Chapter 5:
Sweet Nothings in Your Ear - A Loud Whisper.
"We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us. Even while the earth sleeps, we travel."
- Khalil Gibran
Amenta and Chomille continue their journey onward to Dimond City. Amenta still felt uneasy about their last conversation the other night. Every time he thought of all the natives being massacred by Reapicon Labs for their minerals, he got sick to his stomach. The effect of shame left his mind constantly wandering and throat sticky with cottonmouth by the thought of it. So, he just pushed those thoughts to the back of his brain, locking them in his guilty file. Sweeping the dirt under the rug does not mean the dirt is not still there. But eventually the dirt piles up and he knew he would have to tell Chomille the truth sooner or later.
Miles before setting up a new camp, Chomille stopped Amenta and explained what lay ahead of them.
“Ahead are three bridges that we’d have to cross before entering Dimond City. Each bridge presents its own challenge to those who want to successfully cross without a scratch."
He said it with such an excited look on his face.
Amenta sat down on a rotten tree stump nearby and looked at Chomille confused more than ever. Seeing this, Chomille explained the story further so Amenta could catch up on details. He told Amenta that each bridge had been created generations ago and each are a different age. Even the elements used to build the bridges were unique in their own way.
This first bridge built was the water bridge called Yomii or ‘Ka-Lypso’ in Endorean.
The second bridge made of wood and fauna is called Xipe or ‘Zaden’ in Endorean.
And lastly, this bridge made of ice silver and limestone is called Huti or 'Darajha-La' in elder Endorean dialects.
Being centuries apart, each bridge was constructed by a different representative or chief of Endorea. Each leader built them when the southern star circled the red sun and kissed all five moons simultaneously; this is the great alignment natives call Cinotopyh.
Of all the bridges Yomii is the most affected because of the moon manipulating the flow of water, though the effects dissipate once the southern star leaves the orbit of the second moon.
"The Cinotopyh creates a time lapse or portal that opens causing Endorean natives to gain excessive spiritual energy unlocking all intergenerational genetic information. All their genius would release in one wave making them use more than thirty-four percent of their brain power and ultimately awaken their magik."
"How long would this wave last?" Amenta asked while squinting his eyes, leaning closer to the conversation.
"This wave would last only three days. In those three days, each chief would have their own scriber to bear witness and record all the revealing secrets used to build a strong tower-like structure that protects the spiritual power of Endorean natives. Rituals were performed by the natives of Atai. They would engulf themselves with dance, food, sex, singing, and dress in the most beautiful of all regalia across the horizon. If the rituals were not completed correctly th--"
"If not completed correctly then what?!" Amenta interrupted impatiently.
"Ehm...Then their souls would be snatched from their bodies by the Sotpopa [Sot-pope-pah]. A devastating force that spreads over the land causing everyone to attack each other like zombies, tearing away at the flesh of others viciously..."
To Amenta, it sounded like bullshit folklore that natives used to scare locals and children to death.
“Wait a minute, let me stop you RIGHT there,” said Amenta.
“Why were they built in the first place? And how is all this possible? Nothing makes sense man, I mean godamn, where is the happy ending?”
Chomille rolled his eyes and took a deep breath.
“I never said I was finished. Now...keep listening and I will tell you the rest of the story! Have patience...”
Amenta did an invisible zipper over his mouth.
Though skeptical and reluctant, he agreed and let Chomille finish. Chomille continued to tell him that the secrets of each bridge became refuged within those who built them. By the time the bridges were finished, their memories and science of how they were built would mysteriously disappear. This is because each bridge also had its own deity that would protect and withhold the knowledge given to the natives. So, they made a pact with the dead gods of Emayrah with an agreement that each of their memories would be erased at the end of Cinotopyh once the bridges were finished. Those three deities were said to be multidimensional beings who had no reference to time or space. Nor the rules of huemanity.
They did not believe that humanity had the integrity to keep their primordial sciences a secret without war and destruction. The natives kept the bridges, and the deities kept the secrets. End of story. Amenta raised his hand and was about to ask another question, but Chomille cut him off.
“WHO are the deities you might ask?!”
Amenta puts his hand back down.
“Well, each deity comes from a different dimension, and each protects their own bridge. There deities are Wondjina, Shinis, and Bruntes.”
The Wondjina protects the water bridge. They have no mouths with only one hole in their heads for breathing. If they even breathe anything at all that is. Their bodies had a serpentine or humanoid shape with the skin of a dolphin having no hair nor genitals for sex, or even an anus to shit out of. People claim they make a screeching noise of a banshee, but none of it has been proven. It was all speculation from the natives over the decades who claim to have “first-handedly” experienced them.
The Shinis protected the wooden bridge and took the form of vegetation. Shinis are the deity of nature, fauna, and trees of all kinds. In the depths of nature, the Shinis dwell, listening to all fauna and creatures across Atai-Khemu.
Lastly, are the Bruntes, who are the most dangerous of all the deities. Bruntes were rumored to eat thunder and carry clubs of colorful uncut jewels that cut and swallow the essence of anything it strikes. These are the Atai folklore passed down from the griot for hundreds of generations.
