The music grew more prominent. “5…” He wondered how Asha and Oonak were doing. No, he could not let his mind wander. Focus. “4…” But what did the Confederation mean by saying they would be ‘assisted’ in meeting them? “3…” He could no longer feel his legs. “2…” Or his arms. He thought about how odd it was to be aware of his body going to sleep, part by part. “1…” The music was sublime. Another dream intruded upon him, but he tried to focus on the music instead. He must not let his mind fall asleep.
“Zero.”
Without warning, Zahn felt a tingling sensation all over his body and got the feeling that someone was behind him, though he couldn’t see them. The feeling transformed itself into a humming sound that covered his entire body. He thought he should be frightened, but a voice told him that everything was as it should be. He didn’t know if the voice was outside of him or inside of him, but he trusted it.
The humming sound soon became a roar and moved up and down his body. First, the roar moved down to the tips of his toes and gradually moved up past his stomach, past his arms, past his neck, to his head. Once it got to the top of his head, it moved back down to his feet again. This time it was moving faster.
The roaring sound was almost deafening now, and he could no longer hear any of the music that had led him here. The sound reminded him of a vast waterfall, and the tingling sensation was so strong that he felt as though he were electrically charged. He’d never felt like this before, and his heart was beating rapidly.
“Stay calm,” he told himself. “Everything is going to be all right. I trust Oonak. I trust Oonak. I trust Oonak.”
The roaring was back up to his head again, and he became aware of a tugging sensation on his head and neck.
Just when he didn’t think the roaring sound could get any louder, it was consumed by perfect silence.
At first, he saw nothing, but after blinking his eyes, the domed ceiling came into focus.
“Oh no, I woke up. I’m sorry guys.”
His head bumped the ceiling. He reached his hand out and touched it, but it felt strange to him.
“But if I can touch the ceiling, that means…”
He looked down and realized two facts simultaneously: he was floating in midair, yet he could somehow still see his body on the stone bed below.
“It worked?” Zahn’s surprise turned to joy. “I… I’m really outside of my body, aren’t I?”
“Please remain calm,” a voice behind him said. The voice was incredibly clear, the sweetest voice he had ever heard. “If you overexcite yourself, you could trigger your body’s reflexes and undo what we have assisted you in achieving.”
Zahn turned around. Behind him was a young girl with violet skin wearing a white robe. She had long black hair that was braided, and upon seeing his face, she bowed slightly.
“Welcome to Amithya,” she said. “Behold, the Transcendent World of Awareness.”
“Thank you. So are you the one that helped me leave my body? Will I be able to return?”
“I am,” she nodded slightly. “And you will. Your body will be asleep for this duration. To reenter your body complex, you need only to focus on moving one of your fingers.” The girl paused. “Is this clear to you?”
“Yes.”
Around him, Zahn heard some familiar voices.
“Zahn? Is that you?”
It was Asha. She floated over to him and smiled.
“You look… mostly the same!” she laughed.
“Hey, so do you! If I couldn’t see through you, I’d say you had conquered gravity itself. Where’s Oonak?”
“I am present,” said a rising voice from below him.
“Hi, Oon! We did it! This is incredible.”
“Indeed. It is an extremely unique experience,” Oonak said. “And who is this? What is her name?”
“Here, we have little use for names,” the girl said. “Here, we are part of a cohesive whole. Our minds are in unity.”
Her voice sounded angelic in its grace.
“Remarkable,” Oonak said.
“Now that you are all substantiated, you may come with me to be properly greeted.”
The girl passed through the ceiling, leaving them alone near the top of the dome.
They looked at one another.
“Is it safe to go through the ceiling?” Zahn asked. “Is that a thing we do now?”
“It would appear so.”
But before they attempted it, the girl returned and held her hand out to Zahn. “Forgive me. I have taken your unique circumstances for granted. Perhaps it will be easier if we remain linked during the short journey up.”
Zahn took the girl’s hand, and then offered his hand to Asha.
“Thanks for coming back,” Asha said to the girl as she took Zahn’s hand.
“Where are we headed, Nameless One?” Oonak asked.
“To the Parhelion Hall. We are most grateful that you have made it across the vastness to arrive here intact.”
Before Zahn could reply, she pulled all three of them up through the stone dome and through the rocky hill. They were happy to realize that moving through these objects wasn’t painful at all. In fact, it was almost pleasant and reminded Zahn of a ticklish feeling.
For some time, they could see nothing. After all, they were travelling through the solid obsidian stone of the hillside, but after a few seconds, the sight of darkness was replaced by the view of a massive triangular door of light. The girl touched the door, and it opened to reveal an expansive hall. The sight of the hall left Zahn feeling breathless, even though he knew, strictly speaking, that he’d left his breath back at the dome. When he looked over to the young girl, he saw that she was smiling warmly toward each of them, and something about the smile gave him an undefinably unique feeling of peace.
