Duel with the Obliterators

Warriors of Transcendence, Part 50
 
“Transcendor!” he called out, in the hot, uncomfortable evening hours. “Transcendor! See how devastated and barren everything is here. See how all the beauty has faded, the joy has vanished, and the warmth of heart accompanying my mission has disappeared. Transcendor, you created a perfect world, and man has demolished it with his battles. Will you ever return and illuminate this place? Shall the wilted fields ever bloom again?” Ulu knew that he was succumbing to defeat, and did not attempt to hide this feeling. “I undertook this journey for You, to complete the task assigned to me by Your messenger, to serve my part in the battle. But instead of prevailing, I am failing! Instead of defeating the enemy, I fell into their hands! Tzalaii, the young village boy, had to rescue me… Me! Ulu! – the experienced warrior,  well-trained and knowledgeable; I am ashamed to stand before the Master of Transcendence. I am ashamed to stand before You…”
 
His words echoed in the silence. Ulu was deeply embarrassed.
 
“Yes,” he said softly, “It is true, …I am ashamed of myself. I have been too proud.” His Unification continued, but Ulu was silent. Only after many moments of silence did he ask in a trembling voice: “If the battle intensifies, if the dangers increase, and if Your men fall into traps due to arrogance, who shall fight for You?”
 
The answer came from his heart, with a clarity that left no room for doubt: You, yourself!
 
I? Pondered Ulu, I? But… he lifted his eyes to the surrounding wastelands, felt himself overcome by fatigue, and the shame of his pride caused his heart to ache. I am weak…a failure…defeated….how am I to fight?
 
If you are true to all, the words came to him, If you remember that you are but a messenger.
 
Ulu allowed the meaning of these words to sink in deeply. The Transcendor did not promise him that he would be victorious from now on, he only chose him to continue the mission.
 
“Thank you,” Ulu whispered.
 
Tears formed in his eyes, and consolation filled his heart. The burden of the last few days vanished, and Ulu once again set out on his nightly journey.
 
In the morning, Ulu found a cave to hide in, ate to his heart’s content, drank the last drops of his water, and went to sleep. He did not know how much longer he had to journey, or how he would quench his thirst upon awakening, but these questions did not disturb his peace. He awoke when the afternoon sun illuminated the cave.
 
Sensing movement nearby, on his guard for danger, he saw a tall, silent being standing at his side.  The being wore a white cape with a delicately detailed drawing of a deer, its crushed body lying at the bottom of an abyss. The deer had unsuccessfully attempted to jump over the Abyss.  This picture was so alive, so real; Ulu felt compassion towards the deer. Now a second being appeared and approached him, a picture imprinted upon his cape as well, of a frozen waterfall, with countless droplets, thin as threads, swirling and growing larger, in shades of light green and soft blue. The drawing was astonishingly beautiful.  The grayness of the surrounding cliffs appeared so dismal in comparison to this luminous beauty .The glorified being touched his heart and for a moment he felt a desire to be a part of it.
 
Now more beings began to appear in the cave. One wore a cape with a drawing of a radiant purple-winged bird, a white belly and a single golden feather pointing backwards on its crown. Ulu gazed at the picture of the bird; it seemed to be alive! Who were these beings of illusion, fooling with his emotions?
 
“The center of strength, granting goodness to us all” said the tallest being with the crushed deer upon his cape, “has been awaiting your soul for a long time”.
 
His words were as sharp as diamonds and as deep as an abyss.
 
“The inner fire requests the touch of its partner, the great fire, that shall help it increase until it becomes immortal.”
 
Something in the way they moved reminded Ulu of the scorpions in the White Desert. He detached himself from the magic and sensed he was in danger.
 
Borders!he reminded himself. He entered within himself, enlisted his strength, and while etching a circle around himself realized that these alluring creatures were Obliterators. All was silent. Ten beings clad in elaborate capes surrounded him closely. One of them repeated: “The inner fire requests the touch of its partner, the great fire.”
 
His accomplices echoed his words with voices so sharp and piercing, that even though Ulu resisted, the voices still entered his brain with a shattering force. Ulu did not know how to contend with the ‘Marker of Tumult’, and the etched circle around him faded like smoke.
 
“Come, my friend, we have no intention to harm you.”
 
The ring tightened around him forcing him to arise and walk deeper into the cave. A faint light illuminated the high walls, and Ulu trembled from the bitter cold. Now one of the Obliterators tossed a piece of cloth towards him, and Ulu was compelled to wrap it around himself, becoming entrapping in their charms.
 
“Now,” said the Obliterator wearing the waterfall image, “we shall present you with the most complex of our questions. For many years, we have been waiting for a wise person who could answer them. Each of us shall ask you a question, and to remove suspicion of our intentions, we shall tell you now that if you manage to solve our enigmas, we shall set you free.”
 
