The Destiny of Amalah (32 page)

‘We have food with us,’ Waldon said.

‘I hate to sound as though I bear bad tidings on your journey, but I am concerned for you – for your lives. Do you have enough food to last you until you reach the other side of Qomo?’

‘No,’ Replied Rakan. ‘We will find it though,’ he said firmly.

‘I hope you do,’ Gangay said, instinctively shaking his head. ‘I truly wish you would reconsider.’

‘We made a pact. Where one goes, all of us go. We stick together no matter what,’ Kenaz said.

‘Let us hope it is not in death,’ Gangay replied grimly. ‘What did your parents and your sister, the Empress say when you told them of your intentions to climb Qomo?’ he asked looking at all six friends. None of them answered and their unanimous silence spoke volumes to Gangay. ‘You did not tell them of your intentions did you?’ he said, gazing at each and every one of them again.

‘No we did not,’ Rakan said evenly.

‘And why not?’ Gangay asked, but once again his question was met with stony silence. ‘Because you know that they
never
would have let you undertake such a venture had they known of your plan to embark on such a journey of insanity!’

‘Perhaps,’ Rufus said evenly.

‘Not perhaps, definitely,’ Gangay said; ‘and you all know it.’

For some reason, knowing that their parents and the Empress did not know of their plans made Gangay feel even more uneasy and he was surprised that it was even possible to do so.

‘I beg you, please reconsider,’ he urged them.

The thoughts of them venturing Qomolangma while their parents were oblivious scared him and scared him immensely; he would have to send word to the Empress in Amalah. Gangay’s mind was racing, and a hundred thoughts at once were running through his head and Ellora’s voice suddenly silenced them.

‘Do not send riders to Amalah Gangay – please,’ she said, smiling warmly at him and taking hold of his hand.

‘How did you …’ he said startled.

‘Do not worry,’ she said calmly her voice suddenly soothing him. ‘We promise to meet you and our horses four months from now on the other side of Qomolangma just before sunset,’ she said warmly and calmly. Gangay could feels her words continue to sooth him and her voice somehow washed over him. ‘Let us not spend our last night arguing or worrying and suffering vexation.’

Gangay wanted to say more but he was feeling deeply affected by Ellora’s voice and somehow, he suddenly felt their confidence, it came over him like a wave and washed through him and with it, his need to talk disappeared.

‘I wish you all a safe and good journey and I will see you all at the other side of Qomo in four months,’ he said sincerely.

Waldon swiftly and easily changed the subject and the six friends and Gangay spent their last night in Chamlong making the very final preparations, such as re-packing and planning what they would do on the first day and then they spent the evening talking before they put out the now dying fire and went to sleep for the night.

The next morning the friends rose well before sunrise, they washed and dressed and sat down to eat a heavy breakfast and when they had done so, they gathered their belongings that were in the thick waterproof sacks and said their farewells to Gangay.

‘Remember,’ Ellora said. ‘We will meet you and the horses at the other side of Qomo. Take care of them,’ she said softly.

‘I promise,’ he said resolutely.

‘Take care of yourself too,’ she said sweetly.

‘I will,’ he said and the two of them hugged and he spoke to her one last time. ‘Take care of yourself princess,’ said Gangay before he turned to the five boys who said their farewells too. ‘Good journey my friends. I will keep your horses safe and well until we meet on the other side of Qomo. Remember, before you get to Qomo and the point where you begin to climb, stay low in the mountains and take as much shelter as you can get.’

‘We will,’ Rakan said nodding his head, to indicate that he was heeding Gangay’s advice, before breaking into a smile.

The final farewells were said and the six watched as Gangay headed east with their horses and the sacks that they did not need, they watched until he was out of sight and then they turned to each other, exchanging looks between themselves all slightly amused by their own and each others appearance.

They were all dressed from head to toe in many layers of clothes ranging from silk to cotton, and wool to fur, and other types of camel skins and each of them had their hands covered in makeshift gloves and clothes that reached halfway up to their forearms.

