Nero
Nero sets one of his books on the back seat of the prison truck as the royal caravan comes to a halt in the military base at the mouth of the Siroté Mountains. The Gate is being rebuilt with stronger walls and four new turrets with cannons much bigger than the originals.
“I’d like to see the Drebin try that again,” the guard in the passenger seat says when they pass through the wall.
Outside the Gate, tanks and other burly vehicles are set up in a defensive position to provide cover during construction. Nero looks over the number of Borukins stationed during the construction and is unable to count them all. His eyes drift past them and north where he had felt a strong source of Aether when they were fleeing to Kiats many months ago. Was that the Drebin?
The caravan turns south along the foothills and Nero sits up. “Where are we going? Isn’t Sunta that way?” He points west away from the mountains.
The guard in the passenger seat turns around and nods. “We’re going to the Moltrik Corusnigma first. The king wants the prince to pass the trial.”
“Are we going to be able to see it?”
“We’ll walk around the area but I doubt we’ll see him attempt.”
“That’d be great if we could. I’ve heard of the Corusnigmas and they sound awesome. Have you ever seen one?”
Both the guards say no.
“I know it’s really high Aether and stuff, but what makes it so hard to get to the center?”
“It’s the randomness and the concentration of the Aether that’s the tricky part. If you’re caught in just one flare up, you’ll be lucky to survive,” the driver says. “The Moltrik Corusnigma doesn’t have any major physical obstacles but the real danger is the electric forest, the magnetic morass, the molecular igniter, and the spot light.”
“What are all those?” Nero asks.
“They are the Corusnigma’s smites that are a result of the different branches of the Moltrik cast: one for electricity, one for magnetism, one for molecular, and one for light. The electric forest and the spot light will be pretty obvious if you see it, the molecular igniter is the most dangerous as it’ll disassociate molecular bonds in your body and there’s no obvious physical tell. The magnetic morass is the least dangerous as it’s just an extremely high magnetic field and as long as you don’t have any metal on you, the effects will only slow you down.”
Nero looks down the road through the front window. I really hope we get to see it.
*****
“How much further do we need to go?” Seader asked with irritation. His combat helmet hung off his backpack and a steady flow of sweat was pulled from his face by the thick humid air of the tropical forest.
A human excavator stepped over clumps of vegetation and hacked through growth with his machete. “Not much further sir,” he said with condescension as he led us to our destination.
The six of us, which made the first steps on to the island together, had been surveying different finds of the many teams exploring the island for three weeks now. Each new set of ruins was an exciting discovery; some big and some small, but all seemed to have the markings of our Creators. We just needed to catch one break before it all fell into place and we could start to truly understand.
“Patience my friend,” my husband said. “We’ll get there in time.”
“How can you ask me to have patience?” Seader demanded. “If this human is accurate, the new area matches the description of the Last Sacrifice. We may finally be able to put to rest the differences of our teachings.”
“As long as you’re prepared to be disappointed,” the human leader, Onk, said, slapping at bugs flying around his face. “I find it so amusing for such a logical race, it’s not obvious the Creators brought about the Final Days. Their sacrifice was nothing more than an effort to fix their own mistake.”
Seader shook his head and wiped the sweat off his sunburnt forehead. “You humans and Borukins are fools. It was your rebellion that brought about the Final Days. If it weren’t for the love of our Creators and their sacrifice, none of us would be here.”
“Oh please,” Onk said. “You’ve placed them on such a high pedestal you’d lick their shoes clean if they–”
“For Stone’s sake, enough already,” I said fiercely. “We don’t know what we’ll find but until then let's not start this debate. It never goes anywhere.”
Onk and Seader grudgingly agreed and we all continued in silence.
Not more than fifteen minutes later, a Borukin military officer ran up to us sucking in deep breaths of air. “Corusmin Master Rolk, I’ve just got news we’ve had multiple sightings of cressen.”
“What!?” Seader gasped.
My husband held up his hand. His hard professional façade showed the slightest hint of fear. “Calm yourself Seader.” He turned back to the Borukin officer. “Can you say for certain?”
The officer nodded. “Yes for certain. We have four independent sources that have seen the tell-tail yellow eyes watching us.”
“And the species?” My husband asked.
“At least two, possibly three. They were seen on the ground and in the trees. We're not sure if one of them is aerial or not.”
“That's it then,” Seader cut in. “We need to pull out. We’re unprepared for this kind of threat.”
Onk let out a puff. “Leave it to the Erohsians to be the first to run.”
“Don’t Onk,” my husband said sharply. “This is serious. Seader is right to be concerned.”
Seader glared at Onk. “Of course I am. How did you not know about cressen being here Rolk?” Seader asked with obvious strain in his voice.
“Because no one’s made it this far before,” my husband replied. “Take a second to think. We need to look at this in the right light. Simply running away at this point does us no good, but I do think we should make plans to pull out and reassess the situation.”
“Reassess the situation?” Seader cried. “There’s no other option but to pull out. You and the dumb humans can stay and fight, but I’m not sticking around to get massacred.”
