Part 4 Journey to the Temple of the Sun Gods
1. Days passed, the year getting older. The time for Kassir to leave was drawing near. People were already looking at him differently. He could not blame them. Soon enough, he would not belong to them anymore – if he ever did in the first place. During the last months he could tell that his friends were growing further and further apart from him. He knew that Linir, at least, would be glad to see the back of him – the others too, except for, maybe, his brother. And it made him feel slightly lonely and afraid of more loneliness to come. Many times he wanted to draw Linir apart and say he regretted the circumstances that had prevented them from sharing the friendship they might have had. But he did not have the courage for such confrontations.
Two days before Kassir had to leave the village gave a celebration in his honour. Red-stones was one of the smallest settlements in the valley. It had nothing remarkable – until Kassir. They wanted to show their pride at one of their own being chosen by the Gods and Goddesses. That did not happen every day.
The feast was a merry one. The food was quite lavish, even though the village did not have a lot to spare. There were fresh meat and honey cakes and ale and even red wine imported from the World Without. The people were usually careful with what they got from the World Without. Few came their way and those that did were quite pricey. They were not to be wasted.
“But, of course, we can have only the best for our very own Light-tender,” Linir commented.
He did not sound sarcastic or upset. The celebration must have mellowed him.
“This is a pure work of art,” he added, pointing to the wine.
“Then you should become a merchant,” Lusa advised him. “And travel to the World Without. You’d get plenty of this stuff there.”
Linir shook his head.
“Not me. I do not want to risk being stranded there. What if it takes me too long to get back to the desert? It means I would never be able to get home again. I might have to spend the rest of my life in a places abandoned by the Gods. Who would want that?”
Most of the others agreed with Linir. Kassir did not say anything. He thought briefly of the World Without, about how priests claimed the lands there were forsaken by the Sun Gods and Rain Goddesses. There was no desert, but the people living there were nothing but puppets for demons and other enemies of the Desert Gods.
Kassir wondered what it was like to live in such a place. There were former people of the desert who now lived in the World Without. Those that went there to trade had to be back in the desert within an amount if time set by the priests. Otherwise, the protection of the Gods would wane and they would be irredeemably under the darkness of those lands. They may never return home. The thought brought to Kassir an almost paralyzing terror.
He would have no reason to see the World Without, though. As a Light-tender, his domain would be the desert. There was no chance for him to be trapped in the World Without. But that also meant he would never know how that place really looked like – only how others described it.
His brother, Bidar, bumped his shoulder.
“It does not do for the guest of honour to brood,” he told Kassir firmly, and plied him with more wine.
Kassir accepted it gladly. Very soon, he forgot about the World Without altogether.
That night was merry. The day that followed was the opposite. Kassir woke up late, with the sun already up, feeling his head stuffed from too much wine and food. He groaned and nearly put the pillow over his head, unwilling to wake up, when he remembered what today was. His eyes snapped open. He hurriedly got up and dressed himself, then headed for the other room. His mother was there, bent on her bread-making task. Rashed was nowhere to be seen.
“Your father has gone to greet the caravan,” Malna told him flatly. “They should be arriving soon.”
“Half the village should be there, then,” Kassir remarked.
The Tribute Caravan came to their village each year on their way to the Temple of the Sun Gods in the middle of the desert. They collected the goods the villagers had to give to the Sun Gods and rested for a day, resuming their interrupted journey in the morning.
The arrival of the caravan was a reason for excitement in every village, the thought of seeing new faces always prompting the villagers to welcome the travellers with open arms. Kassir had seen many such caravans himself, plenty of times, although he could not remember Malna and Rashed ever welcoming one – no doubt because they had always known one of them would take their firstborn.
“I would have woken you up to go too,” Malna continued in the same calm, flat tone, “But then I remembered you would be spending quite a lot of time with them soon enough. It is a long way to the Temple of the Sun Gods. You will soon grow tired of their faces.”
Kassir hesitated. His mother’s words sounded careless, as if it was nothing to her that her eldest son was leaving, and she would quite likely never see him again. He knew better, though. He wondered what to say to her, then realised no words of his could bring her any comfort. It was better if he allowed Malna to keep the dignity she so obviously wanted to preserve. He sat down at the table to eat the light meal his mother had prepared for him. Malna went on working as if he was not there.
