Rhuna- New Horizons Page 8

  “How does it…operate?” Rhuna asked.

  “The Enclosure becomes weightless by interfering in the earth’s magnetic energy field which gives everything weight and mass. Once it is weightless, more force on the magnetic energy in any direction makes the Enclosure move easily, without resistance, in that particular direction.”

  “How is the energy field affected?” asked Rhuna as her eyes kept darting from one instrument and lever to the next.

  “These devices here,” she said, pointing inside a metal box.

  “A substance similar in appearance to liquid silver is heated to create excessive energy within these coils and closed tubes, which in turn alter the vibrational frequencies of the electromagnetic fields around the vehicle, making it independent of the natural force of gravity.”

  “Of course!” said Goram facetiously.

  “The most difficult aspect of navigating an RTE is knowing where you are going!” she continued with a laugh, ignoring Goram’s remark. “And now a demonstration!” Kitlamu announced loudly as she stepped towards one of the main instrument panels.

  Rhuna suddenly realized that she was quivering with excitement as she sat on the smooth floor. Thick glass in large rectangles on the floor allowed passengers to see the ground directly below the RTE. Smaller windows spaced at regular intervals around the wall allowed operators and passengers to see in any lateral direction.

  Kitlamu positioned herself in front of a panel of strange instruments, levers and dials, and then cleared her throat noisily.

  “Everyone ready?” she called out.

  Before Rhuna could ask what would happen next, a loud hum overwhelmed her senses. The buzz made her whole body vibrate, and she clapped her hands over her ears to relieve the reverberation in her head.

  “Oh, I can feel the vibration go right through me!” Rhuna exclaimed.

  “I’m scared,” said Lozira, groping for Goram.

  “Is it not exciting?” Goram said as his arm squeezed around Lozira tightly. She nodded obediently, and then grasped his hand tightly.

  Rhuna felt a deep thrill despite the discomfort of the penetrating vibration. Shandi clapped her hands and muttered some excited words to herself.

  “Take these!” called Kitlamu as she held something out towards Rhuna. They resembled strange ear-warmers, and Rhuna immediately grabbed them to place over her throbbing head. It gave her instant relief, and as she looked towards Kitlamu to express gratitude, she realized that the woman also wore similar ear protection.

  “Look down through the glass floor!” exclaimed Damell as he pointed at the ground beneath them. The forms of bushes, trees and rocks very quickly reduced in size and it took a moment for Rhuna to realize that this was because they were rising above the place where they had embarked.

  Rhuna looked around at the awed and amazed faces, thrilled that she was sharing such a special and exciting experience with her loved ones. She looked down through the glass window again as she felt a shift in the vehicle’s vibration and hum, and saw that they were above the city of Judharo. The rooftops appeared the same as when she had viewed the city with her Extended Consciousness, and she felt awed by this sudden realization.

  Rhuna noticed that the sound of the vehicle changed dramatically when it reached a certain height and then hovered at that point before moving in a lateral direction.

  “We are moving so fast!” said Lozira suppressing a screech of fright.

  “Yes, the speed is most precipitous, yet I believe much greater speed is possible, under certain circumstances,” Damell said carefully, and Rhuna saw a quick nod by Kitlamu.

  Rhuna observed the strange woman watching a panel in front of her intently concentrating on all the instruments, and she was suddenly overcome by intense curiosity. Rhuna carefully moved towards Kitlamu so that she could see the panel and look out of the small window directly ahead.

  “These instruments show direction,” Kitlamu said, pointing to a round dial with a movable arrow. Rhuna recognized the instrument as a direction-seeking device using the earth’s magnetic poles. “This one contains an air bubble within a certain liquid, and indicates the horizontal level of the RTE,” Kitlamu continued to explain, and then allowed Rhuna to ask some questions. After pointing to several of the levers and dials and asking what they do, Rhuna looked around and realized that everyone else was huddled around the large glass window of the floor.

  Rhuna stepped towards Aradin and lowered herself to look through the thick glass while placing her hands on Shandi’s shoulders. Sunlight glistened on the river below them, and Rhuna held her breath as she realized how beautiful the land looked from above.

