Palatinii Cycle

by G'vonni Avner

  “A few more shall arrive, and then we will begin.”

  20

  A Meeting with the Council

  Katie slowly looked around the room, taking in her surroundings and noticing that the other members of the council were all in their later stages of life; Chancellor Levi seemed to be the oldest though.

  Artemus was dark-skinned and was much younger than Levi, and the youngest of all the council members by far. In fact, he was the only one who seemed middle-aged, rather than gray- or white-haired with experience like the other members were. Katie wondered if he was even a part of the council since he seemed much younger. Artemus surely had the aura of a council member, with his still, dark eyes that emanated a commanding yet calming presence.

  The last person came in carrying a small pyramid. He placed it in front of Levi before taking his seat at the table.

  “Thank you, Vorald,” said the Chancellor. Vorald nodded his head slightly.

  “We gather here today to discuss the fate of our world. Our world that the tyrant who calls herself Queen Nayara threatens to destroy.” the Chancellor said. His voice still surprisingly strong despite his frail appearance.

  Katie crept her eyes down the table to see the reactions of the members of the council. Each member kept their attention fixed on Chancellor Levi. Katie quickly returned hers too, feeling like she didn’t belong there.

  “If she were to succeed not only will the people of our land suffer at her hands, but our world itself will perish,” the Chancellor said, pausing for a moment. The room stayed silent.

  “All isn’t lost yet. Nayara still has to obtain two objects to take her plan to fruition,” Levi said. “One of which our city protects. The other is lost deep in the Viscar Mountains. There is still time –”

  “There isn’t,” interrupted Katie. The Chancellor looked surprised that someone had interrupted him.

  Katie, though embarrassed, kept speaking. “Nayara has the jade. I think she got it some time ago because when we passed through that terrifying city, the jade was already gone, and the city tried to take us with it.”

  “I am aware of this,” said the Chancellor. “Onix told me of your travels. Are you certain that Nayara has the jade?”

  “I know she does,” Katie confirmed.

  “But she has yet to pass through the Viscar Mountains,” said the Chancellor.

  Katie was annoyed. She didn’t think the Chancellor understood the imminent danger.

  “My father is a prisoner in the Viscar Mountains,” said Katie. “Nayara has been there.”

  Chancellor Levi looked surprised. “I did not know the whereabouts of your father,” the Chancellor said. “But I assure you, Nayara hasn’t acquired what lies deep within the mountains. She might not even know that it exists there.”

  “It doesn’t matter right now,” said Katie, forcefully enough that she even surprised herself. “Nayara is headed towards this city right now, and she plans to overthrow it. She will seize the secret that you hold in here.”

  “Nayara knows about our secret,” said the Chancellor, though more quietly, as if he were talking to himself.

  The room was silent for a few minutes. Anxiety coursed through Katie’s blood as she waited for the Chancellor to take action.

  “How do you know this?”

  “Uh,” Katie struggled for a moment to remember. “Hammond. Hammond told us shortly after we arrived at Narque.”

  The Chancellor nodded.

  “We must prepare the city to defend itself,” said the Chancellor. “Brodi, gather our army and alert them of the danger. Gordon, send out a message to the citizens and set up shelter behind our walls.”

  The two men nodded and left the room with surprising speed.

  “I had intended to train you, Katie,” said Levi. “Though it seems we will have little time for that. But I must show you the history of what we protect in our palace, and why.”

  The Chancellor tapped the top of the pyramid. It opened, and the sides fell to the table with several clicking noises. There was a small light in it. Chancellor Levi touched it with one finger and the world around them dissolved.

  Katie felt like she had been placed on a movie set, though every special effect had already been added, and it felt very real. More so than when her mother had shown her how she had died. She was at sea on a large battleship. Several other ships lined the ocean, though all of these bore a black flag, and she took them to be enemies. Dark spots scattered beneath the water; Katie wasn’t sure what these were.

  An explosion erupted at the stern of the ship. Katie could feel the force of the blast but wasn’t knocked over. She could feel what was happening without the tactile sense connected with it. One of the ships further out at sea was sinking beneath the surface. Katie then understood was the dark spots were; they were sunken ships.

  Katie noticed a movement to her left and gasped. It was only Koran. She nearly forgot that she was only in a simulation and that she was accompanied by most of the council as well as Tyson and Koran.

  Katie was sure she wasn’t going to like what was about to happen. She already didn’t like what she was seeing. It was a war zone. Katie assumed this battle probably took place on Narque thousands of years ago.

