by Jeremy Dwyer
Mercator, however, just had a natural eye for evaluation – which would likely have been enhanced by the Lujladia or Kazofen waters – but he was good enough to visually estimate the quality of gemstones. He could not, however, do the same for the metals or other stones – granite, sandstone, marble and other such materials – so he limited his practice to his innate talents.
Now, looking outside, Mercator saw that the evening darkness of the skies lingered. He remembered the black onyx candle and the strangeness of it, wondering if his eyes hadn’t played tricks on him. Using the candle on the wall, he lit the black onyx candle yet again, and – like before – it gave no light. He looked out the window and saw the sky had darkened noticeably.
~~~
Pandaros and Seleukos arrived at a northeastern port – the Port of Gabrielle – in the Admiral Ramalaxis land bridge after a five (5) day voyage.
“It is considerably darker. There is no question. I am measuring the dark in contrast to the light, quite precisely, and the difference is clear,” Seleukos said.
“Drink anew of the Lujladia waters, to be sure,” Pandaros said.
“I did before we left the ship. The powers of light have peaked within me, and so I am confident in my measurements,” Seleukos said.
Pandaros then had a thought and asked: “You say that they have peaked. Perhaps, then, you can see the source of the darkness, no?”
Seleukos looked out at great distances – even around the mountains that covered this land bridge – but found no sign of a source of darkness. He then looked up, and saw only that the suns had been obscured, but he did not see what had obscured them.
“No, it is not clear at all where the darkness is from,” Seleukos said.
~~~
Mercator extinguished the flame on the dark onyx candle and suddenly – astonishingly – the sky grew less dark. He stared in amazement, not believing his own eyes.
~~~
“There! The dark flame was extinguished again!” Pandaros said.
“I think I know where it is from – at least, the general direction – having seen the moment of the retreat of its intensity,” Seleukos said, having followed the transition from dark to less dark.
“Lead the way,” Pandaros said.
Seleukos then led them through the Port of Gabrielle and headed south, traveling by foot.
~~~
It took Haltavna’Sytoris more than five (5) days to recover from the pain that was caused by listening to the turbulent sounds of the darkened stars. When she regained her senses, she remembered that she had been on board a ship in the Trerada Ocean, near a mountain. Now, she found herself in Emeth. From there, she booked passage on a ship and traveled back to Ixilonotu Island in the Kazofen Ocean. She rejoined with her fellow Redfire Sentinel – Pelathata – but was unable to offer assistance in guiding ships. The suns in the sky were still too dangerous to hear, and she did not take up the Atrejan Ocean waters after her earlier, debilitating experience.
“Haltavna, I am glad to see you have returned safely,” Pelathata said upon seeing Haltavna again.
“I traveled to a castle within a mountain, and there I – and several others – learned from a spirit a terrible secret,” Haltavna said.
“What secret was this? Please do not tell me you spoke to the suns,” Pelathata said.
“No. I cannot speak to them, for I was caused a great deal of pain when I listened to their sounds in the darkness…it is a darkness that spreads by many powers,” Haltavna said.
“Many powers? Your stories grow more dramatic, and less credible,” Pelathata said.
“Do you not see the darkness in the sky? As of late, are ships not dependent even more on your light and the light of others, rather than on any other power for their navigation?” Haltavna asked.
“Indeed, I see the spreading darkness. And ships do depend on the light given by those of us who drink the Lujladia waters. Yet, those who drink of the Pirovalen waters also give guidance,” Pelathata said.
“However, not every one of our outposts has a singer, and I can no longer be of assistance, until the painful sound ends,” Haltavna said.
“We should have a singer – and perhaps even those who drink the waters giving other powers – at every outpost. However, that is not a matter I can resolve, as I do not control the treasury,” Pelathata said.
“A singer would be well paid by our benefactor, no doubt,” Haltavna said.
“I do not doubt they would be paid well. But they have to agree, for it is not suitable work for those who have young families, or who seek to start a family. Attention to the travelers at sea must come first, and is all consuming,” Pelathata said. All the while, her eyes were looking out upon the Kazofen Ocean, and she occasionally directed her powers of light to guide ships, so speaking to her – and any other Redfire Sentinel who drank the Lujladia Ocean waters – meant speaking to someone who rarely looked directly at you, and whose gaze was deeply focused in every other direction.
“The evil that brings this darkness is all consuming,” Haltavna said.
“What evil? It is mysterious, no doubt, but how do you know it is evil?” Pelathata asked.
“The secret that I learned from the spirit was that there are candles which give off darkness rather than light. There are many of these luminaries, and when their flames are lit, the skies darken further. Among those who visited this spirit’s castle was Blazer Endrit of the Torches of Majesty. He went in search of this luminary, but did not take me on his journey,” Haltavna said.
“Things such as this are too much to hear or believe. The tempest was enough,” Pelathata said.
