by Jeremy Dwyer
“Song can still work. Or even a plain old sword fight,” Daven said.
“Even song gets its power from the One True God. Don’t think that you’re the source of your own power. It’s a gift from Him, that you can act according to His Will,” Romana said.
“The glowing blue lines on the Spirit Sword now point north,” Joshua said.
“That’s the direction of the Lujladia and Atrejan Oceans,” Ovid said.
“Set your course due north,” Emerond ordered.
The crew of the Persistent set the course and sailed north.
CHAPTER 36: Carried by a River to Mysteries
Desmond and Jaguar felt their stomachs turn as the boat they traveled on went down several steep inclines on the river in darkness. At times, the boat would hit what seemed like a plateau where the river was almost level and give a pleasant trip lasting hours, only to be followed by another steep incline without any warning.
“We are being tormented before our deaths,” Jaguar said.
“This is most unpleasant. But I feel like I died a long time ago,” Desmond said.
“You are not a ghost,” Jaguar said.
“My family was murdered. All I can live for now is the search for knowledge. If I find it, so be it. If I die in the process, I’m not so sure I care,” Desmond said.
“When one dies and another lives, there is purpose. Both in the death, and in the life,” Jaguar said.
“Is that your religion?” Desmond asked.
“That is the truth of spirit,” Jaguar said.
“Superstitious wisdom is misleading,” Desmond said.
“The wisdom of Havatissa is truth. Yet, it is mysterious. He will point the way,” Jaguar said.
“You can believe what you like. Death is the end of life, yet both are without purpose,” Desmond said.
Soon, a dim light was visible in the distance.
“We’re nearing the end of this tunnel. There is a light ahead,” Desmond said.
“The light will show the purpose of our journey,” Jaguar said.
The boat traveled along and they reached the end of the tunnel. They could see the bank of the underground river inside the tunnel from the light that entered. They could also see what looked like land outside the tunnel.
The entire trip on the boat on the river lasted over twelve (12) hours, but they didn’t know it, and it seemed like more because of the unpleasantness of parts of it.
“I suppose it’s time to take the next leg of the journey,” Desmond said and then he stood up and stepped out of the boat onto the riverbank.
Jaguar followed him. They walked along the riverbank and exited the tunnel. The river itself, it seemed, simply stopped at a raised stone, perhaps thirty (30) feet wide.
When they exited the tunnel, they found that they were now standing inside of an enormous cavern, perhaps five hundred (500) feet high. The strip of land they stood on extended perhaps fifty (50) feet from the wall of the cavern. In front of them was what appeared to be an entire ocean, right at the edge of that thin strip of land.
Ships could be seen nearby, apparently waiting at the edge of the thin strip of land.
“An underground ocean. This is quite intriguing,” Desmond said, genuinely interested. For a moment, his mind was filled with more wonder than despair and emptiness.
“Such an ocean is a mystery. No legend speaks of it,” Jaguar said.
“No legend that you or I know. However, this is far too significant to not warrant some mention. If a primitive culture or a modern scholar knew of this, it would have been made public and gathered much attention,” Desmond said.
“If a Chronicler knew, and was forbidden to reveal it, then it would stay a secret,” Jaguar said. He knew that the Chroniclers did, in fact, keep secrets if they must.
“Correct you are about that, I’ll admit. Perhaps we will be the ones to reveal this knowledge,” Desmond said.
“If we can escape this place alive, then we can speak of it,” Jaguar said.
“Look at that ship over there – if it is seaworthy like the boat that carried us along the river, then it may carry us across the ocean,” Desmond said and began walking toward it.
Jaguar followed and they both saw that the ship had tattered sails, much like the boat on the river. There was no anchor that either of them could see, but the ocean was calm, so the ship remained there.
“The sails are tattered, yet the there is no breeze, so it likely makes no difference. Like the boat on the river, the ship may move of its own accord,” Desmond said.
“The will of Havatissa can move trees and hills, lakes and rivers. It can carry a ship across oceans, I believe,” Jaguar said.
“It’s not clear whose will it is. Discovering where it leads may answer questions,” Desmond said and he walked onto the ship, whose deck was at the level of the land. Jaguar followed, also curious.
They waited on the deck of the ship for several minutes.
“Perhaps I hoped for too much. The ship isn’t moving at all,” Desmond said.
“The time for all things will be decided by Havatissa,” Jaguar said, patiently waiting.
Several minutes later, the ship left the edge of the land.
“Finally,” Desmond said.
“Havatissa rewards trust and patience,” Jaguar said.
Desmond thought that the boat was simply being operated by a clockwork mechanism, that would move it about at designated times, or when enough weight of the people on board pressed down on some sort of lever that was in the deck boards. He did not believe in Havatissa or any other deity acting to move the ship.
The ship traveled for three (3) hours. Toward the end, they could see land.
“Look! There is an island in this ocean!” Desmond said.
“This ship is taking us to it,” Jaguar said, looking at the direction it was following.
“It does seem that way,” Desmond said.
Several minutes later, the ship reached the island, on which they could see towers and pyramids and fountains reaching several hundred feet up into the air.
