LEGEND OF NEVETSECNUAC - ON THE WAY TO THE CAPITAL - SECTION 5

01-NEVETS ARRIVING AT  THE REMOTE CHECKPOINT

At sundown Nevetsecnuac without incidence crossed the remote border checkpoint and entered the Capital province of Holger. The nearby town still to be reached, at a secluded spot at the edge of a dense forest, he dismounted his horse and then donned his scholar's robes, afterwards he traveled at some speed at the main highway. That evening and few evenings after that he’d stayed at modest, respectable inns and hostels, chiefly to rest his mare, buy some supplies and to gather (pertinent) reconnaissance information from the seemingly friendly locals.

At first, unlike the other provinces, he’d found Holger to be prospering, with citizens contented and not lacking in comfort or being out of sorts; beneath the seemingly pervading peaceful order and opulent facade, however, he could sense that something sinister and evil lurked that bolted shut every dissident's mouth. And when he discretely and relentlessly delved deeper into internal matters and the existing facts, Nevetsecnuac uncovered, true enough, ugly manipulation, wide-spread corruption among the officials, appalling misery, and vast enslavement of the seemingly normal populous. 

02- MARKETPLACE AT SUBURB TOWN IN HOLGER PROV.2

Nevetsecnuac’s soul became further beset (burdened, tormented) with wearying (draining) despair, understanding the fact that even at this furthest periphery, the stranglehold of (Usurper Zakhertan Yozdek’s) stringent rules of law and the draconian penalties, all enforced under the (guise) masked miasma of propriety (aptness, decency), solidly dictated every facet of each citizen’s life. Enslaved by the eternal, numbing fear coursing through their veins, the unfortunate masses, even those rare would-be dissidents, consequently had their mouths permanently bolted shut, despite the fact that their subsistence were far worse than any imagined torture in Hell; moreover, Nevetsecnuac understood that he had to harden his heart for ahead, lay, a  portended, graver conditions, far worse villainy, and abominations.

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 Meanwhile, in response to his inquiry as to which course to take to reach the Capital City, the river route was pointed out to him, time and again, as being the most preferred and pleasurable of alternatives.

Though admittedly a bit slower, for the Yawjun River meandered widely and was subject to occasional storms, the magnificent scenery along its course fostered (cultivated, nourished) every scholar's, poet's and artist's soul and the comfortable lodgings provided by the charter boats more than compensated for this slight inconvenience.

 Nevetsecnuac, for the sake of expediency, opted instead for the faster land route and, late that afternoon, at the outskirts of town, at a secluded spot behind the hill, further down the road, he allowed the mare to graze briefly on the tall, lush grass, as he once more changed back into his regular traveling clothes then secured the scholar's garb in the luggage bundle behind his saddle.

03- NEVETSECNUAC

After two days journey, once more ignoring the last well-meaning innkeeper’s counsel, (a short, plump, middle aged man called Huisun, who had taken a liking to Nevetsecnuac and had genuinely tried his best to deter him from taking the hazardous course as this was the worst season for such a daring undertaking), Nevetsecnuac, digressed from the main highway, to continue (via) by way of short-cut route.

The direction he was headed traversed the most dangerous Yokono Mountains, a range of peaks of various heights, some of which towered to touch the Heavens, that stretched away far to the south-east. Eventually the trail would meet up with the more frequented, safer, and civilized roundabout route by the river.  By rights, Huisun's apprehension was well (founded) warranted for, even in a good season, the path was marred (marked) by the skeletal remains of those, however competent, which had chosen not to pay heed to the warnings and were never seen or heard from again.

Naturally the locals who lived in the shadows of the Yokono range firmly believed in the superstition of the evil, wayward mountain spirits that dwelt in the abundant caves and deep caverns.

These nefarious spirits supposedly perpetually preyed on the unsuspecting souls of travelers, driving them to madness then suicide, if they per chance, miraculously survived (avoided succumbing to) nature’s numerous lethal traps and the predatory beasts that in profusion, inhabited the mountain slopes.