“Who are you to say that the tempest was enough? That a trouble is greater than your willingness or even ability to endure does not impose a limit upon it,” Haltavna said.
“True enough, though sad to hear. Still, why should I believe that these luminaries exist? Did you even see one (1) of them?” Pelathata asked.
“No, I did not,” Haltavna said.
“Then you cannot know them to be the true cause,” Pelathata said.
“Then what do you suggest is?” Haltavna asked.
The sky became lighter – or, less dark, which wasn’t quite the same – quite suddenly.
“Whatever it is, there is less of it! Look!” Pelathata said.
“Indeed, even my eyes can see this change, and yours are more sensitive to the light and darkness,” Haltavna said.
~~~
In the Zovvin Ocean, on Onoxorin Island, another outpost of Redfire Sentinels noticed the change.
Yuk’Davar was nearly fully energized by the Lujladia Ocean waters that he drank and could see at great distances by the light he was thus able to generate. He was also sensitive to light – and to darkness. The skies suddenly seemed less dark, and he was quick to recognize the change, and that it wasn’t the first such change. Unable to speak because of his punishing injury, he wrote this fact down on a paper and handed the letter to a fairly attractive – if rather depressed – young woman.
As of late, Latras’Kala was a Redfire Sentinel only in name. She drank of the Atrejan Ocean waters, giving her the power to hear the sounds of the stars. By those, she knew which way ships could navigate. If their captains came to the island, the knowledge could be relayed directly. Otherwise, her fellow Redfire Sentinel – Yuk’Davar – could send her instructions by light out to the ships on the sea. In this way, they could help ships avoid collisions with other ships or islands, and find efficient routes.
Yet, instead of hearing the sounds of the stars, she had only felt horrid pain, thinking that it was the onset of a debilitating – or even, fatal – stroke. The entire time, Yuk’Davar had held her, and she was afraid that the lonely young man might see fit to take advantage, but he was very respectful. His eyes gazed out at ships, as it was the first and sworn duty to guide ships, and he did not probe her in any indecent way. Rather, he kept her from injuring herself in her state of pain, and she respected his good ma
nners. Still, however, she wasn’t attracted – his intelligence was too low. The inability to speak was forgivable – even to his advantage. His looks were adequate and did not differentiate him from the average male. The apparent depth of his thinking was simply so shallow as to disqualify him – his cleverness for his past criminal schemes just did not surface in any way that she could discern to make for an interesting romantic partner.
What Latras’Kala did not know was that Yuk’Davar was smart, and was keeping some secrets. He never told her of just how much money he had kept from his days of impersonation and theft of assets. He played dumb and sweet, hoping to win over a sweet, simple, gentle woman and surprise her with his wealth, which he was planning to explain – in a long, loving letter – as having been found wealth from a treasure hunting expedition. The trick was finding a woman who didn’t ask too many questions or probe too deeply into his answers.
Latras’Kala read the brief letter that Yuk’Davar handed her and looked to the sky and asked: “Are you sure? And this is the second time that it became less dark? What could that even mean?”
Yuk’Davar considered this and wrote a new letter and handed it to her.
Latras’Kala read the new letter, which read: “The darkness decreased, then increased, then decreased again, all so suddenly. Stars do not move that quickly to give shade or light – that I have ever seen, but you could say otherwise. I think, then, someone has the powers of darkness over the stars themselves, which can be exerted, and then eased, quite quickly.”
“Not on the scale of the entire sky. The stars are much too large and powerful to be cloaked in darkness by those who drink the dark waters. Yet, you are correct about the speed of this change: the stars do not move that quickly, so this sudden variation in the darkness is not explained by their movements,” Latras’Kala said.
~~~
On Nivi Peta Island in the Atrejan Ocean, yet another outpost of the Redfire Sentinels was witness to the change in the skies.
Inlanokus saw the sudden reduction in the darkness, and that it was not the first time. The darkness had previously subsided, then increased, before its current reduction.
“Meriniala, how could this be that the skies are less dark, then more dark, then less dark again? I see it, for certain. The Lujladia Ocean waters I drink give me more than the power to create or bend light, but also to sense and measure it, and the measure has changed in both directions, quite suddenly,” Inlanokus said.
“The movements of the stars cannot explain this – not that I have ever seen. The suddenness of all of these changes outpaces their speed. Yet, I cannot safely listen to them, as the pain is so great,” Meriniala said.
“It is as if there is a war between light and darkness, and we are watching the battle rage,” Inlanokus said.
“That is a profound – and frightening – metaphor,” Meriniala said.
“I fear that it may be quite literal,” Inlanokus said.
Tosko’Lajin – another of their fellow Redfire Sentinels – stood nearby and overheard them. “Yet another battle will require yet another voice to bring peace,” he said. He then drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from his vial and was energized.
“Do you have the song prepared?” Inlanokus asked.
“The words are coming to me, and the song is forming,” Tosko’Lajin said.
