Rain (The Quest Trilogy-Book Two)

by Iram Dana

  Heart and Subodh were always weary around him now, treading on nails around him. Rain knew what he was doing wasn’t right, but he was helpless against the clouds always looming over and darkening his heart and mind. He frequently found himself making excuses to wander off alone in the forest where he meandered for hours, just moping around and whiling away his time.

  A few weeks later, Heart left for one his mini-Quests. This made Rain’s moods go from bad to worse until Subodh, finally fed up of having to put up with Rain’s tantrums, sent him into the forest in search of an ‘Un-garden’.

  “What’s an un-garden?” said Rain to his Geeya, as soon as they were alone and out of Subodh’s ear shot.

  “It is a garden with some of the most unique flowers. Some with medicinal values, and some best avoided. Did Subodh tell you what to bring back from there?”

  “No. He just asked me find an un-garden. Do you know where I can find one?”

  She nodded and floated forward in order to lead the way.

  They walked along in silence, his Geeya leading and Rain following, head bent low, lost in his thoughts. He saw his Geeya halt and looked up at her expectantly, stopping too.

  She was looked left and right with a worried frown and then began to move forward cautiously.

  Below him, Rain saw the terrain abruptly change into a scorching hot desert where the temperature was so high, hot smoke was emanating from the sand below. Barely ten steps later the terrain changed into a marshy, wet stretch, clearly separated from the stretch of desert as though by a line. Rain had to crawl on all fours just to cross it. When he got up, there was a snowy stretch ahead of him.

  “What’s going on …?” he began, just as his Geeya turned to him and cried “Run!” , and Rain broke into a sprint, running blindly behind his Geeya who was flying ahead.

  They passed by several more such bizarre stretches. The snow covered landscape was followed by one in the middle of a terrible sandstorm, after which there were hail stones, followed by extremely heavy rain and lastly, a stretch of cold wind so strong that Rain had to lie down and drag himself across for fear of being blown away if he just ran by. All of these different environments were stretched out like bands of a racing track, going as far ahead as the eye could see.

  Once Rain had crossed the last of them, he collapsed on the ground, breathing hard.

  “What the hell was that about?!” he panted.

  “I’m sorry about getting you all panicked, but what you just crossed was the ‘walk of endurance’.” informed his Geeya.

  “What’s a ‘walk of endurance’?” Rain snapped testily.

  “It is a game played by some of the sequestors who choose to remain in Quniverse once they have successfully completed their Quest.”

  “How does it work?”

  “They each choose the weather condition, or patch of land that they feel most comfortable with. The more showy ones choose the difficult paths. Then they tie themselves together with a magic string that can increase or decrease in length as required and start walking to see who can last the longest. When all participants have stopped walking, they see who has made it the farthest with the help of the magic string. The losers have to give the winner a rare item each.”

  Just then, a group of sequestors went rushing by in front of them, yelling, huffing and shoving each other in the sides, all tied at the waist by a narrow golden rope. A few who had chosen the windy path were dragging themselves behind the noisy group.

  As soon as the commotion and din had passed by, Rain turned to look at his Geeya with a scowl on his face.

  “What kind of a dumb game is that?” he grumbled. “Looks like a good way to kill yourself of frostbite or dry yourself into a raisin!”

  He started forwards and immediately stepped over a snail, smashing it into a pulp.

  “Arrgh!” he yelled and stormed off, not really sure where he was headed but simply trying to outrun his foul mood.

  “Rain, this way.” called his Geeya, pointing to his right. “Look, an un-garden.”

  Rain made his way over to a patch of ghostly white flowers. He could see a lot of different types of blooms but they all had a translucent, almost-not-there quality about them. Rain crouched down and picked a strange, round flower. It wilted instantly in his hands.

  “What are these?” he asked his Geeya, who was intently examining the contents of the garden.

  “What you just plucked is a Barmiae. If you consume its nectar, then in a matter of two weeks that flower will turn you into the most hideous looking person imaginable.”

