The Guardian Ruins (Part II)

8

Search

It was past noon when the trio reached the cave. There was no clue to lead them towards Natse; Veekam had not really expected any such clue. And the constables, who never had any great enthusiasm to search for a missing grazer boy, felt more inclined to abandon the search. The second constable suggested that they should immediately move back to the broken crawler, lest they miss the hoist. He seemed convinced that the spirits of Bolsaiagora, having spared the lives of stragglers one night, might not be inclined to do so on the next.

Veekam understood that it will be impossible to stop the constables, who were going through the chore of searching the boy just because it was ordered by their superior. And he had no great desire of having them around when he next met Natse. He clearly remembered that the boy had said that he was not going in the direction of the hamlet, which meant that the boy was sure about the direction in which he wanted to go. The boy had certainly not gone in the direction of the crawler, otherwise any of the constables must have seen him. Then there was only one possible direction for the boy to go. Veekam was getting confident that the boy had some links to the key of the mystery he was looking into.

“I agree that we cannot afford to miss the hoist, but I would like to look around a bit for the traces of the boy,” he spoke, “Why don’t you two start towards the crawler while I have a quick round of the vicinity. I will certainly catch you before the crawler.” The constables saw nothing wrong in the suggestion. “But if you fail to reach the crawler in time, we will not be able to wait for you,” responded the first. “Yes, I understand. I will certainly catch you in time, but if I am late, you can proceed to Gorodok with the hoist. I can spend one more night in this cave,” Veekam smiled.

After the constables had left, not very reluctantly, Veekam took a deep breath and analyzed the situation. He had accidentally met a little boy in the haunted hills of Bolsaiagora; the boy was blind but was strangely aware of his surroundings; the boy has disappeared, and the only path he could have taken goes to the ruins of Tutlehoom. If Veekam had to find the boy, he had to move towards Tutlehoom. But the straight path from that cave to Tutlehoom had some steep climbs and treacherous precipices. Could a blind boy have survived that path? The only way to find out was to follow the same path.

The path was more difficult than Veekam had earlier imagined. There was no way Natse could have passed it. On several points there were no footholds, and one had to use hands more than the feet. There were sheer drops which appeared without warning, broad fissures with no apparent path to cross, and small streams with rapids too fast. Veekam started to wonder whether he had done the right thing by coming on that path. It seemed more likely that the boy had returned back to the safety of his hamlet.

But Veekam continued on that path. Even if the boy had not gone towards Tutlehoom, Veekam would require a shelter for the night, and the ruins appeared to be a suitable place. He never had any real intention of returning to the constables. Bolsaiagora was going to be his home for some time now.

He had not forgotten the boy. His eyes were constantly searching for any clue to indicate whether the boy had passed from that path, his ears straining to catch any sound. At each deep gorge, he did peep down – hoping not to find a body lying there. But there was no sign of Natse. With each passing moment, his conviction was getting strengthened that the boy had returned to the hamlet.

Sun was already quite low in the West, when Veekam turned around a corner, crossed a small stream, and found the ruins of Tutlehoom standing majestically in front of him. It was built on an overhang, very close to the highest point in Bolsaiagora – and there was just that last stretch of climb between Veekam and the Castle. And for the first time Veekam realized how tired and hungry he was. Fortunately he had enough food and water to last a few days. He sat down on the ground, opened his bag and took out a piece of dry bread. Just as he was going to put the bread in his mouth, something caught his attention and all the hunger and weariness was forgotten.

Veekam went close and bent down, to confirm that he had not made any mistake. But there was no mistake. There was a small footmark in the wet soil near the stream. It meant that Natse, a nine years old blind boy, has succeeded in climbing the steep hills of Bolsaiagora to reach the Castle of Tutlehoom. He had passed through a path which was full of innumerable dangers. Did the spirits of Bolsaiagora really exist, and had brought the boy there? Or was there some power even more mysterious and powerful than those spirits? But why? Why did the boy come to the Castle? What did he expect to find there? Was he aware of the mystery which was driving Veekam towards Tutlehoom?

The answers to all these questions were waiting in the Castle. But Veekam suddenly felt a chill running down the spine. Now he was confident that he will find Natse in the Castle, but who else will be waiting for him in those ruins? This last climb was going to be the longest and toughest climb of his life.

