“They are made of many tiny glass marbles,” Damell began his explanation. “The overall or main colour indicates status or position in society, and the design represents a family group or lineage. The other coloured sections denote family and place of residence.”
“Quite remarkable, actually,” said Goram thoughtfully.
“They look nice,” agreed Lozira.
Rhuna felt the Identifiers were intrusive, and robbed her of the harmony and trust she always felt when living in the city of Atlán.
Damell advised them to have Identifiers made as soon as possible, and gave them directions to a man in Judharo who made them. “Take some of these jewellery items to give in exchange for his work,” Damell added, and Rhuna remembered Eraldun’s explanation about trade and giving items of value for a service.
“Where is Possessor of Discernment?” Rhuna asked. “We wanted to visit him also while we were here.”
“He is unwell today,” said the small voice of Hari Tal from behind Rhuna, and she turned to look at him.
“Yes. He has asked that no one disturb him today,” Damell added.
“But I’m a Healer!” Rhuna protested. “Let me see him as a Healer!”
“No,” Damell said firmly, shaking his head. “You cannot cure or treat the ailment of passing time.”
Rhuna reluctantly agreed, and turned around feeling sadness that the long life of Possessor of Discernment would end in the near future.
“Another matter…” Damell said clearing his throat and looking sternly at Rhuna. “We should visit the city of Suchinda. Unusual occurrences there demand our attention,” he said enigmatically. “But first you must acquire Identifiers.” Damell removed a pouch from a wooden cabinet. “Give the man this in exchange for his work.”
Rhuna took the pouch and opened the drawstrings to look inside. She was startled to see polished gold and silver objects inside, and she assumed that they must have significant value.
As soon as Damell had given them directions, Rhuna and her group walked the short distance to the man who called himself The Marble Master. She was amused to find that he worked out of a large room that opened onto the main street of Judharo, and on each side of the wide entrance stood a tall pole to which very large and brightly-coloured marbles were attached.
Inside the room, marbles of all colours and sizes were displayed in various ways all along the walls and on low tables in the middle of the room. Several seating cushions were scattered around, and a small, pudgy man sat on the largest cushion. He raised his balding head and smiled at Rhuna and her party.
“Come, come! Be seated and discuss your business!” he said with animated hand gestures.
Rhuna lowered herself onto one of the cushions as she introduced herself, and as she waited for the others to finish their introductions, Rhuna looked closely at The Marble Master. She noticed a strange glass object resting in the round-bellied man’s lap, and wondered what its purpose could be.
“New to Varappa? Excellent!” he said, his cheeks resembling red marbles when he grinned. Aradin stated the purpose of their visit, indicating that they all required Identifiers.
“Indeed, yes, indeed! Your Identifiers shall prove challenging,” he said grinning again and rubbing his hands together in delight.
“Now, give me the necessary information: family, residence, occupation…” he began, and took the glass object from his lap. He placed it in front of his eyes and secured the stiff fabric ties behind his head.
“For improved vision,” he said when he noticed Rhuna staring. “Important accessory when one’s occupation involves small and delicate work.”
The Marble Master then revealed a tray with samples of many small marbles from behind him. As each person answered his questions, his thick fingers picked up the small bead-like coloured balls and placed them on a sticky piece of fabric. Rhuna was amazed by the Marble Master’s nimble and fast fingers, despite their pudgy and clumsy appearance.
“I must have one too?” asked Panapu warily from where he sat uncomfortably behind Rhuna. The Marble Master looked closely at the large bald man, and then back again at Rhuna and her family.
“Tell me of your heritage and family,” The Marble Master told Panapu.
Panapu hesitated and then looked at Rhuna.
“He was a soldier in the army of The Reigning One of Safu,” Rhuna answered on Panapu’s behalf.
“Of Benshu,” Panapu corrected.
“So…you are Benshi?” The Marble Master asked.
“Only part…” he grumbled, reluctant to provide further information.
“No family – live with them now,” he said motioning to Rhuna and her group.
