Valour of the Spirit People

by David Papa-Adams

  Chapter VI

  Enter the Djinn

  They warily set off across the glade. Michael had wondered when Moloch would catch up to them and the fact that they would surely meet in that realm did not bode well. As they walked, lush green grasses cooled their feet, slowly these receded, as the terrain altered, becoming soft and boggy. They were approaching the great marsh.

  “Tell me who is this Moloch?” said Anaki.

  “He is Lord of the Mages,” said Michael, “a great powerful and dread creature, who could take on many guises. A master of many crafts, he was always eager to learn new and terrible arts which became his weakness - it was by his desires that he was ensnared by the Dragon.”

  “The Dragon?” queried Anaki.

  “The Dragon is the reason for the war, though there are others,” replied Michael sadly. “He was the cause of the Schism that tore my people apart. Moloch had sought to know the secrets of a nation we call the Djinn and tried to turn them against us and with the help of the Dragon he almost succeeded…”

  There followed a sullen silence as Michael’s voice trailed away. Anaki slowly looked from Michael to Gabriel; seeing the sorrow on their faces he wondered what could have caused a Schism between such wise people. The four walked on in silence as soft ground began shifting, becoming boggy and untrustworthy. Warily they continued their journey as they began to descend into the foggy Marsh. It stretched out in every direction; an undulating mass of choking reeds, covered in places by strangled trees. Anaki had become attentive to every sound, his eyes straining to penetrate the mist. Gabriel and Michael warily walked by his side while Humming Bird out in front hesitated a moment as if trying to remember something important.

  “This is the Great Marsh,” said Humming Bird, “a place I visited as a child.”

  “We must take care,” said Anaki, “A child’s mind may see things that even one of the Elder cannot. What can you recall of this place?”

  “That it is a place of strange creatures, large serpents; my father was hunting the Razor Tooth here.” said Humming Bird.

  “The Razor Tooth?” asked Gabriel warily.

  “Yes it is a giant Boar, with tusks that curve like the metal workings of the Grey Beards, a back arched so wickedly that it looks like it is in agony, it is partially covered in a thick coarse rugged hair,” said Humming Bird. “Its eyes are aflame, a fearless relentless foe that is more hunter than hunted. And worse still…”

  “Enough,” said Michael, “I think we get the picture.”

  “Picture?” enquired Humming Bird with a quizzical look on her face.

  “Like the paintings,” said Gabriel, “on your shields.”

  Anaki smiled to himself.

  “Don’t forget to mention Natyunka Tanka.” said Anaki.

  “Natyunka Tanka?” asked Gabriel hesitantly.

  “Serpent King - he is more terrifying than Razor Tooth,” said Anaki.

  This time it was Michael’s turn to laugh but he did not keep it to himself.

  “Humming Bird,” asked Michael, still smiling, “what sort of world have you brought us to?”

  Humming Bird shrugged her shoulders. There was something both familiar and yet vague about the place, it was not what she remembered as a child, more a confused abstract image. One thing she certainly was being reminded of were the small irritating midges that hovered close by, they had made her previous visit to the marsh unbearable.

  “Oh wonderful,” said Gabriel as he swatted one of them, quickly swiping it from his face, “Could you not have dreamed up butterflies?”

  “I think the midges are going to be the least of our problems, Razor tooth, the Serpent King and of course Moloch and don’t be surprised if Malachi makes an appearance - this is after all his type of realm,” whispered Michael.

  Gabriel grunted an acknowledgement, though at that moment he was finding it hard just to cope with the midges.

  Soon enough they found themselves wading through a marshy wilderness. The ground became uncertain as every so often one of them would slip, slide or trudge into boggy marsh. Anaki would be out in front and regularly he turned to the others to implore them to make haste or keep quiet, his urgency a reminder of the threat that awaited them. Though they were hindered by the lay of the land they did try to pick up the pace. The mist had begun to turn into an impenetrable wall that even Anaki could not see through. All felt that things had taken a turn for the worse, and all felt that worse was to come. The Marsh came alive; sounds that could have only been heard in the tales of children surrounded them. Unknown creatures would rustle reeds, alerting them to hidden dangers. Still they moved on in silence. The day grew older as the mist started to lift. Soon they were walking on soft ground in clear sunlight. They had ventured onto an open savannah, though the long grasses were almost waist high. The sun spread comforting warmth over their faces. Anaki looked more agitated by the fact that they could be seen than when they were hidden by the mist. If it were possible his eyes were even more alert to any danger that there might be.

