Architecture & Adversity

by Jeremy Dwyer

  CHAPTER 13: Watchers of Seas and Skies

  While at his post in the guard room of the king’s tower in the castle of King Hamza Bazavador, Ochieng heard the sound of three (3) unusual stars and knew that this was an event of interest so he left the guard room and hurried over to the nearby throne room.

  Captain Duvall was waiting outside the throne room door and asked: “Do you have a report for His Majesty?”

  “Yes, I’ve heard the unusual star sounds once again, only now there are three (3) sounds at once,” Ochieng said.

  “Follow me,” Captain Duvall said. He opened the doors to the throne room and led Ochieng in.

  “Your Majesty, Ochieng has yet another report for you,” Captain Duvall said.

  “Approach the throne and give your report, Ochieng,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  Ochieng approached the throne and said: “Your Majesty, the unfamiliar star sounds have come again. Yet, now there are three (3) at once, and they are most definitely not those of the red, yellow or blue suns.”

  “This matter is of great importance, Ochieng. Can you describe the sounds of these unfamiliar suns so that I could better understand?” King Hamza Bazavador asked.

  Ochieng thought about it for a moment and said: “Yes, Your Majesty. All red suns sound alike, and all yellow suns sound alike, and all blue suns sound alike. However, a sun of one color sounds quite different from every sun of every other color. All three (3) of these sounds would seem to come from the same color of sun.”

  “What color might that be? I understand that these solar sounds are unfamiliar, Ochieng, so what is your hypothesis?” King Hamza Bazavador asked.

  “The best that I can say, Your Majesty, is this: the yellow suns are brighter than the red, and their sounds have a higher frequency. The blue suns are brighter than the yellow, and their sounds have a higher frequency still. These unfamiliar suns have a much higher frequency sound than the blue suns, so I should think them brighter. Perhaps they are violet in color, but I cannot be certain,” Ochieng said.

  “You are clever and perceptive, Ochieng. Return to your post and continue your watch,” King Hamza Bazavador said.

  Captain Duvall escorted Ochieng out of the throne room and closed the door.

