the correct wisdom one of the claws will disintegrate. In this way, it will help you to not only collect the right wisdom, but also to keep track of how many you have collected. So do not worry yourself.”
“What happens once I’ve collected the eleven wisdoms?”
“Once you have completed the eleven mini-Quests, you will have to wait for the chain to snap. Wherever the chain snaps, there you will find your last and final Quest. Your Master Quest.”
“Hmm …”said Rain, falling into thoughtful silence.
He spoke after a while.
“Nobody but a sequestor’s Geeya knows what his Quest is. Then how does Master Shengdu know what to gift us? I mean, we didn’t all receive the same gift. All of us got something different. And I’m sure the gifts are all very Quest-specific. Like, I got a chain with exactly eleven claws. How does Master Shengdu know what gift to give, and to which sequestor?”
“Master Shengdu has no idea what your Quest is. Before the Naming Ceremony, he pulls the gifts out of the Well of Origins each year. Once the gifts are out, Master Shengdu uses the knowledge he has to find out which gift belongs to which sequestor and then hands them out accordingly.”
“How does Master Shengdu know all this?” asked Rain, feeling baffled by Master Shengdu’s extraordinary abilities.
“Master Shengdu was a sequestor, too.” replied his Geeya.
“Really?!” exclaimed Rain.
“Yes. Everyone at Mt. Chimpu was a sequestor. Dr. Hope, Charity … Master Shengdu’s Core Name is Knowledge. That is how knows so much.”
“What about the name ‘Shengdu?’”
“That is just an adopted name.”
“Wonder why he never told us that …”
“Probably because he wanted to avoid being buried under the obvious deluge of questions that would follow the announcement?” she mused aloud, smiling at him. Rain smiled back, forgetting what he wanted to ask next because of the sheer glamour of it. Then a thought struck him. “Hey … no wonder everyone there used to wear those large gold bands on their right hand. They were hiding their Geeya marks, right?”
His Geeya nodded. Rain shook his head in bafflement. “All this intrigue, just to avoid being questioned by curious youngsters. Are we that annoying?” he looked at his Geeya, waiting for an answer. It never came, and that was answer enough for Rain, who frowned and decided to keep silent thereafter.
As night fell, Rain decided to call it a day and sat down to have dinner. He ate a few more snack items that he had carried and then lit a fire even though it was not cold, because he wanted to keep wild animals at bay. He removed his sleeping bag and settled into it for the night. Sleep was slow in coming because of the change in environment and the momentous events of the day. His very first night in Quniverse. He was really here. This was it, the real deal. Rain let out a breath, his chest churning with both, worry and excitement. Realizing that he would have to calm himself down if he ever dreamed of sleeping, Rain turned to his side so he could gaze into the flickering flames, wondering what Diego, or rather Star, was doing now. Would he ever get used to calling his brother anything else but ‘D’? Probably not.
His Geeya flitted about, hiding behind the broad barks of trees, appearing and disappearing occasionally. He looked at her moving about gracefully and wondered whether she was tired.
“Do you … er … need to go rest?” he asked her, pointing towards the Geeya mark, indicating that he would dismiss her if she required it.
“A Geeya never tires. So, no, I do not need to retire and would prefer to stay here in the forest with you, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay.” nodded Rain.
Mind? Why would he mind? She could be wherever she wanted with him. In the forest, in his sleeping bag …
He turned around with such pleasant thoughts in his mind and resumed gazing into the fire, which was down to its last embers by the time he