  Gabriel and Michael trod carefully being wary of what danger might await them in the tall prairie grasses, they did not wish to disturb anything that might be sleeping or foraging for that matter. The reeds whipped all around as a strong wind got up. In fact, seemingly out of nowhere, heavy looking grey clouds appeared. Soon rain lashed down, and where it could inflict discomfort it did: it flowed down their backs, large drips ran off their noses and pools of water had to be wiped from their eyes. The storm was merciless in its attention to detail as to the irritation it caused. Refuge was sought beneath some craggy outcrop of rocks that jutted out in the shape of a hawk; unexpectedly they discovered an opening leading to a large deep cave. At the entrance on the walls on either side were drawn the heads of serpents. Michael took one look and was about to turn back when he was prevented from doing so by Anaki.

  “Do not be afraid,” said Anaki.

  “I have no intention of being eaten by a Serpent King or any other creature for that matter,” replied Michael pointing at the wall paintings.

  “And you won’t,” replied Anaki. “This place is a sanctuary, look closely at the serpents - they have no teeth and their mouths are open, this indicates that they mean you no harm. Not everything we will meet in this world will be treacherous. If there were danger here I would have sensed it but I feel nothing.”

  “Really,” said Gabriel suspiciously, “I notice you never warned us about the midges and besides we can all be deceived in places such as these.”

  They all turned and peered out of the cave. There was no sign of the deluge abating indeed its ferocity only increased. Michael decided that since they were likely to be there for some time he would find a dry place, so that he could rest his legs and sit in some comfort at least. First Gabriel joined him, then Humming Bird, and finally Anaki.

  “So,” said Michael, “this is your vision quest. What is this place?”

  “I’m afraid,” replied Humming Bird, “I do not recognise the cave, and the only cave I visited before was in a vision quest.”

  “That is something at least; what happened?” asked Gabriel.

  “To be honest I don’t recall,” replied Humming Bird tossing her hair to one side and squeezing water from it.

  There was a sharp flash of light that briefly lit up the cavern. It was quickly followed by a booming thunderous roar.

  Michael just looked at Gabriel and laughed, while Gabriel smiled to himself; the two knew that minds were coloured, unique and filled with strange imaginings and that the thunder storm above their heads was probably an extension of Humming Bird’s fears. Anaki was less than amused at their mirth, for a Vision Quest was a serious spiritual undertaking not to be held in light regard, but now was not the time to rebuke the Angelos, who he knew were wise beyond even his understanding. He rose as something had caught his eye when the cave had lit up; raising his staff he let it light his way as he moved carefully toward what had briefly been illuminated.
r />   Again there was a flash of light, and another thunder clap. This time it was as if the cave shook.

  “There,” said Anaki, “is a door back here.”

  Gabriel rolled his eyes, almost in expectation. In trance-like states caves had always held openings to other parts of the journey or to other realms. Anaki held aloft his staff, there were symbols carved into the door.

  “This is not good,” said Anaki.

  “You don’t say; what have we here then; Viking runic symbols and pagan deities,” said Michael, joining him by the door and running his hand along the markings.

  For the first time Gabriel appeared pensive, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “Moloch or even Malachi could be waiting behind that door,” said Michael.

  “Maybe,” replied Anaki, “but I still believe we should enter - it may be a way to shorten our route to the mountains.”

  The arched door was made of layered oak that had figures carved into it. It was elaborate in appearance with heavy iron handles to one side. Anaki took hold of one of them and hauled on it. A gust of fresh air welcomed them as the door swung open. They entered a long corridor, on either side lit torches hung from the walls as reddish flames danced to greet them. The ground was paved in stone and the walls were also smooth with strange depictions running along them. There was a wooden ceiling with carved timbers crisscrossing that in appearance were like writhing snakes twisted together.

  “This doesn’t look good,” said Gabriel.

  “Strange,” said Michael giving Humming Bird a quizzical look, “when we get out of here remind me to talk to you about the things going on in your head.”

  They slowly walked down the corridor; Anaki loosely held his staff at his side, Gabriel ran his hand along the murals trying to piece together what they might mean. As they approached the end of the corridor to one side in an alcove they came across an antechamber. It was an armoury; torches hung from the walls, flames flickered sending their shadows dancing, long swords shone out of bejewelled scabbards, round shields adorned with wolf crests lay one on top of the other. And long bows with iron tipped arrows that had thick bristling crow feathers attached to their shafts, were leaning threateningly up against one of the walls.

  “What do you think?” asked Gabriel.

  “This is a warning we’re going to have problems ahead,” replied Michael.

