Rhuna: Season of Doubts Read online

  Rhuna finished dressing her young daughter in the girl’s favourite light blue dress, and then reached for the warm overcoat she had just finished making.

  “No, I do not like that!” Lozira protested with firmly folded arms. Rhuna heard Tozar’s happy chuckle from behind her.

  “So small and yet so strong-willed!” said Tozar with a grin.

  “Then I’ll carry it with me because you’ll need it later,” Rhuna said as she bundled the warm clothes together. “The cold season will start soon!”

  Tozar kissed both Rhuna and Lozira, wishing them a pleasant visit with Song of the Robin. Rhuna looked forward to seeing her pretty friend, and it pleased her greatly that Lozira liked Song of the Robin’s daughter.

  Lozira skipped ahead of Rhuna, eager to see her playmate again. Rhuna carried a present of fresh fruit as well as the warm clothes. She looked up at the clear blue sky and felt the warm sun on her skin, trying to imagine the imminent change in season.

  “Welcome, Keeper of Wisdom!” said the red-haired beauty as Rhuna and Lozira arrived. “Let us sit in the garden!”

  Rhuna gave the present of fruit to the young Atlan woman, and then complimented her on the beautiful gown she was wearing. “Your garden is so beautiful!” she exclaimed, looking around at the well-arranged flower beds and shaped bushes.

  The women sat down at a low table already prepared with delicious dishes of food, and Lozira chatted happily with her playmate. As they settled down to slowly savour the food, Rhuna was able to see her friend more clearly. The sunshine highlighted the nuances of red hues in her fine hair, and the soft shadows revealed her delicate features. Each time Rhuna looked closely at her friend, she felt a twinge of envy and then immediately reproved herself for being jealous of another woman’s beauty.

  “Didn’t you sleep well?” Rhuna asked when she noticed dark bags under Song of the Robin’s eyes.

  “What an excellent Healer you are!” Songs of the Robin said with surprise. “In fact, I slept poorly last night,” she admitted.

  “Can I help you in any way, as a Healer?” Rhuna offered.

  Song of the Robin’s smile vanished and she looked seriously at Rhuna. “Perhaps…not as a Healer, rather…as a friend,” she said carefully.

  “Of course,” Rhuna answered, suddenly curious and concerned about her friend.

  “It bothered me all last night,” Song of the Robin said as she looked into the distance.

  Rhuna waited for her friend to continue confiding in her.

  Song of the Robin began by describing the previous evening’s gathering of many friends and acquaintances of her family, and Rhuna nodded when she recognized the names of some of the guests.

  “It was much later, after all the food had been eaten, and we all sat around in a circle to talk,” Song of the Robin said in a shaky voice. Rhuna’s curiosity was ablaze, but she remained silent and waited for her friend to relate the discussion which had shaken her friend.

  “They started talking about the one they call The Dark Master,” Song of the Robin said in a dreaded whisper.

  Rhuna shuddered. “A chill goes down my back whenever I hear his name,” Rhuna confessed.

  “For you, also?” asked Song of the Robin with astonishment. “I was afraid that only I reacted in such a manner!” she said with great relief.

  “Then perhaps you also understand my feelings of…confusion,” Song of the Robin slowly added as her face darkened once again. “I had never heard the things the Dark One

  said, and the charges he made against the Atlan Empire, so I was very…disturbed afterwards.”

  “I always feel very upset after hearing about the things he did,” Rhuna responded carefully.

  “Then how do you deal with the…uncertainty?” Song of the Robin asked, looking pleadingly into Rhuna’s face.

  “Uncertainty?” Rhuna repeated. “What are you uncertain about?”

  “Why, everything the Dark Master claimed, of course,” Song of the Robin said, her face once again distorted by the anguish of doubts.

  “Tell me exactly what your guests talked about last night,” Rhuna said, hoping to understand her friend’s concern. “You know that I was involved in stopping him.”

  “Oh yes, I know,” Song of the Robin said, looking at Rhuna with awe. “I told them last night that I know you,” she said with pride. Rhuna felt both pleasantly surprised and a little uncomfortable.

  “It was many solar cycles past, before our daughters were born,” Song of the Robin said as she looked across the garden at the two carefree girls playing with a ball. “At that time, I only heard the general talk. Not the things they spoke about last night.”

