Chapter 2
Zuhair opened his eyes. His first impression was that he was still in a vacuum. He was in a capsule filled with some kind of substance. Scanning this liquid with his mind, he realized that it was an unusual and life-giving solution. It contained life-giving energy that gave strength, healed wounds, and cured diseases. Misak had probably been in this capsule for a long time. And only this pressure chamber and this solution kept him alive. The capsule lid silently opened as soon as the sensors detected movement. The liquid gradually went into the lower compartments of the capsule through hidden pipes. The first thing Zuhair felt, rising from his bed, was a strong pressure. He realized that it was the force of gravity. The gravity here was about twice as strong. He needed to get used to the new body. His breathing quickened. The oxygen saturation of the air was not what he was used to. He began to synchronize with Misak's spiritual perception, and with the natural differences around him. Gradually, his body gained lightness and came under Zuhair's full control. He moved his limbs and instantly felt the circulation of energy around his hands. His vision, sense of smell, and other senses were unusually sharp. He saw in two perspectives and could visually see the flows of ether, its slow swirling and condensation in the air. The local air was saturated with it. And Zuhair began to absorb this energy, feeling his meridians and bones in his body strengthen. He looked around and began to study the surroundings. He was in a small, by local standards, modestly but comfortably furnished room, or rather a cell with a high vaulted ceiling. It was quite bright, although there was only one window in the room. The soft light was emitted by the ether. The semicircular and high window opening was ajar, and signs of a warm sunny day broke through into the room. There was also a bed for sleeping, at the head of which were many vessels with powders and dried herbs. His initial gaze cleared, and he began to examine the space around him. At the foot of the pedestal where the capsule was located, he saw a girl in a long green dress, resting her head on the arm of a chair and dozing. From the sudden movement, the girl raised her head and her sad eyes stared at Zuhair. Getting up from her seat, she bowed. She had long black hair and large brown eyes with dark circles around them, clear signs of tears and lack of sleep. Her head was framed by a modest rim of dark jasper. On her forehead was a small tattoo of a clover leaf, meaning that she was from a low social class.
--- Young master. You have awakened.?. We had lost hope. Healer Hasin Sagib said that you would leave us within two days and nothing could be done. --- said the girl, still standing bowed.
Judging by the fragments of Misak's memory, this was Falya, a young servant in the large ancestral home of the Manshur clan. The Manshur clan was one of the five clans in the maskhab of Lachin. The maskhab of Lachin was a maskhab of geneticists, carriers of ancient knowledge. Knowledge passed down through generations, increased over time by descendants. It was a great power. Geneticists created worlds and peoples. The maskhab itself was located in the southeast of the vast continent of Siab, which stretched almost halfway around the Neberun sphere. From the memory and mind of Misak, Zuhair knew that Falya was one of the few who really treated him well and was truly worried about his fate. And among these few was his grandfather, the current ancestor and head of the Manshur clan, the venerable Kumus. Zuhair gradually mastered Misak's memory and began to understand what was happening. This world was a world of gods and immortals, where a rigid hierarchy had ruled for hundreds of thousands of years. And most likely, it was this social structure that strengthened this race, which had lived without wars and self-destruction for a huge amount of time. Lanurians, as they called themselves. And they all served the supreme god Lanu. Highly developed culture and technology were strongly intertwined. And if you add to this the physical and spiritual data of the Lanurians, then it was a great race. It was the Lanurians who were responsible for the catastrophe on his home planet. Maybe not directly, maybe indirectly, but they were involved. These reflections were the beginning of the merging of the memories of both, Zuhair and Misak. The descendants of the Manshur clan were earthly immortals, second only to heavenly immortals and higher gods. And this vertical of estates and ranks had been unshakable for many millennia. The Guardian also felt Zuhair's confusion.
--- Now you must concentrate. Your aura may give you away. --- the Guardian warned him.
His main goal was to comprehend the Manuscript, and for this, if necessary, he was ready to fly around the entire galaxy. But the Guardian could not reveal the essence while he was too weak. Probably, to accept the Truth, he had to become stronger physically and spiritually. Zuhair came to the conclusion that problems should be solved as they arise. First of all, it was necessary to solve the problem with Misak. The poisoning and illness were not accidental. He was poisoned gradually and deliberately. The poison that Misak was poisoned with was invincible by local standards. But Zuhair knew a lot about poisons, and the fact that he possessed the skills to cultivate energy from a completely different world helped to neutralize this poison. And with his current knowledge, he began to guess who needed to eliminate Misak.
--- Thank you, Falya, as you can see, I'm fine. Where is grandfather? – asked Misak—Zuhair.
--- The venerable ancestor Kumus was so worried about you that he raised all family connections just to save you from death. He even brought spellcasters from distant Sholia. But no one could understand the cause of your illness. There were even great healers from the continent. But no one could make an accurate diagnosis. And it is a great miracle that you still woke up. The venerable Kumus Sagib was here recently, but I persuaded him to rest and most likely the head is at his place. I can inform him about you, my lord, right now.
--- No need, Falya, give me clothes, you are tired of worrying about me. You can retire to your place. --- Zuhair said calmly.
The maskhab of Lachin was unfamiliar to Zuhair. Relying only on the sea of Misak's mind and memory, he began to gradually understand and perceive his current position. During his lifetime, Zuhair was at the third kadam of the heavenly level of strength and with spiritual strength at the level of Comprehension. But Misak brought his body only to the second kadam of the earthly level, which was far behind the strength that Zuhair at least hoped for. Strength always decided everything. Strength was the basis of the continent and the stellar space of the Universe. You need to become stronger in order to comprehend the secret of the Manuscript and understand what happened on Arat. To find out the secret of his origin. Who are his parents. In this, he and Misak were very similar. He was also an orphan, like Zuhair. To understand Orhan's act and deal with the maskhab of the Guardians of the Cleansing Fire. The energy ethers in space formed the force that a person could use, increasing his level and position in society. Zuhair once studied an ancient scroll, which said that ancient people could not use the Power of Ether. And that they were mortal. Levels, kadams, spiritual strength, all this was alien to ancient people. They relied on technology, and development went in that direction. Zuhair suddenly realized that the catastrophe might have been man-made. He remembered the house, remembered his home planet Arat.
