Issue 6: Pirate Games
The Highest Gathers its Champions. I must gather mine. Does Unity think it can devour me? The first of the first? What a ludicrous dream they have. Amarche demons. Rejected by my Father thrice over.—Lucifer
This Word? It is more than just a piece of tech for the Highest. We must gain access to the Ark’s Library. Then I can create a new Universe to my liking. Unity can devour the rest.—Chronos
Our enemies were numerous. The Void Walkers had their drones. To them ships and bodies were endless. The Living Stone came from Unity-controlled domains. The souls of the Endless dead floated within those Universes. I know now why my clone was made. The Highest knew what would happen. He always did.—Sleeping in Starlight: Convergence vol 12
Port Iliska
Eternal Empire (Red Wave Territory)
May 19th, 2116
Q’vera motioned to Eddie, “Pick up the pace!”
Comet and Horus did the heavy lifting. Their reactions were methodical. As if they were enslaved AI’s or basic command lines. While the copper rings were compromised, their bio shielding from Doc still held. Under all forms of scrutiny. Q’vera sold the story that they captured bits of metal from the primary universe from one of the Terran Alliance ships. So they must be hiding a bigger take in another territory.
Arthon smirked, his eyes grew cold, “If you only knew….”
Q’vera shocked him. Arthon used the charge to replenish his Muthra sigils. Ritark and his mother floated silently behind them. In this universe, Litari had been lobotomized to serve the Eternal Empire. Stuck in their tainted form bestowed by Unity. No higher level will or sapience bestowed. Their Matriarchs twisted beyond all measure.
Iresh keened silently.
She dared not communicate with her son. Q’vera coordination would come into play.
Only the Song of Salvation from Eliza’s actions kept her calm. Their people would not fade into the deep dark. Comet hovered close. Offered what comfort he could. The Markav AI knew what Arthon wanted from this wretched universe. They would find the piece of At’lan that had been stolen. Eddie watched the giant green gas giant through the viewports. This hab ring circled it. Taking what it could from the materials below.
Q’vera led her “slaves” along the corridors.
Arthon’s expression broke. His eyes darted to the fingers curled around the wire.
Along the walls were endless cages. Men, women, children. Even an assortment of exotic animals he knew wasn’t native to his Earth. Or his universe. Q’vera’s lip curled, “Remind you of home?!” Under the faked anger was a spark of fear. He spat. The slime hit her face. She flicked it off with one finger. Her fist met his abdomen. Enough that he bent over, losing what contents he had, then he snarled.
“I won’t tell you!”
She smiled sweetly, “You will.” She caressed his cheek.
Q’vera hated doing all this but in her early years, she had been tasked with infiltration. She knew what these kinds of desperate and loathsome beings did. All too well. Had seen, even within Edenverse, the outcome of Artock pirate incursions. Those who joined with them often met grisly violent ends. She hissed when another rat-faced pirate leaned in closely. Q’vera snapped,” I could consume this whole station!” The lower-level pirates paled and scattered like fleas.
Iresh expanded. Her shadowed flesh leaked through the walls.
A portly human, his face poxed and scarred, shouted, “Lady Adena! I apologize for the Red Wave’s unseemly welcome!”
Ritark howled. The warble knocked the older man back to the wall. Q’vera’s lips curled back, “No one touches my merchandise!”
The Litari duo flowed around Q’vera. In this universe?
They were mindless husks at the beck and call of their master. They could consume this whole station within an eternal night. Professor Nara guarded the ship. One Litari was unheard of outside the basic fringes. Three to one pirate captain? It made most wonder how she managed it. A balance of curiosity and overwhelming fear.
*****
Professor Nara only had to circle the ship.
It was disconcerting just how much of a demon his people were within this place. The realization hit him all at once, without Eliza this was what would have happened to the Litari within Eden. He noticed a small human girl. A man three times her size pulled her forward. “Eat this one! Oh, Child of the Eternal Chain!” She screamed as she phased through Nara’s body. That was the 10th child today. He was determined to rescue as many as possible. If these savages wanted to sacrifice their children? He would deliver them unto Eden.
This third eye remained closed. It was the only way to keep them all safe.
Including the poor souls in stasis within his body.
