Rhuna- New Horizons

by Barbara Underwood

  “The Conjurers have over-run Varappa with their misdeeds,” Damell began slowly. “The amount of abominable acts is shocking, and the number of deaths unacceptable. The conflict between the Suchinda Atlans and the Conjurers has destroyed the once peaceful and harmonious land of Varappa, and its residents have come to accept a violent death as natural,” he said shaking his head in dismay.

  “Judharo now belong to Conjurers,” said Hari Tal with a tone of authority that surprised Rhuna. “From inside city they control the dead. In Suchinda, but also other places. Maybe here,” he said.

  “Here? The animated dead could come here to our house?” asked Lozira, her eyes wide with terror. Goram grabbed her hand and squeezed it firmly, and Rhuna saw her daughter struggle to control the rising panic within her.

  “I fight!” said Panapu. “Fight bad people, protect family,” he repeated firmly in his coarse voice.

  “We cannot fight the Conjurers,” said Damell flatly.

  “My family…killed by bad people,” Panapu continued in a low and grumbling voice that startled Rhuna. “That why I join army – to fight bad people, protect good people. And children.”

  “What did he say?” Kiana whispered to Rhuna. She quickly translated for her mother, and then watched Kiana look up admiringly at Panapu.

  “I make weapons, with metal,” he said. “My weapons stop bad people!”

  “Those weapons are useless against the Conjurers,” stated Goram.

  “It all I know,” said Panapu flatly.

  “I don’t know if weapons will stop the animated dead,” said Aradin. “How can you kill someone who’s already dead?”

  “Cut off their legs!” said Panapu with anger and hatred.

  “Fire,” Rhuna said as the thought suddenly entered her mind. “We can set them on fire so that the corpse can’t be re-animated.”

  “This is horrible!” screeched Lozira as she hid her face in her hands. “I can’t live like this!” she wailed.

  “No one should live like this!” said Damell forcefully. “Until we can stop the Conjurers somehow, I suggest we build defences around the house, as well as prepare to leave suddenly.”

  “Leave? Go where?” Lozira asked, looking up from her shielding hands and wiping some tears from her cheeks.

  “Wherever it is safe,” Damell answered soothingly.

  “Go to Dreaming Place!” Shandi said with innocent enthusiasm.

  “I keep house safe,” boomed Panapu again.

  “We’ll all do what we can to keep safe,” added Aradin. “But I agree that we should be ready to leave in Rhuna’s RTE immediately, if the situation gets too dangerous.”

  Goram grumbled and nodded, and Rhuna translated for Kiana, whose face paled with fear when she understood the situation.

  “What about the…control of our minds, Lozira’s and mine?” asked Aradin.

  “It is an enormous challenge for me,” Damell said with his head bowed down. “Give me more time. Every day, the goals I seek come closer.”

  Damell stood up, and the family dispersed, walking away with slow and heavy steps. Rhuna followed Kiana down to the food preparation area to help her and Panapu, and then bathed before preparing for bed. She approached the steps to the upper levels, finding her way by moonlight rather than carry a lamp. Suddenly, an obstacle in her path made her gasp.

  “Shhh!” said a voice that Rhuna immediately recognized.

  “Goram, what are you doing?” she asked, startled.

  “Come with me,” he whispered. “We must speak – but in the utmost confidentiality!” he said urgently as he ushered Rhuna into the food storage room at the lower rear end of the house. He produced a small torch, and ignited it with the power of his mind. “No one must hear us, or be able to observe us by means of the Dark Arts,” he whispered forcefully. “Let us create a field of interference!”

  “A what?”

  “You think I have been idle?” Goram retorted indignantly. “I have acquired many new skills in past lunar cycles!”

  Rhuna watched Goram as he began to hum and then vocalize a deep and reverberating om sound. She closed her eyes and fell in with Goram’s chant until she felt the tingle of intense vibrational energy coursing through her.

  Rhuna opened her eyes and watched Goram sweep his hands around them with his arms stretched wide, going sideways and then from top to bottom as if spinning an invisible cocoon around them. When he finished, he looked at Rhuna with penetrating, sparkling green eyes.

