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(3.23) Exile
Exile
Del Nord Alta Muntanya
L'harmonia
Tashi Lumpo set on the other side of the fire looking deeply in its flames as they flickered, “So young travelers, you wish to know about the journeys of the Master.” His face reflected his stern years of a hard challenging life as the shadows of the fire danced across his facial features. He smiled as he picked the fire with a long stick while using his other hand to rub his chin. “I remember the day that she came to this temple. Worn from her travels and beaten by time, she and her young female companion banged on our gates just as you had today.” He pulled a small pouch from his robe and softly tossed it on to the fire. It erupted in to a bright flash that soon was extinguished and replaced by thick white smoke which rose up in to the air around the fire. Soon the entire area around the fire was obscured by the smoke. The effects started to take hold on those who also set around the fire, as Tashi Lumpo continued his story.
The night sky above the temple was clear as the light from the full moon illuminated the main courtyard of the temple. Already their were cries of alarm as a number of monks slowly backed up while a pair of females stumbled past the open gates. The younger of the two females struggled to hold up her walking companion, “Please help us! We are being chased by soldiers and seek sanctuary. Please help us.” The monks looked at each other in concern as they all held their ground. It was clear that there was some reason for alarm as the monks clearly gave no further ground. Each held their weapons out and at the guard with the females in the center of the circle which the monks created around them.
An elderly monk walked out from one of the simple buildings that lined the main courtyard, “Tashi, to whom has gifted us with their visit?” he said as a younger monk walked up behind him.
One of the senor monks in the courtyard turned to the elderly monk with great concern while the other monks kept the two woman at bay with their weapons, “Sonam Gyatso” Tashi bowed respectfully with some kind of half pike half sword weapon in his hand. He turned slowly and used the long weapon to expose the face of the older woman, “Sonam Gyatso, she IS infected.”
*“You must understand young travelers, no one had seen an infected plague victim in over a thousand years. The records and books told the story all too well of what the plague was capable of. It nearly ended all life on our world and I had no idea what Gaia had in mind for me. That night, we were all scared despite our faith in Gaia. How true her lesson upon us would turn out to be. How much we would learn and how much my life, young travelers, would be changed that night.”*
The elderly monk nodded, “yes she is” he said nodding his approval of the revelation. “This is clear even for someone of my age to see” he slowly turned around. As he took a single step back towards the door he came out of, “Tashi, Please let me know when you plan to burn this temple to the ground.” Sonam Gyatso turned his head and looked over his shoulder back at Tashi, “for if we refuse to live life how Gaia teaches, then this temple serves no purpose.” He turned his head back to face the door while making no further steps towards or away from the door, “tell me Tashi, shall we give them sanctuary or shall I pack my belongings so we can move to the low lands?” Sonam Gyatso paused and waited for a moment as a younger monk standing near by watched carefully.
Tashi turned to look at the travelers carefully then turned to look at the other monks around him. He took a long breath and closed his eyes. Taking a moment to clear fear from his thoughts and nodded his head, “You are right Master. We shall give them sanctuary.” he said then pointed at a pair of monks, “you two show them to a room where they can get cleaned up and rest. Fetch them fresh clothing and tend to what wounds you can.” He pointed at another monk, “Fire the kitchen and prepare meals for them. Also bring them fresh water, lots of fresh water.” He turned to the rest, “We will need to hide them from those who chase them. They will need medical attention, so let us send for the healers from the other temples. Inform them, that this must remain a secret. Tell them, we have plague victims here.”
While Tashi was giving his orders to the other monks, Sonam Gyatso smiled as he looked at the younger monk, “I am glad we are not moving, I have so many things to pack and my feet hurt tonight.” he motioned for the younger monk to follow him, “Come Tenzin, let us finish our tea and our Liubo game” the two monks walked back in to the simple hut while the rest of the monks dealt with the travelers.
