by Shane Cogan
‘You mean their greed and obsession with the ancient world of technology and old way of trading, using something that they called money in exchange for everything that we now have for free as equals in modern Atis?’ the boy asked, squinting his eyes, as the light hit his face. ‘So, you do know about our history and the wars and the greed? What you say is indeed correct. But it’s complicated and would require a lot of thought and discussion. But yes, the obsession with what was called a currency exchange and the quest for greater technology to develop weapons that killed people and even invade other planets for their natural resources was, in the end, our own planet’s downfall. It almost destroyed us. Actually it did. Look towards the west on a clear day and you can see the Dead Zone and its greyness, its utter decay. Nothing or no one now lives there,’ he said pointing in that direction. ‘But enough now of the depression and darkness of the old world. You will learn that in time, I hope, after we have defeated these new dark entities. Come with me. Let me show you something that is far more enjoyable and part of what you are. I have not shown anyone this before,’ Fareth said calmly and nodded slowly at the boy. Vufus tried to say something but Fareth shook his head and motioned him to follow him.
He led Vufus past his sleeping chambers. Fareth took a key and unlocked a small cabinet and pulled out a wooden box. He handed it to the small boy. ‘Take it. It is yours. I have kept it all these years for safe keeping but now I want to give it back to you, your tribe. The Darra’s. You are but the last one now here in the palace. The rest are scattered around the highlands of Glow Mountain. You are the protector now of this fine relic. Open it,’ Fareth said. Vufus took the box with one hand from the Kings, with his head turned to the side. He sat down on a seat close to the King, who looked out at the sky night, his shadow covering the boy. He placed the box on his knees, with each side nestled between them. A metallic pop echoed around the room, as he flicked it open. A slight creak as the old hinges gave way and dust fell from it. It has not been opened for some time. Inside, Vufus pulled out the contents. He put the box on the ground and placed it flat on his legs. He pulled at its strings as it made a sharp noise. Fareth looked back at the boy as he heard the noise. But the boy continued.
He placed his thumb on it and pulled. And then the final one, all of them making a different noise. He repeated it. ‘It’s an instrument,’ said Vufus as he stared at this thumb on its string. Fareth moved his hands over the instruments as the boy tried again. ‘I think it is so ancient that it no longer makes the correct noise. You will need to use your Darra blood to make it work again. It is very old,’ Fareth said. Vufus slid his hand down his wooden exterior. On either side of the strings were wood panels with diagrams of a flower. The flower is black but imprinted into the instrument. Its head a triangle shape, above the strings, with the centre for the strings, and another tribal wooden frame at the other end. ‘What is it?’ asked Vufus. ‘It is the last of the Darra people’s string musical instruments. One of which has the power to summon the great creatures of the underworld in times of pain and sorrow. It is but a myth I fear, but after what I have witnesses of late…’ Fareth said and paused to look outside and back at the boy. ‘Perhaps, it is not,’ he said. Vufus put the instrument back into the box. He dusted it off and held it tightly. ‘It is no myth, Your Majesty. You will see,’ said Vufus as he left the King and walked out of the room carrying the box and rubbing his eye.
C H A P T E R 48
Singing Forest
He watched as his knees flowed with the fire flames. He straightened his back. All eyes in the circle were on him. He shook his head and pointed his chest outwards and then shook his legs. He glanced down at his hands, one holding a jug of wine, a glass tumbler in the other. Can I really do this now? A male limped forward and tried to grab the flask from his hand. Losing his balance, the logs in the fire hissed and cracked. He held his ears and fell backwards. The crowd laughed louder. Women rubbed their eyes as they laughed and turned to face the fire. He watched as men slapped each other on the backs, children stopping at their games. Unsteady on his feet, holding the wine, he opened his mouth. He heard the laughing stop. The women brushed their hair as they gazed on him. He tried to clear his throat.
