Chapter 2: The Ruya
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2013 JULY
MONTH ONE: THE FORT
The next morning Sah-him and Tayir waited in the large meeting hall for their new mentors. Sah-him wasn't sure what to expect. He didn't know what this sensing gift was about or what it meant. How am I supposed to train it? How am I supposed to be able to use it? He was nervous. He knew that he would have some of his answers soon.
A Shadow Warrior entered the meeting room. He stood up to the two kneeling recruits. "Sah-him, come," he ordered and then strode over to one of the smaller meeting rooms.
Sah-him hopped up and quickly followed his new mentor to the smaller meeting room. He stood erect at the back of the room while the mentor closed the door.
"I am Namla," Namla introduced himself again. "Sit," he ordered. He then lowered himself to the ground in the lotus position.
Sah-him copied him and sat in the lotus position and waited for further instruction.
"What do you know of the Ruya?" Namla asked him.
"The what?" Sah-him asked.
"The Ruya. Your gift," Namla replied.
"My sensing gifts? I know that I am supposed to see ghosts," Sah-him said. "The ghosts are supposed to help me. They did help me in Hong Kong… I think…"
"I see," Namla said in contemplation. "What about your Inner Eye?" he asked.
"My what?" Sah-him asked.
"Your Inner Eye. Your Mind's Eye. Your Third Eye. Some call it your Mystical Invisible Eye," Namla told him.
"I have no idea," Sah-him replied. "I didn't know I had one."
"Then we will have to teach you how to open your Inner Eye," Namla told him. "But not right now. Right now, I need to teach you what you are," he said with a smile. "You are a Ruya. A Ruya is a seer. With training, a Ruya can see visions. They can see the auras of the living. They can see and communicate with the spirits of the dead. They can use precognition and clairvoyance. This is often mistaken for intuition. They can contact a Nexus. And, in some rare cases, They can travel across vast distances out of their bodies with just their minds."
"Wow," Sah-him replied.
"Within the League, a Ruya holds a special place," Namla told him. "We are ranked as Elite among the Shadow Warriors once we have completed our field training. When we become Journeyman Wahy. However, we are never given command. This is by choice. We are advisors. We do not seek power for ourselves." He tapped his purple piping on his shoulder. "This indicates the status of Wahy. An oracle. One stripe for a Journeyman Wahy. Two stripes for a Master Wahy. You achieve Master status when you have been in the field for five years."
"That makes you a Master Wahy," Sah-him said in confirmation as he read the uniform of his new mentor.
"Yes," Namla replied. "The uniforms of other Shadow Warriors are marked similarly. If you see a solid color on a shoulder guard, that is a Fasir or a Qas. Piping on the shoulder is for Elite. The color indicates which type of specialty. One bar indicates Journeyman. Two bars indicate Master. Three bars indicate a Chief. Three with a white bar indicate a Critical."
"Critical?" Sah-him asked. "Is that a ranking?" he asked.
"Yes," Namla replied. "For the Fighter Elite, the Critical are the only ones authorized to guard Ra's al Ghul. It is a very high honor."
"I see," Sah-him said. "Only the best and most experienced fighters would hold those posts."
"Yes," Namla replied. "But back to the Ruya. The first aspect of Ruya I want to teach you about is aura perception. Once you can open your inner eye, you will see an aura around all living things," Namla began. "The simpler beings have simpler auras. None of these auras will be touched by evil. The wolf or the cougar may kill man, but they do so because they are threatened, or hungry, not malice."
"Simpler beings?" Sah-him asked. "Does this make people complex beings?" he guessed.
Namla smiled. "It does," he replied. "Not just humans. There are many complex living beings. Many are considered to be myths. But a few are smart enough to stay away from modern humans. Some of them are not visible to humans, like the Jinn."
"The Jinn are alive? Can I see them?" Sah-him asked, surprised.
"Yes," Namla said with a smile. "But you can also see Gnomes, Faeries, Goblins, and Leprechauns. They tend to stay out of sight but are still fairly numerous in most human populations."
"They are?" Sah-him asked. "I'm surprised."