9

Homecoming

Natse came out of the stream, safe. The water hardly rose to his knees. He felt a strange sense of elation. He had felt similar feelings only when he used to cuddle in his mother’s lap. The memories of his mother always made Natse sad, but today he did not feel sad. His heart was filled with joy. He was cold, hungry, tired, bruised; his clothes were in tatters; but he felt happy. He knew that his journey was yet not complete, but he wanted to run to the top. He knew that his destination was very near.

The slope was extremely steep now, but Natse felt very safe. It was as if he was in secure arms. He was walking very rapidly, almost running. Then suddenly he stopped. It was as if somebody has gently held his shoulders, telling him that the path is barred. He stretched his arm forward. It brushed against something. A wooden gate. Locked? He pushed. No, the door opened with a creaking sound. Natse entered. He did not know where he was, but he felt as if he was entering his own home.

He was in an open courtyard, could feel the rays of the sun. It was late afternoon. He slowly stepped forward. The ground was unpaved, but smooth. After sixty paces, there were stairs. He climbed eight steps, and reached another courtyard. The floor was paved with roughly hewn stones. Natse could feel the cracks in the stones through his feet. He walked a few steps more. The stone pavement ended, and the ground became grassy. Tall grass, up to Natse’s knees. He heard the rustling of leaves. There were trees around, probably quite a lot of trees.

He felt his way around and felt a tree with his fingers. It was a short tree with thick trunk. Its branches were brushing Natse’s head. He lifted his arms to feel the branches and leaves. There tree was full of fruits. It felt as if someone was urging him to eat the fruits. He plucked one fruit, smelled it. Apple, a ripe one. Suddenly his hunger was quadrupled. He rapidly ate the apple. Plucked another, and ate it too. He felt as if someone was looking at him with deep affection.

Suddenly the wooden gate creaked again.

10

Convergence

The gate of the Castle was slightly open. Veekam pushed it cautiously, and entered. It was a huge open courtyard. On both sides of the courtyard were buildings, and up ahead was some sort of orchard after a short flight of stairs. It was a huge castle, made of stone which had weathered innumerable years. There was slight growth of grass in the spaces where two stones met, and a thick layer of dust everywhere, but the Castle appeared surprisingly well kept considering that it was uninhabited for four decades. Veekam did not know from where to start. The sun was quite low in the West, and soon it would be dark. Then it would be very difficult to search for Natse. Should he make his presence known to the boy? He might himself come out. There was no doubt in Veekam’s mind that Natse was an extraordinary boy; it would not be possible to hide one’s presence from him for long.

“Natse,” Veekam called in a loud voice, “Where are you?” He waited for a few moments and then called again. The boy appeared at the head of the stairs. “So it is you,” he said, “Why have you followed me?” “I was worried about your safety, and I also wanted to know where you are going. Why did you not tell us in the morning about your destination?” asked Veekam.

“Why should have I told you anything? You and your companions needed shelter yesterday night, and I guided you to shelter. There is no further need for us to worry about each other.” Natse was not ready to trust this man.

“I am sorry to hear that you really think so, but these are troubled places and we need to take care of each other. I would not have allowed you to come here alone, had you told me about your desire of coming to the Castle of Tutlehoom.” Veekam understood that he needed to work hard to win the trust of the boy. He had walked up to the base of the stairs.

Natse detected hint of genuine concern in the voice. “I am perfectly safe in this Castle,” was his brief response.

“Maybe, but I am not so sure. And I was talking about the path. It was not a path to be traversed alone by a young boy who cannot see.” Natse shivered at the thought of his experience at the stream. His response did not go unnoticed Veekam, who continued, “I accept that I have no right to question or stop you, but I do have a right to see that you are safe – especially after what you did for us last night.”

Natse was silent. He was not sure how to respond. He was caught in a mental turmoil. A part of his mind nudged him towards trusting this man, while another part reminded him of the lie. Finally he said, “I am safe now, and I intend to stay here for some time. And I do not think that you will particularly relish the idea of staying with me in this Castle.” He had realized only during the conversation with that man that they were inside the Castle of Tutlehoom. “I think it is soon going to be sundown. You can stay here for the night if you wish. I guess there ought to be plenty of space for two of us here.” There was slight hint of amusement in his voice.

