Quetzalcoatl decided not to punish Topiltzin for his unsatisfactory report. There were often happenings in the realms that even gods could not explain. “I know there is treachery afoot,” he said in a more neutral tone. “You have checked the temples of our allies?” He raised an eyebrow and stared at the priest, waiting for an answer.
“I have checked, but have found nothing, my lord. Shall I send out more envoys to procure an answer? Is this important?” asked Topiltzin.
“Of course you should, you fool! Do whatever is needed to find out!” Quetzalcoatl yelled, his frustration breaking free. Long ago, when he lived on Earth and had millions of followers, he need simply think of someone and they would be transported immediately to wherever he wanted them to be. Much of that power was lost to him now. His only consolation was that all the other gods were in much the same situation.
Topiltzin backed out of the room quickly, bowing and making apologies as he left. “It shall be done my lord. My deepest apologies.”
Quetzalcoatl scowled and shouted after the man. “And do not return to me until you have something worth reporting!” He looked at the parchment letter and read it a second time to be sure he hadn’t missed anything. Finding its report still trivial, he crumpled it and tossed it aside. He had seen in his celestial observations that the attack they had intercepted had not been entirely thwarted; that the prize he sought had yet to be claimed. If only the stars would reveal where to find it! Quetzalcoatl did not enjoy tedious games, but was as good at planning his moves as any of the gods. He just hoped that most of them had not yet begun to play.
* * *
D’Molay tied the cart up to a hitching post and he walked with Aavi onto the dock. They were hit with a strong odor that at first made Aavi cough. “Ewww, what is that smell?” Aavi asked, taken aback by the earthy scent.
He gave Aavi a confused look and then realized what she meant, “Oh, you mean the lake? Is that really new to you? It’s just wet earth and water, and maybe a few fish. You’ll get used to it. Come on.” He encouraged her forward by putting his hand on her shoulder as they walked along the dock.
Aavi did find the smell somewhat repellent at first, but slowly she grew to like the mix of these two elements as they met at the shoreline. She stumbled as they walked along the wooden planks toward a grey robed figure wearing a broad flat hat made of dry reeds. Aavi realized it was an elderly woman leaning against a long wooden staff.
“So Mazu, good to see you again. How are you? It’s been couple of years,” D’Molay said as they drew closer.
The old woman tilted her head up and looked at them both within the shadow from the broad brim that hid most of her face. “Ahh, D’Molay, it has been a while,” the wizened woman said in a somewhat creaky voice.
“Last time we met you took me up river. We had to deliver the Jade Empress to Peng Lei’s island.”
A mischievous smile flitted across her ancient face as she answered, “Yes, I remember it well. The dragon of the Huang He has still not forgiven me for how we deceived him. Your journeys are always some of the most . . . interesting ones,” she chuckled a bit.
D’Molay smiled, “Well, I promise you today’s ferrying will be much easier.”
“Does it involve the beautiful Lotus blossom at your side?” Mazu turned her attention to Aavi. The ferry pilot tipped her hat backwards a bit, clearly revealing a very old and weathered face that seemed calm and benevolent.
“It does. I’m sorry, allow me to make introductions.” D’Molay gestured towards Aavi. “Mazu, this is Aavi. She needs to go across the lake to see the Oracle. As you may have gathered Aavi, my path and Mazu’s have crossed several times over the years.”
Aavi sheepishly raised a hand and said hello. She wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to do. She was still learning about greeting people, and had not met anyone as old as Mazu. Aavi wondered if all the creases in the old woman’s face and hands hurt, but decided that now probably wasn’t the time to ask.
“Hello, child. So you wish to go to the Oracle? Do you have an invitation? They won’t let just anyone in.” Mazu leaned on her staff as she looked from Aavi to D’Molay for an answer.
“Ah, yes she does.” D’Molay pulled out the slip of parchment that Kafele had given them and took Aavi’s hand. “Don’t lose this. You’ll need this when you get to Buddha’s Retreat. Just present it at the door.” D’Molay realized it was a little disconcerting caring for Aavi. He was never really sure what would be obvious to her and what she might not understand at all.
