by Reiter
“Your Majesty, could you remove this overgrowth?” Dungias asked, and SonBa was quick to apply a very controlled exothermic blast to burn the vegetation and clear away the ash and debris.
“By the Stars!” Dungias whispered as he looked around the area. “I’ve been in this place before!”
“How is that?” SonBa asked.
“Not in my waking life, Your Majesty,” Dungias explained. “… in a dream! I was too close to see it clearly. One might say I was too consistent in what I thought to see it in any other way.
“Is it possible?” Dungias thought, looking at his hand and remembering the day of the slide-sled and the Grenbi he had passed through. “When we touched… was there some transfer of thought… or perhaps I was made sensitive to their thoughts.”
“Traveler!” SonBa called out.
“I am still with you, my Prince,” Dungias said, looking at the statues. There were five… only five. The fallen statue was clearly dressed like Beta-Zeu Rex and had the name Pretrivorn inscribed at the base of it.
“Pretrivorn?” Dungias thought. “Isn’t that the chosen name of the first of the Traybus House?
“Your Majesty, who was the first Master or Mistress of the House Traybus?”
“Gan,” SonBa started. “Traybus Gan Pretrivorn.”
“Pax’Dulah comes from that House,” Dungias noted.
“Indeed, but his name was given much more attention,” SonBa added. “Too much for my tastes. The real power and direction flowed from Zurmanro Vi Gan Galvastus!”
“Did you say Zurmanro?!” Dungias asked, looking down at the floor and seeing M-A-N-R-O-V-I once again. However, now he could see the whole floor and could easily see that there was plenty of room for more letters. “The father of the Games!”
“The father of our way, Traveler!” The First Prince corrected. “He instituted the naming rank. He is the only one to ever attain Vi Gan in our history! The rank of a Star Wielder. No one has even come close to that capability!”
“And so great was his power that he instituted the ruling family,” Dungias considered. “… naming it after himself… the House Galvasti!
“When the Grenbi were shot by the cruiser’s cannons, Vinthur and Malgovi died,” Dungias reviewed. “… as if there were a connection.” He turned to look at SonBa and closed his eyes, letting his head drop. “No! Please, for once, let me be wrong!”
“What is it, Dungias?” SonBa asked.
The young Traveler looked at the statues again. The one dedicated to Geentra was shorter than the other four… his was the only Vinthur statue. “This is the place where the Grenbi were born! And it was we who created them,” he disclosed. The First Prince could not find the words with which to speak; the First Princess found she could not die quickly enough to be spared this horror.
“Stand in front of the statue of Pretrivorn and announce yourself as the heir to the throne of the Ruling House Galvasti,” Dungias directed. “And brace yourself for receiving information.” SonBa looked at his Vi-Prin and then back at Dungias before he proceeded toward the statue.
“You realize the moment he does this,” Dungias whispered to the downed woman. “… your attitude on the shay-spawn will change.” Dungias folded his arms and sighed. “It is already beginning to change at this very moment.” Sryla smiled at the thought of Dungias being dead, and she chuckled before clutching her stomach in pain.
SonBa announced himself as the heir and light shot up from the floor, bathing the First Prince in energy. With his arms still folded, Dungias extended Alpha toward the statue of Geentra. He tapped the section holding the Arrjeeh stone and a section on the statue staff opened, revealing another living stone of power. SonBa roared as power was fed into his body. Fields of light formed around his hands.
Dungias kept his eyes on the spectacle, looking briefly at Sryla who had breathed her last. He then looked back at SonBa as his body shuddered from a sudden sensation of cold biting at his bones. It was a familiar feeling experienced only in Dungias’ dreams … his Grenbi dreams! “At least Sryla died with a measure of comfort,” Dungias said softly as he could feel the Grenbi drawing closer and closer.
“Now you are ready to rule!” a voice echoed throughout the chamber as the light around SonBa diminished. The First Prince was glowing, but he had dropped to his knees during the event, reeling in the feeling of incredible power.
