Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira (14 page)

 “I would like that very much,” she said. 

“Good,” King Rhobar said as he led the way across the room to a narrow door.  He opened the door and stepped back to allow Karma and Nikura to go through before him, pleased when she gasped softly in surprise.  He followed and closed the door behind himself, then paused to breathe deeply of the sweetly scented air.

“This garden was my wife’s pride and joy,” he said as he watched Karma gaze around in awe.  There were trees, bushes and most of all, flowers in every color and size imaginable filling the gigantic enclosed garden.  From where they stood on a step several feet above the garden, Karma could see nearly all of it.  There were ponds, water fountains, bird baths, benches and statuary throughout the wide expanse of greenery.  There were also a number of colorful birds playing in the fountains and baths, singing from the trees and squabbling around various feeders.  Karma had never seen anything like it and was entranced.

“It’s so beautiful,” she said.  “Words cannot do it justice.”

“No, they can’t,” King Rhobar agreed.  “This is where I most feel my beloved queen’s spirit.”

Karma glanced sharply at King Rhobar’s face, but no, he wasn’t hinting.  Still, he was a nice man, and a devoted king.  “King Rhobar,” she said, turning to face him.  “I can speak with the dead, as you know.  What you don’t know is that I cannot summon them.  Believe me, I’ve tried.  They come to me when they want to, for own reasons.  If I could summon your wife so that you could speak with her, I promise you, I would, and that is not something I would offer to do for many people.  And, before you worry that I think you were hinting at such a thing, I know that you were not.  This was my idea.”

King Rhobar smiled at the young woman before him.  “I admit that I wondered, of course.  But I would not have asked more of you than I already have.  I thank you for thinking of it, and for telling me this.  It will stop me wondering....”  He paused, cleared his throat and turned to face the garden again.  “Shall we walk?”

Karma nodded and followed King Rhobar down the steps and onto a cobblestone pathway. 

“Nikura, don’t bother the birds, I warn you,” King Rhobar said, glancing sternly at the Sphin.

Nikura twitched his tail but did not deign to reply.  Karma stifled a laugh, then looked up at King Rhobar. 

“King Rhobar, are you well?” she asked, thinking that he looked as though he had not slept in days.

“I am as well as can be expected I suppose,” King Rhobar said with a sigh.  “I have sensed the danger to Rathira growing these many months with no way to fight it.  With you here, I do feel some relief.  But, now I am to watch both of my children depart on what will certainly be a most dangerous journey, and I cannot even go along with them.  That is difficult for an old man such as myself.  They are all that I love most in the world.”

“I am sorry, King Rhobar,” Karma said.  “I promise that I will do all I can to protect Kapia, and see that she returns to you safely.  I cannot promise more than that, as much as I wish I could.”

“You are very kind, Karma, and I am grateful for it.  Thank you,” King Rhobar replied.

“You’ve said before that you sensed the danger to Rathira,” Karma said.  She paused to lean down and breathe in the scent of what looked like an impossibly large blue rose.  It smelled like lilacs.  “Did you mean that literally?”

King Rhobar nodded.  “Yes, I did,” he replied.  “But I think it is best to tell this story from the beginning.  It is, among other things, a story of love between a bird and a tiger.”

“Sounds interesting already,” Karma said with a smile.   “I’m all ears.”

 “Very well then,” King Rhobar said, reaching out to brush the shiny leaves of a small tree with his fingers as they passed by it.  Never had he imagined telling this story to an off-worlder, but he had heard Techu Samyi himself, and knew it was the one task given him to perform.  Therefore, he would do it.

“A very long time ago, long before the time we began to keep records of such things, there was a magical being from a far away world called Vatran.  The Vatra traveled among the stars at will, such was their magic.  One Vatra, named Feenis, was travelling from his home to another world when he sensed another magical being travelling through the cosmos.  More than that, he sensed that the other being’s magic was seriously depleted, and that it was in very grave danger. 