“Will the song be able to drive out the darkness?” Meriniala asked.
“For a short while, it will subside. We must choose the proper time for the music, so that we can give the greatest help,” Tosko’Lajin said.
~~~
On Cradana Island in the Pirovalen Ocean was still another outpost of Redfire Sentinels.
En’Leva – who was a drinker of the Atrejan Ocean waters – had been left alone for some time after the tempest. Her fellow Redfire Sentinel – a man named Tak’Tarian – had been killed during the tempest when he was lured out to sea by the Sail to Me song. Whoever sang such a song was a wicked creature – or under the control of one – and En’Leva could not find it in her to forgive the offense. Still, she knew that Victoria had been said to be the cause of the tempest, so that woman was the ultimate evil, as far as she was concerned.
Being alone made it even more painful – and more frightening – when she felt the first sting of the darkness. Listening to the sounds of the stars was quite painful and unclear at first. Later attempts brought on a pain that was debilitating, and she thought that she was having a stroke, but she recovered. She resolved not to listen to their sounds again until the darkness was gone. Thus, she could render no service to travelers at sea for some time.
Soon, however, the benefactor sent a new Redfire Sentinel to join her.
Wavel’Josek was a thirty-two (32) year old drinker of the Lujladia Ocean waters and had been recruited from a job about which he had mixed feelings. He often traveled the Crypt Trail, along with spirit readers, crystal benders and others in search of graves rich in buried treasure. It was a profitable endeavor – and even interesting, if quite frightening when spirits attacked and even possessed another adventurer. However, the time that a spirit took over his body and had him kill three (3) of his fellow travelers before one (1) of them – a Zovvin drinking spirit master – was able to free him, was the beginning of the end of that career. Only a month after that, upon turning thirty-two (32), Wavel’Josek had a final close encounter that convinced him to quit: when he found himself trapped in a pit – both legs and an arm broken from the fall – inside of a mausoleum containing the remains of a wealthy banker, in which there were many snares. As his cohorts struggled to rescue him, a rattlesnake approached and bit two (2) of them. Another traveler, who was a drinker of the Gradaken Ocean waters, was able to take control of the snake and send it away, and one (1) of those who was bitten was a Trerada drinker, and so she was safe. The other snakebite victim, however, succumbed to the venom and died within three (3) days, but not before helping to pull Wavel’Josek out of the pit.
Wavel’Josek recovered and went back to Emeth. Having found the occasional large fortune – especially after the grim good fortune of splitting the find with the few survivors of his treasure hunting expedition – he was able to spend time studying and seeking out potentially less hazardous sites. While there, the benefactor approached Wavel’Josek and offered him steady pay to work on an island guiding ships – preventing disasters, rather than walking into them. He accepted hesitantly – offering to work for a while, before deciding to accept the position for the long term.
Upon arriving, he met En’Leva and there was instant rapport – she had a youthful curiosity about long lost cities, especially Thalkalana, and he sought lost treasures, so a sense of adventure was alive in both of them – and it became dormant in both of them, due to bad experiences, albeit quite different.
They talked a great deal, and the stories they shared led to mutual admiration and enjoyment, then to affection, and then to intimacy. Both of them knew the relationship was moving too fast, yet they both wanted it that way. Making love even helped En’Leva forget her abusive boyfriend, who had grown angry over her prior waterbinding, which he had wanted to choose for her.
En’Leva would have felt useless – being unable to hear the sounds of the stars without horrid pain, and even past the pain, hearing noise rather than signal – but she now felt purposeful. She rested a great deal, being two (2) months pregnant with their child, and she felt safe, despite the darkness.
Wavel’Josek drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean from his vial and was energized. By the powers of light these gave him, he watched the ships far out at sea and used light to signal to them about safe ways to travel. He saw the skies suddenly grow less dark – after having briefly been less dark, and then darkening again. The evening sky – having lasted months – was turning toward night, with only these dual hints of returning to daylight.
“En’Leva! How could it be? The darkness has subsided – again? Can stars change so quickly?” Wavel�
��Josek asked.
“Not that I have ever seen. Stars take hours – not moments – and their light and shade move gradually. Even during the days of the inferno, change was not sudden,” En’Leva said.
“What can cause such sudden change? Only the powers of those who drink the waters of the Ikkith Tar Ocean – they can make darkness suddenly cloak a thing, and then suddenly reveal it by easing their powers. Or – and I have seen this – someone who drank the waters of the Elanatin Ocean and used their powers to trick the mind to suddenly not see a thing, or to suddenly see it,” Wavel’Josek said.
“What of light power and illusions? Can they not bring sudden change? They can bring light – I have seen you many times give illumination,” En’Leva asked.
“I don’t think that could explain it. Illusions made by the power of lights can suddenly appear – that is true – but they cannot cause such a darkness,” Wavel’Josek said.
