by Drew Wagar
‘When we got him aboard he claimed he didn’t have any parents,’ Mel said. ‘But he’d never talk about it.’
‘Orphans don’t get to be timekeepers,’ Coran said. ‘It’s a privileged rank, but it’s below the station of a senatorial family.’
Coran looked around at the rest of the crew, his gaze ending at Zoella.
‘Either way, he’s got some explaining to do.’
Zoella’s lips were pursed. ‘Yes, he has.’
Meru had been led up into the higher circles of the city. The city of Amaris was built into the cliffs on one side and extended out to sea on a natural promontory to the other, rising a thousand hands to the cliff tops and then extending further on top of them. The roads from inland led to the top of the cliffs with most of the city save the senate buildings set out below in tiers like an ornate cake constructed of smooth redstone.
Meru knew it formed a natural arc around what was locally called Saddle cove; the promontory reaching out like a welcoming arm into the sea.
Standing at the edge of a large piazza and looking over a low wall he could see the harbour far below. The Mobilis was easy to spot, its shiny hull distinct from the small wooden vessels all around it.
Upon reaching the piazza he’d been instructed to wait. Two guards stood alongside him. They didn’t restrain him, but it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere. Another guard had walked into the buildings on the other side of the piazza. Meru recognised them.
The Senate. Where my parents worked.
Figures emerged from the building. Meru didn’t need to see their faces to recognise them. He’d know them anywhere.
They were walking towards him, a woman and a man, also escorted by guards. The woman broke into a run on seeing him.
‘Meru! By the shades, it is you. You’re alive. Alive!’
Meru found himself pulled into a crushing hug. His breath was knocked out from him.
‘Mother …’
She drew back and slapped him across the face.
‘How dare you put your father and I through that? We’d given you up for dead. Lost at sea, drowned. Thought we’d never see you again. No message, nothing. You thoughtless, hurtful child!’
Meru tried to interject, but his mother was in full flow.
‘Shipping away on a common fishing trawler without saying goodbye. Then the ship is overdue and it doesn’t come back. What were you thinking? You’ve been lost for almost a round and a half.’
‘I ran away mother.’ Meru managed to shout.
‘Why, in Lacaille’s name, why?’ she protested. Meru looked up at them; Henoch and Hannah Farstone, his father and mother.
‘Henoch,’ his mother said, exasperated. ‘Say something.’
‘Your conduct was reprehensible,’ Henoch said. ‘Inexcusable. The anguish you put your mother through …’
‘You haven’t changed then,’ Meru interrupted.
‘How dare you,’ Henoch snapped.
‘Please,’ Hannah said, pulling at her husband’s arm. He pulled away.
‘No Hannah, the boy needs to be brought to heel.’
‘No I won’t!’ Meru shouted. ‘I’ve been out there.’ He gestured to the wide open ocean behind him. ‘I’ve seen things, done things. The senate needs to hear what I’ve got to say …’
‘The senate will do as it sees fit,’ Henoch replied. ‘According to rule and custom as is right and proper. Those who abducted you will be dealt with as the pirates they are.’
‘They’re not pirates. They didn’t abduct me, they rescued me.’
‘… will be dealt with in the proper manner after due process and sentenced according to their crimes.’
Meru pushed forward. ‘No father. You’ve got to shut up and listen for once! There is danger out beyond the sea. We went there, discovered what it was. All Amar needs to hear this. The myths and legends are true and we need to prepare.’
‘Nonsense.’
‘It’s not nonsense, it’s true. And if you don’t start paying attention then lots of folk are going to die.’
‘I’ve been to see your companions,’ Henoch replied. ‘Two known criminals, a captain with no licence and his woman, a decidedly untrustworthy looking fellow and two urchin refugees from Lacaille knows where. Hardly reliable witnesses.’
‘She’s from a distant continent,’ Meru said. ‘Her …’
‘Just because some vagabond girl claims to be from over the seas means nothing …’
‘She’s no vagabond, her name is Zoella,’ Meru retorted. ‘She saved my life more than once. She’s the bravest, truest and the kindest person you could ever wish to meet.’