“Hmm, it would be easier to make his Identifier indicate the connection he has with you, rather than his own obscure background,” said The Marble Master as he adjusted his vision lenses and began placing the appropriate colours on the sticky layer.
As The Marble Master worked, Rhuna wondered about Panapu’s family and childhood, realizing that she knew nothing about his earlier life.
“Come back in a day or two, when they are completed,” instructed The Marble Master. “Ah yes, and my reimbursement!” he said bowing his head in gratitude as Rhuna handed him some pieces from the pouch Damell had given her.
As they left The Marble Master’s workshop, Rhuna said that she was curious to travel to Suchinda with Damell. Lozira and Goram hesitated, looking around the busy and colourful main street, and then expressed their desire to remain in the city to look around.
“We shall collect Shandi after a while and meet you at Damell’s home,” Goram said. Panapu looked around and decided to remain with Goram and Lozira, and Rhuna knew it was because he was anxious to return to the children’s development centre to be with Shandi.
Kitlamu welcomed Rhuna, Aradin and Damell into her RTE again, and then reached for her navigational map.
“How do you know which dot is Suchinda?” Rhuna asked as she peered over the grey-haired woman’s shoulder.
“I read the writing, of course!” Kitlamu laughed, and then abruptly stopped, looking sharply into Rhuna’s face.
“You do not read?” Kitlamu asked, astonished.
“In Atlán reading or writing is not necessary,” Rhuna answered. “So I never learned, but I have seen writing in Safu!” she added, feeling slightly uncomfortable about her ignorance.
“Of course,” Kitlamu said absently. “Atlan ways are so distant and foreign to us now,” she said with a quick laugh and dismissive wave of her hand. “We cannot summon visions by means of the Gazing of the Waters, nor do we have schools to pass on special Atlan skills and knowledge, so we have come to rely on other methods to communicate, record information and pass on knowledge.”
After Kitlamu had caused the craft to rise upwards and then move laterally in the direction of Suchinda, Rhuna told her about her intense interest to learn how to operate an RTE.
“Yes, I can teach you,” said Kitlamu happily, and gave Rhuna a wide grin. Rhuna watched how the many fine lines and folds of her face moved when she smiled. Her greying hair appeared frizzier than usual today, Rhuna thought to herself, and her body exuded a scent like sandalwood.
“Meet me at the RTE base in Judharo at the first rising of the sun,” Kitlamu told Rhuna after she had set down her craft in a clearing near Suchinda. “At that time of day I shall have time to teach you,” she said with a smile that spread fine wrinkle lines all over her face.
Rhuna’s skin tingled all over with the anticipation of learning to operate an RTE, and even as they stepped out of the craft and walked through a thicket of forest, her thoughts were with the sensation of moving around in the air. She thought about the way her Extended Consciousness seemed to float and fly above the ground, and it thrilled her that it was possible to do much the same while in her physical body as well.
The distance from the flat hilltop where Kitlamu set down the RTE and the city wall of Suchinda was greater than Rhuna had judged, and th
e track led them through a thick forest of scented pine trees.
“Nice, refreshing smell!” said Aradin cheerfully, but Rhuna felt depressed as she looked into the dark depths of the woods on both sides. The cool dankness of the dense forest felt malevolent to her, and she tried to dismiss the strange feeling as her imagination.
Suddenly, Rhuna realized they were standing in front of the Atlan city of Suchinda, and her eager anticipation quickly plummeted at the sight a large stone wall around the city, and even a guard at a well-fortified gate. Her disappointment made her realize that she had hoped Suchinda would be like her home in Atlán
As they approached the formidable gate, she wondered how it felt to live within such confines, and she began to feel uneasy about the city as well as its surrounding dark, dense forest.
“I wonder if this wall is to protect against savages, too,” Rhuna said.
“Let’s ask him,” Aradin said stepping towards a guard at the entrance way.