“You know,” he said suddenly, unable to bear it any longer, “I might be going away for good, but that does not mean I will forget this village, or the people who helped me grow up. I will be the way I am just as much because of you, Mother, as because of the Gods.”
Malna slowed in her task, but did not stop. Looking more closely at her, Kassir noticed her hands were shaking.
“I wish you were happy for me,” he went on. “I have been made for mighty deeds and it would be much easier for me if you were proud of me.”
Malna glanced up. There was a wild look in her eyes.
“Oh, I am proud,” she said. “But I would be prouder still, if who you turned out to be depended solely on me and not on the Gods. What right had they to meddle with what’s mine?”
“They are the Gods,” Kassir pointed out fairly. “They give us life in the desert – it is only just to ask for things in return.”
“It is only fair until they lay claim on something that should be yours and yours alone.”
They did not speak much afterwards. Malna continued to bake bread without looking at Kassir. It was then that he realised that even though he had been hoping for Malna to send him away with her blessing, it was not going to happen. Malna was too bitter about the Desert Gods taking Kassir away from her and was in no mood to hide it. If Kassir wanted someone to send him away with well wishes, he would have to look somewhere else.
Outside, the sun was hot and bright. Kassir went in search of Linir, but could not find him at home. Linir’s sister only muttered a few vague words when asked where he was. Kassir guessed Linir was probably avoiding him. His other friends were absent too, whether at some job or because they had had enough of Kassir, it was hard to tell. Rashed was probably still with the caravan master.
In search of someone to talk to, Kassir found himself in front of the small temple. Inside, it was dark and silent. The priest was not there, as he was the one who presented the village tribute to the caravan master. Kassir thought that he could at least sit there in peace for a little while. His keen hearing caught a faint scuffling that told him he was no longer alone. At first he thought it was nothing more than a stray mouse, but then his ears picked up the distinct sound of a human breathing. A sudden fear took hold of him, even though he knew he had no reason for it.
“Who’s there?” he asked shakily.
“Why, it is only me,” said a voice he knew quite well. “Who else would be here on a day like this?”
Lusa appeared from the shadows. Kassir felt uncomfortable. He and Lusa had been distant since the initiation rites. Still, he longed for companionship. Lusa was willing to give him that. She sat down in one of the pews next to Kassir.
“I imagine you will be spending your time in temples that are bigger and much more impressive than this.”
Kassir did not reply. In truth, he did not know what he would be doing when he entered the service of the Gods. He was sure Lusa did not know much of it, either. Lusa stirred beside him.
“This must be quite frightening for you, mustn’t it?”
Kassir hesitated. Part of him – the part that had made him keep himself aloof from his friends throughout the year – wanted to deny it wholeheartedly. But he was leaving the next day and most people were acting as though he was already gone and that was enough for him to want to confide in someone – even in Lusa.
“It is rather overwhelming,” he admitted. “I do not know where I will be tomorrow, or how long it will take us to reach the Temple of the Sun Gods, or if I will ever come this way again. And the crossing of the desert is dangerous, especially this time of year. What if we do not make it?”
“Oh, many might not, but you will,” Lusa said sharply, and when Kassir looked questioningly at her, she added: “You must be taken to the Temple of the Sun Gods at all costs – just as the tributes gathered from all the villages. As long as there is one member of the caravan alive, they must see to it that both you and the tributes reach the Temple safely. It’s the rest of the caravan that’s expendable – not you.”
Kassir did not find that right. He was afraid to attempt the crossing of the desert, but he did not want anyone dying for him, either. He thought it should be the other way round – he was the one with the powers, after all. Lusa must have noticed Kassir’s discomfort. She sighed sadly.
“I am afraid there will be plenty of things you won’t like from now on. There are things people do not talk about, mainly because it is not allowed. But I hear things from my uncle the priest from time to time. Not all that you will do will be pleasant, Kassir.”
“But it will be the work of the Gods” Kassir pointed out. “So, it won’t matter if it is pleasant or unpleasant.”
Lusa was about to say something else. She changed her mind, though, and shrugged her shoulders.
“You’re right, of course,” she said, getting up. “Good luck with your journey through the desert – and with all that comes after.”
She walked away so resolutely, Kassir did not think it would be of any use to call her back. It was a cold parting, and he did not know why it should bother him so. He had never been bothered by anything Lusa did, before. But this time he wished she would have acted differently. He wished she could have at least told him she was sorry to see him go.
Copyright Simina Lungu 2022
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