  Ochieng returned to the guard room. Once there, he drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He continued listening to the sounds of the stars and found only a faint hint of the unfamiliar solar sounds.

  ~~~

  While at her post in the grand castle located in central Revod, Prudencia drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from her vial and was energized. She heard the sounds of the familiar red, yellow and blue stars in the sky above and also detected the unfamiliar solar sounds yet again. Now, however, there were three (3) of them, instead of just the single sound. While she could not know the color of these unfamiliar suns – and she was quite confident that they were suns – she believed them to be neither red, yellow nor blue. The similarities of their sounds outweighed their differences, so it seemed that the unfamiliar solar trio were the same unknown color as each other.

  Prudencia was stationed in the southwestern tower of the outermost square ring of the grand castle. She left her post and walked through the hallways to deliver a report to her supervisor’s office. The grand castle was constructed of a wide variety of materials – including iron, granite, steel, diamond and other undisclosed matter – and it was arranged as a central tower surrounded by three (3) concentric square rings. Each corner of each square ring had a ninety (90) foot high, one hundred fifty (150) foot wide tower. The hallways between the towers were sixty (60) feet wide and forty-five (45) feet high, extending one hundred fifty feet (150) in length for the innermost square ring, five hundred fifty (550) feet for the middle square ring and nine hundred fifty (950) feet for the outermost square ring. Passage from one ring to the next required walking through narrow, diagonal crosswalks which were ten (10) feet wide and twenty (20) feet high and being telepathically scanned by guards hiding in the darkness. After traversing a similarly narrow diagonal hallway leading from the innermost square ring, she reached the central tower, which was two hundred thirty (230) feet in height and ninety (90) feet in diameter. It was the location of the office of the Director of the Jenaldej Empire Resource Monitoring and Environmental Scouting Corps. She was being probed in her every thought as she walked through the first floor of the tower, and could be confident that her supervisor knew her report before she arrived. She climbed the spiral staircase and arrived at the top floor, finding the door already half-opened for her.

  “Agent Prudencia, please come into my office and receive your assignment,” and older man said from within the room.

  Prudencia entered and closed the door behind her. She saw the older man – her supervisor – intently looking at papers and writing notes on them, not even looking up at her when she entered.

  “Director Shirong, I await your orders,” Prudencia said.

  “This matter will be investigated thoroughly. I have already authorized the ship on which you will serve to monitor the solar anomalies,” Director Shirong said. He was seventy-nine (79) years old, a Medathero drinker, and purely logical. His mind was a match for that of the resource coordinators, only he was more cynical.

  Prudencia knew Director Shirong well enough – she had been serving directly under him while in the Scouting Corps for the previous six (6) years, since she entered at age thirty-one (31) after passing rigorous examinations that made little sense at the time.

  Director Shirong continued, saying: “The Upkeeeper is under the command of Admiral Tiede, a Medathero drinker and a fine strategist. The navigator will be Agent Noach, an Atrejan drinker. There will be a light scout, Agent Gavriela, a Lujladia drinker. She will provide auxiliary navigation service if the stars cannot be used as guides. There will be a dark scout, Agent Leilah, an Ikkith Tar drinker, to counter illusions and optical distractions. Additionally, there will be a telepath, Agent Reuven, an Elanatin drinker, to watch for enemy intent. A sonic scout, Agent Kenaz, a Pirovalen drinker, will monitor for disturbances on the sound spectrum. As a contingency, Agent Cheveyo, a Zovvin drinker, will be on guard against spirit forces. For inspection of minerals and terrain that might cause or be affected by the anomalies, a crystal bender, Agent Glyn, a Kazofen drinker, will accompany you.”

  “Director Shirong, what is our mission length and our reporting period?” Prudencia asked.

  “Report every thirty (30) days. Return with definitive information. You are to leave at once, Agent Prudencia. The crew has already been telepathically dispatched toward the ship, which is docked on dry land outside these castle walls. That you did not receive the telepathic orders and go directly to them is still a curiosity to me. While you are quite readable, your telepathic unreceptiveness is something I fully intend to look into at a later time, before it adversely affects the performance of your duties. That it has not yet resulted in failure is a fortunate matter,” Director Shirong said.