Tashi watched over the preparations for the visits carefully ensuring that everyone was up to his standards. The Temple had in the past hosted power political leaders from a number of city states. And tonight, he would make sure that these two visitors would be treated as good as everyone else had been. He waited for the food to be finished before he walked over to the simple hut where the two women were staying. He nodded to the monk who had just dropped off the food as they passed each other. Tashi knocked on the door of the hut and waited for a reply. During his wait he could hear them whispering as they gathered their things. 'Most likely hiding the reason why they being chased.' he thought to himself while waiting. He knew that they were hiding something, and he knew in time they would tell when they felt safe and comfortable to share it. He finally heard, “come in, please.” He carefully opened the door and slipped in to the one room hut. “I take it all your needs are being taken care of?”
The older woman nodded as she pulled her cloak up to cover her face and ensure that her skin was also covered, “Yes, thank you for your hospitality” she motioned to her companion, “This is my daughter, Casey and I am Michelle.” she said softly trying hard to hide her blisters on her face. It was clear to Tashi that she was embarrassed of her condition.
Tashi looked carefully at what had to be painful blisters. “I am sorry for our show of fear earlier. It is not normally our way.” he said as he moved his hand to her hood and gentle moved lifted it from her once lovely face. “I have read about the plague in history books but never dreamed I would ever meet someone infected by it. It was so long ago and so devastating to so many cultures. Please forgive our rudeness.” He felt ashamed of their behavior before as he looked at her eyes. He could see the woman as she was before the plague crippled her. Her aura was so pure and so calm. Yet there was something odd about it at the same time. There was a lack of connection to Gaia in her energies. It was as if her energies simply had no path to move.
Michelle nodded as she gently pulled away and reset her hood to cover her face, “it is something that we have become used too. From what the few doctors who would look at us have said. My daughter is clean of the infection. Somehow, I have not passed it on to her. Nor do I know how I have become infected.” She said she turned to her daughter, and smiled, “It is the one thing that I am grateful of. That I have not infected her.” Casey only smiled back at her mother.
“I am glad that your daughter is not infected. We have some of the best healer in this region, but you could receive better medical attention in the low land cities. Maybe, Cel Terres Baixes?” Both Michelle and Casey both nearly yelled as they said, no in unison. It was clear they were hiding from something that was, to them, more terrifying than death its self. Tashi nodded, “I see. We will do our best to protect you and give you shelter from those who would wish to harm you. The Del Nord Alta has been long recognized as a place of peace and neutrality. No one dares challenges this. I am Tashi, student of Sonam Gyatso Lumpo. You are safe here with us, you have my word.”
*“I never knew how much those simple words could fill a person with such hope till the moment I saw it in their eyes. Michelle explained to me that night how they had been running from the forces of Baixes for over sixteen years. She explained how Casey's father had been murdered by those who were pursuing them. About two years ago, Michelle started showing signs of the infection and they tried to get help for it only to find that fear followed them like a black cloud. When they had no where else to turn, they looked to the mountains in hopes of finding safety. However, the forces of Baixes had violated our neutrality and followed them in to our region.
“She and I talked long in to the night. I wasn't surprised to find that she and her daughter had already been exposed to the insights of the Manuscript. There was just something I could feel that showed me that they were ready for the next insight. They both had a firm understanding of the first five insights and were eager to learn more. I could tell as we talked that there was more to Michelle than met my eyes. Her energies didn't seem to flow as described in the Manuscript. I had never seen anything like it before or since. That is till this day when you brought your young friend crossed our gates. Though her daughter had wanted to stay awake for the conversation she had spent too much of her energies during their travels. Shortly in to our conversation, her daughter slipped in to sleep while Michelle and I continued talking.
“Michelle had a copy of the sixth insight that they had received from a man and his son they met on the trail here the day before. Both she and her daughter had already read it but Michelle still had some questions regarding it. She explained how she completely believed that the first two insights, which taught us about profound sense of restlessness and about a change in prospective of our history, were occurring during our days. It was clear to me that this was no ordinary woman. The way she was able to look at the manuscript reflected a deeper understanding in energies than other low landers. I was fascinated in what she had to say, so we talked till the sun rose in the window.”*
The early morning light brought new visitors to the temple. A group of soldiers walked up to the gate as Tashi and a few other monks walked out to greet them. It was clear that the soldiers had been up most of, if not the entire the night. The few that walked up to the temple had left their jeeps down the road with the rest of the soldiers. Tashi noted that the men were all armed and there was no sign of medical personal with them. Their leader was a cold man with twisted energies while the others were worn out and tired. He could see their energies were not flowing in the same directions nor did their energies seem to mesh together. Tashi nodded slowly as he noted all that the Manuscript taught him to see. “Greetings soldiers of Baixes” he said respectfully with a bow then added, “You are far from your lands. Would you care to sit and eat with us? We are just having breakfast.”