“And now I need your help, Geentra,” Dungias whispered. “You were there when the group did not work. But you did not leave. You could not perform as you had been taught because you knew matters were only going to get worse. You remained within the fold in order to be the key. You are the key to the final understanding… and it’s locked away in that gem, waiting for the proper command to come from one with an Osamu. Oh yes, the Stars have chosen quite well in this endeavor.
“And I know the key, the one you hid in plain sight, in the language of your people. Hyphenated words in K’Vo always refer to a base word somehow. There is no egam in the entirety of the language. But a mage, egam spelled backward, that you can find. Stone Mage, or, as the Founders often put it, MaGem!” Dungias called out as the gem in the statue flashed brightly before the door closed quickly and quietly.
“Traveler, did you know this would happen?” SonBa asked.
“I had a notion, your Majesty,” Dungias answered as the chamber shuddered. Debris fell to the floor and SonBa looked around quickly.
“What was that?”
“I would suspect the Grenbi, sire,” Dungias replied. “They sense you and they wish to consume you.”
“Tell me you have a plan Traveler?”
“I do, Your Majesty,” Dungias said, using gravity to grab one of the downed guardsmen and pull his body toward the two Malgovi. “Fire your most potent beam at the statue of Pretrivorn, and in the name of the throne you need to renounce the gift.” Cracks started forming in the ceiling and the far wall.
“Apparently going through solid rock is easier than going through the castle,” Dungias thought. “This is… unexpected.”
Surprised at the speed the First Prince did as he had been told, Dungias had only undressed half of the dead guardsman when the statue exploded from the bombardment SonBa put upon it. Looking at the debris, the Prince staggered back from the rubble as the glow of augmented iro-form left his hands.
“I feel strange,” SonBa admitted, dropping to his hands and knees. “What is happening to me? What have you bid me do, Traveler?”
“You have broken the spell that gave the Vinthur an innate linking with MannA, and the Malgovi the same with EnerJa,” Dungias said. “Now we are all shay-spawn, Your Majesty. And if I don’t miss my guess, the Grenbi, as we know them, are no more. They have returned to their natural form.” The two Malgovi men could hear screams drawing close. They were loud, powerful and full of rage. They were in the castle, and Dungias wanted to kick himself for not making sure the door to the chambers of the Savanté had closed behind them. “Yes, it would seem that is the case. This means the BroSohnti have returned!”
One of the greatest moments in anybody's developing experience is when he no longer tries to hide from himself but determines to get acquainted with himself as he really is.
Norman Vincent Peale
Each avenue of escape had been checked and re-checked. For each one they could hear the BroSohnti coming, and the two made their way back to what had become the center… the point of revelation… the scene of the crime.
“This is not what anyone of life and living wants,” the First Prince said softly. Dungias was struck at the depth of the statement. “And here I stand, wanting to hate you for what you have done. But in truth, all you have worked into being is the end of a travesty. If I dare to say I hate you for doing this to our people, then I endorse what our people did to the BroSohnti. Yes, we were at war, but does that allow for… for what was done? What we did in the name of a power that was never ours to begin with–”
“Oh, it was ours, your Majesty,
” Dungias argued. “In a time of great need, we followed the words, deeds and perspectives of the Founders. And why would we not? They kept our enemies at bay while teaching us the very means by which we could do the same.
“And we learned,” Dungias continued, hearing more and more of the BroSohnti gather at the walls. “Yes, we learned. We even added to those lessons! The Osur, the Travelers… the Star Chasers… those were perspectives that the Founders had not taught us. If anything, the Beta Forms merely helped us develop them! We took the power the Founders had given us and we built upon it, making it greater!
“But that took time… and study… and work.” Dungias said, squatting low. “Why work to be an iro-former when you can be born with the ability? What happens if you fail to attain the levels of power you covet? Do you know how many of the Founders were born with their abilities?”
“No, I do not,” SonBa replied.