  Anaki drew a sword from one of the scabbards, and held it up. It shone in the flickering light.

  “These should not be here, I have never seen their like before,” said Anaki.

  “As I said - problems ahead, these things are here because Moloch is here and maybe even Malachi too. It shows their influence on the Vision Quest. Everyone arm yourself,” replied Michael.

  “Why do you think this Malachi’s here?”

  “Think about this, Anaki - Moloch and Malachi often scheme together, but what you don’t know is that we had already encountered Moloch in the forest which tells me that he wasn’t always with Uziel. For him to have manifested in the forest the way he did, means he needed help, for to do such a thing requires a lot of energy. Such power must have come from someone who worked on his behalf, here in the Vision Realm; this is also the one place where he could secretly contact Malachi and share whatever information he had gleaned from Uziel. And that explains why Uziel never realised that Moloch was with him, it would have been Malachi that kept Moloch and himself from being discovered so that every time they left or entered the vision realm they passed unnoticed. And such a thing could only be accomplished with Malachi’s help. They had no fear of being found out and could pass where they wanted at will. Moloch acted like a parasite, always working to undo his host from the inside without ever taking control of Uziel except for that one instance where he tried to attack Gabriel - all the other times he merely listened in and spied; also Moloch would have needed Malachi’s help to control Uziel the way he did. And finally since Moloch has the news Malachi wants to hear, he now needs to get that information to him immediately and that means a return to the Vision Realm. Hence the likelihood is that Malachi’s here too.”

  “I see well you had better take the long knives then, I will keep my staff to hand - it is all the power I need,” said Anaki.

  “Do not underestimate our enemy, nor overestimate your own abilities. You should know that Malachi is a powerful sage so whatever magic you feel you possess; he possesses more of it,” replied Gabriel, staring in awe at the craftsmanship of the sword he had chosen.

  Anaki’s mouth dropped, could Malachi really be that powerful? He looked at Michael for confirmation of the fact; the latter sighed and merely nodded in agreement with what Gabriel had said. Anaki then looked back at Gabriel, who picked up a shield and slung it across his back, Anaki scolded himself - he did not really want to believe that he could be bested in the Vision Realm but since the Angelos were there anything might be possible, and thinking better of what they had said he picked up a sword by its leather belt, swung it round his waist and fastened the buckle tightly. He then stood nonchalantly and proudly as if he had intended to wear it all along and without the necessary coaxing from the others. Humming Bird had taken a bow for herself and a quiver of arrows which she slung across her back.

  “Okay,” said Michael, “we’re about as ready to face whatever is out there as we’re going to be.”

  The four left the antechamber better armed and equipped to face Malachi and Moloch but also with the understanding that he might be expecting them and that he could have a direct influence on the Vision Quest, which meant he probably had something particularly nasty waiting for them. They reached the end of the corridor where another ornately carved oak door waited for them. Anaki carefully reached out, took hold of the iron handle and with a rusty screech heaved the door open. Anaki gestured everyone forward. What greeted them as they entered the short shallow cave were thick tangled webs that clung from jagged rough wall to jagged rough wall, and beneath their feet was a covered earthen floor. Shadowed light crept in from outside, cool air gave life to the flowing pristine tentacles that fell from the ceiling as though they were lines of loose sallow strings. Moonlight streamed through the opening of the cave; fresh air caressed their faces, they were through to the other side and sure enough they were not too distant from mountains that stood as ominous towers in front of them. The moon in all its glory could not grace the rough honed edgings of these giants who were mightier, greater, than their kin in the physical world.

  “Humming Bird,” asked Michael, “do you recognise anything?”

  “Those remind me of the Rocky Mountains.” replied Humming Bird, “They are sacred to my people. Many Spirits live there that we believe are both good and bad.”

  “So that’s probably where we’ll find Uziel,” said Gabriel.

  “At least,” said Michael, “we are at the far end of the Marsh.”

  “I don’t suppose we’re going to find anymore shortcuts?” queried Gabriel.

  “Who knows what road lies ahead,” replied Michael.

  Anaki cautiously stepped forward and led them on in the direction of the mountain range. The stars shone more alive, flickering like amethysts in the void. The Marsh had returned to replace the savannah which was an example of how unpredictable the vision realm could be. It was quickly diminishing as the land became firmer and less inclined to give way beneath the weight of their step. The reeds had fallen back to being long grasses that lost height with every passing footfall. Soon enough the marsh was gone and they were out onto the flat open plain; around them buzzed all kinds of odd insects that hummed and gave off a strange guiding light of their own. Above their heads floated a Greater Condor, what was known to the first people as a Thunder Bird. They knew it was there by the way it shut out the sky, like a deep dark shadow passing overhead. It watched their passage, as if knowing their purpose, slowly its silhouetted form turned and drifted past that silver radiant translucent orb of the night sky, and on towards the jagged peak
s that were its home.