  Rain dropped the flower as though stung by it.

  His Geeya pointed to some more flowers, explaining their relevance.

  “That one there, yes, like the stalks of wheat … its sap keeps a parson’s jaw locked forever. And this little one here, if you rub it on your skin, all the hair will fall off it and your skin will age so rapidly, you’ll make your grand-parents look young.”

  “This is crazy stuff! Why would Subodh send me in search of this garden?”

  “I don’t know. You’re sure he didn’t mention any flower he’d like you to bring back?”

  Rain threw his Geeya an annoyed glare and then clenched his eyes shut, exasperated with himself.

  When he re-opened his eyes, there was a silent apology in them. She acknowledged the apology with a nod. Rain slumped down beside the patch of un-garden.

  “I’m so tired of feeling this way …” he moaned miserably, plucking a bent flower that looked like a ghostly version of a Lily. It went limp as soon as it was separated from its stalk.

  “What’s this one do?” he mumbled.

  “That’s a Gimblehove. Crushing its petals and rubbing them on your forehead erases the emotional scars of bad memories.”

  “Pardon? Can you explain that again, a little more simply?”

  “Certainly. It’s like anesthesia. Only, it’s for memories. People have bad memories, remembering which only brings them a lot of pain. The Gimblehove erases the pain associated with those memories permanently, so you can remember the incidents without feeling the …”

  She stopped talking midway, staring ahead blankly.

  “What? What?” asked Rain, looking around quickly, searching for some sign of danger.

  “Rain … crush those petals and rub them on your forehead.” She whispered excitedly.

  The look she gave him made Rain feel like a frog on the dissection table.

  “You’re not experimenting with these things on me, okay?” he said, tossing the flower away.”Uh-uh.”

  She picked it up and brought it back to him.

  “I think this is what Subodh sent you here for, Rain. Just crush the petals and rub them on your forehead.”

  “Why? Look, I don’t have any problems with my memories, all right?”

  “Just do it, Rain.”

  “Will not.” he said, stubbornly.

  She rolled her eyes and began to crush the petals between her fingers. Rain scrambled to his feet.

  “Hey! You’re not putting that stuff on me … back off! What if you’re wrong and I … ouch!”

  Despite his struggles, she was too quick for him and Rain found his forehead smeared with the sap of the Gimblehove, which had a strangely pleasant smell.

  “Great! Are you happy now? And I feel no different than I did before …”

  Rain trailed off, his expression going scarily blank for a moment and then refocusing with much more precision.

  “Geeya …” he whispered, “I feel … I feel wonderful. I feel … so alive, I could just …”

  He jumped up and did a little happy dance.

  “I believe what you’re trying to say is, you are feeling fine now?” said his Geeya, disappearing and reappearing behind him when he tried to twirl and dip her.

  “Yes! I feel like myself again. It’s gone … All the sadness is gone from my heart! Yahoo!”

  He jumped into the air again.

  “Race you back to the hut!�
� he called out to his Geeya, laughing as he ran ahead. She played along good-naturedly, alternately flying ahead of him and then falling behind until they reached the hut.

  *****

  CHAPTER 10

  Rain waited eagerly for Heart to return but the days turned into weeks with no sign of him. Two months later when he still hadn’t showed up, Rain gave up on ever seeing him again. It was only when he finally accepted that Heart was not going to return did Rain realize how much he missed his presence and company.

  “Heart’s not coming back, I think …” he said to Subodh one day, as they tended to an injured dolphin that had been washed ashore.

  “You’re right, boy. I don’t think he is coming back either.” agreed Subodh.

  Rain sighed.

  “He made me forget how much I missed my brother.”

  Subodh looked intently at Rain, his black eyes scorching in their intensity. Uh-oh, what now, wondered Rain.

  “His work here was done, so he had to move on. It’s time we did too, boy.”

