Dogons
with a capital D? Zara glanced at the pots on the fire... Did their cooking smell like aribu meat?
Unable to decipher the aromas and fearful to admit the cooking smelled so good,
her gaze wandered from the fire to the water.
The view from the plateau was
incredible, she could see Atlan quite clearly from here, smoking in the
distance beneath the mighty slopes of Mount Ekar. She took a deep breath, filling her senses with the fresh mountain air infused with wafts from the fire. This wasn't a dream, nor was
she dead. That she had come all this way through that dark tunnel was
unimaginable, surreal, too incredible to believe. Yet it was true, it hadn't been a nightmare or a death, she had
travelled downwards, then upwards, it had been really cold and damp... A very
long journey… Theoretically it was
possible she had in fact made the journey in real life...
Vida
interrupted her thoughts as she returned with a plate of food. Zara accepted
the food graciously in spite of her fears, it smelled too good to be aribu
flesh and she was too hungry to reject it. It looked awful, too, nothing like flesh or anything she was used to
eating at home. If they were trying to poison her, they would have disguised it
better, no?
She
studied the plate for a moment of indecision, it looked very unappetizing, what if it was
aribu meat? She didn’t dare ask, overcome by starvation she chose to believe it
wasn’t and took a cautious sample. The tiny morsel filled her mouth with
flavor, it tasted incredible, like their wine it was filled with yummy surprise, she wanted more, it was like nothing she had ever tasted in Atlan.
As the sun began to dip towards the horizon Zara scanned the village for signs of a temple but there were no familiar sights of a bell tower here. What was this place? There wasn't even a Temple of Medel? No Medel was a bad sign, that she knew for a fact. Perhaps this was why Lemuria had such a bad reputation. Reality was cold and hard. Perhaps the Dogons with a capital D appeared kind and beautiful, but the reality was He wouldn't be too fond of them. These Dogons were in fact endangering everyone with their disrespect, were they not?
The dark cloud of doubt was poisoning her thoughts like a toxic smog. Her observations made sense with the narrative, but at the same time, they didn't and made no sense at all. How could they be so evil when they made her feel so
good?
She took another mouth full of food, never had she enjoyed food more than this, it was the most delicious food she had ever eaten, it was an experience in itself, she could feel the nutrition recharging her organs inside.
She dared to
open her mind a little more as she savoured her food, noticing more questionable truths; why were they called Savages? They
seemed happy, polite, kind and friendly. They took good care of themselves and
looked like they enjoyed their Products... They didn’t appear to be anything like the dogons from her text
books, the dogons she had grown up in fear of had gnashing teeth and wild chartreuse eyes…
There were no gnashing teeth, no vicious dog-like faces here, and they certainly
didn't live in a Barren Wasteland nor were their houses made of bones!
As she gazed beyond the glistening
sea towards Atlan in search of answers, the musicians broke out into a ballad, the sound made her feel different, it felt good, it seemed to be shifting the mood of the entire tribe. Then, to her utter amazement, Vikkar and Vida joined
together on the plateau in an embrace, they began to move together in tune to the music, they were dancing arm in arm...
Lost troubled memories of the night Nolan asked her to dance resurfaced almost instantly, Zara
found herself staring in wonder… Did they love
each other? Who was he? Vikkar…The name was so
familiar, as was his face. She tried again to recall the myth of the sword, for
it was a clue… Was it the Sword of
Lightning?
Then it struck. Vikkar
was the god of Lightning!?!? What was he doing here??? Then she
realized she had never seen him pictured with the head dress, she would remember if
she had!
So far, her awakening had only raised a plethora of uncomfortable questions. Was
he really the god of Lightning? If
he was, then he was part of the Firmary! There was no way these Dogons had
slaughtered all those Products in Culloom, it was impossible!
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Vida offered Zara a place to rest in a visitors tent, pitched fairly close to the fire pit. It was fully furnished inside with a bed, a chair, a place to wash and hang her clothes. "You can sleep safely here" she assured, "someone is always up, stoking the fire in case you need anything in the night; don't be afraid to ask."
Zara climbed into the bed, it was soft and cozy, a welcome relief from her long hard lifetime of cold and uncomfortable cots. The once unfamiliar plucking sounds from their strange instruments lulled her now as the light dimmed from the sky. The sounds of the fire crackled in time to the flickering glow, the banter and laughter soothed her soul. Everything surrounding her was so comforting compared with the terrible sensations she had fled from.
Like lapping waves, her mind still tossed so painfully, the multitude of revelations made no sense at all. Dogons? She tossed again, still struggling to believe it... It had to be a dream, an illusion... Was it a giant test of some kind?
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