The Calisal Oasis
Palmer Video Log
Dr. Joilee Reyna James
January 28th, 2460
After spending seven days in the cold, unforgiving Khoeneji desert Valley, Mantiko, Depashe, Jerexunle, and I finally saw hope. As we stared in the distance on the plateau, we finally traveled half a day to the Calisal Oasis. The oasis flourished in a jungle basin that led to a mountain path. The mountain leads to the mountain surrounded by plant-like Animalia with the same thermogenic ability as the bercatan species. The basin also has hot springs with rapid healing capabilities. In the lake's middle, the city was connected to the mainland. It was astonishing to see the beauties of what these people built. I don't know what could give the oasis its beauty. Was it the backdrop of the galactic sky or the bioluminescent trees and plants that gave the oasis a beautiful aura? Regardless, I felt that our salvation from this awful weather was in that oasis.
- Calisal Oasis-
After descending from the plateau, they set foot on the freezing sands of the Calisal Dunes. Joilee and Mantiko felt relief that their destination was not far ahead. Joilee and the other descended from the plateau and walked the Calisal Desert plains.
Joilee was glad to see some fauna growing. One particular flower that caught her attention. It looked similar to an aloe vera plant, but It had a dark blue color and a fiery red color on the other side. Depashu saw Joilee staring at the plant.
"Ah, you finally get to see the plant that kept us alive."
"What do you mean?"
"This the bercatant plant. It was our clothes made of. The plant fibers and its nectar are what keeps us warm?"
"What else is it used for?'
"The Calisal people keep these plants inside their home to keep it warm. They also say that the fragrance can evoke blissful feelings."
"Can we eat this?"
"Sure, if you have a death wish?"
"What happens when some eat this."
"The plant will melt your insides."
"Well, I make sure I will eat it," Joilee replied. Depashu chuckled.
*****
After reaching the oasis, she is met with a small Calisian sentinels platoon. They wore clothing that kept them warm colors of the darker hue of blue and light violet. The bercatan flower vector stencil was printed on the right side of the chest of their clothes. Like the Adarun people, they were not welcoming as they surrounded them with bone-carved blades and arrows drawn. The tribal leader pushed his way through his fellow tribesmen. Azulean was taller than the Sierrians than Joilee's escort.
Azulean gave Joilee a once look. He was not pleased with the human he considered an outsider.
"VAGAL LAI SEIF JETTIVAS, (You dare to bring this thing to my doorstep," Azulean yelled at the three Sierrans.
Vajalora torak vensessa thalasisa! (We mean no harm. We seek guidance on our journey," Joilee stated. Joilee was surprised that she was able to speak Sierrian. Joilee could only understand through gestures and through the translation of her words through Chakrun given to her by the Oxunian priestess.
"Vai lo fata sajaoe garaks stalajun! VOLTMANEXI (It can speak out language?" Azulean replied.
"She has the vishasyntexal,"
"VEGAN!" Azulene yelled. The word that Azulean yelled was a word for them to kill Joilee. The Caliban sentinel all rushed in the waves of five. However, Mantiko, Depashe, Jerexunale, and Joilee fought off their aggressors; however, they found themselves overpowered. Soon the three opposing Sierran's and Joilee were tied and brought to their knees.
Two Calisian sentinels grabbed Joilee to Azulean's feet. The two Calisian sentinels held Joilee's hands and feet; as if she was a sacrifice. Then, Azuelean drew his bone-carved sword.
"Don't you touch her," Mantiko yelled?
"She is a demon! She will be destroyed!"
"Please know," Joilee pleaded.
Just as Azuelan raised his sword and came down on Joilee's neck to take ahead for a trophy. However, the Azulean attack is averted when bone staff decorated with similar tribal colors and different stones; protected Joilee's head. She is dressed in a ceremonial priestess robe as her face is covered in a niqabian fashion. Her name is Convensu.
Convensu was the mother of Azulean!
"What are you doing?"
"You will not harm this creature," Convensu demanded.
"She must die. We don't know what she is capable of."
"I share your fears, my son, but we must not let our emotions cloud our judgment."