“One,” Dungias stated, shaking his head. “… and that is only because one of the other Founders created him! The one they call Elder may be one of their most powerful, but he is the most humble of their ranks and sees himself as a child in the wake of their awesome treks. Each and every one of the others had to create themselves.”
“Much like the so-called shay-spawn has become a Star Chaser, eh?” SonBa inquired.
“You would find a better example in the reflection of that pool of water, your Majesty,” Dungias returned. “You are a true representative of the throne, and I would follow you to Shay-Dorra and back, my Prince. I apologize that I have given your life such conflict.”
SonBa dismissed the sentiment with a wave of his hand. “You have given me nothing of the sort. The conflict was always there. You simply illuminated the situation and made it so my eyes could see the Light of Truth. If anything, you have been nothing but a Star to the throne. You have served it like you served your family that star-term in the Iro-Games. You made hearts sing, Dungias! They had to be reminded you were shay-spawn… but for a moment, we all thought the same thing: so that is what it is to be Malgovi! If that was not your intent, then you are a humble servant of your House, but a good, true, and living servant nonetheless. Were I Star-Shined enough to receive children, I would find more than simple pride in being your Vu-Zai. The same pride I feel as your Vu-Prin and a member of your army!”
“If only this castle had not been built so well,” Dungias thought. His perceptions could not reach beyond the walls of the chamber, and when he looked to the crystal that Berylon had given him, he could not feel his Radient ally. “What has been done here to prevent a means of communication that can transmit through dimensions?! Should the opportunity be given, I will study this place!
“And why not?!” Dungias said softly.
“Why not what, Traveler?” SonBa asked, thoroughly confused where the conversation had gone.
“The Founders did not find the Stars for us, did they?” Dungias asked as he walked over to SonBa to check the status of the field-appropriated armour. Looking at the rear of the unit, he suddenly had an idea and rushed to one of the other bodies.
“As far as I know, the concept of the Stars has always been ours,” the First Prince responded. “Though I do believe the Vinthur were instru–”
“Forgive me, my Prince,” Dungias interrupted as he removed the power unit of another suit. He also removed both gauntlets. “… but I do not consider the Vinthur and the Malgovi to be separate. Life brought us together and created everything around us. If anything, of the five architects of this current madness, it was the Vinthur who saw the short-comings of the movement.” Starting back to SonBa, Dungias stopped and moved to a third downed guardsman, quickly removing his suit’s battery.
“You have a very strong point, Traveler,” SonBa admitted. “I must admit, when I learned that the Vinthur Traveler wanted you as his student, I was quite envious.”
Dungias chuckled as he worked on the back of SonBa’s suit. “Allow me to confirm your instincts, my Prince. My time with Nugar has been nothing short of unbelievable. He taught me how to run… how to fly… how to think… how to trek my inner Star.
“Which brings me to this point!” Dungias said as he locked down a second belt across the midriff of the armour. “By the way, your available power has been increased and the more you move about, the more the suit will generate its own power.”
“My thanks, Traveler, but get back to your point, please,” SonBa stressed as he could hear the rock above their heads beginning to crack and give.
“I was set upon this path by the Stars,” Dungias revealed. “… a quest of knowledge that I have resolved. I was promised that when this quest was done, I would be given another, along with a few answers to the question I had posed. The question is not whether there exists a means of deliverance, but to find the trek that leads us both, quite alive, from this predicament.”
SonBa smiled and adjusted the helmet of his suit. The display read-out in the visor advised him that the sensors did not work in this place, but the self-contained power systems were operational. “I took you for many things, Traveler… but never a man of faith.”
“Believe me, my Prince, I am no priest,” Dungias affirmed as he started breaking off the fingers and thumbs of the gauntlets. The makeshift armguards would allow him close-range melee defense as well as more powerful arm-bunt blows. With the fingers removed, he could still wield Alpha and kept it in his left hand. “The simple truth is that there is a way to live beyond this point. We will either find it, or we will prove ourselves ready to move to another system of Stars!”