Henoch glared. ‘You will be dealt with too. They’ve clearly brainwashed you. It will go all the worse for them. They will be summoned to the senate shortly and we will find out what they are really about. You will stay with your mother until summoned.’
The crew of the Mobilis, along with Zoella and Ren, were led from the cells. They were escorted upwards into a council chamber, a vaulted room in the midst of the senate buildings, with a lofty domed roof. The light of Lacaille streamed in far above, providing a warm airy feeling to the interior.
That feeling did not extend to those in the room. Before the crew sat the senate of Amar, a group of five elderly men seated atop ornately carved chairs. They, in turn, were placed upon a raised dais, allowing the senators to glare down upon their subjects. There was a sixth chair, alongside, unoccupied.
Four guards flanked the crew for a moment before they were dismissed. They filed out and the doors were locked behind them.
‘Who speaks for you?’ the first senator asked.
Coran stepped forward. ‘I do.’
‘And you are?’
‘Captain Coran of the Mobilis.’
‘The metal vessel?’
Coran nodded.
A door opened and another man stepped through, carrying a stack of papers under his arm. He walked with alacrity, pacing on to the dais with a nod to the other senators before he sat down.
‘Henoch,’ the first senator said. ‘Good that you could join us.’
‘Apologies for my tardiness,’ Henoch said. ‘A matter of discipline. My son was abducted by these … pirates. I was gratified to find him intact, though whether his mind can be repaired remains to be seen.’
Coran looked around at Mel and the rest of the crew. All of them were looking at him.
‘Told you he was a lying toe-rag!’ Fitch whispered.
‘I am Senator Janaid,’ the first senator said, turning back to Coran. ‘Your accent betrays you as from these shores, and we saw your vessel fly Amaran flags. Yet, this ship is not known to us. From whence do you come?’
‘I am from Amar,’ Coran answered. ‘As are most of us …’
‘Most of us?’ Henoch interrupted. ‘There are no other lands.’
‘There are,’ Coran replied. ‘We have been there.’
Henoch almost rose out of his chair, but Janaid held up his hands.
‘Explain who you are,’ Janaid said. ‘And what you are doing here.’
Coran took a deep breath.
‘I am from Amar,’ he began. ‘Six rounds ago I was first mate aboard a trawler. We were caught in storms and driven beyond the horizon, out of sight of the smokes of Amar. My crew and I fetched up on an island. There we met Mel …’ Coran indicated Mel, standing next to him. ‘She had likewise been marooned there, shipwrecked before, unable to return home.’
The senators listened, but none spoke. Coran continued.
‘Our ship was damaged, but we attempted repairs,’ Coran said. ‘But Mel had found something else. On those islands was a cavern, hollowed out of the rock. Within was a landing stage, and moored there … the vessel that now rests in the harbour.’
‘The metal vessel?’ Janaid asked.
Coran nodded. ‘We call it the Mobilis. It was dilapidated, broken down, covered in debris and dirt. But it had been deliberately preserved. Someone had gone to great lengt
hs to store it safely.’
‘Store it?’ Janaid asked.
‘It was ancient,’ Coran said. ‘How old we can’t tell. Certainly many hundreds of rounds. We didn’t know what to make of it at first. There seemed to be no sails, no means to row or steer. But Mel had been there for rounds. She had worked out its secret.’
The senators looked at Mel.
‘Well?’
‘Coran is right,’ Mel said. ‘It is very old. It is completely made of metal throughout, immensely strong. It has sails of a sort, but they do not catch the wind. It catches something unseen …’
‘A power we call ’tricity,’ Coran explained. ‘Within the vessel were instructions and guides, written in our language. Many were ruined with age, but enough remained for us to make repairs to it.’
‘Preposterous!’ Henoch exclaimed. ‘Ships sail by the wind, everyone knows that. Senators, these are pirates. Abducting our people for their own purposes, twisting their minds with idle nonsense and preying on our ships. Whether Lacaille has grown in brightness in recent passes is moot. Our vessels have oft failed to return because someone has been pillaging them. Mystery solved! The perpetrators stand before us.’