 Accordingly, the Mountain God of the Yokono, Choron, received many offerings from those who lived at the edge of the foothills and was often called upon to preserve the inhabitants from various malefactions which they perceived may, at any time, descend upon them from the mountains to inflict injury and spread terror.

04- MONSTERS AND MALEVOLENT SPIRITS

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The first leg (part) of this journey was uneventful (without incidence), even tedious for Nevetsecnuac, then, with a drastic change in the weather, gale winds swept across the foothills as incessant, torrential rains lasting for weeks on end, drummed on his head; the deluge washing the slopes clean and creating mud traps and fatal rockslides.

Despite these (occurring) scores of obstacles in his path, Nevetsecnuac relentlessly pushed on, endeavoring to cover as much ground as possible on any given day. Subsequently he reached the segment where the towering range on both sides hastened the dusk. Here the overhead broad-leafed trees shielded Nevetsecnuac from most of the downpours, but this was a mixed blessing for they also enveloped him in an oppressive darkness in which the air increasingly grew stagnant.

In this eerie, foreboding atmosphere, due to copious annual precipitation, the soft rocks of the mountainside had been carved into grotesque shapes, while lush green vegetation habitually choked the already precarious paths.

Underneath, an abundance of creepy, crawly insects, legless, slippery reptiles with fangs and venomous amphibians (frogs) posed yet another sort of danger. Meanwhile, the multitude of dark caves, crevices slimy with moss, and the huge, forbidding caverns that held wild, predatory inhabitants frequently tested Nevetsecnuac's prowess when he had to contest with them for the night's shelter (accommodations), though by preference, he avoided inflicting on them any serious harm.

 Incredibly, after the next stretch, the topography, and the atmosphere both underwent a drastic change; there were now plenitude of gushing streams, abundant picturesque, roaring waterfalls crowned in mist, tingling, gurgling brooks in their plenitude intermingling with the drumming rain and obsessive wind.

Periodic streaks of sunlight brushed, the dancing, fleshy, provocative leaves, swaying, tempting branches in a lugubrious symphony enrapturing one in a magical air, delighting the senses to their fullest and giving one, in fact, a false sense of security and serenity.

The ever-present dangers from the majestic, possessive Yokono mountain peaks towering overhead, meanwhile, perpetually glowering, threatened to at any given moment to inflict havoc on the unsuspecting, lulled trespasser who dared to violate this sanctimonious ground.

With so many treacherous traps just waiting to claim him in a wink, could Nevetsecnuac be expected to escape them all, unscathed?  Hence, in one moment's inattention because of a spooked horse, Nevetsecnuac (while leading the horse), nearly did in fact succumb to the ravenous appetite of a precipitous drop.

 One catastrophe begetting another, that same instant the horse's hind left leg got trapped in a collapsed crevice, Nevetsecnuac losing his footing, had slipped on the moss covering the just then loosened rock and unavoidably went right over the edge. He managed to slow the speed of his descent and arrested (halted) his further plunge, by grasping at the roots and vines hanging from the top, till he eventually secured his footing on a protruding rock ledge. Tethered precariously (by still holding the roots), he looked down to (see) catch the accompanying mossy rocks and clumps of muddy earth, as well as the ridge, in a blink disappear into the hazy abyss.

Up above the spooked mare trotted and neighed uneasily as she tried to liberate her hind leg from the entrapment in the solid segment of the path, unwittingly however, creating an extra dire situation, by loosening (dislodging) still more earth and rock.

With the skill and agility of a monkey, Nevetsecnuac, in nick of time hauled himself up to safety to dispel the blindfolded mount's fears, before the beast did irrevocable damage to herself. 

A careful examination of the rescued leg revealed the mare's ankle bones to be intact, though the muscle and skin around it was slightly swollen from bruising and superficial lacerations. Nevetsecnuac tended to this best he could.

