Rhuna- Black City

by Barbara Underwood

  “He has truly broken the fibre of time, as the League of Record-Keeping Masters have said,” Lozira concluded with a solemn expression.

  “Breaking time!” Shandi interjected as she paused briefly from her little game.

  “Yes, Shandi said it first a long time ago already, before we understood what she meant,” Rhuna said with awe.

  An uneasy stillness fell upon the room, and Rhuna felt the tension escalate as they grappled with the potential outcome of the Dark Master’s destructive actions.

  “We must act decisively right now, while the city can still be contained!” Goram suddenly gushed, shattering the unnerving silence. “Before the breaking of time destroys the world as we know it!” Goram thumped his fist on the table for emphasis.

  “Indeed,” Damell agreed with a firm nod, and then looked at the alarmed and wide-eyed faces around the table. “All of us are leaving here together, in the united objective to constrain the Dark One’s activities. Is this correct?”

  Rhuna looked at all the familiar faces seated around the low table, scrutinizing each one’s desire for the immediate future. Mohandu nodded excessively as Yarqi narrowed her intense dark eyes and said yes. Lozira looked at Goram whose green eyes sparkled with fiery ambition.

  “I go with you,” Rhuna’s mother said in her newly-acquired Atlan language. She smiled at her accomplishment, and then looked at the gentle giant beside her.

  “Me, too!” Panapu said with a firm nod of his big, bald head. “Where else I go?”

  “You could live in our house in Cha’al,” Lozira suggested. “So peaceful and beautiful, right on the lake…”

  “Need me to fight danger!” Panapu stated, and Rhuna immediately recalled how the big man had saved her life by striking the deadly tulpa with his massive wooden club. She smiled at the big man, and then glanced at Lozira who had cast her eyes down onto the table.

  “Then let us examine the knowledge we have gleaned during our sojourn,” Damell directed.

  “Sojourn?” Goram flung his head back with mock laughter.

  “Commence with your proposal of a strategy,” Damell snapped at Goram. The Atlan man with enigmatic green eyes glared defiantly at Damell for a moment.

  “I propose the following strategy,” Goram began confidently. “We journey to the Black City and observe the unnatural changes at close range, then…”

  “With what intention?” Damell interrupted. “We have already observed the changes by means of The Infinite, from Rhuna’s visions, and even from the changed texts in the Depository.”

  “All visions and acquired knowledge from a distance are piecemeal and cannot replace a thorough examination in direct proximity,” Goram responded firmly, his green eyes holding Damell’s gaze.

  “Indeed,” Damell nodded his approval. “Are we all in agreement with Goram’s statement?”

  “Yes, he is right,” Yarqi replied.

  “Indeed, indeed,” Mohandu nodded.

  Damell looked questioningly at Rhuna when she remained silent and still.

  “Oh, I just have a terrible feeling about it all,” Rhuna admitted with a deep sigh of dismay. “It feels futile to even try to stop him now!”

  “I agree,” Lozira said cautiously. “The Dark One has gone into the distant past by means of manipulating a time loop, and now he is out of our reach, unless…”

  “Unless we follow him into his time,” Goram concluded.

  “Goram, no!” Lozira shouted, her beautiful features contorted in anguish.

  “No, it is too dangerous,” Damell firmly agreed. “Our knowledge of manipulating time loops is far too inaccurate to attempt such a drastic step.”

  “It is merely one of my strategies,” Goram retorted sharply. “My first plan of attack is to mingle with the residents of the Black City to learn of the Dark One’s activities. When this is clearly understood, we shall know how to proceed.”

  “That good Army thinking!” Panapu said. “In Army we learn about enemy first before make plan of attack.” Rhuna looked fondly at the hulking giant who had served in The Reigning One’s Army in Safu, and then loyally accompanied her across several lands and seas.

  “Does anyone have another suggestion?” Damell asked after a long moment of silence.

  “It sounds like such a dangerous place,” Lozira stated. “Is it really wise to even go there?”

