“You must not go to the Black City,” Ogul said with sudden vehemence. “They kill all Atlans who enter the city!”
The Atlan representatives were shocked into silence as they stared at Ogul wide-eyed and aghast. Ogul took a deep, fortifying breath and began to explain.
“They will kill anyone with Atlan-white skin,” Ogul said with a tremor in his voice as he looked at the faces of the Atlan representatives. “And anyone with yellow hair,” he added, pointing at Lozira.
Rhuna supressed a gasp as she saw a shadow of terror pass over her daughter’s beautiful face.
“Then I shall not go,” Lozira responded with a controlled but high-pitched voice strained by fear. Goram grasped Lozira’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
“You must not go,” Ogul said, looking at Damell, and then at Tozar, who sat in the furthest corner of the room.
“How is this possible?” began Stillness of the Lake with a trembling voice. “They hate us so intensely…”
“The Dark One hates us,” Protector of Remembrance corrected as he quickly regained his composure. “It is surely his directive, and a protective stance against any further Atlan attempts to thwart him and his dark reign of terror!”
“We should have expected such a tactic,” Goram grumbled with a deep frown.
“But I can go, can’t I?” Rhuna asked hopefully. “Aradin and I, as well as Mohandu, Yarqi and Panapu?”
“And I!” Goll interjected, raising a ghostly white hand.
“You have white skin, but your eyes and nose are like ours,” Ogul observed carefully. “You must be cautious.”
“This is unacceptable!” Goram boomed. “It is imperative that I see the Black City!” Goram sprang to his feet and paced the room in agitation.
“They kill you,” Mengu said soberly. “You look Atlan. They kill all Atlans.”
“Then I shall disguise myself!” Goram exclaimed, grinning at his ingenious plan.”
“You must be very careful what you say and do, or else…” hissed Ogul’s aunt before Lozira could discourage Goram from his plan. “The Mages control the Black City, and they always know when someone doesn’t fully agree with their teachings.”
“What teachings?” Protector of Remembrance asked, looking at the woman tending the food pot and then back at Ogul.
“The teachings of The Immortal One,” Ogul answered.
Rhuna’s heart pounded hard as she recognized the new name of the Dark Master. She looked at Damell again, and then waited for Ogul to continue.
“He teaches the Only True Way,” Ogul continued. “The Atlan Way is wrong. Atlans have deceived the world, and The Immortal One has proven them wrong. His way of enlightenment is the only path to success and happiness.”
The room fell silent again until Ogul’s aunt tapped the pot’s rim with her spoon.
“Visitors to the Black City must bring gifts and obey the rules…” Ogul paused and looked at his aunt who stood at the fire with her back turned away from everyone. “Or risk suffering an unnatural accident or…death.”
Another long silence ensued until Protector of Remembrance took the lead once again. “What are the rules one must obey?” he asked Ogul.
“Rule is simple,” Mengu said clearly. “Do not make any rules!”
“What does that mean?” Aradin asked as everyone turned back to Ogul for clarification.
“The Mages enforce The Immortal One’s primary law, which is Constrain No-one. This means you must not attempt to hinder anyone’s actions, not even with mere words.”
Rhuna looked at Aradin and then at the four Atlan representatives. “That doesn’t sound so bad,” she remarked. “The Atlan Way teaches a similar respectful mentality towards everyone.”
“Not same,” Mengu said, shaking his head vigorously.
“You must not say or do anything to prevent someone’s actions, no matter what it is,” Ogul said forcefully. “And do not even speak the word Atlan! Do not use any Atlan powers such as transformation of elements or lighting fire with projection of mental energy.”
“Not even speak the word Atlan?” Rhuna repeated with horrified disbelief.
“What happens if you do?” Aradin asked, wide-eyed with grave concern.
“The Mages conduct a hearing to ascertain one’s reason for speaking the word,” Ogul answered.
A heavy silence once again filled the room until Mengu’s cheerful voice broke the mesmerizing mood.
“Rules in Black City only! You stay here in Axla; make stone for our houses,” Mengu said, smiling.