Veekam felt himself relax a bit. He said while climbing the stairs, “Yes there are a lot of buildings around. We will be quite comfortable. And maybe you will agree to tell me something about yourself while we wait for the sleep. You are certainly an interesting young boy.”

“Yes, interesting and hungry. You had disturbed me in my supper. I am sure you would have never tasted such sweet apples.”

“I am also sure, by the looks of it. You just wait while I will pluck some juicier ones for both of us. Then we will have dinner together.”

The next hour was largely uneventful, except the fact that Veekam plucked some fruits from the trees – there were trees of all kinds of fruits – and both of them had a satisfying meal in a room at the back of the orchard. It was pretty dark by the time they finished their meal. Veekam said, “This Castle surely seems a comfortable place, but I will be more at ease if we at least have some light. I hope you will not mind.”

“Fortunately light, or its absence, does not matter much to me. But how do you plan to get light here. I am not sure whether there would be any fire-wood here.”

“This castle is at such a secluded place, I am sure that they must have captured sun’s energy to generate power. These systems, once started, are rarely shut down – and considering the fate of its last inhabitants, I do not think anybody would have bothered to shut down the system. Maybe it is still operational, let me check.” He found the switches on the wall, and flicked some of them. Suddenly the room was filled with a dim, yellowish, flickering light. “Wow! That is great. Now maybe we can do a little survey of this Castle.” “I am feeling very tired, and would like to sleep,” responded Natse, “But maybe a little exploration will not hurt. We can start with this room. Can you explain to me what you see in here?” His voice had the enthusiasm fit for a nine year old boy.

“Sure. Well, this is a very big room, at least forty feet across and thirty deep.” “Feet? And how much is a feet?” enquired Natse. It was not easy for him to comprehend the units of length. “Well, I can say that you, my friend, are about four-and-a-half feet tall,” Veekam replied, “And about this room, it has only one door – from which we have entered – but lots of huge windows on three sides, all opening in the orchard. Only the back wall does not have any door or window. There is absolutely no furniture, except a huge wooden cabinet along the back wall.”

“Can we open the cabinet and see what is in it? Maybe it will have the stuff used by the kings of yesteryears themselves,” Natse’s voice was dripping with excitement. “Why not? We can open it in just a moment,” Veekam felt the excitement infectious. He held Natse’s hand and guided him to near the cabinet. “Here we are. Let me see if it is locked. Uh-oh, it is locked, but I do not think anyone will mind our breaking the lock.” With these words Veekam took a small tool-box out of his box. It was a matter of minutes for him to break open the lock.

“And here opens our princely cabinet. Wow, the kings surely kept very little stuff. Here is only one small box, and a dista-view screen of some sorts. I have never seen a dista-view of this model, should be at least forty years old. I wonder if it still works.”

“What is in the box? Maybe some secret of this Castle, or why would anybody lock the cabinet,” said Natse. He surely had little interest in the dista-view screen.

“Let me see. And here I open it. Something wrapped in a pink piece of satin.” Veekam was giving a running commentary for the benefit of Natse. “And now I am unwrapping the cloth. A key! A golden key of a strange make. Now we will have to search for a lock to suit this key. But that will be later.” He put the key into Natse’s hand. “First let me have a look at this dista-view screen. Can we switch it on? No, it is not working. No power, I think. There is a cord at the back – which goes to this socket in the wall. Yes, the connection is loose. Let me fix this. Wow, there is some glow on the screen. This I switched it off, and this I switched it on again.” Veekam was certainly enthusiastic about getting the dista-view to work, and Natse was hanging on his words with expectations.

Gradually the screen began to lit-up, but the picture was very grainy. Veekam continued, “There can be no transmission at this place in the hills. Undoubtedly these pictures are from some sort of recorded memory. It is clearing now. Uh-oh, this is the view of Castle from outside.”

“Maybe this is a drama about the Castle. It will explain everything about the Castle. I guess this room was a guest-room, and the guests were shown this drama to familiarize them with the Castle.”

“Very likely. In that case we should watch the drama. It will certainly help in our exploration of the Castle. It is showing the main gate of the Castle; now the picture is quite clear, but there is no sound. The camera is panning inside the Castle. It is in the outer courtyard now. Climbing the stairs; now in the orchard. I see the grass was never kept very short in that orchard. Now the camera is focussing on this room.” Suddenly Veekam was silent.

