Taniwha

by Liza Fox

  As they looked at the circle below the land around it started to almost shiver, the dark green mist shuddering as it crept along. They traveled on, floating through the air, the stars twinkling above and the dark hills and valleys of the Mount below.

  “Follow me to his 5th circle. Taniwha’s sound. His voice.”

  They all floated on, over trees and rocky mounds, until they could see the pale blue glow of the 5th circle, its haze spreading wide and low along the ground.

  “They are already beginning the process of joining,” said Toka. “We must act quickly when the time comes. You must take note of where these circles are situated,” he told them. “Now come see the 6th circle.”

  They slowly began to drift away until they were high above the land, moving as one over the stark landscape of shrubs and rocks, grassland and trees. Ahead they could make out the shimmering glow of the 6th circle, with its deep indigo colour. Moving on they passed over more hills until they saw the 7th circle, with the double ring of stones, violet and white.

  “They seem to be pulsating,” observed Sally. “Look, you can see the colours beating like a heart.”

  “You are right, Sally,” said Toka. “Every day the energies increase in power. These are the rumblings of the Mount and will be felt by all who live near or on her. These last two circles, once they are linked to the other five, will give Taniwha all the power he needs. We have a hard time ahead of us but we shall overcome the dark side of Taniwha and hopefully, in doing so, will release and give energy to his light side. Yes, you look at me questioningly. Yes, even Taniwha has a light side. He is just not aware of it. Everything should be in perfect balance, some dark, some light. Sometimes the dark side gets too powerful and the light is obscured. It is still there, just not visible. This is Taniwha.” By now they were getting close to the ground.

  “Do not get too close to the circles.” Toka had stopped and they hovered above the shimmering circles of violet and white.

  “These are Taniwha’s access to the world above. The double 7th circle will be the doorway through which he will enter this world in his own form, causing terror and death to all within his reach; but this is enough, we must return now. Here, place your hands on the staff again.”

  They did so and suddenly they were back at the rocky outcrop.

  “Wow! That was amazing!” The three were finding it hard to explain their feelings after the extraordinary trip.

  “This was not a scenic tour,” said Toka. ‘This is deadly serious. We will need to be perfectly aligned to be able to harness Taniwha’s energy. On the eve of Summer Solstice, when the moon is full, we must go to each of the circles, beginning with the circle in Ben’s garden, the Base circle. It is here that Ben and I shall enter the underworld of Taniwha.

  We will have to follow his spirit form to each of his energy sources. On the surface Sam and Sally will have to go to each circle above. To harness the energy Ben and I must be below, Sam and Sally above, at the same time. We shall both hold hands, forming a circle and use our mind power to gather in the energy. This must be done at each circle and in perfect alignment.”

  “You, Sam and Sally, will have my staff. You will be able to move through the air to each circle,” said Toka.

  “What!” they all exclaimed.

  “So we’ll be able to fly to the circles?” Sam said.

  “Yes, the same way you have just traveled to see them. We shall need Sam and Sally to go to the center of each circle. I shall give you a bottle with a mixture inside. This you will drip onto each stone that forms the circle. The liquid is made from a small sample of every living animal and plant that lives on the mountain. It holds the strong power of nature and will slow the process of the energy spreading. You will have my staff. When the liquid is spread you must go to the center of the circle and place the tip of the staff into the very center. You must then hold hands, thus forming a circle around the staff. It will start to glow and will send down a beam of light below, showing Ben and myself where the center is. We shall do the same, hold hands to form a circle around the beam that will emanate from the staff.. We must then concentrate on breathing in the energy. We will feel it as it moves through us. We will know when the energy has drained into us, when the light from the staff dims and dies. We must then move onto the next circle. This must be done at them all; but the hardest battle will be at the last circle. This is where Taniwha will finally realize what has happened and will fight to the last; but we are strong, are we not?” He looked at them with softness in his dark eyes.

  They all nodded.

  “I shall return when the time is near. Goodnight, my friends.” Then he was gone.

