The Order of Ja'el

Chapter One

"She returns at the dawn of the night..."

Jada swung involuntarily towards the whisper from the Sphere before cursing herself under her breath and quickly steadying her stride. People were watching her walk through the city's centre, their eyes ever fixed on the Commander's elegant wife in the midmorning sun. She pretended to observe the ground as if an uneven stone in the pristine pathway had caused her jerked reaction. She then turned her head skyward in feigned indignation for the inconvenience, flipping the skirt of her exquisitely gemmed dress with her free hand. When those behind her took a cautious arc around her previous steps, Jada knew she had successfully sold the lie.

Perhaps it was a bit extreme and even unnecessary to put on such an elaborate production. Still, the secret Jada harboured would allow nothing less as the consequence of discovery would be a ruthless execution via the Skyfall's entry to the realm of death. How could she explain that the Sky Colonies' most sacred object, the Goldberg Sphere of Ja'el, spoke to her more and more of late? Jada was no priestess of the Order. Instead, she came from simple origins, found orphaned and alone in her teenage years when her parents and younger sister were causalities in the wars. For most of her twenty-five years of life, Jada was barely noticeable in a crowd. She had only grown in reputation since her marriage to Commander Leagus five years ago.

Re-entering the thoughts explored only in her mind, Jada wondered who was the "she" that the Sphere said would return.

It must be one of the aristocrats from the other Sky Colonies coming in for the celebration, but why the word "returns"—does this mean she's originally from here? Is she due to arrive at sunset, assuming that's what the "dawn of the night" means? And why does the Sphere want me to know?!

The most prestigious families among the world's Sky Colonies made their way to the Capital to worship at the Goldberg Sphere every eleven years. While indeed made of gold, its name came from its complex spherical shape crafted with hexagons and pentagons that vibrated with strange life. The Sphere predated known civilisation, but all had accepted it as the channel to Ja'el. The Order of Ja'el, a sect of priests and priestesses who held the ultimate say of the law under the will of Ja'el, would issue the instructions they had received directly from the Sphere for the rulership of the Colonies. They would even speak to the fates of the Earth Colonies below. There was an exciting rumour that the sect had received instructions to eliminate their enemies on the ground once and for all, with even more talks on how they could accomplish it. The Earth Colonies had been like cockroaches, their people surviving fate after fate from above. Yet, they never stopped trying to climb the cylindrical sky towers to reach the city.

What sort of existence must they have to attempt so desperately to escape it? Jada's thought rung with compassion. Sentiments of this nature also needed to remain well-kept secrets. In the past, those found helping or sympathising with the climbers were deemed traitors to the Order of Ja'el. Her husband often reminded her that the Earth Colonies had been responsible for her family's deaths, almost as if he sensed her empathy and sought to snuff it out with the painful memory. He wasn't always heartless, and his dashing smile and gentle ways—at least with her—could ease even the harshest reprimands.

Jada finished shopping for the night's celebrations and made her way back to her haven of a home for lunch. Fashioned in glass and gold, it was the one place she found private moments to unveil her social status and explore even the most forbidden of thoughts. A chance to muse over the Sphere's new message with a hot cup of golden leaf chai to warm her hands was nothing short of the very best afternoon she could envision before putting on her mask once again.

"And here she is, the most exquisite star in any sky, my wife Jada," Leagus gushed as she entered their luxurious abode.

"Oh!" Jada exclaimed at the sight of a host of officials and guards surrounding a dark, beautiful man who turned politely and gave a gracious bow. Jada swiftly spotted the emblem on his chest. Her breath caught in her throat.