“I do not know if they are true or not, but I can say that this year is the year of the southern star. So, we must tread lightly brother,” said Chomille with a serious demeanor.
Amenta tried not to laugh because he was not a huge fan of folklore.
“Sorry Chomille, but I’m a scientist. C'mon man I honestly question the authenticity of these fairytales. Unless they were made in a lab then that's different.”
Palming his face in disappointment, Chomille oversaw his ignorance of the unknown and shared his point of view.
“Scientists believe only in the apparent. You need not to lean on your own understanding. Just because something was never heard of before or sounds unreal, does not mean it could not exist. The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. Tuh! In my opinion scientists are hypocrites in denial of their own spiritual experience.”
He folded is arms and looked away to add emphasis to his disagreement.
Though it sounded logical, Amenta still responded with a heavy hand and remained in disbelief of the story, keeping his scientific mind intact. Unbeknownst to Chomille, Amenta secretly had experiences dealing with the supernatural in his past and came to Atai to seek answers of those otherworldly experiences. Specifically, the mysterious voice he spoke to back on Mardaath. Amenta knew Chomille was right all along; but he would never admit it to him.
To Amenta, it was all a cosmic fucking joke. Chomille believed that Amenta would eventually come around and recognize his own powers that lay dormant within him. Taking his own advice earlier, he remained patient and let Amenta walk the path himself and discover that power on his own. Yomii would come up soon as both men drew near it.
With only 44 miles to go, Chomille thought it was best to set up camp right away so they could settle down and get some rest. Amenta agreed and they both set up camp moments later with resources they found along the way. As the shadow hours fell into deep darkness, the sky faded from magenta - to purple. Then all the forest trees transformed from green to brown.
Quietness took over nature and her musical creatures took over to sing their lullaby’s. Amenta realized in the moments of silence that he came a long way, even though it did not feel like it. Just days ago, he was hearing a voice in his head that has been there all his life. Then he almost died on a ship in a hell storm in the sea. Trials were thrown his way left and right. Every path in life came with a new challenge which had been very exhausting for him. Sometimes a feeling of helplessness would settle in because he did not know what to do next. We must all face these times eventually throughout life. A phoenix rising from the ashes, we are embers from the fire who would spark once more again.
Creatures of all kinds began singing louder. In the darkness, the creature's voices became the light that pierced across the trees, rocks, water, and sky. Amenta's only mission was to figure out the mystery behind his suffering, by any means necessary.
Will I get the answers I have been searching for? he thought to himself. “I hope so.”
"We are short on food," said Chomille.
"I need to go hunting for more and find extra items, more firewood, and other supplies for the long road ahead. There are unknown dangers that could catch us off guard any moment my friend. I think it is best to prepare for the worst-case scenario."
For a split second Amenta agreed, then he thought to himself, Hunt?
“Chomille, hunt for what? We’ve been eating plants and fruit this whole time.”
With laughter Chomille goes into his back and pulls out a compact bow and arrow with a quiver. The bow, arrow quills, and quiver were made from carbon fiber wood. The strongest wood around. He pulled out about six to ten arrows from the quiver to make sure the arrowheads were sharp and ready to kill.
“What the hell…are those sharpened fish teeth or am I just blind from the darkness?”
Chomille again laughs, not with Amenta, but at him this time.
“No-no-no-no, these are opal stones cut from the finest crystal coves in Nevenitas, my home horizon. These crystals are so finely cut that they could slice five-inch wood in half with one SWIFT stroke. Cool right?"
The jet-black quills connected to the finely sharpened crystals painted the image of beautiful artistry. To get struck by these arrows would be a fashionable death of honor; literally poetry in motion. Chomille being a killer seemed so foreign to Amenta.
How could a spiritual man be so jolly about killing another creature? Wouldn’t it go against his spiritual practice or something? thought Amenta.
That entire night was getting increasingly confusing by the minute. First the eerie story of the three bridges, and now this, a soft spoken yet ruthless killer.
“Looks are misleading, aren’t they?” chuckled Chomille.
Amenta smiled at him with a nervous smirk. Chomille toyed with Amenta.
“Just because I am a nice man does not mean that I am not a dangerous man. I can protect myself.”
When he put it that way, Amenta became more understanding of it.
“So, where did you learn to kill so righteously brother Chomille,” Amenta bowing and asking jokingly.
He told Amenta of his time growing up in Nevenitas and the times he had to fend for himself; ever since he was thirteen. Eating scraps, stealing food, building his own tents to sleep on cold nights, finding shade and freezing water on hot days. Even killing others who tried to take whatever little he had.
“Wow ok. So where were your Mama and Baba?” A silence overcame the conversation.
Chomille looked straight ahead. His head was slightly down and brought back up again slowly with a stoic gaze in his eyes. His stare became misty like a foggy forest day, refusing to answer Amenta’s question.
"You watch over the camp while I am gone...I will be right back."
