The Emerging Part I: Dream

Uxxok sits with his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees. His eyes are closed and his face is calm. His breathing is smooth and not even his shoulders seem to react to his gentle intakes and releases of breath.

Teqqc observes Uxxok from her chair in the corner of the room. She looks around the room, feeling Uxxok’s aura consume the space. She glances at her dresser opposite her next to the bed and the door leading out of the room.

Her glance returns to Uxxok. She concentrates on his calm features but knows just how angry they can become. She realizes Uxxok needs to express himself to someone before his anger kills him.

‘What did he experience in the underground?’ she wonders to herself for the hundredth time.

She attempts for a third time to connect to Uxxok’s meditative aura, but again, she is shut out.

‘And what is he so deep in meditation over?’ she wonders to herself for the tenth time.

Suddenly, Uxxok stirs and opens his eyes. His gaze falls upon Teqqc and he smiles briefly. Then, his frown overtakes his whole face.

“Still nothing?” Teqqc asks.

Uxxok shrugs, “Unfortunately. It is as if my mind is blocked somehow.”

Teqqc racks her brain as a memory rattles around in her mind. Suddenly, she clearly sees the memory playing out before her.

“Uxxok,” she says while she rises from her chair and approaches him on the bed. He has uncrossed his legs and let them dangle over the side of the bed. She places her hands on his knees and looks deep into his eyes.

“Place your hands on top of mine,” she commands as she then places her left hand on his chest and her right hand on the back of his head. “Close your eyes.”

Uxxok follows Teqqc’s command and then feels his aura being breached. He is about to shut out the unannounced contact, but soon, he realizes the contact is Teqqc and that she is only entering the vary beginning layers of his aura.

His aura becomes fuzzy at the edge of his aura. He feels as if a slight breeze has suddenly wafted through his mind and begun sifting through his aura. The breeze comes in droves, waxing and waning as if the breeze is breathing. He realizes the breeze is in accordance with Teqqc’s own breathing.

“Focus on what you were meditating about.”

Uxxok follows her command and focuses on the dark room that eludes his memory. Soon, the calm breeze wafts completely through his mind and he feels his mind clearing as if the breeze is chasing the cloudiness away.

He can suddenly see the room clearly with sunlight streaming through, showing anything and everything he needs. The hidden room before his eyes. All of what the man’s aura he broke into hid, he has now discovered.

He shoves Teqqc out before he loses himself completely. He opens his eyes to see Teqqc gasping and panting slightly.

“What did you do?” Uxxok asks suspiciously.

“I connected to the air in your lungs and the air circulating into your blood stream. Its a way to circumvent your aura’s walls and allows me to fully encompass your aura without entering it. I then can create a calming experience like no other to serenely pass through your aura.”

Uxxok stares at Teqqc. His face betraying his surprise. “I am impressed, Teqqc. You are truly an incredible woman.”

Teqqc smiles widely, then bashfully turns away, “I actually learned that from a friend long ago when I had a block in my mind while trying to decide what I needed to do to solve a dispute between two vicious gangs in Rizq. The two gangs ended up destroying each other anyway, but no matter, I had learned something truly incredible,” Teqqc answers.

Uxxok nods. “Thank you for the back-story,” he says with sincerity, “Who was this friend?”

Teqqc smiles with amusement, “Someone that passed away long ago. My mentor that taught me ire.”

“Ah, Iroko.”

Teqqc looks at Uxxok with awe, “Yes, how did you know that? Not many knew that Iroko was a zoltok, let alone an ire.”

Uxxok smiles sheepishly, “Teqqc, I lived in the underground for three years on a mission just to find the greatest ire of all time. Iroko’s name came up quite a bit. You think a powerful ire can hide from the underground?”

Teqqc smiles, but then vanishes just as quickly, “Wait, you were on a mission to find the greatest ire of all time?”

Uxxok’s eyes widen. Then shrugs.

“Why?”

“I am not supposed to discuss it.”

“Uxxok, I am the Oqoponh, I need to know what the Daijoks are up to.”

Uxxok shrugs, “Very well. Vaiqon and the rest of the Daijoks-”

“So just Vaiqon.”

“Yes, but anyway, they feel something dark is brewing and they believe only a strong ire will be able to defeat this darkness.”

“Why is it always an ire?”

“Possibly something to do with an ire’s purity in nature. Air is clear, you cannot see it and can only feel it when the wind blows. Perhaps they feel it is the ultimate opposite of darkness.”

“I suppose, but would I, the Oqoponh, not be the greatest ire of all time?”

