9
THE OBELISK
The tenseness in my stomach caused me to stop mid-action from swaying on my feet. Pushiri might see through me. Yet, I risked defying my guide.
“Would you show me the Obelisk?” After a moment of reflection, Kusing frowned.
“Forgive my unease, for I’m forbidden to approach this wonder. The Mother of Us All only permits Kiisu.”
“Given the choice between upsetting Kiisu and irritating a kodobar beast, I’ll take on the ruddy bear. Let alone, Pushiri will discover my intentions.”
Distracted by her appearance, I tilted my head. “Um, Kiisu and you are so much alike.”
“The same light witnessed our mommeos the night they delivered us. Anyway, remember, my Mandagral, the deities and the All Knowing One are invulnerable to the meddling of our minds. Until now, I am the only one Mezami welcomed. Find out if Pushiri detected us. Extraordinary insights compel her to investigate your journeys. Because the gem-crowned monolith exists outside my influence, we must return to Leopardmura.”
Upon our arrival, Kusing ambled toward her den. With the veil of prophecy lifted, her hair reverted to her normal mink color. Refreshed and exhilarated from the night’s excitement, I relaxed and waited by the mesmerizing embers of the cooking fire. All the Mandragora would pass this way in short order.
The light from the heaven-bound sisters brought Kiisu’s silhouette to life as her splendid hips swayed her elegant tail.
“Terradon Prime never ceases to amaze me, Kiisu.”
“Based on the satisfaction adorning your face, you are referring to your tour with Kusing?”
“My daydreams will revive these primal experiences.”
“Would you like to go for a run with me?”
“Would I ever! After you.”
The breathtaking scenery reminded me of my first encounter with Kiisu.
“Are we near the Obelisk?”
“Your memory serves you well, Mandagral. The Solar Diamond draws you? Yes, the gem summons you.”
“The closer we get, the stronger the magnetism tugs.”
The sight of the towering pylon on the horizon halted in awe. Arranged like a wiring diagram, the carvings pulsated in strands and accelerated with each step I took. The fierce swelling and diminishing tone grew more vivid and unnatural with every surge.
In my bones, a countdown started to an unpredictable, menacing event looming in expectation of my contact. Coming to my senses, I fought against the force pulling at me and backed away.
“You will only understand the Obelisk when two points of the universe are ordained to converge. Search the heavens. The Twins drift up high, searching for a way—while Promise herself screams for fulfillment.”
“Your ability to communicate everything and nothing at once presents no challenge for you; am I right, Kiisu? Are your verbal maneuvers a hereditary gift from your mother or do you come by the intrigue naturally?”
As I expected, she furrowed one eyebrow in my direction. Evasion being the better part of valor, I redirected her attention.
“What do the hieroglyphs say?”
“Certain bonds broken cannot be. They fashion who you will embrace, across time, across space, along pathways unforeseen.”
“My delightful Mandagral, when you love the exotic inhabitants of Terradon Prime, miracles are possible.”
Before I found time to reply, caution grated her voice. “Nevertheless, take this to heart, your predecessor perished when he touched the faceted monument. Do not ask me why.” With a devout, heavenward gesture, she prayed.
“Most High, may I never again witness such gnarled remains that defy identification.”
In deep deliberation, she awaited my undivided attention. “Although Kusing and I minister to the deities, her to the Water Goddess, neither of us can trace their inscrutable ways—only their wisdom.”
In a world of exposed truth, my own tangibility eluded me. “My clairvoyant partner warned me not to let my journey overwhelm me. Let’s move on.”
“A wise decision, Mandagral!”
[On Earth]
Alexandra studied the entries like a textbook to hone her skills and make sense of what happened.
Dec 2nd
The thought that something more sinister about Bebette lied beneath her laidback morbidity never escaped my consciousness. In my world, real pain, that hollow ache, the gaping hole which comes from senseless tragedy occurs every day. The extent of her separation from humanity, however, lies beyond my comprehension.
In comparison, the behavior of deviants like the Skull Collector reek with their obvious defenses against an unconscious impulse, denying their deplorable nature. Coupled with impulsivity, anger, and violent outbursts, they become dangerous.
