"Saujiah!" Said Parso. Rhajit's heart jumped at that name. He nodded.
"Yes. That was his name. "
"Sau. . .who?" Asked Luz, confused.
"I will explain later Luz." They all looked at the giant man who stared silently.
"This is our trusted friend who came to help us rescue the prophet from the queen's dungeon. His name is Injol. He is a proselyte of the old ways." Said Rhajit. Injol, his cloak pulled tightly about him bowed before Rapheth and nodded his head at Parso, Ephron and Shukala.
"I am most honored to meet the one true king. I too, have been sent by a messenger of God to aid in your safety and wanderings, wherever they may take you. I am your servant, my lord king."
Rapheth looked stunned. Ephron slapped him on the back and grinned.
"You are the king. I have kept telling you all this trip. You are the king. So it begins."
"We must keep this secret until the time is ready. When that will be, I do not know yet." Said Shukala.
"When it will be, Shukala, is when God reveals his confidential matter. He will reveal it when the time is right." Said Parso. Rhajit said nothing more on the matter. Parso looked around the small crowd of youths and men gathered.
"I know it may seem strange but we are all here by a confluence of events. This was meant to be. We were meant to be here." Said Parso. "Your mission, Injol. You say you tried to free Ilim? Did you succeed?"
"I have a tale to tell you, for we went to rescue him but something quite surprising happened. I will tell you this, the prophet lives. No harm came to him. He chose to stay in his cell." Said Injol.
"He did?" Cried the boys. Rhajit and Luz nodded.
"He refused our help. Said he was meant to stay behind." Said Rhajit.
"Most certainly. I am sure he had his reasons and I have every confidence that God will protect him." Said the giant.
"Come, men. Our ship leaves tomorrow. We are staying at the home of a woman by the name of Natushku. She is in hiding as the Aishanna-La are banned from practicing their ways here, but she has given us lodging and food and great hospitality. Come and refresh yourselves. She is also a woman of keen and sharp mind on the writings. She has been quizzing and expounding the way of the Law and Writings to the young ones here." Said Parso.
"Before we do that, allow me to make this formal, for it was laid upon me. It burns like a fire in me now. I shall do it." He turned to Rapheth. "I took an oath to stay by you and give you training in weapons and counsel until you are able to take hold of glory and shoulder the mantle yourself. This I promise and this I shall do and I do pledge my life in service of yours. I am Rhajit Ka' Mahaj. That is my word and my oath. I am of the Karig."
Rapheth felt overwhelmed but he mustered up some dignity. The change in Rhajit was shocking to him and signaled that this was a pivotal event in the stream of time. In his life.
"I accept your pledge, Rhajit, and yours, Injol. If things go well for me, you men will be a part of my court." Merely saying these things seemed to Rapheth to make the future they all saw together a reality. A dangerous reality.
. . .
Natushku herself was a learned woman originally from Jura. Her mother was Jurite and her father was Egian. She herself had expounded the way of the laws and writings to many people in Egium before fleeing to Yeleb under threat of death. She was one of many who was against the idea of esoterica or secret knowledge, so popular in Egi and had spoken against it.
"Egians are a people whose thoughts are bent on Night and the Darkness and the shades of the world. Of the dead things. it keeps them in great, crippling fear. Many here think that in order for something to be worth anything it must be a hidden thing. That it must be obscure or unintelligible. Such ideas may suit those who want to lord it over others, who want power over others but the First Pillar has ordained no such thing. Knowledge should be shared, taught and relatively easy to understand. If one does not understand a thing there should be someone who can make it understood."
"I have heard of such reasoning before about esoterica. From Injep." She sucked her teeth at this.
"I know of him. Interesting fellow. Speaks sophistries. I once challenged him on one of his ideas on the essence of knowledge and whether some things should only be for the initiated. I disagreed with him and we went round and round for a while before I was escorted out of the meeting. Egian men do not like being challenged by women. Hybronian men are slightly more open minded."