"Most modern humans only see what they want to see," Namla said. "How many of those weird garden Gnomes do you think people buy?" he asked with a grin. "Last time I checked with my Inner Eye, all the garden gnomes were real gnomes."
"I… Huh," Sah-him replied. "I figured it was a really weird trend."
"Many of the others have been hunted to extinction… or nearly," Namla replied. "Centaurs, Griffins, Fauns, and Minotaurs had fairly large populations several hundred years ago in Europe. As humans expanded, they were hunted. The League knows of a few remote populations, but they are dying out now."
"That's sad," Sah-him said. "I think a modern man would want to find some of those populations."
"Some of them, yes. But others would still like to exploit them," Namla replied. "The League is certain that the Dragons, Unicorns, Phoenix, Basilisks, and Hydras are extinct. But the Sasquash still have a thriving population in the Pacific Northwest and the Yeti still have a decent population in China."
"What about down here in South and Central America?" Sah-him asked.
"There are several were-jaguar populations," Namla replied. "But they will appear as human to outsiders.
"Were-jaguar?" Sah-him asked. "Is that a thing?" His eyes were wide.
"Yes," Namla said with a slight smile. "Shape-shifters are very real. Werewolves, were-jaguars, were-leopards, were-lions… pretty much a were-anything predator is out there… but… their auras will tell you if they have turned to evil or not."
"They are shifters," Sah-him replied. "They have to be evil."
"No," Namla replied firmly. "To the outside world, that is a lie told to everyone. The truth is that they are complex beings. Sentients. They are no eviler than humans. They have more tools to commit evil, but fewer reasons to do it."
"Fewer reasons?" Sah-him asked.
"Yes," Namla replied. "The were-animal they shift into does not care for evil. It cares only if they are threatened or not. The human side will avoid other humans to avoid that risk. They stay in less populated and wild areas. They shift where they are free of constraints."
"Okay," Sah-him replied.
"Now, let us talk about auras," Namla said. "Around each living being is a glowing halo of light. You are familiar with the glow of light around a street light at night?" he asked.
"Yes," Sah-him replied.
"It is like that glow," Namla replied. "The glow surrounds the being for short ways beyond the edges of the being. Each color of light can tell you about the motivations of the being at that moment. It is only a snapshot of the being at that moment. The simpler the being, the easier it is for them to change the color of their aura."
"The color of their halo changes?" Sah-him asked.
"It does," Namla replied. "There are nine groups of colors. Four of the nine are closely related." Namla turned to the side and grabbed a book. "This is a book on the Chakras and their meanings. The auras are related to the chakras. I want you to study this book in your spare time. But for now, I will go over the colors and their meanings."
Sah-him took the book and placed it next to him. "Okay," he replied. Something for my bookshelf.
"Red is the Root Chakra," Namla started. "It is action-oriented. It means that the person is fiery and grounded in the here and now."
"Orange is the Sacral Chakra," Namla continued. "It is experience-oriented. It has sexual energy. It means that the person is creative."
"Yellow is the Solar Plexus Chakra," Namla said. "It is leadership-oriented. It has charismatic and magnetic energy. It means that the person is empowered and confident."
"Green is the Heart Chakra," Namla continued. "It is compassion-oriented. It has music and natural energy. It means that the person is very compassionate."
"These next two are very closely related. Both are the Throat Chakra. Blue and Pink," Namla said. "Blue is Truth-Oriented. It means that the person has great mental depths. Pink is Compassion-Oriented. It means that the person is kind, caring, and loving."
"These next two are also very closely related. Both are the Third-Eye Chakra. Indigo and Purple," Namla told him. "Indigo is Empathic-Oriented. It means that the person absorbs the thoughts and feelings of others easily. Purple is Intuition-Oriented. It means that the person is psychic, intuitive, or sensitive."
"White is the Crown Chakra," Namla said. "It is Whole-Thinker-Oriented. It means that the person is quick-minded and a perfectionist."
"There are two other colors… or shades… that you need to be aware of; black and rainbow," Namla said.
"Is black a color for evil?" Sah-him replied.