They carried iron poles with sharp points at the end which they would use to pick, hack and grip through the snow, ice and mountains. They each had heavy sacks strapped to their backs and they groaned slightly when they were first attached but now with their excitement and adrenaline pumping the bags seemed to feel lighter than before.

The six took one last look east in Gangay’s direction who was now out of sight and they all instinctively and simultaneously turned and headed towards Qomolangma.

For the first leg, the six trekked for three hours before fatigue, cold and hunger overcame them. They took refuge in a small cave at the bottom of the mountains. They lit a fire and ate a little of the food that they had and made hot black sweet tea which warmed them slightly but not as much as they would have liked! When they were done, they set off once again to face Qomolangma.

On they trekked through the snow and ice and up the small crevices that had served as narrow paths, albeit slippery and treacherous ones up to the top of the mountain. For five days and two nights they continued on their journey getting colder and colder and wetter and wetter, while their spirits were getting lower and lower.

Even though the six were lifelong friends the conditions they had to endure were getting to each and everyone of them and – before long – tempers became frayed and the patience of some was in very short supply, as their journey of a lifetime turned into the journey from hell.

They had not travelled as far as they had wanted to, or planned to and they were becoming increasingly disillusioned and dejected. One evening they sat huddled together in silence, in another previously dug out cave; all of them were wet, frozen to the bone and feeling very sorry for themselves. Rufus was the first to break the silence.

‘If we continue, we’re going to die,’ he said solemnly.

‘I know,’ Ellora replied shivering. ‘And I’m not the only one to feel that way.’

‘I had never anticipated the mountains would be so jagged and perilous,’ Waldon said shaking his head. ‘Not for one minute did I think that we would be so overwhelmingly defeated by nature.’

‘She truly is a stubborn one,’ Kenaz said almost smiling.

‘Who?’ asked Kalon.

‘Nature,’ replied Kenaz.

‘To continue this journey is madness,’ Waldon continued.

‘Then let us return to the bottom and follow Gangay’s trail around the mountains, not through and over them,’ Kenaz said.

‘No!’ Rakan said suddenly. ‘We go on,’ he said almost commanding them

‘Rakan if we go on we will surely die,’ Waldon said, trying to reason with his friend. ‘There is still so much of the world that we have yet to see and I for one, have seen and experienced more of these mountains than I would want to in an entire lifetime.’

‘No, we can do this,’ he said stubbornly.

‘No we cannot,’ Kenaz countered. ‘Physically, I know that Waldon and I are the strongest of you all and I am weakened by this. I know I do not have the strength to conquer Qomo and neither do you Rakan, neither do any of us.’

‘We do not need strength,’ Rakan replied firmly and unmoved by Kenaz’s short oration.

‘Then what do we need?’ asked Kenaz, slightly defensively and slightly annoyed by Rakan’s stubbornness.

‘Magic,’ Rakan replied evenly.

‘But you are not to use magic unguided,’ Kalon said, objecting to Rakan’s proposal. ‘Neither you nor Rufus may use it,’ he finished.

‘That was before we left Amalah and before we were freezing to death on Qomolangma,’ he said firmly.

‘I do not like the idea of unguided magic Rakan. Look what happened to Kenaz when Rufus froze him,’ Waldon said clearly concerned, and the other five nodded in agreement with him.

‘I remember, and I remember when Amara was out of control. On both occasions Ellora saved them. She showed Amara what she was doing and she helped Rufus to access his power.’

‘But you saved me the first time,’ Ellora said.

‘The point is, we have two sorcerers and an empath, who can help us tap into our power, two of the strongest boys I know and one of the fastest,’ he said looking at Kalon. ‘The point is, with all of that power and capability we should be able to go anywhere and do anything,’ Rakan said passionately.

‘I still do not like the thought of the two of you unleashing your powers without any guidance,’ Kalon said uneasily.