“What are your orders, my Leader?” SonBa asked, nearly shouting the inquiry. He needed to rouse himself for the fight that was to come.
“Do not initiate anything,” Dungias said as he put Alpha on his left shoulder. “Let us see what there is to fight… if anything at all!”
“By your order then, Traveler… Vu-Prin!” Dungias nodded before pulling the hood of his cloak over his head. He let his hands drop to his sides and the cloak wrapped around him, as if to give him a slight embrace. He smiled as he held up the battery of the guardsman’s suit. It was nearly at its maximum capacity, and Dungias touched one end of Alpha to the battery. He watched as the meter slowly dropped to three-quarter capacity. He then put his hands at his sides again. When the young Traveler felt a breeze sweep across his face, he knew a wall of some sort had been breached.
“They are in,” SonBa advised and Dungias was reminded that he was not in the company of a novice. The Prince was strong, well-trained, and had experience where Dungias had only ideals and beliefs.
The ceiling gave first, followed by one of the closer walls. But the trembling came from the BroSohnti that had made their way through the Palace to this chamber.
“They either knew the way or they are working on another sensory level,” Dungias concluded as his eyes squinted.
“Steady, my Prince.”
“Steadiness is about all we have left to us that is purely our option,” SonBa replied. “I will savor it like my last meal.”
“To each his own,” Dungias thought. “I await the taste of my wife’s lips. She sleeps beside my Vi-Prin, and to that one I owe a great deal!
“Here they are,” Dungias said, putting his back to SonBa’s and then taking a step forward. “And the word for ducking is ‘BJ’. When you hear me say that, know that I will be ducking and you are directly behind me.”
“We both know the way of the Mal-Vin, Vu-Prin,” SonBa returned. “We do not need code words between us. I will feel you move, you will feel me.”
“So be it!” Dungias said as the first of the BroSohnti rounded the corner. Apparently their transformation from being Grenbi had not included clothing, and they did not seem to care. The lack of clothing had not quelled their rage, nor had it made their bodies less substantial. “This is… unexpected!” The warrior at the front of the group was one of the shortest, but obviously among the faster. In the consideration of foot speed, Dungias did not want to rac
e the BroSohnti.
There was great reason for the floor to shake as the BroSohnti ran. The smallest of their number was just over two trams tall. Dungias was not quite two trams in height. Their charcoal-gray skin was stretched over hominoid skeletons which were overrun with well-developed muscle. The wall gave enough for more to enter the chamber, and a third hole was made in the ceiling just behind the position SonBa and Dungias held. Gripping the rock wall, the BroSohnti started to climb down. The very tops of their heads were covered with a patch of dark blue or purple hair that trailed either to the left or right, where it was braided. All of them had white eyes with no visible pupils, but that did not lighten the weight of their stares as they charged.
“Dungias!” SonBa said softly.
“Hold, my Prince! Hold and trust, my Vu-Prin,” Dungias replied.
“There!” one of the warriors proclaimed and Dungias was especially thankful that one of the pelting tomes he had received from Danatra was Nekorsha, the tongue of the BroSohnti. “There they be! They break fuhgori! Kill!”
“Not knowing what ‘fuhgori’ means does not seem to matter at the moment,” Dungias thought. “They are enraged and would not receive a different perspective, provided I could make myself loud enough to be heard! No, we need a moment!”
Dungias eased his left hand forward from under his cloak and dropped Alpha to the ground. When the end of his Osamu touched the ground, a pulse of anti-gravity energy was emitted from the point of contact outward. SonBa felt only a slight lifting sensation, and Dungias’ cloak widened out for a moment. As the circle grew, however, the pulse grew in power. The first BroSohnti to reach it was catapulted up into the air, and his momentum carried him over the two standing Malgovi. Others simply hit a wall that pushed them back. Alpha bounced from its touch point back up to Dungias’ hand. He returned his hand to the underside of his cloak and behind his back touched Alpha to the battery.