Bebette scoffed at my feeble attempts to define her, all the while brooding in her petri dish of broken dreams. A virus suffocated her mother after the government deported the weakened French-Canadian woman. This heartless act occurred when her work visa at the Center for Disease Control expired. The Director said she does not tolerate safety mistakes, excusing herself.
[On Terradon Prime]
The sultry evening robed herself with iridescent flowers in an exhibition to exceed all others. Every new path transformed into nature’s catwalk in our admiring eyes. Not far ahead, Kiisu and I heard a rustling in the thick vegetation.
“Can you see the movement over there, Mandagral? Shunra’s apprentice searches for medicinal plants. Her benevolence precedes her. Beware, however, she despises conflict. Also, bear in mind, anyone who challenges her only reinforces her stubbornness.”
As we approached, Shuranu retracted her razor sharpened claws and pulled me into her warm body, pressing every centimeter against me. My new physician’s healing touch replenished my heart and mind. Contentment and astonishment welled up in me like a spring of revitalizing water.
Kiisu met my confused gaze.
“She perceives pain and provides solace.”
“Despite the fact that I cannot remember who, I recall someone like you. Doc, if tranquility eludes you, do not sacrifice your gifted life. Come to me and we will recover your peacefulness.”
Hmm, the healer making an appointment with the patient, how novel.”
My new fan inhaled her lungs full of air.
“Your renowned insight reached my ears when I went to Maow’s place. There, she recounted your feats of insight in the History of the Realm, the Domen Vedomosti. Now, I welcome you with my own eyes.”
Like an Autumn leaf, my mind drifted.
“What if the Mandragora’s librarians ever recorded insights into the Obelisk?”
Shuranu read my mind.
“Perhaps later I might persuade Maow to research the thousands of volumes for you.”
“Thousands!”
Concern flashed across Shuranu’s face, causing her to interrupt us. “The waple sap generates the glowing pink radiance when the oporums catches the drops.”
“Let me finish gathering the fungi before they close up in the dawn. Painful injuries turn to delight when they are applied with precision.”
Soon, the early-morning fog rolled in like incense only to dissipate in the radiant beams of the sun. Framed by the path’s mossy surroundings, the Leopard Goddess embodied herself before Kiisu. Her fiery yellow eyes, lowered head and cocked legs threatened to pounce.
The timing of the omen after the visit to the Obelisk caused Kiisu to shudder, but she did not alarm me. Instead, she genuflected. “We breathe borrowed air and exist on allotted time. Oh, Divine One, I pray, let us transcend, having loved, having lived in mirth, and having understood one another. Let us not adorn ourselves with a wardrobe of religions to suit our mood, for then we are ungrounded in the Truth.”
Hearing the humility in Kiisu’s voice, the Author of Life vanished as unpredictably as she appeared. Yet, her voice lingered in Kiisu’s mind. Makutu must become his way of life. See to every Mandragora’s involvement in his rebirth in our ways, but he must remain unaware of their motive for an undisclosed time. The prophecy must be fulfilled.
“What inspired your careful prayer, Kiisu?”
“A vision, Mandagral.”
“Would you protect me with your brevity?”
“Nothing gets past you, Mandagral. Always exercise discretion in the quest of your former existence. Forces beyond our comprehension are at work.”
10
THE HISTORY OF THE REALM
Tell me, Good Lord, Is there a cure for the day?
Please, oh, please take my pain away.
And I pray, would you remedy the night?
Or must I continue this dreadful fight?
Wind gusts threatened to blow her off the trail as Shuranu, true to her word, navigated the narrow cliff-face. Peering inside, she wove through the passageways where countless scribes preserved the dust covered indelible scrolls.
Shrouded in sealed ceramic vases, they stood a silent vigil, arranged around the dim musky walls. Would their long-forgotten words revive generations of time herself? A cramped stairway led up to the examination room, with a broad, wooden table at the center. “May our heavenly provider smile upon you, Maow. I trust my arrival finds you well.”
“Thankfully, I do not need healing. What brings you here, Shuranu?”
“First, congratulations on your new post.”
“My sisters, Loneliness and Diligence, attend me in this cobwebbed cavern.”
“The Mandagral longs to browse the History of the Realm for references to the Obelisk.”
“This quest might kill him. Who is able to forget what happened to the last Mandagral?”
“Did Kiisu offer her blessing?”
“Let me check.”
