Azra of the Burning Sands (Genesis Project)

by Arlin Fehr

  ‘Now that that’s done, why don’t we get moving?’ said the man in grey.

  Kia watched as Cina’s guards and the sailors began to pick up those too weak to walk and started getting them off shore.

  Out to sea, the top of the mast of the ship was just visible. They must have gotten closer to shore than she had thought.

  The masked people helped them up the bank, but still formed a perimeter of bow wielding people around them.

  ‘I thought you said you weren’t a foe,’ Cina barked.

  ‘We’re not, but I still don’t know if you are,’ came the reply from the man in grey. ‘Now come with us, we’ll get you warm and tend to your wounded.’

  They started to move. They walked for what felt like an urrh. Shore was nowhere to be seen as they entered into a hilly, barren, land. Kia felt uneasy as they walked. This was nothing like home. Even the desert around Jarridon felt more alive than this place.

  They came to a crevice in the rocks. From far away they hadn’t even seen it. Their guide started down an outcropping that lead down one face of it. They all followed carefully. They came to an opening near the bottom, and their guide went inside. When they followed, they found themselves in a small cave with many passageways branching off. Kia remembered her escape from the Sorcerer’s fortress and swallowed a momentary flash of fear.

  Their guide pulled out a glowing stone and went deeper in, picking passageways with certainty as they walked further away from daylight.

  They entered a larger cave that opened up in a wide chamber dotted with fires, tended by groups of people. Some of the people wore hoods like the white eyed man, others wore more common clothing.

  They were led to an area in the centre of the cave, while the wounded were set around the fires, where they were tended by people wearing blue robes.

  The white eyed man moved to one side to talk to someone. Kia was startled to notice that in the gloom, his white irises glowed softly, making two circles of dim white light from under the cowls of his hood. Other hooded people took up position around Kia and the survivors.

  Captain Phips walked towards Cina and leaned in close to her.

  ‘There’s something about that man. It’s on the tip of my tongue. I’ve heard something about a white eyed man. And the way his eyes glow... I know I’ve heard something about him before,’ he said softly.

  ‘Is he dangerous?’ Cina asked quietly.

  ‘That depends on who you ask!’ the white eyed man called from his position outside the circle. Cina and Phips stiffened as the man walked towards them.

  ‘Your people who still feel weak will recover. It’s a nasty after effect of your run in with the sea monster,’ the man said explained. ‘We found a few more survivors, but anyone who’s not with you is probably dead.’

  Cina stepped forward. ‘Where are the new survivors?’

  The man gestured to four more people by the fire. One of them was John Fort, another was Jahnyz Kohv. The last two were more sailors.

  There was no sign of Azra.

  Cina started to walked towards them, but two armed people stood in her way.

  ‘They’ll be fine. No need to check on them. Now, tell me, how many did the monster claim?’ the grey man asked intently.

  ‘There were about fifty of us on that ship,’ Captain Phips said.

  ‘There are about thirty three of you left. I’m sorry for your loss,’ the man said solemnly. ‘The monster is indiscriminate.’

  ‘You’ve had experience with it?’ Phips asked.

  The man nodded.

  ‘What will become of us?’ Kia wondered.

  ‘Nothing, for now. We’ll take care of your wounded and keep you safe.’

  ‘If it’s all the same to you, we’d like to get to civilization as soon as possible,’ Cina said tersely.

  The man laughed and said, ‘Why, you are in civilization now! We are a civilized people. We would never treat our prisoners poorly, but make no mistake, you are prisoners. I may not be a foe, but I’m not your friend... yet. I’ll need time to think of what to do with you.’

  The man turned to leave.

  ‘Wait! My Uncle was taken from the ship by strange creatures,’ Kia said.

  The grey man turned around and looked at her. ‘Taken?’

  Kia hesitated, not sure how much she wanted to tell him, but they couldn’t go after him if they were stuck in this cave.

  ‘Yes. These creatures climbed up the side of the ship, put something over his mouth after he got knocked out by the monster, and dove into the sea with him.’