Later, as Nevetsecnuac and mare, ascended to greater heights, the unusually sweltering temperatures and torrential rains created a permanent miasma that, compounded with the thin air consistent with these high altitudes, further constrained the lungs to the degree of belaboring their advance.  Sorely missing the cold, refreshing temperatures, Nevetsecnuac looked up longingly to the summits in the hope of tracing the expected margin of snow, but his vision was obscured by the crowning mist that descended all the way down to converge with the rising fog and steam from the mantled valleys below.  Nevertheless, tirelessly advancing along the middle ground in this ambiance, if it was not for the stony, thorny path, Nevetsecnuac could have quite easily imagined that he was treading on clouds in mid-air.

                                            ~                                       

 Dealing with the ever-present persistent dangers from the roaming predatory beasts and slithering serpents (or poisonous reptilians underbrush) by day and nocturnal animals, birds (bats) and biting insects at night, eventually on a descending course, Nevetsecnuac trailed the narrow ledge that had been carved into the mountain with one side having the rising peaks decked with ancient, towering trees with huge, wide trunks with heights reaching up to the clouds while on the other side again a steep precipice dropping to a bottomless abyss.  Despite this, leading the blindfolded horse by the reins, he successfully negotiated these countless perilous turns this way and that, to reach the more favorable plateau.

Advancing at this more lenient segment, once on a rare cloudless day, in the absence of rain, mist and fog, Nevetsecnuac, with unobstructed vision, witnessed the unfolding glory of the most magnificent, panoramic, breathtaking view that had all along eluded him.  Looking beyond the frolicking, rainbow-colored birds; Nevetsecnuac elatedly then, had traced the now visible river Yawjun carving a snaking vein through a deep valley thousands of feet down.

The worst part of the journey finally behind them, in this more moderate climate, man and mount trailed in more leisured pace the stony pathway flanked by thick vegetation and strange, broad-leafed trees; thus enjoying, the branches bedecked with budding blossoms swaying gently in the breeze that fanned them. The delicate fragrant air softly caressing his face, Nevetsecnuac, delightfully lent an ear to the melodious thrilling of songbirds as they were busily building nests. Fully appreciating nature's exquisite beauty, which enchanted and enthralled his senses, he paused frequently to assimilate it all as his eyes observed in delight the industrious, buzzing bees happily converging on the pistils of blossoms, the flippant, fluttering, frail butterflies contesting in beauty with the host flowers, and the droning, intrusive insects encircling the air in peaceful coexistence with the furry, fuzzy, frolicking animals in full celebration of life.

In the ensuing days his heart burst in excitement, his head in fanciful clouds, Nevetsecnuac bounced his steps joyfully on the petal strewn pathway that gradually straightened, flattened, and widened as it converged with the more moderate route (trail, segment, road).

The undulated slopes surrounding this dell hemmed in by jagged peaks in parts were densely forested, portending still a multitude of concealed dangers.  However, this did not raise the least concern in Nevetsecnuac. Nearing the end of his dried rations, he scavenged for some delectable mushrooms, wild berries and dug up some edible roots for sustenance. Intoxicated with nature's beauty for the first time since he had embarked on this long, arduous journey, he had only now permitted himself the luxury of such serendipity.

 In that brief respite he had ceased to exist, the all-encompassing, enchanting nature possessed his soul and his weightless body floated on the warm, fragrant breeze.

07- NEVETSECNUAC

The colors, enhanced by the sun's brilliant rays, grew in intensity brighter and brighter still till he was almost blinded.  Indistinct patterns of all shapes and forms danced next, in front of his eyes as swirling lines created by swaying branches and the flight patterns of insects simultaneously drew iridescent, incoherent messages for him in the air.

 Dizziness overcoming him, he reclined spread eagle on the plush, wet, multicolored carpet and, for a moment, closed his eyes in repose.

But no sooner had he done so than he felt the cold, sharp edge of a blade pressed firmly against his bare throat.  Opening his eyes with a start, he saw before him the glaring face of Zonar.

"We've some unfinished business, you and I," he sneered icily, his one knee pressed firmly, squarely on Nevetsecnuac's chest.

"I said we'll be meeting again.  How is it you're still caught unaware?" he asked, mockingly and, throwing his head back, laughed uproariously before answering his own question…"But perhaps not this early, eh?"

 

(END OF SECTION 5)