"Knowledge is not a jewel or a thing to be locked away from everyone but those who can afford it or those who want some secret power revealed to them. It should be shared and then each man or woman can decide for themselves if they will accept or reject it."
"There is the saying, knowledge is power. So some keep knowledge to themselves, or among a select few, to keep power among a select few." Said Parso. She nodded and took up a bite of onion and a chunk of beef and ate it.
"Prophecy is on the minds of everyone now and some believe that the alchemists can influence it to their own will. Or the astrologers. They cannot. The people continue to believe that only those learned in the mystical arts can understand it, but it is not just for them to have knowledge of the times and seasons. There is a pattern for us. All we must do is read it. As far as the writings, we have examples from the past. Look upon the history of the judges and shaikhs of old, the history of the kings of Hybron and the annals of the Red Kings. Even though suppressed, they are made known to those seeking truth."
Later that night Rhajit looked over the balcony of Natushku's house. Rapheth had a very small roll of papers that they had all read together, including some leaflet pages. It was the writings of the prophet Ilim or the Book of Ilim the Prophet, and they took courage in those words. The others had finally gone to bed but he, once again could not sleep. He was not tired but enlivened. He put his hand to his heart, touching the place Saujiah had touched and breathed deeply. He did not feel any different in sensation any longer but he felt that something was slowly working in him. But his mind always found a way to wage war bwtween his thoughts. Would he survive it or would he simply be a sacrifice for the boy, who had a much greater destiny?
And so they sailed the Mowret, eventually making their way toward the beauteous and far away land of Pallinona, through the stormy Llordis Sea and the great North Ocean, where when it storms and rages, Abgaron awakens.
And the city of Jhis fell in the fifteenth year of Taliat's reign. Teraht of Egi made himself king of Hybron and Egi and he had his image and the images of his god Nisrok erected in all of Hybron and Egi and he compelled the people to bow down before them in the inauguration of his kingship and proclaimed himself the Red King and the Sun King of Hybron. And his sons began ruling with him. "I am the savior of the Holy Aishanna. Have I not saved Hybron from prophecy? Have I not saved it from ruin? You people have waited for the Red King and I have become that, of scarlet and of blood, and I shall become the Black King, for there is more than one prophecy. Black is greater than Red. Death, greater than the Life in the blood, for Death rules over all." And the people in Jhis and Hybron began to relax and say: "Where is this destruction that was to come up against us? It has not come up and it will not come because the Red King is here in our midst." And they went about and did not regard the prophecy anymore. Ilim the prophet sent and said to him: "You have blasphemed and you have no part in the true prophecy for you are not The Appointed One and the destruction is yet to come." And he spoke to the people once more. But the people began to laugh and say: "He is mad. We will not listen, for who has not heard this from him before? Many times we have heard it. It will not come."
- The Fourth Book of the Kings 3:17, Translations of the Holy Aishanna
End of Book II
A note from the author:
On the Aishanna-La: when I first conceived of this group of people I had in mind and took as my main inspiration the ancient Israelites and their Aaronic priesthood. The tribal Aishanna-La, before the temple when the Israelites used a
tabernacle and traveled through the wilderness with Moses, Aaron and Joshua, and the Aishanna-La in the cities after the first temple was built by King Solomon, when their worship became stationed in one place.
Are they one-on-one comparisons or exactly alike? No, they only serve as the inspiration for the Aishanna-La. As for other religions in the books, though I do not go into them extensively, there are some that echo ancient Canaanite religions, some old religions that revered the sun such as the cult of Sol Invictus and animist traditions from different lands in Africa. Of course, most of what you read in the books are things I've made up and embellished but the roots of those ideas do come from actual religions in the past.
Glossary
Lands - kingdoms, cities, towns, land features, constellations
A
Assenna - an ancient city now in ruins, once the capital of Hybron and the seat of power of the Red Kings and famed for its great beauty. The Decoration was another name for it. Assenna was the most beautiful city in the world and the most technologically advanced for its time. It was destroyed by fire. Fires from its destruction still exist in the form of the Eternal Fires, a garbage heap outside the city of Jhis where garbage and the bodies of criminals are thrown.