  Ben woke up suddenly. He was in bed and morning light was flooding his room.

  ‘How come I’m here?’ he thought. ‘I was just in that field with Toka and Sam and Sally. Now I’m in bed? This is crazy!’ Oh heck, it was like all a dream, but it wasn’t all a dream. It was real as well.

  The friends got together later in the day at the rocky outcrop between their houses and talked about what had happened the night before.

  “Well, I’m going to act as per normal until something else happens,” said Sam. The other two agreed and they went on to make plans for what to do during the holidays. This took up an hour and soon it was time for them to go home.

  The ending of school and beginning of the holidays filled the next three days and Ben didn’t get to think about Toka too much. Just at night when he went to bed, wondering, as he slipped into sleep, whether he would visit that night.

  CHAPTER 14: THE BEGINNING- THE RED CIRCLE

  A bell was ringing. Somewhere in the distance, muffled; but clearly a bell was ringing. He could hear someone calling his name, very faint but still audible. “Ben…Ben”

  He sat up, feeling groggy with sleep.

  “Who’s calling me? Is that you mum?”

  He was out of bed and getting dressed before he realized it, and creeping down the stairs again, same as last time.

  Outside was almost like daylight. The moon was so full and large that it lit up everything, leaving dark shadows against the silver tinted edges of plants and structures.

  ‘This is the night,’ he was thinking and felt a rush of something prickly yet nice run through him. ‘I must find Toka. He must be at the circle.’

  He walked quickly toward the glowing circle. It was so red that it looked like blood had spilt over the stones and spread over the ground. Toka was standing just outside of it. He beckoned Ben.

  “Thank you for coming, my friend,” he said, smiling down at him. “Sam and Sally should be here any moment now. They, too, have heard my call.”

  There was a rustling sound to their left and Sam and Sally appeared from the trees.

  “Hey, we got your call Toka. We’re here to help you.”

  “My friends, I am eternally grateful. You will not regret what you are about to embark on; but first we must talk. We have only the hours of darkness to accomplish our quest. We must overcome Taniwha before the onset of the full moon and the longest day. By the time this happens Taniwha must be quiet. Sam and Sally, you have an important role in all this. Follow my directions and we will succeed. Remember, essence, staff, circle. You will feel the energy entering you but do not be afraid. It will make you stronger. The staff will protect you. Ben and I must travel the underworld, where we will be surrounded by the negative energy of Taniwha. We will all have to cope with whatever he has to throw at us. I will be with you, Ben. Together we will succeed. Now we must start, for time is of the essence.”

  He opened the bottle containing the tincture and dripped a small amount on each of the glowing stones. As he did so the stones began pulsating, first deep, deep red, changing slowly to brilliant, glowing blood red. Toka stood back and picked up his staff. He walked to the middle of the circle and, raising the staff high, bought it down heavily, forcing the tip into the hard ground.

  Standing back he beckoned the three to join hands with him an
d they formed a circle around the now glowing staff.

  “Breath in deeply and draw in the energy. Feel it entering your feet, slowly making its way up your body. Calves, thighs, stomach, chest, finally filling your head. You will feel the energy whirling around, spinning through you, and as it does so you will feel more energized. Now, concentrate. Concentrate on the energy entering your feet.”

  They all stood still, arms outstretched to join hands and form this strange ritual circle. The rocks pulsated even more and Ben could feel his feet tingling. His thoughts were intent on this as the tingling began to creep up his legs. He could see it in his mind, spinning up his body, now up to his stomach, his chest expanding as it crept up to his throat and on up to his head, where it span around and seemed to waft out of the top of his head. After about a minute the stones began to pulsate less and slowly their glow and colour faded to a faint pink shimmer.

  At the same time the staff had stopped glowing. As Toka pulled it from the earth the ground began groaning and started to sink under them.

  “Here, take the staff and the tincture. They will be your lifeline and guide,” said Toka as he passed them to Sam. “Stand back and be ready to go to the next circle. We will rendezvous there in thirty minutes. Place the tincture on the orange stones and the staff in the ground in the center of the circle. Ben and I must go now.”