“I will! And I haven’t lost the coins you gave me either, see?” Aavi proudly held up the small green bag to show him before slipping it back into her robe pocket along with the parchment he’d just given her. D’Molay really looked at her, and as the wind blew through her hair, with the great lake and blue sky behind her, he realized just how exquisite Aavi looked. No matter where she went or what she did, the girl just looked perfect. D’Molay began to suspect there must be a touch of the gods in Aavi.
Mazu brought D’Molay out of his thoughts. “Very well then, it seems everything is in order. But we need to discuss my fee and I have a question or two to ask you D’Molay.” She gestured with her bony finger for him to come closer. He stepped over to Mazu and they huddled together to make the business arrangements.
Aavi paid scant attention to them. She was looking out at the vast expanse of water and clouds in the distance. Up close around the dock’s pylons, Aavi noticed small creatures swimming in the slightly murky waters and she knelt down to get a closer look. These must be the fish that D’Molay had mentioned. Some of them were brightly colored, but most seemed a silvery metallic color. They had an almost hypnotic effect on her as she watched them happily swim around. They reminded her of something, but she couldn’t think what it might be.
A hand touched her on the shoulder and she looked up to see D’Molay by her side. “Ready to go, Aavi?” he asked.
“I suppose,” she said timidly. D’Molay helped her get to her feet. With his hands on her shoulders, he held her at arm’s length as they looked at each other, face to face.
“Aavi, I wish I could go with you. I don’t like leaving you like this. But when we first met, I was on my way to a deliver something for the gods. Do you understand?” D’Molay didn’t feel right about leaving Aavi in someone else’s care, even for a short time. He wasn’t so much worried for her safety as he was for the fact that he was about the only person she knew. “She’s quite alone in the City of Gods,” he thought, looking into her beautiful eyes.
For just a moment, Aavi felt a strange lump welling in the back of her throat, but then it quickly faded away. “I wish you’d come with me too, but I understand. You have to earn more of those coins, like the ones you gave me.” She gently placed her hands on his strong outstretched arms.
“It’s just that people are depending on me to do things, so I have to go. Mazu will take you across the lake and guide you to Buddha’s Retreat. Then she’ll bring you back, and I’ll meet you.” He inwardly chastised himself for becoming so quickly attached to the girl. Over the years, he’d discovered his lifestyle wasn’t suited for such alliances. D’Molay had learned it best to be neutral and unattached to best serve the gods.
Aavi looked furtively over at the elderly Mazu. She was putting something into the boat. “So it will be all right, and I’ll see you again?” she asked, just to make sure.
“I promise, Aavi. I’ll be right here on the dock waiting for you.” He gave her a hug and helped her get into Mazu’s small ferry, which always had reminded D’Molay of the gondolas he had seen when he had passed through Venice, back on Earth. As the boat pulled away from the dock, D’Molay waved to Aavi and yelled. “Good luck with the Oracle.”
“Goodbye D’Molay! Thank you so much!” Soon the boat pulled far enough out that they could no longer hear each other.
So Aavi traveled by boat. As usual, she had no recollection of having done so before, and the feeling of the wave
s bobbing slightly up and down as they moved through the water seemed to emphasize that she was just a small thing in the realm of the Gods, yet also part of something larger. She hadn’t felt this way at all while walking the busy streets of the City.
Aavi was enjoying the sensation of the wind blowing through her hair and the smell of the water. At first she had hated the smell of the water, yet in just a short time she found it pleasant. The boat seemed to run on its own, guided by Mazu’s magic. Mazu was seated across from Aavi, and decided to pass the time with some conversation. “This lake is called Otsumi, or the Lake of the Creation. By any Earthly measure it is the size of a small ocean. Otsumi protects the City of the Gods on all sides should any gods get the idea to invade and wrest control from the Council, though such attacks have only happened a few times in the last millennium.”
“Yes, it is wonderful all this water,” Aavi replied disconnectedly. She had understood very little of what Mazu was talking about, other than the lake had an odd name and was big. Her only thoughts were of the beauty of the water, the grandeur of the City, the trees, and the parklands on the coastline. Even the deepening sunset sky with the fluffy golden clouds was too picturesque for words.