  The ocean swiftly turned into a rage of fury. Storm clouds swarmed in and the waves rose dangerously, thrashing about. Again, Katie could feel the force of the ship as it lurched from side to side, yet she didn’t move.

  A blue figure rose from the water so quickly. Katie only saw a blur. She looked up to the sky, trying to see what had risen.

  The sea around the ship became calm, though it raged fiercer around the other ships that bore the black flags. The torrent of rain fell harder, crashing down water as hard as a solid, tearing through the ships.

  Within seconds all but one of the enemy ships had been capsized or otherwise sunken into the depths of the ocean.

  A dark cloud swirled above the last ship. Dark blue and purples flashes lit from the cloud, sending out crackles of lightning that quickly dissolved. For a tiny moment, the cloud went quiet, then it shot down a bolt of lightning onto the last ship, exploding its engine room.

  Storm waves crashed into the ship’s hull, followed by another lightning bolt that hit the side of the ship. The burning ship rocked side to side as the waves grew larger.

  A torrent of water rose up beneath the ship and turned into a tidal wave. The ship toppled over into the water with the wave crashing it down beneath the ocean’s surface. Then everything was calm. The clouds parted, revealing a bright blue sky and glowing sun. Katie could feel the hope and relief of the survivors that walked about the deck of the ship, looking towards the small flying figure and thanking her.

  Katie got a good look too. It was a small human figure with wings fluttering so fast it reminded her of a hummingbird. Her skin was just ever so tinted with blue and her eyes were a peaceful gray. Her white hair was long, for her size, and fell to her waist. She smiled at the crew of the ship before taking off into the horizon.

  A flash of blackness stunned Katie before she found herself sitting at the table for the council again. She was stunned. When she looked around, she saw Tyson and Koran shocked as well, but the three of them were the only ones.

  “What was that?” Koran asked.

  “That was near the end of a war on a planet that no longer exists,” answered Artemus. “That war destroyed that planet.”

  “It looked like they won, though,” said Koran.

  “That was a victory for one of the tribes of the planet, assisted by Arquis.”

  “Arquis is that fairy creature we saw?” questioned Koran.

  Artemus and Onix nodded, though the Chancellor kept speaking. “She is a fairy, or more properly, a Celestial.”

  Katie was going to ask what a Celestial was, but Chancellor Levi went on.

  “Celestials are the gods, or creators, of this universe. Arquis is the Celestial of Emotion. Born from her is Mavern.”

  “M
avern is the Essence that gives me my water abilities,” said Katie.

  “That’s right.” Levi was nodding. “Mavern is the Dolphin of Alaysia, which is a hidden sea that’s impossible for humans to find.”

  “But why didn’t that victory win the war?” Tyson asked.

  Chancellor Levi sighed. “Oscurilina.”

  “Oscurilina?” Katie asked.

  “She is the reverse of a Celestial. Oscurilina is a Void,” Levi explained. “When Arquis left, Oscurilina came by and wiped out the planet.”

  “Is that why Nayara wants her?” Katie asked.

  “We believe so.”

  “Where is Oscurilina?” Tyson asked, his curiosity sounding almost urgent.

  “Behind us, deep within our Colinth Mountain. When Galbatrar flourished, its citizens sealed her deep below the mountains and hid the key within their city. Every enchantment and protection they could give was used to protect the key; the jade.”

  Katie was slowly putting together the pieces. She was fascinated about the history but knew that this wasn’t the time to be asking too many questions.

  “I must guard the gate leaving Galbatrar,” Onix stated. “It is my duty. If the city were to appear, as it did, it is my job to make sure no one walks away with the jade.”

  “But you didn’t check that we had it,” said Katie. She also felt like they had already explained this to her, but she wasn’t sure.

  “I recognized you immediately,” said Onix, quite simply. “Even if you had it, I knew that it would be in the right hands. Safer, even.”

  Katie didn’t say anything. She felt like there was more Onix wasn’t saying. As soon as she thought it, and as if he read her mind, Onix said, “It wasn’t too long before you arrived that the city did appear. Though no one made it through the gate. I had my suspicions when the city vanished, and I saw someone walking in the other direction.”

  “If Galbatrar wanted to protect the jade, why would they let the city appear in the first place?”

  “The citizens of that city were the ones who called upon Oscurilina to our planet. They wanted power. But when they realized what they had done, they tried to stop her. It was too late for us, though,” answered Onix.

