The Last Citadel

by Kevin Ashman

  ‘You seem to be describing the heavens of the Six-fingered Saint,’ said Pelosus. ‘To consider such a place exists in the physical world is considered blasphemous within the city.’

  ‘I have no doubt that it does,’ said Warden, ‘but I have no time for such idiocy, for if people encouraged dialogue instead of banning it, the Citadel would be a far more harmonious place. Please bear with me and eventually my ramblings will make sense. Anyway,’ he continued, ‘in this place, larger creatures feed on smaller ones. As we feed on the crabs and fish of the sea, the strong land animals feed on the weak. Over time, the strongest survive and over a length of time that we cannot even begin to imagine, a predator evolves with cunning and a capacity to adapt to its environment. Over countless millennia, this animal becomes the dominant creature of its surroundings and evolves to become one of the most intelligent and feared species on the planet.’

  Pelosus was enthralled. As a man of science, he often harboured thoughts of the origins of man, but seldom had the chance to express them in case he ended up in the Prison-tower.

  ‘I know what you mean,’ he said with excitement. ‘Years ago, I had a colleague who expressed similar sentiments. He theorised that as the Ranah dominates the Narwl, such was surely the way of the world. Nobody of any sense believes the Citadel just rose from the water, that’s preposterous. You only have to examine the causeways to the towers, the way these Catacombs are hewn from solid rock or even look at a simple stairway to see the hand of mankind, and the way that you describe their evolution makes total sense. But if what you say is true,’ he continued, ‘then this place is not a gift of some unseen deity, but one built by the hands of men, the dominant predator on the planet.’

  Pelosus stopped talking and stared across at Warden who had fallen strangely quiet.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m fine,’ sighed Warden, ‘just waiting for you to stop spouting that semi-religious Narwl crap.’

  ‘But, you said…’

  ‘What did I say, Pelosus?’

  ‘That man had evolved to become the dominant predator.’

  ‘I think that you will find that I said, “A dominant predator emerged.” At no time did I say it was man.’

  Pelosus’s jaw dropped open, taking in the implications of what Warden was suggesting.

  ‘You mean we are not the dominant species?’ he asked.

  ‘The answer to that is complicated,’ said Warden. ‘If I was to answer either yes or no, I would still be correct. For you to understand, I have to tell you a story as if to a child. Suspend your scepticism for a while longer, Pelosus and prepare yourself for a truth almost too horrible to comprehend.’

  ----

  ‘What you have to remember,’ said Warden, ‘is that the things I am about to describe, took place over a time you cannot even begin to imagine. At first, man, or should I say the ancestors of man, did indeed take their place amongst the higher echelons of the food chain. So successful were they that they came to dominate the world and the population grew to unimaginable numbers, eventually using up all the resources of the planet. Ultimately, their way of life was unsustainable and eventually imploded. Food was almost impossible to find and though some managed to scrape an existence in isolated pockets, starvation, disease and war took its toll, resulting in a relatively tiny amount of humanity surviving. Mankind had taken the planet to the tipping point and though nature has a way of healing itself, it takes time. For ages, this world must have been a barren wasteland with tiny pockets of people scraping a living wherever and however it could. But even those who managed to survive must have found life unimaginably hard and when the food run out, some would have turned to the only place left where they could find food.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘When someone is starving, they will do anything to survive and as people died, meat became available.’

  ‘You mean…’

  ‘Cannibalism,’ confirmed Warden.

  ‘But that’s appalling,’ said Pelosus.

  ‘Is it? What would you or I do in the same circumstances, I wonder?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Pelosus, ‘but I would like to think that I have enough moral fibre not to lower myself to those depths.’

  ‘Spoken like a man who has never hungered,’ said Warden. ‘But I digress, the point is, at first it was probably just the odd bit here and there and only in certain areas, but as time went on, it became a habit and eventually, as time progressed and generations passed, it became a way of life. I know it’s hard to take, but imagine a people who not only ate their own dead, but actually encouraged a high birth rate to ensure an adequate supply of meat.’

  ‘But that’s not sustainable,’ said Pelosus. ‘Once you start killing, the death rate would exceed the birth rate and the numbers would plummet.’

  ‘Possibly,’ said Warden, ‘but don’t underestimate the numbers involved here. We are talking about millions of people all scratching a living from a struggling planet. It was a dire time of horror and desperation, but throughout all this was one constant, the survival of the fittest. Those who were strong took advantage of the weak and harvested them to suit themselves. Over thousands of years, some isolated groups preyed on the poor until it became the norm and eventually there was a divergence of paths in the way each group evolved.’

  ‘That is unbelievable,’ said Pelosus.

  ‘But true, nevertheless,’ countered Warden, ‘but cannibalism comes at a price. Like inbreeding, it has a fundamental effect on the very cells of the human body. After a while, it makes you ill, the structure of the cells change and develops in different directions. Random abnormalities appear and left unchecked, run in directions abhorrent to the normal human form.’

  ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘Those who survived predominantly on human meat would have evolved differently to the main human bloodline. Over time, their bodies would have changed. Little by little, each surviving generation would be slightly different to the one that went before. Weak mutations would die out naturally, but where one enhanced the survival rate of their own bloodline, then that change would remain and the process starts all over again. Finally, given time, it is highly likely that they would evolve into a form unrecognisable to what we are today.’

  ‘What sort of abnormalities are we talking, here?’

  ‘Who knows? Every birth would be unique, every new-born creature different to the one before. Cell abnormality would be rampant and many would die within hours of their birth. Organs would be incomplete or missing and the death rate would be huge. However, occasionally, a successful birth would occur, complete with all the parts necessary to live. They may have been in an order unfamiliar to us, but successful all the same. Imagine these creatures then successfully breeding, their deformed bodies the norm, yet developing even more as they continued along their own evolutionary path. Over thousands of years, the abnormalities would settle and a standard form emerge, one so different that they would be difficult to recognise as a cousin of man.’

  ‘And this really happened?’

  ‘It did, or so says the parchments.’

  ‘They could be wrong?’

  ‘They could, but there is so much more in the scrolls, all equally as fascinating but easily proved.’

  ‘Hang on, what were they called?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘These creatures.’

  ‘I think you know what they were called.’

  ‘The Sark?’ ventured Pelosus.

  ‘The Sark,’ confirmed Warden, ‘and until today, I thought I was the only person alive to know of them. That was why I was so shocked when you first came in and said their name.’

  ‘Okay, if what you say is true, then where are they now?’

  ‘Well that’s where it becomes interesting. As the human population fell, the planet returned to some semblance of normality and life became sustainable once again. However, now there were two major species, one a predator and the ot
her its prey. Over time, the Sark not only preyed on humans, but also enslaved them to build their cities. Places of safety and strength placed high on the tops of mountains where they were safe against any attack.’

  ‘Attack from whom? I thought they were the top predator.’

  ‘They were, but they were also in the minority. Mankind had survived the dark times and though billions died, there were still huge amounts alive around the world. To them, the existence of the Sark would be as normal as night follows day and I think we can safely assume that there would be constant conflict between them. As the humans grew in strength once more, they became such a threat that the Sark had to build huge cities, impregnable to any human assault. Behind those walls they carried out their own obscene existence, leaving the safety of their cities only to hunt random individuals such as travellers or anyone out wandering on their own.’

  ‘Travellers?’

  ‘Don’t forget the overall picture, Pelosus, we are talking about a place where a man could walk on land for all his life and never see the same place twice. Centres of civilisation would sprout up everywhere and though it could take many months to travel between them, people certainly did so.’

  ‘So what did these Sark look like?’

  ‘Now that’s a question I can’t answer,’ said Warden. ‘The scrolls refer to them everywhere, yet so far, I have found no description. There are many scrolls yet un-deciphered and it is my dream that one day I will uncover a description, but alas, I have had no success as yet.’

  ‘And what of their cities?’ asked Pelosus. ‘Do you have any description of those?’

  Warden laughed out loud.

  ‘Pelosus, for an intelligent man you can be a bit stupid. Have you not realised yet? I thought I was the one who cannot see, yet you have spent all your life walking around with your eyes closed.’

  ‘Bastion is a Sark city?’ gasped Pelosus as understanding finally dawned.

  ‘It is. Designed by the Sark and built by enslaved human hands.’

  ‘This is incredible,’ said Pelosus. ‘All this time seeking knowledge and the evidence was all around me.’

  ‘There are none so blind as those who will not see,’ said Warden.

  ‘But you said they built their cities on top of mountains, not on islands. Why build a city here where they would be at the whims of the Moon-day tides.’

  ‘Because, my dear Pelosus, at the time this city was built, there was no sea. This city was indeed built on top of a mountain, in fact, one of the highest mountains on this side of the planet. The water came much later.’

  ‘Wait a minute,’ said Pelosus, ‘I understand the theory of the waters being drawn along by the moon’s gravity each month, but it always returns when the Moon continues the journey around the planet. The only difference is that now, it evaporates completely into the atmosphere and that is why it is disappearing.’

  ‘Only partly right,’ said Warden. ‘Yes the moon is responsible for moving the water, but we lose none to the atmosphere. It just remains in vapour form for far longer due to the gravitational pull and deposits it somewhere else from whence it cannot return.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘I don’t know, perhaps beyond a range of mountains that holds in this sea. Wherever it is, it is this which is responsible for the loss of the seawater.’

  ‘But if what you say is true and this place dominated a mountain top, then that means that there were once lands all around it, probably inhabited by our ancestors.’

  ‘I believe so.’

  ‘Then where did the sea come from in the first place?’

  ‘A simple reversal of the process that I just explained,’ said Warden, ‘I believe that this planet’s surface has always been at least half covered with water. Eons ago, it was the other half of the planet and the horizons that encircle us now were fertile lands were populated by humans yet over lorded by Sark. One day, or even over the space of thousands of years, something happened in the heavens that I do not even pretend to understand and the Moon’s orbit changed. This effected the monthly movement of water and it started being deposited on this side of the world. Somehow it stayed here, perhaps by encircling mountain ranges, and again, over a period of time the water levels rose.’

  ‘That would have affected the humans in the valleys.’

