by Mara Powers
For the first time, he wondered how they would all react to the king’s decree. Pan’s plan began to make eerie sense. He watched how his music moved their reactions. He had known it before, and had always played to guide their emotions, but now his attitude was changed. He scanned their eager faces, and this time, he allowed himself to care.
Dabrina chords folded around D’Vinid’s voice. His fingers wove a poetic approximation of underwater arpeggios.
“The realms of possibility have fallen into dream
as echoes of the rational
would fly away to seem.
Its path is chosen nonetheless,
its life is since unknown.
And nothing would suffice to know
its duty to atone.
Far across the distant stars
it cries in memory.
And distant points of cosmic life
have vowed to set it free.
Twice the dream has called to me
and touched my soulless flight.
I cannot figure if its darkened face is truly light.
And fate is just a causal spark,
inventions of the mind.
Its weavers are oppressive still,
though meaning to be kind.”
Dabrina music gradually slowed, ending on a sustained chord. Its chilling melody sent a shiver through the ship’s occupants. Accepting praise from his fans with a nod, the world seemed to slow as his fingers danced across the dabrina once more.
Music exploded into an airy dance rhythm, laced with a dark, grooving melody. With intense eyes, D’Vinid scanned the main hall of Dafni’s Enigma. His fingers explored the spidery dabrina, leading those gathered into a rhythmic cadence. Everyone began to dance. The melody fell into a rendition of a favorite song he had written, and the group erupted into cheers. His voice entered, humming the tune. The whole room seemed to hum along.
“O lady, lady of the night,
sing to me your heart’s delight!
Run away upon the shores,
and sing to me my heart’s allure.
O Atlantis, fair and true,
my gift of love released from you.
I have felt my lover’s thrall,
and I shall have her, lest I fall.
“Lady, lady sing to me,
trust in all the things you see.
I am the ruler of this land,
but I pray for your sweet hand.
Curse the day my mate may come,
for to you my heart is won.
Try and stop me, Fates above,
for I shall choose my own true love.
And try and overcome my might,
I stand beside my heart’s delight!”
The music escalated, weaving itself into a tale of passionate doom. D’Vinid closed his eyes and drove the song into spinning fury. The room went mad, people danced and hollered in response. After a long, musical interlude, he grabbed everyone’s attention with a raised hand, and the bottom dropped out of the song with a clench of his fist.
Dabrina chords cascaded into sharp strumming, reviving the original dance groove. One string at a time joined back into layers of harmony until the entire party danced again.
“Dream Watchers! O Star Watchers!
Why have thou forsaken me?
My kallista loved me clear,
gave to me two children dear.
Take her from my royal bed!
And take her from my royal home!
But you shall never take me from
the hearts you leave alone.
And upon this line
I leave a curse most black.
And you shall never find a way
to take my curses back . . .”
The song lingered until each layer of harmony peeled away, leaving D’Vinid strumming two strings in bouncing dissonance. Someone climbed on a chair and raised a glass, grabbing the attention of the whole room. “To King Koraxx’s folly!” he shouted.
The room exploded into sound.
Another guest raised his glass. “And to the Queen Impending! May Kyliron be a good boy and treat her right!”
The room responded with uproarious laughter all around.
“To King Kyliron and Queen Brigitte!” shouted another voice.
The color washed out of D’Vinid’s face. Brigitte.
She had recently arrived to meet her betrothed. Kyliron’s betrothed. He nearly fainted from the realization. He was now hopelessly trapped in a nightmare from which there was no way out.
He wandered to the back deck in a daze, wading briefly through appreciative guests. For décor, Dafni’s Enigma hoisted long, graceful streamers and colorful flags from her masts in replacement of sails. Wind chimes captured ocean breezes, singing their eerie musical scales in chaotic, melodic perfection.
He could feel Brigitte somehow, perhaps through the Grid. He gazed out over the lights of the Harbor District, taking slow, deep breaths.