The leader walked a bit further ahead of the soldiers, “I am Lieutenant Colonel Jennings, we are searching for a pair of fugitives that are infected with a highly contagious disease. It is imperative that if they are here, you surrender them at once.” Tashi noticed that the man didn't remove his sunglasses while he addressed him. Normally this would be done out of disrespect, but Tashi knew that there was another reason why he left them on. It had to do with his twisted energies.
Tashi nodded, “I see” he said as he could tell through the energies that he knew that the man was lying to him. “If we had such persons here, we would gladly surrender them to medical personal so that they could be given medical attention at once. Come now, it would be rude of us to not offer you food and drink after such a long journey, and before you undertake your long journey back to your lands, please take your seats and I shall send for food and water for you and your weary soldiers.” Tashi said as he started to motion for one of his monks to fulfill the offer.
Colonel Jennings had other ideas as he reached out and grabbed the unarmed monk by the arm, “I know your customs and know that you would shelter them if they showed up on your doorstep. Why don't you let us search your temple to ensure that you didn't foolishly allow them to infect the entire temple.” He said coldly as he stepped forward looking right in to Tashi's eyes.
Tashi looked at the man's hand on his upper arm. His gaze drifted upward to meet Jennings' eyes. “Colonel, you forget where you are” Tashi said calmly ensuring to maintain his own flow of energy during this struggle. “If you know our customs, then you know that we don't lie.” Tashi knew he could break the simple grip but a show of force was out of place here. He could sense the drama playing out and knew how to break it, he was a strong student of the manuscript and understood its lessons. “There is no reason to be angry or fear. If such persons were here. We would do the right thing.” Once more he kept his voice and tone completely level in the conversation and by doing so sapped the energy right from Jennings. “No you may not search our temple. Our laws are clear, no armed soldier shall cross the seals.” he said motioning to the great seal upon the gates that stood between them and the temple. The monk turned his eyes back to Jennings, “Now please Colonel, let us feed you and your men.”
Colonel Jennings frown as he felt his anger fall off. The monk was right on both issues. One they don't lie. Though this doesn't mean they don't play word games. Second, their pacifist views were well known. He knew that his men could force their way past the gates but the price in blood would be too great at this time. However he wouldn't rule it out as a last ditch effort. He let go of Tashi's arm, “I am sorry. Yes of course, we will accept your offer for breakfast and drink. Please forgive my disrespect” he said hoping he could buy some more time. He needed to come up with a plan that would allow them to search the temple. If he could prove that the alien and her hybrid child were inside, then his government would support his plan of taking the temple by force. 'They had to be here. They searched the entire area by helicopters all night. They had no where else to hide. They just had to be here' he thought coldly as he watched Tashi nod and walk back towards the Temple gates. Jennings turned to his men, “dismount men, we will be enjoying their hospitality for now.”
Colonel Jennings started to walk back to his men as his thoughts closed on the alien and her hybrid child. He had been hunting the them for over sixteen years now. There had been so many close calls, so many times that they should have been captured. However, they had always happened to find some bleeding heart liberal to help them escape his troops. No matter how fast he was, or what they planned, they would still manage to escape him. He couldn't understand how his own race could help this alien. 'Don't they understand how dangerous she is!' he thought coldly. He thought that he had her when she had started to show signs of plague. Surely no one would help her now that she was infected. He almost feared that the plague would kill her before he could recapture her. A scowl crossed his face as her remembered that night nearly seventeen years ago.