Within moments, the dutiful healer tracked down Kiisu. “Maow’s thoroughness and her uncommon sage embellish her charm, Kiisu.”
“No one would require anything less from her, Shuranu. The Divine One appeared to me early this morning, posed to strike. Do not aid the Mandagral for now, not without driving him insane. Still, Maow may share any other information, which will help him understand us better.”
“All right, I appreciate the delicacy of the Goddess’s secret, Kiisu.”
At our den, my watchful mate, Pushiri, woke me from an exhilarating dream with her affectionate tongue.”
In futility, I wrenched to capture the fleeting mist of a memory. “What? Wait... no! Dang, I can’t remember.” Faintly, “I can’t...” Pushiri spilled a leaf full of evening dew into her mouth. “Come on ape man. A dazzling dusk awaits us. We’re off to Maow’s place.”
“What did you call me?”
“A person, unknown to this world, unconventional and unenlightened captured your longing. ‘Me Tarzan.’ All the while, you hollered at the top of your lungs, swinging on a vine. That god-awful, throat wrenching, backward hyena-like yell would attract female gorilladons as far away as the Northern Pass.”
Frustration took hold of her voice.
“Whoever you imagined yourself becoming lacked mākutu.” In alternating baritone and soprano pitches, she mimicked me.
“Ahh-e-ah-e-ahhhhhh-e-ah-e-ahhhhhh." Glancing up to the right, her voice sharpened. "Oh, do NOT address me as Jane.”
In exasperation, I exploded.
“To hell with my recollections. Did I sound victorious, like I conquered a vicious beast?”
Pushiri blinked, unaffected by my outburst. “This way, jungle man.”
The smoldering sun drifted into the barren wasteland while we headed along the suspended walkways.
“Change adorns your spirit, Mandagral. Your novel world expands in every direction. Tell me about your adventures with Kusing.”
“My escort broadened my trivial existence beyond my wildest fantasy. Out of the mystic waters, Effervescha greeted me with the promise of peace. Mezuno Mezami, embraced the troubled recesses of my mind. To my fascination, I witnessed the enchanting moves of the Golden Willows.”
“Your life, my dear Mandagral, remains anything but slight. Long before your appearance, the stars aligned, giving birth to a prophecy.”
“What prediction?”
“When the time is right I will instruct you on this revelation and your journey to enlightenment. Do not try to jump to the end or draw conclusions for She stands guard over you.”
“Her again?”
“Enough probing, school starts now at Leopardmura’s library. Understand this, the Holy One limits your instruction for an undisclosed time. Do not defy her.”
“Accept my apology. My unconscious life left me in an odd place.”
“If nothing else, remember how I dreamt with you, and struggled with you. Your visions filled my mind. Your passion aroused my heart. My beloved one, I wanted what you wished-for. Now, I crave the way you meet life with all her shades, hues and tones, her touch and resonance. Your awareness, your experiences, your thoughts, your impressions, melded with my consciousness. Your hopes, even your fears and dreams encouraged my soul. Drive away your weariness, precious Mandagral, you displayed courage.”
From inside, Maow overheard us.
“Pushiri, your eloquence never ceases to astonish me.” A tranquil wink from her endeared me.
“May I borrow the Mandagral?”
“Yes, my friend. But be gentle. Such virgin mākutu needs to catch up with his spotted hulk.”
Puffing out my chest and tracing my body, I overestimated my capabilities with staggering visions of my physique. “Do not champion an impossible cause, my felines. No prowess could ever rival all this.”
The librarian licked her lips, studying my build.
“Truer words never echoed these musty halls. Come in Tarzan, I mean, Mandagral.”
Lifting one eyebrow at Maow, I turned toward Pushiri and flashed her a silly smirk.
“Couldn’t resist telling her, could you?”
My clairvoyant guide covered her mouth, fighting back outright laughter as she strolled away.
Two floors up, glow stones radiated a comfortable reading light. A leather-cushioned stool with rustic legs occupied the space across from where she stood.
“Please sit.”
“Tell me no mummified ancestors of yours inhabit some concealed sarcophagi?”
Echoing through the dark passageways, her sinister laugh shivered my skin and stood my fur upright.
“Please tell me you’re joking.”
With a well-timed expressionless delay, she pointed to fresh stylist markings on the woven reeds.
“Your brief life among us inspired an epic narrative, however short the embalmed corpses might cut your existence.”