“Eat first,” Ogul’s aunt called out, tapping her heavy spoon on the pot’s rim. Rhuna realized that the room was filled with delicious cooking aromas which began to dispel the icy chill of terror which had coursed through the room.
The visitors to Axla sat in a large circle around plates and bowls of food which sat on a colourful, thick floor mat. Rhuna ate the meat and vegetable stew with relish, and was delighted when the cooking aroma was replaced with the comforting scent of freshly baked flatbread.
“Good meat!” Goram mumbled between large mouthfuls.
“The same kind of food we ate before, yet it tastes so much better!” Aradin remarked. Rhuna nodded and looked around at familiar and new faces as they ate in silence, nodding and smiling their approval of the hearty meal.
The bread and stew were followed by crisply baked dough with a creamy sweet filling.
“This is the best sweet food I have ever tasted!” Mohandu exclaimed, reaching for the large plate to take another.
“My sister makes them for special occasions,” Ogul explained with a satisfied smile.
“This we drink on special days,” Mengu said as he stepped into the circle to place a large jug among the food bowls. “It made from milk.”
Aradin let Mengu pour some of the white liquid into his drinking vessel, but hesitated when he raised the cup to his lips.
“It’s intoxicating,” Aradin stated.
“It is fermented,” Ogul confirmed. “Only a little intoxicating,” he added timidly.
“Atlans do not drink intoxicating beverages,” Damell said, returning his vessel and reaching for the water jug.
“We shall try it,” Goram said, pointing to Yarqi and Mohandu.
“I, too,” Goll said.
Rhuna looked at the scribe, wondering how he was experiencing the outside world, far away from the Depository that had been his only home his entire life.
“Have you ever had intoxicating beverages?” Lozira asked Goll.
“No. I wish to try everything,” he answered honestly.
Rhuna declined the drink, but watched Aradin and Panapu take several small sips of the fermented milk drink.
“Where are the children? They have a ball,” Shandi said. Rhuna looked down at her young child seated between her and Aradin.
“You can meet the children of Axla tomorrow,” Ogul told Shandi with a kind smile.
“You saw a ball in a vision?” Rhuna asked in a whisper.
Shandi nodded, and then asked for another cream-filled sweet.
“I saw people in black robes, too,” Shandi said after she had eaten the delicious baked dessert.
Rhuna looked at Aradin who had also heard Shandi’s words.
“Do the Mages wear black robes?” Rhuna asked Ogul.
“Yes. You saw already?” Ogul asked, puzzled.
“The Dark Master’s followers always wear such garments,” Aradin explained, and then
finished his unusual fermented milk drink.
“Tell us more about the Black City,” Damell asked of Ogul. Rhuna quickly put down her emptied drinking vessel and waited with fearful curiosity for the local man to speak.
“Everyone in the city is alone,” Ogul began. “No family, no group living in the same house together, like we do.”
“No families?” Lozira repeated with surprise.
“Everyone angry, everyone crazy!” Mengu interjected.
“Everything is perv
erted,” Ogul clarified. “No one can sustain a normal family relationship because they are so…so…”
“Self-centred?” Rhuna offered, trying to imagine a society without a family unit.
“Yes, and more…” Ogul said, struggling to find the right words to describe the dysfunctional community of the Black City. “No one cares for another person, no one respects another person. Everyone is suspicious of everyone else.”
“Everyone hate, not love,” Mengu summarized.
“Yes,” Damell said with a sigh. “This description fits the Dark One’s mentality and the society he has created wherever he established himself.”
Rhuna looked around at the grave expressions of the Atlan representatives and the fearful gazes between Ogul and his aunt and sister.
“What happens tomorrow?” Aradin asked.
“Some of us should go to the Black City to observe and learn,” Mohandu said, nodding.
“Those of us who do not look like Atlans,” Yarqi added.
Rhuna looked questioningly at Goll and Panapu.
“I go, protect you,” Panapu said firmly.