The hall was vast, extending taller than the tallest trees he’d seen on Aarava and stretching onward for what looked like forever, but it was difficult to tell because of a white haze that grew more intense with distance. They had arrived at one end of the vast hall where six entities were waiting for them.
Each of these entities was floating in midair, and the way they carried themselves varied greatly from person to person. Some were ‘sitting’ in midair with their legs crossed while others were holding their legs in various ways. Behind them, massive columns shimmered in a million hues of the rainbow, and a great distance above them a miniature galaxy slowly spun and pulsed with light.
Once the council saw Zahn, Asha, and Oonak, they flew over and welcomed them, tightly embracing each one of them. Zahn was shocked that such an advanced race was so affectionate and was so stunned that he didn’t react until the third hug, which was given by an older man with fine wrinkles.
Zahn noticed that, besides the young girl, there were three men and three women in the group, and with each hug, he felt more and more that this place was a fountain of loving energy.
When the welcomes were over, the young girl joined the group, and all seven joined hands and closed their eyes. And then, they spoke as one.
“We are the Council of Amithya: A Divine Light of the Galactic Sun.”
CHAPTER 26
THE GIFTS OF AMITHYA
“We would like to congratulate Oonak for being the first of Sumanas to reach Amithya,” the council said.
Before, these individuals had seemed approachable and unintimidating, but now that they were together, Zahn could feel power radiating off of them. Their combined voice was like a hundred rushing rivers, and he thought he saw their eyes glowing from behind their closed eyelids.
“Thank you, Wise Ones,” Oonak said as he bowed.
“We have searched your hearts and see that great efforts have been made to make this journey a success and for that we are proud. Whenever a child of the Confederation begins to walk, we are proud. We also see a residual energy that indicates your ship has been damaged by the Vakragha, and we are grateful that, despite your ship’s damage, you have reached us. Oonak, you have b
een out of contact for some time. What is the current status of your mission?”
Zahn looked over to Oonak in surprise and said nothing.
“Council, it is an honor to at last be in your immediate presence. Unfortunately, I bring disturbing news. If you are certain that the damage was inflicted by the Vakragha, then their Dominion is growing even faster than we had anticipated. The damage to Navika occurred in the Kuvela system, deep within the fourth band of the western spiral arm.”
“What can you tell us of the attack?”
“Navika has specific data about the attack that you may find useful, as well as data on the current spread of the Dominion. However, I am sorry to report that I was not able to see them with my own eyes nor gather much data about their vessel.”
“Do not be sorry to report the truth, Oonak. Continue.”
As they spoke, the sound of their voices harmonized in strange and beautiful ways.
“As you can probably tell, a fragment of my ship was sliced off while I was in orbit above Avani.”
“Why were you in orbit around a hatchling world? Yours was a survey mission that did not require any interaction beyond long range scans.”
Oonak’s face tightened slightly.
“Sumanas High Command thought that, in addition to the Confederation mission, it would be wise to survey worlds within a certain distance from my course, provided a strict cloaking protocol be implemented at all times. We never intended to interfere with such worlds.”
“And yet you have. Zahn is living proof of this fact. We are disappointed at your interference on Zahn’s world. Even though you took precautions to prevent any contamination, such precautions are not a guarantee, as you have learned. The introduction of foreign technology, such as yours, would have been damaging to Avani’s natural development. However, you have retrieved the fragment, and for this we are grateful. Is there anything further you wish to report about the attack?”
“Yes. At first, I thought that the vessel might have the ability to move even faster than Navika, but now I see that the evidence in Navika’s logs better supports my hypothesis that the Vakragha have a cloaking mechanism that is nearly perfect—one that allows them to attack while under cloak.”
“Thank you for this information, Oonak. We will consider it and notify all Confederation worlds that the Vakragha influence has now spread to the Kuvela system. We will also repair your timespace components and recalibrate your cloaking cells so that you may make the trek home in much safer conditions. We now wish to speak to the one known as Asha.”
Slowly, Asha moved forward. All seven of them glowed in each of the seven colors of the rainbow now.
“Yes?”
“What are your intentions? Why did you take the risk in accompanying these spacefarers?”
“Council, my father’s outpost was attacked while I was assisting Oonak with repairs to his ship. There was no time to return to my home before my father was forced to activate lockdown. We barely escaped with our lives.”
“Indeed, we see into your heart. This has been more difficult for you than you feel you can show to the others, hasn’t it?”
“If you’re asking me if I miss my father, then the answer is yes. But when we were separated, my father told me to align my heart with my mind and I would be unstoppable. I now know with every fiber of my being that helping Oonak and Zahn is the right thing to do.”
“Indeed, the Stewards of the Portal tell us that you were the one who solved their riddle. The portals are the only way to reach our world, so you have been of great service to your friends.”
Zahn whispered to Oonak. “I told you it was a riddle.”
“Shh,” Oonak said.
“Well, I calmed my mind, and it came to me.”
“We see that your intuitive potential is powerful, Asha. Yet it has not been properly cultivated during your time on the outpost. We must ask, have you considered healing living beings instead of repairing non-living machines? Does this interest you?”
