The Mindwalk Pavilion

2021112502

"Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one site remains intact, and that is that of the Great Pyramids. I have never seen them, and I am assuming that none of you have either?"

Iliaster looked around at the others, and saw this was a safe assumption.

"What we are going to do is to astrally travel to see those pyramids. I am confident that we can do this."

Since the breakthrough with Hélène, Iliaster had spent all day trying to think of somewhere that they could visit. The others had been fascinated to learn that both Hélène and Iliaster could now consciously leave their bodies. Catalina had declared that she would be next. Iliaster didn't doubt that she would be.

It was agreed that Saskia, Gianetta, and Iacopo would sit watch over their physical forms, whilst the other three would join Iliaster in travelling to the pyramids. They decided to go early that evening, with Hélène in particular keen to try out her new found abilities. They assembled around one of the larger fig trees near the house. Blankets were laid out and people made themselves comfortable.

Catalina mentally prowled around the Hermitage, drawing the protective symbols around them. She was sure that they were needed now, but this was how her intuition worked, leaving her with certainties that she could not explain.

Rafael slipped easily from his body, and saw Catalina walking around. Looking at her lying on a blanket nearby, he thought that she had already made good her promise. Iliaster startled him when he spoke,

"She does not realise that she is using her astral form to do that."

Rafael turned to see Iliaster standing over his own recumbent form, and Hélène stood next to him, looking happier than Rafael had ever seen her.

"I will go to her." said Hélène, moving to do so as she spoke.

The two men watched her approach Catalina, and speak to her. They could not hear all that was said, though Iliaster did hear the word 'sister'. Then Catalina went back to her body, lay down for a moment, and rose smiling.

"Thank you Hélène."

Iliaster was pleased.

"You were right, as usual Catalina."

She smiled widely at him.

"Now, shall we visit the pyramids?"

Iliaster's idea was to try an visualise the pyramids, and somehow draw himself intro that visualisation. He imagined how a pyramid might look.

"Come see." said Hélène.

She took his hand and in an instant they were standing on a dirt road, looking across at three huge pyramids, and in front of them three smaller, but still massive pyramids.

To his relief, Catalina and Rafael were stood besides them.

"The trick seems to be knowing where you want to be, and sort of willing yourself to be there. It's actually easier to do than explain." Hélène's astral body was confident and somehow powerful, Iliaster could sense it.

"Can you feel them?" Catalina asked, her voice unusually awe struck.

Iliaster didn't know what she meant, but Hélène said,

"Ooh yes! I can feel something."

Then he became aware of a quiet but insistent hum. Looking at the ancient structures, he suddenly was struck by just how old they were. They were somehow, 'heavy', he could feel the weight of them, knowing it was the weight of their great age he could sense. Then he felt the power of them, and staggered.

"We should leave." He spoke, seeing a vision of a moth fluttering about a candle flame.

"Go back. Now!" He commanded, and saw the others vanish.

"Leaving so soon?"

The voice was accompanied by powerful impressions of heat and dryness.

"Running away is no way to complete a challenge."

Iliaster found that he had moved and was facing a creature with a human head, and the body of some big cat.

"Don't you want to play?" The creature continued, "You might learn something."

"Who, or what are you?"

"I have all sorts of names, let's see now, which might you have heard of."

"Are you a god?"

"Oh dear me no. Gods aren't the only things that occupy these realms, they're a minority here truth be told."

"What are you then?"

"You do ask a lot of questions. This form is a Sphinx. There happened to be one here, so I made use of it. Well done by the way, we are watching your little group with great interest."

"What? Who is watching us? What do you mean?" Iliaster felt confused, but oddly not afraid, though the creature was taller than a tree.

"If you'd let me answer in my own time before interrupting with new questions, you might learn something. Oh dear, your companions are about to wake you up. terribly dangerous that, you'd better warn them for next time. Goodbye for now."

The water was very cold, and Iliaster nearly leapt his own height as it threw him out of the astral. He landed, panting frantically, and hearing a crack so loud that he thought for a moment that the fig tree had split in two. He stared up at Saskia, who held a bucket.

Something in his expression must have frightened her for she began apologising profusely.

"I am sorry Master Iliaster, the others came back, they said that you'd warned them of a danger, then you didn't come back with them, and we were worried that you might be trapped there, and we didn't know what to do..."

"Saskia, slow down, take a breath."

The woman did indeed draw a long breath.

"It is alright, I was unable to get back, but I am not sure that I was in danger. Iliaster shivered, and Catalina ran to fetch him dry clothes. When, dressed and wrapped in a blanket, he sat in front of the fire that they had lit in the Hermitage, Iliaster told the Mithraides of his very strange encounter with the creature taking the form of a Sphinx.

"We should not have left you." Catalina was angry with herself he could tell.

"You did as you were told, and that is important. I would have been angry if any of you had stayed, especially if I had returned here, and then had to go back and fetch you. We can count that experiment as being very helpful. We set out to see if we could travel to somewhere unknown to us. We proved that we can."

The others smiled, and Catalina looked somewhat mollified.

"The creature suggested it would see me again. It also cautioned that waking me as you did can be very dangerous. The shock of that water, I can see what she meant."

"She?"

"It was an impression I had, I could be wrong."

"I would like to know who is watching us, and why?"

"I think we all would Hélène, and I expect that in time we shall find out."

Word Count 1,148.