The Secret of The Arcanum

By Saranya Devaraj

The shop for ancient artefacts caught Rushabh’s attention. At the counter, was a bald old man with an overgrown long white beard, holding magnifying lens in his hand. He was repairing the screws of a small locket. He did not seem to care about Rushabh’s presence. Looking around, his eyes fell on the painting that hung on the wall. The torn edges, faded colours made him assume that it was years old. He went quite near to observe, as it piqued his interest. The highly elevated mountains, tall constructions, water surrounded palace, made him wonder, “What place is this?”The old man yelled, “Stop touching that!”With disappointment, he distracted himself to the shelves below. He was amazed to see many new things which were made of both wood and metal. He thought he could buy something. When he searched his pocket, all he had was the money he made from selling wool. He looked at the 2 panas (coins of ancient India) in his hand that were worth 3 days of their food. His sister’s furious face flashed before his eyes.“It’s been an hour. Are you going to buy anything or not?” said the annoyed old man.“Yes, but this is all I have”, hesitantly Rushabh dropped 2 panas on the counter.“With these few pennies, you could afford only this”, the old man placed a compass on the desk.When he held that round compass, a weird sense encircled him. He noticed the tiny details on the compass. The old, tarnished compass was hollow, with a blue crystal rolling inside. On the front, it had eight intertwined sharp pointers, and he saw many letters that were carved in a circular manner. He paused when he heard a faint chime the crystal made when it hit the keyhole at the top.On his return journey, all Rushabh could think of was his sister, Avyukta. She was seventeen, seven years older than him. She was a pragmatic person. His only kin. He had known how mad she will be, if she learnt that her brother have spent their hard earned money on a mere compass.At home, Avy was worried that Rushabh has not returned even after the dusk. She became restless. She was waiting at the door. She was relieved when she saw him coming from afar. She could sense something was bothering him. “What got you so long? Have you got the money?” She questioned him.“I bought this”, he showed her the compass.“A COMPASS! Is it that hard for you to act responsibly, at least once,” she snapped at him.“Avy, listen. I know I’m wrong. B-But,”“I am done with all the nonsenses. I cannot tolerate anymore. Return this and get the money back tomorrow.”“Have you ever tried to listen to me? I know you raised me, but you are not my mother. Do you think I am stupid? Yes, I am. And stop acting like you always care”, he rushed out holding back his tears.Avyukta was too shocked on hearing those words from her beloved brother. She leaned against the wall, exhausted and waited for her brother to come back.Meanwhile, Rushabh felt weak and couldn’t control his tears rolling down his cheek. He sat under tree, felt ashamed to go home. Then he was startled to hear a hush coming from behind the bushes. There came his friend Manu laughing hard by stomping his feet on the ground. He became silent when saw the irritated look on Rushabh’s face.“My dear friend, what happened?” questioned Manu in a mocking voice.Rushabh felt embarrassed to talk about what had happened. But when he saw the unwavering attention of Manu on him, he had no choice. He explained. Manu wanted to comfort his sad friend when saw Rushabh shed tears. “We are going to my house. Tomorrow our first task is to return that compass and get back the money. You can apologise to Avy after that. I know she is not petty”, said Manu and dragged Rushabh who stood there expressionless to his home.The next morning, the both ate the rice porridge prepared by Manu’s mother and left the house early for the five hours long journey.Manu asked, “Where is that compass? I want to know how mesmerising it would be that you spent all your money.”Rushabh searched in his pocket. He was frustrated that he left the compass in his home. Now they had to take a detour which might delay their plan. He was so scared to see his sister. They reached Rushabh’s house after an hour walk. Rushabh hesitated for a moment to go inside. Seeing this, Manu entered the house while shouting, “Avy, look who is here, your so-so brother.” He even faked his laugh to ease the tension. But paused to see the empty lifeless dark house. He hurried outside. Bothered by the tensed look oh Manu’s face Rushabh made a quick entrance. An uneasy feeling curled in his stomach when felt Avyukta’s absence. The place looked exactly the same when he left the house. The towel he threw yesterday at Avy, the earthen bowls which used for cooking were still on the fire stove and my puppy which she hated was sleeping beneath the rack. It was as if there lived no person named Avyukta.“Rushabh, look. Blood”, said Manu while trembling. They trailed the blood droplets that were scattered on the floor. Rushabh’s breath stopped when he saw the compass behind the door.