  The flat plain was quickly becoming a wooded vale of trees that had a purpose all of their own. Their thick branches waved the travellers forward toward what appeared to be a well-trod path. Anaki paused a moment in the centre of the track something had caught his attention, the others stopped behind him curiously wondering what it was that had made him suddenly alert. Ahead of them in the dark were two large red eyes staring malevolently at them. There was a form so dark that the light of the moon did not penetrate it. Anaki raised his staff.

  “Who blocks our path?” he cried with a voice like thunder.

  There was no answer; instead there was a low hissing sound as the creature slowly moved forward. As it approached they could hear a louder rasped breathing. Michael and Gabriel drew their swords and stepped in front of Humming Bird.

  Anaki slammed his staff down hard with such force that the ground trembled at their feet. Still the creature approached. This time Anaki began to mutter some incantation, his staff blazed angrily with a flame that was as thick as clotted blood. He thrust it forward in the direction of the creature and the light exploded from his staff. The creature with great agility leapt to one side - as it did so Humming Bird let loose an arrow. Unbelievably, like Anaki before, she missed the target. The Creature was now on all fours like a mountain lion and it let out a roar as it began to circle them. Michael stepped forward and just when he thought it was about to pounce he thrust his sword forward into the heart of the beast which instantly evaporated into thin air.

  “What was that?” asked Humming Bird anxiously.

  “A Djinn,” replied Michael tight mouthed barely containing his fury, “the Dragon must have turned some of that nation and that’s a new menace we really don’t need.”

  “But,” said Anaki, “I know these creatures they are Fire Spirits and we call them Ifrit, but if it pleases you I will refer to them as Djinn; it is strange that they are here at this time; very powerful beings; was it harmed?”

  “No,” replied Gabriel, “it was testing how much of a threat we posed.”

  “Ah,” said Anaki, “then you believe it will return?”

  “Undoubtedly it will return,” replied Michael with a shake of his head, “and when it does it will attack us in a different way, and since such beings have the ability to shapeshift, probably in another form. At least we know the Djinn and the threat they pose, right?”

  “Right,” replied Anaki, “I know them all too well.”

  Anaki held his staff up and a hollow light escaped, letting them see the way ahead. They continued along the path, their eyes seeking out danger where there was none, on one occasion a branch from a nearby tree had swayed in front of Humming Bird’s face, she had let out a scream and in an instant Anaki had used the power of his staff to set the tree alight, at the sight of which Michael had remarked that he was glad to see that this time Anaki had hit his target, and that he was sure he had at the very least slowed the tree down from its deadly attack. As their journey continued and the distance between them and where they had been attacked increased, the trees that encroached near the trail became less ominous, much less threatening. The path soon narrowed, almost disappearing beneath a growth of choking weeds as it wound its way into a clearing. There was a sudden freshness to the air, given life by the gentle dew that glistened in the soft tranquil moonlight and above the stars shone like thousands of love struck fireflies. A mist gathered to greet them as if the mountain itself breathed upon them; they were closing in on what was hoped would be the final part of their journey in that dominion.

  “Tell me,” said Gabriel, “there is something, Anaki, that’s been troubling me.”

  “Only one thing,” replied Anaki, “you’re fortunate, what’s that?”

  “The Djinn,” asked Gabriel, “you said that it was strange that they should be here, so why do you believe they are?”

  Anaki let out a deep sigh. His eyes looked from side to side to see if he could spy any threat, he then lowered his voice to a whisper.

  “These Djinn as you call them,” replied Anaki, “came to this world long ago fleeing from some other domain. In fact they are, as you are aware, from an age before man. Indeed though I recognised it; I thought them long gone. Never did I expect to meet truly ancient beings such as you or them. As far as I was aware the Djinn had left this world forever; they are my equal in all things but one. And that weakness was and will be their downfall. My predecessors long ago fought them at a time when the realm of what could not be seen was more alive than it is today. Great beasts roamed the earth, winged serpents flew in the skies and forests stretched from mighty ocean to mighty ocean. And at the last the Djinn were overthrown with the mystical flame from my crystal. It must have recognised my power and that’s why it stopped its attack when it did. I thought them all destroyed, but with your coming somehow they have risen once more. It will undoubtedly try to come after me, and shatter the staff of power.