Zuhair grew up in a mountain settlement on the edge of the vast and majestic continent of Faras. As a teenager, he was bought out by the maskhab of the Guardians of the Cleansing Fire, offering his father an insignificant amount in the form of stones of medium purity. His father was a tanner, like his grandfather. They were mortal, like everyone in the village. Representatives of various maskhabs wandered around the continent in search of talents and nuggets, which Zuhair turned out to be. Of course, this was a chance to somehow change life. Zuhair was not offended by his father and even then understood that strength plays an important role. Of all the young people in the village, only he had particles of energy channels in the meridians, where it was possible to develop spiritual strength. This predisposition to the Power of Ether excited Zuhair, which ultimately became the beginning of his path to perfection. He remembered how, before the road, his father revealed the secret that Zuhair had entered the family as a baby and under strange circumstances. He did not have time to ask anything, he remembered his father's eyes when he told him about it. Remembered his confusion. Promising that he would visit them soon, leaving behind his mountain settlement and with it his father, mother and sister, he began to pack for the road. Zuhair went to the maskhab of the Guardians of the Cleansing Fire, where he met Orhan.
Zuhair, dressed in light green robes that Falya brought him, went out into the courtyard of his cell. Hearing a measured hum, he looked at the light orange sky and saw a huge ship flying over him. The sky above his head was pierced by rare and bright threads, sparkling as energy passed through them. It was an energy shield that the shield keepers had maintained for many centuries. There was even a clan of shield keepers who passed on their knowledge through offspring. Neberum has faced the problem of survival in space many times. And only this shield, developed by ancestors, restrained the threat of the planet's destruction. A rare metal, arihalk, was required to maintain the shield. And in search of this metal, expeditionary teams plowed the depths of space, conducting reconnaissance. They were also on Arat. But there was not enough arihalk on Arat for the Lanurians. Finding a planet with the necessary resource, they could mine it and send it to Neberum. What happened to Arat after the arrival of the Lanurians. Zuhair added another question to his piggy bank. It takes time and he will definitely figure everything out. And now he came face to face with a young guy slightly older than himself and realized that it was the son of his uncle, the second elder of the clan, Kismir Sagib. It seems that his cousin's name was Hufiyaz, and this brother was clearly disappointed with the healthy appearance of his relative, but he tried not to show it. Tall and large with a dark bronze tint of the body and a hairless head, Hufiyaz was at the fourth kadam of the development of internal strength. His developed musculature broke through the gray-green dress.
--- Misak. My brother..you recovered so quickly.. I'm glad for you..--- Hufiyaz said calmly and with a smile. But a predatory fire burned in his eyes. Zuhair felt a change in his relative's mood and began to vaguely guess that things were not so smooth in the venerable family. Hufiyaz was clearly going to his abode, just to make sure of his death.
--- Brother Hufi. I hasten to please you, I am recovering and my illness is gradually receding from me. --- Zuhair said, smiling and spreading his arms.
--- Praise be to the great Lanu, so it's time for us to prepare for the ritual, brother. --- said Hufiyaz and added: --- I hope you will be ready.
Having said this, he turned around and left.
Rituals were performed for many reasons and for different reasons, but Zuhair could only guess about this ritual. Ships of various sizes and purposes floated across the sky, slowly cutting through the waves of ether like butter. The firmament was framed by two moons, and Zuhair knew that there were four in total. One of the moons was closer, and he could see a network of lights on the surface.
Leaving his courtyard, he crossed a small stream and entered the inner courtyard of the clan. Zuhair found himself in a huge palace square, where there was a garden, which ended through an alley with a huge pyramid. Even the lush green trunks of trees and vegetation of unprecedented beauty could not hide the greatness of this structure, which was visible above everything. Passing through the alley and scaring away a couple of peacocks with bright tails, he headed towards the wide staircase that led to the palace chambers in the upper tiers of the pyramid. Bronze guards with tattoos on their foreheads in the form of a vortex and with short rods, at the main staircase, seeing the young master, greeted him with a bow as a sign of respect. Zuhair entered his grandfather's chambers, passing through the throne room, under the ceiling of which a system of cosmic planets in miniature slowly swirled and lived its own life.
--- Be very careful, this man is strong and his level of strength will be able to expose you. --- the Guardian's inner voice was heard.
Entering his grandfather's chambers, he saw a thin old man with white hair and a gray beard in a small light turban in a meditative pose surrounded by a stream of water mixed with the energy of the Ether. His ancestor hung in the air and meditated over the pedestal, in which the energy was concentrated. It seemed as if the ether itself supported his body. The waves caused small lightning bolts. Seeing his grandson, he was amazed with joy and could not believe his eyes. Stopping the meditation, the old man moved from his place towards the guy.
--- My grandson! My dear Misak, you have awakened?!. You are on your feet?!..I can't believe my eyes..praise be to heaven..--- the old man shouted and carefully hugged the guy. Zuhair felt energy waves throughout his body. The old man probed his grandson's body with spiritual power. And suddenly, calmly pushing the young man away from himself, he released an aura of incredible power and pressure, which Zuhair felt the cracking of bones in his legs. Looking at the guy, Kumus said in a serious tone:
--- You are not Misak.. Who are you?.