Sing in their native tongue. And tap your foot to the beat of each word. And try to provide an image for the audience. Tiuus began. They are all so quiet. Even the children. He began with his first line: ‘Shy blue halcyon…,’ he sang with a note focused on each letter. He took a deep breath and sang louder: ‘Caught your stare under the moonbeam…,’ as he heard some whispers from the audience. The young children crawled towards their parents and curled beside them. He finished slowly with ‘A…r…i…p…p…l…e....o…v…e…r s…p…l…a…s…h.’ What if there is no one around the fire? He opened his eyes.
All around him, Daara eyes were glued on him. Silence. Except the faintest of whispers from one of the larger ladies, who was trying to shuffle around to look for some more wine. A bird flew over the camp letting off a faint night call. Did they understand it? A male with boots to match the mud stood up and shouted, ‘Is it about the mighty kingfisher?’ The crowd made a soft ‘O’ sound. Clapping. Cheering. Shouting. Tiuus watched as some jumped up and danced. Some shouted out the Manith man’s name. This is the way of the Daara people. Tiuus smiled. Slightly different from the last group in the water. ‘Another poem big man,’ shouted out the woman, her hair turning a new colour as she played the string instrument. She started to play the instrument instead. A high note first, and then a middle note and a lower one. She started slow, then faster and faster. Words came from her mouth with each beat. The group all looked at her and rocked to and fro. They started to come closer. The beats from her instrument grew louder and with a focused beat. ‘Temptation and greed was the original sin. Slight incarnation is now the new trend…,’ the woman sang. Tiuus nodded his head and tapped his foot. Her voice was clear and perfectly in sync. Beautiful. Her words rang in his ear. It’s political. She reached its chorus. The crowd moved closer around her. She was standing and moving. They moved with her. She sang and her instrument hit the high notes: ‘The old money game continues for a lost profit. Oh my, oh why, always a lost prophet…!’ Tiuus sensed the crowd knew this song as they joined in with the chorus. Tiuus joined in too.
Tiuus turned his head towards the singing woman, his eyes fixated on her hair. The woman’s yellow curls turn a different colour almost with each word as they reach the chorus, and return to the fiery colour. How? She was singing now at a higher vibration. Her stroking of the instrument slowed as she reached the final verses of her song. The crowd were now all joining in. They know each word. ‘All I want to do is kneel and appeal, oh yeah, just once. All I want to do is be free and not be against. Selective amnesia is such a beautiful thing. Selective words are a curse of the royal tribe…,’ she sang out loud. Tiuus turned around as he heard shouts on the words of ‘royal’ and ‘tribe’. Her voice now falling back down to a lower key and the crowd stopped its swaying and nestled closer to the singing woman. Tiuus tried to squeeze in between two males. Their facial glances allowed him the space to shift his body between them. He shuffled his body and linked their arms. We are one. But her hair is not returning to its soft yellow colour. The curls are gone. No yellow or fire? She sat on the ground with the instrument on her lap. She sang with a low whisper. ‘Oh my, oh why, I got my very own lost prophet. My very own lost prophet, yeah,’ she sang to almost a whispering, lower and lower as she faded out her voice and instrument. Tiuus felt her gaze on him on her final word. I feel bright green eyes inside mine. What are you? She rested the instrument. And then he heard the crowd all exhale together. They slowly broke free and scattered to various places around the fire. Some jumping over the the open field, others dancing freely and running around. I feel abandoned. Only me, the singer and the instrument. She got up slowly and took a step towards him, her head close to his shoulders. He bent down as she began to speak. ‘Don’t disappoint them now. Those
words were written for you a long time ago’, she said. And she handed him a new flask. A slight steam rising from its top. ‘Drink some of this real potion, as we need to join the grand storyteller now,’ she said as she pulled her head away from his ear, but stroked his face with her hand. What did she mean, for me? Her white skin turning a slight red as she smiled back at him. He drank from the flask, pulling a face with each sip and followed her.
Tiuus and the woman walked slowly towards where the rest of the crowd had gathered in a new spot. He felt the glow of the fire getting closer. He heard the sounds of hands rubbing faster and faster as he approached. ‘And what do they call the music woman?’ he asked her as they continued their slow walk. ‘They call me Sap the Musical Tree,’ she called back to him. Tiuus jolted his head back and let off a short giggle. I just laughed. She responded with a longer laugh. ‘Dream until the sun goes down and night turns into day. That is from a very famous song in the old world’, she said while looking at Tiuus attentively. ‘The grand storyteller has started a new poem. Come, sit with me,’ she said. They reached the small crowd.