“You are amazing!” A man’s voice interrupted his anguish.
He grunted in response.
“You had the entire room at your command in there.”
He turned to passively examine the intruder.
“I’ve heard much about you, D’Vinid.” The kind face of Keymaster Torbin from Subterra greeted him. “I’m told you may be able to tell me the whereabouts of my daughter, Loressai. I understand the two of you may have met yesterday before she disappeared from Pan’s estate.”
D’Vinid closed his eyes. His stomach churned. Shame wrapped around him. He could not get himself to look into Loressai’s father’s eyes. “Yes, I saw her.”
Torbin urged him on.
He placed his hand over his mouth. “I feel sick.” D’Vinid politely excused himself and strode through the entrance. Just in time, he fell to his knees on the dock and vomited directly into the ocean.
“FROM THE CANTOS of Belial it is said of the joining ceremony: ‘As two beings choose to join themselves in the oath of procreation, they move their hearts into the beginning, where once Belial and Kama, the Watchers who weave the light of the sun and moon, existed as lovers in union.
“‘The discs of gold and silver exist within a place we can all access at the merging of the mindlight and heartlight. A witness of the temple shall clear the path as the oath begins with the turning of the discs until they spin as one. When that occurs, the oath is taken, and the joining complete.’” Allondriss effortlessly projected calm strength while she read from the Sacred Cantos. She had been delighted to discover a heavy golden tome resting on a pedestal in Brigitte’s new home. Allondriss had proclaimed her love for the Cantos, and immediately explored its thin pages. An armada of servants had arrived to help Brigitte bathe and dress for the ceremony.
Allondriss’s words were buried in the panic of Brigitte’s mind as she paced the room, calling the Watchers to take away her growing fear. Her joining gown was a complex silver ensemble with a long train dragging behind as she walked. With golden, painted lips, she prayed inaudibly to the ocean breeze, which blew the few curled strands of chestnut hair left untied on her head.
Soft ribbons of silver material were twisted around her arms and legs, highlighting gold-painted fingernails and toenails. A bracelet on her upper arm sat in plain contrast to the rest of the ensemble, a tarnished tribute to her days of freedom on the seaside. Brigitte caressed the dreamclan signet nervously.
“My lady, the time has come,” a servant’s voice came from the door.
Brigitte reluctantly turned to face Allondriss. “I don’t think I’m ready.” She managed a weak smile, noticing the concern in Allondriss’s ocean-blue eyes.
“I wish I could do something for you, mistress. I don’t blame your apprehension.” Allondriss’s eyes fixed on the floor. “I can only imagine how overwhelming this is for you.” Together, the two young women stood in empathy, wanting to hold each other, but refrained for fear of crying. A feeling of kinship buzzed between them. Somehow, it renewed Brigitte’s strength.
“We should just get this over with, Allondriss. The Fates await.” She gestured toward the door. “Lead on.”
Jamarish Ka stood in the antechamber of her suites. His smooth head was polished to a shining luster. “My Lady,” he greeted as she approached. His expression shifted to Allondriss for a moment as he bowed solemnly. Brigitte nodded in return.
“You look stunning.” He admired her joining ensemble for a few uncomfortable moments, then joined his hands in a prayer position. “It is my honor to greet you on behalf of the High Council and the Temple Sect on this most joyous eve, as you are led to join with your life mate.”
She watched him, purposefully aloof. He radiated a softness she felt she should be comforted by, and yet, something in his eyes made her cringe. He guided them through a polished corridor. As they walked, he glanced back at Allondriss. “And just where did these clansfolk find you?” He paused after a few steps, examining a lock of her blond hair with his fingers. “A temple misfit, obviously.”
Allondriss lowered her head. “I was brought by the Watchers.”
He raised an eyebrow, slowing his step for a mere moment. “Truly,” he responded. “And what of your lineage?”
“It is unknown, my lord,” she lied somehow without a problem.
