Aeviternus walked toward the thugs, they were talking and seemed to be getting ready to get in the car. The car was fairly new and stock, as if it were a rental car. The men, if they could be called that, were taking equipment from a vehicle and loading it in the sedan. The driver was in the car and looked ready to go. The other guy shuts the trunk and starts towards the passenger seat. |  |
Fuck, the thug said as he dropped the keys, but stopped suddenly now focused on the crack head coming towards him. Unbeknownst to him, his keys just defied gravity and all known science, moving by an amazing force of will. Aeviternus' bio-electric energy was very very sneaky. The thug on the other side of the car stopped before he entered the four door sedan, looking at Aevi,"Get the fuck outta here, go back to your home." | |
The trek had taken days and it seemed an ad rem route was not possible. The group had stopped for what seemed like hours, exposed on a sliver of trail, high enough up the mountain hiding the base or the bottom, let alone see the trail they had taken upward. The snow had started again and Earl was sure his fleas were frozen by this point. The rider in front suddenly moved forward and wound around an edge, about damn time, what was the hold up? As Yuk Stew the Yak, which Earl had named himself, turned the corner he paused. Earlier in the trip his guide had mentioned that as the yaks increased in altitude they would begin releasing gas to compensate and that it smelled unsavory. What his guide Yip didn't mention is that they played a strange version of Fart Cricket based on their Yak's flatulence. It was not good to be on the winning yak. As Earl clomped around the corner he was taken back, he couldn't see his group, just a new face dressed in yak wool, smiling and beckoning him closer. "Where is everyone?" Earl shouted to be heard over the torrent of wind. The small man smiled even bigger and pointed up. Looking up he could see that there was a winch and pulley system and his front man was 40 feet up in the air, still sitting on his yak and held by two large black ropes slowly inching its way upward toward an outstretched boom. Good Lord, Good Lord, did you intend me to shit my pants on this trip? Earl was in the middle of a small group of local men from a small village in the Bhutan Mountains, the village didn’t even have a name, he wasn’t even sure if the men he was with gave him their real names. This was a trip on faith in more ways than one. Earl loaded the litter and began his assent to the upper cliff, it was more like a rocky inlet, tucked away from any potential view from the outside world. If you wanted to be left alone from the outside world, this was the place. The ropes pulling the litter were black and oily keeping the aridly frozen environment from wasting away the device. Tucked away in the inlet the wind was absent, the ascent was easy if not slow. Once at the top Earl was able to dismount from Yuk Stew, rubbing all four cheeks he moved towards the entrance to what looked like a cave. The men had walked inside the breach guiding the yaks for about 100 paces to where the room opened capaciously. There were roughly hewn benches and some straw and wicker cots and an ancient looking wrinkled man cooking stew, is that yak stew?he wondered. Once in this part of the cave the temperature drastically amplified to around 70 degrees, the men immediately began peeling off their travel wools and taking robes left on stone pegs; Earl followed suit. The old man pointed at Earl’s shoes and shook his head, noticing that all of the men were now barefoot Earl acquiesced, great going to the center of the earth with blisters on my feet so I can’t escape when the time comes, hmm the pot smells like it could be shoe stew, great he commented softly to himself. The guides wrapped in robes took a shallow bowl filled with the salmagundi fair and began walking through a small crevasse in the wall. The cave was not duplicitous but smooth and warm on the feet, Earl had to slouch slightly avoiding low of ceiling of the cave, "this I can handle, "he thought hoping that the rest of this venture would be as easy. The cave split into Ys and different angles creating a myriad of potential ways to get lost. Earl focused on the short candles lighting the way as they slowly descended to their nefarious destination. The four men came to a stop at a subterranean grotto that opened high above with a small lake just past the tall shelf where they stood. Finishing the last of the meal the men stripped to their bare flesh and dove gracefully into the water. Did they even ask if I could swim? Earl cannonballed creating a huge wake, laughter followed as the men swam to a far reaching cave on the other side of the expanse. |  |
