Rhuna- Black City

by Barbara Underwood

  “Important questions which we must answer,” Damell said, nodding his head sagely. Rhuna looked at Goram who sat at a nearby table with Lozira, Yarqi and Mohandu. She wondered what insights he and his group had which they were reluctant to share with the Atlan representatives.

  “Keeper of Wisdom,” said the deep, soft voice of Preserver of Faith. Rhuna looked at the woman, once again startled to hear her formal Atlan name. “It is well known in Atlán that your special ability to receive mental visions of the Dark One facilitated his capture, which ultimately resulted in his physical demise over twenty solar cycles past.”

  “Yes, I was able to see what he was doing and where he was,” Rhuna answered. “He created an interference so that it wasn’t possible to summon visions of him by means of the Gazing of the Waters, so my mental visions of his actions and whereabouts were very helpful.”

  “And now?” asked Preserver of Faith cautiously.

  “Since we arrived in this land, I have experienced several unsummoned visions,” Rhuna began slowly.

  The group sat in silence as they listened intently to Rhuna.

  She swallowed hard to suppress the horror of the vivid visions that had repeatedly invaded and ravaged her mind during their snowbound residence. The mere thought of the dizzying visions made her nauseous.

  “Not long after the Dark Master disappeared and we thought he was killed in the destruction of Judharo, I began to get unsummoned visions of the Dark Master and others all wearing black robes,” Rhuna continued, keeping her emotional reactions under control. “They caused lightning to appear from their hands, and they struck down a group of people wearing bright yellow garments.”

  “These recent unsummoned visions have been so intense that they make her dizzy and sick for a short time,” Aradin interjected.

  “Very interesting,” muttered Protector of Remembrance.

  “We assumed it was due to the element of broken time,” Damell added.

  “Yes, that is possible,” said Stillness of the Lake, looking at Rhuna. “What else can you tell us about these unsummoned visions?”

  Rhuna thought about the nature of the visions and how they made her feel each time they came upon her.

  “The visions I receive are always of the Dark Master’s strongest emotions, such as when he kills and triumphs over others using his superior powers,” Rhuna said.

  “Ah…so you actually feel what the Dark One is feeling during the event you perceive in a vision?” asked Protector of Remembrance with raised eyebrows.

  “Yes,” Rhuna replied with a firm nod. “I feel the…thrill of conquest, power and control over others…” she said with a shudder of repulsion.

  “Hmm,” Protector of Remembrance said as he began to stroke his beard.

  The group of Atlans sat in silence once again until the senior Atlan carefully asked Rhuna a shocking question.

  “Is it possible that you share a certain…bond with the Dark One,” Protector of Remembrance began. “…on a different, non-physical level, of course.”

  Rhuna was stunned for only a moment until she remembered a conversation during her visit to Shambala.

  “Something like that has been suggested once before,” Rhuna admitted.

  “Really?” asked Protector of Remembrance with genuine surprise. The other Atlan representatives looked at each other briefly.

  “Should a…a mental bond exist between you and the Dark One which you are able to access, it would be of great benefit to us,” Stillness of the Lake said.

  Rhuna felt she was reliving her experience as a young adult in the City of Atlán when older and experienced Atlans turned to her, relying on her special and unique insights.

  “Of course,” Rhuna replied. “But I have no control over the visions, even though I’ve tried many times to summon them since we’ve been here.”

  “Perhaps we may suggest a different approach,” Protector of Remembrance offered with hopeful, raised eyebrows.

  Rhuna stared at the senior Atlan with burning curiosity.

  “Approach the visions of the Dark One as a connection of mental energies, such as the transference of thoughts between two individuals,” Protector of Remembrance said.

  “Such as the mental communication between the Masters of Ancient Wisdom and their contemporaries in the Valley,” Stillness of the Lake added.

  “Like sending a message on the wind,” Aradin remarked.

  “In principle,” Protector of Remembrance said, and then returned his attention to Rhuna. “You must first establish such a mental bond with the Dark One, in this or a past time period.”