“I look forward to speaking with you more at length.” He shrugged her off and turned his attention toward Brigitte again. “We are entering the inner sanctum of the temple. This is one of the entrances from the palace. Your joining ceremony will take place at the heart of Atlantis in the temple of light.”
They reached a foyer made of tiles formed into multi-colored patterns. An arching entryway looked out on an opulent landscape beyond. Brigitte closed her eyes, absorbing the essence of her surroundings. Allondriss suddenly seemed more nervous than Brigitte. Their growing contingent walked slowly through a yawning doorway, crossing into a wonderland of moonlit brooks and lush vegetation. A chorus of light, chiming bells could be heard from all directions. Brigitte knew the use of bells created openings into Dreamtime. It was apparent the Temple District was a gateway into the Dreamvale.
Up ahead, a tall hill held aloft a looming pyramid, rising higher than the smaller pyramids surrounding it on lower ground. Trees and flowers twisted in a mad conglomerate, dangling from sloping rooftops in cascades of weeping vines.
“That is the temple of light in the acropolis,” Allondriss pointed to the pyramid at the top of the highest peak. This was the center of all Atlantis, where the telluric lines of the ten kingdoms united to nourish the Great Crystal.
Brigitte wondered at its glowing walls. It was lit amid the blue blanket of moonlight covering the graceful sweeping hills. She felt slightly dizzy as they passed into the Dreamvale. It was the world she was used to. Atlantis seemed to move differently. She felt almost heavier there, whereas here her feet padded like a whisper along the switchback path they climbed. Golden statues of Watchers supervised their journey. A thin, moonlit waterfall plummeted from the glowing temple of light. The entire district seemed vastly larger than the small space it occupied at the heart of Atlantis. She knew the Dreamvale stretched its limits to accommodate more of itself.
They silently entered the temple acropolis, greeted by an atmosphere of sacred tribute. There were no trees or foliage in the multi-tiered brick courtyard, but a splendid view of the vast city and distant ocean spread out in all directions.
Directly across from the opening emerged a series of golden pedestals harboring statues of oceanids riding dolphins. In the courtyard’s center, standing with trident in hand, was a depiction of the Sea Watcher Poseidon himself. He held the reins of six winged horses who pulled the golden chariot he rode, while brandishing a trident with the other hand. He guarded a massive doorway. On each side of the opening stood a temple priest. 12 women in different colored temple robes assembled reverently around the Queen Impending.
Jamarish Ka bowed low to Brigitte. “I take my leave of you now. When I see you again, I shall call you My Queen.” His eyes darted to Allondriss before he stepped into the pyramid.
One of the priestesses held a silver robe open for Brigitte. She draped it over Brigitte’s shoulders, and clasped it across her chest with a ruby brooch. Pangs of nervousness greeted the temple woman, who cocked her head and sent a wave of love through sea-green eyes.
The 12 temple priestesses fell into formation around Brigitte, sending thoughts of strength to cradle her. Brigitte swooned among their power. The robe trailed behind, as long as she was tall, gliding smoothly on the shining floor of the courtyard. Upon passage through the door, it slid shut, smoothly sealing everyone inside. As the joining entourage entered, a gong resounded through the chamber, capturing the attention of those already assembled.
The temple walls were made of rose quartz, and its floors were contrasted with black tiles. A soft hum filled the air, raising the vibration in the chamber to a higher frequency. In the center, reached by three steps, stood a diamond-shaped platform made of clear quartz. It was encircled by 12 crystal columns marked through by rutilation, reaching above the tallest head in the room. Each column was crowned by its own glowing crystal skull.
The life source within them called to her in waves of ethereal whispers. The world seemed to distort around the skulls. She knew these pillars to be the main conduits of the Great Crystal, from where the entire Grid was powered. The skulls were known as the Crystal Council, a gift from the Star Nations to Atlantis.