Onk stepped forward. “What are you trying to say?”
My husband put his hand on Onk's chest and stopped him. “Onk enough. Seader get a hold of yourself, for Stone’s sake. I've encountered cressen before. Just because they’re dangerous doesn't mean they’re always hostile. We've made it this far and have been here for over three weeks. Who's to say we’re even in danger? Cressen are simple creatures and easy to read. We just need to avoid their trigger and we'll be fine. If we were going to trigger them, we would have already done it by accident. Now that we know they're here we can take the necessary precautions.”
Seader shook his head. “Like it’s that easy.”
My husband nodded. “It is.” He turned to the Borrukin officer. “Inform everyone we’re in non-hostile cressen territory. That means, no hostility to anything, do not move any more ruins, and no more exploring. Have everyone regroup at the camps and wait for further details.”
The Borukin nodded. “Right away Corusmin Master.” He quickly moved off.
My husband turned to Seader. “We’ll be alright. We’ll continue with our plan to see the newly discovered ruins, help the people there get back to the ship, and then we can come up with a plan to deal with the situation.”
Seader pulled his large weapon tight to his body. “Cressen might be simple, but the Anterraktor isn’t, and where there are cressen there’s always a guardian. What if we encounter that?”
My husband held up his hands to our surroundings. “Everything we’ve encountered is incredibly old. I bet the Anterraktor has been around for a long time so it's most likely hibernating. As long as we don't do anything stupid, we won't trigger the cressen and we’ll be fine. Trust me on this.”
“This is a big risk,” Seader said.
“I know and I'll take responsibility for whatever happens.” My husband turned back to the human excavator. “Now if you would, lead the way.”
With a lack of color in his face, the excavator began again.
We walked for a little over an hour through the dense forest, following markings on trees and various forms of Cairns. The path was difficult and always uphill. Unexpectedly the surrounding vegetation fell away at a cliff. The cliff wrapped around a large area of sunken ground that looked like someone had taken a giant scoop out of the landscape. In the center of the hole there were ruins being consumed by vegetation, but even at this distance I could tell their size was immense. There were six large circular structures that were repeated at the points of a flat stoned area in the shape of a hexagon.
“‘In the crater we took our last breaths, with the trap set, there was nothing left to do but wait for their arrival,’” Maizy said while looking off at the massive bowl in the planet.
“Orinda 3:14, of the Battle of Orinda,” my husband said. “I can see why they’re thinking this is the location of the Last Sacrifice. We wouldn’t be the first to make such a claim though.” He turned to the human excavator. “What have you learned so far?”
“We found what looks to be a sealed ruin that runs underground at the edge of that large flat surface but we haven’t a clue how to open it,” he said. “We also discovered that just like the Corusnigmas, we were able to match each of the structures with a unique Aether signature, suggesting each structure seems to have been tied to one of the Aether casts.”
My husband pointed to the one massively damaged structure. “Do you remember which cast was associated with that structure?”
“I believe that one had a Biat signature.”
“Hmmm,” my husband rapped his knuckles on his hip. “I wonder if there’s significance to that. Why would the Biat structure be destroyed more than the others and why is the Biat Corusnigma the center of all of the others? Are the Aether levels elevated?”
“Slightly higher than other parts,” the excavator responded, “but nothing close to the Corusnigmas. What ever the purpose of this structure, I believe it failed.”
“Do you have any guesses as to what happened?” I asked.
The excavator shrugged and shook his head. “Nothing solid. It looks like something tore itself out of the Biat structure, while the others seem to have failed at head stones located on the large center surface.”
“Enough talk,” Seader said. “I’d like to see them up close so we can make our own educated opinions.”
The human excavator flashed a quick look of frustration and then dipped his head. “Of course. We have to follow the edge of the cliff for a little then we can follow an old road to the center.” The excavator said while pointing the way with his finger.
The path was better traveled than what we were just using so we made good time. We covered the distance in about 30 minutes and arrived alongside the severely damaged structure. Stones and debris were scattered among the vegetation. The structure was riddled with cylindrical voids of varying depth where plants grew.
“It seems this is just a large storage container,” Seader said. “I bet these holes used to create a matrix of wood or another high Aetheratin material before it decomposed.”
My husband nodded. “I agree.” His attention suddenly wandered away from the structure before he turned to the excavator. “Has there been a thorough survey of the area?”
“Not yet sir, we were mostly focused on the center,” the excavator replied.
My husband marched off in the direction he had been looking. We began to follow but he held us back with a raised hand. “Just wait a moment. I feel something.” He continued through the forest and disappeared as he pushed through a thick section. I held my breath for the moment I didn't see him. “Alright everyone,” he yelled back. “I think it's safe.”
We moved quickly forward and struggled through the same vegetation he had, which opened up to a small clearing. My husband was standing in the center with his hands out as if he were holding them up to a mesmerizing fire. I could feel a hint of radiating Aether now that I was closer and I could only imagine what he was feeling.
“What's the Aether coming from?” I asked.
