Damell the very next morning to tell him about her visions, as well as about her meeting with
Possessor of Discernment.
Aradin’s eyes popped open with a loud inhale of breath, and Rhuna sat upright, anxious to
hear about her husband’s vision.
“They are still meeting secretly in the same large room under the pyramid!” he said
immediately, and then reached for a drink of sweet nectar before telling Rhuna the rest of his
visions.
“They do the same ritual as the other Dark Ones before them - killing small animals,
thinking this pleases the Dark Master somehow!” he said shaking his head with disgust.
“Oh no!” said Rhuna, distressed at the memory of watching the previous Dark Ones killing
a pig in her first hallucinatory vision several solar cycles past.
“Yes,” said Aradin closing his eyes to recall his visions more accurately. “For the life force in
them – they think the Dark One needs the animals’ life force to sustain him!”
“Do they think the Dark Master is invisible and amongst them, or what do they believe?”
Rhuna wondered, and then shuddered.
“The answer to this question must be revealed to us eventually,” sighed Aradin, and then
vigorously shook his head to free his mind from the disturbing vision. “But now we should rest,”
he said as he stood up and placed his arm around Rhuna.
“So much is going through my head – I don’t think I can sleep!” said Rhuna with a groan as
they walked to their sleeping chamber.
“Perhaps I can think of something that will help,” Aradin whispered seductively, making
Rhuna giggle and throw her arms around him.
Rhuna awoke the next morning feeling well rested, and when she turned towards the open
window, she felt refreshed as the scent of wet grass wafted through the room. Aradin stirred
beside her, and she gave him a quick tight embrace before jumping to her feet, eager to start the
new day.
After the usual morning routine, Rhuna walked to The Reigning One’s residence, feeling
invigorated by the fresh clean smells caused by the overnight rain. She passed the golden feline
statue, thinking of Shandi’s special gift of foreknowledge, and then proceeded up the large stairs to
her father’s chambers.
“There’s so much to tell you, so much to ask!” Rhuna said excitedly after she had greeted
her father with an embrace and kisses. Damell chuckled happily and gestured towards the seating
cushions.
“Let us be comfortable and take nourishment,” he said.
As she chewed on nuts, dates and seeds,she told her father about the visions she and
Aradin had experienced after inhaling hallucinatory herbs, and then she described the visions The
Observers had summoned, as well as the conclusions they drew from them.
“I’m sure I know him…those green eyes are so familiar!” Rhuna said, recalling the
familiarity she felt when she saw the leader of the Dark Ones in the summoned images.
“The Infinite contains all Knowledge, and you are now able to access it for details of the
memories you are unable to fully recall,” Damell said, his bright blue eyes flashing with excitement.
“Really? I can do that?” Rhuna asked astonished, andthen laughed happily when she saw
her father’s mischievous expression.
“You access The Infinite in the manner of summoning mental visions,” Damel began to
explain. It is the same process, only with the techniques I have instructed you to practice these
past solar cycles, you are now able to reach further, with your Extended Consciousness, into The
Infinite to glean the information you require.”
“That’s amazing!” Rhuna exuded as her mind raced to comprehend the possibilities of her
newfound abilities.
“When you enter the first level of The Infinite,” Damell began, motioning for Rhuna to take
the position for extending her Consciousness. “Focus your thoughts on the man with green eyes
and any other familiar characteristics, regardless how vague, and the answer shall be given you,”
he said confidently.
Rhuna proceeded to take the usual steps as she had been taught, and soon felt her
Consciousness float in weightless space. Light and shadow forms of various hues danced before
The Infinite. She recalled the image she saw of the green-eyed leader of the Dark Ones, and
thought about the feeling of familiarity she experienced. In an instant, the young face of a green-
eyed man wearing a Master’s Robe flashed before her, along with all the memories and feelings of
unease, distress and repulsion connected with the face.
“Beacon of the Night!” Rhuna exclaimed, gasping as she returned to her body and popped
her eyes open. “Of course! That old rascal!” she said, as memories flooded over her. She began to
tel her father about the young teacher she knew in Atlán who taught her how to make a small
pyramid for her own personal use of harnessing solar, cosmic and lunar energies. She had been
unaware of his attraction to her because she was so immersed in learning and developing all the
traditional Atlan skills to become a Master.
“He tried to kiss and grope me,” Rhuna recalled, surprised that her memories of a time
twenty solar cycles in the past were suddenly so vivid and emotionally poignant. “When I told
Tozar and an official complaint was made, he lied and twisted everything around to make it sound
as if I had tried to seduce him…as if it was all my fault, not his!” she said angrily.
“Your feelings concerning this event are momentarily strong due to accessing The Infinite,”
Damell explained, discerning her anger and repulsion of the green-eyed man.