  “We shall follow the river – it is very easy navigation,” Kitlamu said to Rhuna. “When circumstances permit, simply follow visible landmarks such as rivers, the coastline, mountain ranges or a certain point ahead,” she said as she pointed out of a small window in front of her.

  Rhuna looked at the meandering river and rugged mountains which had no distinguishing marks and were therefore difficult to recognize.

  “Easy when you become familiar with the shapes of the mountains,” Kitlamu said, discerning Rhuna’s thoughts.

  “We have arrived above Cha’al,” Kitlamu said after a short while, and Rhuna felt stunned.

  “So soon? I thought it was at least several days’ journey by ship on the river!”

  “It is,” Kitlamu said smiling and revealing gaps between teeth.

  “Now watch as I stop above the landing space,” Kitlamu said, showing Rhuna the steps to disconnect the current that caused the lateral movement, and then guided the descending motion with the gentle slide of a lever.

  “Landing is the most difficult,” Kitlamu explained. “Too fast, and you risk damaging the RTE and injuring passengers. Too slowly, the electromagnet may fail and the RTE falls like a heavy stone to the ground.”

  Rhuna watched with bated breath as Kitlamu eased the vehicle gently to the ground, slowing the descent as she looked back and forth through both windows, to see how close to the ground they were.

  “Oh, that was wonderful!” exclaimed Rhuna, and Kitlamu grinned, hiding her eyes almost completely behind folds of dry skin.

  “I want to get out of here!” said Lozira shakily. Goram put his arm around her as they waited impatiently for Kitlamu to unlatch several seals which opened the hatch door. Goram ushered Lozira out of the RTE as quickly as possible, while Rhuna remained inside to look around the Rapid Transport Enclosure some more.

  “So this is the Chala Valley!” said Aradin with a satisfied sigh.

  Rhuna breathed in deeply and felt exhilarated by the cool fresh air that tasted of pine trees and wet, green vegetation. Nearby, the call of birds and the buzz of insects bombarded her other senses, and she stood still for a while to fully embrace all the new sensations.

  “It is so beautiful!” exclaimed Lozira breathlessly.

  Rhuna turned to see that her daughter’s face shone with awe and happiness as she looked around at the stunning scenery and then she looked at Goram.

  “Spectacular,” he whispered.

  “Look at Shandi!” Aradin said with a happy laugh, and Rhuna looked around to see her small daughter skipping through the tall grass towards a bed of colourful flowers.

  “Let us follow her, as the house recommended by the Commander is in that direction,” Damell said.

  Rhuna took Aradin’s hand and bounded joyfully across the grass towards the flowers where Shandi had begun to touch and smell each one in turn.

  “There’s the lake!” Lozira called out as she tugged Goram’s arm and began skipping towards it.

  Rhuna waded through tall grass and colourful flowers towards the lake and then stopped to admire the scene before her. Sunlight sparkled on the surface of the water, looking like precious gemstones encased in the rich, green velvet of lush trees along the lake’s shore.

  “Our new home!” squealed Shandi delightedly, and Rhuna felt elated that this time her child’
s words were no mystery to her.

  A short distance along the lake’s shore stood a wooden house of three levels jutting out over the lake. Rhuna thought she had never seen such a house built half on land and half on a platform floating on the lake’s calm water. Nearby, the branches of green trees hung over the lake’s edge, providing shade and shelter for a wide variety of water birds. In the distance, massive mountain ranges in several tiers seemed to tower protectively over the lake.

  “How beautiful!” Rhuna gasped,

  “White mountains!” Shandi piped up, and Rhuna saw that her little daughter was pointing in the direction of the imposing mountain range in the distance.

  “Yes, in the cold season the mountain tops are covered in snow,” said Kitlamu looking surprised at Shandi.

  “So this is your new home!” Kitlamu exclaimed, turning to Rhuna and Aradin.

  Rhuna followed Lozira and Goram along the path towards the house and admired the embellishments on the outer wood surface.

