Post by gollee on Mar 7, 2014 23:18:17 GMT
The result of several rounds of Inis, Jennifer, and Janet talking.
Inis watched as the elevator capsule began to slow; braking cables pulling taut as it entered the station. After a moment, the capsule halted, and the door hissed open, filling the already crowded station with a new bustle of noise as it disgorged its occupants. Sweating businessmen and ship crew hurried past Inis into the bright sunlight outside.
Inis held her sign higher, scanning the crowds, her eyes jumping face to face. She felt an unpleasant jolt in her stomach as she saw her own features, deep cyan hair, purple eyes, and pointed ears. She hesitated for a moment, and then waved at the girl. The girl waved back, and a group of people made their way over to Inis.
At the front of the group was a tall, brown-haired woman, she was leading the cyan-haired girl by the hand, another two women followed them. A smaller woman, with strong oriental features, she wore a black skirt, and was sweating profusely, and another woman, very thin, with long raven hair, and a very pale complexion. The first woman grinned at Inis, “Nice to see you!” Inis nodded, smiling, careful to keep her eyes away from the other girl. “And you too, Jennifer, is everyone here? I don’t want to be stuck in here any longer than necessary,” Jennifer turned around, counting, “Whisper…Mitsui…Janet… That is everyone.” Inis nodded, and gestured towards the door, at the other side of the crowded station; the group pushed their way towards it, and went outside.
Inis led the group away from the station, the crowds thinning considerably as they distanced themselves from the station. Inis stopped as she reached a grey people carrier, turning to face the group. “Okay… Still got everyone? Good. I borrowed my uncle’s car to pick you up.” She gestured towards the people carrier, unlocking it. Mitsui took the hand of the cyan-haired girl, and helped her climb into the back of the car, “In you get, Whisper.” Then she helped Janet climb in, and then she got in herself. Jennifer climbed into the front passenger seat, while Inis climbed into the driver’s side. Inis glanced at Whisper again; she looked to be about seventeen, though sometimes her behaviour made her seem younger than that. At the moment, she was staring out of the window at the busy street, wide, bright eyes scanning the crowds.
The people carrier pulled away from the curb and slid into the traffic, inching its way through the busy streets. The passengers gave sighs of relief as the air conditioning activated, filling the car with a cool breeze. Janet gave a small cough, and then said quietly, “Whi-hisper, ho-honey, d-don’t rub-b your-r e-ears.” Whisper’s hand, which has been inching up to her ears, dropped back to her side, and she nodded. Inis glanced back at Whisper again, as Jennifer turned to watch Whisper. Her ears were pointed, like Inis, however, the entire upper half of her ears were bent down, almost folding in on themselves, and the exposed skin on the back of her ears was covered in half-healed cuts and tears. “Whisper…What have I said about scratching your ears?” Jennifer asked calmly. Whisper looked at her, then responded quietly, “Not to scratch ears, or they won’t heal.” Her speech was broken up, with long pauses as she took breathes and hesitated, thinking about what she had to say next. Jennifer nodded, and then pointed a finger at Whisper, “So don’t scratch.” Whisper nodded unconcernedly, and returned to looking out of the window.
After a quiet half an hour of driving, Inis slowed to a halt outside a large house. Whisper spoke up, “Varan’s house!” She scrabbled at the door handle, and jumped out. The other four climbed out quickly, a quick call from Mitsui stopped Whisper from running up to the house. Inis took the lead, pushing open the cast iron gate, and walking up the path towards the house, with the other four trailing behind. The house itself was a large, slightly imposing construct, made of a light grey stone, with iron and steel fittings; it had several stories, and was significantly larger than any other house on the street.
Inis rapped on the door, and took a step back. After a moment the lock rasped, and the door swung open, revealing an aging man with grey hair. He hugged Inis with one arm, and nodded to Janet, then staggered backwards as Whisper launched herself at him, “Varan!” She shrieked as she hugged him. Varan put an arm out to steady himself, and then hugged her in return. Inis shifted her feet uncomfortably, while Jennifer tapped Whisper on the back. After a second, Whisper let go of Varan, and stepped back behind Jennifer. Varan let out a deep breath, “Well,” He brushed a hand down the front of his clothes, “You five had better come in, it is going to be a hot one today. The group stepped into the cool shade of the house, and Whisper turned to Varan again, “Pencils? Paper? Pens?” Varan smiled and gestured into the sitting room, and Whisper rushed in, the sounds of paper on paper emanated from the room, along with short exclamations of surprise from the people within.
Jennifer grinned embarrassedly at Varan, “Sorry about that…She has been quite excited about this visit, especially after you sent her that art set.” Varan smiled, running a hand through his hair. “She liked that then? I sent one to Inis when she was seven or eight…She never used it,” Inis stuck her tongue out at Varan, and walked into the sitting room. A murmur of chatter began to emanate from within.
Varan turned to Janet, his face was creased slightly as he examined her face, “Are you alright? You look like you have lost a lot of weight…” Janet nodded quickly, holding a handkerchief to her mouth and coughing quietly. “I am f-fine…” She responded. Varan nodded, and then led the rest of the group into the sitting room.
Whisper was sat at a table, sketching and shading a piece of paper, whereas; Inis was sat down in a chair, chattering to a young woman with long red hair, and a Tajara, who had a text book in his lap. The woman looked at Janet as she came in, and said quietly, “Janet…Are you alright…?” Janet nodded again, still coughing into her handkerchief. The Tajara hurmed, and watched the three woman entering the room. Mitsui noticed, “Hai, I am Sachiko Mitsui, you are?” The Tajara hurmed again, then responded, “This one is Sel’tierrrr Iarrrro.” Mitsui nodded and held out a hand towards him. Sel’tier paused, then took the hand carefully and shook it.
After everyone sat down, the room was silent for a while; the only noise was Whisper’s pencils and pens scratching on paper. Varan broke the silence, “Well, does anyone want anything to drink? I have some food on the way; it should be here in ten minutes or so.” There was a chorus of assents across the room, Varan stood up, and gesturing for Inis to help him, left the room.
A quarter of an hour later, the eight of them were eating hot slices of Pizza and bags of chips, chattering and laughing, though Whisper was still drawing.
After all the food had been eaten, the eight of them talked for a while, until Jennifer noticed that Whisper had fallen asleep at her table. Varan carefully picked her up, and carried her upstairs, moving slowly so as not to wake her. Janet stifled a yawn, and examined the pictures Whisper had drawn, there were realistic pictures of everyone, drawn in pen, and then outlined and shaded with pencil, shards of graphite were littered over the table. Janet carefully scooped up the drawings and handed them out, “A-Amy… I-Inis…Je-Jennifer…Me… Mi-Mitsui…S-Sel’tier…” She set Varan’s and Whisper’s pictures to the side, and sat back down. “T-The jo-journey has-s t-tired me out-t… A-Amy? C-Can you-u show me w-where I am-m s-sleeping-g?” Amy nodded and stood up, leading Janet out of the room. Jennifer sighed, “She isn’t the only one who is tired… Three and a half hours from Tau Ceti…”
Inis nodded, “I will show you to your rooms,” The four of them filed out.
Inis paused at the first room on the second story, “Jen, Mitsui, this is yours,” She opened the door, revealing a well furnished room, with a double bed and ensuite bathroom. The two women thanked Inis, entered the room and shut the door. Sel’tier hurmed, “They are…?” Inis nodded, and then continued walking.
After leaving Sel’tier at his room, Inis went to her own, and fell asleep.
In the morning, everyone slowly gravitated to the kitchen, though this time; they were wearing more suitable attire. Mitsui had changed into a pale grey skirt, rather than the long black one she had worn the say before. Janet was also wearing grey, though this time it was a loose jumpsuit. Inis, Jennifer and Whisper were dressed in shorts and T-shirts. After a quick breakfast, they collected some belongings, and were ready to leave.
Varan met them at the door, “I would let you borrow the Skyhunter…But…Ehhh… I don’t think any of you are trained to fly it, and I really don’t think Trye will want you landing it outside the temple with live weaponry.” He said, smiling. “You can take my car again, if you want, but I would personally suggest a train.” Inis nodded and tapped at her PDA, “The next train is leaving at… ten o’clock… It will take half an hour to walk there.” There was a murmur of agreement amongst the group. The five of them thanked Varan, and left, though not before he had extricated several promises concerning return visits for Janet, Whisper and Inis.
The five of them walked through the humid streets towards the closest rail station; Inis took the lead, guiding them to the station.
Once they had arrived, Inis lead them over to the ticket dispenser, where they took turns buying their tickets to the temple. Afterwards, they sat at the side of the track, chatting.
Jennifer looked over at Inis, “So, what happened to that guy you were with? Weren’t you engaged?” Inis paused, then nodded, slightly sad, “We were, then he just…Left, the only thing he left behind was a note, saying that he was going to go do something with his life. I still have the ring…” Inis smiled slightly, subdued. There was a long silence, before Jennifer turned to Janet, “How are you and Erec?” She asked.