"Her arrival here is not coincidental when we saw the demon vessel fall from the sky!"
"Demon vessel, what demon vessel," Joilee asked?
"The one that fell in the dunes beyond the horizon."
"Please take me to it."
"Why, so you can contact your demonkind."
"We will take her, but the other must stay here."
"We will come with Joilee," Mantiko demanded
"Bad fortune will come to you if you visit. Her kind is dead, and without a proper funeral, the land has become cursed."
"It's okay, Mantiko. I will go."
"While we are gone, you will treat them as a guest," Convensu commanded her son.
Joilee and Convensu ventured into the horizon where the demon vessel resided. When Joilee arrived, her Palmer picked up a faint signal. Joilee and Convensu made their way to the signal. Upon arrival, Joilee was surprised to see an emergency shuttle pod.
"This is the demon vessel," Convensu replied.
"This is no demon vessel. It's an escape pod from a ship that brought me here."
Joilee quickly ran to the pod. Joilee tried to open the rear shuttle with a hand recognition print; however, her fingers were badly injured from the cold. Joilee plugged her Palmer into the shuttle USB XLR port and initiated an emergency override. The doors opened at Palmer's command. Joilee saw her dead crewmates. Some died on impact, and others were impaled by bulkheads of the shuttle. Joilee was horrified.
"Come on," Joilee invited Convensu replied. Convensu looked around a saw the corpses.
"I will stay outside and observe you."
Joilee wasted no time laying each of her dead cremates on the floor for their burial rights. Joilee laid the last of her member on the floor and covered their body with a tarp-like covering. Joilee hunched over and let out a deep sigh. Tears started falling from her eyes as Joilee blew into her badly frost-bitten hands to try to warm them warm. Convensu saw Joilee's hands and became concerned.
"You badly hurt," Convensu stated.
"Yeah, I lost complete feeling in my fingers. They probably have to be amputated.:
"What does that mean?"
"My fingers are going have to be cut off."
Convensu looked at Joilee with concern, wander, and a bit slight admiration.
"You're no demon!"
"I am glad you recognize that. What gave me away," Joilee joked.
"DEmon's don't cry because they have no souls. Besides, the comedic remark you just made says you have a soul. Will you be okay, my child?"
"No, I wish I could have saved them. But, unfortunately, I don't even have a proper way to give them their last rites."
"What would you normally do?"
"It all depends. On my homeworld, we bury them. If we're in space, we will jettison the corpses into the void."
"You know my people, we would burn our dead. Once the body decays, it will free the spirit."
"We had a culture that did that. It was the funeral rites they did in a country that used to exist."
"What was it called."
"India."
"Then you should burn the bodies."
"How?"
"Something that you brought here can help. You just have to look for it," Convensu replied before leaving Joilee to figure it out away. Joilee sat at the shuttle's console for an hour; until she thought about the self-destruct sequence. Joilee overrode the safety protocols and set the shuttle's self-destruct sequence for ten minutes.
Joilee warned Convensu that they had to get a hundred yards away as she explained that the ship would blow up. Convensu did not understand, but she saw the urgency in Joilee's demeanor and followed suit behind Joilee. In a fiery flash, the shuttle went up after Joilee and Convensu were at least 400 yards away.
"I trust you gave you people their final rites."
"I have!"
"Come, you need food, shelter, and rest. I will provide that thing for you."
*****
Convensu took Joilee to her priestess residency. Convensu allowed Mantiko, Jembere, and Depashe to commune with the rest of the tribe while Convensu attended to Joilee's wounds. Convensu took Joille deep into the pyramid structure in the middle of the lake, where there were hot springs with healing capabilities. When Joilee bath, she noticed her hand was feeling a lot better. Her fingers' color was returning to normal their normal colors.
"This is amazing; what are these waters."
"Our ancestors used these waters to heal our people."
"I am feeling great, and my hand is better. Looks like I will be able to keep my fingers after all."
"You will. You must rest here for a couple of days to get your strength back. I know the Kholensi desert can be unforgivable, especially to sky visitors such as yourself. So I'll leave you to your bath. I'll be waiting for you when you are ready.