  “There is a solution…the only solution,” he said grimly, and Rhuna looked at him with surprise. “You must assist me!” he said urgently. “Escort me safely to the White Pyramid in Judharo!”

  “What? The Pyramids? Why?”

  “The Pyramid can defeat the Conjurers and the Dark One himself,” Goram stated firmly.

  “How? And how do you know?”

  “Possessor of Discernment has passed the Secrets of the Pyramids on to me,” he answered casually.

  “You? He passed the Secrets on to you, of all people?” Rhuna asked incredulously.

  “Is it so unreasonable?” Goram retorted angrily.

  “I can’t believe this!” Rhuna said with indignation.

  “Think as you please…yet act on behalf of Lozira and your loved ones! Take me to the Pyramid that I may make the necessary alterations!”

  “What alterations?” Rhuna asked after a moment to clear her head of the emotional turbulence Goram’s revelation had caused.

  “It shall cause the Pyramid to explode and destroy everything around Judharo.”

  “What? Explode? And destroy? Explain it to me!” Rhuna said as she struggled to comprehend.

  “The Pyramids can be adapted, adjusted, to perform various functions – one of them is complete annihilation.”

  “Complete annihilation,” Rhuna repeated numbly. Goram nodded.

  “The correct measure of gaseous vapours and earth energy frequencies combined in one of the special chambers of the White Pyramid shall cause an explosive reaction of colossal magnitude.

  “But what will happen to…us?” she asked shakily as she slowly began to comprehend Goram’s intentions.

  “There shall be enough time to journey to Cha’al or beyond,” he said calmly. “Now, assist me to gain access to the Pyramid and then exit safely!”

  “There are guards everywhere, and the landing area for the RTE is a big, open area with no place to hide,” Rhuna said.

  “Then devise a means for me to enter Judharo,” Goram demanded. “We must remain unseen to the Dark Master’s observations from The Infinite. Should he become aware of our actions, he would most certainly become suspicious and then discern our objective!”

  “That won’t be easy,” Rhuna said, imagining such a demanding challenge. “We’ll have to continue energizing this field which is around us right now,” she said, moving her hands up and over them to indicate the protective shield.

  “When I am at the Pyramid, you must sustain it by yourself while I transform elements,” Goram added quickly.

  “Oh, I see,” said Rhuna uneasily.

  “We shall go at night, wearing dark clothes with hoods,” Goram continued.

  “It’s not easy to navigate in the dark,” Rhuna said.

  “Then you have a challenge,” Goram said dismissively. “Let us go, dress in dark clothes,” he added.

  “Now?”

  “Yes!” hissed Goram, ushering Rhuna out of the small room.

  Rhuna went to her private chamber as quickly and quietly as she could, realizing that the rest of the family had already retired to bed. She donned the black hooded cloak she had worn a few times when she attended meetings of the Order of Pure Power, and then slipped silently outside to wait for Goram.

  “Go!” a voice whispered from behind a bush, and Rhuna realized that Goram was already waiting in the garden. She opened the hatch of her RTE as quietly as possible, and then closed it again behind her and Goram. She ignited a small light she had carried i
n her pocket, and used it to see the levers and controls.

  As soon as she heard the magnetic energy generator function and emit the frequency that hurt her ears, she reached for the ear protectors nearby but Goram stopped her.

  “We must talk now,” he said. “The frequency emitted by this generator is similar to the interference I created earlier. Let us discuss everything while we are in the operational RTE.”

  Rhuna gritted her teeth against the discomfort in her ears, and then listened to Goram’s detailed explanation of his plan.

  “Do you know how many Conjurers are on guard near the pyramids?” he asked.

  “None,” Rhuna answered. They are watching the gate, walls and RTE landing area, but they feel safe now because of the flooded river, and only a few RTEs are allowed to land inside the city now.”