Janet chewed her lip, “We a-are d-doing well, he i-is away on s-some business-s trip a-at the m-moment…” Jennifer nodded, then smiled at the pair of them, “Well, Whisper is doing well at college,” She said proudly, “She is getting lots of support and praise from her teachers.” Inis smiled awkwardly, then changed the subject. “Okay… The Temple… First off, please don’t be disrespectful to the High Priestess; she is patient, but very intolerant to rudeness. You cannot wear hats inside the temple, for obvious reasons.” Inis glanced around at them, they were all wearing hats. “And stick close to me, it is a massive building, easy to get lost in,” The party looked up at a rumbling along the tracks. Inis stood up, then helped Janet to her feet, “That will be the train,”
Sure enough, a large train emerged from around the corner, debris swirling along in front of it as it decelerated. The five of them stood back from the edge as the silvered locomotive slowed to a halt, and the doors hissed open. Mitsui looked at her ticket, “Carriage G, second class.” The five of them moved down the train, checking each carriage before Whisper called, “This one!” And the five of them climbed into the cool interior of the train.
The inside of the train was darkened, with a dark shading film placed over the windows, blocking a portion of the light, air conditioning units whirred quietly along the length of the carriage. There were a reasonable number of people in the carriage, though Jennifer and Mitsui managed to find the group’s seats easily enough. They sat Whisper down closest to the window, to give her something to do in the long trip. They had been assigned two sets of three seats, with a table in between. Whisper, Jennifer and Mitsui took one of the rows, while Janet and Inis took the other, with Janet sat opposite Whisper.
Slowly the train began to move, and the guard walked down the train to check their tickets. Whisper quickly became restless, so Mitsui passed her a pad of paper, and a small wooden box with the word, Whisper, etched into it, in an ornate script. With Whisper fully occupied, the other four gazed out of the window at the landscape, and made small talk as the train cruised at top speed towards the temple.
An hour later, Janet frowned, her eyes tracing a series of hills, with a strange reflective mark along the peaks. “I-Inis? W-Why are t-those hills r-reflective?” Jennifer and Mitsui leaned in to get a better look at the hills, sure enough; there was a brownish, reflective surface at the top. Inis took a breath, “That, is the edge of the Ostern Wastes, it was hit by orbital artillery about one hundred years ago.” Jennifer’s eyes widened, “Orbital artillery? Why?” Inis shrugged, and kept her gaze on the hills, she responded, “There was a civil revolt, the rebels took over the city of Ostern, they killed practically everyone, sacrificed them. The Navy cleansed the area with particle fire, turned the entire region to glass.”
Mitsui gave a small gasp, “They must have killed thousands… Just how big a region are we talking about?”
Inis paused, and then answered, “Hundreds of thousands, the Ostern Wastes are about two thousand by one thousand kilometres across.”
Janet covered her mouth, and sat back in her chair, the table was silent until the line of condemned, haunted hills, had passed from view.
The train slowed to a halt outside a village, and Mitsui made to stand up, but Inis caught her arm, “Not our stop, we need the last one, we will pass through some mountains first.” Mitsui nodded, and sat back down.
An overweight man, sweating profusely climbed onto the train, checking his ticket. He waddled down the aisle, scanning the seats, Jennifer could just faintly hear Inis speaking under her breath, “No…Not here…No no no…Gods no…” The man glanced at the seat next to her, checked his ticket one more time, sat down, and promptly fell asleep, his arm slipped onto Inis’ leg. Her face was twisted in revulsion as she pushed him back straight in his chair. She blinked as a sudden flash emanated from across the table. She uncovered her eyes to see Jennifer holding a camera, grinning broadly.
Inis growled, “You didn’t…” Jennifer held up the camera triumphantly, revealing a picture of Inis pushing the man into his seat, “Oh this is going onto the internet,” Inis growled again, and tried to snatch the camera away from Jennifer, but she pulled it out of the way. Inis lunged across the table, practically lying on it, then froze as the man gave a snort, and slipped sideways again; his arm lay across her back. Mitsui gingerly reached across and helped Janet move the arm off of Inis, who sat back, her face was flushed with embarrassment.
Inis wiped sweat from her face, groaning, “This is why I hate trains, you always get some fat bugger sat next to you…” Even with the air conditioning, the man was still sweating significantly, spreading heat around the table. Inis’ T-shirt was damp with sweat, and she had had to duck under the table twice to go get water to rehydrate herself.
The train began to slow again, at another village, and the man gave another snort, and woke up, he glanced around the table, his gaze lingered on Inis and her put upon expression. He slowly levered himself to his feet, and nodded to her, “Apologies, milady, this is my stop, you may also want to get some water,” The man waddled away; gales of laughter from the table followed him, swiftly pursued with dire threats of bodily harm against the celebrants by Inis.
After another few hours of travel, the train finally began to pass through a mountain range, tall grey stone peaks jutting from the flat plains, ending some thousands of feet above the train. The group fell silent as the train slipped down a thin, shielded valley between the precipices; the sky was practically invisible behind a ceiling of grey stone. The carriage was nearly empty now; most of the people had left at the various villages and towns along the way to the mountains.
Whisper pointed out the window, and said loudly, “Flickering light like a shield,” The other four looked outside, a faint blue flickering was visible, sparks of light scattering and coalescing in an instant. “This valley isn’t the safest of places, with rock falls, and, apparently bandits, though I have never seen them. The train has some low level generators, enough to survive a rock fall.” Inis told her. Jennifer frowned, “Can’t you just go a different way? If this one is dangerous?” She asked, her gaze swapping between the flickering, Whisper, and Mitsui, her forehead was creased slightly. Inis shook her head, “There is no other path, other than flying, which is why those tickets were so expensive, I generally only visit the Temple a few times a year, it is too expensive to do on a whim.” Jennifer nodded, looking slightly unsettled.
The rest of the journey was uneventful; they spent forty minutes with shields active, before emerging in a large clear opening amidst the mountains. When they emerged, Inis pulled them over to the other side of the carriage to see the temple as they pulled into a small station.
The Temple was gargantuan; almost a mountain in its own right, the base was nearly two kilometres across, with immense engravings and decorations set into the same grey stone as the mountains around it. The door was at least one hundred feet tall, with monolithic, granite doors, held open with thick chains. The highest parts of the temple barely reached half way up the nearby mountains, the top was jagged, and the very tips looked melted and deformed, and it was possible to make out sheared off engravings, showing the original height was far greater than that of current times.
Janet spoke very quietly, “T-That is g-gigantic…” Inis nodded, gazing up at the Temple reverently, “It took the Followers one hundred and twenty eight years to build, then it was put to siege in the War of the Gods…Then the Pantheon has had about one hundred years to rebuild it.” The temple slipped out of view as the train entered the station. Inis turned to Whisper, “Whisper…Did you bring that necklace?” Whisper nodded, and brought her hands to her neck, lifting the necklace over her head. It was a fine silver chain, with an iridescent blue crystal, glowing an electric blue, hanging from it. “May I have it please? I need it here, you can have it back after.” Whisper nodded and handed the amulet to Inis, who slowly slipped it over her neck, the crystal lay against the front of her shirt. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and sighed. After a moment, she opened her eyes again, and walked to the door.
The group stepped out onto the platform, Inis was leading. They exited the near-empty station, walking out into a large, grassland plain, they had emerged about one hundred metres away from the doors. Despite the vast size of the Temple, and the entrance, they could see barely two dozen people wandering the grounds, generally alone or in pairs.
Inis strode forward confidently, while the other four hurried along after her, glancing around at the vast structure before them. Inis paused at the dark threshold of the Temple. She turned to face the group, “Hats,” She ordered, and they hurriedly took off their hats and stowed them away in their rucksacks. Inis glanced around at them, then nodded, and entered the cool darkness of the temple.
The group walked slowly through the colossal doors, into an immense hall, carved through the mountain. The walls of the hall had been smoothed flat, and then engraved with intricate designs and scenes. Jennifer spun around slowly, as the group walked forwards, taking in the images.
She pointed to one, an intricate sigil, surrounded by little pinpricks of light, small bulbs placed into the wall, and called to Inis. “What is that one?”
Inis paused and looked back at the sigil. “That is the sigil of the Everwatcher, Lady Tilura. She is the Lady of space, and the stars.”
Whisper ran over to another sigil, this one was quite simple, with five arcing lines intertwining to form a rose. The wall around the sigil was carved with thorny vines, trees and animals. Mitsui hurried after her, to stop her touching the carvings. “What is this one?” She asked leaning in close to the carving.
“That is the emblem of Lady Celaya, the Green Spirit.” A voice echoed across the hall, before fading to silence. The mumbled conversations between other worshipers ceased as a woman wearing a long grey robe stepped out of an ornate door at the end of the hall. Inis bowed her head in respect as the woman walked over to the group. Jennifer hurriedly did the same.
Inis spoke quietly and respectfully, “Lady Callida. These are my friends, from off-world; they wished to see the Temple.” The woman had reached the group now, and had stopped about three metres away. “Minor Priestess Truesight, how many times do you have to be told that the only Lords and Ladies are the Kasturi themselves? I am simply Trye, or Callida, if you wish.” The woman chided, taking down her hood.
The woman had long, white hair, and her face, though young, looked prematurely aged. Her eyes were a light blue, and her irises were feline and slit-like. She examined the group, and her gaze fell on Whisper. The High Priestess’ face darkened instantly. “Priestess, explain.” Her voice was cold, with a hint of malice, as she stared at Whisper intently. Jennifer stepped in between them as Inis spoke. “Callida, this is Whisper.” Inis paused, “Well, ah… A group of people created her, with my genes.” Inis mumbled.
Trye spoke quietly and slowly, “So you thought it would be best to bring this….Abomination, to the Temple? There can only be a single body connected to a soul, Priestess; this is nothing but a cheap copy of you. Soulless and without hope. A twisted creature that can only bring pain and misery.”