  “Both Malachi and Moloch have the power to call on the Djinn, as do we,” said Michael, “but the Djinn have never heeded the cry before.”

  “And should it succeed in destroying your staff?” continued Gabriel, as he turned his attention back to Anaki.

  “Then you will be at their mercy - I cannot contend with the Djinn, without the power of my staff,” replied Anaki.

  “The Djinn were valiant but very independent,” said Gabriel, “I would be surprised if they joined any side - they simply never believed the war we fight, should be fought.”

  “Well some of them do now, unless of course they did not realise we would be here, and this just happens to be bad timing on our part,” said Michael.

  “Maybe,” replied Anaki, “and if they see that you have allied yourself to me then they may just ally themselves to your enemy whether they agree with your war or not, I’m afraid.”

  Gabriel looked at Michael who slowly nodded in understanding. It did appear that even in the Vision Realm the equilibrium was maintained. The clearing hummed to the sound of crickets and was abuzz with life. On occasion they all had to swat away any number of small hovering winged menace that got too close. The trees shrank to the edges of what had become a widening vale. Indeed if they had been in the world they had come from, and someone had seen them from afar they would have thought them a small hunting party that had merely gone out early seeking food for their village. The sky was turning to fire as at last dawn approached, a deep red encroached upon the dark purple vale slowly chasing it away, clouds as if they were burning embers suddenly came to life. The jagged mountains rose before them, the shadowed leviathans had waited patiently to welcome the travellers. Anaki stood a moment pushing back his long hair, his eyes thoughtfully looking for the path ahead.

  “Humming Bird,” said Anaki, “these mountains should be familiar to you.”

  “They are,” replied Humming Bird, “As I said when I was a child I remember the marsh and now I am here, I also remember going up into the mountains. It is long ago, but what I recall was being separated from my father. A she-wolf found me; there was something about her that made me feel unafraid. She watched over me. Just before my father discovered me she disappeared into the woods.”

  “Okay,” said Anaki, “things are becoming clearer. I believe the she-wolf will likely appear again; she will be your spirit guide in this realm.”

  They made their way toward the tallest of the mountains. Its icy peak and broad back suggested that it would be an uncompromising struggle to scale. Anaki rested a moment, leaning on his staff. The morning light made his eyes shine like deep unfathomable pools. Humming Bird stretched as if tired, while Gabriel searched the mountain to see if he could spy the enemy.

  “We must take care,” said Anaki. “This will be the most dangerous part of the journey, we must prepare ourselves for what lies ahead.”

  “Easier said than done, since we don’t know what lies ahead,” replied Gabriel.

  “This Malachi, not to mention the Mages,” continue
d Anaki, striding forward, “will be guarding your friend and also no doubt the Ifrit whom you call Djinn will be there at their side. So you know enough when you know who your enemy is.”

  “That’s true,” replied Michael, “it’s only when we don’t know our enemy that we’ve had problems.”

  Gabriel smiled quietly, “I would say we’ve had problems whether we’ve known who our enemy is or not.”

  They moved on quietly, barely raising a breath so as not to be noticed. The mountain was dismissive of their filed sluggish procession; trees sprouted from its sides, jagged edges reared their disjointed heads, rocky outcrop after rocky outcrop hung over their heads. In turn each would gaze upward in preparation and fearful anticipation of what might lie ahead. There was a quiet about the mountain, a serenity, or was it an ominous patience, an open brooding unexplainable hostility? They could not work out which. At one point, high up in the branches of a tree as they were just passing by, they encountered an owl. Its brown feathers glistened in the sun and its deep hoot appeared to report something. It stretched out first one wing then the other before lazily falling back to an unguarded rest, its head shrinking between its shoulders and its eyes half closing as if uninterested by the passers-by.

  Humming Bird looked toward Anaki as if questioning what an encounter with such a creature might mean. She removed the Owls feather from her hair and studied it a moment.

  “It’s okay,” said Anaki pointing at the creature with his staff, “it is a spirit of the forest. It tells me we’re on the right path to seek out your friend.”

  They continued their climb throughout the day, at times when the way was blocked they would have to backtrack to find another means to ascend. As evening approached they heard the rush of a mountain stream. It was in the heart of a small glade unencumbered by tree or brush. They sat by the stream watching water cascade down from a protrusion of monolithic rocks. At their summit appeared a large grey wolf. It bobbed its head as if acknowledging them before speaking in a language that all could understand.