  The man turned to one of his companions. ‘See! I told you there was something else going on Ty. The beast’s attacks aren’t random! At least not all the time.’

  ‘I never said there wasn’t anything else going on, Vosco. But I’m not sure we can say the creatures are controlling it. Maybe they just follow it around and use it as a distraction,’ the man named Ty said.

  Captain Phips eyes went wide. ‘Did you just say Vosco? As in Venomous Vosco the Bandit King of the Ash Sea?’

  Vosco’s eyes went wide again. ‘Ahhh you’ve heard of me!’ He took a bow in their direction. ‘I am indeed the Vosco you speak of.’

  Kia looked at him. ‘Why do they call you Venomous?’

  ‘Because I’m as deadly as any venom,’ he said matter-of-factly.

  ‘They also say he’s immune to any kind of venom, poison, or curse,’ Phips said, his voice sounding weak, ‘and that if you get on his bad side, he won’t hesitate to kill you. Many sailors will surrender rather than face his troupe of bandits.’

  ‘See, I never got the bandit thing. I’m clearly a pirate,’ Vosco said thoughtfully.

  ‘That was before you got the ships. We used to raid towns and travellers on land,’ Ty replied stepping up on his side.

  ‘Ahh, quite right. The reputation came before the career change,’ Vosco smiled, ‘but let’s cut to the chase shall we?’

  ‘The chase?’ Cina asked.

  ‘I have business with the beast, and you have no way home. More importantly to me, it sounds as though you have information about the beast that I do not have. I’ve never yet heard of any other creatures along with the beast.’

  ‘We’d be happy to share what we know, but we must continue our journey,’ Kia said.

  ‘Continue? What are you so adamant to continue on for?’ Vosco asked, ‘Your ship isn’t going to get any less sunk.’

  Kia wasn’t sure how much she wanted to say. She remained quiet.

  Captain Phips took a step forward. ‘Maybe you could supply us passage for our help?’

  ‘Passage? To where?’ Vosco asked.

  Phips glanced back at Cina and Kia then back at Vosco. ‘To the port of Nolmi, on the southern coast of Milla,’ he finally said.

  ‘Nolmi? Correct me if I’m wrong, but judging by your uniforms, and the crests on some of the equipment we salvaged from the ship, you’re from the Kingdom of Minna,’ Vosco said.

  ‘We are. We’re on an important mission for the King, and we must finish it.’

  ‘Important missions tend to be worth something,’ Vosco said, smiling in the dim light. ‘Consider helping me simply another step in your mission.’

  ‘Please, I have to find my Uncle. We have to finish our mission,’ Kia said, pleadingly.

  ‘Don’t assume my levity for weakness of purpose!’ Vosco snapped. ‘I have only one purpose, and that’s to kill that beast. Nothing else matters to me. Your Uncle is already dead to me. Your Kingdom means nothing to me.’ He pointed a finger at Kia. ‘You mean nothing to me. You will help me one way or another. Either by doing what I ask or by ransoming you back to your King so I can get more ships and hunt the beast down. I’m not picky either way.’

  He lowered his hand and took a step backwards. Someone walked over to them from one of the fires, holding one of the glowing stones from before. The person leaned over and talked to one of Vosco’s men.

  Kia noticed Vosco looking at her intently. He
pulled down the covering of his face and brought a hand up to stroke his short grey beard. Kia heard Cina and Phips talking behind her. For her part, she met Vosco’s gaze.

  Vosco looked like he was concentrating. His hand paused in its stroking. He reached into a pocket and pulled out what looked like a lock of hair. He held it, rolling it about absently with his fingers, and kept looking at Kia.

  ‘We’ve decided to tell you what we know,’ Kia heard Cina say from behind her.

  ‘Good, good. You can tell Gram here all you know,’ he said, sounding distant.

  He put the lock of hair back in his pocket, turned around, and walked away into the gloom.

  The man named Gram lead Cina, Phips, and Kia over to one of the fires to hear what they had to say.