  “Almost too late,” Levi corrected. “Bellina, Oscurilina’s sister, came by and put an end to it all. For forgiveness, Bellina commanded that they seal her up and ensure that Oscurilina could never escape. But someone from within wanted Oscurilina to be free and attempted to sabotage their goal.”

  “And no one could fix it?” Tyson asked.

  Levi shook his head. “Oscurilina was powerful. When she was locked up, her anger managed to break through and collapsed the entire city. She did it because they betrayed her. The few survivors left the city, but not before placing the illusions and enchantments that hide it currently.”

  Katie, Tyson, and Koran sat in silence while they absorbed what they had heard. While intrigued by the stories, Katie never believed in mythology of any kind. That is, until now. Something about this felt true like she already knew it in her core.

  “That should be all,” said the Chancellor. He rose from his seat. “Starting tomorrow, I will personally see to Katie’s training. Our priority is to keep her and Koran safe, as they are both Palatinii. Tyson may join Koran in his training. He is from Earth, and as such, will not be required to fight in our war.”

  “I want to,” Tyson butted in. “I’m going to.”

  “Very well,” responded the Chancellor. “You and Koran will see Artemus. Katie will find me here tomorrow at sunrise.”

  21

  The Dolphin of Alaysia

  The sound of chairs scraping the stone floor scratched at Katie’s ears as the rest of the council left their seats to perform their assigned duties. Katie, Tyson, and Koran stood up as well but were unsure as to where to go. Soon enough, the last ones in the room were the three of them, the Chancellor, Artemus and another man that Katie didn’t know the name of.

  “Lawrence,” said Chancellor Levi. He was looking down at the table with his hands on it, his fingers rotating the pyramid object that was now closed. “Prepare our training grounds. Our time is frail and rapidly leaving us. I expect no delays.”

  The other man named Lawrence nodded and left the room quickly. The Chancellor was direct. He wasn’t rude or impatient and had an aura of command that made others listen.

  Artemus and the Chancellor exchanged a quick look before Artemus addressed the three of them.

  “Take the rest of today to rest up. You may explore the city or make yourselves at home in our palace. Your rooms are home for the duration of your stay, and our kitchens will always have food for you,” offered Artemus.

  Katie, still stunned from what she learned about the Celestials, said nothing. When Koran thanked Artemus and the Chancellor, Katie snapped back to the present and awkwardly expressed her thanks as they walked out.

  Koran led them around a few corners and down every flight of stairs they came across. While there may have been a faster exit, Koran got them out of the palace’s walls in less than twenty minutes. Katie knew that if she had tried that they would still be lost inside.

  “That place is really big,” Katie stated plainly. Tyson looked like he agreed but said nothing.

  The afternoon sun shone brilliantly on the streets of Oasi. Many people went about their business, some rushing while others walked leisurely. Katie couldn’t help but look around and notice how it all seemed just so…perfect. Everything was clean, the city itself sparkled and there was a naturalness to how the city was built that permeated through it. She even noticed vehicles that looked like they were made of wood.

  “How do those work?” Katie asked, pointing to a squeaky car that went by.

  “They’re called autocrates. They are powered by the sun and controlled by the people sitting behind the steering mechanism,” Koran explained. “You have them on Earth, right? You call them auto-moh-beels.”

  Tyson chuckled a bit. “That we do. But we just call them ‘cars’ for short.”

  Koran looked slightly puzzled. “How is ‘car’ short for that?”

  Tyson and Katie looked at each other.

  “Well, we also call them motorcars,” answered Tyson. “Car is short for that I guess.”

  The three of them did not discuss this further but continued their journey through the city. Occasionally Koran would point out a particular building and explain a brief history about it. He mentioned that it had been a while since he was last in the city and was only a child the last time. Koran said that he was with his little sister and his father the last time he was here.

  For a moment, Katie felt a pang of guilt. While she knew she wasn’t responsible, Katie felt like she would not be able to stop blaming herself, if only slightly, because she knew that Cyrus had made her his top priority and had given that duty to Koran.

  While Katie wandered off in her mind, Tyson asked careful questions about Koran’s sister, hoping that she was still alive. Koran said that as far as he knows, she was, but that it’s been a while since he was last with her.

  Shops were clustered together the farther they got from the palace. These shops had a rustic feeling to them, though they were built out of the same rocky-marble material that most of the city’s buildings were made of. Katie watched as people talked to each other and helped out where they could. Katie could not help but smile. It looked like a simple and pleasant life.