  He grabbed Bens arm as a dark hole appeared in the ground, going deep into the earth. “Come, my friend,” he smiled at Ben. “Our quest begins.”

  The hole that had appeared was narrow and dark.

  “Here, there are steps down,” said Toka, and they gingerly started to walk carefully down them. Toka held out his left hand and a soft light started to appear, intensifying and lighting up an area of about 10 meters ahead of them. Ben looked back at the faces of Sam and Sally, who were watching them descend into who knew where.

  CHAPTER 15: BELOW TO THE 2ND CIRCLE/ORANGE

  Turning back to the hole Ben could see more steps leading down. Steps formed in the rocks. He counted them as he felt his way, one hand on Toka’s back for support and, he had to admit it, comfort. At number 15 they came to a floor. The hole behind them, their link to the surface, slowly closed above them.

  In the light from Toka’s hand Ben could see a wall of rock surrounding them. Opposite the steps and about six meters ahead he could make out a large hole.

  “We must follow the path that is beyond that hole,” Toka told Ben, pointing to it. “It follows the tail of Taniwha to his sacral circle, where we shall link up with Sam and Sally again. Come, we must hurry, for the way is long and arduous.”

  He made his way through the gap in the wall and Ben followed, feeling excitement growing inside him. Yes, he did feel strong and able to cope with anything that might be going to happen in the next few hours. Never the less, he kept close to Toka as they moved ahead into the darkness.

  The path led them between walls of jutting, pointed rocks, grey in the light. The ceiling was low and had sharp angular rocks hanging down, blocking the way, so they had to squeeze between them to maneuver their way along. Soon they came to more rocks, forming a wall in front of them. Searching the crevices that littered the wall they found a small black hole, just big enough for a person to squeeze through.

  “There will be a few of these,” said Toka, as he worked his way into the hole. “They are like the tailbone of Taniwha and we must follow them. They will get larger the further we travel into the body of Taniwha,” he reassured Ben.

  Toka disappeared into the blackness and Ben followed, Toka pulling to help him from the other side. Once through they found themselves in another small cavern, slightly larger than the last. As Toka held out his lighted hand they could just see the dark patch of a hole ahead of them. They moved forward slowly, Toka shining the light all round as they did so. The walls were smooth and the ceiling low. Reaching the hole they found it was larger than the previous one and they both managed to get through with no bother. They had just entered the next cavern when they felt the earth move slightly. Ben felt it through his feet and a shiver went through him.

  “What’s that Toka?” he whispered in a shaky voice.

  “Taniwha can feel that something is going on,” Toka said. “He is getting restless. We must move fast. Come, we must find the next hole.” He began searching for the next exit.

  The area around them was larger again than the last and Ben could make out cracks and fissures in the walls. It seemed at least twice the size of the last chamber. As he stood in the glow of the light he suddenly became aware of a red mist beginning to cover him. Very subtle at first. Just a haze. Before he knew what was happening it had thickened, until the mist completely engulfed him. Everything had gone silent and he couldn’t see Toka at all. Panic! What’s this? What’s happening? Then, from what seemed to be the centre of his head, came a terrible sound. Scream, wail, moan. All those words described it. Sweat oozed from him as he stood there transfixed, while the awful sound spun around in his skull.

  “Ben! Ben!” He could hear his name being called. Something grabbed his hand.

  Suddenly he was back with Toka. The sound and the mist had gone.

  “Oh boy, did you see that red mist?” he asked Toka. “It was all around me and I heard a voice in my head.”

  “No, I did not see any mist but if you did then that is not good,” Toka said. “Taniwha is trying to break the group. If he manages to take you over we will not have the means to stop him anymore. You must be strong and on guard all the time. Keep very close to me, we must not be parted.”

