Dissolution

by Kyle West

I knew Fiona was right in that regard, but not having the ship here would leave us a bit vulnerable. If we needed to escape for any reason, we’d only have our legs to rely on.

  I didn’t expect that – not with Fiona vouching for me – but I wanted to be careful.

  “We’ll do that, then,” I said. “Pallos can return to Sylva in the evening to check on us.”

  “Of course,” he said. “If there are any lakes nearby, it will be a good chance to top Odin off, anyway. I’ll be sure to keep myself busy, make sure all the systems are running smoothly.”

  I nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”

  I watched as Pallos slowed Odin to a hover, lowering it carefully until it hovered about thirty feet above the treetops.

  “We’ll have to use the rope ladder,” I said.

  Shara’s face blanched. “Rope ladder?”

  “It retracts and extends on its own, so we’ll simply need to hold on,” I said. “Just don’t look down.”

  “Topographical readout shows us about a hundred feet above ground,” Pallos said. “The ladder extends for one hundred feet. We should be good.”

  I peered into the tree limbs of Sylva. There were hundreds of them, thousands, and almost all of them had walkways, buildings, and hanging pods, identical to the ones in Haven. Though not as tall as Haven, Sylva was clearly the larger of the two cities . . . perhaps by twice as much.

  Getting them on our side would be a devastating blow for Isaru and Rakhim.

  “Are all of us coming?” Isa asked.

  I nodded. “Everyone but Pallos.”

  “I have no doubt that King Arius will meet with us personally within the hour,” Fiona said. “And if not, I know exactly who to take us to.”

  * * *

  I opened the blast door to reveal the open air in front. The forest canopy was a mere thirty feet below us, and I watched as the rope ladder extended itself slowly, until its bottom rungs were lost to the trees.

  Shara’s face paled at the sight.

  “Will you be okay?” I asked.

  She barely managed a nod. “I’ll make it. Find Silence, right? It’s not as easy for me as it is for you.”

  “It takes practice,” Fiona said, “placing one’s fears into Silence.”

  “I can’t do it well, either,” Isa said. “I can go last, that way you’re between two of us.”

  “I’ll go first,” I said.

  Though I wasn’t afraid of heights, seeing how high we were did make me a little queasy. It was strange that riding on a dragon didn’t produce this feeling while a ladder could.

  A gust of wind blew the ladder, hiding part of it beneath Odin’s hull. It wouldn’t swing like that while we were on it . . . at least, I hoped not.

  I took a deep breath and stepped out the door, carefully placing my feet on the first rung. The rope was thick and secure, and easy to grab onto. It was made from a material that didn’t seem to be producible anymore; it certainly had the feel of something manmade. I made sure the hilt of my katana was pointing to the side, so that it wouldn’t get caught up in the rungs.

  Once I was halfway to the treetops, Fiona followed behind. The ladder moved a bit with her weight, but steadied within seconds. Like me, she was climbing down.

  I waited just at the top of the trees for Shara. Above the din of Odin’s fusion engines came the blare of horns from the direction of Sylva, probably sounding a warning at our arrival. I looked that way to see people scurrying about the branches, some seeking the shelter of the trees. Others stood their ground, shielding their eyes against the sun to get a better view of the ship. Surely by now the Makai had gotten word that we had a spaceship in our possession.

  If they didn’t believe that before, then they surely did now.

  When Shara was starting her way down, only then did I plunge beneath the treetops. The ladder descended between two pine trees, the thick trunks of which grew from a bed of pink xen beneath.

  A couple of minutes later and I was on the soft, spongy turf. Fiona was next to me in moments, just as Shara reached below the treetops. She was taking it very slow.

  “You’re doing well,” Fiona called. “Almost halfway there!”

  Shara made no response. She placed each foot and hand deliberately, testing her weight each time. Though the rope was surely centuries’ old by now, it seemed as sturdy as the day it was made.