Aavi remembered the letter of introduction and checked to make sure she still had it. She held the parchment in her pocket and squeezed it all the tighter, for fear it might blow away in the wind. Then she felt the bag of coins that D’Molay had lent her, just to make sure she hadn’t left anything behind. She heard the bag make a metallic chinking sound in her robe pocket, and smiled to herself.
Mazu had been asked by D’Molay to keep an eye on Aavi as she seemed to be a bit unsteady on her feet. She was glad Aavi was seated, but still worried she might fall over the side. The last thing Mazu needed was to lose a friend of D’Molay’s, especially one he had paid her to deliver. “Are you all right, child?” she asked.
Aavi seemed to return from some distant thought as she answered. “Hmm? Oh yes, I’m fine. Just admiring the view. It’s so lovely. How far is it to the Buddha’s Retreat?”
“About four hours, give or take.” Mazu answered.
Aavi looked a little confused. “Give or take? Will I need to give more to travel there?” She thought her trip had been paid for.
The elderly Asian woman smiled as she tried to repress a chuckle. “No, no, it just means that it might take a little more or a little less than four hours to get there. Depends on the wind, the currents and how I can coax them to do my bidding.” Mazu reminded herself that this poor girl had been in some kind of accident and didn’t understand many seemingly simple things. In her years as the boat woman to the Buddha’s Retreat, she did not recall ferrying someone who had lost their complete identity before.
Aavi replied to herself as much as to Mazu, “Four hours. I wonder how long that is.” She seemed to drift back into a sort of daze as she looked out over the water and the sunset. The pair traveled on in silence.
As the bright orb slowly sank into the distant horizon, Aavi saw a flock of large birds flying off into the sun-drenched clouds. How she envied them. She imagined how fantastic it would be to take flight, leave the flat ground and soar into the skies and see everything from above. Then the thought passed from her mind and she looked back down at the lake waters rushing by the boat. Occasionally a school of brightly-colored fish or a strange, large sea creature would parallel the boat’s path, but the silent and beautiful trip across the lake was otherwise uneventful.
By the time the small boat got close to the shore it was getting dark. There were still hints in the sky that the sun had been there not too long ago. “We are lucky Aavi,” Mazu revealed. “Sunsets in the realms of the gods last much longer than the ones on Earth. Otherwise we would have spent the last two hours traveling in the dark.”
“Yes, I noticed all the light was draining from the sky. Does that always happen?” Aavi asked as she looked toward the approaching dark shoreline.
Mazu tied the boat alongside another wooden dock and climbed out of the boat. She looked with some bemusement over at Aavi.
“It is called night. Now, the Oracle’s temple is up on top of that hill. We’ll have to walk a bit. I promised D’Molay that I’d make sure you got all the way there, so I will accompany you,” she said as she leaned on her specially-shaped staff that served as walking stick, boat pole and oar.
Aavi struggled to stand up in the swaying boat and carefully made her way toward the old woman. “Thank you, I’d love the company. I really don’t know my way.” She was relieved to know she wouldn’t be alone. Aavi didn’t feel she would ever get used to being alone. It was strange to feel so isolated and disconnected from everything. Mazu held out her thin, bony hand and helped Aavi get out of the boat.
As they walked along the trail, Aavi peered at the trees and hills in the darkness. When they were in the boat, while there was still a golden glow in the sky, it all looked so pastoral and beautiful. Now, as she walked along in the slowly dimming sky, next to an elderly woman she knew nothing about, everything took on a sinister, threatening appearance. It was as if a dark blanket of fear was wrapping itself around her. Aavi tried to resist the feeling, reasoning that this was the first time she had been in the dark since she had lost her identity, so no doubt her fear was all the worse because of this.
“So, how long have you been running the boat from the City, Mazu?” Aavi asked, trying to break the foreboding silence. Mazu replied as they continued to walk.
“Several hundred years, since the last ferryman betrayed the gods by attempting to bring in usurpers. That ferryman was a human servant who was executed for his traitorous actions. After that, the Council decided that a god should take on the duty to make sure such a betrayal would not happen again. I volunteered, as I wanted to get back to the lakes and boats that that I once protected as a goddess in China.”
Aavi was surprised by this, “You were - I mean are - a goddess?” she asked.