Tiuus and Sap sat on the ground. Looking around, he saw that no one was drinking any more wine. They were focused on the man’s story. Tiuus stared at the man. His long silver hair reminds me of the palace. His face wrinkled on each word and made shapes as he moved and jumped around on each new word. Tiuus leaned his frame closer to the story. The fire crackled as new embers were thrown in. He watched as the flame sparkled its contents back up towards the sky. The crowd moved back. He moved his head towards the storyteller. ‘And there came the last great war, the war of the technology gods against the greedy and violent military. For two hundred years, these two groups fought over our great planet, Atis. With it, they destroyed these great lands,’ he gestured with his hands to the crowd and made a circle. ‘And then they polluted our waters with mercury. They killed our fish. They turned it black from a beautiful blue,’ he said as he pointed behind him. ‘And to the east, they plundered and killed our people. Each tribe. Few were spared. Their weapons of mass destruction knew no conscience. And the machines that they had created could no longer be switched off, and instead turned on its creators,’ he said softly. He took a breath. The crowd followed. ‘And then with one swoop, they eliminated each other out there over on the great green plains, where our food grew,’ he said aloud, as he stood and pointed to the front of him, with his two hands raised and his eyes open, its contents flowing down his face.
Tiuus stretched forward to look the storyteller’s face more closely. He felt the group tighten on his final words. It’s a grey liquid running down his face. What is it with the colours around here? They are changing! The crowd is hooked on his tears but they don’t cry. Their faces are blank. The storyteller sat back down slowly. He opened his eyes and said: ‘And now they have sent him to learn from us, as the dark evils return. Their mercury gods. Their greed once again reawakened,’ he said, as he stood up again, pointing at Tiuus. He felt all their eyes upon him as the crowd moved closer in on him and surrounded him. Tiuus could no longer see the fire flicker.
C H A P T E R 49
Hydra
Which way do I turn? Looking around, she paused and snapped the lights on. Each book shelve is the same height. Even have the same number of books. She guided her fingers slowing over the front of them, counting their gaps. Aluum looked around again. The corridors seem to go on for forever. She pulled out more books and laid them on the ground in the middle of the aisle. She walked slowly around them, while keeping an eye on the pile of books as she walked down the down the corridor. They have not vanished this time. She continued to run. One, two, there, four… Her breathing grew faster, as did her steps. ‘200. Pointless,’ she shouted out. Her voice continued to echo around the chamber. She sat on the ground, counting her breath, her body trembling.
‘So you have given up already, Aluum?’ a voice said. It’s a familiar tone. She looked up and caught the female standing over her. She pulled her hands to her eyes, as its yellow reflection moved across her face. She closed her eyes tight. Aluum jumped up and covered her eyes with her hands. ‘Where am I? And where are the people who let me in here? What is this place? But you look different than before?’ Aluum said, still panting. ‘So many questions, my dear Aluum. Yet you have already found the answers to all of them. And still you run around in circles looking and searching for something that you have already found,’ the woman said. Her eyes gazed on Aluum. The lights above them flickered, as she studied the woman’s face. Aluum stood up. ‘Come. Walk with me, Aluum,’ she said. Study her eyes again for assurance. The woman’s eyes blinked and her pupils were slightly dilated.
The woman held out her hand. Aluum shook it. They almost fit perfectly. She placed her other hand on the other one. She has one less finger and her skin less blue than the others outside. Yet, similar to appearance, except her blinking eyes. ‘They call me the keeper of words,’ she said softly. Each word was carefully spoken with a pause in between. ‘That’s the first time I have heard you speak so,’ Aluum paused, ‘clearly and making sense,’ she added. Aluum walked side by side with the woman, turning a corner into an adjoining corridor. It’s a maze in here. Aluum’s breath had slowed down to her footsteps tap. ‘What is this place the keeper of…?’ she asked but was caught off. ‘Please. Yes, they call me that name out of respect, for what I do here,’ as she moved her hands around in circles to show off the books. ‘But my name is Hydra. Tell me, this planet that you speak about, Aluum, the one where you say you are trapped in, do you think it is real and this is not?’ Hydra asked.
