The Judas Blossom by Stephen Aryan

Author:Stephen Aryan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781915202529
Publisher: Watkins Media
Published: 2023-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

After two days of meditating, Temujin felt as if he’d achieved little. He was able to concentrate for longer than at the beginning, but he was still easily distracted by stray thoughts. The silence of the library and the candle helped, but worries about the future kept intruding.

When he wasn’t trying to meditate, Temujin did his best to understand the Kozan. More buried clues explained that by achieving inner calm, and channelling the Eternal Fire, it granted wisdom. Literally translated, the Kozan name meant Wise One, although Temujin felt no wiser. It also became clear that the Fire was not a weapon but a conduit to the Father of Time, which yielded abilities.

Late in the afternoon, after he lost concentration yet again, Temujin went back up to the main floor. Reyhan was still at the table, furiously scribbling down something from an ancient book that looked moth-eaten. The spine was damaged, some of the pages had fallen out and others had rotted away. When he was done, Reyhan slid the paper across the table.

“I found an old chest buried in the crypt.”

“The crypt?”

“When librarians die, their personal items are interred within the building. Normally, books would never leave these four walls.” He was still smarting about the books that had been removed by Nasir. “Amongst the belongings of an old librarian, I found this book. It’s a three times translation of another ancient book from a Muslim poet. Read,” he said, gesturing at the paper in Temujin’s hands.

“‘With eyes that are marked, the Kozan stand apart from mankind,’” said Temujin, reading aloud. “‘Their connection to the All Father bestows upon them great power and, if used for selfish gains, they could become rulers of the world. Terrible Kings and Queens, unstoppable beings of might. God is good and merciful, because the Kozan are rare.’”

Power. That was something his father would appreciate. However, they were a long way from that. So far he had not been able to summon the Eternal Fire. He could empty his mind and see the candle, but that was all.

“I found something else that might interest you,” said Reyhan, pulling out another scrap of paper from the pile. “It talks about connecting with the Eternal Fire. Once you have achieved inner calm, you must surrender yourself to it.”

“Surrender?”

Reyhan scrunched up his eyes. “My assumption is you do not summon the Eternal Fire. You connect to it, by leaving yourself open to it. Do not reach for it. Let it come to you. I know what you’re going to say,” said Reyhan with a wry smile.

“And what’s that?” said Temujin, quirking one eyebrow.

“That’s impossible. I have no idea what I’m doing,” said the librarian, doing a fair impression.

“Well, it is,” said Temujin, trying and failing not to sound like a surly child.

“Temujin. I want you to forgive yourself for not being perfect and mastering this immediately. No matter what your father or anyone else says, you are special. They will never be able to do this. You have the potential.

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