  They made their way carefully to a large, narrow hole which they could see in the wall ahead. It was as tall as Ben and Toka walked into it with shoulders stooped. Ben followed into what appeared to be a narrow tunnel. They followed this for some time, zigzagging through rocks until finally the tunnel widened and ended. The glow from Toka’s hand showed up a large open area with huge cavernous cracks in the walls, black and uninviting. The floor was littered with small rocks, making it difficult to walk without tripping. Ahead was a larger, wider crack, large enough for them both to walk through.

  “Is this the right one?” asked Ben, thinking of the other cracks in the wall that he had seen.

  “Yes, this is straight in line with the other holes. It is the correct route.” Toka held his hand above his head, illuminating the ceiling of the cavern they were now in. It was high, about 8 meters, and studded with long stalactites, some of which were almost to their heads. Toka lowered his hand and long thin stalagmites appeared in their view, all growing from the floor of the cave to meet their mates above.

  “We must make our way through these, so be careful.” Toka looked intently at Ben. “If one of those above should break and fall it will hinder our quest. These represent part of Taniwha, and if one should break he will know.”

  Ben understood and followed Toka carefully through the long, pointed maze. It seemed to take them forever to work their way through but eventually they came to another hole in the rocky wall ahead of them. Toka walked through and Ben was close behind when the earth started shaking again.

  “Quick, we must make haste. The next circle is still a long way away.” Toka was hastening his stride and Ben was finding it difficult to keep up. The shaking continued and he clung to Toka’s robe for security. They made their way through the hole and found themselves in a small, narrow space which looked like the beginning of a tunnel.

  The walls were smooth and wet, the floor smooth and slippery, glistening in the light from Toka’s hand. As they gingerly edged their way along the path began to slope upward. The wet floor became wetter and the walls narrower as they pushed forward. After about 15 minutes the tunnel became steeper and so narrow that they only just managed to squeeze through it.

  “I think this is the end,” said Toka, as the tunnel opened into a large, narrow cave. The floor was wet with running water and they could see roots growing out of the ceiling and dangling down the walls.

 
; “We must be near the sur----!” Ben had no time to finish his sentence when he found himself hanging upside down, his legs and feet entangled in a mass of dark, fibrous roots.

  “Help, Toka, help!” he yelled as he felt the roots tighten around him, dragging him closer to the ceiling of the cave.

  Toka watched in surprise as his friend was dragged upward. Lifting his lighted hand he aimed at the root where it exited the ceiling. Sharp points of vivid light shot from his hand toward the root, charring and burning it.

  Smoke and sparks flew into the air as the laser like beam burnt through the wood. The hard, rough root cut into Ben’s legs as he was dragged nearer and nearer to the ceiling of the cavern. Smoke and sparks from the burning wood stung his face and eyes as the tortured roots slowly began to release him.

  Suddenly he came hurtling back down to the ground, his clothing still entangled in the black, gnarly root.

  Shaken but unhurt, he disentangled himself with Toka’s help.

  “Where did that come from?” he gasped, dusting himself off. “I didn’t see that coming.”

  “I did not see that either. How could I not have seen that?” said Toka, throwing the lifeless roots aside in frustration. “He is so crafty. We must expect anything at anytime. Stay close to me.”

  They both searched the cave for an opening, eventually finding one behind a tall rock.

  Squeezing through the hole they came upon a large, open area. The light from Toka’s hand lit up a space about the size of a large room, exposing huge rocky mounds. Toka swung his hand slowly around, illuminating the cavernous area as he did. At one end were what appeared to be wide steps. The steps were glistening, wet with dripping water and Ben could make out a small dark pool to one side. There were ledges throughout the cave, set in the walls like seats. In a corner to their right was a large round flat rock, about one meter high and two meters across. What mesmerized him most though were the masses of glistening crystals that oozed from cracks in the rock walls. They were in large clusters, dozens of them, glinting and sparkling as the light from Toka’s hand hit them. Moving closer he gently ran his fingers over one of the clusters, feeling the smooth, hard texture of the individual crystals that were joined as one.