Janet and Mitsui looked incensed at these words. Jennifer’s face twisted in anger, and she stormed forwards, raising her fists and shouting at the top of her lungs at Trye, “How DARE you! Whisper is a human being, it doesn’t matter how she came about! She is a loyal, happy, helpful, intelligent and all round wonderful person! I would take her over you, any day!” Jennifer stepped close to Trye, her face was bright red, and filled with anger.
Trye said calmly, watching Jennifer carefully, “Child, that creature has no place in this world, no right to be here, no right to wear the face of one of my Priestesses. Such heresy will not be tolerated here; the abomination needs to be put down.” Jennifer growled at these words, and drew her arm back.
Inis shouted, “Jennifer! Don’t!” Jennifer ignored her.
The sound of the strike rang through the hall, followed by gasps and exclamations from the worshippers. Jennifer stepped back, rubbing her knuckles, as Mitsui and Inis hurried over to her, while Janet held Whisper back from the group.
Trye slowly brought a hand to her face, and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. She turned to face Jennifer, “The only reason that you are still alive, is that the Priestess vouched for you, now I am going to end this.” Trye strode towards Whisper, while Janet desperately tried to pull her away. She closed the distance quickly, and drew her hand back, as Janet tugged on Whisper’s arm.
Inis threw herself between the pair, and Trye paused, arm still raised, “Move Priestess. This has to be dealt with.” Inis didn’t move, though her face was slightly flushed, and her hands were balled into fists. “No.”
Trye lowered her arm, and held out a flat palm, she looked straight at Inis, “If that is your wish. Amulet, now.”
Inis stared at Trye, while Jennifer and Mitsui hurried Whisper out of the hall. Trye’s eyes were hard and cold as she held out her hand. “Last warning, Minor Priestess. Give me your amulet; if you will not abide by the Strictures, then you do not belong among us.”
Janet spoke quietly, stepping up beside Inis, “Y-You c-can’t do th-this!” She said in a low tone, glaring at Trye.
Trye looked at her calmly, “I do as the Kasturi decree.” Janet opened her mouth to snap a retort, but Inis stopped her. “Fine.” Inis pulled her necklace over her head, the blue crystal glimmering as she held it. She hesitated, staring at the crystal, and then placed it in Trye’s hand, which closed around it. Trye smiled slightly as her hand disappeared into her robe. Inis blinked rapidly, turned and left. Janet hurried after her.
The two of them emerged into the gardens, and Mitsui, Jennifer and Whisper hurried over. Inis wiped her eyes hurriedly. “Inis! What happened!” asked Jennifer s they slowed to a halt, the worshippers in the gardens had all but disappeared. “I…I was expelled from my position…” Inis said, disbelieving. Inis’ eyes were oddly bright, and she hurriedly wiped them again.
“Inis…I am so sorry… We should never have organised this trip…” Jennifer said quietly, her head was bowed slightly. Inis forced a smile, though her eyes were still very bright, “It is fine, it didn’t matter, let’s go.” She said, in a tone of forced cheerfulness.
The group walked silently through the gardens, while Janet checked the train times. “O-Oh d-dear… The next t-train won’t a-arrive f-for t-two h-hours…” She said quietly, as they wandered aimlessly through the gardens. Inis sank down onto a bench, and held her face in her hands. Janet looked at her worriedly, then moved a distance away, and pulled out her PDA. She pressed a few buttons, waited, and then began talking softly into it. Jennifer sat down next to Inis, and gingerly patted her shoulder, while Mitsui led Whisper around the garden, telling her about the different plants and animals.
“She did what!?” Janet flinched and held her PDA away from her ear as a distorted male voice blasted out of it. After a moment, she brought it back to her ear, talked for a few moments more, nodded to herself, then slipped the PDA into her pocket. Jennifer looked at her, “Who was that?” She asked, she was still patting Inis on the shoulder. “V-Varan…I a-asked h-him to c-come pick u-us up… He is a-angry…I t-think he m-might fly h-here…”
Janet and Jennifer were still comforting Inis when a low rumble rolled over the mountains. Whisper and Mitsui turned to watch a bolt of bright blue arc downwards before decelerating as it approached the ground. The blue glow died quickly, revealing an avian craft, stretching at least thirty metres from nose to rear, a large barrelled weapon was curled underneath the cockpit.
Several people hurried over to the jump jet, cautiously staying out of the arc of the front mounted weapon. The final flares from the ion thrusters died away, and the cargo bay hissed open, and an aging man stormed out, his face was red with exertion and anger. Janet glanced over at the temple, to see a grey robed woman, followed by a number of others, exiting the massive hall, and walking towards them.
Varan walked quickly over to the group, seeing Inis. “Inis…” He said quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder, “I am going to get this sorted out.”
A second person exited the jump jet, a youngish woman, wearing a long, dark green robe. Varan walked over to her, and the two of them approached Trye, who had come to a halt, along with her party, about ten metres away from the bench on which Inis was sat. Jennifer quietly went closer as the heated debate began.
“Callida, you have no right, none at all, to rescind Inis’ status as a Minor Priestess.” Varan said loudly, glaring at the Priestess. Trye tilted her head, looking between Varan and the other woman, feline eyes blinking slowly. “I have every right. She brought an abomination into the Temple, she turned against the Strictures, and she defied the Kasturi.”
Varan’s voice dropped dangerously low, “If you call Whisper an abomination, one more time…” He let the sentence hang, glaring at Trye. Trye looked back at him, her face impassive, and her robe swirling slightly in the wind. “Your threats are meaningless; descendant of Gol’ee, the abomination is a direct affront to the Strictures.”
Varan’s face turned purple, and he swung a fist at Trye, teeth bared.
Trye caught Varan’s fist with an open hand, her slender arms absorbing the force of his strike with seemingly little effort. Trye looked at Varan pityingly, and then shoved his arm back, sending him staggering backwards. The other woman finally spoke. “Trye, enough.” She said simply, and Trye stepped back, away from Varan, turning towards the woman. “Serina. I am surprised that you lowered yourself to come here at the behest of this man.”
Serina responded, “I did not come because of him, I came because I was informed that you had stripped a Priestess of rank, for not following the Strictures.” Serina folded her arms and waited impatiently for Trye to respond.
“I have.” Trye gestured towards Inis, “That one, now, if you will excuse me, I did not come out here to talk to you.” Trye turned away from Serina, and strode towards Inis. Janet and Jennifer stepped between them.
“Move aside, children, I mean her no harm.” Trye said quietly, her gaze switched between Jennifer and Janet. Slowly they moved aside to let her past; Serina and Varan were close behind.
Trye spoke loudly as she approached Inis, “Truesight,” Inis remained still for a moment, and then slowly responded, “What?” Inis hadn’t turned to face Trye.
Trye smiled slightly, then spoke again, “Life is full of challenges, and trials, little one, as a species we must constantly strive to be the best it is possible for us to be. If we did not, the Darkness would take us all the sooner. Without trials, we cannot live, for we would not experience, we would not strain, we would not fear. Stand, Priestess.”
Inis didn’t move for a moment, then she slowly turned around, her face was creased with confusion, and there were wet stains on her cheeks. Trye smiled, “You have passed the second trial, Priestess, the trial of Determination, you treat the Strictures as the guidelines they are, where others would treat them as the law of life and death itself. The only true guide we have, is our own morals, we can do no more, and we can do no less. To go against our morals, is a betrayal of self, and is the true heresy. By standing by your morals, and defending this lost child.” Trye gestured at Whisper, “You have proven yourself worthy of the next rank. I am proud of you, little one.” Trye held out her hand, and dropped Inis’ amulet into her open palm, while Jennifer just stared at the scene, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. Janet smiled slightly, while Whisper and Mitsui didn’t notice.
Serina smiled slightly, “You have always enjoyed your trials, haven’t you, Trye?” She asked, lightly, Trye tilted her head, “Celaya has trials, just as Sormtiar does, they are necessary.”
Varan looked between the pair, mildly confused, and then spoke, “So it was just a test? All of this grief? Just for a damned test?” The two Priestesses nodded their agreement, and Varan sighed, rubbing his forehead, “Do you five want to come back now? Or later? Provided Trye lets me land on her lawn again.”
Inis slowly put her necklace over her head again, “We still need to look around in the temple, we can call you when we are done?”
Varan sighed and nodded, jogging back to the Skyhunter. Serina turned to the group, and smiled, her face was unblemished and smooth, with long brown hair, reaching past her shoulders. “It was nice to meet you five, if only for a few minutes, and not under the best of circumstances.” With those words, she turned and swept towards the jump jet, climbing into it, before the hatch closed.
The six of them, Inis, Jennifer, Janet, Mitsui, Trye and Whisper, watched as the jets flared, and the aircraft lifted off, arcing away to the west.
After the aircraft had disappeared over the mountains, Trye turned to face the group, smiling slightly, “The Temple is open to you.” With these words, she turned and strode away, her group of advisors hurrying after her as she disappeared back into the temple. Jennifer turned to Inis, “Okay… Not especially certain what happened there… Who was that woman with Varan?” She asked, still slightly confused about the events that had just occurred.
“I…Think that was Lady Teague… Why was she with Varan?” Inis murmured, chewing her lip. Jennifer frowned, “And that is…?” She asked, turning to watch Mitsui and Whisper walking back towards the group. “The High Priestess of Celaya…” Inis responded, standing up. “We should head inside, if you still want to look around.”