  Damell cleared his throat. “How do you know these advanced and unusual Atlan teachings?” he asked Protector of Remembrance.

  “This is the knowledge of the First Atlans,” the senior Atlan replied. “My speciality in knowing and maintaining the oral history of Atlán has allowed me to become familiar with some of the skills routinely practiced by the First Atlans.”

  “It is not common knowledge in the land of Atlán,” Damell commented.

  “No. Yet the knowledge is available for those who seek, and who are worthy of finding it,” the white-haired Atlan answered.

  Rhuna remembered that Goram had expressed certain knowledge of the First Atlans on several occasions, and she shifted her gaze across the room. Goram’s bright green eyes beamed fiery enthusiasm as he listened attentively.

  She returned her attention to the four Atlan representatives and their expectations of her.

  “I will try any other technique you suggest, if it will help us understand where the Dark Master is at this present time,” Rhuna answered.

  “We shall provide instruction and guidance for this technique,” Preserver of Faith said with a kind smile.

  “We shall depart early in the morning,” Damell interrupted. “Once we are settled in the small Atlan community of Axla, many new challenges shall certainly await us.”

  “We are prepared,” Protector of Remembrance stated firmly as he looked at the other Atlans.

  Rhuna awoke in the dark, sensing the sun would soon appear on the distant horizon, and she sat upright with excitement. She felt the shiver of fear and excitement course through her body at the prospect of leaving their snowbound dwellings to explore new and strange places.

  “Time to go?” asked Aradin, his voice clear and alert.

  “I’m excited and afraid at the same time,” Rhuna said as she lit a candle and stood up to dress.

  “Me, too.”

  “Are we going now?” asked Kiana from her nearby sleeping alcove.

  “Is everyone awake already?” Rhuna wondered.

  “I’ve been awake a long time, waiting to leave,” Kiana answered. “But Shandi has been asleep.”

  Rhuna sensed that everyone was excited and eager to leave, and she could feel the sizzle in the air as they met in the common rooms carrying their sacks of belongings. She looked out of one of the windows to see bright, twinkling stars above, and a faint hint of pale white light at the horizon.

  “Eat and drink tea first,” Duga said from the food preparation area where he had been toiling a while to make a sumptuous meal for them.

  Goram raised his nose in the air and breathed in deeply.

  “Aaah!” he sighed happily. “Where have you been hiding this good food all this time?” he asked Duga.

  Lozira giggled happily and Duga smiled before his expression suddenly changed.

  “You leaving, and it make me sad. Make everyone sad,” Duga said. “That why I make nice big meal.”

  Rhuna was touched by the native mountain-dweller’s sentiment, and looked around at the local residents working in the food preparation area who helped Duga with the morning feast. She smelled a brew of beans and vegetables, then the aroma of freshly baked flatbread with spices, and meat-filled barley dumplings. Her stomach groaned suddenly with ravenous hunger.

  “Your travel companion shall join you,” said the calm and level voice of Lhom Tsu, the senio
r Master of Ancient Wisdom. Rhuna and everyone else in the room looked towards the Master who had escorted Goll from the Depository. The whitish scribe wore a dark blue garment that covered his head and most of his face, but Rhuna could still see his pinkish eyes darting back and forth as he eyed his new surroundings.

  “You haven’t even been in the abode of the Masters of Ancient Wisdom?” Aradin asked, noticing Goll’s curiosity.

  “Yes, briefly,” the scribe answered in a faint voice. “Yet these rooms are unfamiliar to me.”

  Lhom Tsu led the scribe to the table where the four Atlan representatives were already seated, and Rhuna helped Duga and some others carry the food bowls to the table. She watched Goll as he gazed out of the window at the unfamiliar scenery being bathed in pale sunlight as the world slowly awakened.

  “Have we agreed who shall go first?” asked Greeter of Friends after they had relished the good food in silence.

