THE GUITAR MAN (Part Two)

THE GUITAR MAN (Part Two) by Leela

So Almasta's journey to Palak and his first Rishhaa at the Academy were discolored by the memory of his sister's death. He found the only way to escape the painful memories was to stroke his guitar and so overnight he became the Academy's most dedicated student. He learned the magical art needed to perform as a Guitar Man should, as well as the etiquette necessary for one in such a position. Guitar Men were all high born sons and the Academy demanded study of and obedience to, all points of the All Allied Power government policy.
Almasta found the AAP studies boring and stupid and would certainly have been expelled from the Academy had he not been such a talented young man. Indeed, he received his Masters of Sound in less than three Rishhaa and his Masters of Music after ten, less than half the time it had ever taken a student before. So Almasta was allowed some leeway in his political views as long as he played well for the prominent figures in the capital.
By the time he was ready for his debut, a solo performance in front of a crowd of three hundred thousand in Palak's Nixxa auditorium, which would officially recognize him as a Guitar Man, he was giving fifty private concerts a Rishhaa and he had been taken aside by the Headmaster of the Academy, who offered him a position as teacher after his debut if he preferred that to the life of a performer.
But Almasta never had the opportunity to choose. Instead he was abducted by Selas.
Two nights before he was to perform at the Nixxa, Almasta had a dream. He was playing his guitar and Neeta was there, alive and beautiful, moving and swaying in a way that was almost like playing music with her body. As Almasta played faster, Neeta moved faster. It seemed as if Almasta was playing two instruments, his guitar and his sister, and he played so fast that he could no longer play the Academy approved political classics, instead he began 'Jumbbing', a free style of play that was forbidden and punishable by permanent detention at 'The College' in Ornaf. He was Jumbbing and it sounded wonderful.
"Almasta......"He thought he was still dreaming, and Neeta was calling his name.
"Almasta......hey! and he felt a poke on his neck. He opened his eyes and saw nothing. He blinked and his eyes adjusted to the light. Then he saw a yoba. One end was held by a hand in a black glove, the other pointed at his face. Then he heard a voice.
"Do you know what this is?" the stranger in black hissed.
"A yoba."
"Do you know what a yoba can do?"
"The trapped hisa water, if blown out, will strike the victim, poisoning him."
"From where it is now, it would enter your eyes, ears, nose, mouth and even the pores of your skin. You would feel an extreme thirst. It would escalate and within a quarter Rishhaa you would be dead. Dead of thirst."
Almasta was silent. So was the figure in black. Almasta had adjusted his eyes fully and could see that this person was in some sort of wrapping, all black, and very tight. But the figure also wore a cape which covered their right side. The two stood, studying each other until the figure moved the slim tube of the yoba away from Almasta,s face and ordered him to dress.
After quickly dressing, Almasta was ordered to proceed to the Academy tower. The passages were all empty and Almasta felt he could duck into any doorway and be safe from the threatening yoba. But he felt compelled to follow instructions, and was not sure why. Perhaps I am still dreaming, he thought to himself. The pair reached the tower and Almasta stopped in front of the huge door before them.
"Open it," the person in black said.
"This door is always locked. Even I have never been here."
"Open it." Almasta sighed, and just to show this ignorant criminal he pushed on the door. It swung open in a wide arc. Almasta was pushed inside and he heard the door being shut again behind him. He turned, but before he could see his captor clearly in the moonlight he felt himself being pushed and he toppled over the top of the tower.
How do you describe falling? Almasta felt good going down. He felt, for the first time since the gift of the guitar, that he did not need to worry, that all had been taken care of. It was out of his hands. It was a relaxing fall. And he landed well. He landed feet first in hisa water.
There his relaxation abruptly ended. The idea that he might swallow some of the deadly water he had struggled all his life to avoid put him into a panic. What happened in that panic? He thrashed and kicked and made such waves that he fed himself the maximum amount of the sickly wet liquid. Then he saw the figure in black swimming towards him and he yelled and grabbed at for this person who had taken control of his destiny. The figure swerved away and Almasta reached out again. This time the figure was there to meet him but before he could grab hold a hand grasped his shoulder and squeezed where his neck began. He passed out.
When he awoke he was thirsty. He was hot. He could not figure out why his room in the Academy should be so hot during the rainy season. And then fear gripped his gut. He was going to die, Waterpoisoning! He opened his eyes and looked around. Nothing he saw made sense. He was in a desert, being dragged across the sand by four figures in black robes and capes. Instantly his fear was gone. Now he was angry. These people were responsible for his impending death. He rolled off the cape and demanded "Hey! Who are you! Where are we going?"
Without turning around, in a calm voice, the smallest figure said "Good, you are awake. Walk with us and we will cure your thirst. Or stay in Pamba and die."
Pamba! The desert land that covered almost half the planet and he was supposed to walk it? Were these people completely mad? From what he had read, no-one who had walked further than two miles into the Pamba had returned, and those few had horrifying stories to tell. Stories of an incredible thirst that gripped them as soon as they lost sight of the muddy banks of the rest of the world. Almasta wanted to argue and question his captors but they were already far ahead. He picked himself up and ran after them.
The walk had lasted twenty two terrible days when the second smallest in the group addressed Almasta. He had pestered them with questions, yelled threats at them, promised riches but they had spoken not a word and now he was being asked a question. The person, and it sounded like a woman, said "Almasta, you have been invited to join us at the Oasis. The one responsible for your invitation is waiting for you. This person has the anti-dote to the poisoned water you drank when you fell from the tower. We have now been traveling for twenty four days and we have two days left to go. By then you may already be dead. Do you understand?"
Almasta, his lips too cracked and dry to move, nodded his head
"Good. Do you want to continue? We will carry you if need be."
Again Almasta nodded. What else was he to do. He did not want to die. When he could no longer walk the four carefully arranged him on one of their capes and began to pull him again.
Voices, barely heard, as if underwater.
"He's gone."
"Just give it to him."
"But the seed, we could just take...."
"Don't even say...."
"Give it to him!"
Almasta woke up without opening his eyes. He could hear people around him, the rustle of robes, soft footsteps. He was happy to be live but afraid of his captors. He opened his eyes and saw a pair of huge blue eyes looking straight at him.
"Good, Almasta is with us!"
The eyes and voice belonged to a tiny old woman sitting on green silk cushions five feet away from him. Her white hair was braided into two long plaits and she looked very comfortable in her green and blue robes.
"Bring him some mani, please." Soon a slim, dark young man appeared with a glass of clear liquid which he placed in front of Almasta
"What....?" Almasta was still scared. This woman looked so sweet, and instinctively he felt he could trust her. But he had been abducted.
"The liquid in the glass is called mani. It is pure water from a source on this planet we may share with you later. This is what cured you of your waterpoisoning."
Almasta was still suspicious. "I would like some roo and desa, please," he asked, very politely. He felt this request had been anticipated, for it was put in front of him immediately. He greedily grabbed two pellets and put them in his mouth. But before he could even chew he had to spit them out. They were revolting. "Blecchh! You are trying to kill me. That's poison."

end of part two........to be continued

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