Ischus explained, “Many years after the Twelve Elders had left us, Nekar, the thirteenth Adam who was left behind, came into the city and sat down at the fountain. He left this book sitting there. I had our best Akana scholars decode the language, and though it took them many years, they did it. I can now read that language, as can all the other council members who have read that book from cover to cover.”
Ischus turned solemn. His voice filled with sadness. “That book caused the split in our original council.”
Omar puzzled over this one book so profoundly affecting this archaic culture. It both baffled and disturbed him.
“My mind is spinning with questions, but let me say that I can understand that this book has caused division here. It has done that on Earth also. Religion has been the cause of 50% of Earth’s wars. The book you have here is from Earth, and it’s a collection of myths and stories designed to teach lessons. But in Earth’s culture today, its lessons have become obsolete. Humans have evolved beyond the archaic teachings of our superstitious ancestors.”
Ischus curled his lip. “You sound like one of the Council of Six. We used to have just one council, but we split because of this book. I’m one of the seven who believe the words of this book. The other six are the council members who did not believe. The two councils try to rule Musterion in harmony, but over the past few years it has gotten much harder.”
Omar looked down at the Bible, then back at Ischus, and shook his head. “But this book isn't even about your world or your people. It has nothing to do with you. How could you let it divide you that way?”
Ischus shook his head and leveled a finger at Omar. “That is not true, Omar! I will not argue with you on this matter. It does pertain to us; it pertains to all.”
Omar rubbed his face to try to keep the dissent from exploding out of his mouth. The mere existence of this other world could arguably disprove that book. “I must speak with Nekar. He must be from Earth. I want to know why he would leave this explosive material just lying around in this alternate dimension.”
“You think you want to speak with Nekar? He’s a mad man. Besides, you don’t find Nekar—he finds you. I believe he’s dangerous. Five years ago some Gabad children saw him wandering through the tunnels, and they started laughing and calling him names. I don’t know what he did to those three children, but only one of them speaks now. When that child is asked what happened he starts rocking back and forth and staring blankly. He’ll tell you everything except for what Nekar did to scare them so badly. All he’ll say is they shouldn’t have taunted Nekar. He hasn’t been seen since then.”
“How does all of this affect me and Myles?”
“In many different ways. You see, all Musterlings must choose to follow either the Council of Six or the Council of Seven. Leaving Musterion is not an option since only the twelve elders have ever escaped in the past thousand years. It’s easy to find your way to the center of the maze, which is where our civilization now lives. But to leave Musterion, you’d need the help of the Creator Himself. Once you come to this realization, you’ll need to make a choice.”
“I was raised as a Jew believing in what you call the Old Testament of this Bible. But when I became a man, as it says in the New Testament, I put away childish things. I realized that either there was no God to hear my prayers or there was a God but He’d forsaken all of His creation. As a scientist, I’ve seen abundant proof that mankind evolved, and they didn’t need God’s help to do it.”
Ischus sighed, lowering his head and shaking it in regret. “Then you’ve chosen, Omar. Tomorrow an emissary from the Council of Six will come to summon me, and I’ll send you to them. As a declared follower of the Council of Six, they’ll be the ones to judge you for the death of the Kalat. I don’t need to know what happened now and honestly I’m glad that scum is dead. Be careful, though, because you’ll find that there are both those of the moral and the immoral persuasion on the Council of Six. You need to hope that they’ll take a liking to you.”
A plan began to form in Omar’s mind. It was a way to utilize both his own scientific knowledge and Myles' skills with illusions so that they could avoid joining either council. It was also possible that if Misaki were here, he’d be able to draw her attention and let her know that he’d come and the gambler was with him. He started to smile.
“I may know a way for Myles and me to avoid joining either council. Could I ask your advice about this?”
Ischus raised an eyebrow. “I doubt you can manage that, but, yes, I’ll hear you out. I’m curious about how you think. You’re definitely not like those who are here in Musterion, and your friend Myles isn’t either. And you did manage to kill the Kalat. Perhaps you know a lot more that we could benefit from. Do tell me.”