  Rhuna looked at Shandi and was suddenly overwhelmed by a fierce motherly instinct to protect her small child. Aradin reached across to squeeze her hand, and she instantly felt the strong bond of parental love that united them.

  “How can we even begin to consider fighting an entire city,” Aradin said with a deep sigh of dismay. He looked at Rhuna with parental concern as he continued to hold her hand firmly.

  “This is my opinion, also,” Lozira said softly.

  “It is true,” Damell considered with a deep frown folding across his brow. “The Dark One’s realm has expanded exponentially; alarmingly so, during the four lunar cycles of our confinement.”

  “But that only makes any attempt on our part seem even more futile because we’re not just up against a whole city of his followers, but against events that have been happening over many generations!” Aradin observed.

  “Pah!” Goram huffed loudly. “We must not look at his entire realm over time as the enemy; rather focus only on a single man! Should we stop the Dark One himself, then his entire Dark Realm shall crumble,” Goram stated confidently.

  Rhuna was impressed and nodded in agreement.

  “I think he’s right,” she stated, feeling a great weight lift from her.

  The others pondered Goram’s words for a moment longer, and then also agreed.

  A moment later, Rhuna heard the shuffle of feet covered in thick, warm padding and turned around to look. Lhom Tsu approached them with a gleam in his eyes that Rhuna had not seen during the long, dark lunar cycles of the cold season. She looked at him expectantly, wondering what kind of disclosure he came to share with them.

  “You are expecting visitors,” the ageing Master of Ancient Wisdom stated in his usual calm and level voice.

  “Visitors?” Aradin repeated with surprise. Rhuna thought of Masters Tenzin and Dolma who had frequently visited them from a nearby community, walking through the dark and suffocating lengths of tunnels which connected the lofty mountain dwellings of this land.

  “Visitors from the land of Atlán,” Lhom Tsu confirmed.

  “From Atlán?” Goram, Damell and Aradin exclaimed in unison as they looked wide-eyed at Lhom Tsu and then at each other.

  “It is true,” Lhom Tsu said as a faint smile crossed his lips. “They commenced their journey from the land of Atlán several lunar cycles past, and shall arrive in this land within three days.”

  “Three days?” Rhuna repeated, looking down at Shandi beside her, and then at Aradin.

  “In three days you can meet them if you use our tunnels,” Lhom Tsu confirmed.

  “Shandi said we would leave here in three days!” Rhuna exclaimed with delight. She looked at the startled faces around her, and then kissed Shandi on her forehead. “What a precious daughter I have,” she added in a hushed whisper to herself as she pondered the significance of Shandi’s special gift.

  “They have journeyed from Atlán to meet us?” Damell asked, his voice feeble with astonishment.

  “I thought no one in Atlán knew where we were,” Aradin said, still grappling with the surprising revelation.

  “They did not know,” answered Lhom Tsu. “The reports of the Black City reached the High Council of Atlán, and some emissaries were delegated immediately.”

  Rhuna felt her heart pound with both excitement and apprehension as she thought of the High Council of Atlán on which she once served with her first husband, Tozar.

  “The High Council has sent them to investigate the Black City?” Aradin repeated carefully.

  “Of course!” Damell exclaimed. “We should have expected this.”

  “Sho
uld we have?” Goram retorted. “No Atlan had journeyed to this land in many generations before our arrival! Is that not so, Master Lhom Tsu?”

  Rhuna quickly looked at Lhom Tsu as he nodded in response.

  “So…if the High Council of Atlán has sent representatives to deal with the Black City, then it is no longer necessary for us to go there, is it?” Lozira asked hopefully.

  Rhuna looked intently at her first daughter’s anxious expression, and then at Goram’s fiery eyes as he spun around in surprise. Before Goram could answer, Lhom Tsu stepped closer to them and spoke.

  “When the Atlan party learned of your residence with us, they immediately requested to meet you,” Lhom Tsu explained. “…with the intention of collaboration in this common goal to impede and counteract the Dark Master’s work.”

  “Collaboration!” Goram scoffed angrily as he jumped to his feet.