My husband shook his head. “I'm not sure, but it seems to be centered here. I feel like the Aether is being contained by something. There's a lot more too it than what I'm sensing.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Onk come here but keep your distance, I need to borrow some Aether.”
“Are you sure this is wise?” Seader asked.
“It hasn't reacted to me yet so just a touch of Aether won't do anything.” My husband pulled out his styk and held it towards Onk, where Onk touched it with a small spark of Aether. “Thank you.” My husband turned back to the center and held up one hand, his fingertips scintillating with Aether.
The Aether from his fingers latched onto something and a flare of light bloomed from the center, causing us to cover our eyes. I pulled my bo staff forward preparing myself for whatever was to come but fortunately nothing attacked us while I blinked away the spots in my vision. Once I could see, a watermelon-sized, glowing sphere was bobbing in the air in front of my husband.
“Wow, that's curious. It's like the Aether caused it to take shape.” My husband reached out and touched it. “There's a lot of Aether in this thing. It's impressive. I've never seen anything like it… it feels alive.” He stepped away from the sphere and approached Seader. “Could I borrow your Aether Equipment? I'd like to take some measurements.”
“NO STOP!” Seader yelled, raising a hand towards the sphere.
We turned just in time to see Onk touching the sphere. There was a large crack, and a bright wave of energy sent Onk flying and tumbling along the ground. I covered my face and felt the warmth of the Aether pass through me and set my skin tingling.
My husband rushed over and knelt beside Onk. “Are you okay?”
Onk shook his head. “Yeah. What happened?”
“I'm not sure,” my husband said. “The sphere reacted to you in a way I wouldn’t have expected. You shouldn’t have done that.”
Leaves slapped into our faces as a swirling of wind picked up, quickly turning into a roar. The trees and plants rustled and I had to cover my face from the pelting I was receiving. I peeked through my hands at the sphere, and saw it melting into glowing ooze that fell to the forest floor. It instantly started to boil into a mist that evaporated to nothing. The colors around me began to dim and the edges of the world blurred.
“It’s causing an Aether shift,” I yelled over the noise. I could only imagine the amount of Aether necessary to cause such a shift.
The sphere soon melted away and the wind calmed down. Leaves and other material gently glided back to the forest floor and the color and sharpness of the natural world came back almost completely.
“Is that it?” Seader asked.
My husband stood up and pulled his styk out. “No. There's something here with us.” He stepped towards the center of the clearing and slowly rotated, ready to strike in an instant.
Suddenly light caught my eye and I turned to look. Ten talon-like shapes burned into existence, floating in midair and swaying ever so slightly. Before we could react, the talons lunged at Onk. Onk instinctively released a blast of Moltrik Aether from his lepisent at the incoming talons. The bolt of electricity exploded against whatever was attached to the talons and sent an electrically charged mass flying into the vegetation.
A human-sized creature rose from the storm of electricity; its talons glowed even brighter and electrical streamers traced out its invisible body. Its wolf-like head snapped directly toward Onk and it launched itself at him with stocky legs, its massive guerrilla-like arms reaching out to tear into Onk. My husband leapt towards the creature and swung at it just as the last bit of electricity faded from the creature’s body and vanished from view. Rolk toppled to the ground as his styk passed completely through the creature and the glowing talons continued towards Onk.
This time Onk and Fording were ready and they both blasted the creature with Aether, knocking it back into the forest. The fiery energy of Fording’s Pahzan Aether interwove with Onk’s blue Moltrik Aether across the creatures body, occasionally jumping off to the surroundings.
“It’s a Virker,” my husband yelled. “It’s a creature completely made of Aether. Physical attacks are worthless alone.”
“They don’t exist,” Onk yelled. “It’s impossible.”
I stepped beside my husband with my bo styk ready. “We can have that discussion after we’ve dealt with it.”
My husband held out his styk to me. “Take some of the Aether I pulled from it just a moment ago. When we attack it with Aether, the Aether will temporarily draw it more into our realm, which will allow us to attack it directly.”
I grabbed his styk and pulled some Aether from it. “Thanks,” I said.
The Virker leapt again at Onk and the two humans countered with their Aether attacks but this time the Virker was just barely slowed. With the Aether still coursing over its body I swung my styk at the creature, forcing the Aether in my styk to the surface as if I were going to deflect an Aether attack. My styk made solid contact with the creature, driving it to its knees. I followed through with the other end of my bo but it jumped out of the way, slashing its talons at my leg. I pulled my leg back just in time but the searing heat of the talons still singed my skin.
The humans attacked it again, knocking it off balance, and my husband leapt at it. His styk connected once in the creature’s side making it stumble, but it blocked Rolk’s next few attacks. My husband dodged swipes from the talons and swung at the Virker again. With no apparent effort, the creature grabbed his styk and raked my husband’s chest with its other hand. My heart seized while I watched my husband clutch his chest and fall to the ground.
The creature turned back to the humans and flicked away a couple of their Aether attacks with ease. It launched itself at Onk, sinking its claws into his shoulder and driving him to the ground while simultaneously tossing Fording into the vegetation. Its other set of talons rose to strike down on Onk’s neck. I forced the thoughts of my husband away and rushed over to help. Just as the Virker began to swipe, a pale green blur slammed into it and knocked it over.