On the platform stood the high priestess dressed in a pure white robe, holding a staff. She stood between two waist-high pedestals crowned with panels of quartz clusters. These were access portals for the Archives Nexes. The staff she held was the hereditary power tool of the high priestess.
The staff was taller than she, and was made from cylindrical, transparent quartz wrapped in sinuous silver bands. The silver coiled into a cradle crowned by a perfect ball of rose quartz. The high priestess seemed to phase in and out of dreamsight. She looked like a Watcher; statuesque and endowed with majesty. Beams of dreamlight spiraled from the twelve pillars, stitching together through her body and the staff.
The high priestess’s eyes pierced the assembly, landing ever so subtly on Allondriss. Brigitte felt something electric pass between them. Twelve rose-clad temple clergy emerged from behind the platform. Humming softly, and in perfect formation, they formed an aisle for Brigitte to traverse. The priestess’s seemingly aloof gaze lingered on Allondriss for a few more moments, then shifted to Brigitte.
Kyliron stood on one side of the circular pulpit. He looked like a crowned statue, dressed the same as Brigitte, but all in gold with silver lips and nails. His robe was arranged to cascade down the steps. Serpentine trails of smoke surrounded his body, and he rocked back and forth in a trance.
Brigitte reached the steps, and dizzily stepped to meet the priestess. Her consciousness buzzed within the pillars. She subconsciously knew to take her place across from Kyliron. Two temple women arranged her cloak down the steps, setting a golden incense brazier at her feet. The smoke consumed her in a thick, musky cloud. One of the priestesses struck two cymbals over the top of her head, creating a high-pitched oscillation. The sound wavered as she moved the cymbals down Brigitte’s auric field. It instantly catapulted her into a deep meditation.
SHE WAS STANDING in a somehow familiar place. Everything was shrouded in a misty haze, and Kyliron’s disembodied essence stood across an expanse of grass. Above and between them hovered two mighty discs of silver and gold. One of them was slowly spinning, and she realized she had to make the other one spin with her mind.
Kyliron watched her. Visions flashed of the two of them intertwined in lovemaking. The discs spun faster and faster. They were the discs of inner union, the ethereal symbols of the love affair between the sun and the moon, the lovers whose longing regenerated the world each day.
Faster and faster the shining discs spun until they were but blurred circles. Eventually, they moved together and became as one.
As they merged, Brigitte felt his essence weave into the core of her being, binding them on a molecular level.
She rocked back and forth in blissful completion, as the joining seemed to fill an empty space she didn’t even know existed. Every fiber of her body vibrated as an electric current enclosed them in a serpentine continuum. Pain jolted through her like lightning. With Dreamsight, in the blink of an eye, she saw a black cord wrap around them, just as the discs spun together to form a sphere. The cord originated from the darkness of Kyliron’s mind, and twisted insidiously into the electricity fusing them together. With pure reflex, she lifted her defenses to protect its target, her womb. In that instant she knew she was already carrying a child.
In a flash she was jolted back to the awareness of her body. She was facing Kyliron on the pulpit. He opened his eyes, and the high priestess stepped forward chanting a verse in ancient Lemurian. She pointed her staff at Kyliron, who moved toward her with his arm outstretched, then to Brigitte.
In utter desperation, Brigitte paused before she too stepped forward. The priestess then put forward the ball of rose quartz. Kyliron rested his hand over the sphere. Hesitantly, Brigitte laid hers on top. A cry went up in unison from the assembly.
“All hail the King and Queen of Atlantis!”
To Brigitte’s knowledge, even the priestess did not see the attack. Her head spun in confusion and desperation. The joining had not been completed. The black cord had somehow interrupted it. She felt it in the depth of her heart, and she seemed to be the only one who knew.
Looking around the room, it took all her power to remain composed. She stepped into place beside Kyliron, and placed her hand over his lifted wrist. The rainbow-robed assembly filed out quietly. Together they stood on display, a vision of seemingly perfect mates, destined to carry on the line of Atlas together.