He remembered how they had received word that Air Defense Command was actually tracking a UFO landing near their base. They were returning from a patrol and ordered to the projected landing sight of the UFO. He almost laughed when the orders came in. He had read all about UFO's and his government's attempts to conceal the 'truth' of UFO's and aliens. At least that is what the tabloids would have you believe. He had looked to the sky thinking that he would see some massive ship landing. Well he half hoped he would see it, and half hoped this was a prank on him. After all he did just receive his most resent promotion to lieutenant and a prank was in order. However, his whole life was about to change because in the middle of that field was some kind of small UFO and beside it stood some cloaked figure. It was an real live, alien!
He ordered his men to dismount and ready their weapons. He nearly remained at the trucks but his sense of leadership forced him to walk ahead of his troops. He and his men were taken by surprise when the small UFO started to take off and climb straight up in to the air like a helicopter! It just hovered for a moment above the field then turned and started to climb higher. It made almost no noise as it passed over of the soldiers. It was not the saucers he was used to reading about. This thing looked more like an arrow head as it vanished in to the night's sky. He directed his men to focus on the alien as they created a half circle around it. He drew out his pistol as he approached carefully. He pulled out his flashlight and washed the alien with light as he paired his pistol and light together. “Don't MOVE!” he yelled out to the alien.
One of his men yelled out, “Careful Sir, it might be one of those body snatchers!” While another one yelled out about something about it might be friendly. It was clear that fear was running high within the soldiers' ranks.
Jennings nodded as he slowed his approach, “Let me see your hands or tentacle or what ever you have.” He yelled to the alien. The alien slowly raised its hands as it still kept its back to the soldiers. “Good you understand English, thats a start.” Jennings noted some kind of weapon on its back. He decided to take a safer approached, “Private Schimt, give your weapon to your Sergeant and get up here.”
Schimt looked around in alarm, “Um Sir, why do I need to give up my weapon” he questioned nervously as he turned to his Sergeant to carry out the orders.
Jennings didn't take his eyes or weapon off the alien, “Just in case it is one of them body snatchers. I don't want to give it another weapon to use against us. Don't worry son, if it tries to suck your brain or something, we will kill you before you suffer too much.”
Schimt handed over his weapon as he listened to his commander. Just as he hand let go of his rifle he heard the comment about killing him. “Wait! WHAT!” he half yelled reaching for his weapon. However his Sergeant snapped the weapon away from his reach. Schimt gave his Sergeant a nasty look, who only motioned him forward to carry out the orders. Schimt looked around, “This sucks!”
It was a battle to get the alien under control and locked in handcuffs. However Jennings and his men had captured the alien in a rather peaceful manner. He reported what they had found and was informed to bring the creature back to the hospitality. Some special researchers were on their way from another nearby base to check it out. On the way back to the base, Jennings rode in the back of the truck sitting across from the alien. She had been disarmed and her large sword now sat in his lap, still rapped in its cloth holder. He checked her out slowly. His eyes loved the beautiful woman before him, but hated the idea that she was some white blooded alien. Slowly, his eyes turned to the sword as he examined it. “You don't know what you are holding. You must return it to me or else so many will suffer at your hands” the alien said softly.
Jennings looked up at her and laughed, “You came all this way to do what?” he said untying the cord that kept the cloth secured. “What do we have here?” he said exposing the finely crafted golden hilt of the sword. His attention had been drawn to the weapon and what ever thoughts he had before were gone. It was the most beautifulest thing he had ever seen as he looked at the bright red gem at the end of the hilt. It almost seemed to glow on its own. His eyes slowly drifted over each carving on the hilt. The way each of the four other gems glowed almost in harmony with the large red one on the tip of the hilt. He couldn't believe his eyes, 'this sword must be worth a fortune' he thought to himself.
“Please return it to me. You don't understand what you are doing” she warned once more.
Jennings ran his hand slowly over the hilt and he could feel the metal. “Its warm to the touch” he commented as he slowly coiled his hand around the hilt and drew out the sword. His mind was lost in the fine craftsmanship that went in to the details of the etchings along the blade. “This is remarkable! is this your written language?” he said as he slowly stood up. “Its all completely clear to me now” he said as he let the cloth fall to the floor of the truck. “I can't believe how much detail has gone in to this weapon.” He moved the sword slowly in the air as he further examined it. “My god, its so clear now.”
One of the soldiers next to him motioned for the weapon, “Here let me see it Sir.”