  “We shall journey separately,” Goram said, indicating Yarqi and Mohandu, as well as Lozira who sat next to him.

  “I wish to join them,” Goll interjected quickly as he looked intently at Goram.

  Rhuna looked around at everyone, noting that Tozar sat at a respectful distance from Goram and Lozira.

  “Then I’ll take the representatives from Atlán first, along with my parents,” Rhuna decided.

  “When will you return to take us?” Mohandu asked.

  Rhuna stood up and walked towards a nearby table where she had left a bag of important navigational tools.

  “I’ve made calculations using the maps from the Depository,” Rhuna replied. “And some of the scribes made copies of the maps to take with us,” she said as she unfolded one of the copied textiles. The Atlans followed her to the table and watched with heightened curiosity as Rhuna showed them where they were located on the map, and then moved her finger up and across to the site of the Black City.

  “Such a great distance!” Stillness of the Lake exclaimed.

  “My RTE can travel very fast,” Rhuna said. “At the fastest speed it can travel exactly this distance in four rotations of the Day Segmentor.” Rhuna held up the mechanical device in her hand for the Atlans to see.

  “You have Atlan instruments,” remarked Greeter of Friends. “They are only used by certain Masters who calculate the movement of the stars and other celestial bodies.”

  “It’s necessary to use some form of time and distance measurement when journeying a long distance by Rapid Transport Enclosure,” Rhuna explained. “Using this and some other instruments, I’ve calculated that I should be able to make the journey twice in one day.”

  “Then we await your return at the day’s half-way point,” Goram surmised.

  Rhuna gathered the maps and navigation tools together and looked around for her mother. She found her busily washing the used food bowls alongside Duga and the other local residents.

  “You and Shandi can go with Damell and the Atlan representatives,” Rhuna said to Kiana.

  “I want to go with Papa-nu!” Shandi objected loudly.

  “Of course you do,” Rhuna said with a laugh. “I forgot that you two are inseparable!”

  Panapu walked from his usual place in the corner and picked up Shandi, smiling happily.

  “You two go with Goram’s group then,” Rhuna concluded, and then led the way to the corridor that led to the door of the plateau. Aradin walked behind her carrying the sacks of their personal belongings.

  Rhuna felt the bite of the crisp cool air on her cheeks but welcomed the stimulating effect. She looked up at the pale blue sky and puffs of white clouds, grateful for the fine weather on the day of their departure.

  “A perfect day to travel by RTE,” Aradin said, as if knowing her thoughts.

  The four Atlan representatives and Tozar cautiously stepped inside the Rapid Transport Enclosure, looking around at the panels, levers and many small windows around the vessel’s circumference.

  “Be seated around the floor window,” Rhuna instructed, pointing to the seating cushions around the large circle in the middle of the floor. She watched Damell guide Kiana to the cushion next to him while Tozar humbly waited for everyone to be seated first.

  “Needless to say, we have never been in any vessel such as this before,” Protector of Remembrance said with a slight tremor in his voice. Rhuna wondered whether he and the other Atlans might be nervous.

  “It’s very frightening at first,” Kiana said.

  Rhuna smiled at her mother’s open honesty, and then touched the switches in proper sequence to start the generator of magnetic forces. A gentle hum began to envelope the RTE, and as Rhuna pulled a lever gently forward, the hum intensified until she could feel the tingle of its vibration in her fingertips.

  “What is it?” asked Protector of Remembrance nervously.

  “It’s only the frequency of the magnetic pulse that causes weightlessness,” Rhuna explained. “It also propels the vessel in any lateral direction according to which of these levers I push or pull. And I adjust the speed by moderating the output of the magnetic pulse,” she added, showing the Atlans which levers and switches control those functions.

  “So logical and simple when one sees the mechanisms and knows the science!” Greeter of Friends laughed nervously.