The group made its way back to the main hall, and entered back into the darkness. Whisper pelted off again, running to inspect the carvings, the group hurried after her.”What is this one?” Whisper asked, pointing to a massive emblem. The emblem resembled a huge, staring, stylised eye, but the pupil was replaced with an hourglass, and a winding path led from the edge of the eye to the bottom of the hourglass. The individual grains of sand were small lights, set into the wall; each one was a different shade. Inis walked over, and held her hand close to the wall, smiling slightly, “This is the emblem of High Lord Souleon; The Waywatcher, Lord of time.” Inis said reverently, her voice carried far in the large hall, and several people turned to look at her as she spoke.
“What other rooms are there in this place?” Jennifer asked Inis, looking at the emblem. Inis chewed her lip, “Well, there is a ceremony hall, a prayer hall, a library, the priest quarters…” Inis shrugged, “I have been a priestess for three years, and I still don’t know everything that is in this place, it is just too big.”
“Y-You have a-a l-library?” Asked Janet, interestedly, “I-I would l-like t-to s-see that, i-it would be v-very i-interesting.” Janet was breathing quite heavily from having to follow Whisper, so the group agreed to go to the library.
The library was only a short work from the main hall; it was a brightly lit room, with thick carpets and old wooden furniture. Jennifer and Mitsui sat Whisper down at one of the tables and gave her the art set, before moving around to examine the titles on display. Janet sat down with a copy of Genetic advancements of the twenty-second century, and read it quietly. “Do you have anything about the origins of the Pantheon here?” Jenifer asked Inis quietly, as they searched through the shelves. Inis nodded, “Follow me,” Inis led Jennifer through the warren of shelves, to one of the back corners, the shelf Inis indicated was labelled, Mythos. The books on the shelf were large and worn, with yellowed pages and hard leather covers. Inis delicately lifted out a deep-brown book, with golden filigree. “Oh…This looks old…” Jennifer said, taking the book carefully from Inis. “It is, I think it is about one hundred years old now.” Jennifer slowly opened the cover, and read the title, The Kasturi Pantheon.
Jennifer took the book back to the table, and took out her PDA, and then glanced at Inis, “Am I allowed to take pictures of the pages? I doubt that I would be able to sign this out, and I can’t read it now.” She asked, her PDA hovering over the book.
Inis smiled, “Sure, there are lots of copies of it, lots of the priests and priestesses have printed copies made.”
Jennifer nodded, and then looked back at the book, flipping to the first page, she paused. “Uhh… I don’t understand this… What language is this?”
Inis glanced down at the book, “Oh! Gods, I forgot you couldn’t speak it, it is an Old-Earth language, it is called Silian, look,” Inis pointed at the page, “This says Quel dora ishnu anu kal. The high truth rests in the stars. It is telling us that the Gods are among the stars, waiting.” Jennifer frowned, “Waiting for what?” She asked, looking down at the indecipherable book.
“Ashte'rodne, the Darkness.” Inis said quietly, “Like the Christian judgement day, I suppose. Armageddon. The Apocalypse. The first section of this book states that the harbingers of the Darkness, creatures without emotion, mortality, or mercy, will bring about the end of everything, so their leader can rule over a dark, icy universe, where everything bows to him. Even the Gods cannot stand against them, such is their might, they are beings of the arcane, monsters of darkness and cold, forever hungry for life to drain, world to conquer, civilisations to destroy, completely removed from anything humans have ever met before.”
Jennifer swallowed hard, “If your Gods cannot defeat them, then what chance do you have, what can you do?”
Inis smiled slightly, “Train, learn, fight, preserve the light of life for as long as we can, every life is a spark, every world is a flame. Human space is an bright inferno of vibrant life, every second it remains so, is a victory, every moment is another chance for us to learn a weakness we can exploit, a fault to expose, a task is only futile if we believe it to be. Anything can be defeated; you just need to find out how.”
Jennifer nodded, “Is there any way I could learn Silian? I think I would like reading this book.” She asked, closing the tome.
Inis hurmed, “I might be able to find a primer book… At the very least you can buy a dictionary and work book at Cevalon.” Inis disappeared back into the shelves.
The group stayed in the library for about an hour, before they decided to leave to find a food hall.
After about ten minutes, they came across a food hall; it was small for what it was, with only about two hundred seats, many of which were empty. Jennifer murmured “I sort of expected more people…”
Inis responded as they reached the serving area, “There normally are, but it isn’t a holiday, and with the Temple being so far away from the city, people only really come on special days.” Jennifer nodded, then Mitsui asked, “Then why is this place so large? If so few people use it.”
They paid for and collected some plates of steak and chips before Inis responded, “This place was given to the Pantheon is recompense, after the War of the Gods.”
The group sat down, and began eating; Jennifer kept a careful eye on Whisper, making sure that she didn’t eat her food too fast. Janet asked, “I-If it was g-given to y-you, who h-had i-it before?” Inis frowned, and picked at her food, “The Followers built this place, before the War of the Gods; it was used as a fortress, a ritual ground. After the government defeated them here, it was given to the Pantheon, in recompense for the loss of the first Temple, in Lor’Tizar.”
Janet nodded, and then Mitsui asked, “Surely it must be expensive? There must be damp, and you have to heat the place.” Whisper had finished her food, and was looking around at the other people in the room; Trye was sat at a raised table by herself, eating quietly. Inis shook her head, “The damp isn’t a problem, it rarely rains on the citadel itself, the Jormund peaks around it make it too difficult, and we need to cool it, rather than heat it, there are geothermal vents in the mountains at the edge of the flatland, we harvest electricity from there, and use that for the air conditioning.” Mitsui nodded, and turned back to her food.
A long laugh echoed across the hall, and the group looked up, startled to see that Whisper had slipped out of her chair, without them noticing, and walked over to Trye. Jennifer and Inis jumped up and hurried over, while Mitsui and Janet quickly cleared up the empty plates. “Terribly sorry, High Priestess, she didn’t mean to disturb you,” Inis blurted, as she reached the pair. Trye smiled and shook her head, “Quite alright, child, it is refreshing to talk to someone who wants to learn,” Trye gestured at the opposite side of the table to her, with a careless wave of her hand.
Several chairs creaked as they were pulled across the floor, without any visible mechanism, and slid under the table opposite Trye. Jennifer stared at her, “Wha-How?” Inis sat down quietly without saying anything, pulling Whisper into the seat next to her, as Janet and Mitsui hurried over. Trye smiled, “If everything was so easily explained, then there would be no point learning, would there?”
The five of them sat down, opposite Trye and she looked at each of them carefully. She looked at Janet, “You are weakening, child, but hope yet remains, stay strong for him.” Janet blinked, surprised, but stayed silent. Trye shifted her gaze to Mitsui, “Not everyone is the same, everyone has differences, these can be surprising, even worrying, but they are who they are, no matter what their behaviour, they are always themselves.” Mitsui surreptitiously glanced at Jennifer, and then nodded. Trye turned her gaze on Whisper, “You mind is young; learn, enjoy, discover. I suspect that you are the cleverest among us.” Whisper tilted her head, and then nodded slowly. Trye turned to Jennifer, “Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is a worthy goal, but if it cannot be applied, it will never help in the end, the application of an art is the truest form of it.” Jennifer smiled uncertainly. Trye finally turned to Inis, who held her breath. Trye looked at Inis for several seconds. “You have potential, little one, great potential, don’t allow yourself to be drawn away from your goal, for the path you tread is a long one,” She said, finally, and Inis let out a breath, and nodded.
Trye looked across the group again, “It has been an honour to meet you.” With that, she stood, and walked towards the door, the group turned to watch her. She paused at the threshold, “Oh, Priestess Truesight, congratulations on reaching the second rank, I look forward to watching you pass the other trials, you have a determination I have seen very little of in the past, only in me. I look forward to seeing what rank you reach, Hierophant perhaps? Or higher?” Trye flipped her hood up meaningfully, and left.
“Did she just…?” Jennifer turned to Inis, who shrugged. “And how did she move the chairs?” She asked again, looking at Inis, who shrugged again. “Some of us have the ability, some don’t, it isn’t restricted to the Priests and Priestesses either, under extreme stress, with a strong mind… You can do a lot.” Inis stared at the fork in front of her. They all fell silent as they watched her, after a few moments, the fork rose fractionally, then dropped back down to the table, Inis leant back in her chair, sweat speckling her face, “See?” She panted, “It just takes effort, a lot of effort,” Jennifer watched Inis for a long time, before Janet spoke up, “T-Telekinetics are not i-impossible… T-There is a l-little used g-gene sequence… G-Genticorp uses v-variants o-of it…” Jennifer nodded slowly, then checked her watch. “And it is three o’clock… We need to head back if we are going to get home by tomorrow…” Inis sighed and nodded, picking up her PDA, when Trye stuck her head back into the room, “Varan can land on the grounds, if he wishes to,” Jennifer gave a start and turned to look at Trye, who smiled slightly, and slipped out of the room again. Jennifer muttered, “If she wasn’t so cool, she would be so creepy…”
Inis tapped a message into her PDA, and then stood up. “We should try and find the way out, it will only take Varan ten minutes or so to get here.
Eventually the group managed to escape the labyrinthine corridors and reach the bright outside world. As they entered the gardens, they heard a low rumble coming over the hills, followed by the blue streak, the Skyhunter landed quickly, and the five of them rushed onboard, eager to return home and tell their friends about their journey.