“Is this the compass? But it doesn’t look like one to me”, Manu took that in hand and observed. “There is red crystal inside. BEAUTIFUL.”A terror flashed on Rushabh’s face. He snatched the compass from Manu’s hand. He even failed to blink his eyes. He said, “When I bought this, the compass had a blue crystal and there were eight pointers not four. Something happened. See, the blood stains on these pointers. Maybe my sister had disappeared.” He threw the compass angrily on the floor.Manu said while picking that compass, “That’s absurd. We have to search for her. Maybe she went somewhere nearby.”They searched everywhere. All their efforts ended in vain. Hearing the same thing since morning made Rushabh furious. He believed everything was his fault. As they were exhausted, they sat under a tree.“Rushabh, why don’t we go back to the shop and ask that old man? Maybe we can know whether this compass has anything to do with Avy’s disappearance.”Rushabh’s face looked serious. After a minute of deep thought, “Yes, we have to. Because we are left with no options”, said determined Rushabh.It was past noon when they reached the shop. When he inquired the old man about the compass, the old man said, “An unfamiliar wanderer. He looked very nervous. He needed money in exchange for this. I had no intention in buying a mere compass. When I rejected, the words he said to me convinced me. He even blabbered that this compass is an old valuable treasure that many people are dying to own. A complete nuisance. To quickly get rid of that man, I offered him a few pennies.”They gazed at the compass. They realised there must be something far beyond than they imagined. They decided to find that wanderer in order to solve the mystery.“Do you know where he went?” asked Manu in an urgent tone.“Not exactly. But I saw him taking the south route.” Then the old man went back to his work ignoring Manu.Manu remembered that the south route led to the foot hills of Mount Kesh. It is one of the tallest mountain located in outskirts of the village Hariwati. Since Manu’s father is a Vaidya (Ayurvedic practitioner) he known about Mount Kesh like the back of his palm. He had always went with his father to collect the medicinal herbs.They mustered up the courage for the adventurous journey that awaits them and took the south route. The pavement ended with a dense green forest that stood straight like a wall. The deep silence of thick dark forest feared the ten year olds. Manu’s stomach growled. They were tired and hungry at the same time. Rushabh lids grew heavier in exhaustion. “Open your eyes. There might be food in the waystation. I have heard that people usually stay there during their hike. We can sleep there tonight and leave early tomorrow”, said Manu while carrying the weak Rushabh.Their faces glow brighter than the evening moonlight when they saw the fire-lit waystation. They were amused to see different types of travellers. The curious friends forgot everything when they saw the hot steamed food that was fresh from the stove decorated on the table. They have never expected their dinner to be this ravishing in the middle of the forest. They stuffed the food in their faces as fast as they could. For the people there, it appeared like the boys haven’t got any meal for days. When Manu was acting hilarious, making the people around him to laugh heartily, a strange thing caught his attention. A sage in his eighties, sitting at the corner of the room stared fiercely at Rushabh. Seeing his friend enjoying the dinner happily after depressing events, Manu decided not to spoil Rushabh’s mood and tried to ignore the weird man. They went out after finishing the satisfying meal.“I am a bad brother. First, I made my sister disappear. It’s been a day but we know nothing about her. It feels weird that I ate happily. How are we going to find the person who sold the compass? We haven’t found a single clue.”Rushabh was depressed more when he saw a completely silent Manu. When they thought everything was out of control, they was startled to see that fierce weird sage standing before them. Rushabh tried to hide the compass in his pocket.“Give me that”, the sage ordered. Rushabh was frightened by the cold fiery attitude. He handed the compass to the sage.“Do you know what this is?” asked Manu curiously.“Why not? But before that you have to tell me how you have this?” questioned the sage with an expressionless face.After hearing the explanation of the boys, the sage uttered carefully. “This is not a compass. This is an ARCANUM. I have heard that this was key living source of the people of Svargakshetra. You know...” before finishing his sentence the sage sensed something ominous. He grabbed the Arcanum from Rushabh’s hand and urged the boys to hide under the rack where the owner of the waystation stored firewood. They were scared to death on hearing loud screams that echoed in their ears. They squeezed their eyes tight in fear. They came out when there was dead silence everywhere. The scene was a real horror. The place which was filled with laughers a moment before is now like a crime scene. The sage ran over and grabbed the boys by their hands and rushed deep into the forests.