At this rate? He could provide room enough for 100’s more. The dreams said there would be salvation. Within this place? They were a pale fire but provided illumination against the void of Evil. To think? His people’s true power had been locked away behind the lies of Uplift Protocol. He continued his slow methodical path around the outer hull of the ship. None would dare to enter this room.
Unless it was for an offering.
Nara shuddered.
He prayed to the Three for guidance.
*****
Elijah Odessen glanced about. What a strange place. He and Genevive had been exploring Noah’s Ark. They had found some sparkling silver pools. Two babies had slumbered there. Then a bright light stuck. A warm voice told him, “Help Nara. Guide them all to the Guardian of the Lost.”
He cried out, “Genevive!” He recalled the devastation. Evacuating the Lands of Plenty. The crown of all creation. A living paradise. Adam and Eve had made sure both had boarded the massive vessel. Other children cried out, “Do not eat us!”
“Did you see it?”
“A MONSTER! THE ENTERAL CHAINS HAVE US!”
Genevive cried out, “Elijah!”
The Typherian boy whirled. His sandy brown hair was wild about his face. He would have to cut it soon. He opened his arms. She wrapped her cloak about them both. It was a lovely thing. Made of light blue silks. The other children shouted, “He has the eyes of the demons!” Three Golden circles manifested. A melodic tenor asked, “Where did you two come from?”
One boy stepped forward. A shiv in his hands. “I ain’t gonna feed you Eternal Chain! The Litari are….”
Elijah raised his hand.
The shiv dissolved. His was the uncorrupted Matter Manipulation of the Odessen Soul Shard. His family’s battle sense came to the fore. He moved Genevive behind him. “They know not what they do. Honored Host, I beseech thee, offer the Shroud of your Hearth.”
Nara’s eyes widened. “That is….”
Ancient Litari. From beyond the borders of Eden. Astounding.
He continued, “So it shall be. The rest are within stasis. We have no room aboard the scout vessel. You will be safe within my Third Eye.”
Genevive gawked, “Really! You are one of the Speakers! Blessed by the Third!”
Nara chittered, delighted by the young human, “Indeed! I see the Path. I imagine we will have much to discuss.”
Elijah responded, “You hide your Third. Noah’s Ark passed this way. We must get back!”
Nara’s shock flooded the children, “You have been aboard that vessel?”
Elijah reached out with his soul shard. This was no enemy. No trick. He nodded.
“We must help the Shepherd of Lost Souls.”
Ruins of Elysium
Golden Host Requilary
I pushed with all my might.
The silver-white doorway remained closed.
A set of words rose: //Once Ordained. So you Shall Enter the Halls of the Host.//
All around us a vast city remained silent. Cold as a tomb. The children had regained their human forms. Alia still maintained a vigil. Lo’tar glanced skyward. He pointed, his war form had faded once we left the Weave. That was no scattering of clouds. They gleamed bone-white in the semi-darkness of the Eternal Night of this place. Those were skeletons. Joined and twisted in an endless parade of death.
I knelt as another spasm took my breath away.
Images flashed.
I did not want this Eliza’s life. The raven-haired woman with green eyes agreed with me.
Alia could have been her twin. In another place. Another life.
Even if I came from Eliza’s blood, bone, and flesh. Taken by the Urraden woman with dead crimson eyes. Yes, I knew names. Faces. All the buildings here were forlorn. Marked with battle. Desecration beyond the pale. The boys clung to their mother. Fearing the movement upon the moonlight shores. The soft swell of the sea beckoned. A shard of the Divine yet thrived here. Among the dirge of the Fallen.
We had to change Lo’tar’s realm for the better. I had to find these lost souls.
Even if it meant my death. Would I even truly expire? A glint of moonlight upon a distant pier called to me. I moved away from the doorway.
I would find no entry there. Not yet.
I would need a soul of my own first.
*****
Alia pointed. Lo’tar nodded.
His expression softened. It was a misty outline. A set of wings clung to MT-155’s spine. Waiting. A mere shade of their true power. As if blessed by the stories of ancient times. From the forbidden era of Human expansion. He tested the air. Waves. In this land of ghosts? There was life. Alia stood stock still. Above them, the skeletons parted. A sea hung at the center.