  Rain paused to look at Subodh. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, when the only thing’s left in a place are memories, it’s time to move on.”

  “You mean we should leave the beach behind?”

  “No, we should move ahead. Explore more of the forest. I’ll be leaving tomorrow. You may come along if you wish.”

  Silence fell between them while they finished tending to the dolphin. Rain then heaved against it, slowly pushing it back out into the sea with the help of the rising tide.

  The next day, they dismantled the makeshift hut and packed their belongings. Rain picked up his backpack and fell into step besides Subodh. He had decided to tag along because the old man was like a father figure to him now. Besides, he would feel too lonely with Subodh gone, too.

  They walked along the coast for several days, stopping only for meals and rest, until Subodh found a suitable spot for them to pitch their hut back on.

  The beach over here was vastly different from the previous one. There was no golden sand below them; instead, it was made entirely of smooth, flat, blue and white pebbles of all sizes. It gave the illusion of being one continuous stretch of blue sea with no shoreline. When he made it rain, Rain found that everything- right from the sky, to the sea, to the water falling between sky and sea- appeared blue. And he absolutely loved it.

  The next three months were spent exploring the forest with Subodh, and finding more animals –and sometimes bizarre creatures- to heal.

  One day after lunch, when Subodh had retired to take his usual afternoon nap, Rain decided to go wandering into the forest. He was feeling restless and the cool, quiet forest would be a good place to sit and do some thinking in. when he had gone some distance he found a flat rock to sit on and absently reached into his pocket, drawing out the Nahla. He turned it around in his palm, observing the milky-white stone surrounded by spikes.

  “Remember this?” he said to his Geeya. “Crazy how it came back with me. I was sure the Queen mother would find me somehow, to take it back from me. Frightened me a little too, to think about that. That’s why I always keep it hidden.”

  He put the stone back into his belt.

  “That belt… did Stal give it to you?” said his Geeya.

  “Yeah. Dad gave me the belt of Halion and Star the ring of Gera the day we entered the Seekers Pass. Wonder what he’s up to now …” murmured Rain.

  “I’m sure he’s fine wherever he is.” she reassured him.

  Rain nodded. “Who are Halion and Gera?”

  “Halion and Gera are not people. They are two of three elements as yet undiscovered by humans.”

  “Elements? What three elements?”

  “Halion, Gera and Astra. All three are gases. Halion is yellow colored, Gera is red, and Astra is purple. The fairies know how to capture these gases and trap them into crystals and then incorporate their properties into different articles. So far they have created three articles: the ring, the sword, and the belt.”

  “You mean each of these elements has been used to make a ring, a belt and a sword? And all of these possess special powers?”

  “Yes, magical powers both terrifying and exciting, depending on who acquires them.”

  Rain removed the belt at his waist and ran his fingers along the length of it.

  “Tell me about Halion first.”

  “Halion’s specialty is hiding … and the hidden. The belt of Halion enables a person to hide anything within its endless depths that one can fit into its pockets. To retrieve anything, you need simply to think of the item to pull it out. The ring of Halion provides a person with such excellent camouflage that nobody can distinguish between them and their surroundings unless of course, they make any sudden movements. A shadowy outline darting suddenly through trees, that’s bound to attract a person’s attention.” she said, slipping easily through a tiny gap between two trees to come stand in front of Rain.

  “Lastly,” she continued, “the sword of Halion. This sword can kill all hidden creatures, cut through magic and supernatural powers. You know, things that are not tangible, creatures that are considered myths, etc.”

  Rain’s brow furrowed in deep thought.

  “You mean like Kaami? Or Miti?”

  “Yes. Magical beings, ghosts, demons … in other words, the hidden creatures.”

  “Hmm … now tell me about Gera.”

  “Gera is a red colored gas. Power is the specialty of Gera. The Ring of Gera increases its wearer’s strength to ten times their original capacity. The belt of Gera makes the wearer’s body like impenetrable armor. Only the sword of Gera can harm a person wearing the belt of Gera.”