  While we waited on the ground, I took stock of my surroundings. We were in the middle of the forest, and there didn’t seem to be any trees or buildings nearby. I knew the direction of the city, but there were so many trees that nothing was visible. The ground was mostly clear – there was no underbrush or fallen logs standing in our way. It was obvious the ground was kept clear around the city aside from the trees and xen. Stands of brown mushrooms grew here and there. I recognized them to be an edible variety that had often found its way on my plate at the Sanctum.

  Shara touched down, heaving a giant sigh. When she stepped out of the way, Isa slid the rest of the way down, landing adroitly on her feet.

  Shara sniffed. “Show off.”

  Isa smirked, but said nothing in response.

  “I’ll lead the way,” Fiona said. “We should be heading for the nearest Silverwood. There’s one in the direction of the city with a bridge leading in.”

  “I’m surprised no one’s come out to meet us yet,” Isa said.

  “They may soon,” Fiona said. “There might also be a receiving party at the Silverwood.”

  “Lead the way, Fiona,” I said.

  She turned and headed off into the trees, the rest of us following.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE WE stumbled upon the Silverwood Fiona mentioned. A wide wooden ramp circled clockwise around its trunk, spiraling six times before reaching the treetops above. From there, a long wooden bridge extended in the direction of Sylva, using tall trees for supports.

  Waiting at the bottom was a group of about twenty soldiers wearing leather armor, bearing pikes and crossbows. They fanned out at our approach, forming a line two deep. While they didn’t point any weapons at us, their movements were tense, with every one of them staring us down. It didn’t seem that any of them recognized Fiona.

  “Excuse me,” Fiona said, stepping up. “I’m Fiona of House Arius. Lead me to King Arius, my uncle, right away.”

  The reaction was mixed; about half looked at her with skepticism, while the remaining half stared in wide-eyed shock. The leader of the group was the one who responded.

  “You are the one they call Anna, are you not?” he said, looking at me. “It’s been said that Fiona Arius has been part of your party, along with several other Sanctum defectors.”

  “Defectors, huh?” If that was the captain’s greeting, then something told me that Isaru had gotten to this place faster than I thought. “I think your king would disagree.”

  “That remains to be seen, Anna,” the captain said. “As it happens, I have orders to bring you before him.”

  “There’s no need for that,” Fiona said. “This place is my home, and I don’t need guards to watch over me like I’m suspected of something. The fact that my uncle’s guards even treat me with such discourtesy makes me think he has wax for brains.”

  “It’s not you we are suspecting,” the captain said, defensively. “It’s her.” He nodded toward me.

  “I didn’t murder King Taris, and no one here had anything to do with it,” I said. “Isaru has a lot to gain by saying that I did, and it’s very convenient that he inherited the throne of Haven at the same time. But that’s not for one such as you to know, is it?”

  The man’s face reddened, but he offered no rebuttal. “I’ll take you to King Arius now. If you please, follow me.”

  The captain turned for the ramp and began walking up. Some of the soldiers followed him, but more still lagged, waiting for us to follow so they could wrap around us. I wasn’t concerned that the king was going to do anything to us. It wasn’t much of a welcome, b
ut King Arius was being cautious, and Fiona hadn’t lived in Sylva for years, and her returns in the meantime had been brief. It was possible that many here wouldn’t recognize her.

  All the same, it didn’t feel as if things were getting off on the right foot.

  We walked up the tree in silence, getting further from the forest floor as the walkway spiraled around. When we were in the treetops, the spiral ended at a long, wooden bridge which stretched through a maze of limbs. The day was warm; in the Southern Wild, it didn’t even feel as if autumn had arrived, though we were only a couple hundred miles further south.

  The sun beat down hot and bright as we walked across the bridge. The dozens of Silverwoods which made up Sylva lay in the distance. Several dragons circled overhead, bearing riders.

  Behind, I could hear the roar of Odin’s engines firing up. I looked through the trees and was just able to see the ship turning and blasting away from the forest.

  “What’s that?” the captain asked. “There was someone left in there?”

  “My copilot,” I said. “He’s only going to land the ship outside the forest somewhere. He’ll be back this evening.”