  Gentle Current

  ‘Your song is gentle and mild, the sea is tumult and peace, the sky is darkness and storm... new dawn yet to be born...’

  -An inscription left on a Zharin ruin, after the Great Cataclysm, five thousand yehvs before the Battle of Jarridon

  The sound of water droplets splashing into a pond drew Azra’s awareness back from the blackness he had been lost in. He felt hazy. His thoughts were slippery and fast, flitting away as soon as he tried to concentrate on one. He found one, and clung to it. Something about a ship. He remembered a ship. There was a face. The face of someone familiar. She had golden blond hair, sharp green eyes, and a large black snake around her shoulders.

  A snake. He remembered the snake. He remembered a snake-like Sorcerer. A city in the desert. A demand made, information in exchange for a life.

  Azra remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

  He opened his eyes and sat up. It was dark wherever he was. He blinked his eyes, but still didn’t see anything. For a brief moment he feared he was blind.

  He opened his hand and tried to summon a flame. Nothing happened. He could still feel his Mahgic, but it was muted and subdued.

  He reached out with his hands and felt around next to him. There was nothing on either side of him. He felt around and found the edges to whatever he was laying on. It seemed to be a stone slab or a table of some kind. He reached over the edge and tried to feel the legs, but couldn’t find them.

  Cautiously, he repositioned himself and slowly lowered himself over the edge. Being careful that he’d be able to pull himself back up if he needed to. His feet hit water. He paused for a moment before continuing to lower himself down. The water went up to his knees before he felt something solid. He let go of the table and stood up.

  He moved through the water feeling for a wall. The water was, thankfully, warm. Azra felt a wall edge, it was soft to the touch and he could push against it gently. He followed the wall around. It was curved without any distinct corners. He felt a part of the wall that was hard and unyielding. He traced its edge with his hands. It had a sharp border with the soft wall. It was taller than him so he couldn’t feel the top; the bottom of it was under the surface of the water. Azra knelt down in the water and felt the floor of the room. It felt solid too.

  Azra stood up and began to feel around the hard part of the wall. As he pushed against the soft part next to the hard part, he noticed that he could see again. He looked around the room. The wall itself seemed to be slowly starting to glow. It was a soft green light. It was getting brighter steadily.

  Azra saw the table he had woken up on. There was little else in the room. The room was dome shaped. The walls themselves seemed to shimmer with internal motion. There were moving, swirling, patterns inside the wall. He looked at the hard bit of the wall, he could see that it tapered off near the top, it looked like stone and didn’t have swirling patterns within it.

  Looking more closely at the hard spot, Azra noticed inlaid patterns. They were hard to make out. He traced the patterns with his finger, and, as he did, he noticed a trail of blue light where his finger had been. He traced some of the patterns he'd noticed, and watched them glow softly for a moment before fading.

  He stood back and looked at the hard spot. A line began to glow on it, tracing a circle on the slab. Inside the circle, a second circle lit up. With a rumbling noise, the slab began to slide upwards. Azra moved backwards quickly, the water sloshing as he hurried behind the table.

  Two of the lanky creatures stood in the opening, each holding a long staff with long webbed fingers. They were pointing their staves at him. They were hunched over slightly. The two creatures stepped into the room and stepped to either side of the opening, looking at him with large, unblinking, black eyes. A third creature, standing erect and wearing a shroud over its face, walked into the room. Azra’s head came up to about the centre of its chest.

  The creature looked at Azra, though Azra could not see its face through the shroud. The creature raised a hand to a pouch around its mid-section and pulled out a small, black, stone. It raised it in front of its shroud and held it in both hands. Azra noticed the long fingers on its hand had no webbing like the ones by the door, and were covered in scars. It held the stone between its index fingers and thumbs, the rest of its fingers curled up in a fist.

  Azra heard a gurgling noise come from the creature. The stone began to glow, with an internal white light.

  ‘Forgive us our inhospitable welcome. We were distracted with other visions,’ said a clear, but toneless, voice.

  Azra looked at the stone and the creature was holding it. ‘Where am I?’ he asked.

  ‘Safe.’