B
Beth-Ayin – A town south of Jhis, near the southern coastal border of Hybron.
Bytir (little place) – A small fishing village in Egi.
C
Chialis (Mars) - The planet these events take place on. In the deep past before Earth was populated.
D
Dakanar Sea – The sea off the coast of Jura leading to the South Ocean from the south.
Desert - The deserts on Chialis are usually spearated into two kinds: the high desert and the deep desert, also called the open desert. The high desert is characterized by hard features of desert plant life such as cactus, sand and dirt, also rocks and sharp, high rock formations and mountains. Animals also live in the high desert such as lions, foxes, scoropins, snakes, lizards and other animal life used to the desert. The deep desert is nothing but waves of sand. They are often seen as secondary oceans as there is nothing but high and deep waves of sand. Only the nomadic peoples traverse these "oceans" and a few animals will venture into the deep desert like side winders, giki-serpents and firebugs. It is said a man can drown in the deep desert and never be found, for sinking into and being lost in the engulfing sands.
E
Efoso – A city in the kingdom of Funda, on the South Lands continent.
Egi - A land west of Hybron ruled by a vassal kin. Its capital is the rocky, hilltop city of Egium. The characteristic landscapes are desert lands – high, rocky, mountainous deserts. The cities and villages were built mostly along the banks of the river or near the river where the ground is fertile. All other places in this land is high desert (mountainous) land.
Elitaph - The blue morning and evening star seen in Chialis's horizon. It is an important star in navigation for sea-farers on the planet. It is actually the planet Earth. It also has religious significance related to the Red Kings. Often referred to as the blue evening star, morning star, the Sapphire or Sea Star.
Eternal Fires (also called dark fires) - Once a place of holy ground during the Veiled Time it is now mainly a rubbish heap where garbage and the bodies of criminals are thrown after execution. It still retains some religious significance and in many places it has become a source of supertitious tales; mostly it is a place that strikes fear into the hearts of men. The eternal fires never go out and where originally created by the First Pillar. The first spark of eternal fires came from the Holy Mountain or the Mountain of God and at rare times are used to wreak supernatural vengeance upon corrupt cities.
F
Funda - A kingdom of the South Lands situated in the verdant cloud forests/jungles near the southern part of the continent.
G
Galieh – A northern city in Hybron known for its iron works, iron ore and mines.
Gamina - A fortress town between Hybron and Zapulia where the sisters of the desert live, a separate Aishanna-La community of women. The fortress itself, called a citadel, is a holy enclave for women who devote thier lives to the worship of Airend-Ur, the Supreme deity of the universe. They are part of the Aishanna-La. It borders the two lands but is a part of Hybron. Gamina is a relatively safe haven for the Aishanna-La. It is surrounded by wide, grassy plains and a few trees. There are some lakes and ponds from underground water sources.
Gaspa Sea - The largest body of water separating Zapulia and Hybron from the South Lands continent. It runs into the South Ocean which in turn runs to the Dakanar Sea which is off the coast of part of the South Lands continent.
Gorokjebu – A large town in western Egi.
Golden Road – Major gold trade route between the South Land kingdoms and the Middle World kingdoms where gold and other precious metals are bought and traded.
Great Ridge – A huge landmass within the great valley of the planet. A land of deep rivers and vast, dark forests and numerous kingdoms, towns and cities. Much strange, outlawed technology comes from these land. Several rivers from these lands flow into the Llordis Sea.
H
Habad Mountains – a mountain range in northern Hybron just north of Galieh. See Soudan Mountains
Haiga – A city southwest of Rhuctium. The first city in Hybron one reaches after passing the towns and villages on the southern coastline. A port city right on the Zazor.
Hevan – A village south of Jhis and south of Rhuctium, later one of the few havens in Hybron for the Aishanna-La.