Mazu chuckled slightly as she answered, “I suppose I look more like a fisherman’s wife. But yes, I am, though really I consider myself retired at this point.” Mazu laughed again as she seemed to be amused at something she kept to herself.
Aavi hoped Mazu wasn’t laughing at her ignorance. “I-I’m sorry, I meant no insult, Mazu. D’Molay didn’t tell me.” She examined Mazu again. With simple black trousers, wooden sandals, a grey, somewhat tattered, long-sleeved coat, and with her long grey hair in a braid down her back, would anyone have guessed she was a goddess? Aavi doubted it.
Mazu pointed a crooked finger at Aavi as she spoke. “Perhaps he did not want you to be any more worried then you already were. You will find that not all the gods here are glorious to look at, or beautiful. Not all of us are desirous of power or prestige. Many of us feel that we finished our duties when we were on Earth, and now in this place, it is our time to rest. I pilot the boat as much for my enjoyment as for any other reason.”
“Earth must be a very big place,” Aavi mused, causing Mazu to look at her curiously.
“Actually, it is quite small compared to the godly realms we reside in.” Mazu paused before an inscribed stone that lay along the path. It was lit by a small lantern set atop its flat surface. “This is the trail leading to Buddha’s Retreat. Come,” Mazu said as she turned and began to walk along the new trail, which was not as smooth and well-traveled as the one they left.
A moment later, Aavi stumbled on the uneven surface and awkwardly managed not to fall on her face. Once she regained her footing, she tried to explain her opinion about Earth’s size to Mazu. “I just thought that Earth would be a large place if it needs a city full of gods to run it,” she said, now holding up the skirt of her robe to keep it away from her feet.
Mazu found this idea humorous as she leaned grinning against her staff and waited for Aavi to catch up. “Perhaps Earth is larger than I remember. But you should know the gods left Earth some time ago, so it no longer depends upon us to control or aid it. What do you think of that?�
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Aavi didn’t know what she thought about that at all, but before she could express this to Mazu she staggered again. This time she could not blame the darkness, her feet, or the robe which she still held carefully out of the way. Fortunately old Mazu was alert and quick, catching her by the arm before she hit the ground.
“Sit, Aavi,” the goddess said. “The Oracle will wait.” Aavi nodded a bit glumly as she allowed Mazu to ease her down onto the first of the stone steps that marked the final ascent to Buddha’s Retreat. She was feeling strange and dizzy again, as she had when she first woke up in the City. Her face grew suddenly warm as she worried that Mazu would be angry with her for slowing them down. Although the only light around them came from the soft glow of lanterns resting on the short stone columns that lined the trail, Mazu’s perceptive sight discerned Aavi’s embarrassment by the blush that appeared across her cheeks. The goddess, always compassionate, hoped that the Oracle would truly help this being who seemed so weak and lost. In the meantime, Mazu thought some more basic assistance would be appropriate. “If you are hungry, that will be taken care of as soon as we reach the top. When did you last eat? Forgive me for not asking before, but I’m not normally concerned with such human matters.”
Aavi looked at Mazu sheepishly. “I guess that’s another of those things I can’t remember,” she said. As they sat for a few minutes, Mazu offered Aavi a dark red glass bottle. It was topped with a stopper decorated with a golden tassel. Aavi’s fingers played over the silky threads and the smooth, hard angles of the vessel. “This is pretty. Does it do something?”
Mazu nodded patiently. “Yes. It holds a special liquid that will make you feel better. Pull out the stopper and drink some.”
Aavi fumbled with the bottle. The stopper pulled free with a startling pop that made her jump. She looked at Mazu, who was miming what to do next. The goddess curved her hand as if the bottle rested within it and tipped it up toward her face. Aavi followed her lead and inserted the lip of the bottle into her mouth. Lifting the vessel higher caused a cool, wet fluid to pour onto her tongue. She held the liquid in her mouth for a moment then reflexively swallowed, hoping that was the right way to proceed. Aavi felt the coolness of the drink move through the upper part of her body and stop somewhere in her middle. As soon as it did, the weakness she had been feeling disappeared.
CITY OF THE GODS: FORGOTTEN Page 4