"In a way," Namla replied. "When an aura has two dominant colors, the being is strong in those two areas. Red and yellow would be a strong leader with a strong grounding in action. These two colors are not mixed. But when it comes to black… When you mix black into color in a paint palette, what happens?" he asked.
"Uh… the color becomes darker by a shade?" Sah-him replied.
"Yes," Namla replied. "It is the same with auras. When a person is doing an evil deed, they mix the black into their aura. They tint their aura darker. Their red becomes dark red. Their dark red becomes maroon. And so on…"
"Is that how we can tell an evil source?" Sah-him asked. "Their aura has become all black?"
"It has become very dark, yes," Namla replied. "But no evil source that I have seen has become black. Not even demons."
"Demons from Hell, Demons?" Sah-him asked in shock.
Namla chuckled. "Yes," he replied. "Hell also exists. Demons like to possess those humans who open themselves up to possession. Or even worse, the soulless creatures."
"Soulless creatures?" Sah-him asked, confused. "Do those exist too?"
"I see that I need to make my teachings more basic," Namla replied. He paused and collected his thoughts. "All living beings have three parts. The body, the mind, and the soul. The body is the physical portion of the being. That is the part that is damaged and heals. The mind is the part that holds memories and actions. It allows decisions. It moves the body. The Soul is the part of the living being that makes it unique. It is the part that breathes life into the being. It comes from the Source. That is the part of the being that the Ruya sees. That is the part that creates the aura."
"The body, the mind, the soul," Sah-him repeated.
"If the body is damaged, the mind can retreat and hide. This is a brain-dead individual. They have a body and a soul, but no mind," Namla said.
"Very rarely, you can have a body and a mind, but no soul," Namla said. "This mind is waiting for a demon to possess it. It is best to destroy these bodies as quickly as possible."
"Much more frequently, you will have the undead," Namla replied. "Zombies are bodies with no mind and no soul. Simply reanimated corpses. Vampires are bodies with minds, but no souls. Usually, the demons have possessed the vampire already. More rarely, you will find demons. No body, but a mind and a soul. They require a Barkih to banish back to Hell."
"Finally, you have Spirits or Ghosts. Banshees are considered spirits," Namla replied. "These are minds and souls with no bodies."
"Wait," Sah-him said. "The ghosts have their minds? They can make decisions?" he asked.
"Some decisions," Namla replied. "Limited decisions. They can also relay new information. This is why they can help us on hunts."
"Yes," Sah-him said, nodding. "I can see how that would help quite a bit."
"But they are limited," Namla cautioned him. "Spirits are tied to a person or a place. They cannot go far from that person or place. You must often convince them to assist you in your hunt."
"They may not want to help me?" Sah-him asked.
"No," Namla replied. "Remember how many modern humans see only what they want to see? It is the same with spirits. You have to convince them it is in the interest of their person or themselves to help."
"How do I do that?" Sah-him asked.
"That will depend on the spirit and what you are hunting," Namla replied. "I will show you and we will see how it goes."
"I… I guess," Sah-him replied. "It seems like it is something I have to do to figure out."
"It most likely is," Namla replied. "Now I want you to get more comfortable in your lotus position. We are going to try to open your Inner Eye."
Sah-him adjusted himself slightly and straightened his back. He placed his hands back on his knees and waited.
"You need to straighten your back more. Close your eyes. Push the top of your head through the ceiling," Namla coached. "Yes. Now place your hands palm up on your knees. Touch your thumb to your second finger and relax the rest of your fingers. Good. Now just breathe in and out. In and out. As you breathe in, imagine all the energy traveling from the ceiling through the top of your head down your spine to the floor. As you breathe out, imagine all of the energy traveling from the floor up your spine and out through the top of your head to the ceiling. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down."
Sah-him focused on this image in his mind for several minutes. He felt tingling coursing through his whole body. Suddenly, he could see while his eyes were closed. "Woah!" he whispered.
"What do you see?" Namla said softly.
"Everything," Sah-him replied. "You are right in front of me. I see your aura. You have a pale lilac color aura shot with raspberry and pale yellow. I see two more auras in the next room over. I see four auras over to the left. There are more even further away."