Inis watched as the elevator capsule began to slow; braking cables pulling taut as it entered the station. After a moment, the capsule halted, and the door hissed open, filling the already crowded station with a new bustle of noise as it disgorged its occupants. Sweating businessmen and ship crew hurried past Inis into the bright sunlight outside.
Inis held her sign higher, scanning the crowds, her eyes jumping face to face. She felt an unpleasant jolt in her stomach as she saw her own features, deep cyan hair, purple eyes, and pointed ears. She hesitated for a moment, and then waved at the girl. The girl waved back, and a group of people made their way over to Inis.
At the front of the group was a tall, brown-haired woman, she was leading the cyan-haired girl by the hand, another two women followed them. A smaller woman, with strong oriental features, she wore a black skirt, and was sweating profusely, and another woman, very thin, with long raven hair, and a very pale complexion. The first woman grinned at Inis, “Nice to see you!” Inis nodded, smiling, careful to keep her eyes away from the other girl. “And you too, Jennifer, is everyone here? I don’t want to be stuck in here any longer than necessary,” Jennifer turned around, counting, “Whisper…Mitsui…Janet… That is everyone.” Inis nodded, and gestured towards the door, at the other side of the crowded station; the group pushed their way towards it, and went outside.
Inis led the group away from the station, the crowds thinning considerably as they distanced themselves from the station. Inis stopped as she reached a grey people carrier, turning to face the group. “Okay… Still got everyone? Good. I borrowed my uncle’s car to pick you up.” She gestured towards the people carrier, unlocking it. Mitsui took the hand of the cyan-haired girl, and helped her climb into the back of the car, “In you get, Whisper.” Then she helped Janet climb in, and then she got in herself. Jennifer climbed into the front passenger seat, while Inis climbed into the driver’s side. Inis glanced at Whisper again; she looked to be about seventeen, though sometimes her behaviour made her seem younger than that. At the moment, she was staring out of the window at the busy street, wide, bright eyes scanning the crowds.
The people carrier pulled away from the curb and slid into the traffic, inching its way through the busy streets. The passengers gave sighs of relief as the air conditioning activated, filling the car with a cool breeze. Janet gave a small cough, and then said quietly, “Whi-hisper, ho-honey, d-don’t rub-b your-r e-ears.” Whisper’s hand, which has been inching up to her ears, dropped back to her side, and she nodded. Inis glanced back at Whisper again, as Jennifer turned to watch Whisper. Her ears were pointed, like Inis, however, the entire upper half of her ears were bent down, almost folding in on themselves, and the exposed skin on the back of her ears was covered in half-healed cuts and tears. “Whisper…What have I said about scratching your ears?” Jennifer asked calmly. Whisper looked at her, then responded quietly, “Not to scratch ears, or they won’t heal.” Her speech was broken up, with long pauses as she took breathes and hesitated, thinking about what she had to say next. Jennifer nodded, and then pointed a finger at Whisper, “So don’t scratch.” Whisper nodded unconcernedly, and returned to looking out of the window.
After a quiet half an hour of driving, Inis slowed to a halt outside a large house. Whisper spoke up, “Varan’s house!” She scrabbled at the door handle, and jumped out. The other four climbed out quickly, a quick call from Mitsui stopped Whisper from running up to the house. Inis took the lead, pushing open the cast iron gate, and walking up the path towards the house, with the other four trailing behind. The house itself was a large, slightly imposing construct, made of a light grey stone, with iron and steel fittings; it had several stories, and was significantly larger than any other house on the street.
Inis rapped on the door, and took a step back. After a moment the lock rasped, and the door swung open, revealing an aging man with grey hair. He hugged Inis with one arm, and nodded to Janet, then staggered backwards as Whisper launched herself at him, “Varan!” She shrieked as she hugged him. Varan put an arm out to steady himself, and then hugged her in return. Inis shifted her feet uncomfortably, while Jennifer tapped Whisper on the back. After a second, Whisper let go of Varan, and stepped back behind Jennifer. Varan let out a deep breath, “Well,” He brushed a hand down the front of his clothes, “You five had better come in, it is going to be a hot one today. The group stepped into the cool shade of the house, and Whisper turned to Varan again, “Pencils? Paper? Pens?” Varan smiled and gestured into the sitting room, and Whisper rushed in, the sounds of paper on paper emanated from the room, along with short exclamations of surprise from the people within.
Jennifer grinned embarrassedly at Varan, “Sorry about that…She has been quite excited about this visit, especially after you sent her that art set.” Varan smiled, running a hand through his hair. “She liked that then? I sent one to Inis when she was seven or eight…She never used it,” Inis stuck her tongue out at Varan, and walked into the sitting room. A murmur of chatter began to emanate from within.
Varan turned to Janet, his face was creased slightly as he examined her face, “Are you alright? You look like you have lost a lot of weight…” Janet nodded quickly, holding a handkerchief to her mouth and coughing quietly. “I am f-fine…” She responded. Varan nodded, and then led the rest of the group into the sitting room.
Whisper was sat at a table, sketching and shading a piece of paper, whereas; Inis was sat down in a chair, chattering to a young woman with long red hair, and a Tajara, who had a text book in his lap. The woman looked at Janet as she came in, and said quietly, “Janet…Are you alright…?” Janet nodded again, still coughing into her handkerchief. The Tajara hurmed, and watched the three woman entering the room. Mitsui noticed, “Hai, I am Sachiko Mitsui, you are?” The Tajara hurmed again, then responded, “This one is Sel’tierrrr Iarrrro.” Mitsui nodded and held out a hand towards him. Sel’tier paused, then took the hand carefully and shook it.
After everyone sat down, the room was silent for a while; the only noise was Whisper’s pencils and pens scratching on paper. Varan broke the silence, “Well, does anyone want anything to drink? I have some food on the way; it should be here in ten minutes or so.” There was a chorus of assents across the room, Varan stood up, and gesturing for Inis to help him, left the room.
A quarter of an hour later, the eight of them were eating hot slices of Pizza and bags of chips, chattering and laughing, though Whisper was still drawing.
After all the food had been eaten, the eight of them talked for a while, until Jennifer noticed that Whisper had fallen asleep at her table. Varan carefully picked her up, and carried her upstairs, moving slowly so as not to wake her. Janet stifled a yawn, and examined the pictures Whisper had drawn, there were realistic pictures of everyone, drawn in pen, and then outlined and shaded with pencil, shards of graphite were littered over the table. Janet carefully scooped up the drawings and handed them out, “A-Amy… I-Inis…Je-Jennifer…Me… Mi-Mitsui…S-Sel’tier…” She set Varan’s and Whisper’s pictures to the side, and sat back down. “T-The jo-journey has-s t-tired me out-t… A-Amy? C-Can you-u show me w-where I am-m s-sleeping-g?” Amy nodded and stood up, leading Janet out of the room. Jennifer sighed, “She isn’t the only one who is tired… Three and a half hours from Tau Ceti…”
Inis nodded, “I will show you to your rooms,” The four of them filed out.
Inis paused at the first room on the second story, “Jen, Mitsui, this is yours,” She opened the door, revealing a well furnished room, with a double bed and ensuite bathroom. The two women thanked Inis, entered the room and shut the door. Sel’tier hurmed, “They are…?” Inis nodded, and then continued walking.
After leaving Sel’tier at his room, Inis went to her own, and fell asleep.
In the morning, everyone slowly gravitated to the kitchen, though this time; they were wearing more suitable attire. Mitsui had changed into a pale grey skirt, rather than the long black one she had worn the say before. Janet was also wearing grey, though this time it was a loose jumpsuit. Inis, Jennifer and Whisper were dressed in shorts and T-shirts. After a quick breakfast, they collected some belongings, and were ready to leave.
Varan met them at the door, “I would let you borrow the Skyhunter…But…Ehhh… I don’t think any of you are trained to fly it, and I really don’t think Trye will want you landing it outside the temple with live weaponry.” He said, smiling. “You can take my car again, if you want, but I would personally suggest a train.” Inis nodded and tapped at her PDA, “The next train is leaving at… ten o’clock… It will take half an hour to walk there.” There was a murmur of agreement amongst the group. The five of them thanked Varan, and left, though not before he had extricated several promises concerning return visits for Janet, Whisper and Inis.
The five of them walked through the humid streets towards the closest rail station; Inis took the lead, guiding them to the station.
Once they had arrived, Inis lead them over to the ticket dispenser, where they took turns buying their tickets to the temple. Afterwards, they sat at the side of the track, chatting.
Jennifer looked over at Inis, “So, what happened to that guy you were with? Weren’t you engaged?” Inis paused, then nodded, slightly sad, “We were, then he just…Left, the only thing he left behind was a note, saying that he was going to go do something with his life. I still have the ring…” Inis smiled slightly, subdued. There was a long silence, before Jennifer turned to Janet, “How are you and Erec?” She asked.