9
Takaleth
Myles wasn't worried about being left behind when Omar returned to the surface. This place filled him with curiosity. He glanced in every direction, still captivated by this beautiful underwater city. His leg didn’t cooperate; when he moved to see better a shot of pain hit him. Myles was tempted to curse but stifled the urge. His body language was enough to alert Reuben to his agony.
“I’m so sorry, Myles! I was so overwhelmed by having an Adam here that I forgot about your leg. We need to get you to the palace so you can get some food to eat and begin to feel better.”
Myles thought this was an odd plan for a leg as damaged as his. He just hoped they had some painkillers handy.
Reuben motioned to another ’Am Mayim named Darius, and they each took an end of the stretcher and picked him up. Myles studied the two men who were carrying him, planning on writing all this down when they got to wherever they were going. He thought he heard Reuben say, “the palace.” Was that a royal dwelling or their version of a state of the art hospital? There's so much to learn here. I better keep my eyes open.
Reuben was six feet tall and muscular. He had short red hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. His clothing shimmered in the light like fish scales as he walked along. The cloth drew Myles’ attention because he’d seen ’Am Mayim swimming outside of the air bubble, and they wore the same shimmering clothing. He’d also noticed that the cloth didn’t sag or billow in the water like most clothing did when submerged. In fact, it didn’t react at all to the water. He’d been in the water enough with all his clothes on to appreciate how remarkable that was. It would’ve made for a quicker escape in some of his past exploits. Reuben also wore a purple sash across his chest, so Myles thought that maybe he really was royalty.
Darius was a little taller than Reuben and had his hair arranged in long dreadlocks so he looked a lot more imposing than Reuben did. His clothing was similar to Reuben’s with the same shimmering appearance, but he wore a dark red sash across his chest instead of the purple one.
As they walked along carrying the stretcher, Reuben turned and smiled at Myles several times. He appeared to be fascinated with Myles, like a rock star groupie would be. He made Myles a little uncomfortable.
Reuben saw his embarrassment. “I’ve never met an Adam before, so forgive me if I don’t quite know how to act.”
Myles tried to diffuse the tension. “As far as meeting people…the feeling is mutual. I’ve never met an ’Am Mayim before either. I guess we both have a lot to learn about each other. Pardon me for asking, but what do those sashes mean?”
“It astounds me, the things we take for granted. I never thought of people outside our culture wondering about such a common thing. Darius, why don’t you explain?”
Darius bowed to Reuben. “Reuben is one of the royal family, so he wears a purple sash made from a special seaweed we find here on Musterion. I’m a commoner, but a member of the royal guard, so I wear a red sash.”
“That makes sense to me. And if you don’t know how to treat an Adam, why don’t you just treat me like you would a Gabad? That’s good enough for me.” Myles smiled at Sebastian. He knew so little about him. He really had no choice but to trust him, with his leg so bad
ly broken. Myles might have been a scoundrel, but when someone saved his life he normally showed his gratitude and proved trustworthy at least until he repaid the favor.
Sebastian leaned toward him. “How is your leg, Myles?”
Myles shook his head, “Don’t ask. I’m trying not to think about it. That Kalat's grip was like a nutcracker.” The truth was, his leg hurt badly and was even worse since he’d put all his weight on it. Then he added, “I’ll probably never walk again without crutches.”
Reuben responded, “You’re fortunate, you know. The last time there was a fight with one of the Kalat in Musterion, sixteen were killed before she was finally taken down.”
“Wow! That’s insane. Those monsters are really strong, aren’t they?”
Sebastian reached out and showed Myles the almost black bruises that he had. “They’re strong indeed. Look at the bruise from where he gripped my arm. It hurts much, so I can only imagine what your leg feels like.”