“I desire very much to go,” Goll said. “I shall be careful.”
“My sister and I shall guide you to the Black City,” Ogul offered. “It is near the time of our regular trade journey to supply the city with our food produce, and we require certain products in exchange.”
Ogul paused as he scrutinized the dishevelled clothes Rhuna and her family wore.
“Perhaps you desire new clothing?” Ogul offered, looking down at the frayed hem of Rhuna’s tunic.
“We have been wearing most of our clothes every day during the entire cold season in the Land at the Top of the World,” Aradin conceded, examining the hole in one of his sleeves.
“We all need new undergarments, and outer wear,” Rhuna admitted. “And footwear!”
“You can leave your thick overcoats behind,” Ogul suggested. “It is warm during the day, and only slightly cold at night.”
“What is required to trade for clothes and textiles?” Goram asked. “We possess certain items of jewellery and precious stones for such an exchange.”
“Yes! Some textiles for new dresses!” Lozira said, forcing herself to be of good cheer.
“Would such a trade not attract undue attention?” Damell asked Ogul with a concerned frown.
“No, to the contrary,” Ogul replied, and then turned to address Rhuna and Aradin. “If you accompany us as traders from our town of Axla, you will be far less conspicuous.”
“Then you shall go on our behalf,” Protector of Remembrance said decisively, looking at Rhuna and Aradin, then at Mohandu and Yarqi. “Observe carefully and report everything to us on your return.”
After some further discussions to plan the next day’s journey, Rhuna and her group returned to their sleeping rooms in the adjoining house. The sudden dark coldness of the outside night air surprised her, and she realized that the interior of the simple and modest mud-brick houses was actually very cosy.
Shandi hurried into the small room Rhuna and Aradin had chosen, pulled the blanket over her head and soon fell asleep. Panapu and Goll shared another small chamber opposite the room where Yarqi and Mohandu discussed sleeping arrangements. Rhuna heard Goram and Lozira bicker in a hushed tone as she passed through the corridor on her way to the washing area.
“You must not go, Goram! It is much too dangerous!” Lozira’s urgent whispers followed Rhuna as she walked softly past their room. Her heart felt heavy as she pondered her daughter’s distress, and then remembered the herbs Lozira had asked of Duga to terminate a pregnancy.
Rhuna slept fitfully, her dreams restless and disturbing until Ogul tapped on the wall to waken her from a shallow doze. She looked out the window to see only a faint streak of pale yellow on the horizon.
“Much to prepare, and it is a long journey,” Ogul whispered.
Rhuna gently rocked Aradin awake, and then grabbed the bag she had packed the previous night. She kissed Shandi’s forehead as she lay sleeping, and then walked softly along the corridor.
“You are leaving?” Lozira whispered, startling Rhuna.
“Shandi is still asleep. Look after her while we are away,” she told her daughter.
“Of course. Be careful,” she urged.
Rhuna leaned over to quickly embrace and kiss Lozira, and then saw Goram standing behind her.
“We’ll tell you everything when we return,” she told him.
Goram grunted with resignation.
Rhuna and Aradin left the house with Goll and Panapu, each one carrying a small bag for the two-day journey. Aradin carried a separate small pouch containing the precious stones and some items of jewellery with which to trade. Yarqi and Mohandu walked ahead of them following Ogul and his sister until they met at the end of the short road. Rhuna looked at the dark and quiet mud-brick homes as she passed them, hearing only the crunch of her footsteps on the gravelly track. The group walked in silence to the edge of the township, passing a group of goats on one side and a fenced-in paddock of sheep on the other.
“The camels are ready,” Ogul said, pointing to a team of ten two-humped camels already covered in saddle blankets and sacks of trading goods.
“We’ve ridden camels before,” Aradin said as they were led to their individual camels. “Much nicer than walking all day!”
Before long, Rhuna was able to fully enjoy the beauty of the early morning in the dry and sandy wilderness between Axla and the Black City. She relaxed in the simple saddle and swayed with the rhythmical movement of her camel, letting her mind wander. As the sun ascended and warmed her back, drowsiness overcame her and she closed her eyes.