  Prudencia opened the door and left Director Shirong’s office. She closed the door and walked down the spiral staircase to the ground floor of the central tower. She then followed the diagonal passageways and hallways leading her to the exit of the grand castle. Once she was outside, she saw the one hundred forty-four (144) foot long Incisive, with its two (2) pairs of sailwings extended, situated on the dry land nearby. The boarding ramp was lowered and she went onto the ship. Prudencia glanced back and saw no sign of the castle – it disappeared under a cloak of darkness – or some other power – though she could not be sure.

  “Agent Prudencia, welcome aboard,” a slender man said. He had read her mind and knew her identity in advance, due to the Elanatin waters flowing through him. He was a thirty-six (36) year old man with nine (9) years of experience in the Scouting Corps.

  “You must be our telepath, Agent Reuven,” Prudencia said.

  A military commander approached Prudencia, annoyed at he
r late arrival. Admiral Tiede was a fifty-seven (57) year old man with strong strategic and tactical training, greatly enhanced by the Medathero waters he drank. His thirty-one (31) years in the Jenaldej Navy were marked by excellent service and rapid promotion. Three (3) years ago, this brought him to the attention of Director Shirong, and he was quickly inducted into the Scouting Corps.

  “Agent Prudencia, so good of you to join us. Director Shirong told us you needed a personal invitation for every mission. I trust that he delivered it to you,” Admiral Tiede said.

  “Admiral Tiede, thank you for including me in this mission and having me on board your ship,” Prudencia said.

  “Noach, chart a course to the location in the Kazofen Ocean near to the most recent report of an anomalous occurrence,” Admiral Tiede said.

  Noach was a thirty-eight (38) year old man with two (2) years in the Scouting Corps. He drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial and was energized. He then listened to the sounds of the stars and learned their positions and movements. He was able to detect a hint of the three (3) unusual star sounds but these did not interfere with his ability to navigate. He charted a course and then took the wheel of the Incisive, raising it to one hundred twenty (120) feet of altitude, sailing it south over the continent of Revod, then descending to sea level in the Kazofen Ocean. He converted the masts and sails to their upright position and then steered the Incisive southward.

  “Agent Gavriela, use your far sight to continually scan for any sign of ships appearing or disappearing. What our agents have overheard from the Redfire Sentinel messages indicates that the incidents occurred near mountain ranges, but that the ships didn’t disappear around them, or go past the limits of far sight, or get cloaked in darkness,” Admiral Tiede said.

  Gavriela was a forty-three (43) year old woman with eight (8) years of service in the Scouting Corps. She drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from her vial and was energized. She looked out three hundred fifty (350) miles in every direction, scanning for anomalous ship sightings or movements out of sight.

  “Agent Kenaz, listen across the sound spectrum for ship movements, water flow movements and any unusual occurrences that would indicate ship appearances or disappearances,” Admiral Tiede said.

  Kenaz was a thirty-five (35) year old man with four (4) years of service in the Scouting Corps. He drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial and was energized. He listened to the ordinary sounds of the ocean as the water flowed and crashed against islands, mountains and the sides of ships in the distance. Using these sounds as reference points, he then listened for anything that was different, scanning in all directions.

  “Agent Cheveyo, be aware of any indications of spirit activity – any malevolent presence that might have attacked other ships, or that might plan to attack this one,” Admiral Tiede said.

  Cheveyo was a twenty-seven (27) year old man with only one (1) year of service in the Scouting Corps. Although he was unusually young to have been admitted, his high innate potential earned him his position. He drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He reached out into the spirit world, attempting to sense any sign of haunting that might have occurred, or be about to occur, and found none yet.

  “Agent Prudencia, keep your senses tuned to the stars themselves. Not for navigation, but for reporting on anomalous solar activity. Any change at all – whether in the character, the number or the brightness of the suns – is to be reported immediately,” Admiral Tiede said.

  Prudencia drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from her vial. She was energized and listened to the sounds and found only a fading hint of the three (3) unusual solar sounds. “Only a faint hint of the three (3) unfamiliar suns, and it’s fading by the moment,” she said.

  “Is it stronger in any direction, Agent Prudencia?” Admiral Tiede asked.

  “No, Admiral, it’s fading in every direction. I can’t say that steering the ship along any course will bring us closer,” Prudencia said.

  “Stay aware, Agent Prudencia. Assume nothing, report everything,” Admiral Tiede said.

  “Admiral, I see something – a cloud of lights just came within range of my far sight, and it is approaching, from the south, very rapidly,” Gavriela said.

  “I can now sense strange sounds in the stars, Admiral. There is noise mixed in with the signal, and it’s growing worse,” Prudencia said.