‘That ship lies within our harbour,’ one of the other senators interjected. ‘Willingly venturing within. Why come in at all if they are pirates? We all saw it. It clearly had a motive power beyond our understanding. A search of the vessel has revealed no evidence of plunder aboard, Henoch. Please, continue.’
Coran bowed his head. ‘’Tricity seems to be a force that emanates from Lacaille. It is our belief that our ancestors harnessed this energy for all manner of purposes, including that which drives the Mobilis.’
‘So you have found an extraordinary vessel,’ Janaid said. ‘Why did you not return it to Amar immediately?’
‘We found other things aboard the ship,’ Coran said. ‘Amongst them, a map.’
‘A map? Of what?’
‘Of our world,’ Coran replied. ‘Our ancestors called it “Esurio”.’
The senators mumbled amongst themselves. The word was familiar, but it was seldom used, referring to something vast and incomprehensible.
‘Describe this map,’ Janaid asked.
‘It shows Amar,’ Coran said, ‘and some way to the shaderight, the islands where we were shipwrecked, the Scattered Isles they are called. Beyond that …’
‘There is no beyond,’ Henoch snapped. ‘How long are we going to entertain this nonsense?’
‘Honourable Henoch,’ Janaid said. ‘We are here to establish what has transpired. Let us hear the explanation before we cast judgement.’
Janaid indicated for Coran to continue.
‘The map shows a great continent far to the shaderight,’ Coran said. ‘It is marked “Voren”. Books that accompanied the map told stories of our ancestors living in the shadeward of this land, a place called Nireus.’
The senators’ faces had gone pale.
‘The stories also told of how an army of witches from the sunward realms, a land called Drayden, had assailed them, causing them to flee.’ Coran said. ‘They were exiled from Nireus, forced to flee before these witches, finally coming to Amar itself.’
The senators were muttering amongst themselves.
‘As we feared …’
‘If this knowledge were to leak out …’
‘Must be suppressed! But it may already be too late …’
Janaid stood up and the senators fell into silence.
He took a moment to compose himself.
‘This knowledge is known only to the Senate,’ he said, placing a hand against his forehead and rubbing it. ‘You speak of events that have been consigned to history and locked away for the benefit of all.’
‘You actually knew?’ Coran said, his voice rising. ‘I suspected the knowledge existed … but you knew and suppressed it?’
‘It is forbidden to speak of it,’ Henoch said. ‘The horrors of the past are best left buried.’
Janaid nodded. ‘It is not taught, as well you know. Our past is ignominy, best left there … and yet … What did you do next?’
Coran stood tall. ‘I took it upon myself to determine the truth of these legends.’
That was met with gasps from the Senators.
‘You travelled across the sea to Voren?’ Janaid managed to say.
Coran nodded. ‘We did, we discovered much, and returned to warn the people of Amar based on what we found. There is great danger coming. Lacaille will flare, bringing fire and devastation …’
‘You should not have returned,’ Henoch said. ‘To disturb long rounds of peace with this. Our people must be protected …’
‘Protected, yes,’ Mel interrupted. ‘By knowing the truth. The flares are real and the witches are real, they remain and they still consider us their enemy. They seek us and they wish us harm. We can hide no longer!’
The senators were on their feet, gesticulating at each other. Janaid tried for long moments to restore order.
‘Colleagues. Colleagues! Enough of this unseemly row.’
‘And this ridiculous tale?’ Henoch shouted. ‘A map I will give you, and there is no doubt this vessel of yours has some remarkable capabilities. But witches? Magical powers? We are losing ships to piracy, nothing more. But this, this is all patent nonsense. Stories with which to scare us, to save their pitiful hides. I ask you. What is more likely? Flares and Witches, or common piracy? I say lock them up and throw away the key – sink that vessel and have done with it.’