“Thinking that the being he sensed was a fellow Vatra, Feenis followed the silent signs of distress, intending to assist a brother in need.  Only he did not find another Vatra.  Instead, he came upon a large Sphin-like figure which called itself a Tigren.  The Tigren was nearly as large as Feenis, but where Feenis had feathers and wings, the Tigren had fur and claws.  Clinging to the back of the Tigren was a young woman who looked much like the human females he had seen on another world he had once visited.  At first he thought the woman was dead, but soon realized she was in a magically induced sleep.

“The Tigren sensed Feenis, as Feenis had sensed the Tigren, and when Feenis approached, the Tigren begged for help.  The Tigren’s only wish was to save his last child, but his strength was gone and if Feenis did not help, she would soon die, as he would himself.  Feenis agreed to take the woman to a world where she would be safe, and the Tigren handed his daughter over with heartfelt thanks.  Feenis thought he might also carry the Tigren to safety, but as soon as the Tigren was assured that his daughter would be safe, he closed his eyes, released his magic, and passed to the Beyond.

“Feenis brought the young woman here, to Rathira, knowing that she would have no trouble with the air, water and food, and knowing that there were other humans here.  He meant only to see that she was safe, then continue on his way, but he found that he could not leave her.  The moment he had looked upon her face the first time, he had fallen in love with her.  Before waking the woman, whose name was Sariana, from her magical sleep, Feenis used his magic to transform himself into the form of a human male, in hopes that she would return his feelings.  Which, as this is a love story. I probably don’t have to tell you, she did.  Most emphatically, in fact.”

Karma smiled.  “King Rhobar, do you know the name of the world that Sariana came from?”

“No, I don’t,” King Rhobar replied.  “If she told it, it has been lost through the ages.  What I do know is that Sariana came from a world where the people were shifters, divided into clans based on what they shifted into, and children were born in threes.  She had not one father, but three, as well as two sisters, six brothers and of course, her mother.  She told of a terrible battle in which all of the other clans turned on the clan of the Tigren, determined to wipe them out.  Eventually, all of her family had been killed, save only herself and her father.  In a desperate attempt to save the single remaining member of his family, her father used his magic to escape their world, attempting to carry her to a new world where she could live out her life in peace.  But his strength began to wane before he found a world that would support life for her.  Luckily, Feenis happened upon them before it was too late for her, if not her father.”

The Jasani
, Karma thought.  She’d never heard of a Tigren Clan, but the rest was too similar to be anything else.  So there
was
a connection.  But what did it mean?

“Did they get married and live happily ever after?” Karma asked, keeping her thoughts to herself as she brushed her fingers lightly over the velvety petals of an orange flower that resembled a butterfly.

“Yes, actually, they did,” King Rhobar replied.  “There is much more to the story, of course, but I shall come to the part that you most need to be aware of.”

“The red bird?” she asked.

“Yes, the red bird.  Even though Feenis was able to transform himself into a man, he wasn’t a man.  He was a magical being, a Vatra.  Nor was Sariana human.  Of course, once they were wed, they wanted to have children, which was impossible without the use of very strong magic.

“The Vatra must be bonded to the world on which they live as that is the source of their power.  Knowing that Sariana would never be accepted by his own people, Feenis severed his bond with his home world, and bonded with Rathira.  He then performed magic upon himself, and Sariana which allowed them to have children.”

“Ah, here’s the important part, right?”

King Rhobar nodded, hiding his smile.  He truly liked this young woman.  “Yes.  The children of the House of Feenis are, for the most part, human.  However, when they are in battle, or in a high emotional state, they manifest the powers of the Tigren.  Strength, agility, hunting instincts, things of that nature.”

“They don’t shift into a Tigren?” Karma asked.

“No, they do not,” King Rhobar replied. 

“What aspects of the Vatra do they have?”