The Virker’s arm flared with Aether as a large, hairless, dog-like creature bit into it. Spikes of different sizes ran along the new creature’s body with larger spikes culminating at joints. It’s paws were more cat-like, and dug into the Virker causing additional wounds to flare with light. The Virker struggled with the new creature only to get pounced on by two more. Yellow eyes flashed and I knew these were the cressen. A hairless monkey-like cressen with the same spike arrangement dropped from the trees onto the group.
Even with the multitude of cressen hanging from it, the Virker struggled to its feet. Aether spewed from its wounds like a thick mist that slowly settled and eventually burned away in an orange glow. Again the colors of the forest began to fade.
The Virker slowly brought one arm around and grabbed the cressen on its other arm. Its talons sunk into the cressen’s back and caused blood to paint the cressen’s pale skin.
A sudden bright flash blinded me and the world disappeared.
The ringing in my ears was the first sign I was still alive and each following pain, whether it was a sharp and stabbing or large and throbbing, was a blessing of confirmation. It took me a moment to sort out I was upside down against a tree with most of my weight on my head and twisted arm. I could feel blood rushing to my face and an assortment of sticks and other objects poking me. As my sensations began to work themselves out I could tell I wasn’t suffering any life threatening injuries and I hoped the others fared as well. What happened? I pulled myself out of a clump of vegetation at the base of a tree and looked around only to see a large crater where the Virker and cressen had been. Dirt and clumps of plants slowly sprinkled the ground from above and a great chaotic buzz of Aether filled the air. The color and normality of the world quickly returned as the buzz of Aether settled.
The others in the group were stirring from similar tangled positions and I let out a great sigh of relief when I saw my husband walking towards me with his hand on this chest. I struggled to my feet and rushed over to him, happy to see his wounds were bleeding slowly due to burns lining each of the gouges across his chest.
“What was that?” my husband asked.
Seader brushed dirt off himself and patted his weapon that hung from a strap. “Yeah sorry about that. It definitely could be tuned down a good amount; it’s still a bit crude. At least it got the job done,” Seader said.
“I've never seen anything like it,” Onk said. “It didn't even leave behind essence.”
“That's because it’s brand new,” Seader replied with a smile. “It's an Aether weapon, the first of it's kind and it seems to have passed its first field test with flying colors. I told you you’d soon be respecting the Erohsians as an offensive force.”
“You just evaporated the cressen along with the Virker,” my husband said. He paused and let silence fill the air. Not a single creature could be heard. “We've just started a war with the Anterraktor.”
“But you promised it wouldn't be an issue,” Seader said.
“That was before you started killing cressen,” my husband turned to me. “We need to pull everyone back before it's too late. We won't have much time before the cressen group up and start to attack. May Stone be with us, because we’re going to need him.”
*****
After a half hour of waiting in the truck, the guards finally bring Nero out to stretch his legs. The cool, salty air of the ocean tickles his nose, vivifying his senses as he fills his lungs with a long, deep breath. The caravan is parked on a large shelf with mountains protruding into the gray clouds on either side. The shelf reaches towards the ocean and suddenly drops away. Goosebumps covers his body as the tingling of Aether runs over his skin. He shifts his perspective and immediately his senses are drowned by an intense blue Aether originating from beyond the edge of the shelf. After a moment his senses adjust and the world around him is a pallid light. Waves of blue Aether radiate outward with currents of varying brightness as though a blue sun was hidden below the edge. Deep thuds of thunder echo between the mountains every so often.
“Are you okay?” One of the guards asks.
Nero lets his perspective shift back to normal and looks at him. “I’ve never been around so much Aether…” He points towards the edge of the shelf. “Are we going that way?”
He nods. “We’ll head off to the right ridge and hope to stay out of the way of the king and prince. I believe the prince is done so it shouldn’t be a problem. Remove any metal from your pockets and body and stay between us in case there are any hot spots.” The guard hands Nero a little tube that looks like a pen with a clip on it. “Put this on the collar of your shirt.”
Nero looks at the tube and notices it is hollow down the center with glass on one end and a white film on another. “What is it?”
“It’s a radiation dosimeter, incase we get hit by stray radiation, it’s good to know what we’ve been exposed to.” He then holds out a set of earplugs. “And put these in.”
“What for?”
“To protect your ears… don’t ask stupid questions.”
The two guards remove their styks from the truck and check the lepisents strapped to their forearms. Nero takes his spot between them and they start towards the edge of the shelf. The ground falls away and reveals another shelf about 50 meters below, which again drops off to the ocean where the faint sound of waves crashing against the rocks is heard. Mist flows down the mountains like little streams. It passes around boulders, slides off cliffs, and collects in troughs, until it reaches the lower shelf where it lightly covers a grey metallic surface that extends for hundreds of meters. In the center is a pyramid no taller than a small house made of the same grey metallic material. A few silver streaks run randomly through the perfectly flat surface of the shelf. A beam of light shines from the top of the pyramid, arbitrarily scanning in every direction.