The senators remained arguing. Despite the hubbub, Zoella stepped forward. She closed her eyes and raised a hand.
‘Zoella, no,’ Coran exclaimed.
Silence!
The crew of the Mobilis winced as the mental imperative jolted their minds, but they at least had some prior experience of Zoella’s power. Three of the senators fell to their knees, one toppling over in shock. Janaid and Henoch stared at each other before their attention turned to the girl before them. They had not noticed her before, now every gaze was upon her.
Her deep brown eyes stared back at them, her features resolute, demanding attention. Her arm was held out before her, her palm towards them. All heard the words that resonated from her mind.
Listen, and listen well. I am not of Amar, I am of a land far from here. These people mean you no harm and neither do I. But across the seas are those that do. They swore an oath to destroy your ancestors, and they are coming. Heed my words.
‘What is this witchcraft …?’ Henoch managed to whisper.
Zoella turned to regard him and he flinched back.
I am no witch. Those you call witches are the Priestesses of Drayden, your sworn enemy, they that persecuted your ancestors and forced you to flee here. They have pursued me. This power I use, this gift? This is their strength and something they seek to take from wherever they might find it.
‘But this was so long ago,’ Janaid said, his voice hushed. ‘Generations have passed since we fled. It’s ancient history. Surely they can bear us no grudge after all that time?’
They consider your destruction to have been ordained. Even now they seek a way across the sea. They destroyed my home city when we would not bow the knee to them.
‘Then you have led this ancient foe back to our very doorstep!’ Henoch raged.
Coran stepped up alongside Zoella.
‘We came back to warn Amar of the flares and this imminent attack.’ Coran raised his voice. ‘You’ve already seen one such flare and the strange green lights in the sky?’
‘Yes,’ Henoch replied. ‘The lights grew in the sky and caused much consternation …’
‘They’re called the Alisse,’ Mel added. ‘They too are a warning.’
‘Some ships at sea were lost,’ Janaid whispered. ‘There were stories, but we assumed it was piracy. None have ventured out since, it’s a crisis but not a …’
‘Worse will come,’ Coran said. ‘All must be sheltered from them.’
‘These fl
ares will strike Amar?’ another senator asked.
‘Yes,’ Coran answered. ‘When dark spots cover Lacaille and the Alisse is seen, the flares are due once more. We have learnt much about both them and our ancient foe, but we must alert our people to our history, no more can we keep it quiet. History is coming back to haunt us!’
The senators looked dumbstruck. Zoella pushed the point home.
The priestesses believe that Lacaille is a goddess and that she herself has commanded your destruction. They believe the flares have come as a result of them not destroying you. That is why they will come.
‘What must we do?’ Janaid asked, his face ashen.
‘We must prepare first against the flares, and then for an invasion,’ Coran said. ‘And tell the truth to everyone.’
Henoch was shaking his head.
‘This knowledge is too dangerous to reveal,’ he said. ‘The people will panic, and deaths will result. Far better we supress this knowledge.’ He cast a dark eye towards the crew of the Mobilis.
‘The fishermen talk of nothing else,’ Janaid said. ‘They are scared and will not sail out any longer. Fish stocks will be depleted in mere stretches.’
‘They’re cowards,’ Henoch replied. ‘A few lost ships and they refuse to sail? Lacaille is calm, who is to say it won’t remain so? As for these witches …’ He glared at Zoella. ‘One example is not evidence of an army preparing to attack. The sea lies between us and any force – how could they come in strength enough to lay siege to us? Amar has defences enough.’
Zoella concentrated once more, this time projecting the images she recalled of the attack on Viresia. The senators reeled back as their minds were filled with the sights of fire, soldiers dying and the huge reptilian dachs swooping about the beleaguered city.
All this will come to pass here if you don’t make preparations.
There was a long silence before the senators began to confer in whispered conversations. Janaid turned back to them.
‘You will be held under house arrest,’ he said, ‘until such time as we decide what to do with you.’
‘You must act now,’ Coran yelled. ‘The flares …’
But guards had been summoned and the crew were marched out.