“This ocean was hidden, and we came here from the secret passage in the temple, so the island must be a sacred place, like the temple,” Jaguar said. He stepped off the ship and onto the island, where he immediately knelt down and praised the land.
Desmond stepped off of the ship and onto the island and marveled at the structures. The ceiling of the enormous cavern might have been five hundred (500) feet high. He was not a mathematician, but was able to make rough angle and height estimations from a few key numbers that he memorized from his training and looking at the buildings around him.
One of the buildings that lay before them was a cylindrical stone structure, perhaps sixty (60) feet in height. All around the building were six (6) foot high obelisks with glowing citrines on wooden torch handles seated upon the obelisks. These were, in effect, torches that could give their light much longer than any fire.
“The torches are still burning. Someone was here recently,” Jaguar said.
“Not necessarily recently – perhaps in the last few months or years, maybe not in the last few hours or days. These aren’t flames – they’re glowing citrine torches. They can give light for years, if they sit in the light of the suns for long enough to store up energy,” Desmond said.
“I have never seen torches that can burn for years. These are sacred flames of sun gods, then,” Jaguar said.
“No. It’s just stored energy in crystals. You should study the science of crystals. Then, you might let go of the superstitions and actually understand the world,” Desmond said.
Desmond then studied the building itself by walking around it, and Jaguar followed him.
Desmond walked the circumference of the building, counting footsteps. “Six hundred fifty-nine (659) feet around,” Desmond said.
“Is that a sacred number?” Jaguar asked.
“No. It just means that the structure is approximately two hundred ten (210) feet a
cross at its widest,” Desmond said.
“Two hundred ten (210) is a sacred number. How did you know?” Jaguar asked.
“The distance across a circle, multiplied by three point one four one six (3.1416), gives the distance around the circle. I had to practice basic geometric calculations when I was a student of ancient architecture. We had to be able to multiply and divide quickly to get the circumference or the diameter. I’m no mathematician, but this is a simple formula and I’ve used it a lot,” Desmond said.
“The circle is a sacred shape. This three point one four one six (3.1416) you speak of is then a sacred number,” Jaguar said.
“Not sacred. Just mathematically true. But some people practically worship mathematics, and they would agree with you,” Desmond said.
“You do not believe in the sacred, yet they do, so they are wise and you are foolish,” Jaguar said.
“Believe what you will, jungle warrior,” Desmond said, even more annoyed at the superstitious beliefs that Jaguar held.
They walked all the way around the structure again, more slowly, looking for any inscriptions that might identify its significance. There was a doorway, and Desmond looked into it.
“Wait! This may be a sacred place! Do not enter without a soul that is prepared, lest you die,” Jaguar said.
“It is dark, and those torches would help. Take one,” Desmond said. He walked over and took a citrine torch from atop one of the obelisks surrounding the building and Jaguar did as well.
Desmond walked back to the doorway leading to the cylindrical building. Before he entered it, Jaguar spoke, saying: “These torches will not prepare your soul. It will only light your way on the path to death.”
“Perhaps your soul is prepared. You lead the way, jungle warrior,” Desmond said, sarcastically, gesturing toward Jaguar.
Jaguar knelt down and prayed, saying: “Mighty gods and powers of this place, I beg you to allow me to enter.”
Then, Jaguar stood up and said: “They may have mercy on me. On you, they will not.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Desmond said.
Jaguar drank the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean that he kept in a vial. He was energized by them, receiving speed and strength.
The men entered the building by the light of their citrine torches and saw that they were in a corridor which Desmond measured.
“This corridor is thirteen (13) feet wide. The inside wall is circular – it is a circle within a circle,” Desmond said.
Desmond looked up and estimated that the ceiling was perhaps fifty (50) or more feet high. As the building from the outside appeared sixty (60) feet in height, the difference was the thickness of the ceiling and roof.
Desmond walked around, guided by the light of the citrine torches and saw that there were unlit torches on stone mounts in the interior wall. Desmond walked around the interior and counted them, noting what looked like the frame of a doorway on the interior wall – with no opening – as he passed by.
“There are one hundred twenty-six (126) of these torches,” Desmond said.
“Is that a sacred number?” Jaguar asked.
“Sacred to someone, perhaps,” Desmond said.
“Who is that someone?” Jaguar asked.
“You mean your superstitions don’t tell you what to believe or know about this place?” Desmond asked, with biting sarcasm evident even to Jaguar.
“There are many gods and beliefs. I do not have all knowledge,” Jaguar said.
“There was a doorway back there – but it was closed. Let’s look more closely,” Desmond said.
At this, Desmond walked around to the other side of the building – away from the entrance – and faced the interior wall. Jaguar followed him, having curiosity yet trepidation. He had nowhere else to go, but he also feared the consequences of upsetting a deity by going forward.
Desmond held his citrine torch up and looked closely at the door frame and doorway. The door was thirteen (13) feet high, and eleven (11) feet wide, by his estimates. More interestingly to him, there was an inscription etched into it, faintly.
“There’s an inscription etched into this door,” Desmond said.
Jaguar looked at it and did not know what to make of it. “I cannot read these symbols,” Jaguar said.