  “What did they say?” Rhuna urged her friend again.

  Song of the Robin hesitated a moment as her brow gently creased into folds of deep concern, and then she began to relate the previous night’s discussion.

  “One of our guests who had journeyed to the land of Sapengi related what he observed there, and what took place when the Dark One arrived in that area.”

  “Sapengi – that’s a distant part of the land of Atlán, where it’s always hot and rainy,” Rhuna said, searching her memory for the scant knowledge she had of the remote place.

  “The native people of Sapengi rejected Atlan guidance and assistance,” Song of the Robin said in a tone that expressed surprise, confusion and even indignation. “I always believed that everyone would welcome Atlan knowledge!” she added emphatically.

  Rhuna recalled her journey into the jungle where a small and isolated people also expressed such a desire.

  “The chief tried to explain why his people didn’t want Atlans interfering in their peaceful lives,” Rhuna said after relating her journey into the jungle several solar cycles past.

  “The Dark One said that it is wrong of the Atlan Empire to force other peoples to accept our ways,” Song of the Robin said.

  “But we don’t force them!” Rhuna said firmly. “The Dark Master always lied and twisted things around to make them sound bad,” she told her friend. “Don’t believe what he said!”

  Rhuna laid a reassuring hand on Song of the Robin’s arm and squeezed gently, causing the red-haired woman to attempt a smile and nod.

  “All night I struggled to dismiss the words the Dark One had spoken, yet I became more uncertain until I was overcome by terrible fear!” Song of the Robin said, wringing her hands in anguish.

  Rhuna’s mind raced to find some words of comfort for her distraught friend, and her thoughts leapt back to her childhood on the island of Chinza. “I’m very glad that Tozar came to my homeland of Chinza and brought me to Atlán,” she said. “It was such a hard life, and the people on Chinza hardly know anything to make their lives easier or happier.

  “Then it’s different for you,” stated Song of the Robin.

  “Most people who lived the way I did on Chinza are much happier after Atlans came to help them,” Rhuna said.

  Song of the Robin nodded and then looked into the distance. A cool breeze brushed against her face, making her frown again.

  “Yet some people refuse Atlan assistance,” Song of the Robin persisted. “They accuse us of controlling them, forcing them to live in a manner that does not appeal to them.”

  Rhuna recalled her first impressions of the Atlan Empire when she arrived in Medíz, where the native people had warmly embraced Atlan civilization.

  “It’s hard for me to understand those people,” Rhuna began. “When I first arrived in Medíz, I had a proper bath for the first time in my life, and I learned all about hygiene, healthy food and how to make my own soap and hair oils. Everything was so wonderful, and I was happy and excited every day.
”

  “How nice for you,” said Song of the Robin absently.

  “Then I began to attend the Atlan School in Medíz, and that was much more exciting,” Rhuna continued. “So much to learn about the world, about people and what we can do to make our lives full and meaningful!”

  Song of the Robin turned to look into Rhuna’s face. “Atlan knowledge made your life full and meaningful?” she repeated.

  “Oh yes!” Rhuna said emphatically.

  “Would your people on Chinza feel the same? Would they welcome Atlans to show them how to build with stone blocks, irrigate fields, grow certain foods and behave like Atlans?”

  “There’s nothing wrong with building proper, solid houses, making sure there’s always enough food for everyone, and behaving in a way that never harms anyone else,” Rhuna protested.

  “You did not answer my question,” Song of the Robin said. Rhuna looked at her friend and saw a darkness in her face she had never noticed before. She hesitated to answer, and then chose her words carefully.

  “Well, I have to admit that the Zao people on Chinza in fact did not like the Atlans at all,” Rhuna said reluctantly.

  “A-ha!” Song of the Robin said.

  “But that was only because they misunderstood, and didn’t know what the Atlans wanted to do!” Rhuna insisted.

  “What did the Atlans want to do?” Song of the Robin asked.

  “Show the people of Chinza how to build proper houses, cultivate the soil, grow and eat good food, live healthy and happy lives…”

  “Yet I heard that you had to flee Chinza because the Zao people wanted to kill the Atlans!” Song of the Robin said accusingly.