"Good," Namla replied. "Did you feel how it felt to open this Inner Eye?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Sah-him replied. "I was breathing and then I was tingling. Then I could see."
"Hum," Namla paused. "Open your eyes."
Sah-him opened his eyes and was given the ghost images of the auras beyond the solid walls of the room. "That's disconcerting," he said.
"Yes," Namla said. "Your range is much farther than I anticipated. You have a very strong gift. The Nexus is amplifying it. Having your eyes open will help you navigate your Inner Eye senses."
"Okay," Sah-him replied. "How do I turn it off?" he asked.
"Imagine a wall blocking the energy from traveling out of your head," Namla said.
Sah-him imagined the wall and the ghostly images of the other auras faded away. He was only left with the four solid walls of the room. "Good," Sah-him sighed. "Back to normal vision."
"Now we try again," Namla smiled at him.
Sah-him widened his eyes in shock briefly. Then he straightened out his posture and with his eyes open this time started to imagine the energy. He felt the tingling immediately and the auras popped back up. He blinked a few times. "Okay," Sah-him replied. "Inner Eye open."
"Now close it," Namla remarked. "We will practice this several more times."
Sah-him repeated the exercise several more times until he was mentally exhausted.
"Good," Namla remarked. "We are done with Ruya training for today. Take your book to your quarters and report to the training area with your sword and armor. Our remaining morning will be spent sparring."
"It will be done," Sah-him replied as he rose and picked up his book.
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A week had passed. Sah-him was learning to open and close his Inner Eye and expand his Ruya senses. He felt comfortable practicing alone. As he practiced, he finally developed his senses to see spirits. He saw his father walking around his room.
"Dad?" Sah-him asked in surprise.
Robert Queen turned and looked over at his son with a smile. "Hello, Oliver," he said with a jovial smile.
"I… I didn't expect to see you," Sah-him said.
"I know, son," Robert replied. "I've been watching you. Looking out for you."
"Thank you, Dad," Sah-him replied. "I found the others. They survived too."
Robert nodded. "I saw that," he replied. "I'm glad. They didn't deserve to die."
"Do… Do you think we made the right choice?" Sah-him asked him cautiously.
"I think you made the right choice for you three," Robert replied. His spirit walked over to his book high on one of the shelves. "I see you found my message… but you still have not watched it," Robert said pointing to the small flash drive next to the book.
"No," Sah-him replied. "I… I'm not ready yet. It was hard enough to sit at your desk."
"I understand," Robert replied. "This," he said pointing to the book and the drive, "can wait a bit."
"Can it?" Sah-him asked. "You seemed pretty insistent on the raft."
"I didn't know that I would ever be able to talk to you again," Robert said with a soft smile. "This is a nice surprise," he said as he motioned between the two of them.
"Yeah," Sah-him nodded. "It is."
"I'm going to explore while you study," Robert said.
"You can explore?" Sah-him asked suddenly.
"Of course, Oliver," Robert replied. "I'm dead, not stodgy. Some of the businesses are very interesting."
"That's… you can understand them?" Sah-him asked.
"My dear boy," Robert smiled at him. "Most international business is in English, French, or German. I speak all of it. I even learned Chinese and Spanish. I just can't learn anything new."
"You can't learn new languages?" Sah-him clarified.
Robert sighed. "No. No brain to save the data. I can retain some information, but not much," he replied. "I would rather remember that Laurel and Tommy survived the yacht."
"Yeah," Sah-him replied. "I would rather you remember that information as well. Have fun, Dad."
"Thank you, Oliver," Robert replied as he walked out the closed door.
Sah-him sighed and imagined closing his Inner Eye. Dad hasn't gone to heaven. Why? He said he was not a good man. Is that a part of it? Is that why Dad is still here?
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The next day, Sah-him confronted Namla at the start of their lesson.
"Namla," Sah-him started as he settled into the lotus position. "I was practicing last night and I saw the spirit of my father. Is my father evil? Is that why he did not go to be judged by the Source?" he asked.