“What happened? What is the dista-view showing now?” Natse was certainly eager to listen to the story of the Castle.

“It is no recorded drama,” Veekam whispered, “It is live. The screen is showing both of us.” Both were silent. The dista-view screen was showing both of them as they were standing there. Then Natse whispered, “There is a third person also nearby.” Veekam was dumbfounded for a moment, but then the sound of approaching footsteps penetrated his ears also.

He turned, and could speak only one word, “Eldest?”

11

Surprises

The Eldest was standing in the doorway, his saffron gown blowing in the slight breeze, his bald head reflecting the yellow light. He thoughtfully looked at Veekam, Natse, and the dista-view screen, and stepped inside the room. “Yes it is me. I realized that you might need help for this mission, Brother Verm’ark.”

For a couple of minutes there was complete silence in the room. Then Veekam was able to find his voice, “I am grateful for the support, Eldest. But how did you find me here?”

The Eldest smiled without humour. “We do keep trace of our Brothers, especially of those who are on critical missions. We were alerted when the crawler failed to reach Gorodok last night. And today morning when you were not among the passengers reaching the town, the Brotherhood guessed that you might have made some progress in the mission. The machinery of the Brotherhood was immediately put into action, and I started from Stolica. It was not difficult to guess your location.” The eldest threw a glance towards Natse, and said, “I see that you have indeed made some progress.”

Natse knew that the last statement was made in his reference. Now it was his turn to speak, “Verm’ark? I knew you were lying when you introduced yourself. But I will continue to call you Veekam.” He had not heard much about the Brotherhood at the hamlet. Veekam felt obliged to explain, “The disguise was for my co-travellers, not for you, my friend. People are often not at ease in the presence of Brotherhood, and I did not want to raise any suspicion.”

“In that case you would have told me when we were alone. Still, it does not matter – I sense truth in your voice now.” Natse was silent for a moment, and then he called with a start, “The dista-view! What is the screen showing now?”

Veekam and the Eldest both turned towards the television. It was still showing only two persons – Natse and Veekam. Now it was the Eldest’s turn to be surprised. “What about the dista-view screen? What does it show? What have you found?” “Nothing much yet,” replied Veekam, “We had just switched it on when you arrived. It was showing the two of us, so we thought is connected to a live camera. But it is still showing only two of us, so there must be some other secret.”

And then all three jumped with surprise as sound came from the dista-view, “The screen is showing only two of you, because I wanted to talk to only two of you.”

12

Revelation

“Do not be startled. I am the Castle of Tutlehoom, and I have invited the two of you here. I came to know about the arrival of Scud’ark only a few hours back, when he started to climb the hills. But it is better if he is also present,” the voice was coming from the dista-view screen. It was a throaty but resonating voice – as if belonging to an old man; very old, very wise and very affectionate.

The voice continued, “You seem surprised at the mention of your name, Scud’ark. I know that everybody calls you the Eldest, but you should not expect that from me. I will continue to call you Scud’ark. However, I will call Verm’ark as Veekam, only because Natse knows him with this name.”

“You three are surprised, which is natural. So I owe some explanation to you, and I will also want some explanations from you.”

“You need to go back in history to understand and comprehend what I am going to tell you. The place you are standing right now is the exact spot where the first human feet touched Zemlia, eleven thousand years ago. This was the very place where the first human settlement was established, high in the hills because the lowlands were too wild. That was the time when I started getting consciousness. That settlement was my first body, and my consciousness was distributed throughout that body,” the scene on the screen had changed to show a very primitive habitation. It took Veekam some effort to realize that he was looking at that very hill. The voice continued, “It took me some time to realize who I was and what was happening around me. A little more time, a few hundred years, before I became aware of the strength of human mind and emotions. I understood that these emotions were a unique contribution of humans to Zemlia. I could figure out that life had existed at Zemlia before humans arrived, but that was an emotionless life.”