“Back on the outpost I sometimes counseled pilots who had been traumatized in marauder attacks. They told me that talking with me helped them feel better. Do you mean something along those lines?”
“That, and more. You have the healing potential, and with this potential we could teach you how to bring life to the dying. Are you interested in this?”
“Yes! Yes, I am.”
Three other figures appeared out of the mist. Each were wearing green robes, and they looked ageless.
“We are pleased to hear this. Follow these healers and they will help you along your path.”
“Oonak, can I meet you back at the dome?”
He smiled and then nodded.
There was a hush upon the room, so Zahn simply waved to Asha as she left. She waved back as she followed the three robed figures, vanishing into the mist.
There was a brief silence, and the council spoke again.
“We now wish to speak to the one known as Zahn.”
With some hesitation, Zahn moved forward. He wondered how much they could really see. Could they actually see the past or just what was in someone’s memories?
“As we have said, we can plainly see into your heart and we understand your pain. Your guides have informed us that your world was breached, and the free will of many you love was severely violated. We see the pain that you have felt and continue to feel over the loss of your mother.”
“My guides? Do you mean like spirit guardians? My mother believed each person got two guardians when they were born, and it always felt true to me. So, it is true?”
“Yes. All beings of your density are assigned at least two guides for each life cycle, and sometimes additional guides are assigned for shorter durations.”
“What can you tell me about my guides?”
There was a moment of silence.
“Your guides have decided not to reveal themselves to you at this time. They feel that you are not quite ready to remove the veil that has been purposely raised between your kind and their realm. However, they wish to relate that they can always hear you when you speak to them, be it inwardly or outwardly. Indeed, they are quite powerful and have already been instrumental in the events which led you here.”
“Really? What did they do?”
“They are not permitted to say, as such information would violate your free will. However, we do sense another more pressing question within your mind.”
“Yes, there is a question. A question that I’ve carried for many years.” Zahn breathed in deeply. “Is my mother really dead? Her name is Darshana. She was a beacon of kindness and brilliance on my world, and she went missing twelve years ago. Is there any hope that she’s still alive?”
“What does your heart say?”
“For a long time, I wasn’t sure. I was beginning to wonder if the only reason I was holding onto hope was because it was easier. But now that I’m here, the situation is somehow clearer. Honestly, I’ve always felt that she is alive, even if I never had any evidence for it.”
“We are pleased you have reached a level of clarity, as clarity is most advantageous in reducing suffering. We may be able to help you. Do you have anything that your mother owned or came into repeated contact with? We could tell you more if we had an object to focus onto.”
Zahn considered this, but felt frustrated when he couldn’t think of anything he had that his mother had owned. Nothing in his backpack was his mother’s, and all he had in his pocket was…
The lens!
In a flash, he reached deep into his pocket for the small lens. Yet to his surprise, he discovered that none of his pockets had anything in them. He looked down to his pants and noticed that his legs were still partially transparent.
“Oh, that’s right. I’m not really here.”
“What do you mean?” the council said. “You are indeed here. All that comprises of your true identity is here, in this place.”
“I mean my body. I brought a lens. It’s in my pocket back w
ith my body. Can you tune into that?”
Abruptly, the council vocalized a single note. The note changed until it sounded like seven distinct tones, and just as abruptly as they began, they ceased chanting.
“This object is a small disc?” they asked.
“Basically, yeah. It’s a small, colorless lens.”
“One moment.”
The Wise Ones huddled together, and Zahn thought he noticed them growing brighter than before. Then he was sure of it. There was a light forming in their midst which soon spread to all of the walls. Tiny pathways of light lit up all around them, and then there was a flash.
They turned toward him again.
“Your mother is alive, but only faintly.”
“Really?! Are you sure? How? Where?”
“Calm yourself, Zahn,” Oonak said. “If you become too excited, you might trigger your body into waking up and disappear from this place.”
“Calm down? Calm down?! My mother is alive. How can I remain calm?”
Oonak put his hand on Zahn’s shoulder.
“By telling yourself to, because you have to. Do you want to leave the council before we find out where your mother is? Breathe deeply.”
Zahn breathed deeply.
“But this isn’t real air. It’s just—”
“Shh! Be calm. Breathe.”
“Okay.” Zahn took another breath. “Okay. I’m calm. I’m on the beach. There might even be birds. Now, where is my mother?”
“Under most circumstances, Universal Law would not permit we of the council to reveal an entity’s location without that entity’s consent. However, given the unique circumstances, we will permit this information to be related.”
“Good. Where is she?”
“She is being held within the Nirananda Nebula, on the edge of the Vakragha Dominion. We have relayed this information to your ship. However, we must also warn you that the Vakragha often reduce their prisoners to a delirious state by absorbing their vital energy. Even though she may yet live, her condition is unknown. She may never be fully conscious again. If you find her, you must be prepared for this.”
Epic of Aravinda 1: The Truth Beyond the Sky Page 18