“The people of Suchinda choose their guests with great care,” the guard answered. “Wait here, while I summon the judges who shall make inquiry of you.”
“Judges?” Rhuna repeated, looking puzzled and turning to Damell.
After waiting for some time, Rhuna saw four men and a woman dressed in Atlan Masters’ robes approach the gate but as they neared, she could see that their robes were not genuine Masters’ robes. Perplexed and feeling disturbed, she stepped back to allow Aradin and Damell to speak on her behalf to the so-called judges.
“Greetings, Strangers!” The judges spoke in unison. “You are visitors or new residents in this land of Varappa, are you not?” asked a very tall and slender man who appeared to be the most senior of the group. He scrutinized Rhuna and her family carefully. “My name is Sword of Justice,” he said with a bow of his head.
Damell stepped forward to introduce himself as an occasional resident of Judharo, and then introduced Rhuna and Aradin as newcomers to the area.
Welcome,” said the woman as she stepped forward to stand next to Sword of Justice. The tall man then introduced the woman as Rustle of the Leaves, and Rhuna thought the name was very appropriate when she heard her speak in a raspy voice.
The judges shook hands with Rhuna and each person in her group in the customary Atlan fashion, and then ushered them through the gateway and down the main street of Suchinda.
“Newcomers to Varappa are welcome to visit and inspect the way of life in Suchinda, with the hopeful expectation that they shall choose to join us in our harmonious community,” said one of the judges as they walked.
“We already found a home in the Chala Valley,” explained Rhuna.
“Some of our people reside outside Suchinda,” replied Sword of Justice. “It is a matter of the mind and way of life, rather than the location of one’s abode.”
“This isn’t what I expected,” said Rhuna as she looked around at the buildings on each side of the narrow road. She thought of the wide and shiny paved streets and spacious buildings in the city of Atlán, precious metals and shiny gems glimmering in the sunlight everywhere.
Rhuna observed that Suchinda boasted the same high standards in cleanliness, order and harmony as Atlán, but the style of houses and the colour of the stones were very different. The darker tones of the small blocks used to construct most houses gave Rhuna a sad and oppressed feeling.
“The similarity to Atlán of which we boast and are so proud is in the mentality of the people and their desire to attain the highest ethical principles,” Sword of Justice explained as he watched Rhuna looking around.
“Do come,” said Sword of Justice turning on his heels and gesturing with his hand that Rhuna and her group follow him towards the inner part of the small city of Suchinda.
During the short silence that ensued, the tall and lean judge looked at each of them carefully. “Some of you do not bear the appearance of a true Atlan,” he observed critically.
“We are part-Atlan,” Aradin stated.
“Ah. You two resemble Varappans,” Sword of Justice said, nodding his head towards Aradin and Rhuna.
Aradin confirmed his Varappan and Atlan descent, and then allowed Rhuna to describe her heritage.
“My father, as you can see,” she said as she gestured towards Damell, “…is Atlan, but my mother was Zao, a native from the island of Chinza.”
Sword of Justice frowned deeply as he considered this information. “Chinza is a very remote and isolated small island with primitive natives, if I am not mistaken,” he said with a grumble.
“Yes, that’s right,” Rhuna replied. “I lived there during my childhood, and then lived in the city of Atlán for most of my life until several solar cycles past.”
“How unusual,” said Sword of Justice, still frowning. Rhuna looked up at the tall man’s face and noticed that his head was constantly bowed down, as if he would thereby be on the same level as his fellow-judges.
“We strive to uphold the Atlan principles as taught by the original Masters who settled this land,” said Rustle of the Leaves as they walked. “We have a functional High Council here, and the necessary structures of an independent and self-reliant community.”
Rhuna cleared her throat and announced that she was a member of the High Council of Atlán.
The judges stopped abruptly, reeled back in shock and stared at Rhuna for a long moment.
“How would this be possible?” asked Sword of Justice aghast.
“Why not?” Rhuna asked, startled by his reaction.
“Why, you are not pure Atlan, of course!” retorted Sword of Justice.