The entourage reached what looked like the beginning of the city itself. Myles had wondered what it would look like inside. Hundreds waited for their arrival as they entered with guards surrounding them, forming a barrier against the onlookers.
The crowds whispered to one another and pointed at Myles. A little girl turned to her mother and asked, “Mommy, does this mean that there’s hope?”
The mother hugged her child. “The Adam were the only ones to solve the maze. Yes, there’s hope again.”
The exchange touched Myles and stirred empathy within him. There wasn’t much that ever got to Myles. He’d done some pretty horrible things, and he’d hurt some innocent people along the way. But for some reason, at this moment Myles actually cared. The feeling overwhelmed him, and he had to do something, so he raised his hand and yelled, “Stop!”
The whole procession halted. “What is it?” Reuben asked.
Myles pointed to the little girl and her parents. “Will you and your family come with us?” he called out.
The father stepped forward and bowed his head. Reuben glared at Myles, who wondered what he'd done to deserve that look. The royal ’Am Mayim hesitated, but said to the man, "Speak."
“We would be glad to accompany you, if it’s okay with your escort.” The man spoke with his head still bowed. Reuben stared at Myles again. Myles decided he'd committed some big ’Am Mayim etiquette no-no, but hoped they had enough respect for "the Adam" to let it slide. Finally Reuben waved for them to follow.
The family fell in behind them with a look of bewilderment. The family fell in behind them with a look of bewilderment. Sebastian whispered to Myles, “What was that all about?”
“I want to know what kind of hope those people need,” he answered. “I want to talk to them. For some reason everyone around here seems to think that my presence means something special for them. Maybe it does, but I want to know what those people were talking about.”
Sebastian replied, “I have a few questions for you and Omar as well. I want to help you more because of what you did for me. But I need to know what I’m getting into, and so far I’ve been told nothing about who you are or what you’re up to in coming here.”
“When Omar gets back we’ll try to answer your questions. But not right now.”
Myles kept looking around as they continued through the city toward the palace. Beautiful plants filled Takeleth, like none he’d ever seen before. Some of the plants even moved around with purpose, as if they were sentient. Some flowers glowed pink, blue, or yellow. Others looked like underwater coral or anemone, waving tubular structures. These were stationary like their earth counterparts, but had busy little crab-like creatures living inside them.
How do these underwater-like plants survive inside the bubble?
All of the buildings in Takeleth were made of giant sea shells, and the roads were made of some kind of glittering gravel that appeared to be crushed shells. Myles was sure that there were no shells on Earth as beautiful as these. While admiring the grandeur of these roads, Myles looked ahead of them and realized that he could see the palace looming ahead. He was sure it was the palace because it was made of three giant shells fused together that towered to the top of the bubble of air that surrounded Takeleth. As they drew closer, Myles noticed that there was also a giant shell to the right and the left of the palace. Coming and going from these shells were columns of ’Am Mayim, wearing the same red sash as Darius. He concluded that these were also part of the royal guard.
Myles was taken through the palace entrance, a shimmering archway of smaller shells, and carried down a long hallway. As they approached, royal guards swung open another impressive set of doors just ahead. These doors led to a throne room where King Kludon Thalassa sat on a large throne. He looked to Myles like a sage with short but thick grey hair and a well-trimmed grey beard. His crown seemed to be made entirely of pearls, and he was clothed in shimmering purple.
The king's voice thundered across the huge room. “Dear son, who have you brought to see me? I’ve heard a rumor that there’s once again a sane Adam amongst the Musterlings. Come forward! Let me speak with this strange visitor and honored guest!” He rose from the throne and motioned for them to approach.
Darius and Reuben rushed Myles over to King Thalassa. The king stepped down from his throne to stand over Myles. “It seems that you didn’t receive a warm welcome to Musterion. We regret that it was a Kalat that you encountered first. The Kalat are surely not a breed to tangle with. I would like to hear about how you survived that encounter once we get you settled in. Reuben, set him up in one of the guestrooms meant for the seven. I will visit him in private a little later once you’ve attended to his needs.”