It left an awkward space between them both, especially for Amenta. Guess he was not the only one hiding his past life from the outside world, thought Amenta. Judging from how Chomille felt, it all felt familiar. The feeling of being alone in the dark. Sometimes people feel lonely in this world, but it does not mean they are necessarily alone in this world. Everybody is a star waiting for his or her own place amongst other stars in the galaxy. But to become a star, you’d have to die first.
When Chomille was away, boredom sunk in quickly. It was too quiet, and nothing was interesting in the forest to look at. Amenta was tapping his feet on the ground while hitting two sticks on a slab of wood to pass the time. The leaves just swayed back and forth while the wind twirled and rippled through the grass.
Suddenly, to his amazement, there was a faint sound of running water and waves crashing against the shore. Jumping up, he looked over and around his shoulder. There is no waterfall or beach nearby for at least ten miles. How is this possible? thought Chomille, as he made his way back to their camp. Both him and Amenta left the nearby shore days ago and the last waterfall they saw was at least five miles east. To his knowledge there was not any waterfall nearby.
Instead of just sitting around playing a hundred questions, Amenta wandered off and took his own mini adventure to discover where the sound was coming from.
“It would not be wise to do that. You do not know what that is out there that could kill you. You could never come b--- hey are you listening!?” warned Chomille loudly.
Amenta had already moved on without hearing a word of his warning. Chomille palmed his face again with disappointment from Amenta’s selective hearing.
Fumbling through the darkness and tripping over branches, Amenta became irritated. 4
“Dammit! I can’t see a thing out here,” he scolded.
It was hard for them to see anything and the only light they had was the campfire. Thinking quickly, Amenta figured he would just take a branch and make a torch so he could see on his mini adventure. Relieved, he was finally able to find a flammable branch with leaves and dipped it into the campfire. The lighted path was now in front of him. There were trees full of glowing bat-like creatures with webbed luminescent orange wings in color.
Though their bright colors were faint, there were so many of them filling up the trees, it looked like the moon had landed on the ground. Like a flickering wick of a candle, these creatures could turn their brightness on and off.
Nocturnal creatures created a nighttime ambiance of horror as they were not too pleasant to look at. Nonetheless, Amenta was able to see the beautiful discoveries of Atai, even if it was creeping him out. The further he walked into the forest, the louder the running water became. Still, no waterfall or shore in sight. A flush of wind breezed past his reddish locs and grazed the hairs on his neck.
"There it goes again!"
The running water startd to drown out the eeriness of the forest silence.
Continuing to push forward was the ultimatum he gave himself. He came too far to back out now. and refused to turn around so that Chomille can say, 'I told you so.' Soon after walking a few miles, yards ahead from where he was standing, a sound of chimes or solfeggio tones made its way from within a deep hollow darkness. These flute-like tunes drew him toward its vortex of harmonics. Each step he took forward felt heavier and heavier and heavier, sinking his feet deeper into the soil. He stepped on broken twigs on the forest floor making crackling noises and snapping the leaves off the branches. As he approached the dark path, the harmonics became louder and reverberated through his body.
Suddenly, his torch blew out and he became lost in complete darkness. At this point the harmonics were screeching like nails on a chalkboard, then suddenly - FWOOM!!
An arrow struck the tree an inch away from Amenta’s ear, hitting the tree with the force of a hammer striking an anvil. Thirty yards away stood Chomille with the quiver on his back and holding the bow beside his face in the position of a professional sharpshooter. Yelling out, he called out to Amenta.
“STOP - Don’t take another step forward!!”
Amenta awoke from the harmonics as they faded away and his torch became lit again. Looking down, he realized his foot was on the edge of a large steep stone hill. Below were huge shards of sharp rocks and a sunken pit of darkness hundreds of feet below. One more step and it would have been over for him - forever. Running over to him quickly, Chomille grabbed his collar and pushed him back to flat ground.
“Hey – Amenta! What happened? Why were you so close to the edge, hm? You could have died from the horrible fall!!”
“Ughh - I don’t know…I don’t know…I don’t know.”
Feeling discombobulated, Amenta could not speak, he just put both hands on his head covering his ears and walked in endless circles. Once he relaxed and calmed down, he explained to Chomille what he heard. How a muse of water and harmonics inside the darkness called out to him which led him on his mini misadventure. With a look of concern Chomille firmly put his hands directly on Amenta’s hands, grabbing them tightly.
“Ok lets go back to camp. I must explain more of the story I told you earlier - but I'll tell the rest of it tomorrow. Its been a long night for us both. I got food and more supplies. Lets go eat!”
Even more confused and rubbing his head, Amenta agreed.
“Yeah…I’m starving."
Following Chomille back to their camp, a ball of confusion took over Amenta’s mind. But something on Chomille’s face told a different story.
"Did he not hear those beautiful harmonics while out hunting?” Amenta whispered to himself while trying to gather what just happened. He just kept talking to himself endlessly as Chomille kept looking back wondering to whom he was talking to.
“Those shouts and sounds from the darkness? Those loud whispers...”
END OF CHAPTER 5
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