Ancient Histories III
Alajeem smiles broadly, looking rather pleased with himself. He rubs his hands together, and after a moment - during which you and Ali both sit down on the grass to get comfortable - he clears his throat (rather dramatically).
“The Araamakka,” Alajeem says, “is what can best be described as OUR world’s name - you humans refer to the planet you live on as Earth, and some in ancient times called it Gaia. Well, Araamakka is, in essence, that for us. But, rather than a planet,” he swirls one finger around to make a circular shape with a wry smile, “our realm it is more of an endlessly stretching ocean of pure energy, if you will, where only some among us djinn are able to… live, I guess.”
You and Ali look at one another, both of you clearly confused and intrigued at the same time by all this - you suppose you shouldn’t be TOO surprised given the nature of magic and everything you’ve grown to be aware of, but, even so, the clarity is fascinating to you.
Shira and Akam don’t say anything, not yet, anyways. Shira sits beside Ali, her arms crossed and a slightly annoyed look on her face, whereas Akam is near you - he has a more neutral expression, as far as you can see, anyways.
“However, you notice I refer to it as THE Araamakka,” Alajeem adds. “This is intentional - for not only is it the realm where djinn exist, but, it is also the realm where we are ‘born,’ for lack of a better term. In other words… it is a living entity, much like how this planet is ‘living,’ too. The Araamakka is the proverbial womb of all djinn, and has been for ages upon ages, long before you humans were anywhere near the level of intellect you currently possess.”
‘Whoa,’ Ali says. ‘You weren’t kidding about what you said before, Shira.’
“Mm, no,” Shira replies.
‘But, wait,’ you say. ‘You said this Araamakka is, erm, basically your home domain, right?’
Alajeem is all smiles. “Correct.”
‘How come only some djinn can live there, then?’
“Ahhh… a wise question to propose,” Alajeem replies. “Many, many ages ago, we djinn could come and go between our realm of existence to yours. However, after all that happened…” He sighs and rolls a hand. “Suffice to say, the biggest punishment placed upon our entire species was limiting whom was allowed to do that. The rest of us were forced to be trapped in our little prisons.”
“Perhaps if you had not aided such a callous fool,” Shira says, “then such a fate wouldn’t have befell us.”
Alajeem shrugs, though his features grow somewhat morose. “There is little I could do at this point, Shira. Such actions were taken so very long ago, and to be rather blunt, I see no reason in dwelling on them anymore.”
‘What’s this place like?’ Ali asks. ‘And how exactly is it attached to our world?’
“To describe the Araamakka is… difficult,” Alajeem says. He comes across like he is genuinely trying to choose his words carefully. “We djinn are not entirely corporeal beings, the way you with flesh and bone are. As such, our sphere of existence is… similar. Not in the sense that a mortal being would fall through it, no, but, you would find it a very strange place to be, I would wager.”
Akam chuckles. “You clearly don’t know much about the mortals of this age, Alajeem. Many are far too curious for their own good.” He smiles at you briefly, before turning back to Alajeem. “But even so, they are not as dense as you feel. Mortals are very wise creatures - they possess a great deal of empathy and insight into such matters. You simply need to use the right terms to explain.”
Alajeem gives another shrug. “Imagine a massive ocean, then, as I said. Except, it is not an ocean of blue, nor of water. Rather, it’s more…”
He pauses to tap his chin - he does it with a dramatic flair, to the point where you aren’t sure if it’s intentional or if he’s actually trying to decide what to say.
“Akin to a sea of clouds,” he says after a pause. “Yes, yes! A sea of clouds!”
‘Huh,’ Ali says. She turns to Shira. ‘We wouldn’t fall through it, though?’
Shira shakes her head. “No, dear. You would float, I feel, is the best word to use. To you, it would be like those space movies and games you enjoy so much, except you would have oxygen. Or, your bodies would manage to ‘create’ oxygen, using the natural energies that comprise the Araamakka.”
Ali furrows her brow. ‘That is… jeez. I mean, I think I get it, but, it still sounds incredibly confusing. Really cool, sure, but, still a lot to wrap my head around.’
‘And it sounds really surreal, too,’ you add.
“I’m sure you could see the Araamakka for yourselves,” Alajeem says. “There’s no law or rule that prevents mortals from going there that I know of. Mind you, it’s been a long, LONG time since I was able to be there.” He grins again. “That said… In fact, despite my current predicament, I could easily open up a little portal to the Araamakka here and now, should you desire it…”
“Don’t try to do any of that trickery nonsense, Alajeem,” Akam says. He arches one eyebrow with an otherwise neutral look on his face. “You know full well that YOU lack the ability to open a way to go there. You lost that power ages ago when you were locked inside that vase.”
Alajeem merely shrugs once more. His features give nothing away.
You wonder what game he’s playing at, since it’s clear he’s trying for something - that said, you also wonder… you wonder what it is he did in ancient times that led to him being imprisoned in the vase, and, alongside that, you wonder if he feels any sort of remorse.
Your mind races, and you ponder if you want to ask him these things, or if you’d rather keep having him talk about djinn history. You could choose to change topics (you can tell he doesn’t seem the sort to care much), but, even so, you want to be mindful.
‘We can’t spend the entire day out here,’ you muse to yourself. ‘And, I kind of want to change to a new form sooner, too. Being a wolf has been fun and all, but, I’d like to turn into something else.’
Thus, you consider what you want to do next - ask him a question? Ask about his past? Or let Ali be the one to choose? There’s plenty of day left, you can tell from a cursory glance up to the sky. You’ve got time to kill, so, you can keep the conversation going, or you can switch gears and go off on your own…
You’ve got choices, ultimately. So what do you feel in the mood to do?
Written by Hollowpages on 02 February 2021