When Joilee was done with the healing bath, Joilee wiggled her fingers. So much feeling had returned to her fingers, except a bit of numbness and tingling that started to dissipate.
Joilee exited the bath and found a set of clothes waiting for her. When Joilee put on the clothes, they were much warmer as they had thicker woven fiber from the bercatant plant and other plants.
Joilee immediately felt warms as the corridors inside the Mesospatmia were like wind tunnels. Joilee left the bathing chambers and found Convenu waiting for her in a room for meditation.
"I trust you are feeling rejuvenated!"
"I am thank you for everything," Joilee stated.
"Come, there is much to be discussed."
Joilee followed Convensu to the central underground chamber of the ziggurat. Like all other alien structures, Joilee marveled at every stone placed. The sweet floral smell resonated from the brazer, which burned a resin made from percent plant.
"What is this place. It's beautiful!"
"This temple has stood since the youth of the world."
Once Joilee and Convensu reached the lower inner chambers. Convensu activated a device on the wall that opened a portal. Convensu walked through the portal, which Joilee followed. It was the same structure as the Oxuna tribe.
"I recognize this place. I have been here when I visited the Oxuna tribe."
"All citizens are brothers and sisters as we are connected by our creators."
"Doesn't seem that way with Mantiko and Jembere. They are at each other throats."
"Every family has their sibling rivalry. Tell me about yourself, sky visitor."
"You must hear about many concerns of my arrival."
"Yes, about some evil sky demon empress coming to rain death and destruction from the sky."
"Yes. Many here believe that you are here to usher in that era, but I guess you have not been told about the other part of the legend?"
"No!"
"Let me explain to you! The other legend has it that the demon empress When the sky gate opened, the demons spewed forth into our world. The demons scorched our world and enslaved the people. The demon empress saw the suffering that she helped bestow onto the world. So the demon empress took up her weapons against her own kind and banished them to another realm.
The demon empress exiled herself to be the gatekeeper for her crimes, ensuring her kind would never escape. The demon empress took charge as the gatekeeper, ensuring her eternal solitude."
"Great. If I am the embodiment of this demon empress; I bring death and destruction to a peaceful world and spend the rest of my life alone."
"Not all legends are meant to be taken into context, but are looked at metaphorically."
"How should I look at the myth. A lot of Sierran don't even know me, and they already hate me."
"People hate what they fear and don't understand."
"Yeah, I know. We had this problem 300 years ago until we were forced to put away the fear of race and creed and come together?"
"And what forced your people to come together."
"Violence that has destroyed our world."
"And that is why you are here? To take over our world?"
"We have come here to colonize the world, but protocol would not allow it if habitant such as the Sierras already existed here. We would just move on to search for another planet. As I told others such as yourself, I am just trying to survive until my people come to rescue me."
"Do you think they would?"
"They would come and investigate what happened to the vessel that brought my people to hear.
"Well, enough stories. Time to give you what you need to understand more about our world."
Convensu went to an alien console and pressed her hand against the controls. The panel lights up in a dark indigo color. Another panel opens up on the floor. A pedestal ascended to Convensu's navel area. A dark indigo chagrin jewel encased in a lightbox sits on top. Convensu took the chakrun and asked for Joilee's hand. Convensu took a knife and slit the palm of her hand.
Convensu places the chakrun in her hand. First, the chakrun absorbed Joilee's blood and glowed bright indigo. Then, the chakrun levitated from Joilee's and imprinted itself in the middle of Joilee's forehead.
Joilee fell to her hands and knees. Joilee wasn't experiencing pain but a barrage of images from past to current events. Convensu comforted Joilee until the images stopped. Joilee blackout from anxiety and sensory overload. Once Joilee came, Convensu helped Joilee to her feet.
"I have given you the Anjansul Chakrun. There is a mountain pass beyond the out caves. Once you pass through the caves, you will reach the mountain paths that will lead you to Quorosia Mountain Pass. There you will find the place where all mystics train. Go there to master the chakruns."
"I can't as I don't have all of them!"
"Doesn't matter. Our ancestors will guide you.
"Very well!"