“No. You might be one of the greatest ires of all time, but not the greatest. I hate to say this, but, in all my time in the underground, your name never came up in my research and findings.”

Teqqc frowns, a little hurt. “Even though I was taught by Iroko and Vaiqon?”

“Not even Vaiqon’s name was uttered.”

Teqqc’s mouth drops slightly, “Really? That is interesting. Well, did you ever find this great ire zoltok?”

“No, and my search was supposed to continue in vain until I did find this ire, but Vaiqon asked me of another mission first. The one I am with you on as of now.”

“Investigating these murders?”

“Yes, my experience and name has great pull in the underground.”

“I understand. But, why did Vaiqon send you to the underground? Surely the great Daijoks would have sensed a great ire or have learned of one in all their travels and studies.”

“If only the Daijoks had continued with the tradition of being true Daijoks rather than appearing true Daijoks.”

“What do you mean?” Teqqc asks incredulously.

Uxxok appears as if he has said too much. But then, appears in deep thought. He then says, “The Daijoks have foregone most of their traditional studies. The knowledge and secrets the former Daijoks used to pass on, the present Daijoks have rejected. “Actually, I find it rather insulting the Daijoks do not inform the Oqoponh more of there doings and whereabouts.”

Teqqc stares at Uxxok with disbelief, “The Daijoks tell me everything they plan and do.”

“That they want you to know. Did you know that Rhino, Shark, and Vulcan never wanted Vaiqon to train Ragefier but he did so against their wishes because he ‘felt’ greatness in him?”

“No.”

Uxxok nods, “Right, did you know that the Pyroternal has actually been dying the past few decades?”

“No.”

Uxxok nods again, “And I know you do not know that the Daijoks are actually very interested in that passage we discovered. They actually copied it word for word and discuss it frequently.”

“I did not. Uxxok, how do you now all this?”

“The Daijoks believe their auras to be impenetrable and so sensitive they can detect anyone attempting to enter their auras. Little do they know the tricks you can learn in the underground.”

“You can enter one’s aura without them knowing, Uxxok?” Teqqc asks with fear in her voice.

“Yes. We all can. But it takes something most Rniti do not want to deal with.”

“What is that?” Teqqc asks in a voice implying she really does not desire to know the answer.

Uxxok smirks, “Themselves.”

Teqqc immediately becomes perplexed. “What?!”

Uxxok laughs loudly. “It is rather simple really, especially if you know the person well whom you are trying to infiltrate.”

“I still do not understand.”

Uxxok smiles, “You must attach to a part of a person’s aura they least desire. For instance, you despise your anger, I would latch on to that and you would never know I was there because you never utilize your anger. Did you feel my aura?”

Teqqc appears horrified, “You were just inside my aura?!”

“Yes, and may I say that I look terrible. Is there anything to eat around here?”

Teqqc shakes her head, too scared to answer. “That power is too dangerous to use, Uxxok. Is this why you are so angry all the time?”

Uxxok appears grim, “No. I am angry all the time because the underground forces you to make friends with some incredibly evil people and some just incredible people. I have seen many die for incredibly insignificant reasons. The underground is always at war with itself. To think I would have found an ire in all that chaos is blasphemy!”

“Oh! You are angry with the Daijoks.”

“Correct, Teqqc.”

“And they are too blind to see it.”

“They are too arrogant to see it.”

“I do not follow.”

“They do not believe their perfect world they have disillusioned themselves into can be disrupted by anything. They are fools.”

“You need to tell them how you feel,” Teqqc says while grasping Uxxok’s hands tightly.

Uxxok does not pull away. “Why would I do that? They would dismiss me. And besides, you surprised me just now, Teqqc.”

“Why?” she says startled, pulling away from Uxxok.

Uxxok smiles, “No, not that,” he says while grasping her hands firmly. “I uttered a dangerous secret and still you are here talking with me.”

“Well, of course. I care about you, Uxxok. I cannot leave you when you are having such trouble in your aura.”

Uxxok smiles. He caresses her right cheek. Suddenly, exhaustion overtakes him. The room makes itself fuzzy.

Uxxok groans, “Apparently, unblocking my mind made me quite tired. I need to rest.”

Uxxok releases Teqqc’s hand and crawls back under the blankets of the bed. He quickly falls asleep. Teqqc watches the subtle rise and fall of Uxxok’s stomach under the blankets.

She looks at the exposed wound of his right leg and frowns. She sees deep scarring forming and bruises barely healing, despite the fact that the skin has healed completely. She wonders if the leg will ever be the same.