“He was sent away…” Rhuna remembered, and Damell nodded.
“Removed from Atlan society for the purpose of readjustment and re-alignment with Atlan
principles. Yet this procedure is not always successful,” Damell said with a frown.
“No…” said Rhuna, reflecting on the events of the past for a moment longer until her mind
turned to the pressing question of the Dark Master.
“The vision I had last night…of the Dark One telling me to ask you whether he is really
dead, and using your personal name!” Rhuna began. “Aradin reminded me that the hallucinatory
herbs distort things, but it felt so real!” She shuddered again at the memory of the disturbing
vision.
“What did it mean, Damell? He is dead…he must be! But why do I still see him in visions?”
she asked with desperation.
Damell hesitated and Rhuna felt the knot in her stomach tighten as she waited for her
father to answer.
“Do not be afraid, Rhuna. He cannot harm you,” he said in a low voice.
“Then you mean…you mean he is still alive somehow?” asked Rhuna breathlessly.
Damel nodded and then took a breath. “His Extended Consciousness is alive,” he finally
said.
“What?” asked Rhuna aghast. “The Consciousness can live while the body is dead?”
“Indeed, it was believed not possible,” Damell quickly replied, “Yet Gatherer of Sage has
once again pushed past all known boundaries into the Unknown and proved everyone else
wrong,” he said, still looking down at the floor.
“Oh, Father!” exclaimed Rhuna. “Thi
s is terrible!”
“Do not fear, My Daughter!” said Damell quickly and put a hand on her forearm.
“Remember my explanation about the Extended Consciousness: it cannot be seen or
sensed in any way.”
“But my visions…”
“You access the Infinite in your visions, Rhuna,” Damel explained firmly. “He
communicates directly with those who are in his sphere, the Infinite.”
“So…” Rhuna began as a cold wave of horror passed through her. “The Dark Master was
really talking to me in my visions, even some solar cycles past?”
Damell nodded with a serious glance.
Rhuna shuddered. “He always terrifies me,” Rhuna admitted.
“He is formidable, yes,” nodded Damell.
Rhuna thought for a moment. “Have you…do you…talk to him when your Extended
Consciousness enters the Infinite?”
“Yes,” he answered bluntly, then took another breath before explaining. “It is possible to
encounter the Extended Consciousness of others in the Infinite, and communication is possible; in
fact, in the Infinite, it is facilitated by the lack of speech and need to articulate words.”
“You mean, you can talk by mere thoughts only,” Rhuna said, and Damell nodded, then
smiled.
“You have gained a very good understanding of the Infinite,” he said.
“How is it possible for his Consciousness to stay alive all this time?” Rhuna wondered.
“This is another mystery yet to be fully revealed. He has discovered that the life force of
living beings which enter the Infinite give him sustenance and renewed spiritual strength.
“That’s why they kill animals!” Rhuna gasped.
“It is so,” Damell stated bluntly. “May their work be contained to mere small animals,” he
added solemnly.
“But we have to try to stop them!” said Rhuna, puzzled by her father’s words.
“No, My Daughter, we cannot prevent this,” he said with sudden sternness. “We must focus
on preventing much greater transgressions against humankind! Let us commence without delay,
for there is much to learn!” he told Rhuna as he motioned for her to relax on the appropriate soft
cushions.
“Attempt to move your Point of Consciousness to a more distant location, such as your
home,” Damell instructed.
“But the Dark One…I’m afraid!” Rhuna protested, but Damel quickly rose his hand to calm
her.
“No harm can befall you in The Infinite,” he repeated forceful y, and Rhuna felt her fear
begin to ebb away. When she felt ready, Rhuna began the practice of Inside Focussing and
releasing her Consciousness from her physical body. Before she realized it, her Extended
Consciousness was already hovering above her motionless body. She saw her father from above,
and noticed for the first time that his scalp showed through his grey hair at the very top of his
head.
Then she felt herself floating in sunshine, and recalling the rain as she arrived at The
Reigning One’s residence only a short time earlier, she looked around to see where the sunshine
was coming from. When she could not find the source of the warm sunlight, she remembered her
father’s instructions, and willed her Point of Consciousness to move towards the outside of the
room.
Rhuna felt a strange sensation as she passed through the solid stone block walls of her
father’s chambers. She thought to herself that it felt like missing a breath or a heartbeat.
Suddenly, she was already in front of her own house, and she felt disoriented for a moment.
Moving her Point of Consciousness from The Reigning One’s residence to her own home had taken
no time at all, and it took her breath away once more as she realized what had happened.
Seeing the door of her home before her, Rhuna moved to reach and open the door, but in
the blink of an eye she was inside, sitting next to Aradin in the room he called his office, talking to a
client. She looked intensely at her husband and the unusual female trader wearing odd clothes.