  Rhuna began the careful procedure she had mentally rehearsed in the past few days, fully aware of the crucial factors in operating an RTE with nervous passengers. She moved the main lever for vertical weightlessness forward slowly, and soon heard the gasps of her passengers as they watched the ground falling away through the round floor window.

  “We are weightless, hanging in the air!” Stillness of the Lake gasped. Rhuna let go of the main lever when she judged the RTE was at a suitable height, and then looked back at her passengers. Most of them were mesmerized by the sight through the central window, but Damell looked around at the Atlans, and Tozar looked directly at Rhuna. She winced involuntarily, and returned her attention to the challenging task of precise navigation.

  “Show me the directional devices,” she whispered to Aradin seated beside her. He handed her the instruments in one hand while spreading out the map with the other. Rhuna pulled the lever that controlled the magnetic pulse output in the desired direction, and then adjusted a knob to release full power from the generator.

  In an instant, the Rapid Transport Enclosure began to move from stationary to full speed, while her passengers felt no discomfort except for the dizzying display of mountain peaks and landscapes dashing past below them.

  “Oh!” the Atlans said, almost in unison. “So many mountains,” whispered Preserver of Faith softly with awe.

  “And now they are gone!” Greeter of Friends remarked a moment later.

  “We have reached the vast empty wilderness beyond the mountains,” Damell said.

  “According to this map, there is nothing but wilderness all the way until we reach the Atlan township,” Aradin added as he glanced at the map in front of him.

  Rhuna set the Day Segmentor to mark an accurate passage of time from the moment the RTE began to accelerate, and then sat back from the control panel to relax slightly.

  “We are traversing great distances in only a short time,” Preserver of Faith said with awe. “How speedily we could travel throughout the land of Atlán with an RTE like this!”

  “The First Atlans deemed it unnecessary,” Protector of Remembrance stated flatly.

  “But why?” Aradin asked.

  The Atlans looked at Aradin and then at each other.

  “The First Atlans foresaw…difficulties,” Protector of Remembrance answered hesitantly.

  Rhuna looked at Aradin who returned her troubled expression. She decided to make it a personal goal to learn as much as possible about the First Atlans and their knowledge.

  The passengers of Rhuna’s RTE sat in silence for a while, and then gradually began to comment and discuss trivial matters as their nervousness faded. Kiana looked bored, and Tozar stood up to peer out of th
e side windows. Rhuna scanned her control panel regularly to ensure that her vessel was functioning properly, and that they were moving in the right direction. Finally, the instrument that indicated the passing of regular segments in a day indicated that they were near their destination.

  “The Day Segmentor shows that we should be near Axla now,” Rhuna announced, startling some of her passengers. “You can help me by looking out the windows to find it.”

  Rhuna moved the main lever that controlled the degree of weightlessness from the ground, thereby lowering the craft until it was easy to distinguish formations such as hills, rivers and buildings.

  “There’s nothing down here,” Kiana reported, looking through the floor window.

  “Over this way!” Tozar called out in a hoarse voice that Rhuna barely recognized. She adjusted the directional levers and slowed the movement of the RTE even further until she could see the buildings in the floor window near her feet.

  Rhuna recognized the barren, yellow-brown landscape she had seen by means of The Infinite, and then a few scattered buildings came into view through the window. A few splashes of colour appeared between the brownish mud-brick buildings set in a rough line that seemed to lead the way towards the town’s central courtyard.

  “Not many people here,” remarked Aradin.

  “The concourse and pyramidal mirador,” Greeter of Friends pointed.

  Rhuna dropped the lever for lateral movement, letting the RTE hover over the open plaza of the tiny Atlan township of Axla.

  “We’re going down now,” Rhuna announced, moving the main lever very gently until she could almost see the texture of the sandy dirt directly below the round central window. A mild thump indicated that they were on the ground, and Rhuna made the final lever adjustments to steady the vehicle.

  Aradin opened the door of the Rapid Transport Enclosure and peered outside. Rhuna stood behind him and looked at a gathering of people standing at a distance, huddled together as if in fear.