Suddenly, a vortex of light and energy swirls about the peak of the pyramid where it collects until there is a bright flash and a blue bolt of lightening arcs out and burns a line in Nero’s vision. It reaches across the shelf and strikes the ground releasing a sharp crack. The concussion knocks Nero in the chest and he instinctually throws his hands over his ears, even with the earplugs. A forest of electrical tendrils sprouts from the ground where the bolt had struck. They reach up towards the sky to the height of a Borukin, whipping in the air for a moment before gradually fading to nothing. Two more bolts of lightening strike other parts of the shelf in quick succession.
“That’s the electric forest as I bet you could tell. Not even the strongest Borukin could survive one of those,” a guard says as the echoes of thunder continue to bounce between the mountains. “The beam of light coming from the top is the spot light. It might look harmless, but there is a large range of electromagnetic radiation in the beam. Radio waves, microwaves, x-rays, and gamma rays, which is why we wear the dosimeters. You want to stay out of the beam or the toll you pay for that slip will catch up with you some years down the road.” The guard points to the shelf and sweeps his hand around. “The only tell of the molecular igniter is the grey shiny metal you see that makes up the whole shelf. That’s silicon and is what’s left of the natural granite when it is broken down into its constituent components. The few streaks you see are aluminum and other elements. There are no real effects for the magnetic morass but if you get caught in it and are slowed down enough, any one of the other smites could get you.”
“And it’s really possible to get by all of that?” Nero asks.
“It’s what makes it such an achievement. In order to make it to the monolith, which is the pyramid, you need to sense the Aether and avoid it accordingly.” The guard points to a group of Borukins hiking up a trail leading from the lower shelf to the higher shelf, and a faint chant carries the distance. “It looks like the prince made it. He’s on track to be a great Borukin.”
Nero shifts his perspective and watches the currents of Aether. It concentrates in knots right before a smite occurs. So that’s how you’d avoid it. As he looks around he sees for the first time several humans wearing khaki colored clothes standing along the ridge of the upper shelf and a few standing at the outer edges of the lower shelf. Nero points to them. “Who are those people?”
One of the guards dismisses them with a wave of his hand. “Spirit hunters. They pillage the Corusnigmas in order to capture and sell spirits.”
“Why would anyone want a spirit?” Nero asks. “It wouldn’t be wise to make artifacts out of them. The thoughts of the person the essence belonged to could mess with how the Artifact behaves.”
“That’s correct but they’re not making Artifacts with these spirits. The behavior of spirits is partially due to the memories caught in the essence, and there are ways to extract and study these memories. People, especially historians, will buy the spirits for these memories and because the Corusnigmas are dangerous, they fetch a nice price”
“But why would you care about old memories?” Nero asks.
“The Corusnigmas date back before the Great Purge, where the people of the world made every attempt to wipe away a race that nearly killed the planet. Some how the spirits here are tied to the Corusnigmas and so are equally as old. Historians like to use these memories so they can attempt to piece together the holes of the past.”
“That seems like it might be important,” Nero says. “Why don’t you like them?”
“Because the past is the past, we should focus on the present and the future. There was a cleanse for a reason so let it rest. Besides, it doesn’t seem right to sell people’s spirits to be dissected and put under a microscope. I wouldn’t want it done to my essence.”
The other guard points to the group of Borukins climbing to the upper shelf. “Let’s head back so we can catch the king and prince before they perform the marking ceremony.”
On the way, the hairs on the back of Nero’s neck stand on end and the air buzzes with an increased concentration of Aether. Nero comes to a stop. “Something doesn’t feel right.” He shifts his perspective but doesn’t see the telltale signs of any of the Corusnigma smites.
The Guards slow down and raise their styks. “I may feel something as well,” one says after a moment.
With his perspective still shifted, Nero watches as wisps of blue Aether seep from the ground twisting about themselves as they grow, slowly collecting in a humanoid shape the height of the Borukins. Streaks of electricity race through its limbs and jump to the air and the ground from all over its body. When the Aether finally stops collecting, the edges of the spirit form fuzzy facial features of an old man. It looks directly at Nero and smiles, a strange crooked smile. The old man raises his hand and begins to approach. What the heck? Nero takes a step back and lets his perspective shift back to normal. Only the outline of the spirit is visible now, and its color has turned to the blue of a spark accompanied by a constant crackling. The guards step in front of Nero, which causes the spirit to stop and cock its head to the side.
Out of nowhere, a stream of fire slams into the side of the spirit, knocking it off balance for a moment. The spirit spins around and the hard outline of its shape explodes with wild hairs of electricity that almost double its thickness. Two streams of electricity from the spirit’s hands scorch the ground and shatter the boulder where the spirit hunter that attacked it hides.