Flashing an un-amused grin, I glance down.
“The words written here suggest I am not the only one recorded for posterity’s sake.”
“Yes, two solitary reasons for a naming exist: a flawless hunt, or a conquest against a perilous attacker. Poonai, for instance, earned her name by battling dograls twelve full moons ago. Likewise, before you arrived, one of our little curious ones earned her tribal designation.”
“What, at her tender age, could she accomplish?”
“Listen, I recorded her story.”
The twelfth offspring of Kiisu crammed her bag with leonip to make a ball for her sister. A debilitating scorpion sting left Billi bedridden an hour earlier.
Sidetracked, the well-meaning sibling pounced at a swarm of night flickers. Each attempt found her straying further away, enthralled by her pretend hunting adventure.
Driven by her feral imagination, she envisioned herself a royal huntmaster. Short-lived, her slippery pride deposed her in the river, where she caught hold of an infant ostentaculus.
Paddling downstream, the baby paid no mind to the cub. The infant’s single-minded attention locked on an anglefin snack. The young Madragora enjoyed the ride, until she realized she did not recognize the foreign mountain scenery.
Spying more night-flickers nearby, she leapt to the soft sand and chased them to the pinnacle. Through the winding hollows, they reached the precipice with her close behind.
About the time they settled under an outcrop of leaves to avoid the morning light, the cub’s senses tingled. In the predawn, near the desert, a chimeragor stalked her with its throbbing stinger poised to strike.
The wisdom her mommeo imparted to her jolted her mind. ‘Focus not on your fear but the task in front of you.’
The unwanted immigrant’s beady, catlike eyes began to calculate the precise moment to attack. With his feline nose, he sniffed. “A feline nose!”
Reacting, she threw her bag of leonip in its face. The chimeragor succumbed to the new, intoxicating scent. Rolling on the ground, he batted the sack like a kitten with a mousal.
The relieved youth scampered down the slope before her distracted nemesis tired of the enticing herb.
Lost, she jumped at every sound and movement, wandering for two hours near dawn. Over two hours later, she stumbled across Gatta, the local full-time troubleshooter and part-time loner, out on her daily run.
The same day, day Kiisu performed the Naming Ritual, the Imenovaniye Rituala.
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Wakita means the one who throws weeds.
Making eye contact with me, she stood erect and jutted her chin. “Everyone calls her Kita, for short. The Archives now hail her as
the youngest Mandragora with a name.”
“So, the horde discovered our home! Those scavengers no doubt prowl for a Mandragora feast.”
“Our wise leaders chose to arm us with leonip. Recall the euphoria you sensed that first night.”
She held out a pouch fastened by a long leather strand. “Here, before you ask, wear this.”
As I loosened the drawstring, Maow took out a fragrant bracelet and secured the protection around my wrist with haste.
11
ENCOUNTER AT THE WATERFALLS
Deep in an unexplored region, Gatta expanded her route along the ambling water way. A recluse by nature, she never felt more alive in the isolation of the wilderness.
“What will I discover tonight on Terradon Prime? Will this mysterious planet repay me for my perseverance? Will I find prey for the hunters, medicines for the healers or perhaps a new aqueduct entrance?”
The wilderness veteran raised her whiskers in anticipation of the slightest alterations in flavor, color, or texture. With each stride, she considered the hundreds of nuances and variations.
Ominious paw prints caused her to stop dead in her tracks. Goosebumps distorted her unseen skin as she took a deep breath. A pungent odor of hair and a hint of shellfish scented the night air. Urine claimed the creature’s territory. Only one unwanted creature fit this description. In her peripheral vision, the world wise explorer glimpsed a monstrous silhouette darting out of the wild lands straight at her.
Gatta darted away before a massive venomous bludgeon pounded the ground with a thud. The branches behind her shook.
Primal instinct guided her. Each terrain feature became a gymnastic prop for her evasive movements. Reaching out with her twitching whiskers, she detected the beast’s vibrations, mimicking her strides and hurdles. In the distance, the waterfall’s thunder drew her to its spray rising above the gorge.
The surface of the surging cauldron with its seething foam rushed up to meet her. Without hesitation, Gatta clawed her way into a subterranean opening. From there, she dove into an aqueduct.
