Return to Aether

To Aether

Life was strange and mysterious.

"What do you think we will find there?" asked Falco.

Alas, none were certain. That the palace as well as other buildings were being dug out and repaired there was no doubt, but did any animal life still call Aether home? Could birds still be heard in the trees? Had they fled before the Earth Bull's escape and returned when all was safe? Minos had said Taurus had to lead a band of pirates to steal a bull, telling them that the old breed was no more on Aether, but no doubt survived through settlers bringing them elsewhere.

"I wish we knew." Rowena replied. "To think of Aether under Taurus' rule... No longer called that, but Colonia Tauri... It feels like a nightmare, a horrible nightmare!"

"Taurus is a nightmare made real." Stated Achilles. "He was what his father made him and the situation of the belief there was no longer an Aether has changed him as well. The Earth Bull... Patron of Crown Princes, Rebels, Bandits and Torturers... It is the last three that Taurus fits with most. Some people may romanticize rebels, but the fact is they are not all good and even the ones that are employ methods as bad as the ones they are rebelling against or worse, making you wonder wherefore anyone should support them."

"Life is complicated." Said Falco.

Nodding, Achilles uttered: "Aye, that it is Falco and the rebels who are good are a rarity."

Looking at Rowena, Falco wondered what was going on in his wife's mind. She was just sitting there, staring into pace intensely, an interesting reversal from their usual tendencies. Placing a hand upon her wrist, he uttered her name, causing her to ask: "Yes?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"What more we will find beyond what Minos told us." Rowena answered. "He is such a monster, what else has he gotten up to besides slavery, torture, blood sacrifice and the like?"

A wonderful question, one that Falco wished he could answer.

"His paterfamilias was..." Achilles looked to the sky, wondering what to say. "Not exactly the best of people. I had difficulty believing he even was human, though human he was. I did not really like Taurus Major and him accusing his wife of infidelity just because Taurus Minor was not a handsome baby was another reason for me to dislike him."

"What else do you remember about him?" asked Falco.

"Taurus Major kept his son in chains and had him away from the palace like he was a..." Taking a breath, Achilles looked at the deck and said: "Well, he was never that good of a father. It is thankful that having children exposed is against the law in Aether, but in the case of Taurus Minor... I have to wonder. I also wonder if Taurus would have turned out better if he'd had a different father, but even then, I think he would have turned out the same."

"You mean he still would have slain my father." Commented Rowena.

"Your father, his father, attempted a coup, betrayed us at Hyperion, I still think he would have done all those things!"

Falco could not argue. He couldn't see Taurus turning out any other way than the way he had. The man may not have actually been half-man, half-bull, but he was still a monster.

Tapping his hand on the deck, the Divine Deucalion of Aether asked: "Do you think he has made any renovations? If the Earth Bull has been made the island's sole deity, then what has become of the temples of the other deities? Has he converted them into fanes to the Earth Bull or into something else?"

"We will see when we get there." Achilles answered, stroking his chin as he spoke. Taking a breath, he then said: "We haven't been on Aether in four twelvemonths. Incredible."

"I just wish it was under better circumstances." Uttered Falco.

"As do I, Falco." Rowena said in agreement.

Taking a moment to stroke Kenneth, Falco thought about what to do when they reached Aether. They would have to be careful, that was obvious, but where would they even start? Where would Taurus, Sarpedon, Elephas and the rest even be? Perhaps it would have been best for them to go among the serfs first.

He had no idea. He knew the objective, but how were they to go about it?

Shaking his head, Falco looked upwards and to his surprise, saw something he had not seen in four twelvemonths: a green, feathered serpent with wings flying through the sky. He had only since it once before, when he and his companions had set out to rescue Rowena and the rest whom Acinonyx and his men had abducted.

"What is that?" asked Rowena.

Achilles answered: "I've inquired about it and I still don't know."