Fire Mountain
Sihara is almost trapped by two imposters who pose as Tranparent Ones, but she moves forward boldly and enters the fire where few can exist…
Warriors of Transcendence, Part 30
Beyond the vanished wall of thorns lay a silent, lifeless valley, bestrewn with dark-colored stones and deep ditches. In the distance, smoke from great blazing rocks obscured the sky. The towering inferno threatened to consume everything in its path. Immense balls of fire merged together becoming gray, molten fluids flowed down towards the valley.
“Do not be deceived by appearances,” Sihara whispered to herself.
But how can I withstand the deceptions? Her journey had taken her beyond Shadow Valley but she had not yet arrived at her expected destination, the Land of the Master of Transcendence. Had it been utterly destroyed in a calamity? Had the Descendants of the Emperors attacked this distant region as well?
Sihara scanned the horizon, searching for an answer to her perplexing questions. The soaring, blazing mountain obscured her view. Even from this great distance, the intense heat scorched her face.
As a child, she had heard stories about a mountain of fire.
Could anyone return from this perilous place?
Adventurous wanderers searched for it, but few ever found it and, of those, even fewer escaped. Those who survived and returned became encapsulated in a perpetual silence, their eyes burning with inner flames, while bearing their great secret. It was as if they had entered the gates of another world, after which life in the Land of the Ancient Progeny seemed dull and empty. Her childhood questions remained unanswered: How did the survivors live through the fire, conquer the mountain and continue their journey?
Sihara considered her desperate situation: There was an enormous fire before her and darkness behind… Tzalaii was now a prisoner and she, lost and alone, was searching for the Master of Transcendence. A sudden fury of feelings engulfed her heart.
He must come to me! She knew from her Transparent Master that the Descendants of the Emperors and their followers lived in dread and fear of the Master of Transcendence.
Maybe he is unaware of my perilous position, she thought, but her heart remained unsettled, and she found no comfort in her musings.
Surely he knows! she concluded, decisively, and then, with conviction, asserted: I must reach him!
“Where would you like to go, my child?” asked a voice from behind.
Sihara turned around in fright. She noticed two Transparent Ones sitting on the last hill just before the valley. How odd. Her Transparent Ones had accompanied her only until the foothills before taking their leave.
“Who are you?” she asked hesitantly.
“We,” began one boastingly. “We,” echoed the other, “are Transparent Ones. Who else would we be?”
“Two of the best!” laughed the first in a voice that aroused Sihara’s suspicions. Arising together, they hopped over to her.
“Where did you come from and what is your destination?” one of them asked.
Their golden capes glimmered, and the hot wind from the blazing mountain blew through their hair. Fear worked its way into Sihara’s heart, causing her to step slowly towards the hot, gray valley and the mountain of fire.
“I am searching for the Chamber of Changing Colors,” she said in a trembling voice, “Is this not the way?”
“Great dangers await you there,” snapped one, and the other quickly added: “You are too close to the flames. They are impassable. Only wandering Transparent Ones are able to reach the other side. Survival for mortals is nearly impossible.”
Sihara trembled and continued moving, even more quickly now. She felt the intensity of the heat, but her fear propelled her to continue. Suspicious of their speech and their proud boastings, Sihara looked for more clues.
“You are Transparent Ones, the friends of my people, aren’t you?” she asked, in a naive attempt to uncover their true identity.
They both began to laugh.
“The Transparent Ones,” they mocked her voice and mimicked her words: “Friends of my people”.
Their stature seemed to diminish. Their small bodies curled up. Sihara was suddenly overcome by feelings of compassion and pity for them.
Whoever they may be, they seem like two lost children, she thought.
She suddenly knew what she had to do for these two creatures, forever trapped between fire and darkness.
Sensing her change of spirit, they beseeched her, wailing “Please help us!”
They extended their arms towards her, imploring, begging. Sihara did not question her sudden, impulsive reversal of feelings. Imprisoned by her own deep compassion, she began to cry. Could any creatures be needier than these two lost souls? The pain of others had always touched her heart. She stopped in her tracks, extending her hands towards them.
“I shall ask the Master of Transcendence to come to your aid,” she whispered.
To her great shock and amazement, the two miserable, helpless creatures became terror-stricken. At the mere mention of The Master of Transcendence, they jumped back, as if stunned by a strong light. Sihara, coming to her senses, as if startled out of a deep sleep, began to move towards the fire, unconsciously, until her foot actually touched the flames. Following closely, their faces turning red from the great heat, the two imposters suddenly turned to beat a hasty retreat. As their deceptive robes fell to the ground, the two creatures appeared to dissolve into the blackness of the valley.
“Just a jot more compassion and she would have been ours!” grieved one, his shrill voice fading away.
Sihara found herself walking in a deep and tangled forest, far from the now distant mountain, but still the colors of the fire tinted the air. Orange leaves, crimson treetops, huge, dark tree trunks, and twisting purple vines. Only the trail was green. The entire forest seemed to be ablaze, but without fire. Winds blew against Sihara’s face. With each step she took into the depth of the forest, the wind became stronger and more powerful, like waves. Animals were passing in the waves of the wind, roaring, begging for their lives, laughing, crying hysterically, beseeching aid and then burning up, vanishing into the air.
Were these animals or figures from her past? She kept walking, feeling a presence.
Who is this walking near her and guiding her way? Sihara felt her body changing, melting, lightening, softening, and becoming translucent. She felt a sharp pain, an inner cry, a shock to her entire being, and then great relief, as if an old, heavy covering had been lifted.
Could this be death?
Before her image could fade into the all encompassing glow, before her footsteps could became lost in the crimson forest, full of vibrations and mysteries, Sihara noticed the presence of a girl who pointed towards the remaining light. She whispered, “Come Sihara, come…” And Sihara followed.
Her inner, illuminated foundation returned as Sihara took on a new form appearing as a lighthearted, cheerful young woman. The colors of the forest became brighter and full of life and the wind died down.
Sihara sat on the far side of the mountain, in a clearing, viewing the vast fields below. The fresh smell of spring perfumed the air. She fell to her knees and wept, her heart filled with pure delight.
To be continued.
***
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