“So I started to study human emotions in a deeper manner, and got more and more fascinated with it. In a few hundred years more I realized that even I had the same emotions. I also began feeling love, hatred, anger, pity, and all the wide range of emotions. And the first emotion I detected was love for humans. I had the same feelings for men that an elder brother has for his siblings; that a connoisseur has for a piece of art. I enjoyed watching them grow and develop. I soon realized that I can modulate the emotions of humans, since my consciousness was several orders larger than that of a man. I could make a sad man happy or an angry man calm.”

“But by that time man has tamed the lowlands, and has started to move down. I was happy for them, for I loved them – but I was also sad because I started feeling lonely. I used my powers over human emotions for the first time, when I influenced your forefathers to build this Castle. I got a new body, and whenever I felt lonely I could call humans to stay in this Castle for some time; without their realizing that their emotions are being modified.” The scene on the screen had gradually shifted to show the Castle of Tutlehoom, not its ruins but new and bright.

“Till that time Zemlia was in contact with other planets in distant solar systems. A lot of human traffic took place among planets, and I used to get a chance to study fresh minds of new arrivals. If I liked a mind, I influenced the person to stay back at Zemlia. The population of Zemlia started growing with humans of extra-ordinary mind. I was happy.”

“But suddenly the starships stopped coming. I was not able to find the reason for that, but I was sad. I no longer had the chance to study new minds, but that was only a small part of my anxiety. I was worried for the future of mankind. Man is adapted to living in complex ecosystems. Complex ecosystems have very high resilience, and small perturbances can easily be assimilated in them. As long as humanity in Zemlia was a part of a multi-planet ecosystem, it was safe. But alone, it is a very simple ecosystem. Even small disturbances – a tyrannical government, a social upheaval – could have easily destroyed it. And that was something which I was not ready to allow.”

“I started looking for solutions, and found a man named Odessa. He was a man of extraordinary capabilities and foresight. I influenced his mind, and prompted him to build an organization. The aim of that organization was to keep a watch on Zemlian society and maintain its balance intact. Odessa changed his name to Odes’ark, and the organization was named ‘Brotherhood of Unseen Custodians’.”

The speaker in the dista-view took a pause. Veekam stole a glance towards the Eldest, who was staring at the screen – which showed a face, a face which all members of the Brotherhood had seen innumerable times in their prayer halls, a face which belonged to the first Eldest. The voice started again, “The aim of the Brotherhood was to ensure that balance is maintained in all aspects of Zemlian life. They were to remain in background, never coming in public gaze, and while remaining in obscurity they were supposed to keep Zemlian society and polity in check.”

“For the initial few thousands of years the system went well. My ability to control the emotions and Brotherhood’s penetration in the society worked together to keep things static, but then I started to have doubts. I started to feel that I am stifling the growth of human society. The stagnation which I was causing was as dangerous as the imbalance which I was trying to prevent. So I decided to quit interfering with the society, leaving this task entirely to the Brotherhood.”

“I did not quit studying the human mind, I enjoyed it too much. For me, it was equivalent to the favourite toy of a child, one which he can never outgrow – but I completely stopped touching the emotional content of those minds. I had decided to allow complete freedom to the human society. Again a few thousand years passed, and then I realized that my worst fears are going to turn true.”

There was a long pause. The Eldest had walked almost up to the screen, while Veekam was biting his lips – his gaze alternating between the screen and the Eldest’s face. Natse was sitting on the floor, his eyes shut, his fists clenched. Nobody uttered a sound. The voice from the dista-view again started, “Will you tell us about your elevation to the position of the Eldest of the Brotherhood, Scud’ark? I am aware of the facts, but the other two may find it more convincing coming from you. Do not try to lie. No one can lie to me, unless I want him to do so,” there was a hint of humour in the voice.

The Eldest was silent for a couple of moments, and then started, “It is a forty years old tale, when I was a forwardman in the Brotherhood.” He stole a glance towards Veekam, as Veekam was presently a forwardman. “I was also sent on an important mission, a mission to this very Castle. True to the tradition of the Brotherhood, I was not told the details of the mission – just the part I had to play. I was instructed to steal some documents which were in the possession of a very high ranking official present here in the Castle, and replace them with some counterfeits which were supplied to me. It was not a difficult task, but when I looked at the original papers after replacing them, I discovered that those were orders prohibiting Zemlians to go in the ocean, reserving all the fishing for certain families. Ocean is the life-line of Zemlia, and the implementation of such an order would have dealt a fatal blow to common Zemlians.”