“That is more complicated,” King Rhobar said with a sigh.  “From the legends passed down from King to King, the Vatra can, and will, manifest within the body of a male of the line of Feenis, but only under certain circumstances.  There must be dire need, not just for the people, but for Rathira itself.  Remember, Feenis bonded with Rathira, and that bond remains within all of us of the House of Feenis.

“Next, the male must
open his soul
.  Do not ask what that means, please,” he said, glancing at Karma as she paused to watch a purple bird bathe in a fountain.  “I have some ideas, but nothing certain.  After that, the signs and powers of the Vatra will begin to manifest slowly, so as not to overwhelm the man.  Eventually he becomes Vatra, and human, and is able to shift back and forth between the two.  And of course he keeps the Tigren as well.  It is a delicate process and if done too quickly, the man will be destroyed.”

“Does it happen often?” Karma asked.   

“The last time such a miracle occurred was a thousand years ago,” King Rhobar replied.  “The king at that time, King Gariel, sensed the tear in the fabric of our world that was allowing the demons to escape their own dimension.  Later, he fully manifested into a Vatra, and without him the building of the pyramid would not have succeeded.”

“So this happens only in times of need, under unspecified conditions, and only to male descendents of Feenis?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” King Rhobar said.  “We of the House of Feenis always feel the land around us, and always have some aspects of the Tigren, but we are not given to know how to make the Vatra manifest.”

“Is the red bird in the tapestry Feenis?” Karma asked.

“Yes, and no,” King Rhobar replied.  “That is what Feenis looked like, but it is not Feenis himself.  It is Gariel, the last Vatra and companion to Samyi.”

“Feenis...,” Karma said softly.  “King Rhobar, I lived on a world called
Earth
for several years that had many legends of a magical bird similar to what you describe.  There were many names for it, many legends among many cultures and peoples, but it was most widely known as a
Phoenix
.”

“Fee-nix?” King Rhobar repeated slowly.

“Yes,” Karma said.  “It sounds a lot like
Feenis
, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it certainly does,” King Rhobar replied, not altogether surprised.  He spent a moment wondering what it would be like to fly amongst the stars before remembering where he was and what he was about.

“There is another favor I would ask of you, Lady Techu.  I know that given all you are doing, I should not ask for more, but for my daughter’s sake, I must.”

“If there is anything I can do, King Rhobar, I will,” Karma said.

“You are most generous, Lady Techu,” King Rhobar said.  He thought about Zakiel’s reaction to her and decided that, even though she was not a true Rathirian, he hoped his son chose this woman over Marene.  While Marene was the daughter of his childhood friend and life long companion, she had none of her father’s goodness.

“Princess Kapia is too young to go off on her own without a proper companion to watch over her,” he said, realizing his thoughts had wandered once again.  “Rather than send another woman, and her entire retinue which I am certain would be extensive, I hope that you will agree to take a hand in watching over her for me.  Zakiel will do his part, and Kapia is a sensible girl.  I do not think she will give you trouble.  She will be of age in a few short weeks anyway.”

“Don’t worry, King Rhobar,” Karma said with a smile.  “I am happy to watch over Kapia.  It will be no trouble at all.  I enjoy Kapia’s company anyway.”

“Thank you, Karma,” King Rhobar said, relieved.  “You have only two more days before the Orb Quest begins, and I’m sure you still have things to do, so I will keep you no longer.”

Karma looked up and saw that they had returned to the door they had entered through.  “Thank you, King Rhobar, for showing me your garden.  It is a memory I will treasure.”

“You are most welcome, Karma,” King Rhobar said, very pleased by her honest appreciation.  “When you return, I will show you the rest of it.”

“I shall look forward to that very much, Highness,” Karma said, taking one last glance behind her before stepping through the door.

King Rhobar smiled as he watched Karma leave, Nikura padding along at her side.  He wondered briefly if he had been right to withhold the one bit of information he had about the transformation process.  But no, it would do no good to tell her.  Love must be given freely, not asked for, and true sacrifice of the sort necessary could not be planned.  It was best that neither Karma nor Zakiel knew more than they already did.