  ‘You are correct and once again mankind was at risk as millions died. Some would have escaped to the new lands being formed beyond the ranges, but many more would have been trapped in isolated pockets and sought safety on higher ground.’

  ‘On other mountains such as these?’ suggested Pelosus.

  ‘Probably, but when the waters continued to rise even those refuges were denied them until, finally, there was only one place left to go.’

  ‘Here,’ said Pelosus.

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘You think they assaulted this city and took it from the Sark?’

  ‘No, not at all. The Sark cities were built especially to repel such attacks, but as the humans became more desperate, the stronger the Sark’s position became. Don’t forget, they relied on humans for their food, so it made no sense to allow them to die out. No, I think they struck a bargain, safety from the waters in return for meat, human meat.’

  ‘That’s preposterous,’ said Pelosus, ‘who would sacrifice themselves for just a few days extra life? I would rather drown.’

  ‘Oh at first,’ said Warden, ‘I’m sure it would just be the dead that were bartered. Those who died of old age or disease would be a small price to pay for the life of the young, but over time, I believe the Sark exploited the situation and the life of the surviving humans descended into a hell that is almost too horrible to contemplate.’

  ‘Which is?’

  ‘They were farmed!’

  ----

  Chapter 27

  Kenzo surfaced, coughing and spluttering. He had hit the water awkwardly and had the breath knocked out of him. He looked around, seeking Amber and was relieved to see her surface alongside him.

  ‘You okay?’ gasped Amber when he stopped coughing.

  ‘I think I swallowed half the bloody sea,’ said Kenzo.

  ‘That was higher than I thought,’ said Amber, treading water furiously.

  ‘It was,’ said Kenzo, ‘are you ready?’

  ‘It looks a long way,’ said Amber.

  ‘We’ve swum further than this on Moon-day,’ said Kenzo, referring to the annual swimming races that occurred every year between the youngsters of the city. ‘The distance between causeways is much further.’

  ‘You sure?’ asked Amber, ‘it doesn’t seem like it.’

  ‘Positive,’ lied Kenzo, ‘don’t worry, we’ll take our time and take plenty of rests. We’ll be there in no time.’

  ‘Yeah, but the gates are locked.’

  ‘It’s Moon-day, remember,’ said Kenzo, ‘the water is already falling. In an hour or so, the water will be lower than the causeways and the gates of the city will open.’

  ‘If I can stay afloat that long,’ gasped Amber, ‘okay, let’s go.’ Once again, they struck out with occasional rest periods where they flipped over onto their backs to catch their breath. Finally, they reached a small slope leading up to the gate the Baker’s used to enter the city. They dragged themselves out onto the stony surface and lay on their backs, gasping for breath.

  ‘That must be some sort of record,’ gasped Amber to the sky.

  ‘It was a long way,’ agreed Kenzo, ‘perhaps I should ask the Hunters if there are any vacancies?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ laughed Amber, ‘between this and the shaft in the Watcher’s-tower, I’ve had enough of the sea to last me a lifetime.’

  ‘Yeah, me too,’ said Kenzo sitting up, ‘come on, let’s go.’ He approached the gate and banged as hard as he could to attract the attention of anybody on the other side.

  ‘Hello,’ he shouted, ‘anyone there?’

  ----

  Braille was glad of the change from keep duty. It was bor
ing and the other squads took every opportunity to tease him about what he was missing in the city, so when Fatman had asked for volunteers to man the gates on Moon-day, he had jumped at the chance.

  ‘Why are you doing that?’ asked Ufox, shocked that the giant man had actually volunteered for an extra duty.

  ‘Because, my little fart-breath friend, I know the shift is only for eight hours. That means I will be knocking off just in time to join in with the celebrations tonight. You, on the other hand, will be up for selection when Fatman selects the night guard, so, while you are dragging sorry arses to the cells all night, I will be spending this on the best whore I can afford.’ He tossed the Star-stone over to Ufox who stared at it in amazement.

  ‘Where did you get this?’ he asked in envy.

  ‘Now that would be telling,’ said Braille, ‘but I reckon that little sparkler may get me a bash at the Governess herself. What do you think?’

  ‘Or four of the prettiest at the same time,’ said Ufox. ‘Why don’t you take some leave and book yourself in over at their tower for a week.’

  ‘Can’t wait that long,’ said Braille, ‘and besides, with all this crap going on with the rationing and everything, we don’t know what’s coming next. Nah, I’ll have my fun tonight, though your idea of four Courtesans is a good one.’

  So it was that with half a mind on his anticipated evening of lust and debauchery, Braille had found himself on gate duty when someone banged on the gate from the outside.

  ‘What the…? Who’s out there?’ he shouted.

  ‘Open the gate?’ shouted Kenzo, ‘please, we need help.’

  Braille slid a vision panel to one side and peered through.

  ‘Kenzo,’ he shouted in surprise, ‘what the shit are you doing out there? Don’t you know Moon-day doesn’t start for another hour?’

  ‘Braille,’ said Kenzo, not sure if he was happy or not to see his old friend, ‘we are not out here from choice; let us through, we need to see the council.’