  ‘What about the ship I was on?’ Azra asked.

  ‘Your island was claimed by the sea,’ replied the creature. ‘My name was Gentle Current; though it is no longer my name, you may call me that.’

  Azra looked at the other two creatures. They were still looking at him and pointing at him with their staves. He had to assume they were weapons of some kind.

  ‘Why am I here, and not claimed by the sea?’ Azra asked.

  ‘You are important. The key to the heart is within us all, but more strongly within you than within us,’ said Gentle Current.

  ‘What about my friends who were on the island with me before it was claimed by the sea?’ Azra said, trying to match Gentle Currents strange word choices.

  ‘A mystery. Many escaped the sea, but now they are beyond seeing. Come. We must go.’

  Azra felt some hope at hearing that some of them had gotten away from the ship, but he needed to find them again. He saw the two creatures on either side of the door start circling around the wall towards him.

  ‘Go where?’ Azra asked.

  ‘To see the heart. Please come without pain. Come as the current,’ Gentle Current said, as he turned and walked out of the room.

  Seeing that he was flanked, and still having no idea where he was, Azra felt he had little choice but to follow Gentle Current. He slogged through the water after him. He pushed hard to keep up with the long, mild, strides of his guide.

  They walked down a long passageway made of the same stuff as his room before coming to a larger dome shaped room. Another two creatures waited there. They had no staves, and one of them was holding some kind of pale glob in its hand. Gentle Current walked to the centre of the room and turned to face them. Azra heard a gurgling noise. One of the creatures let out a moan, and then they both started to walk towards Azra slowly, raising the pale glob.

  Azra looked at it and then looked at Gentle Current. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘Beyond this place is the sea, you were born to the sky. These ones will help you live in the sea.

  ‘I don’t understand.’ Azra said.

  ‘Words won’t enlighten. Do not cause pain. Accept essence of sky.’

  The two creatures stopped in front of him. The one with the glob held it out.

  ‘What do I do?’

  ‘Eat of the essence of sky,’ Gentle Current said.

  Azra reached out to the glob and grabbed. It stuck to his hand. The creatures stepped back. Azra regarded the glob carefully. He raised it to his mouth and prepared to take a bite when it surge
d outward and stuck to his face. Frantic, he reached up with his other hand and tried to pull it off. It held fast. It spread over his nose, and along the side of his face. He couldn’t breathe, and began to panic in earnest.

  The two creatures moved quickly towards him and grabbed his arms. He tried to struggle, but they pushed him down. His face underwater, he tried to pull back up, but couldn’t. He was still struggling when he noticed that he could breathe. Somehow, the glob on his face was allowing him to breathe through the water.

  He grew still, and felt the water rising up over his back. Slowly, the creatures brought him to his feet, and he saw that the whole room was filling with water. The glowing walls offered light.

  ‘Please wait. The sea awaits,’ Gentle Current said.

  Beneath the Waves

  ‘Our home is a bright and glorious place, our God a peaceful and loving Lord... our time will come again, and we will see the gates of our Kingdom... we believe it, because our Mothers knew it...’

  -A Nehhom known as Sky of Waves, to his kin, many thousands of yehvs ago

  NAMA OCEAN – WEST OF MILLA

  After he had finished struggling, and came to terms with the fact that he could breathe, Azra waited while the room finished filling with water. Now calmer, he was able to appreciate the beauty of the softly glowing walls of the room he was in.

  ‘We will go and see the Heart now,’ Gentle Current said through his speaking stone.

  Azra noticed that his voice was just as clear in the water as it had been in the air. The stone’s Mahgic was impressive.

  As soon as the room stopped filling with water, something started to happen. Starting from the top, the shimmering walls seemed to begin dissolving. From the top, all the way to the base of the round walls, the shimmering material broke apart and floated away, before dissolving even further into a murky cloud of glittering points of light.

  The two creatures with the staves swam up and began to circle around. Azra felt the other two creatures grab his arms and begin to pull him up away from the ground. He didn’t fight, and let them pull him through the water.