Janet chewed her lip, “We a-are d-doing well, he i-is away on s-some business-s trip a-at the m-moment…” Jennifer nodded, then smiled at the pair of them, “Well, Whisper is doing well at college,” She said proudly, “She is getting lots of support and praise from her teachers.” Inis smiled awkwardly, then changed the subject. “Okay… The Temple… First off, please don’t be disrespectful to the High Priestess; she is patient, but very intolerant to rudeness. You cannot wear hats inside the temple, for obvious reasons.” Inis glanced around at them, they were all wearing hats. “And stick close to me, it is a massive building, easy to get lost in,” The party looked up at a rumbling along the tracks. Inis stood up, then helped Janet to her feet, “That will be the train,”
Sure enough, a large train emerged from around the corner, debris swirling along in front of it as it decelerated. The five of them stood back from the edge as the silvered locomotive slowed to a halt, and the doors hissed open. Mitsui looked at her ticket, “Carriage G, second class.” The five of them moved down the train, checking each carriage before Whisper called, “This one!” And the five of them climbed into the cool interior of the train.
The inside of the train was darkened, with a dark shading film placed over the windows, blocking a portion of the light, air conditioning units whirred quietly along the length of the carriage. There were a reasonable number of people in the carriage, though Jennifer and Mitsui managed to find the group’s seats easily enough. They sat Whisper down closest to the window, to give her something to do in the long trip. They had been assigned two sets of three seats, with a table in between. Whisper, Jennifer and Mitsui took one of the rows, while Janet and Inis took the other, with Janet sat opposite Whisper.
Slowly the train began to move, and the guard walked down the train to check their tickets. Whisper quickly became restless, so Mitsui passed her a pad of paper, and a small wooden box with the word, Whisper, etched into it, in an ornate script. With Whisper fully occupied, the other four gazed out of the window at the landscape, and made small talk as the train cruised at top speed towards the temple.
An hour later, Janet frowned, her eyes tracing a series of hills, with a strange reflective mark along the peaks. “I-Inis? W-Why are t-those hills r-reflective?” Jennifer and Mitsui leaned in to get a better look at the hills, sure enough; there was a brownish, reflective surface at the top. Inis took a breath, “That, is the edge of the Ostern Wastes, it was hit by orbital artillery about one hundred years ago.” Jennifer’s eyes widened, “Orbital artillery? Why?” Inis shrugged, and kept her gaze on the hills, she responded, “There was a civil revolt, the rebels took over the city of Ostern, they killed practically everyone, sacrificed them. The Navy cleansed the area with particle fire, turned the entire region to glass.”
Mitsui gave a small gasp, “They must have killed thousands… Just how big a region are we talking about?”
Inis paused, and then answered, “Hundreds of thousands, the Ostern Wastes are about two thousand by one thousand kilometres across.”
Janet covered her mouth, and sat back in her chair, the table was silent until the line of condemned, haunted hills, had passed from view.
The train slowed to a halt outside a village, and Mitsui made to stand up, but Inis caught her arm, “Not our stop, we need the last one, we will pass through some mountains first.” Mitsui nodded, and sat back down.
An overweight man, sweating profusely climbed onto the train, checking his ticket. He waddled down the aisle, scanning the seats, Jennifer could just faintly hear Inis speaking under her breath, “No…Not here…No no no…Gods no…” The man glanced at the seat next to her, checked his ticket one more time, sat down, and promptly fell asleep, his arm slipped onto Inis’ leg. Her face was twisted in revulsion as she pushed him back straight in his chair. She blinked as a sudden flash emanated from across the table. She uncovered her eyes to see Jennifer holding a camera, grinning broadly.
Inis growled, “You didn’t…” Jennifer held up the camera triumphantly, revealing a picture of Inis pushing the man into his seat, “Oh this is going onto the internet,” Inis growled again, and tried to snatch the camera away from Jennifer, but she pulled it out of the way. Inis lunged across the table, practically lying on it, then froze as the man gave a snort, and slipped sideways again; his arm lay across her back. Mitsui gingerly reached across and helped Janet move the arm off of Inis, who sat back, her face was flushed with embarrassment.
Inis wiped sweat from her face, groaning, “This is why I hate trains, you always get some fat bugger sat next to you…” Even with the air conditioning, the man was still sweating significantly, spreading heat around the table. Inis’ T-shirt was damp with sweat, and she had had to duck under the table twice to go get water to rehydrate herself.
The train began to slow again, at another village, and the man gave another snort, and woke up, he glanced around the table, his gaze lingered on Inis and her put upon expression. He slowly levered himself to his feet, and nodded to her, “Apologies, milady, this is my stop, you may also want to get some water,” The man waddled away; gales of laughter from the table followed him, swiftly pursued with dire threats of bodily harm against the celebrants by Inis.
After another few hours of travel, the train finally began to pass through a mountain range, tall grey stone peaks jutting from the flat plains, ending some thousands of feet above the train. The group fell silent as the train slipped down a thin, shielded valley between the precipices; the sky was practically invisible behind a ceiling of grey stone. The carriage was nearly empty now; most of the people had left at the various villages and towns along the way to the mountains.
Whisper pointed out the window, and said loudly, “Flickering light like a shield,” The other four looked outside, a faint blue flickering was visible, sparks of light scattering and coalescing in an instant. “This valley isn’t the safest of places, with rock falls, and, apparently bandits, though I have never seen them. The train has some low level generators, enough to survive a rock fall.” Inis told her. Jennifer frowned, “Can’t you just go a different way? If this one is dangerous?” She asked, her gaze swapping between the flickering, Whisper, and Mitsui, her forehead was creased slightly. Inis shook her head, “There is no other path, other than flying, which is why those tickets were so expensive, I generally only visit the Temple a few times a year, it is too expensive to do on a whim.” Jennifer nodded, looking slightly unsettled.
The rest of the journey was uneventful; they spent forty minutes with shields active, before emerging in a large clear opening amidst the mountains. When they emerged, Inis pulled them over to the other side of the carriage to see the temple as they pulled into a small station.
The Temple was gargantuan; almost a mountain in its own right, the base was nearly two kilometres across, with immense engravings and decorations set into the same grey stone as the mountains around it. The door was at least one hundred feet tall, with monolithic, granite doors, held open with thick chains. The highest parts of the temple barely reached half way up the nearby mountains, the top was jagged, and the very tips looked melted and deformed, and it was possible to make out sheared off engravings, showing the original height was far greater than that of current times.
Janet spoke very quietly, “T-That is g-gigantic…” Inis nodded, gazing up at the Temple reverently, “It took the Followers one hundred and twenty eight years to build, then it was put to siege in the War of the Gods…Then the Pantheon has had about one hundred years to rebuild it.” The temple slipped out of view as the train entered the station. Inis turned to Whisper, “Whisper…Did you bring that necklace?” Whisper nodded, and brought her hands to her neck, lifting the necklace over her head. It was a fine silver chain, with an iridescent blue crystal, glowing an electric blue, hanging from it. “May I have it please? I need it here, you can have it back after.” Whisper nodded and handed the amulet to Inis, who slowly slipped it over her neck, the crystal lay against the front of her shirt. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and sighed. After a moment, she opened her eyes again, and walked to the door.
The group stepped out onto the platform, Inis was leading. They exited the near-empty station, walking out into a large, grassland plain, they had emerged about one hundred metres away from the doors. Despite the vast size of the Temple, and the entrance, they could see barely two dozen people wandering the grounds, generally alone or in pairs.
Inis strode forward confidently, while the other four hurried along after her, glancing around at the vast structure before them. Inis paused at the dark threshold of the Temple. She turned to face the group, “Hats,” She ordered, and they hurriedly took off their hats and stowed them away in their rucksacks. Inis glanced around at them, then nodded, and entered the cool darkness of the temple.
The group walked slowly through the colossal doors, into an immense hall, carved through the mountain. The walls of the hall had been smoothed flat, and then engraved with intricate designs and scenes. Jennifer spun around slowly, as the group walked forwards, taking in the images.
She pointed to one, an intricate sigil, surrounded by little pinpricks of light, small bulbs placed into the wall, and called to Inis. “What is that one?”
Inis paused and looked back at the sigil. “That is the sigil of the Everwatcher, Lady Tilura. She is the Lady of space, and the stars.”
Whisper ran over to another sigil, this one was quite simple, with five arcing lines intertwining to form a rose. The wall around the sigil was carved with thorny vines, trees and animals. Mitsui hurried after her, to stop her touching the carvings. “What is this one?” She asked leaning in close to the carving.
“That is the emblem of Lady Celaya, the Green Spirit.” A voice echoed across the hall, before fading to silence. The mumbled conversations between other worshipers ceased as a woman wearing a long grey robe stepped out of an ornate door at the end of the hall. Inis bowed her head in respect as the woman walked over to the group. Jennifer hurriedly did the same.
Inis spoke quietly and respectfully, “Lady Callida. These are my friends, from off-world; they wished to see the Temple.” The woman had reached the group now, and had stopped about three metres away. “Minor Priestess Truesight, how many times do you have to be told that the only Lords and Ladies are the Kasturi themselves? I am simply Trye, or Callida, if you wish.” The woman chided, taking down her hood.
The woman had long, white hair, and her face, though young, looked prematurely aged. Her eyes were a light blue, and her irises were feline and slit-like. She examined the group, and her gaze fell on Whisper. The High Priestess’ face darkened instantly. “Priestess, explain.” Her voice was cold, with a hint of malice, as she stared at Whisper intently. Jennifer stepped in between them as Inis spoke. “Callida, this is Whisper.” Inis paused, “Well, ah… A group of people created her, with my genes.” Inis mumbled.
Trye spoke quietly and slowly, “So you thought it would be best to bring this….Abomination, to the Temple? There can only be a single body connected to a soul, Priestess; this is nothing but a cheap copy of you. Soulless and without hope. A twisted creature that can only bring pain and misery.”