  “What fine work!” exclaimed Aradin, and Goram nodded in agreement. “These patterns could be used in jewellery,” Goram said with sudden enthusiasm.

  “Is that what you plan to do, Goram?” Rhuna asked. “Continue with your trade as a maker of jewellery?”

  “In truth, I had not thought much about it yet,” he answered. “Perhaps the making of jewellery would suit me well in this new home,” he said looking around admiringly.

  Lozira hugged him happily, and he in turn squeezed her tight. Rhuna felt hopeful that their new home would be far away from Yarqi and the others so that Goram would not be tempted to join them, especially if he busied himself with his usual trade.

  “We’ll have our own level!” Lozira said excitedly as she wandered around the house some more.

  “And Panapu shall live up there!” said Goram pointing up to the windows in the sloped roof. The quiet giant looked up at the cozy top level under the roof.

  “Papa-nu sleeps up there!” Shandi announced as she pointed with her little finger.

  Rhuna saw Panapu’s eyes moisten as he looked first down at Shandi, and then up again at the top level of the house.

  “Never had home, by myself!” he said, choking back emotion.

  “There’s a garden to grow fruit and vegetables,” Aradin called from behind the house. “It just needs some work to restore good growth and fruit production.

  “I know how,” said Panapu as he stepped forward to inspect the garden behind the house.

  “You have found a most beautiful home!” Kitlamu said as she approached them and looked around admiringly.

  After a long and thorough inspection of the house and surroundings, Kitlamu suggested returning to Judharo in her Rapid Transport Enclosure. On the return journey, Kitlamu took a longer route so that her passengers could see more of the rugged mountain ranges and the path of the mighty river and its tributaries.

  “Look! The water is red!” exclaimed Lozira.

  Rhuna looked through the glass window of the floor and gasped in astonishment. The lake below them had turned a bright red colour, and a throng of agitated people gathered along the shore. Some people appeared to be panic-stricken and ran back and forth waving their arms.

  “We should go down and see what’s going on!” she said.

  “A rare phenomenon,” said Damell softly.

  Kitlamu gently guided the Rapid Transport Enclosure to a flat and open area near the lake, and then opened the hatch door for her passengers to disembark.

  Rhuna approached the agitated crowd on the bank of the water.

  “What is this calamity?” she heard a man ask with awe.

  “The lake water has turned to blood!” screamed a woman hysterically.

  “How?” Lozira stammered, and Rhuna saw the terror in her daughter’s face. Images of the attack on Goram flashed across her mind, and with a sickening jolt she recalled how Lozira had been covered with a spray of blood from one of the attackers.

  “It is not blood! Do not speak such an absurdity!” scoffed a man as he grasped the woman’s flailing arms.

  “I am a Healer,” Rhuna announced as she stepped forward towards the water’s edge. “If it’s blood, then I can say with certainty.” The huddled crowd fell silent and made way for Rhuna, looking at her expectantly.

  “Be careful!” said Aradin in a loud whisper behind Rhuna as she leaned forward and reached into the red water. She scooped some of the liquid into her hand and held it close to her face to examine it visually before smelling and tasting it.

  “I don’t think it’s blood,” she said firmly, and she saw expressions of relief cross the faces of the horrified onlookers.

  “But then what is it? How could this happen?” squealed another woman from the growing crowd of people.

  “It is the work of those Conjurers!” shouted one man as he approached them, and Rhuna spun around to look at him.

  “May it not be so!” exclaimed someone, and Lozira grabbed Rhuna’s arm with alarm.

  “They cannot do such things!” scoffed the man who had dismissed the red water as blood. “It is merely algae - a living organism in the water that releases a substance at certain temperatures or under special circumstances. It is all perfectly natural! Go back home now!” he said waving his arms to disperse the crowd around him.

  “It’s strange, whatever it is,” said Aradin thoughtfully as he kneeled at the water’s edge and carefully scooped a handful of reddish water.