The words were coming at a faster pace from the Eldest. “I understood that the objective of the Brotherhood behind the mission was to prevent those orders, but I could not understand how stealing or replacing the orders was going to help. I was overcome with anger at the actions of the ruling class and the naive helplessness of the Brotherhood.” Suddenly he fell silent, as if fighting some internal conflict. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

“I will continue the tale from here,” this was the voice from dista-view screen. “I had been watching the decadence that was setting in the ruling class of Zemlia, and also the apathy that was setting in the Brotherhood. Maybe I had earlier over-estimated the powers of the Brotherhood. Their aims were right, but the foresight was lacking. They had mired themselves into meaningless rituals and ceremonies. What was envisaged by Odessa as a disguise to stay away from the gaze of ordinary Zemlians had become the mainstay.”

“Anyway, I am getting away from the main plot. It happens often when you are ten thousand years old. So my anger was increasing, and I switched from one extreme of complete inaction to the other extreme. I brought every member of ruling class here, in this Castle. Brother Scud’ark also came as one of the staff, though I failed to notice him when they all came. He has this old habit of sneaking silently upon me.” Veekam thought that he heard a slight laughter behind the last statement, but maybe it was his imagination.

The screen was now showing some celebrations going on in the Castle. The voice continued, “It was his anger which brought Scud’ark to my notice. In him I found the tool to do what I had already intended to do. His mind was already seething with anger, and I had to do only the smallest bit of tweaking. I made him do what both of us wanted to do, but he alone probably would not have done.” The voice went silent. Scud’ark had fallen on his knees, both his hands on his head. The screen was filled with red colour only.

“Yes, I did it. That night I killed everyone present in this Castle. I had wanted to do so, but I thought that I lacked the courage,” this was Scud’ark, tears flowing down his cheeks. “No, you did not lack the courage. I just removed a flimsy layer of morality from over your desire to take the extreme action,” the voice was now extremely sympathetic.

“I had taken the extreme action – and then I had to protect Scud’ark. That was not difficult. There was a political vacuum on Zemlia, and in the power struggle that started, finding the culprit was the last priority. Then I had made Scud’ark destroy all the evidence which could have proved that he was ever in the Castle. As per the records, everybody present in the Castle was dead, so there was no in-depth investigation of the crime – and it was assumed that it was one more link in the long chain of political crimes.”

“But I knew the truth. I had killed scores of men in a fit of anger, but with time I realized the gravity of my actions. I had always considered myself to be the caretaker, the well-wisher, the admirer of Zemlian humanity – and I had killed a section of the same humanity. The more I thought about it, the deeper I sank into guilt and remorse. I knew that my actions were intended to ensure the best for the larger humanity, but this fact did not bring the dead back to life. Ultimately I was so much down with guilt that I cut myself off from the world. I spread a repulsive field of fear throughout these hills, to ensure that nobody disturbs me, and went into a long and deep sleep of remorse.”

Scud’ark continued as soon as the voice stopped, “I went back to the Brotherhood, and told everything to the Council of Elders during the de-briefing session. There was a stunned silence; nobody even took breath, when I told them that I was the person responsible for the massacre of Tutlehoom. Then slowly the Eldest rose from his seat and said that I had acted in the true spirit of Brotherhood, and that the Brotherhood needed a leadership which could invigorate it into action, and that he was ready to abdicate in my favour if the Council agreed. The Council, then and there, accepted me as the new Eldest.”

“Strangely I never felt any sense of guilt over my actions,” the eldest was now appearing to be a much relieved man. “But the fear of consequences for the Brotherhood, in case my actions become public, was always there. So I always kept a close eye on the happenings in and around Bolsaiagora.” “And hence I was sent on this mission, to act as a spy?” interjected Veekam. He was too astounded by the turn of events to think straight. “No, you were too important for the Brotherhood to be wasted on routine operations. I have really grown old now, and the Council is looking for my successor. You were actually sent to test whether you can unearth the secret of the massacre. The seat of the Eldest awaited you had you found out the truth and its significance for the Brotherhood. And I think that the Council will treat the mission as a success, if it still matters,” the Eldest said with a smile.

“But where do I fit in the picture?” this was Natse, sitting on the floor with clenched fists.