  “Yours?” Goram asked with a frown.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I pretended to join the Order of Pure Power,” Rhuna answered. “That’s what I’ve been doing all this time since the animated dead began scaring residents away.”

  “Oh!” Goram said with raised eyebrows. “I am impressed.”

  “I thought this would be the best way to know exactly what they’re doing, how they do things, and also what the Dark Master is doing.”

  “And where is that Contemptible Abomination?” he asked with bitter venom in his voice.

  “He’s one of the Preeminent Mages in the Order,” Rhuna answered, and then described her encounter with him.

  “So he is in Judharo, with the Conjurers,” Goram stated. “Good, good.”

  “But what if he’s not in his body at the time of the explosion?” Rhuna asked.

  “Then we failed, in part. His physical vessel and his followers shall be destroyed…”

  “A big setback for him,” said Rhuna, nodding approval.

  Rhuna operated the RTE, using only the moonlit mountainside and a distant snowy peak as a reference guide, relying on her memory of frequent recent journeys between Cha’al and Judharo.

  “You are certain the Conjurers allow you to enter the city in your RTE?” asked Goram.

  “That’s not the problem. But when we land, they will surely see you and demand an explanation why you’re with me. We have to think of something quickly!”

  “Should they ask who I am, then simply tell the truth!” Goram said, his green eyes flashing in the unsteady torch light. “Tell them that I was the leader of the Dark Master’s followers in Safu!”

  “Yes, that should impress them,” Rhuna grumbled. “We’re there already,” she said a short time later as she adjusted the levers to control the lateral movement of the RTE. She let the craft hover above the open landing area a moment while she looked through the various windows.

  “A group of them is gathering over there,” said Goram.

  Rhuna let the RTE softly touch the ground and then disengaged the generators before opening the hatch.

  “Welcome, Keeper of Wisdom,” said the Grand Mage as he approached her RTE. “You departed without word,” he said with slight agitation in his voice.

  “I only went to a few nearby places,” Rhuna answered. “I didn’t know I had to tell anyone about all my plans.”

  “Ah, normally not, no,” said the Grand Mage with a forced smile. “Our situation is far from normal, however.”

  “We wish to ascertain that our borders are secure, including the arrivals by RTE,” he said as he peered through the hatch door.

  “Let me introduce you to my passenger then,” Rhuna said, trying to keep her voice sounding normal. “This is Beacon of the Night. He was the leader of the Guardians of Knowledge in Safu before all Atlans were forced to flee.”

  Goram stepped out of the RTE and removed the hood from around his face.

  “Oh,” said the Grand Mage looking at Goram with surprise. “Your name has been spoken many a time in our Order,” he added, and then greeted Goram with a traditional Atlan shake of the hands. Rhuna exhaled silently with relief that the plan was working so far.

  “Is this a brief visit, or do you intend to remain in Judharo with your Brothers?” the Grand Mage asked Goram.

  “Keeper of Wisdom has invited me to visit and observe your activity,” Goram answered carefully. “Perhaps, should you permit, I might consider an indefinite tenure.”

  “Very good, very good,” said the Grand Mage as he stepped aside to allow Goram to proceed. “We welcome you to our meeting tomorrow after the morning meal,” he told Goram.

  “I’ll show him around and arrange a private chamber for him,” Rhuna said as she walked past the group that had accompanied the Grand Mage. Then she began talking to Goram as if he were an important guest in order to keep up the pretense. Goram responded accordingly as they entered one of the buildings now used exclusively by the Order of Pure Power. They passed several Order members who looked and bowed their heads in greeting.

  “Would you like to see where the corpses are animated?” Rhuna asked Goram as they stopped in a junction of corridors where various members passed frequently.

  “The Pyramids interest me the most,” Goram answered. “Are they really a true replication of the Safu Pyramids?”

  Rhuna answered in a loud and clear voice for others to hear, and then led Goram in the direction of the Pyramids. They left the buildings used by the Conjurers and passed through the abandoned area of the city which was only lit by a few distant torches. The dark shadowy houses gave Rhuna a chill up her spine, and she quickened her pace towards the pyramids in the distance.