“Already dead and don't know it” the alien said as she slowly moved away from Jennings.
Jennings turned to the soldier and looked in to his eyes. The man jerked back from Jennings out of fear of what he saw in Jennings' eyes, “You know, shes right” he said as he drew back the sword and thrust it in to the man's chest. Jennings spun and attacked the two soldiers in the front of the cargo area of the truck. Even before the last of the two men hit the floor, Jennings turned and reached out with the force as an evil grin crossed his lips. He lifted the three remaining soldiers off their feet. Their eyes wide with shock as they all reached for their throats making gasping sounds. “What are you doing” he questioned while his eyes turned to the alien just in time to see her leap up and slip her cuffed hands from behind her back to in front of her body.
Even while the other soldiers were still being choked to death in midair, Jennings swung the sword at the alien. She brought her hands up with one lower then the other. She dodged backwards rapidly. The sword passed between her hands as he cut through the cuffs like a hot knife through butter. She slid back and grabbed what seemed to be some kind of alien flashlight from one of the soldiers Jennings killed before. When she activated it, he was surprised to see it was some kind of light based weapon. She was able to deflect his next attack with the sword with her own light based weapno while his men continued to choke to death. She twisted and dodged once more and parried his next three attacks on her. Jennings couldn't believe it, he never held a sword before and now he was fighting like he had been trained from birth. He knew he could beat her, he just could feel her fear and understood that her end was at hand. She simply had to die if he was to keep the sword.
What happened next was completely unforeseen by everyone in the truck. The truck's forward motion was changed rapidly as something slammed in to it from the side. The soldiers fell to the floor of the truck while Jennings was knocked to the side of the truck. The sword slipped from his grip as he slammed his head against one of the braces for the canvas cover. He looked at the sword that landed between him and the alien. His eyes moved to hers and she reacted faster than anyone else could have. She leaped forward with all her might and grabbed the sword and the cloth in one action. Jennings attempted to stop her from fleeing with his sword by trying to tackle her but she twisted from his grip. “NO!” he yell drawing his pistol as she ran for the back of the truck. He aimed at the back of her head and right before he could pull the trigger, one of his surviving soldiers leaped on him. Jennings saw her as she dove out the back of the truck while the sound of horses was heard from outside somewhere. He fought to free himself from his soldier but more leaped on him to hold him down. “NO! GET THE ALIEN” he yelled out. The alien turned as she hit the ground and looked at Jennings right in to his eyes. He knew that they would cross paths once more. She turned and vanished from sight. It was the last time he had seen the alien or his sword. Yet he would forever be right behind her. He promised himself that. She would know no rest till he had his sword back.
That night echoed in his memory even to this very day. He knew that some man and woman had helped the alien escape his custody. It was a foolish plan that seemed to work only because of luck. He turned and looked at his men as they dismounted from their trucks and headed over to where he was. Jennings turned to look at the temple once more. He sighed as his Platoon Sergeant walked up behind him, “SO what do you think, Sir. You think that their are in there.”
Jennings nodded, “IT has to be. Have first and forth squad circle around from opposite directions. Have them form a perimeter around the temple. No one in or out. Remember the alien is dangerous and infected. If you see her, shot first then, KILL IT, no one touches it. Notify me at once. The Bio-boys can learn what the wish from the body. As for the hybrid, the Brass want her alive for studies.”
The veteran Sergeant nodded, “Yes Sir” he then turned and walked back to the troops.
Jennings looked at the high walls of the temple and nodded, 'I have you now' he thought with a smile 'there will be no escaping this time. The sword will be mine once and for all.'
The large gate of the Temple opened up and Tashi walked out once more. “Colonel, you and your men are our guest. Please come.” A number of monks walked out with large volumes of food and two large kegs of drink. A large blanket was laid out for the men to eat on. The monks brought enough food to feed a small army. Glasses were filled with water as fresh fruit were placed out with the rest of the food. It was a feast for the soldiers and they showed their gratitude for the meal with cheers.