  “It is a welcome invitation,” Damell spoke sagely.

  “For you perhaps,” Goram shot back as he began to pace. “Yet they view me as a loathsome enemy!”

  “They won’t want my help, either,” Rhuna added sadly. “Once they learn of my part in the destruction of Judharo…”

  “They have been informed already,” Lhom Tsu interrupted, and then paused a moment. “They are only four,” he added surreptitiously.

  “Ah-ha!” Goram stopped pacing and began to laugh. “Only four representatives of Atlán! They shall be outnumbered by us, and overwhelmed by their assignment!”

  “They will not like Mohandu and me either,” Yarqi added. Rhuna looked at the secretive woman with dark hair who always wore black garments and remembered the uncanny skills she had demonstrated during their recent dangerous adventure.

  “The High Council of Atlán only dispatches mature and experienced representatives who evaluate matters without undue judgement,” Damell said as he looked at each person seated around him.

  “They shall be forced to accept us as we are, should they require our assistance!” Goram corrected with a scornful grin.

  “How do you know about the arrival of the Atlans?” Lozira asked Lhom Tsu. “Did a messenger arrive? We have seen no one.”

  Rhuna realized with surprise that her daughter was right, and she turned to Lhom Tsu in eager expectation of his answer.

  “At times we receive communications on the wind,” the Master of Ancient Wisdom answered. She saw a glint in his narrow dark eyes, and a twitch of the fine lines around his lips.

  “On the wind? What does that mean?” Goram asked irritably.

  “By mental communication,” Lhom Tsu clarified with a faint smile.

  “My people can do that, too,” Yarqi said after a lengthy silence as Rhuna and her group slowly comprehended Lhom Tsu’s words. Rhuna looked at her enigmatic friend and realized that she still knew very little about Yarqi’s past and her people known as The Wanderers.

  “Our fellow Masters residing on the foothills have welcomed the Atlans,” Lhom Tsu began. “Then we imparted to them on the wind that you people are here, and under which circumstances. This was in turn conveyed to the Atlans, who are now coming here to meet you.”

  “Very impressive,” Mohandu said, nodding.

  “How is it achieved?” Goram asked with intense curiosity. Lhom Tsu smiled briefly before turning to leave. Rhuna watched as the Master of Ancient Wisdom returned to the private chamber behind the solid wooden door.

  “Such arrogance!” spat Goram. “Even after the betrayal and demise of one of their own, they smugly refuse to tell us the secrets of their knowledge and skills!”

  “They have kept their skills secret from everyone for a very long time,” Damell responded. “They have already shared more with us than anyone else before.”

  Goram grunted with disapproval as Rhuna and Kiana gathered the empty bowls and drinking vessels.

  “Who could the representatives from Atlán be,” Lozira said with excitement. “Perhaps someone we know!”

  “It would be good to see some new faces, no matter who they are,” remarked Mohandu as everyone stood up to go about the daily routine of chores and various activities.

  “I would like to access The Infinite to see the Atlan visitors,” Rhuna whispered to her father as he passed her.

  “It interests me, also,” Damell answered with a smile.

  Rhuna finished removing the bowls and plates from the table as she watched her small child take Aradin’s hand and happily follow the others into one of the common rooms. When she finished helping Kiana and Panapu clean the dishes, Rhuna turned into one of the many dark corridors hewn into the mountainside. She found the thick curtain that partitioned the private area her father used, and sat down on a thick cushion beside him.

  After a moment of silence, Rhuna looked at her father as she waited for his instruction.

  “You do not need me to instruct you anymore,” Damell said despondently. Rhuna looked in her father’s face and noticed many fine lines she had not seen before.

  “You look tired,” she observed.

  “My confidence has been shaken, as you know,” Damell said slowly, and then leaned back into the position to release his Extended Consciousness. “Let us commence.”

  Rhuna also leaned back on a cushion, wishing her father would regain the confidence he once had before his teacher betrayed his fellow Masters of Ancient Wisdom. Then she closed her eyes and began the special rhythmic breathing which quickly allowed her mind to enter the silent inner tranquility that empowered her mental energy.