  The captain grunted skeptically. “I see.”

  “I’m going to give my uncle an earful about this,” Fiona muttered.

  The captain’s face tensed but he didn’t respond.

  The walkway joined a wider boardwalk, that seemed to be a main road in Sylva. Crowds walked up and down the boardwalk, which had stalls lining either side of it, filled with merchants hawking their wares. They parted as we made our way through the middle, and I noticed a lot of them were talking furtively in groups, all looking and pointing at us.

  “That’s Fiona Arius right there,” I heard a man say. “She’s the niece of King Arius.”

  “That girl,” an old woman said, looking at me, “Can’t be more than twenty. Is she the one who . . .”

  I didn’t stay long enough to hear her finish. I was focusing on where exactly we were headed. The boardwalk split into a labyrinth of separate, thinner walkways, while there were many wooden staircases leading up different Silverwood trees. Looking up at the tangled growth of boughs and silver leaves, there were even more walkways and wooden buildings constructed both on and hanging from the limbs, while bridges interconnected the various platforms.

  “It’s a maze,” Isa said, gawking. “A beautiful maze.”

  “Luckily, I know the way,” Fiona said.

  “We’re going to have to climb up again, aren’t we?” Shara asked.

  Fiona nodded. “Not a ladder, fortunately.”

  The surrounding soldiers gave no reaction to our conversation.

  Sylva was beautiful, and I couldn’t help but notice the difference between it in Haven. It seemed half the people walking on the wooden walks were soldiers, or at least bore some sort of weapon. There were fewer smiles and more seriousness. Maybe that had to do with the events of the last few months. There was a strange tension in the air, as if the city expected to be under attack at any moment. On the forest floor, I could hear military drilling, could see men and women marching in formation, wearing leather and metal armor. They slashed with long spears and curved blades, the air whirring with their efforts.

  “War is in the air,” Fiona said.

  It was no wonder we were being treated as a threat rather than a potential ally.

  We made for the center tree, following the captain and soldiers up the ramp that circled around its trunk. Soon, we were quite high, above most of the treetops of the surrounding forest and city. The ramp ended on a wide, wooden veranda which supported a large house made from Silverwood, formed from the very tree it grew on, roofed by nothing more than limbs and leaves. The doors leading in were shut, heavy and foreboding.

  Fiona strode comfortably forward, none of the soldiers stopping her. Apparently, they believed who she was now. She shouldered the door open.

  “You may go in,” the captain said.

  “Finally believe us now?” Shara asked.

  The captain made no response. “It is for King Arius to decide.”

  I decided that a fight wasn’t worth it. “Let’s just go in.”

  I followed Fiona past the threshold, into a wide space covered in a dome of leaves. The floor was of the same wood as the tree, sinking toward the middle and forming a wide circle. Seated on a single throne was a middle-aged man, with salt and pepper hair and a grim, narrow face. Despite his age, his muscles were still well-formed, a testament to a lifetime of training. During his youth, his strength must have been enormous. His silks and soft leather boots didn’t seem to fit his warrior’s stature, and his face was all hard lines and angles. He had a small, gray goatee that fell at least a foot from his chin, serving only to elongate his solemn face.

  “Uncle Arius,” Fiona said, hurrying forward.

  King Arius of House Arius stood to receive her. His expression was cool and neutral as his niece embraced him, his blue eyes looking over her shoulder at the rest of us. I paused, as did Isa and Shara beside me. His gaze seemed to size me up in an instant, his eyes flickering between me and my companions.

  Fiona parted from him, and gestured toward us. “Uncle . . . may I present Shanti Roshar, Anna Reborn, along with Seeker Isa and Seeker Shara.”

  Isa gave a curtsy while Shara merely inclined her head, regarding the monarch coolly. Of course, Isa and Shara, not to mention myself, weren’t formally Seekers, but after everything we’d gone through, we might as well have been.

  “Welcome to Sylva,” King Arius of the Makai said, his voice carrying little warmth. “I’ve been expecting a visit from Kalear, but I did not expect a personal visit from its leader.”