One of the guards jumps forward and strikes an arm with his styk, disrupting the spirit’s attack. The spirit quickly turns on the Borukin and blasts him with Aether he barely blocks, knocking him off his feet. The other guard catches the streams of Aether with his styk and uses it to power his pulse lepisent. Two fast moving fireballs slam into the spirit’s leg and bring it to its knees. The guard springs forward and strikes the spirit’s head with his styk, causing it to tumble to its side.
The spirit jumps to its feet but before it can attack the Borukins again, multiple pulses of Aether from converging spirit hunters catch it. Wild streams of electricity whip about as the spirit stumbles backwards. It tries to focus on one spirit hunter but the barrage is so consistent its attacks are poorly aimed. Finally the spirit crumples to its knees and its outer shape melts away as though it lost what was holding it together, leaving behind a melon-sized shining star.
One of the spirit hunters runs up to the core with a small device and sucks it up. She closes the device and tucks it into the front pocket of her jacket that has a high collar running up to her ears. Her hair is gray and tied back by a bandana covering her forehead. “Yee haa! That was a powerful spirit.” She turns to the Borukins. “It would have electrified you gargantuan masses if it weren’t for us.”
The second guard walks up to her. “It may have done us no harm if you wouldn’t have attacked it.”
The woman roles her eyes. “It was a tormented spirit. There’s no rhyme or reason with them.”
The guard shakes his head. “You’re a fool.”
King Kamin and the prince run up with an entourage of other Borukins. Nero notices three humans with them. One is older wearing loose clothes that would fit well in an academic setting, another man is wearing modest clothes that fit his body comfortably and has an emotionless face, and the last man has spiked hair, tight pants, and a vest.
“What’s going on here?” King Kamin roars.
One of the guards dips his head. “There was a powerful spirit these humans,” he says waving his hand towards them, “enraged.”
The woman spirit hunter steps forward. “What he’s really trying to say is, we saved their lives. I believe a reward is in order.”
The king turns to her. “Be gone hunter. Your kind isn’t respected among us.”
The woman shrugs. “You heard the king. He doesn’t appreciate our protection. Let’s move out.”
The king turns to the guards and Nero. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Nero can barely keep himself from shriveling under the weight of the king’s ire.
“Taking the boy out to stretch his legs,” one guard says with audible strain in his voice.
“He’s a prisoner. He doesn’t need to stretch his legs.”
“I’m sorry your honor. Natina recommended we take care of him so he is presentable for the ceremony with the Erohsians.”
“Did she also tell you to make a fool out of yourself in front of the spirit hunters? Just get him out of my sight you worthless Borukins,” the king growls. “I don’t want to see him until the ceremony.”
The guards both dip their heads. “Yes my liege.” They grab Nero and shuffle him back towards their vehicle.
“Do you think we’re in trouble?” Nero asks from the backseat of the vehicle.
“Just be quiet,” a guard barks.
Nero lets his shoulder slump as his nerves overcome him. I hope I get rescued soon…
A communication device beeps. The guard picks it up. “Hello. ― Okay we’ll do so.” He puts the device down and turns to Nero. “Looks like you’re going to have a visitor.”
“Who?”
“A human. The king gave him permission.”
What now? Nero leans back and starts to pick at his pant legs.
Shortly, one guard steps out of the truck and meets the three humans Nero saw with the king earlier. While they talk, Nero shifts his perspective and sees they glow much brighter than the Borukin. Their swirling Aether obscures their shape, where as the guard has very sharp features. The old man and the younger man with spiked hair have Pahzan Aether. The modestly dressed man with no facial expressions has a mixture of Pahzan, Moltrik, Icor, and Biat Aether. Wow they’re as bright as the woman from Blue Horin. Were these the same from the games?
The other guard soon gets out of the truck and the old man takes a seat in back with Nero.
The human holds out his hand. “Hello Nero. My name is Vilhelm.” Nero looks down and sits on his hands. Vilhelm closes his hand and smiles. “It’s a good to meet you. The king says the Erohsians are looking for you and your friends... Do you know why? Did you and your friends find essence containers?” Nero remains silent. “Nero you can trust me, I’m on your side. Can I tell you a secret?” Nero looks up at him and Vilhelm smiles and leans in close. “I’m part of Catalyst.”
“Really?”
“Yes but don’t tell anyone. I hate the Erohsians just as much as you so you can trust me. Tell me about the essence you found.”
“I thought Catalyst was good though.”
“What? Of course we’re good. We’re trying to liberate humankind.” Vilhelm pauses and looks at Nero. “Why would you say that?”
Nero looks down. “Because you helped the prince kill Madam Carason,” he says quietly.
“What?” It is a moment of silence before Vilhelm lets his body relax. He puts his hand on Nero’s shoulder. “I am just as sad as you are Madam Carason died. If I could go back and save her I would in an instant. I promise.
“Then why’d you help shield the prince from the Aether canon and help him cheat?”
Vilhelm looks at Nero for another long moment. “Because Catalyst needs allies and the king asked for a favor. He promised me no one would get hurt but to my great sorrow, it was not the case. You must not tell anyone of this. Your life depends on it. The king would not be happy if he found out. Do you understand?” Nero nods and Vilhelm smiles. “Now I’ve told you a secret. It’s your turn. How did you know we helped Prince Kamin?”