The fast-flowing stream pulled her toward a light. In a quick upward turn, she burst into the air and took a deep breath.
After a frantic search, she grasped her talisman and concealed herself behind a rock, awaiting her hunter.
“Did the menace track me?”
The blood coursed through her veins as she strained for any sign of peril.
In a momentary eternity, the night flickers began to chirp the sound of safety.
Back at Leopardmura
“Mommeo, I am going to play with my friends out at the waterfall.”
“OK Kita. Remember, the ostentaculus are not pets. Do not give them names. Someday you must slaughter one.”
“Yes, Mommeo.”
Elsewhere, Maow rolled back the scroll a year.
“When the teens prove themselves, they may choose a new location to populate. We ensure the planets ecological balance this way,” pointing at a map. “The feeding grounds cannot support us in vast numbers. Therefore, our race spreads like ripples on a pond to allow our big game to thrive.”
“No doubt.”
“Once a year our desire burns.” Poking me, she smiled.
“I’m sure you can survive the heat.”
My diligent teacher shifted her gaze.
“This entry shows some Mandragora reared as many as twenty. Sometimes the young, the elderly, the complacent and the overconfident step into death’s snare. Terradon Prime breeds few viruses. Bacteria and lethal fungus, although, brush us with our mortality. Our healers perform miracles. Pray one of them is around if you need her.”
“Do they cure everything?”
“To our mortification, Chimeragor produce a quick-acting neurotoxin. The manuscript records two recoveries during the conflict because the handy physician faced no imminent danger.”
Gatta’s speed rivaled the legendary leopard hawk’s dive. Exploding from the undergrowth, she growled a war cry unheard in millennia. The disruption echoed throughout Maow’s archive. From the younglings to the eldest, the Mandragora amassed in a military formation around the fire. Bekku and Yamanecko took charge.
“Secure the cubs in the safe places.”
Kedi motioned north, to the caves. “This way youngsters.”
Uncertainty clouded their little eyes as they wove through the camouflaged, endless mazes.
“Call the muster. Determine if any Mandragora are missing.” Maow unrolled the scroll and called each name in order. Bekku’s pulse accelerated in an adrenaline rush.
“Summon the guards! Form the War Council! Gatta, spare no details.”
Ten minutes into Gatta’s harrowing account, Yamanecko took a deep breath.
“Did any more of them reveal themselves?”
Gazing up and to the right, Gatta rehearsed the trauma. “Caught off guard, I focused on evasion. Without warning, hot breath rushed along my tail. I fought the urge to glance back because the delay would demand the ultimate price for my hesitation. After the leap over the cliff, I fastened my thoughts to a better day. While I fell, I prayed the horror would not devour my favorite appendage.”
The grateful survivor gazed toward the heavens.
“The All-Knowing One blessed my previous excursion with the knowledge I needed today. At that moment, my mākutu transformed the drifting vapors into camouflage, cloaking my fall.”
Yamanecko roared above the surrounding chatter.
“The disaster taught us a painful lesson. Hmm, ages ago, our enemies used the underground caverns to circumvent our outposts at Ridgemura.”
Bekku summoned six Mandragora.
“Arm yourselves with talismans and take your posts! Report! Maow, who’s not here?”
“Majara’s first and second cuddly pair, as well as Kita are unaccounted for.”
“They’re playing at the falls!” Yamanecko’s hair stood straight up.
“I will lead the rescue. Khatool, you take point.”
Incensed, the mature parent of the missing cubs crossed her arms. “Khatool! Damn her unpredictable, wild-spirited, self-deprecating idealism!”
“Majara, do not cross her, or you will realize her infernal rage. A force all must reckon with, she startles the horrors that would cease your ever-loving heart. Need I point out, the Creator molded her with five-hundred kilo-strands of muscle and eight-inch claws. Show some respect for the bristles of wisest one of us.”
The elder mandragora shrunk in a neglected posture. “What about me? They’re only twelve years old.”
The mommeo wailed, as her eyes darted for solutions. “How I dread nameless deaths!”
“Come on. A mommeo makes a formidable warrior at any age when their young are threatened. Kiisu and Katinas will go with us. Flawless strategies fill Katinas’ young mind. Come Khatool, let’s go, time sides with the chimeragor.”
Wrestling with my non-violent nature, I stepped forward.
“They are like my own. Count me in.”
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