"Femi, what is the religious doctrine for the Western Kingdom?"
Later the same day we were back at the palace for our lessons. I feel like I speak for the group when I say that we were distracted educationally.
There has been a lot of spaced-out answers. Our minds were all on one thing. How do we activate the power that was shown yesterday.
Queen Mariam clearly didn't betray the curriculum despite the dry answers to her questions during the lecture, she soldiered on to complete educational lesson.
I was no different as my mind was on earlier in the day and the game. It was my first time mingling with regular citizens.
It wasn't without incident. I met people that I didn't know if I really like. I don't think I like a lot of people concentrated in one spot. It's hard to get around places without a guide.
Despite all that, I had a lot of fun. The unknown, interacting with different, or similar personalities intrigued me.
Playing sports intrigued me even more, especially since I proved that I had a talent for it. I started to replay that game in my mind.
The moment I scored I started to think if that was normal. I heard athletes before describe time stopping during a crucial moment where they felt like they could observe the surrounding situation more clearly.
I'm a novice that has never really played the game before, so there isn't any immense knowledge about the game that's associated with that moment.
They call it 'being in the zone' but that's normally only triggered after years of practice. I highly doubt that I'm this all-time talented natural, that had it happen by chance.
SNAP! Queen Mariam took her book and bopped me on the head.
"You are not here to let your minds wander. Rahjah Askiya, what is God?" Rubbing my head I started to give a straight out the book type of answer.
"God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable." She stared at me with slight disappointment.
"An answer you would find in any dictionary. Let's have a discussion, this isn't an educational discussion. This is opinionated discussion about everyone's views on spirituality. Talib, what or who is God to you?"
Talib had a bored look on his face leaning on his knuckle to personify his frame of mind. When his name was called he lazily sat up straight and responded.
"God is the mythical and supreme being. The creator of the heavens and the earth, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end." As he finished, he slumped back into his bored state, but Sanna responded.
"I don't think I like the word mythical, it makes it less real than it should be." Imari decided to interject.
"Well, that's the thing isn't it? There's a whole lot of 'myths' mixed up in the lore of the beings called God."
The conversation dissolved into questions and statements firing back and forth between the eight of us with the queen watching over us listening quietly.
"Is it a myth if it's been geographically proven true? At that point its history, right?"
"Are you sure about that? There are some outrageous tales in Hinduism..."
"So, are we going to touch on the fact that different religion and cultures have many Gods?"
"How do you explain that?"
"Simple it's all about your perception, you could say they're seeing the same god but different versions of them."
"Why depict them with their own distinct personalities and faults?"
"You could argue that these gods depicted in ancient history were just powerful humans. The Greek and Roman Gods were just as imperfect and sinful as any human they reigned above."
"Maybe that's why they're old and obsolete religions that haven't stood the test of time."
"They didn't inspire the masses to be good people." I decided to finally give my input.
"Maybe that's the main reason the current most popular religions have stuck for thousands of years. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism all promote and reward righteous people."
"Good point, Rahjah" Queen Mariam finally interjected herself in the conversation. "Ask yourself, what would stabilize the masses, where we're not fighting each other.
It's a crude way to put it but that's what's been promoted by governments for millennia. Controlling a person's faith is one way to keep the peace." Amara raised her hand to speak and the Queen acknowledged it.
"You speak as if there's no truth to faith, that there all following false beliefs." The Queen just smiled and answered back with a calm tone.
"Child, I am the ruler of the Eastern Kingdom and as the ruler of this region I am in charge of all things pertaining to religion in the empire.
Whether it be the funding of a small church in Johannesburg or the act of terrorism in the name of religion in Marrakesh.
I've listened to all type of sermons and read all types of scriptures. I see what religion has done TO people and what it has done FOR people.
I have no room to be a fanatical believer, however no one on this planet will ever shake the solid faith I have."
An answer only a scholar of many faiths, a governor of those faiths, and a follower of those faiths can give. Something that should be expected of any ruler.
The sound of a book closing forcefully snapped me back to reality and out of my thoughts.
"I know that the lecture was riveting for you all but it's time to get down to the practical portion of this lesson. Please everyone surround me in a circle. Everyone should be 5 feet from each other."
Everyone obediently moved into position and waited for Queen Mariam to continue.
"Alright, I'll make this clear it is not my job to teach you to control or manifest your Focus talents. I'm only going to guide you to the starting line where your teacher will be waiting for you."
"Teacher? I thought you would be our teacher, aren't you the most skilled? Are they coming here now?" Sanna looking confused looked towards the door expectingly.
"You'll understand better when you enter the trance like state. Now everyone, prepare yourselves. I'll be continuously emitting waves of focus to jumpstart your senses for you all to enter that state. Please close your eyes and start the meditation."
I followed instructions and closed my eyes. I started to feel waves of pressure coming from the direction Queen Mariam was in before I closed my eyes.
The pressure was gentle, like ocean waves washing over you. I tried to clear my mind and let go of my petty thoughts, but it proved difficult. It was always hard shutting down my brain.
With everything that happened today I just could not stop over analyzing everything. That moment before I kicked the ball into the goal was playing over and over in my mind.
I don't believe its normal for time to slow down like that. My mind was moving normal speed but everything around me was not.
How could that happen? Did I have enough control over my body to move in that state? I didn't try and I can't remember the feeling I had for the life of me. I was just focused on the perception around me.
"Remember clear your minds, I can feel the minds racing in the room. You will make no progress if this continues."
No use worrying about it now because I'm not making any process. The wave of pressure continued, and I felt myself being rocked to sleep little by little.
"Wow, that was quicker than I thought. Well, you have been here before, so you should be able to get here easier."
I opened my eyes and I was no longer in the meditation chamber. I was in the living room of a fairly large apartment. I looked around, I was seated on a comfy sofa facing a flat screen television.
Maybe 55 inches wide, something you only see pictures of in the archives. There were various boxes below it with what looked like wires.
There were a couple of lamps in the room as well connected to outlets in the wall.
So many wires, if I had to guess, I just time traveled 500 years into the past. That would be ridiculous though. Everyone knew time travel was fool's gold. It's been disproven many times over.
I turned my attention back to the room to see if i could obtain some clue to where I got transported to. I saw picture frames of a family with smiling children and indifferent adults. The children seemed to be boy and girl siblings, and oddly the girl looked very familiar.
"Found something interesting?" That familiar voice again. I whipped around to the familiar voice I've been hearing a lot of lately.
Instead of the highly attractive woman I saw previously, it was a young lady maybe in her preteens. It was no question that this was a younger version of the woman I saw back then. The face was just less mature. It was weird to hear a grown woman's voice from a child's body.
"What is this place and who are you really?" She looked at me quizzically and gave me a slight smirk. She picked up the picture frame of the family and her smile faded.