Namla considered Sah-him for a moment before he spoke. "Have you seen spirits before?" he asked.
"Yes," Sah-him said. "Once. But I was asleep or in a dream state."
"Ah," Namla replied. "Spirits, as I have told you, are the mind and the soul of the complex being. All spirits that remain on Earth are benign beings. None are evil beings. Evil beings are sent to the Source for Judgement. Benign beings can remain behind on Earth until they decide to ascend to Judgement at the Source. They can then be given their reward."
"Oh," Sah-him replied. "Then if I saw my father…"
"He is likely tied to you and considered a benign spirit," Namla finished for him. "We will continue our exercises today. With your increasing power, I think tomorrow it will be time to introduce you to the Nexus of Lima. Then we will travel to Tiahuanaco." They started their lesson.
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STARLING CITY - QUEEN'S CONSOLIDATED
Moira Queen took a deep breath and walked into the CEO office of Queen's Consolidated. I have been away for too long, she thought to herself. Robert expected better of me.
"Moira," Walter Steele greeted her from the CEO's desk. "What a pleasant surprise."
"Thank you, Walter," Moira greeted in return. "I felt that I had been away for too long. My responsibilities include this company as well as my family."
"They do, Moira," Walter said while standing. "I take it that you are returning on a more permanent basis."
"I am," Moira replied. "You and Ned have covered for me long enough. I need to get back to work."
"I'm glad to hear that," Walter said with a smile. "Where would you like to start?" he asked.
Moira closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Because I know that Ned has already perfected the numbers, I would like to start with Finance."
Walter chuckled. "Not a problem," he replied. "Have a seat and I'll grab the folder for you to review the latest spreadsheet."
Moira moved over to the CEO's desk and gently sat in the chair. Robert's pictures were still in place. She took a deep breath as Walter set the folder down in front of her. She took her time and carefully focused on reviewing the numbers and asking Walter pointed questions about specific line numbers that had changed in the last few months. But as she had suspected, Ned had perfected the numbers, and Walter knew the Finances inside and out.
"Alright," Moira said with a steading breath, "give me an overview of recent changes and what is on today's schedule."
Walter gave her a fortifying smile. "Starting with recent acquisitions…"
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Endnotes:
Banshees - a female spirit who heralds death in Irish folklore.
Basilisks - a reptile reputed to be the serpent king that can kill with one glance.
Centaurs - upper half man and horse from withers down. They are known for archery.
CEO - Chief Executive Officer
Chakras - Various focal points used in meditation.
Clairvoyance - magical ability to gain information about an object, person, or physical event through extrasensory input. (one who sees clearly).
Dragon - reptilian creatures the size of a horse or larger. In mythology worldwide.
Faeries - skilled at illusion or enchantment.
Fasir - horseman – Arabic. League Rank for Leader of a Branch of the League and advisor to Ra's al Ghul.
Fauns - upper half human, lower half goat. Horns on the head. Fauns are pretty innocent.
Gnomes - earth elementals that are reluctant to interact with humans.
Goblins - grotesque, monstrous creature that has conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances. Most often they are mischievous household spirits.
Griffins - body, tail, and back of a lion with wings, head, and tail of an eagle. Intelligent.
Hydras - many-headed serpentine water monsters.
Jinn - an invisible creature in early pre-Islamic Arabian cultures that are neither good nor evil.
Leprechauns - solitary creatures who make shoes and count their gold.
Minotaur - head and tail of a bull, body of a man. Intelligent.
Nexus - magical convergence point of ley lines.
Phoenix - a bird that is said to age and burst into flame and then a new bird rises from the ashes.
Precognition - the psychic phenomenon of seeing or otherwise becoming aware of events in the future.
Ra's al Ghul - Title for Leader of the League of Assassins
Sasquatch - an ape-like creature that is said to inhabit North America.
Unicorns - Horse with a single spiraling horn on its head. Cloven hooves.
Werewolves - humans with the ability to shape-shift into the form of a wolf.
Yeti - an ape-like creature that is said to inhabit the Himalayan Mountains.
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