  “As can I, Admiral. The sounds of the stars are suddenly becoming less clear, so navigation is becoming gradually more difficult,” Noach said.

  “The cloud of lights will be within view of the unaided eye within the hour, Admiral. We can steer around it by my far sight,” Gavriela said.

  “No, let it come closer,” Admiral Tiede said. He then turned to face another woman and said: “Agent Leilah, prepare to darken the lights, if they are illusions or distract us in any way.”

  Leilah was a thirty-four (34) year old woman with two (2) years of service in the Scouting Corps. She drank anew of the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean from her vial and was energized. Then, she waited for the proper moment or the order to use the powers of darkness.

  Within an hour, the cloud of lights overtook the Incisive and surrounded the ship completely.

  “An aurora?” Admiral Tiede asked.

  “Perhaps it is an aurora. I can’t see past the ship, Admiral. All light is confused and scattered,” Gavriela said.

  “The sounds of the stars are all noise. I cannot navigate, Admiral,” Noach said.

  “Nothing is clear, Admiral. I think I hear all frequencies of solar sounds – red, yellow, blue and something else – but they’re all mixed together, and their positions and movements are indecipherable,” Prudencia said.

  “Agent Leilah, can you dispel the lights of this aurora by darkness?” Admiral Tiede asked.

  Leilah focused her powers to create a cloak of darkness around her, and the dance of lights of the aurora became invisible in the small area around her. She extended the radius of the darkness to ten (10) feet, then to twenty (20) feet, then all the way out to fifty (50) feet, covering the other crew members.

  “I still can’t see out there. This isn’t helping. I can see through her darkness with my light, but the aurora – or whatever it is – hasn’t left,” Gavriela said.

  “The star sounds are no clearer, so I still cannot navigate by them, Admiral,” Noach said.

  “The mixture of star sounds is still the same – this darkness only blocks our vision. The aurora is still there beyond her shadow,” Prudencia said.

  “Ease the darkness, Agent Leilah,” Admiral Tiede said.

  Leilah eased her powers of darkness, so that the crew could see once again: they could see that the aurora was definitely still around them, and the Incisive was now lost at sea within it.

  “Agent Glyn, capture the aurora’s image into a lightkeeper,” Admiral Tiede said.

  Agent Glyn was a forty-two (42) year old man who had served seven (7) years in the Scouting Corps. He took a lightkeeper crystal from his jacket and held it up to the aurora. Given the unusual lighting conditions – the colorful haze rather than direct and clear illumination from the blue, yellow and red suns – the aurora’s image did not make an impression into the lightkeeper. To overcome this, Glyn drank anew of the waters of the Kazofen Ocean from his vial and was energized. He then began making modifications to the lightkeeper crystal’s low-level structure, molding it in his hands as if it were clay. Soon, the lightkeeper was able to capture an image of the aurora in its facets.

  “Everyone, watch the aurora closely, with all your available senses, according to your waterbinding. Learn from its movements, observe its patterns,” Admiral Tiede said. He drank anew of the waters of the Medathero Ocean from his vial and was energized. He then watched the dance of light that was the aurora surrounding him, his ship and his crew and began to write down a description of it into a book, using equations and geometric figures. Admiral Ti
ede was here for answers, and he evaluated every action according to how much information it helped him to gather. As far as he was concerned, his ship wasn’t lost at sea in the navigational haze of the aurora; rather, this was exactly where he wanted to be.

  CHAPTER 14: Warriors of Rationality and Efficiency

  The Jeshirinko Barrier land bridge was dotted with thousands of pyramids, obelisks and other structures, designed to symbolically – if not actually – cast shadows over the continent of Nataloridivu to the north, on the opposite end of the Lujladia Ocean.

  General Tiglath stood at the base of one of these pyramids – which was two hundred fifty (250) feet in height and four hundred seventy (470) feet in length along each edge of its square base – and looked out upon a division of his soldiers. There were sixty (60) rows and sixty (60) files of troops of various waterbindings. The different specialties were scattered at different points along the edges of the formation.

  The fifty-two (52) year old general was himself a drinker of the waters of the Medathero Ocean and calculated the troop distribution carefully. He had applied a technique similar to that used by the Jendaldej Empire when testing for the appropriate waterbinding: each of the soldiers, at age nineteen (19), had their necks anointed with a sample of the probable best fitting water, and then they were subjected to a series of capability measurements, before being assigned their actual waterbinding. The results were supposed to be nearly optimal, according to the system of equations that he had developed based on collected data. Yet, that was still unproven, because individual performance varied considerably when subjected to actual combat. And actual combat was difficult to arrange, so the simulation he had planned would have to suffice.