For a brief moment it bothered Rhuna that Aradin paid no attention to her, and that the client
seemed to ignore her as well, until she remembered that her Extended Consciousness could not be
seen.
“My family owns much land, yes,” said the woman, whose dark eyes and brown skin Rhuna
now examined more closely. “Family and friends, even strangers, work on the land to gather these
olives,” she continued, and Rhuna surmised that the dark woman represented a large olive-
growing plantation in a nearby land, and that she wanted to start trading olives and olive oil with
certain merchants of Safu in exchange for crops and rose petals.
Rhuna watched as Aradin repeated the details of the trade agreement, and then made
indentations on a clay tablet which Rhuna knew to be writing. Then she saw Aradin take off one of
his rings and press the top of it into the clay, leaving a detailed impression of an intricate design. To
her surprise, the dark woman did the same, only her ring left a different impression on the tablet.
Suddenly, Rhuna felt the urge to return to her father, and without moving out of the house
or across the streets of Safu, she felt herself getting heavy and sinking into cushions until she
opened her eyes and saw Damell looking at her.
“I was at home!” she said, and began to describe her experience in every detail as Damell
listened, nodded and smiled. “And you are losing hair on top of your head, Father!”
“I myself have observed this, also,” Damell said with a chuckle, and then reached for the
refreshments on the small table nearby. Rhuna took a handful of dates and then some nuts while
slowly savouring a tangy fruit drink rich in pomegranate.
“You have progressed extremely well, and in a short period of time,” Damell said as he
finished his last handful of seeds. “Yet practice is essential, and you may now continue exploring
the realm of The Infinite with your Extended Consciousness at your own convenience.”
Rhuna thought about her usual Inside Focussing practice at home, and expressed her
concern that Aradin would notice when her Consciousness was absent from her body for a period
of time.
“Of course, he must be informed now,” Damell said. “He shall object and be concerned at
first, however. Explain to him the importance of this gift you and I have been granted, and that our
skills shall be needed in the near future,” he told her. After a brief pause, he added with a frown,
“Explain only to Aradin, not to your friends, The Observers. They shall acquire this knowledge at
the proper time.”
Rhuna returned home, barely noticing the pitter-patter of raindrops on her portable rain
shelter as she mentally replayed her experience in The Infinite. She entered her home and found
Aradin sorting through his large wooden casket containing clay tablets. Before he could say
anything, Rhuna dragged him into the special room, switched the lever and began a long and
excited account of her experiences in The Infinite and learning to control her Extended
Consciousness.
Rhuna watched her husband’s face change from astonishment to horror when she
described every detail of his meeting with the woman trading olives and olive oil for wheat, barley
and rose petals. When she finished, she saw only grave concern and disapproval in his face
.
“Why, Rhuna? Why does he teach you these things? Why does he hide from everyone?
Why, why, Rhuna?!” Aradin paced the floor in agitation.
“He said that you would object,” Rhuna said, uncomfortable with his anger.
“Did he, now? He knows everything, doesn’t he!” Aradin shouted.
“He said that our abilities will be needed soon,” Rhuna explained, trying to keep calm.
“There’s a reason my father and I were granted these abilities…by the Pyramid,” she stammered.
“What? Granted? By the Pyramid?” Aradin hissed as he stopped his pacing in front of her.
“Possessor of Discernment…he knows. He showed me the secret room inside the pyramid
which enhances powers at certain times of the cosmic, lunar and solar cycles. He did the same for
my father many solar cycles ago.” Rhuna stopped to take a breath, and felt relieved when Aradin
remained quiet as he digested her words.
“You never told me about this,” he said in a sulky tone, and Rhuna reached out to throw her
arms around his neck.
“Don’t be upset!” she said in his ear. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, but I’m glad I can
tel you about everything now!”
Aradin tightened his arms around her, and she let him silently hold her for a while.
“It’s just that I don’t want you getting involved…” he began slowly. “…in more trouble and
even danger. I wish we could just live a normal life without responsibilities and constant fear of
the Dark Ones!” he said letting out a sigh of emotion.
Rhuna squeezed him hard and said that she wished that, too. “More than anything!” she
whispered in his ear.
Several days passed before The Observers met again in the special room to discuss their
findings, and Rhuna tingled with anticipation as the friends were seated and the low buzz of the
protective field was engaged.
“They appear to have a complex network of contacts and so-called operatives in lands near
and far, and they regularly meet secretly in underground places as wel !” grumbled Divider of
Fortunes in his deep voice, the furrows across his brow indicating his consternation at this
finding.
“Furthermore,” added Revealer of Truths, “…my observations have shown that they
communicate with written messages in code.”
“Code?” asked Rhuna, baffled.