“What happened? Who are those people?” cried Manu.“They are Vesperans. A group that values stealth, precision, and strategy in their missions.”“Were they here to rob from people?” Rushabh asked in a stern voice.“No, Vesperans were here for the Arcanum. We should get out of here quickly.”The boys were so confused yet they followed him. They couldn’t sleep all night. They hiked all-round the forest and reached the other side of the Mount Kesh by the dawn.“How are we going to find my sister? It has been a week. What if she was in danger?” said worried Rushabh.“There exists a place Shashtagriha, an abode for ancient scriptures. My guru once said that place holds answers for any questions. We have to go there to know if we want to untangle the mystery about the Arcanum.” Manu stared deeply into the sage. When the sage saw the bothered Manu’s face, “Any questions?” he asked calmly.“Who are you? How come you know everything? Why do you want to help us? You could have left us after the Vesperans’ attack.” Manu felt light after spouting the questions that weighed his mind.“All I can say is I have an unfinished job to be done in Svargakshetra.” The sage ignored the keen faces and stood straight dusting his towel. A vague behaviour to imply the need to continue their journey. They have been walking for four hours continuously. They boys fell on the ground as their leg went numb in exhaustion. They were surprised to see the sage who looked as fresh as new leaf. They wondered what would be his real age.They were standing at the bank of the river Rudranadi. “How are we going to cross this furious river?” puzzled Manu. Rushabh let out sigh losing hope. The sage went near the giant tree and turned around to see the glaring ten year olds. He poked his walking cane inside the trunk. The boys were stunned to see the rising rocks from the river. They accompanied the sage and crossed the river. The words never escaped their mouth because of the amusement.The trio stood before the cave. “This is the Shashtagriha.” His eyes glistened when he said that.“A cave?” said disappointed Manu.“Are we going in?” Rushabh asked a straight question.“The Arcanum”, the sage extended his hand. When Rushabh handed over it, he threw the Arcanum inside the cave.Manu screamed. “What have you done? We have lost it.” The boys were surprised the behaviour of sage. A sudden whoosh caught their attention. The doors that rose to the sky opened.“Where is the cave? Is this place even real?” asked Manu while glancing around. Rushabh felt uneasy during the whole journey. Unlike Manu, he never initiated the conversation unless required. Even though Rushabh was always a believer, he doubted the timely arrival of sage. He felt like he was a puppet in someone’s show. He noticed every actions of the sage. But his gut feeling said the contradictory, “NEVER BELIEVE THAT PERSON.” Rushabh asked the sage about Arcanum that he dropped.The sage felt the anger in Rushabh’s voice. “That is the key to this abode. Don’t worry, I will return it to you.” He smirked.Rushabh felt a deep prick in his heart.Manu felt everything magical. He ran towards every statute and touched with excitement. His heart was racing in joy, the sweet air savoured his senses. The moment they entered the central gallery of Shashtagriha, the boys were taken back by exquisite sight. The place carried a grandeur aura, with numerous books and scriptures arranged on their shelves.“You both stay here. I will come back.” The sage left the boys alone and took the stairs in a flash.“Manu, something is wrong. We have to find about Arcanum before the sage arrives.” Rushabh plowed through a pile of books. Manu searched around and found a book ‘Jadu Paddhati’ and it had the picture of Arcanum on it. He wanted to show the book to his friend but he saw Rushabh taking the stairs. He ignored Rushabh and read, “Arcanum is the celestial key that was designed by the Yantra-Kalaakaars (Magical Device Craftsmen) of Svargakshetra, a city that floated above the sea Mahodadhi. They placed a fragment of fallen meteor inside the locket…” interrupted by Rushabh.“Rushabh, look what I have found. This is…”“Hurry, we have to find that Arcanum. That man is weird. I followed him. I saw him talking to the mirror. I was dumbfounded when I saw a stranger inside the mirror. He even said that everything was under control and their mission will be completed once he found the key. What key do you think he was talking about?”“I think I know what he was searching for”, said Manu while staring at the picture of Arcanum in the book. Rushabh gasped when he saw the picture. They realised there was missing part to the Arcanum.The boys ran outside the gallery to find the Arcanum. The eagle that came out of nowhere chased them. The terrified ten year olds rushed out of the Shashtagriha. They can see the fierce hungry eagle in its high-pitched, shrill “keek-keek-keek” racing towards them. They thought their final moments were near. But the eagle stopped before them. They were speechless. Manu pinched himself to check whether it was dream or not. The eagle dropped the Arcanum. The next thing that happened was what Rushabh never dreamed of. The eagle talked.