  “What a splendid sight!” said Goram when the White Pyramid came into view. Rhuna suddenly felt a pang of deep sadness at the thought of destroying the beautiful structure, but it faded as soon as she thought about the destruction caused by the Dark Master and the Conjurers.

  “Go that way,” whispered Goram as he pointed towards a small building near the pyramids. Rhuna obeyed and wondered whether Goram knew where to find the secret passages underneath the pyramids. As soon as they stepped around the small building, Rhuna realized that they were standing in front of a secret door, not unlike the one in Safu. Goram felt around the ledge which outlined the small and narrow door, and Rhuna heard the familiar scraping sound of metal against stone as the door began to move.

  Rhuna followed Goram into the pitch black hole, feeling the sides with her hands and placing her feet carefully. The air felt thick and clammy until they descended several steps and entered a larger room.

  “Do you know where to go?” she whispered to Goram, and was startled by the loud echo of her voice.

  “Of course!” he hissed, and Rhuna was stunned by the reverberating echo of his words.

  “What a strange echo!” she said, and stopped to listen as her words bounced around the space surrounding them.

  “The acoustics in this pyramid are designed to be extremely sensitive in order to create great force when harmonic resonations occur,” Goram said as softly as possible.

  The sound of their shuffling feet and heavy breathing began to mesmerize Rhuna, and she was glad when Goram finally came to a stop.

  “Be prepared to maintain the interference for both of us,” Goram reminded Rhuna.

  “Let me re-focus my energies first,” she said as she sat on the ground and positioned herself for Inside Focussing. She heard Goram sigh with resignation as she closed her eyes and began the process of Inside Focussing.

  “Continue emitting the frequency I specify,” said Goram when Rhuna had finished her brief session of refreshing her mental energy. Goram began his low chant, and Rhuna concentrated on the vibration in her head until she reached the same frequency.

  “You can go ahead now,” Rhuna whispered as she remained seated and in a calm state of mind.

  Rhuna became lost in the action of intense mental concentration in the complete darkness of the underground chamber, and only a nudge by Goram brought her senses back to the present reality.

  “In exactly one half
of one day the elements shall have accumulated the required density and quantity of compressed particles,” Goram whispered.

  “By then we have to be far away from here?” Rhuna asked.

  Goram merely nodded.

  “Not much time to warn the innocent residents in Judharo,” she said.

  “We cannot!” Goram hissed. “The Dark One would most certainly notice and discover our plan!” Goram said with clenched teeth.

  “What? Not warn anyone? But innocent people would be killed!”

  “It must be this way,” Goram answered decisively. “Most of the innocent have left Judharo and near surrounds. This is necessary in order to eliminate both Conjurers and the Dark Master, once and for all!”

  “Will he really be destroyed this time? Also his Extended Consciousness?” Rhuna asked.

  “Yes. If he is unprepared, the sudden annihilation shall destroy the body he occupies, and thereby his Consciousness, before he leaves it,” Goram answered.

  “I hope it works that way,” said Rhuna. “He’s very skilled in using his Extended Consciousness and exploring The Infinite. I hope this interference field we created was enough.”

  “We must be hopeful,” Goram grumbled.

  “Why must you do it and not someone else?” Rhuna asked, thinking of the heavy emotional burden of causing such vast destruction.

  “This chaos ensued from my actions in the wilderness with the Ubanti Army, so it is only fitting that this should also end at my hands!” he said determinedly.

  “From now until the moment of annihilation we must utter not a word about this, lest the Dark Master or one of his minions hears or observes from The Infinite!” Rhuna nodded solemnly, and hoped desperately that the plan would work.

  Rhuna let the interference she had created around them dissipate as they emerged from the secret door, and silently walked back to the landing area for RTEs.

  “Halt! Who are you?” boomed a loud voice behind them. Rhuna felt her heart jump and begin to pound painfully in her chest. She looked at Goram in the gloom and saw that he was completely still. Rhuna heard heavy footsteps approach them.