Nero slips his hands out from under his legs and fidgets with the bottom of his shirt. “Because I can see Aether.”
“That is truly incredible.”
Nero looks up in surprise. “You believe me?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? How does it work?”
Nero shrugs. “I’m not sure, but when I relax, I can see all the different types of Aether people have.”
“So you can see my Aether?”
Nero nods. “You’re Pahzan, just like the guy with spiked hair.”
“And the other?”
“He has several different types, just like my friend Thea.” Nero bites his tongue.
“So you opened the canisters?”
Nero looks back down and continues to fidget.
“This is important Nero. I promise I mean you no harm. Being human, we’ve only got each other. We’re as good as family. You can trust me.” Vilhelm waits a moment. “Did you open the essence containers you found?” Still Nero is silent. “Why were you so surprised when I believed you?”
“Because no one ever believes me.”
“Have you been able to do this all your life?”
Nero shakes his head.
“Perhaps it started when you absorbed an essence?”
“I can’t absorb essence for some reason. I think something’s wrong with me.”
“Maybe I can help you. What happened?”
“I tried to absorb an essence but when I touched it, I passed out. My friends said it evaporated or something.”
“Hmm. I think I have a hunch about what’s going on.”
“You do?”
“Yes but I’d like to scan you. Do you mind?”
“Sure but nothing’ll happen.”
“Yes of course, but I just want to see for myself.” Vilhelm opens his coat and pulls out a fancy looking, hand-held Aether detector. He scans Nero but the detector picks up nothing. He looks at the detector in surprise and pushes a few buttons, but still nothing. “Yep just as expected...”
“What does it mean?”
“I want to confirm my guess first. I’d hate to tell you anything but the truth. If we’re friends though, I’m sure I’ll be talking to you again soon.”
I can’t believe he knows! This could explain everything. Nero nods. “Yes I’d like that.”
“Now tell me more about your friend Thea. How is she doing since she absorbed the essence? Is she acting the same?”
“Yeah. Our friend said the essences she absorbed wasn’t too strong, so she should be okay.”
“Hmm, well I’m glad to hear. I’d very much like to meet your friends, do you know where they are?”
“No.” But they’re going to rescue me. Nero smiles to himself.
“Ah, but you know where they will be. They’re going to come for you, aren’t they?”
Nero looks at Vilhelm and his face turns hot.
Vilhelm smiles warmly. “Don’t worry. I told you, we’re on the same side and maybe I’ll be able to help. It sounds like a perfect job for Catalyst.”
“Really?”
“Yes of course. I’ll see what I can do but it’d help if I knew who you were staying with in Kiats. That way, maybe I can talk with them and make sure they stay safe when they rescue you. It’d be horrible if they were captured too.”
“Sosimo’s really smart though. They won’t be caught.”
“Sosimo the candy maker?”
Nero winces and looks down. “Yes.”
“Ah Sosimo, a great man. We’re already friends, so I’ll be sure to talk with him. Well Nero, it’s been good to meet you.” Vilhelm knocks on the window and one of the Guards opens the door. “Good luck Nero.”
Nero watches Vilhelm and the other humans walk off. He grabs a book and smiles at the thought of being rescued.
*****
“Cover me,” Onk yelled. He stopped and turned towards our pursuers.
I pulled up my styk looking for incoming projectiles, the blue crystal emitter long abandoned; the Bellicoven were set on killing us. Onk shot several balls of Aether at four cressen running after us. His attacks were sluggish and the cressen easily dodged them. I knocked two projectiles out of the air and used the last remaining bit of Aether in my styk to force two more into the ground.
“Dammit,” Onk yelled. “The Bellicoven are slowing down my attacks.”
“Let’s link then,” I said, eyeing down the incoming cressen. “We can take care of both in one.”
“Okay, let’s do it!” Onk held out his hand and I took it.
I mentally followed Onk’s Aether tickling my fingers to its source, tracing it through every part of his body and collecting the whole of his essence together. I summoned up mine as well and let their energies blend. The sudden flow of Aether that immersed me was intoxicating, yet it was shared with a sense of fear and a wild fervor. The image of the glowing claws of the Virker ready to strike, and a burning pain in my shoulder were echoes of Onk’s emotions. The Aether reserves we now shared flowed deep yet my normal raw connection to Aether was numbed to a degree.
Onk used our high Aethersotto to easily overwhelm the two Bellicoven in the trees. He pulled them from their perch and slammed them into the incoming cressen, tangling them up in a jumble of limbs.
I reached through the Aether to a spot high and behind the cressen and Bellicoven, forcing open a link to myself. The Bellicoven and cressen were quick to untangle themselves and prepare for any direct attack from us. A slight smile reached the corner of my mouth and I forced a continuous Moltrik attack through the link. Electrical tendrils of Aether reached out from the single point behind our enemies and latched onto them, causing their bodies to go rigid. I fueled the attack with Onk’s reserves until all of them fell to the ground unconscious, using almost all the Aether we shared.