Earl felt different swimming in this placid mirror of a lake, it was beautiful and envigorating. Swimming into the darkness at the back of the lake he found that he could touch the bottom and began wading in the water. As he entered the small little tunnel light shown at the far end. Within moments Earl was being padded dry by monks, or what he percieved as monks at the edge of the lake, guiding him up steps and through what looked like crafted stone walls and pathways. Earl didn't realized it at the moment, but he was just entering one of the sacred cities of The Vedas, lost to modern man. |  |
"Mr. Tibbs he has been waiting for you for quite some time," a middle aged Monk said. "Please follow me, I am Venete, I am one of the priests that live here. I will show you to your room. You have had a long journey." At that moment, a boy walked out from behind Venete, wait, that was the boy with...what...Earl's mind was fuzy, I did have a boy with me during most of my journey, why had he forgotten. "Mr. Tibbs, you look confused and you are right to feel unnerved by this," Venete spoke. "Our young one here was with you on your journey, and I am sorry that your memory feels confounded. He is very special, he has a way of allowing your mind to forget him once he is out of sight out of mind per se. Your memories of him will begin to restore the longer he is by your side." Smiling Venete showed Earl to his room. Earl's mind was a race, why did he linger on the phrase our young one? The young boy held Earl's hand fondly as they traveled to a common earth and rock hewn room. "This room was originally carved thousands of years ago. It is modest as is most of our dwellings. Please eat and rest. He will want to meet with you upon his arrival. Kristaris, would you please show Mr. Tibbs to the Sun Cave when you feel his arrival?"Venete said. The boy nodded and smiled. Earl sat and poured himself and the boy some water from a clay pitcher. He spoke out loud and to the boy, thinking out loud as his thoughts came back. "You were with me from, where did you meet me...his thoughts came back quickly in spurts. "Wait, we have been traveling for a week together, you helped me fight off some bandits at the market." That memory brought more, the boy had helped Earl fight off many incursions. He looked directly at the boy. "We have been together for over a month, haven't we." The boy nodded quickly, smiling as if to say he was glad his memory was coming back quickly. And then it hit him, that Sharokina was dead, he quickly passed over the grief, he had already dealt with that. His grief had brought him to the boy...he met the boy in an abandoned church next to his cottage, grieving by himself in a broken house of god. Speaking to the boy, "I'm here to help you..." |  |
Earl Tibbs had spent long moments in his serene surroundings, washing away the weariness from his grueling climb up the mountain. Lost in his thoughts, Earl was unaware that a soft soul had entered; his touch was light on Earl’s hand. “Oh, is he here?” The answer to the question was known even before he asked it. Standing, Earl followed the boy through the city, climbing up stairs and passage ways, passing many people, all pleasant with bowing bobs of the head. Higher in the mountain holme they rose, the passage way began to take on a rough texture, stalagmites and rocks skewed the way. Earl breached the top and gasped, gawking in wonder as the pure sunlight glowed in the chasm, another pool so clear that light reflected through it, indiscernible, the source of the light could not be found. The Sun Cave... Motion captured Earls heart…the light coalesced, forming…it was moving. The brilliance of the light warmed the grotto, it pulled together taking the shape of a person. He floated over the water walking towards Earl; the boys grip became firm out of excitement. Earl looked down at the boy and saw lines on his face, he was not a boy at all, he hadn’t noticed. This youth was not so youthful. That thought only held for a moment as the creature made its way to the rocky strand. “Welcome Mr. Tibbs…I have been expecting you…” the light sparkled as it spoke. Earl slowly watched the light transform into a man as his foot touched the shore. |  |
"Welcome to my home"...He was dressed in robes of red and tan..."I appreciate your long journey and sorry that you had to make it the way you did." The man walked close to Tibbs, grabbing his hands, "I am Saul"...looking at Tibbs and taking in the man before him and then smiling at the boy. "He will do!" Saul led Earl to the temple explaining as they walked. |  |
Saul walked through the corridors leisurely walking and conversing with Earl, he spent moments getting to know his new emissary. Saul was a tall man, neatly groomed and decorated, unlike the priests, he openly wore jewels and seemed to flaunt his appearance. A unique man among men, Earl noticed his pristinely etched beard and mustache that seemed to give the appearance of a Celtic symbols across the jaw-line. Saul knew many things about Earl, but he didn’t know the man. Your little birdies and whispering winds can only tell you so much; to truly know a man you needed to look into his eyes and peer at his soul, talk and find out if his words carried thought and truth. It has been this way from the beginning of time, which was something that Saul knew too well was dwindling…time, such a squandered comodity. Saul had not the luxury of testing Earl’s words against his actions as he had done with countless others. For this task he would need to trust on faith and hope. A cornerstone belief system of humans, but one he rarely indulged in. Saul needed men of action now more than ever; he only hoped that Earl’s heart had enough life left to contribute. Time was ticking faster than ever… |  |
