has he changed professions?”

  “Ptah!” spat Namzu Toma, and briefly stopped to turn and speak directly to Rhuna. “He is not the man I knew for half a lifetime, and in fact, he is no sea voyager or good man at all!”

  “You told me before already that he changed after an accident,” began Rhuna, wondering why Namzu Toma was so upset.

  “He drowned in the accident. We were certain he had succumbed, and he appeared dead… yet when another attempt was made to revive him, he regained life. We were all so happy…for a while. Until we realized he was not the same man…”

  “Such an extreme trauma of body and mind can change a person,” nodded Rhuna thoughtfully.

  “Now I must go,” Namzu Toma said taking a big breath and preparing to resume his brisk walk. Rhuna waved farewell and watched him scurry away, then quickly turned towards her father’s home.

  After greeting Hari Tal at the entrance way, Rhuna kissed her father on the cheek and told him that she felt happy to be with him again. They sat down on comfortable cushions to relax and talk.

  “I just met Namzu Toma in the Plaza before coming here,” Rhuna began, and briefly described the strange story he had related to her about the Commander. Damell nodded and looked absent, so Rhuna asked about Possessor of Discernment’s welfare.

  “He is ageing, becoming fragile, as one does…” Damell said softly, and Rhuna sensed his sadness at watching his beloved teacher slipping into advanced age.

  “Has he passed on the Secrets of the Pyramids to you yet?” she asked her father.

  “You assume he has chosen me,” Damell retorted with a chuckle and shake of his head.

  “Who else? You are the only person who deserves such a distinguished privilege!” she said proudly.

  “You flatter me,” said Damell with a forced smile. “How is Aradin?” he asked carefully, and Rhuna began to describe the latest events.

  Shandi keeps saying that someone put things in Aradin’s head,” Rhuna said. “By the dead man, who we know – or assume – is the Commander, Voyager of the Ocean.”

  Damell’s back straightened. “Tell me everything you know concerning the Commander,” Damell ordered in a sudden somber tone.

  “The first strange thing was actually when I saw him on the beach, coming to rescue us in the wilderness. It was a feeling of familiarity, as if I recognized his walk,” Rhuna began.

  “It is quite possible to recognize someone by his gait,” nodded Damell.

  “The other strange thing is that I saw him recently at the Forum for Healing by Forceful Intervention and I could barely believe what I was hearing. His knowledge of healing, of the body and cures is amazing! He knows at least as much as I do, and yet he’s only a commander of a fleet of ships!”

  Damell suddenly went rigid.

  “What is it, Father?”

  “He has accomplished it!” he hissed in a loud whisper, and shot to his feet. “Where is he? The Commander – where?” he shouted at Rhuna.

  “I-I-I don’t know,” Rhuna stammered, shocked to see the sudden change in her father’s behaviour.

  Damell lunged through the doorway, and Rhuna followed.

  “Probably at the forum…” she said gasping, trying to keep up with Damell. “But why? What’s wrong?”

  Rhuna struggled to keep her father within sight, and she marveled at his speed and agility. Damell reached the forum area and stopped to look, then turned towards Rhuna. She pointed in the direction of the Forum for Healing by Forceful Intervention and Damell instantly dashed towards it.

  “You!” Damell shouted with rage. “You! Lorbut!” he called again, taking determined strides through the gathering of seated people towards the Commander.

  “A-ha!” said the Commander with glee as he clapped his hands together. He quickly stepped down from the podium and moved to the edge of the forum platform where he stopped and stood face to face with Damell.

  “It is you!” hissed Damell, shocking Rhuna with the intense vehemence.

  “Yes, it is I!” growled the Commander, and then threw his head back in raucous laughter.

  Rhuna stood transfixed, looking at the two men who glared at each other.

  “You entered and violated Aradin’s mind, making him think he has no more love for my daughter!” Damell charged.

  “Yes, I did!” the Commander roared again with laughter, and then turned to look at Rhuna. “She does not comprehend yet,” he said, laughing anew.

  “What’s going on? What did he do to Aradin?” Rhuna screeched, desperate to understand.

  “It is I, Rhuna. Gatherer of Sage!” the Commander said with a broad grin. “Did you not suspect, even for a moment?”

  Rhuna fell speechless and could only turn dumbfounded to her father for an explanation.

  “Yes, My Daughter, it is he - Gatherer of Sage, the Dark Master himself. He has accomplished it!” Damell said with an angry groan.

  Rhuna could only shake her head feebly in complete helplessness.

  “Gatherer of Sage has found a receptacle for his Extended Consciousness!” Damell explained further. “When the Commander drowned, his body was vacant and receptive to a new Consciousness. This has been his quest since his original body expired!”

  “Exactly so, Damell, exactly so!” Gatherer of Sage answered smugly. “You never suspected for a moment, did you!” he said, relapsing into his cackling laughter again.

  Rhuna’s mind churned and spun out of control as she thought of the time on board the Commander’s ship in such close proximity to the person she feared and loathed most in all the world.

  Rhuna felt shock, repulsion and disgust, but when she opened her mouth, still nothing came out.

  “Your arrogance betrayed you!” Damell charged at the Dark Master inhabiting the body of the ship’s Commander. “You elevate yourself above everyone with titles such as the Commander and the Pre-eminent Master of Advanced Healing, Your lustful abandonment in orgies was another sign I should have recognized earlier!”

  “You are trembling with envy and jealousy at my superior abilities!” the Dark Master snarled, and then looked sharply at Rhuna. “And you, Rhuna, you are speechless, as it behooves such awe-inspiring accomplishments such as mine!”

  “You became careless, as usual!” accused Damell, still shaking with rage. “Most revealing was your knowledge of the Healing Arts, of which you were always superior in every aspect, and your desire to cut up corpses was also not u
nknown to some of us!”

  “What did you do to Aradin? Undo it at once!” Rhuna shouted when she had finally found her voice.

  “No!” he sneered, then burst into vindictive, victorious laughter.

  “Let us get away from this repulsive abomination!” Damell said fiercely as he took Rhuna’s arm.

  “But he has to cure Aradin!” Rhuna protested as she resisted her father’s attempt to lead her away.

  “He shall not do it,” Damell muttered. “We must collect our thoughts, our composure…” he said breathing hard.

  Rhuna walked briskly beside her father in silence until they entered the quiet sanctuary of Damell’s house. Hari Tal stood in the middle of the entrance hall, his eyes unusually wide with alarm, as if he already knew what had just transpired.

  “Yes, Hari Tal – it is he,” he told him with a grave nod of his head.

  “But how does he know?” Rhuna asked, looking back and forth between the two men.

  “First, let us inquire of The Infinite as to the procedure the Dark One used to influence Aradin’s feelings,” Damell said, ignoring Rhuna’s question and walking briskly to the upper level towards the sleeping chambers.

  Rhuna followed her father into one of the rooms and closed the door, then realized her body was trembling and her heart racing.

  “I’m too upset to find inner focus,” Rhuna said. Damell looked at her and nodded.

  “I, too,” he said, and lowered himself onto the seating cushions. “Let us commence with the techniques to release tension.”

  Rhuna watched the breathing and humming exercises her father performed, and then obediently imitated them until she felt her body begin to respond. She felt her heartbeat becoming slow and steady, and she continued to will her mind into a state of detachment until she could access her silent and motionless inner mind.

  Rhuna remembered that it required special concentration to access a past event in The Infinite, unlike the ease with which she could summon a vision of the past by means of the Gazing of the Waters. She allowed herself to become oriented in the first plane of The Infinite, and soon recognized her father’s Extended Consciousness nearby.