Myles was overwhelmed with their hospitality and would have bowed if he could have. “Thank you for your kindness, but can we wait until my friend returns to have our discussion? He could add so much to the story.”
The king looked a little irritated at first but quickly smiled again and responded, “Nonsense! I must know things before then.” He gently reached out and put his hand on Myles leg. “We will speak, but don’t worry about that right now.”
Recognizing that they were dismissed, Reuben and Darius carried Myles out through a side door. The inner walls of the giant shell were a pinky-peach mother of pearl, and as they went down the halls their path began to slope upward. There were no stairs that Myles ever saw, just the natural slope of the inner spiral of the shell. He wondered how they’d assembled the giant shells into a castle. He could see side openings to different floors as they walked along, and he’d counted 13 floors by the time they finally went through one of the entrances. It's a good thing I'm not superstitious.
Myles noticed that the rooms they passed along the hallway had curtains with ornate and beautiful designs rather than doors. Thirteen different openings lined the hallway. Each bore a name written in what looked like Greek, and Myles copied them down as they passed. They took Myles into one of the chambers, and he was astounded at how beautiful it was. He’d never been in any casino or hotel that was even close to this elegance.
The walls, floors, and ceilings were seamless, and paintings hung on the walls that were greater masterpieces than Myles had ever seen back on Earth. They brought Myles over to the tall window to let him look out at the city and drink in the spectacular view. Then they carried Myles over to what seemed to be a bed. It looked like some kind of white bubbly foam without any frame to hold it up. Myles gave the two men a questioning look, but they just smiled and carefully laid him on it. Myles was astounded as he settled in. He felt completely relaxed, as though he was resting on air. As soon as he was comfortable Darius and Reuben left the room.
Myles thought about what he would say when the king came to talk with him. He wanted so badly to lie. Oh, he knew that he could come up with a wonderfully elaborate lie and keep from telling him anything that could jeopardize their mission. But would that be right? This turning over of a new leaf thing was harder to digest than he’d thought. The king had s
hown him such kindness and generosity that he didn’t feel it would be right to treat him like a patsy and try to con him. The family Myles had invited along were given a room right across the hall from him. He wanted to speak with them soon. Myles finally decided to tell this king whatever he wanted to know. He hoped that Omar would understand.
I can't believe how comfortable this bed is. There was a knock on the curtain. Now how in the world do they knock on a curtain? He had no idea how that worked but for certain he heard a knock. “Come in.” It didn't seem like the proper method to receive a king, but he really couldn’t get up and bow. Myles hated being helpless at this moment.
The curtain pulled back and the king entered alone. But instead of making a regal or arrogant entrance, he carried a tray that smelled like hot food. Myles eyes were on the king, but his stomach grumbled at the smell of the food. Am I seeing this right—a king serving me food? “Um…thank you, Your Majesty. This is such an honor for me. Why didn’t you have one of your servants bring it in?”
King Thalassa chuckled. “In order to lead, one must serve.”
“Really? That’s interesting.”
The king took a deep breath. “I know that you’re from Earth…”
Myles blinked. “You know I’m from Earth? I barely know where I am, what I’m doing, or even what’s going on. You know so much more about me than I know about you. How is all of this possible?”
“I was getting to that before you interrupted.” The king raised his eyebrows.
Myles choked back his words. “Oh…I’m sorry. Please continue.”
“The Adam who dwelt here with us previously all came from Earth. I was once a good friend to one of the original thirteen, and he told me much about your world. It’s too bad that Nekar disappeared after his family left him. I don’t believe that they meant to leave him. Nonetheless he took it personally. The thirteen, as a group, were reluctant to answer questions, but Nekar had a love for the ’Am Mayim so he trusted me with many secrets. I’ve never even told them to the rest of the Council of Seven.”
Bridgeworlds: Rise of the Magi Page 9