“Take this and run. And never lose that book. It has all answers for your questions. But hurry, your sister is in danger. You have to find her before the sunrise”. It flew away.Rushabh grabbed the Arcanum and shouted at Manu to run when the saw the Vesperans jumping out from the windows of the central gallery.They ran fast. As they were difficult to catch their breath, the duo sat behind the tree. They began to run when they loud rustles of the leaves because of the gushing midnight air.“I can’t take a step anymore. I think I am going to die”, said the exhausted Manu.“No, Manu. We have to find a safe place for hiding.”Rushabh noticed the book. The picture on the Arcanum was glowing. “I think we are going live” he said while looking at the underground pavement. They hid inside until there was no sign of the Vesperans. The book was still glowing. Manu opened the book and read the glowing words loud. “They placed a fragment of fallen meteor inside the locket to hold the city above the sea. The fragment was shaped into an ocean blue crystal. The Arcanum choses it’s owner who can hear the faint chime. It fulfils the wishes of that person. There was only one person who owned the Arcanum, the king of Svargakshetra. He was a divine brave ruler who wished for the well- flourished city where people lived happily. Many people who have learned about the majestic valuable treasure tried to steal the Arcanum. What they have not known is the curse behind it. If a person touches the Arcanum with evil and selfish thoughts, the eight pointers on the Arcanum will the flesh of the sinister and if their blood falls on the meteor, that person will be burned to ash…”  “I have heard that chime”, said Rushabh in shocked voice.“As per this book, if a person with evil intentions touch this Arcanum, they will be burned. In that case, why nothing has happened to that sage?” Manu was confused.“Maybe it has lost its powers with no key.”“If it not magical anymore, why Avy disappeared?” Manu asked.“I think I can figure what may have happened approximately. Somehow Avy’s blood fell on the crystal. That made the crystal change colour. What I don’t know is how she disappeared.” Rushabh felt bad for his sister.“Rushabh, what if she was burned too” Manu screamed.“Think, Manu. Have we ever saw ash in my house?” Manu nodded signing NO.“We have to find that key in order to make the Arcanum work again, Manu”While Rushabh was racking his brain, Manu asked Rushabh to keep the Arcanum on the book.“You are the owner of this Arcanum. You heard that chime when you bought this from the old man. That means it worked even without the key for you. So now wish for the key.” Manu said in a deep voice.“I need to find my sister. She was my only family. I have never cared for her. I have always been a burden for her. Yet she loved me and cared for me. I want to see her. I wish I can find the key of this Arcanum.” Rushabh’s welled up in tears.The quick bright light blinded their eyes. They couldn’t see anything. Meanwhile, the Vesperans noticed the bright ray of light that rose high to the sky. The sage shouted at the group, “Follow the light before it vanish. QUICK!”“Rushabh, SEE YOUR HAND. IT’S THE KEY.” Manu jumped in extreme delight.The boys came out from pavement cheerfully but was shocked to see the Vesperans. This was the first time they met those attackers directly. Vesperans gave off a dark aura. They were dressed in black fitted vests and carried a machete in their hand. One person among them talked. “Master, they have made our job easy. Once we get that treasure, we can kill them”Rushabh’s eyes searched for that master. He felt betrayed when he saw the sage. Manu face reddened in anger. He wanted to fool the sage. “We never said we will not give this to you. Why don’t you try to touch this?” he nudged Rushabh.“Haa, here comes the wise one. You want me dead, isn’t?” The sage understood the boy’s plan.When the sage came near Rushabh, Manu pushed him with all his might. He grabbed Rushabh and ran hastily. “Rushabh, we can’t escape only by running. Quick, wish.”“I-I wish we can go to Svargakshetra.” Rushabh wished. He saw the Vesperans were chasing them like a mad dog. His heartbeat echoed in his ears as they approach them faster.“Why is not working? I WANT TO GO TO SVARGAKSHETRA!” he cried out from his lungs.A magical enlightened portal opened ahead of them. They were hesitant to enter the portal. Seeing Vesperans, they changed their mind. They jumped inside.Manu felt like his head was spinning. He was worried when he saw the collapsed Rushabh. He shook Rushabh hard to wake him. He was relieved only after his friend gained consciousness.Rushabh, “Where are we?”