Lo’tar blurted out, “What wonders remain cloaked within the worlds of worlds?”
MT-155 responded, “More than could ever be dreamed of. What lies beyond that hidden sea?” She took a few steps towards the tarnished golden pier. Water flowed from the sky. Light as rain. Lo’tar watched. Frozen by the sight of the water encircling MT-155.
Three golden rings encircled him and his family.
//So protected. So warded. Worry not. For I walk with you.//
Elysium was not dead. It merely slumbered.
Lo’tar knelt. He touched the warm surface of the stone beneath him.
“I know not what lies ahead. I only wish….”
Would he even dare such a thing? To give her a name.
Warmth flooded his bones. The voice echoed.
Family is more than blood.
*****
I blinked.
The water blanketed me. I was unable to turn my head. The water turned blood red. Angry voices clattered against my eardrums, “This one wishes a soul?”
“Not so simple.”
“Pathetic. They already break so many vows.”
The voices rose. I couldn’t hear my own heart. The cacophony continued unabated.
“Why should that one get wings. It is already insulting enough….”
“Lightbearer!”
They raged. I realized that these were the skeletons that hung upon that endless sky. Locked in torment. Forgotten. Like so many through the ages. Myth into legend. Until even those who walked out among us didn’t know the full truth. A gentle voice called, “We were not always so fractured. We saw the Fallen. Lucifer upon his Throne of Bone. We exist. Yet cannot escape.”
He emerged from the clouded waters. “I gave them to the Scholar. The last of us Born to Creation. The beginning and the end. The Ouroboros that will devour and renew the World.” The Thronebearer moved toward me. His body was a mass of wounds. His neck bore the wicked inflection of a knife. His eyes never left my face.
“See the gravity of our mistakes.”
The sea boiled. I reached out. My fingertips closed around a barren skull.
My mouth filled with water. I kicked towards the surface.
Every heartbeat rattled against my ribs.
I took in a big gulp of air as I broke the surface.
A vibrant golden sunrise turned overhead.
A dog barked. His paws left no disturbance upon the water as he ran. He stopped. Then sat. Waiting. I patted myself. The dog’s form cleared. Two triangular ears perked forward. A massive black wolf with orange eyes gazed down at me. “How odd? The sea does not often give empty vessels!”
He cocked his head to the side, “I am Cerberus! I guard the newborn Thronebearers. Yet you have the mark of a lost soul. Curious! Father will explain. Follow!” He nudged me with his giant nose. He was quite bulky. Even I only came up to his lower leg. I rose.
Floated to eye level. “Lead on, if you please!”
Cerberus howled. His delight colored the air. Showers of gold, vermilion, sapphire, and emerald trailed after him as he dashed across the Sea. This place was a wonder. My mind could hardly fathom it all at once. Breathtaking beauty at war with my memory. Such as it was. X3 would have found this place fascinating.
A voice murmured, “Don’t forget. See with eyes unclouded.”
*****
Varn Ayeer pressed his palms to Eliza’s temples. He recited the words once more.
“See with eyes unclouded.” His great granddaughter’s soul was in flux. The Ayeer Tower would keep her still until the rites were concluded. As was written in the times of Noah. As the great ship sprang forth from Elysium. Spreading the True Word. The origin of the Arcane Order was from before. Not even the various Hosts of Elysium knew of its existence. Entrusted to those that came after.
The ones that Lucifer so reviled.
He turned, motioning to Lanis, “We must give her reflection time.”
Lorain took one of Eliza’s hands.
Gave it a gentle squeeze. “You never did things by half did you Cornfed?”
*****
I squinted. “What is a Cornfed?”
Lo’tar had no name for me yet. I frowned. This wasn’t mine.
Cerberus jumped a tall marble tower. It had felt like an eternity but we finally arrived upon a majestic valley. Vines rose from the verdant ground. Corded around me like serpents. Cerberus said, “Now begins the Trials of the Ordained!”
The vines dragged me down. Deep within the earth.
Three statues rose before me.
“One does not See the Path.”
“One does not Know the Path.”
“One shall Walk the Path of Ancients.”
Riddles. Somehow I knew this would be the least of my worries.
Cerberus grinned that wolfish smile of his.
Issue 5: Here
Issue 7: Here
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