Hunatep – Gilphaen tribal god of cattle and hunting. His consort is Tani, the goddess of childbirth and the hearth.
Hybron - the central largest and most powerful kingdom of the “Middle World” where most of the events happen, the heart "place" of the world.
I
Iron Road – Trade route from Galieh to the north to farther north and west where mostly iron is bought and traded.
J
Jhis – Established as a major city of the ancient and long vanished Red Kingdom it remains a major city of trade and is the newest capital and seat of power of the new, barbarian king, King Khalit of the Karig tribe. After the destruction of Assenna, the ancient capital of Hybron, Jhis and a number of other cities in Hybron, became a city-state, ruled by the nobility and a Kushigyar, the supreme ruler of a city. There is a large patch of land behind the city wall that mysteriously burns, eternally, called the Eternal Fires, presently used as a garbage dump. Jhis is surrounded by dry, desert-like land with patches of vegetation. Further in, there are some trees and there used to be a few farms but most food is imported from other cities and from other lands into Jhis. Most water into this city comes from wells and cisterns fed by an underground river.
Jura - A kingdom in the South Lands ruled by King Kufun and later his son Kufun II, a wealthy and powerful kingdom. It is off the coast of the Dakanar Sea which leads into the South Ocean which feeds into the Gaspa Sea. Inland and by the sea there are fertile lands but it is mostly a desert-like land.
Juranni – The capital city of the kingdom of Jura, where King Kufun resides most of the year. It is deeper south than Murka.
Jutu - A small island in the Gaspa Sea.
K
Kesel or Kesil – The constellation known on Earth as Orion. Called: "the hope of the strong one" in Alharan.
Kimah – What is known on Earth as The Pleiades.
Kingdoms (worlds and lands) - The world of Chialis is separated into continents and lands as they relate the the Middle World or the Middle Kingdoms - Hybron, Egi and Zapulia and a few other kingdoms east of Zapulia. To the south, seperated by the South Ocean is the South Lands continent where the South Land Kingdoms exist. To the east of the South Lands continent are little islands - the larger ones are populated. These are the South Ocean island Kingdoms, known as the Sea Isles. To the North of the Middle World Kingdoms are the North Lands, divided by the Habad/Soudan mountains, not actually a sep
arate continent. To the west are a few Western Kingdoms such as Pallinona and Nal but the majority of those kingdoms that make up the West are within the Great Ridge continent. They are called the Great Ridge Lands and this is separated from the Middle World by the great North Ocean which is bigger than the South Ocean. The Great Ridge is what is known on Earth as Valles Marinaris. To the Far East are the Eastern Lands or Eastern Kingdoms. The Middle Lands or Middle Land Kingdoms are also called the Middle World Kingdoms because, naturally, these peoples think of their lands as the center of the world from which all other races and groups have migrated away and this middle-centric thinking also has its basis in historical and anthropological fact on Chialis.
Kukuma – The major port in the city of Murka.
L
Llordis – A very large sea in the northwestern hemisphere of Chialis. Many tributaries from the Great Ridge lands lead to the Llordis.
M
Mowret – A major river that flows east to west through Egi and through the northern part of Hybron and through Zapulia. It is a major tributary of the Gaspa Sea/ South Ocean.
Murka – A major port city of the southern kingdom of Jura, ruled by King Kufun. The second largest port city in the southern hemisphere besides Yallas-by-the-Sea.
N
Nebur – Older, more ancient name for the kingdom of Jura, when it was a smaller kingdom.
Nirpa-Jatu Plain - In the northern desert of Hybron. The Nirpa-Jatu plain is close to the ruins of Assenna.
O
Ol – The Earth's moon, seen as a tiny white star on Chialis.
P
Pallinona – A land northwest of Egi. Pallinona is not part of the Middle World kingdoms but there has been trade between this land and the lands of the Middle World Kingdoms for centuries. Pallinona is seperated from the Middle World by the Llordis Sea. North of Pallinona is the great North Ocean.
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