  “This is too important to leave in the hands of diplomats and messengers,” I said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “Indeed.” King Arius gestured away from the throne. “I’ve cleared my schedule for the next two hours, so we can talk.”

  Before waiting for a response, King Arius waved over one of his guards, giving him an order I couldn’t quite hear. The man nodded smartly before setting off deeper into the palace.

  “Shall we?” King Arius asked.

  Arius turned, and we followed him out of the throne room and deeper into Sylva Palace.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  KING ARIUS LED US ACROSS a bridge that bore us from this tree and into another, into what could be best described as a courtyard. We stood in the large hollow of this tree which made up a part of Sylva Palace, a large space filled with gardens, at the center of which lay a small, serene pool. Several Silverwood-wrought chairs and benches surrounded the water, where King Arius led us.

  Once there, the king gestured for us to sit. He took up the chair closest to the pool, near a rivulet that ran from the outside of the courtyard to feed it. Fiona sat close to him, but her manner was formal and reserved. I was the last to take my seat directly across from him, with Shara and Isa on either side me.

  “This place reminds me of Haven Palace,” I said, to break the silence. “Though it’s clearly larger.”

  “And it’s far more beautiful,” Arius said bluntly. Looking around, I had to agree with that assessment. “I grew most of these plants myself,” he continued, gazing at the plants growing from the xen. “Like you, I trained at the Sanctum but under the Sages. I never rose to full Seekerhood.” His manner became suddenly businesslike. “So. You are Anna Reborn, then.”

  The sentence was said with skepticism, but I was prepared for that skepticism.

  “Yes,” I said. “But you can call me Shanti.”

  “Shanti,” King Arius said. “Yes, I would prefer that. It seems more . . . accurate.”

  “I can confirm that she’s Anna Reborn,” Fiona put in. “As a prophet of the Sanctum, and as someone who witnessed the revelation with her.”

  King Arius nodded gravely. “I would rather you have been a Champion or a Sage, Fiona.”

  Her green eyes became steely. “And why is that?”
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br />   “Sylva needs warriors and agronomists, not prophets,” Arius said. “If you were here, you would command your own company.”

  “Battle was never my calling.”

  “And following this false prophet is?”

  “That’s a lot to decide for not knowing a thing about me or what I’ve done,” I said.

  “I know enough,” Arius said. “I know that you killed my brother.”

  “You can’t truly believe that!” Fiona said. “It’s pure nonsense. If you actually did believe that, she’d be in chains right now.”

  “I would trust the word of my own nephew over hers.”

  “And what about my word?” Fiona demanded. “Is that worth nothing to you?”

  “What would you have me believe, Fiona? I believe you are honestly mistaken. When your father and I discussed sending you to the Sanctum . . .”

  “Don’t bring him into this,” Fiona said.

  Arius continued, relentlessly, “He wished for you to be a Champion, as he chose for himself. Prophecy is a pointless Gift. Everyone knows that, Elder Isandru most of all.”

  “How dare you dishonor him in that way,” Shara said, with a withering glare.

  Fiona’s face went white. Clearly, she was too shocked to respond for the moment. At last, she spoke. “Don’t tell me what my father would have wanted. More than anything, he would have wanted me to be happy. I haven’t regretted my decision. Not once.”

  “Hold on,” I said. “Fiona . . . your father is gone?”

  She let out a shaky breath and nodded. “Yes. Shortly after I joined the Sanctum, he died in a skirmish against the Novans.” She looked back at her uncle. “And yes, he wanted me to be a Champion, like him, and like my grandfather before him. I would have, Uncle, only the Xenofold had other plans.”

  “The Xenofold,” Arius said. “Any person can claim a revelation from the Xenofold, and no one can disprove it. Far more have been fooled by dreams and visions than enlightened by them.”

  “Nonetheless, Elder Isandru prophesied Anna’s return during his lifetime,” Fiona said. “And it was proven true, because she sits here today.” Fiona paused, to let this sink in. “More than that . . . my prophecies have proven true as well.