Chapter 22
Chahzuu sat on the ground. His eyes were closed, his senses completely open, trying to solve the riddle. He'd sat that way for three days now, save for when he'd had to get up into the trees at night. Even then, except for the short, fitful sleep he allowed himself, he was running the puzzle over in his mind.
The first day he had tried to see if the crystal in his breast would guide him as it had before. He'd start traveling one way, hoping to feel something, then another direction to see if there was any difference. It was all the same no matter which direction he attempted. Nothing came that would give him any indication which way the third Article of Power lay. If it even exists, he'd thought in frustration. Yet he knew better. He'd already found two, and he knew, according to the old records, there was another, the one that was supposed to be the most powerful of all.
Could it be joined with the first two? The first two had clearly had been designed to fit together. It made sense the third would as well. When he’d studied them, he could tell they probably would. There was a space for a third though he couldn’t determine what shape it would take. He'd gone so far as to pull the two out several times. He could easily see how they'd fit. As he’d started to place them together a terrible dread had filled him. Each time he’d time he’d considered it the feeling grew more intense. The last time he'd tried he was almost physically overcome by the feeling.
Trust the crystal, he'd finally decided. It has guided me true to this point. Even though it seems to have abandoned the search, it still protects.
Even with the two Articles joined, without the third, he'd had a hint that they would be so powerful, just the two of them, that he wouldn't be able to contain it. He'd be destroyed. He didn’t know how to use them, but still felt compelled to find them. Once again, he knew from where the wisdom came.
What awesome power would they produce when all three Articles were joined together?
And what would Chahzuu do with them once he found them all? He wasn't certain, but he hoped it would give him the edge over Nemesis. Perhaps if he learned how to control the power, he could destroy that dark one.
A sudden flash of apprehension flashed over him. He clutched at his heart. The crystal in his breast turned cold, painful.
What is this? He clenched his fists against the sensation. Cannot the dark one be destroyed? Or is there a reason why he shouldn't? Nothing came in answer to his thoughts, but until he consciously forced his mind away from trying to destroy Nemesis, the feeling didn't go away.
His breathing continued to be labored for quite a while after. Then he remembered a snippet of what he’d been told when in the realm of the Guardians. ‘It rests with the two. Two of the One – One of the Two. One of the blood yet Two of the spirit.’
Both Pale Ones were linked. How he didn’t know, much less why. Obviously it was critical. Chahzuu pounded the ground returning back to the central question in his search.
How can I find it? Chahzuu was growing more frustrated as time passed. I must! I'm a Chahkzaa. I must find a way to lead my people to their true calling, not allow them to be ruled by this dark one.
Chahzuu didn't know when he'd started referring to Nemesis as "dark one" but it seemed to fit. It wasn't that his skin was dark. It was as pale as could be. It was his soul that was dark, reflecting the absence light and good in his countenance. He still shuddered at the way he'd felt when he first came in contact with the being. Then he remembered the difference from when he came in contact with the other . . . in the jungle. He should have known it then, should have stayed with that Pale One, or maybe even brought him along to gather the crystal.
That is not to be. Don't worry about what cannot be changed. You have a task! Do it! Chahzuu mentally growled at himself again. His mind had started to wander down all the mysteries that had surfaced. They were all important, all necessary to be solved, but the most important was right in front of him. It must be solved before any of the others could be approached.
And so Chahzuu continued to sit. He'd run through all the records he could in his mind. It did no good. Even the children's ditties didn't jar anything as they'd done before. There had to be some connection. The Third Article was the most important. Therefore it would be hidden the best. Could it be the records hinting at where it could be found were lost?
There has to be a way! Chahzuu fumed inwardly. He didn't feel the hard ground under him, didn't feel the heat of the air surrounding him. He quieted his mind and tried to focus on his puzzle. Still his mind buzzed.
He could go back to his country to gather his records and contact whoever was still there, tell them his fears and perhaps try to gather his people back. Yet without the Third Article he knew he couldn't do it. He couldn’t face Nemesis without some sort of power backing him. And he'd lose valuable time.
The records wouldn't help him anyway. What he needed to know was either lost, or already in his memory. Chahzuu had a feeling the answer was obvious, right in front of him. If only he could reach into his mind where it lay and grasp it. That feeling had persisting more than a day now, and was nigh to driving him mad.
Stop it! He mentally chastised himself. Why is my mind wandering so? It was as if he were back to being a youngling again, where his mind was undisciplined and thought of whatever fancy came into it.
He caught himself. A youngling? It had been years since his mind had been so undisciplined. He hadn’t had a problem in focusing his thoughts in years. Now he couldn’t focus his mind at all.
Why? Is there a reason? Could my mind be trying to lead me in the right direction? The crystal in his breast began to warm. Chahzuu grew excited. Perhaps the answer would come if instead of focusing his mind, he set it free?
That’s it! Chahzuu jumped to his feet.
This time it wasn’t a song, but a game. A strange one that all the adults had often wondered about and quit playing as soon as they got some growth. It was very popular with the children, the younger ones that is. Maybe it was simply because it didn’t make any sense, or maybe to them and their childlike mind, it made all the sense in the world. It didn’t even have set name. It was referred to by several names, and everyone played it, though no one knew where it had ever originated. Now Chahzuu knew its purpose if not the origin.