Ulu was convinced that this was true, but he also knew that he had to try to find an escape route.
 
“Tell us a lie,” said the tall one, surprising Ulu.
 
One could think, pondered Ulu, that they spoke nothing but the truth…
 
He thought first, and then responded: “The center of strength granting goodness to us all resides in a Tower, in the great valley.”
 
As he uttered these words, Ulu suddenly sensed that this was no lie, it was the whole truth! The Obliterators burst into laughter and Ulu became confused and embarrassed. The questioner removed a small drum from his cape, and his colleagues watched him in deep silence and concentration. The Obliterator beat the drum once, causing Ulu to feel a sharp pain in his chest, as though a thin knife was being thrust into his heart. His vision blurred and he was filled with fear.
 
A second Obliterator approached him, and asked the next question before Ulu had recovered from the pain: “Where is the center of the world?”
 
Forced to answer, he made a great effort.  The pain in his chest faded as he replied: “I know not.”
 
Again, the Obliterators burst into laughter, terrifying Ulu. The second Obliterator removed a fiddle from his cape, and just once ran the bow over the strings, causing Ulu to feel his heart crumbling. The pain returned now with more intensity, and again his vision blurred for an instant.
 
“Describe to us an object whose absence is greater than its benefit,” a third Obliterator tossed another question his way.
 
What could it be?Ulu searched his thoughts, and then pointed towards them and said: “You yourselves!”
 
Now they stopped laughing. The third Obliterator took out a set of cymbals. When he struck them, Ulu felt the sounds pervade his brain and cut through hidden threads. Question after question, sound after sound, his senses numbed and his strength diminished. He no longer responded to their questions, petrified of the sounds of the musical instruments.
 
“If a chick dies in his shell, how can his spirit exit?” asked the fourth.
“Build us a house in the air of the world,” ordered the fifth.
“If a man wants to marry a woman he is not permitted to marry,” asked  the sixth, “why would he think that someone of higher status would want to marry him?”
“What would one use to harvest a field of knives?”
“We have a hole in our field- raise it up to the city!” ordered another.
“If a treasure is located behind a mountain of fire, how would one reach it?”
 
A mountain of fire…a mountain of fire…these words pulsated through Ulu’s mind and he attempted to find encouragement within them, but the Obliterators did not allow him time for introspection.
 
“Now,” exclaimed the tall Obliterator in a shrill voice, “for the final wasteland enigma.”
 
Ulu’s mind became clear for a moment. The wasteland, which was the White Desert, returned to his mind, and he recalled his extensive training there: The threat of the scorpions, the circle of defense, the fury of the serpents, and the smell of death oozing from them all. He recalled the words of the Transparent One who had prepared him for his mission in the White Desert: The Transcendor has appeared just once in this desert. And he recalled the Memory Shield: the eyes of the Master of Transcendence, his great mentor, and the way his hands caressed his face.
 
“A Warrior of Transcendence replaces fear with light!” he whispered to himself. The shadows cast by the Obliterators onto the wall of the cave terrified him, and his heart was full of pain. Despite the fact that the tenth Obliterator was preparing to present the final enigma, the Memory Shield in Ulu’s heart intensified: He recalled the gaze of the Master of Transcendence, and the memory of his eyes calmed his distressed soul, diminishing the pain in his heart. Slowly and hesitantly, he drew a circle upon the black sand at the bottom of the cave. When the Obliterators realized what he was doing, they tackled him, reaching out with their long arms in order to stop him.
 
Outside, the cloudy sky changed to a clear, deep blue. Something was transpiring in the heavens.  Light feather clouds danced, in shades of purple and blue. From inside the clouds, bright dots like eyes appeared, from which descended a line of light, gleaming like a thin thread, pure as silver, clear as a tear. The line descended towards the heavy, gray mountain, and continued making its way into the cave, illuminating the interior with an intense glow, shocking the Obliterators who shrank back in fear.
 
The line of light summoned the Man of Borders, caressing his head as though he were a lost child, and then entering within him. Ulu felt a wave of heat spread through his body, and the bountiful light in the cave vanished as it was absorbed into Ulu’s organs like healing waters.  He felt light as a feather, as if he could rise to the ceiling of the cave and even beyond…His vision became clear and he was able to see everything around him in minute detail, even the fine cracks in the walls.  His auditory perception sharpened, enabling him to hear the dim sound of water trickling, deep down in the rocks. His heart was full of laughter.
 
The ten dark, terrified, shrinking figures seemed so meaningless and helpless to him now! Despite his inner laughter, he knew that these creatures were the  root of evil, and it was his task to remove them from the world. The Warrior of Transcendence reached out his hands, allowing the sharp, lethal Light of the Transcendor to flow through them while balls of fire transformed the Obliterators to ash.
 
The ten creatures of darkness were lost forever.     
 
To be continued.
 

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