  “Well, yes,” Rhuna answered weakly. “That’s how it was, but…”

  “That is the problem,” Song of the Robin interrupted. “No matter the reason, some people resist the Atlan way! And so my doubts remain. Can we be certain that what Atlans do is the right thing? Oh, I tell you, this doubt over our Atlan ways is the worst thing that could befall one!”

  The cool breeze suddenly turned into a steady cold wind, and Rhuna shivered. She looked across the garden towards the children and saw Lozira hugging her bare arms.

  “Come, put your warm coat on!” Rhuna called.

  “Perhaps we should enter the house,” suggested Song of the Robin.

  “And summon events by means of the Gazing of the Waters,” Rhuna added.

  Lozira took the warm coat because the girls wanted to stay outside. When the children resumed playing, Rhuna and Song of the Robin went into the house.

  “The chamber for the Gazing of the Waters is here,” Song of the Robin said as she held out her arm. “What do you wish to summon?”

  “The events that took place in Sapengi which your guest related last night,” Rhuna answered.

  Song of the Robin stiffened from hesitation, but gave a nod and then led the way into the small and dark room. Only four candles placed on the floor gave enough light to see the basin of water in the corner.

  Rhuna stood silently to still her mind before concentrating on the events in question. She looked down at the basin and watched a swirl of colours spiral on the surface of the water before turning opaque and then clearing to reveal a vivid image.

  Song of the Robin stood next to Rhuna and whispered in awe. “You do not require any powder or incantations!”

  “No,” Rhuna replied in a whisper. “Look, those half-naked people are the natives of Sapengi that rejected help from Atlán.”

  Rhuna and Song of the Robin watched the events unfold by means of the Gazing of the Waters. First, the native people shook their heads at the Atlan men and women who had journeyed to the remote land. The next vision showed the Dark Master approach the native people as they sat huddled around a fire at night.

  “Is it he?” asked Song of the Robin in a trembling whisper.

  Rhuna nodded as she suppressed the cold shiver she always felt when seeing an image of the Dark One.

  The Atlan man who once wore the traditional white Masters’ robe now wore a hooded black cloak, and his face appeared sinister in the flickering light of the fire. “My good people!” he said in an excessively sweet tone. “You were wise to refuse the Atlans! You have my deepest respect and admiration!”

  Rhuna watched as the Dark Master was welcomed by the native people of Sapengi as he continued his smooth deception. The final vision showed the Dark One grinning as the native people began to serve him and request guidance in everyday matters from him. He leered at young women, and told the people falsehoods which they innocently believed.

  When the vision faded and the water returned to normal, Rhuna breathed out loudly and stepped back from the basin.

  “Oh!” Song of the Robin said as she covered her open mouth with her delicate white

  hand.

  “I’ve seen visions like this before,” Rhuna said. “He has done this to other people who are ignorant of the world around them. First he flatters them, then tells lies to make them fear and believe that they need his advice and guidance in everything!”

  “Did you see how he looked at the young women?” Song of the Robin said with repulsion.

  “He was like that,” replied Rhuna, nodding.

  “How terrible for the Sapengi people!”

  “They wouldn’t have succumbed to the Dark One’s lies if they had accepted guidance from the Atlans!” Rhuna said firmly.

  “Yes, that is true,” Song of the Robin conceded. The two women silently walked into the sitting area of the house.

  “Then…do we have the right, as Atlans, to force our ways onto other people who have an entirely different way of living and seeing the world?” Song of the Robin asked, her tone pleading for reassurance.

  “I think Atlans not only have the right because of possessing higher knowledge,” Rhuna began, hoping to remove all doubt from her troubled friend’s mind. “But we Atlans have an obligation to try to convince people to accept at least some help from us, otherwise the same thing that befell the … will happen to them, too!”

  “Oh yes, I see that now,” Song of the Robin answered with relief. “We have a responsibility towards all people to share the knowledge we have so that they can enjoy a

  good life as well,” she summarized as she smiled broadly. “How foolish it was of me to ever doubt!”

  Despite the onset of the cold season, Rhuna felt wonderfully warm within, and her friend’s face once again radiated a beautiful glow of happiness.

  * * *

 

 

  Barbara Underwood, Rhuna: Season of Doubts

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