Janet and Mitsui looked incensed at these words. Jennifer’s face twisted in anger, and she stormed forwards, raising her fists and shouting at the top of her lungs at Trye, “How DARE you! Whisper is a human being, it doesn’t matter how she came about! She is a loyal, happy, helpful, intelligent and all round wonderful person! I would take her over you, any day!” Jennifer stepped close to Trye, her face was bright red, and filled with anger.
Trye said calmly, watching Jennifer carefully, “Child, that creature has no place in this world, no right to be here, no right to wear the face of one of my Priestesses. Such heresy will not be tolerated here; the abomination needs to be put down.” Jennifer growled at these words, and drew her arm back.
Inis shouted, “Jennifer! Don’t!” Jennifer ignored her.
The sound of the strike rang through the hall, followed by gasps and exclamations from the worshippers. Jennifer stepped back, rubbing her knuckles, as Mitsui and Inis hurried over to her, while Janet held Whisper back from the group.
Trye slowly brought a hand to her face, and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. She turned to face Jennifer, “The only reason that you are still alive, is that the Priestess vouched for you, now I am going to end this.” Trye strode towards Whisper, while Janet desperately tried to pull her away. She closed the distance quickly, and drew her hand back, as Janet tugged on Whisper’s arm.
Inis threw herself between the pair, and Trye paused, arm still raised, “Move Priestess. This has to be dealt with.” Inis didn’t move, though her face was slightly flushed, and her hands were balled into fists. “No.”
Trye lowered her arm, and held out a flat palm, she looked straight at Inis, “If that is your wish. Amulet, now.”
Inis stared at Trye, while Jennifer and Mitsui hurried Whisper out of the hall. Trye’s eyes were hard and cold as she held out her hand. “Last warning, Minor Priestess. Give me your amulet; if you will not abide by the Strictures, then you do not belong among us.”
Janet spoke quietly, stepping up beside Inis, “Y-You c-can’t do th-this!” She said in a low tone, glaring at Trye.
Trye looked at her calmly, “I do as the Kasturi decree.” Janet opened her mouth to snap a retort, but Inis stopped her. “Fine.” Inis pulled her necklace over her head, the blue crystal glimmering as she held it. She hesitated, staring at the crystal, and then placed it in Trye’s hand, which closed around it. Trye smiled slightly as her hand disappeared into her robe. Inis blinked rapidly, turned and left. Janet hurried after her.
The two of them emerged into the gardens, and Mitsui, Jennifer and Whisper hurried over. Inis wiped her eyes hurriedly. “Inis! What happened!” asked Jennifer s they slowed to a halt, the worshippers in the gardens had all but disappeared. “I…I was expelled from my position…” Inis said, disbelieving. Inis’ eyes were oddly bright, and she hurriedly wiped them again.
“Inis…I am so sorry… We should never have organised this trip…” Jennifer said quietly, her head was bowed slightly. Inis forced a smile, though her eyes were still very bright, “It is fine, it didn’t matter, let’s go.” She said, in a tone of forced cheerfulness.
The group walked silently through the gardens, while Janet checked the train times. “O-Oh d-dear… The next t-train won’t a-arrive f-for t-two h-hours…” She said quietly, as they wandered aimlessly through the gardens. Inis sank down onto a bench, and held her face in her hands. Janet looked at her worriedly, then moved a distance away, and pulled out her PDA. She pressed a few buttons, waited, and then began talking softly into it. Jennifer sat down next to Inis, and gingerly patted her shoulder, while Mitsui led Whisper around the garden, telling her about the different plants and animals.
“She did what!?” Janet flinched and held her PDA away from her ear as a distorted male voice blasted out of it. After a moment, she brought it back to her ear, talked for a few moments more, nodded to herself, then slipped the PDA into her pocket. Jennifer looked at her, “Who was that?” She asked, she was still patting Inis on the shoulder. “V-Varan…I a-asked h-him to c-come pick u-us up… He is a-angry…I t-think he m-might fly h-here…”
Janet and Jennifer were still comforting Inis when a low rumble rolled over the mountains. Whisper and Mitsui turned to watch a bolt of bright blue arc downwards before decelerating as it approached the ground. The blue glow died quickly, revealing an avian craft, stretching at least thirty metres from nose to rear, a large barrelled weapon was curled underneath the cockpit.
Several people hurried over to the jump jet, cautiously staying out of the arc of the front mounted weapon. The final flares from the ion thrusters died away, and the cargo bay hissed open, and an aging man stormed out, his face was red with exertion and anger. Janet glanced over at the temple, to see a grey robed woman, followed by a number of others, exiting the massive hall, and walking towards them.
Varan walked quickly over to the group, seeing Inis. “Inis…” He said quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder, “I am going to get this sorted out.”
A second person exited the jump jet, a youngish woman, wearing a long, dark green robe. Varan walked over to her, and the two of them approached Trye, who had come to a halt, along with her party, about ten metres away from the bench on which Inis was sat. Jennifer quietly went closer as the heated debate began.
“Callida, you have no right, none at all, to rescind Inis’ status as a Minor Priestess.” Varan said loudly, glaring at the Priestess. Trye tilted her head, looking between Varan and the other woman, feline eyes blinking slowly. “I have every right. She brought an abomination into the Temple, she turned against the Strictures, and she defied the Kasturi.”
Varan’s voice dropped dangerously low, “If you call Whisper an abomination, one more time…” He let the sentence hang, glaring at Trye. Trye looked back at him, her face impassive, and her robe swirling slightly in the wind. “Your threats are meaningless; descendant of Gol’ee, the abomination is a direct affront to the Strictures.”
Varan’s face turned purple, and he swung a fist at Trye, teeth bared.
Trye caught Varan’s fist with an open hand, her slender arms absorbing the force of his strike with seemingly little effort. Trye looked at Varan pityingly, and then shoved his arm back, sending him staggering backwards. The other woman finally spoke. “Trye, enough.” She said simply, and Trye stepped back, away from Varan, turning towards the woman. “Serina. I am surprised that you lowered yourself to come here at the behest of this man.”
Serina responded, “I did not come because of him, I came because I was informed that you had stripped a Priestess of rank, for not following the Strictures.” Serina folded her arms and waited impatiently for Trye to respond.
“I have.” Trye gestured towards Inis, “That one, now, if you will excuse me, I did not come out here to talk to you.” Trye turned away from Serina, and strode towards Inis. Janet and Jennifer stepped between them.
“Move aside, children, I mean her no harm.” Trye said quietly, her gaze switched between Jennifer and Janet. Slowly they moved aside to let her past; Serina and Varan were close behind.
Trye spoke loudly as she approached Inis, “Truesight,” Inis remained still for a moment, and then slowly responded, “What?” Inis hadn’t turned to face Trye.
Trye smiled slightly, then spoke again, “Life is full of challenges, and trials, little one, as a species we must constantly strive to be the best it is possible for us to be. If we did not, the Darkness would take us all the sooner. Without trials, we cannot live, for we would not experience, we would not strain, we would not fear. Stand, Priestess.”
Inis didn’t move for a moment, then she slowly turned around, her face was creased with confusion, and there were wet stains on her cheeks. Trye smiled, “You have passed the second trial, Priestess, the trial of Determination, you treat the Strictures as the guidelines they are, where others would treat them as the law of life and death itself. The only true guide we have, is our own morals, we can do no more, and we can do no less. To go against our morals, is a betrayal of self, and is the true heresy. By standing by your morals, and defending this lost child.” Trye gestured at Whisper, “You have proven yourself worthy of the next rank. I am proud of you, little one.” Trye held out her hand, and dropped Inis’ amulet into her open palm, while Jennifer just stared at the scene, her forehead wrinkled in confusion. Janet smiled slightly, while Whisper and Mitsui didn’t notice.
Serina smiled slightly, “You have always enjoyed your trials, haven’t you, Trye?” She asked, lightly, Trye tilted her head, “Celaya has trials, just as Sormtiar does, they are necessary.”
Varan looked between the pair, mildly confused, and then spoke, “So it was just a test? All of this grief? Just for a damned test?” The two Priestesses nodded their agreement, and Varan sighed, rubbing his forehead, “Do you five want to come back now? Or later? Provided Trye lets me land on her lawn again.”
Inis slowly put her necklace over her head again, “We still need to look around in the temple, we can call you when we are done?”
Varan sighed and nodded, jogging back to the Skyhunter. Serina turned to the group, and smiled, her face was unblemished and smooth, with long brown hair, reaching past her shoulders. “It was nice to meet you five, if only for a few minutes, and not under the best of circumstances.” With those words, she turned and swept towards the jump jet, climbing into it, before the hatch closed.
The six of them, Inis, Jennifer, Janet, Mitsui, Trye and Whisper, watched as the jets flared, and the aircraft lifted off, arcing away to the west.
After the aircraft had disappeared over the mountains, Trye turned to face the group, smiling slightly, “The Temple is open to you.” With these words, she turned and strode away, her group of advisors hurrying after her as she disappeared back into the temple. Jennifer turned to Inis, “Okay… Not especially certain what happened there… Who was that woman with Varan?” She asked, still slightly confused about the events that had just occurred.
“I…Think that was Lady Teague… Why was she with Varan?” Inis murmured, chewing her lip. Jennifer frowned, “And that is…?” She asked, turning to watch Mitsui and Whisper walking back towards the group. “The High Priestess of Celaya…” Inis responded, standing up. “We should head inside, if you still want to look around.”