“The High Council of Atlán welcomes members from any heritage,” Damell answered. “The qualifications for such a position do not demand pure Atlan descent.”
“No?” Sword of Justice asked, his tone expressing both outrage and a quiver of doubt.
“How do you come to be here?” stammered one of the judges. “Do you represent the High Council on an assignment to Varappa?”
“Oh no,” Rhuna said shaking her head. “It’s a long story,” she said with a sigh. “We had to flee Safu – all Atlans had to leave, and for various reasons we chose to come here instead of risk going to other nearer Atlan colonies.”
“Atlans were forced to leave Safu?” asked Rustle of the Leaves incredulously.
“Yes,” replied Aradin, preparing to explain the situation as briefly and clearly as possible. “The Ubanti thought that Atlans had caused their deadly plague, and pronounced war on all Atlan people.”
“How unusual,” said Sword of Justice again.
“We hear very little about the Atlan Empire,” explained Rustle of the Leaves. “In fact, the last message was from a traveller about twenty solar cycles past, and it concerned the activities and consequent demise of the One known as The Dark Master.”
Rhuna nodded. “Yes, I was part of that,” she said.
“You were? Is this a fact?” asked Sword of Justice with awe, his eyes jumping from Rhuna’s face to the others and back again. The judges also looked at each other with alarm and uncertainty.
“Yes, it’s a fact,” Rhuna said firmly.
“I see,” began Sword of Justice in a slow and grave manner. “We know that the High Council of Atlán has condemned Varappa and ordered its people not to come here. Therefore, we have deduced that perhaps you do not meet with the approval of the High Council, and have fled from their discipline?”
Rhuna felt heat rush to her face and she stammered to respond quickly.
“It was all a misunderstanding, but it has been sorted out now!” she blurted, then stopped as her father’s hand gently touched her arm.
“You have nothing to fear from us,” said Damell firmly to assure the judges. “There were other factors involved when leaving Safu and deciding to come to Varappa instead of returning to Atlán,” Damell said brusquely.
“Do understand our misgivings!” interjected Rustle of the Leaves apologetically.
“You must be informed of our pligh
t to fully understand our unease,” added one of the other judges whose nose appeared very red. “We have been plagued by something most sinister indeed,” he said with urgency.
“Shhh!” hissed Rustle of the Leaves as she turned and frowned at him. “We do not wish to alarm and disquiet our guests!” she added quickly.
“Nonsense! They must be informed of the dangers!” retorted the red-nosed judge. “Once fully informed, they can advise us on behalf of the High Council of Atlán how to proceed in our dreadful predicament!”
“What is your predicament?” Damell asked.
“Some conjurers have mocked and reviled us due to our diligence in upholding Atlan principles,” explained one of the judges. “Therefore, they find pleasure in frightening our people with illusions of a roaming menace!”
“This is only the beginning!” protested the red-nosed Atlan man. “The more we take action to denounce their vile activities, the more threatening their counter-actions become!”
“Yes, and only last night…” Rustle of the Leaves said, deciding to join her fellow-judges in unburdening their worries. “Only last night…a resident of Suchinda was found dead!” she said with a deep, sobbing sigh.
“You believe the death was caused by one of the conjurers?” asked Aradin taking a deep, fortifying breath.
“They are following the Dark Master in his perverted and destructive ways,” said Sword of Justice with finality. “It behooves us, as representatives of Atlán, to eradicate them!”
“Eradicate?” Damell repeated sternly.
“We would be most grateful for your guidance and assistance,” said Sword of Justice bowing his head even further down towards Rhuna.
”Of course, we’ll try to do what we can…we have fought the Dark Master’s followers before…” Rhuna said, thinking about the recent solar cycles in Safu.
”Really? You must relate your experiences – perhaps during a shared meal?” asked Rustle of the Leaves.
“What do you mean by eradicate?” interrupted Damell with a concerned frown.
Rhuna- New Horizons Page 10