The tranquil silence around her with only the soft footfalls of the camels lulled her further into sleep until suddenly she felt a jarring jolt of anger and frustration. The emotions came from within her, yet were not her own. In that moment, she saw a mental image of the Dark Master looking into a basin of water, his face contorted in anguish.
Rhuna gasped as her eyes flew open, her hands groping for the camel’s mane in fear of falling off.
“What is it?” Aradin called from ahead, turning in his saddle to look back at Rhuna.
Rhuna hesitated to answer, struggling to understand what had happened.
“I think I had an unsummoned vision again…or maybe it was just a dream.”
“A dream? Were you asleep?!” Aradin teased.
“You had a vision,” said Yarqi confidently. Rhuna looked behind her and saw the black-clad woman’s piercing dark eyes observing her. “Tell us about it when we stop to rest.”
The camel caravan stopped only once during the early part of the sun’s ascent, and Rhuna was relieved to be on firm ground for a while. Ogul and his sister quickly unpacked bread and other baked treats to share with everyone. Goll walked awkwardly towards them as if his legs were bent, and Rhuna supressed a mischievous smile.
“Riding a camel all day is uncomfortable for all of us,” she told the white-skinned scribe.
“That is a physical condition,” Goll admitted as he rubbed the back of his thighs. “My mind struggles to accept this endless open terrain.” He looked around at the low hills of sand and scrubs, readjusting the fine textile shawl he had wrapped around his head and over his eyes.
“Yes, the landscape is barren and dry,” Rhuna agreed. “Nothing to see between Axla and the Black City.”
“What about your vision?” asked Yarqi as she sat down beside Rhuna and took one of the baked goods from Ogul.
Rhuna described the short but poignant vision as Aradin and Mohandu also sat down to listen carefully.
“In my vision he was standing in front of a basin of water, like we use for summoning visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters,” Rhuna said, recalling the brief image she saw in her mind. “I think he was angry and frustrated that he couldn’t summon a certain vision.”
“That’s good,” Aradin said cheerfully. “You haven’t had a mental
vision in a while, and maybe you’ll get some more again soon.”
“I was very sleepy when it happened,” Rhuna remarked. “That’s why I almost thought it was just a dream.”
“Maybe that’s when the visions come more easily to you,” Aradin suggested hopefully. “When you’re tired or on the verge of sleep.”
Rhuna nodded and quickly finished eating the bread with butter before returning to her camel. She watched Goll walk stiffly to his camel and mount, and then decided that the unusual scribe was coping well with his challenging new environment.
The camel caravan continued in a straight and direct course to the Black City, and stopped just behind a low hill as the sun began its final descent.
“You can see the Black City if you look over that little rise there,” Ogul said. “We always camp here,” he added, commanding his camel to lower itself to the ground so that he could dismount.
Rhuna was suddenly very curious to see the Black City, and impatiently waited for her camel to let her down. When her feet touched the ground, she realized that the others were also eager to see the city they had heard so much about in many lunar cycles. She joined Aradin and Mohandu scramble up the sandy hill to the top where they sighed aloud in amazement.
“I’ve never seen a city like that before,” Rhuna whispered, her voice full of awe and dread. “It looks sinister and unnatural.”
“Hmm,” Aradin agreed.
Rhuna looked closely at the strangely-shaped towers and dark, spindly spires that reached towards the sky like skeletal fingers. The sight caused a sudden shiver down her spine, and at the same time a cold evening breeze swept across her. The descending sun cast deep, ominous shadows from the towers and bulky buildings between them, making the city look even more unnatural.
As they stared at the unearthly constructions, lights began to emanate from many windows in the buildings and along one of the main avenues that was visible from their vantage point on the small hill crest.
“What kind of people live there?” Rhuna wondered.
“We’ll find out tomorrow,” said Aradin, turning around and looking at the welcome fire and cooked meal Ogul and his sister had prepared.
Rhuna- Black City Page 10