‘I know that here. Or in the dreams, I can speak clearly. I think easier and I am able to find answers faster,’ Aluum said. She dipped her head and looked to the ground as she spoke. ‘On that planet I am alone. There is no one else, except a few animals. I feel so different,’ said Aluum. ‘And what have you learned on this planet?’ Hydra asked as her footsteps became slower, with only her toes moving slightly forward. The lights above flickered. ‘I have felt pain. Sadness. Darkness. Sickness and even death,’ she said. Hydra stopped on her last word and gave her a slow side look. ‘Ah yes. You killed the snake,’ she said. ‘You know? Are you watching me? But I…,’ said Aluum. ‘I or no one is watching you. Merely guiding you. They are both memories. Look, let me show you,’ Hydra said as she stopped and pulled out a book from a shelve. The book lit up inside as she flicked through the pages, each page turning a golden colour from the light.
‘This book contains the memories of each soul in the universe. A collection of all their lives, past and present. Call it our universal chip,’ Hydra said as she handed Aluum the book. ‘I don’t need to look, as I already guessed that after comparing some books. And this cannot be my book, as I…,’ she said quickly, but Hydra had already taken the book back and was placing it back on the shelf. ‘Excellent. You have showed me the value of privacy, as yes, the information in that book is not yours to look at or share. But are you tempted to take a look at another one’s good fortunes, or not?’ she asked. ‘No. I see the planet I am stuck on and I see that it has no such souls that you refer too, nor such information. Yet I feel I have no right to seek it without their permission,’ Aluum said.
Hydra bowed her head and folded her arms in front of her. Aluum nodded and walked forward and joined as they her towards the great hall. ‘This place is accessible to all, Aluum. You. Me. Them outside. On your planet and other planets,’ she said. ‘My planet has no one. There is nothing but dirt, dust, little oxygen and a deathly energy around the whole landscape,’ she said loudly, while throwing her arms around. ‘That is what you see. But that is not what you hear, is it?’ she asked. Aluum took a brief glance around. We are no longer walking but standing at a corner. How did that happen? A corner leading from the corridor. I’ve not seen this area before. Aluum shook her head. ‘Yes, in my dreams. In those, yes, I hear thoughts. People talking. Chanting. They guide me, almost. I am not sure. But then I am awake and ba
ck on that awful planet. All alone,’ she said more loudly.
‘And here in this great library, it is no different. In here, there is only information only you can access. No one else. And I know you have seen the future. You realised the numbers on the books were different and you know what happens next to you, Aluum?’ Hydra asked and placed her hand on her left shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. ‘It is a great burden on you to have to go through all of this. For them. But now you know why,’ Hydra said. Aluum rubbed her hands over her head, the hair moved about and fell somewhere as it untangled and brushed her shoulders. ‘Are you God?’ Aluum asked. Hydra laughed. A new sound that echoed around the corridors. Each laugh louder than the previous. Still laughing, Hydra added: ‘A big question. There are no gods. There is just this,’ as she looked above and around the great hall. ‘And it’s the same out there,’, she said as she pointed upwards.
They walked, with only the sound of the heel of each of Hydra’s boots as they came to a small door. They went inside. Aluum could see a light in the corner. ‘Here I must leave you. I cannot go any further. You have your answer. You saw it in the book. When I leave this room you will wake up back on your planet. In reality. You have your quest,’ Hydra said. She turned to leave and left Aluum looking at her back. Her eyes were blinking. ‘And the year I saw in that book. With my life. Is that it now?’ she asked. Hydra merely nodded and added. ‘When you wake up, you will have something in your hand. Keep it for when the time comes,’ Hydra said and turned to go. Her final sounds, only her boots and the door slamming shut and leaving Aluum in the darkness.