‘Do not worry Kalon, we are not going to do any harm,’ Rakan said trying to reassure his brother and everyone else.

‘Not intentionally Rakan; I know that but still we do not know what other dangers lay ahead of us and we do not know if magic will or will not worsen those dangers.’

‘I promise we will reach the other side of Qomo, alive and safe and well, I know it!’ he said clearly convinced of it.

The five looked at Rakan and each other and thought to themselves for a while trying to decide on whether or not they should continue on such a dangerous venture. So far, they were cold, wet and miserable and although they wanted to reach the top of the daunting mountain they did not feel as though they had the heart to continue. It was as though Rakan had read their minds and he spoke again.

‘It won’t be like it is now, we will be warm and fed and it will be fun,’ he said to them all.

‘How can you be so sure?’ Waldon asked.

Rakan smiled and looked at Ellora. ‘Ellora have your bow and arrow ready,’ he told her. She and the others looked at him confused and curious. ‘Trust me,’ he said, before he winked and looked at Ellora again. ‘You see the back of the cave behind me?’ Ellora nodded. ‘Get ready to aim,’ Rakan said, before he crossed his legs and closed his eyes.

He began to recant a mantra in his mind and focused and while the others watched him, Ellora tentatively watched the empty space behind them. Just over half a minute had passed when a kid goat appeared from nowhere at the back of the cave and Ellora drew in a sharp intake of breath in surprise; she raised her eyebrows before she pulled herself together and realised what the bow and arrow was for; she took aim and fired, killing the goat instantly.

‘Evening meal,’ Rakan said satisfied.

‘How?’ Kenaz asked taken aback.

‘Conjuring.’

‘I think we all realise the goat was conjured,’ Rufus said dryly.

‘I’ve been practising; Gaerwen introduced it to me. I conjured small and in-ornate things mostly. This was the first real live animal and the biggest,’ he said proudly.

‘Well now food isn’t going to be a problem,’ Rufus said.

‘No it isn’t, but shelter, clothing and the weather will be; not to mention the mountains themselves.’ Kenaz reminded them.

Rakan looked at the fire and pointed to it ‘
Superus
!’ he commanded and the fire immediately grew more powerful, heating them and the cave.

‘Shelter from the outside,’ Kenaz asked hopefully.

‘
Sigillo!,
’ Rakan commanded again and this time, the exit of the cave was sealed by an invisible, yet impenetrable barrier that kept the wind out. Rakan smiled and looked at his five friends. ‘Who will follow me to Qomolangma?’ he asked.

‘I will,’ Kalon said almost immediately.

‘As will I,’ said Ellora in a resigned tone.

The three remaining boys were still wary and cynical but they also vowed to continue on the journey together and the friends were once again destined to reach the apex of the great Qomolangma. They sat in the now warm cave watching the goat that Rakan had conjured and Ellora had killed with her bow, rotate on the makeshift spit and when the time came; they all ate hungrily until they were all pleasantly full. As the heat returned to their bodies, so did their good cheer and patience and when they talked about their journey through Qomolangma; they once again talked with excitement in their voices and their hearts.

They remained in the cave for the remainder of the night watching as the snow continued to drop relentlessly, it looked so beautiful when they watched it fall from the comfort of their newly warmed cave, but when they had been trekking in it for hours on end it was cold and wet and a damper to their spirits.

They watched the white snow fall in the background of the black night and smiled to themselves, thinking that this is how Qomo should be seen. The next day they put their belongings together and made their way into the cold and snow once again; they began to climb the mountain and walk paths whenever one was available to them.

Whenever they wanted to rest, they found a small cave that they could huddle into and Rakan sealed it with a magical barrier, while the others lit a fire and prepared what food and drink they had. The friends found that the further they ventured, the smaller the caves got and by nightfall; they found themselves looking for somewhere to eat and rest for the night, but their search was to no avail. At one stage, they stood on a ledge and looked up at another cave that was located at least six feet above the heads of Waldon and Kenaz and they wondered if they could fit into it.