“I’ve spent many years studying in Emeth, and traveling the world. I can read it. The message is as follows: ‘Worship that which gives a love that can be seen by eye alone. Venerate the three (3) above, to them for sins you must atone. Through the priest who walks the land, make your sacrifice by day. Give the suns what they demand, lest your soul shall burn to pay’,” Desmond said.
“This is a sacred place – of the sun gods,” Jaguar said.
“Indeed. A temple of sun-worshippers. Yet, the numbers are unusual. Who are the three (3)?” Desmond said, wondering about the meaning.
“There are nine (9) blue suns, more yellow and many more red. Three (3) is not a number of any suns,” Jaguar said.
“Correct. That is what makes it most curious,” Desmond said.
“We cannot enter, the door is closed. Only the prepared soul has the secrets,” Jaguar said.
“There is a secret. To venerate, which is what the inscription tells the reader to do, means different things. For sun-worshippers, it usually means one (1) of two (2) things. One (1) form of veneration is singing. The song Praise Every Upon the Sea is the hymn to worship the blue suns primarily, but all the other suns to a lesser extent,” Desmond said.
“How do you know these things? You study much, yet believe so little,” Jaguar asked.
“Disbelief is not the same as ignorance. I know that religion exists, and I am aware of many rituals. I studied the past, in detail,” Desmond said.
“You said there was another way to venerate the sun gods,” Jaguar said.
“To burn things in sacrifice,” Desmond said.
“What do we burn?” Jaguar asked.
“Look at the torch in your hand. Touch its tip,” Desmond said.
Jaguar touched it and it burned his finger. He drew back his hand quickly.
“It burns hot like a flame, yet it does not flicker,” Jaguar said.
“Heat and light. Citrine torches are not very bright, but they’re bright enough to light our way, and hot enough to burn skin or to set fire to wood,” Desmond said.
“Then this torch is for burning. But what shall be burned?” Jaguar asked.
“These unlit torches mounted on the wall are made of wood. Light them,” Desmond said.
Jaguar held the citrine torch to one of the unlit torches on the stone mount in the interior wall. Within several minutes, it became hot enough and burst into flames.
Desmond did the same to another.
The room was much brighter now. It was clear that the door with the inscription was still not opened.
“The door remains closed. Of what use is this?” Jaguar asked.
Desmond then had a thought. “Light one (1) more,” Desmond said.
Jaguar lit another torch on the stone wall mount and then they heard a noise, as if stone was moving.
They looked and saw that the door with the inscription slid upward in its doorway.
“We lit three (3) torches. Three (3), then, is a sacred number to whoever locked that door,” Desmond said.
“You do believe in sacred things, then!” Jaguar said.
“No, I don’t. When I want to find the hidden secrets of a superstitious fool, I just have to think like one for a moment, and see through their childish games,” Desmond said.
“You mock the sun gods. Beware the punishment!” Jaguar said.
They walked through the doorway carrying their citrine torches and Desmond felt something strange – the floor of the interior room gave way under his feet. Before he could fall any great distance, however, he felt a powerful hand move at blazing speed and grab his arm.
Jaguar stood at the edge of the doorway from the outer room, holding Desmond’s arm while he hung over a
pit. His reaction speed was amazing – and he could summon his full strength instantly – because of the waters of the Nabavodel Ocean within him.
Jaguar then held his citrine torch over the pit – which was eleven (11) feet wide, four (4) feet from front to back and perhaps thirty (30) or more feet deep. At the bottom of the pit were perhaps dozens of curved swords pointing in every direction.
Desmond looked down and saw the trap below that he almost fell into.
“Traps will kill those who mock the deities. Yet, the waters gave me the strength and speed of the tiger,” Jaguar said.
“Yes. Thank you. And thank the tiger,” Desmond said, thinking of the grisly death he would have suffered.
Jaguar pulled him up and they carefully stepped over the pit into the interior circular room, which was wide and filled with many statues, some lying down, some kneeling, some sitting and one standing in the center, perhaps fifteen (15) feet tall.
Desmond and Jaguar both looked closely at them.
“They are in different positions of worship, yet they are statues,” Jaguar said.
“Yes. That is quite curious,” Desmond said.
Desmond walked around the outermost ring of statues. He counted them out loud, saying: “The outermost ring has (37) statues, lying face down, as if worshipping the ground.”
Jaguar then looked at the second ring of statues, inside the first, and counted them, saying: “The next ring is of twenty-nine (29) statues, lying on their chests, but with their faces looking forward.”
Desmond then looked at the third ring, inside the second, and counted them, saying: “The third ring has twenty-four (24) statues, lying on their chests, but with their faces looking up.”
Jaguar then looked at the fourth ring of statues, inside the third, and counted them, saying: “The fourth ring is of seventeen (17) statues, kneeling, looking down.”
Desmond then looked at the fifth ring of statues, inside the fourth, and counted them, saying: “The fifth ring has nine (9) statues, kneeling, looking forward.”
Jaguar then looked at the sixth ring of statues, inside the fifth, and counted them, saying: “The sixth ring is of six (6) statues, sitting, looking down.”