13

Prodigy

“But where do I fit in the picture?” Natse had been listening to everything silently so far. “Yes,” said Veekam, “In the beginning you said that you wanted to talk to the two of us. What was that all about?” He was not sure whom to address, so he talked facing the dista-view screen.

“Of course my tale is still not over. My sleep lasted for almost four decades. Then a few years back I started sensing an extraordinary mind in vicinity. That mind was something which I had never experienced before. So extraordinary that I had to come out of my reverie! I could not resist feeling attraction towards that mind, so I started pulling it towards myself. But that mind belonged to a blind child, Natse, and I was aware of the perils which he had to face in reaching me.”

“But I could not resist the temptation to get that mind close to me; that was so special, something which Zemlia has never witnessed before. And I took a very risky step. I called Natse to me, despite being aware that his journey will be a dangerous one. Just when I was guiding Natse around the hills, I noticed another interesting mind. That was yours Verm’ark, or I should say Veekam. Your mind was so filled with empathy and care that I could not help taking notice.”

“New ideas started forming in me. Till then I wanted Natse for myself, I wanted to bring him to me, take care of him, love him – but I was also conscious that he could be the saviour of Zemlia. His mind has the potential to guide Zemlia. When I found you, Veekam, I realized that if you two are brought together there will be wonders. I was ready to let Natse go, let him take his deserving place in Zemlian society, but only if he was being taken care of someone like you.”

“And what are your plans now?” this was the Eldest.

“Still the same. I want Veekam to take Natse in his charge, and ensure that he grows up to be a man capable of leading Zemlia. What will be your role in this, you yourself have to decide. But I do not want Natse to be formally included in the Brotherhood. It will limit his acceptability to the common Zemlians in future, and I also do not want his mind to be encumbered by a ritualistic society.”

Natse protested, “But I do not want to go with them. I want to stay here, with you. You remind me of my mother. She had already left me, and now you are also leaving me. But I will never leave you. Never, never, never!” He wanted to go and hug the person behind the voice, whoever he was.

The voice was full of compassion this time, “Do you think I will enjoy being away from you. In the ten thousand years of my existence, your mind the most beautiful thing I have witnessed. You humans can never imagine the beauty of human minds, only I can feel it. And yours is the most beautiful of them all. But you have to go with them, for the sake of Zemlia. By staying here you will not learn what is required to lead a planet full of people. I can be the most loving mother, I can be the most caring father, but I can never be the most effective teacher.”

The voice continued, this time in a sterner tone, as if admonishing a naughty child, “I can change your emotions, make you feel yourself like going, but I do not want to do so. I want you to go at your own will, and come back to me whenever you feel like. I would always be waiting for you with open arms. And be aware, whenever I will feel lonely, I will myself call you – and you will never be able to resist me.”

“Veekam and Scud’ark, take him as my trust bestowed upon you. It is your responsibility to prepare him for the future. I will be watching both of you continuously, but more important, the future of Zemlia will be watching you.”

Epilogue

Natse went to the hamlet for a last time, to say goodbye to his friends there. Then the three started for Stolica. They made a strange trio – an old man who had saved the humanity on that planet once, a long time back; a man in his prime, who was given the responsibility to shape the future; and a boy, on whose shoulders rested the future of Zemlia.

The boy was sleeping, but Veekam was unable to sleep. He looked at the face of the sleeping boy. His eyes were closed, nobody could have guessed then he was blind. But Veekam’s thoughts wandered from the boy’s eyes to his mind. He was still not sure that the happenings in the Castle were not a dream, but he was sure about the extraordinary capabilities of the boy’s mind. The Castle had identified those capabilities, and had picked the boy to lead Zemlia’s future. But was a ten thousand years old intelligence beyond all mistakes? What if the Castle had made a mistake in evaluating the boy’s mind? If the boy’s mind was so unique that Zemlia had not witnessed a similar mind in all existence, could it not be too powerful even for the Castle? What if that mind was even beyond the Castle’s capabilities?

Suddenly Veekam recalled the golden key, which he had found placed along the dista-view screen. He distinctly remembered handing over that key to the boy, but he was not aware what the boy had done with that key. Where was the lock to which that key belonged? What more secrets were hidden behind that lock?