  In a short time, Rhuna felt ready to release her Extended Consciousness from her physical body. She passed through the barrier of disorientation, and then felt herself floating upwards as she looked down on her reclining body. Rhuna lingered for a brief moment, savouring the sensations of extended awareness beyond the material plane. Then she focussed her concentration on the four Atlan representatives making the arduous journey to meet Rhuna and her party.

  In an instant, Rhuna was transported to the place where four people slowly ascended a meandering track through a thin forest. She willed her Extended Consciousness to float down alongside them so that she could see their faces. The group of Atlans wore long, thick coats lined with fur, and their hoods were pulled over their heads to protect their faces from the biting cold wind.

  Rhuna strained to keep her Extended Consciousness moving evenly alongside each person as she looked at their faces in expectation of recognizing one of them. She pulled back with slight disappointment that she knew none of the four Atlan representatives, and in that moment she sensed her father by her side. His Extended Consciousness appeared dull at first, but Rhuna noticed a bright sparkle of flickering light within the opaque mass that continually changed form beside her.

  “Concentrate on seeing their auras,” Damell instructed by means of mental thought-transference. Rhuna always felt a thrill at experiencing this intimate communication on a spiritual plane. She returned her attention to the travellers who walked in silence at a steady pace, and then focussed on seeing their auras.

  Suddenly, Rhuna was overwhelmed by sensory information about the four people whose auras she attempted to see. Various colours, sounds and emotions flooded over her as she struggled to filter out only the aura of each person. When it appeared she was not succeeding, Rhuna renewed her concentration onto only one of the Atlan representatives.

  This time, Rhuna was able to discern first of all that the Atlan closest to her was a woman of mature age but in good physical condition. She heard the steady rhythm of the woman’s heartbeat and breathing, then sensed her disciplined mind which focussed on the endurance necessary for her long walking journey. Finally, Rhuna began to see the woman’s aura emerge and radiate, first from the top of her head and flowing down all around her body. She was amazed to see the moving hues of greens mixed with pulses of yellow emanating from the Atlan woman, and she lingered to observe its beauty.

  “Let us return now.” Damell’s thought entered her mind, distracting Rhuna from her
fascination with the woman’s aura. She obediently followed the procedure to return her Extended Consciousness to her body, remembering the importance of taking each step slowly and with patience.

  The excitement of her new discovery made it difficult for Rhuna to be patient as her Extended Consciousness fully returned to the material plane. Finally, when her senses appeared very constricted and limited within her physical body, she opened her eyes and breathed in deeply.

  “Oh, that was wonderful!” she exclaimed, sitting up and looking at Damell beside her. Damell slowly opened his eyes and smiled at her. “You never told me about this before!”

  “It has only recently been taught to me,” Damell answered. “While you were learning the skill of reading and writing in the Depository of Archival Records, Lhom Tsu taught me the refined skills of accessing knowledge from The Infinite.”

  Rhuna expressed her surprise and delight that Damell had re-commenced his study with the Masters of Ancient Wisdom, and then waited for his further instruction on the subject.

  “What could you discern from the aura you perceived?” Damell asked.

  “The woman’s aura was mostly green, with flashes of yellow,” Rhuna answered. “It felt like the green colour expressed her balanced and calm state of mind.”

  Damell smiled again, and Rhuna saw the twinkle of excitement in his clear blue eyes that she had not seen in many lunar cycles.

  “Good. And the yellow flashes?” he continued to quiz Rhuna.

  “I’m not sure, but I think they were bursts of happy anticipation,” Rhuna replied.

  “That is my conclusion, also,” Damell said as he reached for an earthenware receptacle of water. Rhuna thought about the four travellers as he poured water into a vessel for both of them.

  “I feel uncomfortable having such intimate insights of a person without their knowledge,” she said between sips of the cold water. Damell smiled gently with understanding.

  “It is like the intrusion when summoning visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters,” Damell explained. “Yet we have learned self-discipline along with respect for another’s privacy.”