  “Why? Is it more powerful than the belt?”

  “The sword of Gera is the most powerful of weapons. You can slice through the trunk of a tree with one swipe of it and it will only feel like a hot knife going through butter. It can pierce through any armor or shield.”

  “Can it also pierce the skin of the Queen mother?”

  His Geeya smiled widely.

  “It cannot harm magical items or creatures. So it is useless against the skin of the Queen Mother. Only the sword of Halion can pierce through those, including the Queen Mother’s skin.”

  “Knew there was a catch to it.” said Rain, swiping a fist through the air and crushing an unsuspecting moth in the bargain. “Oops! Looks like I’ve graduated from snails to moths.”

  “Want to hear about Astra now?” asked his Geeya.

  She floated over to him and sat down near his legs and then began to talk about the third element.

  “As I told you earlier, Astra is a purple colored gas. Its specialty lies in eliminating need. The wearer of the ring of Astra will never want for food, clothing or money. He will always have enough, somehow. The belt of Astra enables one to remove anything one needs from its depths regardless of whether it was placed there or not. Finally, the sword of Astra … this sword never needs to be sharpened, never rusts and a wound caused once by the sword will never heal. So it doesn’t matter whether you kill your opponent or not, they will die of the inflicted wounds eventually.”

  “How are you supposed to get one of these things anyway?”

  “You can only get one of these objects if a fairy gifts it to you. And a fairy will gift you one only if you earn it.”

  “Earning one, obviously, is no easy task?” said Rain, tilting his head to one side.

  “Rain, I thought you would have learnt by now, nothing is ever easy.”

  Rain put his belt back on.

  “You know … I think about this a lot. There’s just so much dad never told us. Like, how did he earn this belt?” he grumbled.

  “Your father didn’t earn that. Your mother did.”

  “My mother!? Man! She must have been way cooler than I thought. But you see what I mean? Dad never told us anything!”

  His Geeya got up and held out her hands. There was an oyster in one palm and a small, ordinary looking box in the o
ther.

  “Choose one.” she said, thrusting her hands forward.

  “That’s a pearl oyster?” guessed Rain, pointing to the oyster.

  “Yes.”

  Rain grabbed the box.

  “Should I open it?”

  “By all means.”

  “Hope it’s not a nasty surprise …” he said, under his breath as he pried open the box. A beautiful crystal butterfly fluttered out of it and began to circle around him. He reached out to touch it and as soon as he made contact, the butterfly vanished in a cloud of sparkling dust.

  “Why didn’t you choose the oyster?” asked his Geeya.

  “Because I knew it had a pearl in it.”

  “And you chose the box because …?”

  “I didn’t know what the box contained, and I was curious.” he grinned.

  “Exactly! That’s why Stal left so much unsaid. So that you would be curious enough to go. If you knew then what all you know now, would you still have come on your Quest?”

  Rain thought of Kaami and Miti, and sighed.

  “I can see your point.”

  His Geeya looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Want to know something else your father never told you?”

  Of course Rain wanted to know, but the look in her eyes was making him feel wary, so he remained quiet. His Geeya bent down and plunged her hand into the earth, drawing out another small box like the one she had just presented to him.

  “Your father buried this here, hoping that it would come of use to some sequestor. Little did he know that the sequestor would be you!”

  “What is it?” said Rain, taking the box from her and staring at it in marvel. He flipped the lid open. There was what looked like a small yellow jellybean inside.

  “It is a wish. If you need it, just eat it and make a wish. And yes, use it wisely. These are very rare.”

  “Neat! Thanks dad!” said Rain.

  He put the box in his belt and then drew out the Nahla once more.

  “So what does this thing do?”

  “The Nahla is a living stone. It can do practically anything you ask of it, but only if it wants to. It will be the judge of that. You can only make the request and hope for the best.”