It was called the nonsense game, or the brain game, or most of the time simply nothing or the nowhere game.
The game was deceptively simple. The game was to just sit there and think of nothing and then after a time you would think of a place. A place that didn’t exist. The sillier the better. It was popular for the children to have a contest to see who could come up with the silliest place.
Chahzuu remembered the draw that game held for him when he was younger. As he grew, however, he’d lost patience and went to other interests. Now the draw came back to him stronger than he’d ever remembered feeling – except for one time when he was really young.
That memory now surfaced with an intensity that brought things into sharp focus. The crystal in his breast responded with flaming heat.
One day, he’d been strangely drawn to play the game. He was getting older, so he resisted it a bit, but the draw was too strong. He’d thought it strange then, but being young, didn’t worry about his motivations.
He’d found an isolated place where he wouldn’t be disturbed, which again struck him as being odd, since the object of the game was to play it with a friend and see who could come up with the silliest place no matter the distractions at hand.
As he sat, he’d calmed his mind as usual, but this time was different. Something had come over him, calming his mind to a point he felt he could sit there for hours and not think of a thing. As an adult, he knew that was virtually impossible, to sit and think of nothing. But right then, as like with now, something pushed him, pushed his mind to be able to quiet itself enough to really focus, without ef
fort, and narrow in on nothing.
He remembered during that time he had reveled in the feeling of just sitting there, perfectly calm, perfectly quiet in mind and body. Then slowly an image of a place came to his mind. It was a wondrous place. Not because of its beauty and color, but because of its total lack of . . . everything. Like it was a no-place a place that couldn’t possibly exist but that was part of every-place, meaning it touched every existing location there was.
Chahzuu remembered feeling utter amazement with his young mind that such a place could be. It was as if he only had to picture himself being there, and he would be there. That it was a shortcut to getting anywhere he wanted to get. If he just stepped into that place, then he could then decide to travel clear across his valley, and with one step, he’d step out on the other side where he had decided to be.
His young mind hadn’t doubted that place was real. It was something he couldn’t describe. And indeed Chahzuu had never spoken of it to anyone. It was as if he ever told anyone it would taint the experience he wanted to keep only for himself.
As time had gone by, he’d let the feeling of that place – of that experience -- fade. Now it was back with a power and conviction that convinced him afresh the place truly was real.
Now Chahzuu knew the place of the Third Article, and the power behind it.
The First Article was the Power of Creation. The Second was the Power of Purpose. And now he understood, and the records started to make sense referring to the Third Article. It was the power of the mind! More specifically, the Power of Knowing!
There must be more to our minds than I’d ever thought. He desperately wanted to take time to ponder over what this all meant. How these all could be such powerful forces. It was beyond his small comprehension, but there was not time.
Chahzuu knew what he needed to do. He needed to enter that place he’d seen as a child. It would take him to the Third Article of Power. From there it was only a step away back to wherever he wanted to be. He’d by arriving wherever his people were and bring them back to their true path.
As he thought that, he felt a tie, a tendril of feeling connect with his people. The crystal in his breast warmed, and he found he could sense his people, even over the long distance.
He closed his eyes and focused on the feeling, trying to sort it out, bring it in clearer. There was something happening! Something disastrous, though he couldn’t make out what it was. His breath caught and his eyes shot open. He had to get to them! To stop it!
The only way there was through the no-place. He must start now!
Chahzuu again sat on the ground. It would be dark soon. He didn’t care. If everything worked right, he wouldn’t be there – he wouldn’t be anywhere – when darkness fell.
He took several deep breaths, trying to force his mind to calm. It was hard forcing back the fleeting feeling of his young warriors’ apprehension. It took everything he had, but he recalled the feeling he’d had as a child, and let it wash over, bringing him quiet, bringing his mind stillness.
Then his entire body washed through with that calm he remembered. His breast warmed as the crystal reacted to the effect on his body, his mind, seeming to amplify the effect.
It grew quieter, calmer, easing down into the utter quiet he’d felt so long ago. Utter peace, utter contentment. It was almost shattered when a flicker of his mind flashed back to his warriors. They were in trouble! He fought it back. This is why it’s so hard for adults, Chahzuu thought, and a faint smile crossed his face.
The calm deepened and he just sat there reveling in the feeling as he had when he was young. Time didn’t matter. Time didn’t exist. Nothing existed but him, just sitting there doing, thinking of nothing.
He didn’t know how long he sat there, he didn’t care about time, but of a sudden he knew it was time to seek the no-place. And as soon as he thought about it, it swam into his awareness, and he knew all he had to do was mentally move into that place and he’d be there.
Without opening his eyes, Chahzuu did just that. He thought and moved. He didn’t feel any different, at the same time everything felt different. It didn’t make any sense, but then when a place can’t be described with any words he knew, it shouldn’t concern him he couldn’t describe how that place felt. It felt like he was nowhere but close to everywhere all at the same time.
His mind was still utterly calm, still utterly at peace. He opened his eyes.
Chahzuu’s mind seized. He was still sitting. He was indeed in his no- place. That was certain. He recognized it. He felt it. But standing above, staring down, eyes wide in evident shock, stood Nemesis!