“Maybe in Svargakshetra.” Manu could never hide his excitement.They glanced around. The tall carved pillars were encrusted with thick algal bloom as if that place was under water for a long time. The arch had the structure of eagle on it. They thought it was a weird coincidence. They went ahead to see the tomb that looked majestic and divine. They were surprised to see the carving of Arcanum on the wall of the tomb.“I think Avy will appear if we keep the Arcanum in its place.” Manu pointed at the tomb.When Rushabh went near the tomb, he was interrupted by the fiery sage. “I have never once thought my quest will be fulfilled by two ten year village boys.” He laughed hysterically. “Only a fool would want to keep that at the tomb. Do you even know what that is? How many years I have suffered to find this Arcanum? Do you know how many people I killed?”Rushabh tightened his grip on the Arcanum. Seeing this, the sage chuckled. “Have you ever thought why I left you both alive? I saw you at the market. I was shocked to see you holding that Arcanum. I followed you. I was happy when you rushed out of your house after fighting with your sister. I thought that was my chance. But your sister, she spoiled everything. When I tried to grab the Arcanum from her, her hand was wounded by the pointers. Her blood fell on the crystal. The next moment she vanished right before my eyes. I decided to take the Arcanum and run away from that place. But what if I am disappeared too. So I made you as my pawn. And I succeeded. Now open that locket and hand over the crystal. I am going to rule the world. I will become the master of time.Every word that sage uttered made Rushabh’s blood pressure to rise. But he still haven’t found his sister. While he was in deep thought, he was brought back to the reality when Manu yelled at him. “Rushabh I have found Avy. But she became a statue. To break the curse, we need the sinister blood. Hurry! We don’t have time. The sun is going to rise soon.”Hearing that, Rushabh thought, “We have a sinister here.” He wanted to prove Avy that he was a responsible brother who loves her more than anything in the world. With deep determination, Rushabh ran towards the sage. But the sage caught him by his throat. Rushabh was strangled. He was of out if air as the sage’s grip tightened. Rushabh tried to remove that sly man’s hand. The sage took pleasure when he saw the wailing Rushabh. His manic laughter echoed in the Svargakshetra.The next moment, the sage fell on the ground. He coughed up the blood and curled up like a wilted worm. The blood spurted out and tainted the magical lost city. Rushabh saw his friend with tear-filled eyes. Manu threw the blood tainted arrow on the ground and hugged Rushabh tightly. Manu said, “Avy is there inside the porch. We have to revive her before the sunrise. Only a few minutes left. It will be dawn any time soon.” Manu urged Rushabh while picking up the arrow.They marched towards the porch. Rushabh added the droplet of sinister blood on the crystal and hung the locket around Avy’s neck. He knelt on the ground and prayed with sincerity. “I wish my sister could be alive again. I want my only family back.” He cried.Manu shook Rushabh in euphoria, “She is back. Look she is changing.” Rushabh softly touched Avy’s face while she revived from the statue. He hugged his sister and wept hard. “I thought you left me. I am sorry. It was all my fault.” Avyukta comforted her brother, wiped his tears and caressed his cheeks. When she saw Manu standing alone, she called him t join for the hug.“What is this place?” Avyukta asked in a confused tone.“A long story. We will tell you when we reach home.” The boys chuckled by looking at each other.They arrived near the tomb. “Manu, if we keep this here, how will we go home?” While they were discussing, he was startled by the landing of that majestic eagle.“You don’t have to keep that here. The Arcanum has only one master. That has always been you. You don’t have to give up what belongs to you. It doesn’t matter whether you are a ruler or a child. Remember, you are always YOU.” It left after bowing to Rushabh.Rushabh felt different. An ambiguous feeling circled him. Manu rushed Rushabh, “We have to go home.” Rushabh held the Arcanum in his hand and wished to go home.They woke up in their home. Holding their heads in their hands, Manu shouted, “Rushabh, why am I on ground?” Rushabh looked at Manu uncertainly.“Why are you guys sleeping here?” yelled Avyukta.“Do you remember anything?” Rushabh asked softly.“Why not? I remember you are not responsible enough. I remember scolding you every day. But why don’t you remember anything?” asked Avyukta in a cold voice.“Rushabh, enjoy fighting with your sister. I am going home now” said unbothered Manu.Rushabh understood that he was the only person who remember this adventurous journey. He stealthily went to backyard and locked at the Arcanum in his hand. “I wish the Arcanum could change into an ordinary locket.” He tied the locket with black thread around his neck. He chuckled and ran inside when he heard his lovely sister shouting his name.

By Saranya Devaraj