Saul and Earl slowly wound their way to the shrine of the mountain, taking in all that this oasis had to offer. Earl could tell that the entire mountain sanctum was a temple, but the shrine was an obvious place of worship. He noticed that this shrine held contradictions, men of different ethnic backgrounds, Christian, Buddhist, Norse, Egyptian and Hindu relics, those contradictions however were not what grabbed his eyes. Earl had felt guilty for many years as he began practicing magic, his devout religious beliefs did not mesh with his wife’s version of religion. Practicing magic in his Southern Baptist up bringing was for all intensive purposes a sin; and this sin, once found by Earl and Orlando’s father created heated contention within the family. Earl’s only consolation was that his exorcisms were much more effective and less likely to repeat themselves, this and the assuaging love of his wife. Her persistence that magic was potent and powerful because of Gods connection was something that Earl continued to struggle with, some part of him knew this was true, but he didn’t fully accept it until now. What Earl witnessed were priests and monks and holy men practicing and praying at the same time, wide eyed he looked to Saul for an answer he now knew to be true. Saul smiled, “Magic has always been a part of the Universe and thusly entwined with God. Man’s perversion of the common religion has almost but eradicated its true purpose; this has been one of the foremost sinister goals of the Catholic Church. I believe they have an underlying reason for weakening Earth’s fealty to magic, but that is for another time. What I strive to instruct here is the true purpose and meaning of religion. The human soul is powerful once faith and spirit are indoctrinated together...but I didn't bring you here to talk about human souls..." | |
…the conversation continued…"the Catholic Church have been quite deplorable in their methods for shaping religion using coercion, persecution, etc., and I must say the deeds not mentioned in the history books are far worse than is imaginable. I have strived to preserve the true purpose of religion for as many as I can; once upon a time man’s spirituality was the epicenter of civilization, the core of his being. The Catholic Church and to some extent the Israelites have purposefully obfuscated the prophetic teachings and scriptures. Have you ever heard of the Talmud? It is a holy book for the Jews, it is partially the oral teachings of Moses transcribed and is used as a key to understanding the Old Testament.” Saul continued to walk and talk as if he were explaining simple philosophy to an apt pupil. "As the Catholic Church controlled the books of the bible, it is widely known that they kept certain scriptures out for various reasons,” his sardonic look bemoaned contempt. "The Jews also have hid important teachings, and would you believe that the Talmud is less than a 4th of its original print. Bending over, Saul lifted a newly bound book, yet held it reverently, “Mr. Tibbs, this is the one of the most sought after texts by any human on the face of the Earth, the Heretical Prose of Moses. There are only a handful of people alive that know that this even exists and without it, the Old Testament is a bunch of stories with its true meanings lost to millions of people, for thousands of years.” Saul seemed sad. He opened the book and read from it: "And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee. I am here, as my presence is the sun, and man is our creation, both beast of burden and prey know thy place, all my children have a place under the sun. Give shelter to the fallen children from here and from the stars above, they are all our children, and I gave them life and with that life they gave unto thee…And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are created, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered." Saul, smiling, asked…"What does this mean?" Saul continued... "And it came to pass that when Satan had departed from the presence of Moses, that Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled with the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son; the Holy Ghost whispered to Moses their humble beginnings…" It is a gift that I give to you, when you have figured out the meaning of those two texts you will be on your way...seeing Earl Tibbs look of shock, "I'm the answers must be learned and not given. | |