  “Why would you think that Conjurers did this?” Rhuna asked the man who had expressed the idea. His brown beard began to quiver as she stepped towards him and awaited his reply.

  “They…they…have done strange things before,” he stammered, and then regained his composure. “Anything that cannot be explained, you shall find it is the work of a Conjurer!”

  “Anything you cannot explain?” repeated the man who scoffed at everyone. “It is merely ignorance, and such ignorance quickly leads to ridiculous assumptions, exactly as you see here!” he exclaimed loudly, holding out his arms to indicate the lake and huddle of frightened people.

  “You are probably right,” said Aradin with a nod, and then touched Rhuna’s arm to guide her back to their RTE. Rhuna approached the entry hatch and noticed that Lozira was not as reluctant to enter this time, but was visibly shaken after the talk of blood.

  “It is not blood, is it?” she asked her mother with wide eyes pleading for reassurance.

  “No, it isn’t,” Rhuna said firmly, and then gently stroked Lozira’s cheek. “Nothing like that could really happen,” she added.

  Rhuna noticed that Damell had been quiet and thoughtful, while Panapu silently watched everyone from a respectful distance.

  “What do you think, Father?” Rhuna asked as they were seated inside the RTE again.

  “Whether or not the water had become bloodied does not concern me as much as the suggestion that people speak openly of conjurers,” he stated solemnly.

  They returned to Judharo in silence, each of them pre-occupied with the phenomenon they had seen, until finally Rhuna removed her ear protection again and handed it to Kitlamu as they disembarked from the RTE.

  As they walked along one of Judharo’s main streets, Rhuna sensed the crowds of people around her were uneasy and restless.

  “Have you been to the lake, to see the blood?” asked a frantic woman with disheveled hair and big, wide eyes.

  “Yes, but it’s not blood!” Rhuna said firmly, hoping the agitated woman would calm down. Instead, she ignored Rhuna’s words and turned to address another person in the same manner.

  “We should stop at the Forum for Awareness of Occurrences on the way to my home,” Damell suggested. Rhuna looked ahead to the street of many forums, and saw a larger gathering at one of them.

  Rhuna’s fear was realized as they approached the frenzied crowd at the Forum for Awareness of Occurrences, and she looked anxiously at her family. Lozira’s wide eyes expressed fear, while Goram’s face expressed intense c
uriosity.

  “Why should anyone do such a thing?” a man’s voice carried over the din of many voices.

  “People who want to change the course of the river’s tributaries, of course!” answered another man. Rhuna stood on her toes but could still not see who had spoken. The crowd grew and mingled, entrapping Rhuna and her family. She held Aradin’s arm tightly and looked at Shandi who was riding on Panapu’s shoulders and affectionately stroking his bald head.

  “Water is essential for a society, and it is only logical that the enemies of Judharo should attempt to re-direct or pollute it!” said a woman’s voice.

  “Who are the enemies of Judharo?” Rhuna asked her father in an urgent whisper. Before he could answer, a woman standing close by turned to speak to Rhuna directly.

  “The Atlans of Suchinda, for one!” she spat. “The savages from the kingdoms in the direction of the rising sun, and now we also have to contend with those conjurers!”

  Rhuna was shocked into silence, and she was relieved when Aradin and Panapu guided them away from the mob and down a side alley directly into the sanctuary of Damell’s home.

  “There has been a lot of talk like this, Sahb,” said Hari Tal when they had entered and told him about the commotion outside.

  “Who are these Conjurers, Father?” Rhuna asked. “Are they followers of the Dark One, like the Guardians of Knowledge in Safu?”

  “No, not like that,” he said bluntly with a frown.

  “We were even invited to join them earlier today!” laughed Goram with a dismissive gesture of his hand.

  “Father, I have neglected observing the Dark Ones as you instructed,” Rhuna whispered to Damell when the others had gone to various rooms of the house.

  “The long voyage has been extremely challenging for us all, My Daughter. Do not reproach yourself,” he said with a kind smile. “May we withdraw early from the evening meal tonight and retire to my chamber in order to explore The Infinite with regard to this latest incident!”