Jennings nodded while motioning for his men as he walked up to where the meal was being offered. The meal was just as Jennings expected it to be, bland and simple. His men enjoyed the food and drink while Jennings and Tashi set across from each other. Jennings hated Tashi and he didn't care if the monk felt it. They should just be allowed to force their way in to the Temple and get the alien and her hybrid child. Still, Jennings had to play nice with the monks. They were protected by the treaty which placed this entire mountain range as a demilitarized zone. The facts that his troops were even here was a violation of that treaty. He didn't care, this was a matter of planetary security and he had to ensure that the alien could no longer plot against this world and his race.
It had been nearly an hour of eating and resting as Jennings' patience were running thin. He was still right where he had started an hour ago. The monks were still refusing to allow them to search the Temple for the alien and her child. Jennings slowly looked up from his large metal cup of coffee, “I am only going to ask you one last time, monk. You will let us search your temple for the infected woman and her child.”
Tashi looked a bit confused, “I don't know why this is so difficult to understand. You can ask once or a hundred times. The answer will always be no. No armed soldiers will ever cross the seal.”
Before Tashi could finish, Jennings leaped to his feet, “Thats IT! Sergeant Grear!”
However, just as Jennings cut off Tashi, he was cut off by one of his men, “Colonel we have a sighting!”
Tashi showed no emotion as Jennings turned in both shock and confusion, “What? WHERE?”
The soldier rushed up while holding his radio to his ear, “Alpha Zebra Two niner six fif.”
Jennings turned and took a step towards the man, “What do you mean?” He looked down for a moment, “Thats nearly nine clicks to the northeast! HOW THE HELL!” Jennings pointed at the monk, “Don't move, I am not done with you!” Tashi just nodded and waited for the new drama to play out. Jennings then turned once more and walked over to the radio man, “ask them if we have conformation.” Jennings turned to Sergeant Grear who was walking up to him. “If this is true, they had to have run all night up through that ravine we lost them in the day before yesterday.”
The Sergeant only nodded as the radio man held up his hand, “They have two separate eye witnesses accounts. One account is by a local man, his son and a horse. They claimed that the older woman had some kind of sword with her!”
Jennings through his coffee out, “GOD DAMNIT!” he yelled out in frustration, “You knew this from the beginning MONK!” he said almost drawing his pistol and killing Tashi but stopped the impulse of his hand. “Pass the word, EVERYONE MOUNT UP! We ARE wheels up!”
The soldiers dropped what they had and took off running for their vehicles as Jennings calmly walked over to his jeep and climbed in. It was total confusion as everyone rushed to their trucks. Jennings didn't wait for his men as he gave the order to his driver to drive. Jennings' jeep was the first to disappear down the road. Soldiers were running as fast as they could to reach their trucks before they drove off. One by one the soldier trucks all disappeared driving off. Tashi and his monks just watched as the last of the soldiers drove off in such haste that not one thank them for breakfast. He nodded, “Gaia works in mysterious ways, young one.”
Casey nodded from under her cloak, “yes” she said softly. She had waited for the last truck to leave before sneaking out from the temple. “It is something that I never seem to understand how or why. Its always been like that for us. As if something greater has been protecting us from them all this time. I don't think I will ever understand it.”
Tashi turned to her and smiled, “Gaia always protects those of pure of heart.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, “how is your mother?”
Casey sighed softly, “she is resting Sir. The infection seems to take more from her at times than at others. One of the doctors who managed to look at her said, its like nothing he ever read about the plague before. This wasn't anything like it but the tests had shown it is the plague that is infecting her.” She looked down with great sadness, “my mother, um shes is not normal. Shes not like you are. Shes a....”
Tashi moved his hand from her shoulder to her chin and lifted her eyes up to his, “I know.” The soft smile on his face washed her sadness away. “We all knew that she not from our world. It is in her aura. Just like you are her daughter.” he nodded softly and motioned for the gate, “Come, the healers will be here soon. They will help make your mother as comfortable as possible.”
Casey glanced back at the distant dust trails of the trucks speeding away. She nodded, “Thank you Tashi for all that you and your friends have done for us.” her eyes fell once more on his and she returned his smile, “thank you.” She followed him through the gates of the large temple. Slowly the gates closed behind them and a new chapter in the temple's history was opened.
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