The group made its way back to the main hall, and entered back into the darkness. Whisper pelted off again, running to inspect the carvings, the group hurried after her.”What is this one?” Whisper asked, pointing to a massive emblem. The emblem resembled a huge, staring, stylised eye, but the pupil was replaced with an hourglass, and a winding path led from the edge of the eye to the bottom of the hourglass. The individual grains of sand were small lights, set into the wall; each one was a different shade. Inis walked over, and held her hand close to the wall, smiling slightly, “This is the emblem of High Lord Souleon; The Waywatcher, Lord of time.” Inis said reverently, her voice carried far in the large hall, and several people turned to look at her as she spoke.
“What other rooms are there in this place?” Jennifer asked Inis, looking at the emblem. Inis chewed her lip, “Well, there is a ceremony hall, a prayer hall, a library, the priest quarters…” Inis shrugged, “I have been a priestess for three years, and I still don’t know everything that is in this place, it is just too big.”
“Y-You have a-a l-library?” Asked Janet, interestedly, “I-I would l-like t-to s-see that, i-it would be v-very i-interesting.” Janet was breathing quite heavily from having to follow Whisper, so the group agreed to go to the library.
The library was only a short work from the main hall; it was a brightly lit room, with thick carpets and old wooden furniture. Jennifer and Mitsui sat Whisper down at one of the tables and gave her the art set, before moving around to examine the titles on display. Janet sat down with a copy of Genetic advancements of the twenty-second century, and read it quietly. “Do you have anything about the origins of the Pantheon here?” Jenifer asked Inis quietly, as they searched through the shelves. Inis nodded, “Follow me,” Inis led Jennifer through the warren of shelves, to one of the back corners, the shelf Inis indicated was labelled, Mythos. The books on the shelf were large and worn, with yellowed pages and hard leather covers. Inis delicately lifted out a deep-brown book, with golden filigree. “Oh…This looks old…” Jennifer said, taking the book carefully from Inis. “It is, I think it is about one hundred years old now.” Jennifer slowly opened the cover, and read the title, The Kasturi Pantheon.
Jennifer took the book back to the table, and took out her PDA, and then glanced at Inis, “Am I allowed to take pictures of the pages? I doubt that I would be able to sign this out, and I can’t read it now.” She asked, her PDA hovering over the book.
Inis smiled, “Sure, there are lots of copies of it, lots of the priests and priestesses have printed copies made.”
Jennifer nodded, and then looked back at the book, flipping to the first page, she paused. “Uhh… I don’t understand this… What language is this?”
Inis glanced down at the book, “Oh! Gods, I forgot you couldn’t speak it, it is an Old-Earth language, it is called Silian, look,” Inis pointed at the page, “This says Quel dora ishnu anu kal. The high truth rests in the stars. It is telling us that the Gods are among the stars, waiting.” Jennifer frowned, “Waiting for what?” She asked, looking down at the indecipherable book.
“Ashte'rodne, the Darkness.” Inis said quietly, “Like the Christian judgement day, I suppose. Armageddon. The Apocalypse. The first section of this book states that the harbingers of the Darkness, creatures without emotion, mortality, or mercy, will bring about the end of everything, so their leader can rule over a dark, icy universe, where everything bows to him. Even the Gods cannot stand against them, such is their might, they are beings of the arcane, monsters of darkness and cold, forever hungry for life to drain, world to conquer, civilisations to destroy, completely removed from anything humans have ever met before.”
Jennifer swallowed hard, “If your Gods cannot defeat them, then what chance do you have, what can you do?”
Inis smiled slightly, “Train, learn, fight, preserve the light of life for as long as we can, every life is a spark, every world is a flame. Human space is an bright inferno of vibrant life, every second it remains so, is a victory, every moment is another chance for us to learn a weakness we can exploit, a fault to expose, a task is only futile if we believe it to be. Anything can be defeated; you just need to find out how.”
Jennifer nodded, “Is there any way I could learn Silian? I think I would like reading this book.” She asked, closing the tome.
Inis hurmed, “I might be able to find a primer book… At the very least you can buy a dictionary and work book at Cevalon.” Inis disappeared back into the shelves.
The group stayed in the library for about an hour, before they decided to leave to find a food hall.
After about ten minutes, they came across a food hall; it was small for what it was, with only about two hundred seats, many of which were empty. Jennifer murmured “I sort of expected more people…”
Inis responded as they reached the serving area, “There normally are, but it isn’t a holiday, and with the Temple being so far away from the city, people only really come on special days.” Jennifer nodded, then Mitsui asked, “Then why is this place so large? If so few people use it.”
They paid for and collected some plates of steak and chips before Inis responded, “This place was given to the Pantheon is recompense, after the War of the Gods.”
The group sat down, and began eating; Jennifer kept a careful eye on Whisper, making sure that she didn’t eat her food too fast. Janet asked, “I-If it was g-given to y-you, who h-had i-it before?” Inis frowned, and picked at her food, “The Followers built this place, before the War of the Gods; it was used as a fortress, a ritual ground. After the government defeated them here, it was given to the Pantheon, in recompense for the loss of the first Temple, in Lor’Tizar.”
Janet nodded, and then Mitsui asked, “Surely it must be expensive? There must be damp, and you have to heat the place.” Whisper had finished her food, and was looking around at the other people in the room; Trye was sat at a raised table by herself, eating quietly. Inis shook her head, “The damp isn’t a problem, it rarely rains on the citadel itself, the Jormund peaks around it make it too difficult, and we need to cool it, rather than heat it, there are geothermal vents in the mountains at the edge of the flatland, we harvest electricity from there, and use that for the air conditioning.” Mitsui nodded, and turned back to her food.
A long laugh echoed across the hall, and the group looked up, startled to see that Whisper had slipped out of her chair, without them noticing, and walked over to Trye. Jennifer and Inis jumped up and hurried over, while Mitsui and Janet quickly cleared up the empty plates. “Terribly sorry, High Priestess, she didn’t mean to disturb you,” Inis blurted, as she reached the pair. Trye smiled and shook her head, “Quite alright, child, it is refreshing to talk to someone who wants to learn,” Trye gestured at the opposite side of the table to her, with a careless wave of her hand.
Several chairs creaked as they were pulled across the floor, without any visible mechanism, and slid under the table opposite Trye. Jennifer stared at her, “Wha-How?” Inis sat down quietly without saying anything, pulling Whisper into the seat next to her, as Janet and Mitsui hurried over. Trye smiled, “If everything was so easily explained, then there would be no point learning, would there?”
The five of them sat down, opposite Trye and she looked at each of them carefully. She looked at Janet, “You are weakening, child, but hope yet remains, stay strong for him.” Janet blinked, surprised, but stayed silent. Trye shifted her gaze to Mitsui, “Not everyone is the same, everyone has differences, these can be surprising, even worrying, but they are who they are, no matter what their behaviour, they are always themselves.” Mitsui surreptitiously glanced at Jennifer, and then nodded. Trye turned her gaze on Whisper, “You mind is young; learn, enjoy, discover. I suspect that you are the cleverest among us.” Whisper tilted her head, and then nodded slowly. Trye turned to Jennifer, “Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is a worthy goal, but if it cannot be applied, it will never help in the end, the application of an art is the truest form of it.” Jennifer smiled uncertainly. Trye finally turned to Inis, who held her breath. Trye looked at Inis for several seconds. “You have potential, little one, great potential, don’t allow yourself to be drawn away from your goal, for the path you tread is a long one,” She said, finally, and Inis let out a breath, and nodded.
Trye looked across the group again, “It has been an honour to meet you.” With that, she stood, and walked towards the door, the group turned to watch her. She paused at the threshold, “Oh, Priestess Truesight, congratulations on reaching the second rank, I look forward to watching you pass the other trials, you have a determination I have seen very little of in the past, only in me. I look forward to seeing what rank you reach, Hierophant perhaps? Or higher?” Trye flipped her hood up meaningfully, and left.
“Did she just…?” Jennifer turned to Inis, who shrugged. “And how did she move the chairs?” She asked again, looking at Inis, who shrugged again. “Some of us have the ability, some don’t, it isn’t restricted to the Priests and Priestesses either, under extreme stress, with a strong mind… You can do a lot.” Inis stared at the fork in front of her. They all fell silent as they watched her, after a few moments, the fork rose fractionally, then dropped back down to the table, Inis leant back in her chair, sweat speckling her face, “See?” She panted, “It just takes effort, a lot of effort,” Jennifer watched Inis for a long time, before Janet spoke up, “T-Telekinetics are not i-impossible… T-There is a l-little used g-gene sequence… G-Genticorp uses v-variants o-of it…” Jennifer nodded slowly, then checked her watch. “And it is three o’clock… We need to head back if we are going to get home by tomorrow…” Inis sighed and nodded, picking up her PDA, when Trye stuck her head back into the room, “Varan can land on the grounds, if he wishes to,” Jennifer gave a start and turned to look at Trye, who smiled slightly, and slipped out of the room again. Jennifer muttered, “If she wasn’t so cool, she would be so creepy…”
Inis tapped a message into her PDA, and then stood up. “We should try and find the way out, it will only take Varan ten minutes or so to get here.
Eventually the group managed to escape the labyrinthine corridors and reach the bright outside world. As they entered the gardens, they heard a low rumble coming over the hills, followed by the blue streak, the Skyhunter landed quickly, and the five of them rushed onboard, eager to return home and tell their friends about their journey.