Onk let go of my hand. “Nice job.”
Instantly the anxiety we shared fell away and my natural calm returned. “Thanks,” I said, “but it’s not going to give us much time.”
My husband stood over a recently felled cressen. A trace of blood stood out brightly against the white of his heavily bandaged chest. “We need to keep moving. I don’t want to get caught by the Anterraktor or we’ll be done.”
Onk ran over to the dead cressen where a mist was rising off its body. The mist slowly swirled around itself and a bright little star of light formed.
Rolk stopped and looked at it and then Onk. “Are you sure?”
“We don’t really have a choice at this point Rolk,” Onk said. He walked over to the glowing star and touched it, causing it to jump into his finger. Onk’s breath was stolen from him as if he jumped into cold water and he clamped his eyes shut for just a moment. “Okay good,” he opened his eyes. “That should help. Let’s go.”
Onk took off and we followed him through a thick section of growth that opened up to a large clearing. He began to run but unexpectedly he stopped and started to step back. “Uh oh. I think I trigger another one.”
There was a bright flash and a shock rippled through us as another sphere began to vent Aether.
“Take cover!” Seader yelled and whipped his Aether canon up towards the sphere.
There wasn't a moment’s hesitation and we all jumped to the ground, with the previous blast still so fresh in our memory. I covered my ears and shielded my face, gritting my teeth while the blast resonated through my bones and bits of plant matter and dirt pelted me all over.
My husband stood up and brushed dirt and debris from his clothes. “That's one way to take care of them,” he said as he assessed the results. “How many more of those shots do you have?”
“That was it,” Seader replied. “So let's not disturb any more.”
Burning pieces of vegetation gently fell to the ground and sparks of Aether jumped through the air, slowly illuminating an almost continuous layer of dormant Virker spheres. The ones within a fifteen-meter radius of the destroyed sphere began to release their Aether and awaken.
“Holy crap,” Seader whispered, his Aether canon hung loosely by his side.
“Yeah... We're screwed,” Onk said.
My husband scanned over the spheres and then slung his styk behind his back. “No you're not.” Rolk put both hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes. “Nix, I have a plan that will keep everyone safe, but you need to lead them back to the beach... alone. I won't be able to come with.”
“What are you talking about? We can all make it back,” I said grabbing his arm. “We just need to hurry.”
“Maybe us, but not many others will survive if we just run.” He moved my hand into his. “I can perform a Seteress Kimkariki which will stun a sufficient amount of the hostile creatures and cressen to give everyone time enough to escape.”
“But a Seteress will kill you,” I said, knowing he was fully aware of the consequences. “Where would you even get enough Aether?”
He nodded to the awakening Virker.
I shook my head, feeling a panic that I hadn’t felt for a long time. “No this is ridiculous.”
“This expedition is my responsibility. It has to be done.”
I squeezed his hand with both of mine. “At least let me help.”
He pulled my hands up to his lips. “I need to know you’ll survive. Please at least give me that.”
“It's too much... You’re part of me, how can I continue when I’m no longer complete?”
“You will, I have no doubt. You’re the strongest person I know. I wish there was another way, but these people had faith in me and I will protect them… and you. Please do this for me?”
I dipped my head and let the tears fall freely.
He pulled me in tight and squeezed. “I love you,” he whispered before pushing me away. “Now go!”
It was the hardest decision of my life, but I knew there was no point in fighting him any more. His mind was set, and there was a job to do. I hardened my mettle and I turned my focus back to the world, which had lost a lot of its color. The edges of the trees and our surroundings blurred due of the Aether being released. The Virkers were well on their way to awakening, leaving us with hardly enough time to put a safe amount of distance between Rolk and us. I turned to the others in the group and ran towards them. “We need to get moving!” I yelled.
“What about Rolk?” Onk asked.
“He's going to provide us with a window to escape, so let's not waste it. Now move!” I grabbed the small Erohsian, Maizy, and began to run as fast as I could; the others followed immediately.
It wasn't long before I felt the surge of Aether rip through me. I could feel it ignoring me, but the overwhelming flood that passed through us still made my head go fuzzy, causing me to tumble to the ground. It was unbelievable what my husband could do when he put his mind to it, a suitable farewell by my standards.
It took me several minutes to sort out my bearings and let the dizziness pass. The humans and the Erohsians were both out cold. A few minutes passed before the humans were conscious and semi-functional and since we didn't know how long the Erohsians would be out, we carried them back to the cove.
The beach was in chaos when we got there. Boats where making trips back and forth between our ship and the beach. The wounded and unconscious were ferried first, while the remaining people were scrambling to pack up. A defensive perimeter was set up but had little use, as most anything hostile in the forest was unconscious due to the Kimkariki. The rest of our expedition was able to escape with minimal casualties and injuries, thanks to my husband’s final act.
Part of me wanted to go back for him, but I knew in my heart that even he couldn't survive a Seteress and risking myself to check would be a waste of his sacrifice. A sacrifice that’ll weigh heavily in my heart till the day I die.