The transporters were multipurpose vehicles, made to shift anything from people to heavy land and sky craft to their destination. Automatic seating folded out when people were the cargo. Rows of chairs filled the cargo space; facing the front of the ship, the seating looked much like a metallic theatre room minus the movie emersion equipment. The sides of the craft were lined with harness seating, where the battle-gear soldiers sat; hooked up to the walls as their suits were too big for passenger seating. The seating itself was not particularly comfortable, designed to shift hundreds of people over a short distance; each person was strapped into the harnesses so they could not move, even the head was fixed, but the head brace would not activate until the ship was near the atmospheric entry point of the planet.
The astrodroids helped hook up the last armoured soldier before they left the transport; the doors slowly closed behind them. Shayne tried to turn his head to see the closing airlock but he could not move it that far. The room filled with the sounds of excited civilians, those that did not talk looked rather ill and pale and in need of the disposable bags provided. The excitement was growing with each passing minute, Shayne did not enjoy the experience, the noise steadily grew louder with the sound of people talking and laughing over each other. His desire for the quietness of his quarters grew with each passing moment as his resentment for his companions evolved into loathing.
They waited for two hours to depart, for it was a long process to get everyone on board all the transports. As the time passed the noise gradually abated until it reached a constant buzz of murmuring. The only time silence prevailed over the occupants was when the engines started. A humming accompanied by slight vibrations took hold and anticipation again grew only to fade with another extended wait as the transport idled. Eventually they felt the sensation of movement, and all were relieved to finally be moving.
Being Planetsiders they were graced with no view; a point the colonists bitterly complained about while sitting in an enclosed room with the knowledge that the only thing protecting them from deep space was the airlock behind them. After the hours of waiting the trip down was surprisingly short. Their neck restraints were activated so they could not move at all and within moments they hit the atmosphere. Even with the restraints their bodies complained at the violent shaking that never seemed to end. Shayne held his breath and concentrated hard on a point in front of him. The ship rattled with such intensity he thought it could not maintain integrity and would fall apart around them, but the shaking eventually gave way and they were released from the neck brace. Many people sighed and some even weakly laughed as they made the final descent.
Once they had landed they were released from the harness and everyone gladly rose from their chairs. The armoured soldiers were the first to disembark. The cargo bay was flooded with intense light as the doors opened; Shayne and many others who were closest to the opening shaded their eyes. The battle-gear soldiers quickly marched out, their railguns raised and ready for anything. Shayne and the other Starborns followed; fitted out with the standard body armour and the electronic powered propulsion weapons.
Everything seemed so bright after years in the colonyship and Shayne’s eyes burned with the intensity. When his vision returned he saw the settlement and was astounded at the scale of the world: the distance of the mountains and the vastness of the sky. They were situated on the edge of a mountain, a great mass of land had been cleared, the central region they were in had a fully functioning air and space port and north of that stood the newly formed town. It appeared as if the settlement had always been there and not something built within a month.
The soldiers were told to lower their arms, everyone relaxed as the last of the people stood planet-side; admiring their new home. Many hundreds of robotic workers silently greeted them. As the new colonists walked off the landing site more transport ships touched down; one after the other. Once they were emptied they returned to the sky in what looked like a chaotic motion but was very guided by intelligent computers and obsessively careful Astronauts.
Shayne looked out at the forest that surrounded him, he found himself fascinated with his new home. This was his first experience outside of tablets, computers and holographs. Nothing could quite compare with the wind in his hair, the heat of the sun on his face and the smell of the trees. It was strange, stranger than anything he had ever imagined. He looked out in silent wonder, an interest that was not unobserved.
***
The light slowly faded as the sun sunk lower in the sky with Clarkes Moon steadily shifting passed the three quarter mark, which was the Evening Yaulma Hour in the native time reference. They made camp under a large old weeping-willow-like tree. This place was a herder’s stop, with an old camp fire within the shade of the tree. The horses were allowed to go free after the saddles were taken off and they were given a good brush down. The old tree was very large; the base of its trunk was several metres in diameter and its branches hung lazily with its leaves rustling softly in the breeze.
The mood amongst the travellers was carefree, one of the lionmen set about making a fire. There were not many trees in that particular place with the forest still many kilometres to the south, but the lionmen all had brought a small bundle of sticks with them, which combined to produce enough flame for them to cook a meal on and talk quietly by for a few hours before nothing but embers remained. Once again Kíe did most of the entertaining, with songs and stories; often he would sit happily playing one of his stringed instruments so that everyone could just lay back and enjoy the night. The two groups were no longer separated; the lionmen and Earthmen mingled together. Hanniver sat with Pan’arden and a droid, where they happily conversed with each other. The two privates were teaching three other lionmen a card game while Rae, Dominic, Omar and some other lionmen were trying to teach and learn each other’s languages, laughter often cutting across the camp at the sounds of attempted pronunciations. Thyman, the tiger was lying on the ground beside Pan’arden, her eyes sometimes watched Hanniver and sometimes they looked at the flames. Red Rocket too was lying down near the fire; she no longer feared the tiger and even seemed to prefer Thyman’s presence.
Shayne observed the tiger’s actions, she often mimicked Pan’arden. When the High Captain became intrigued with Hanniver the tiger would also listen, its tail sometimes flicking as it listened intently to them conversing, but at other times the tiger looked bored and its eyes would wander. The behaviour reminded him of the Oxford’s Captain’s cat: highly intelligent and expressing cognitive intelligence on their own level. It was larger than the any known species of tiger the western empire had ever encountered. Her head was shaped differently; more similar to the lionmen structure than an ordinary feline, possibly supporting a far greater cranial capacity than a typical feline.
The tiger grew aware of him and their eyes locked; almost instantly Pan’arden also directed her attention across at him. Two pairs of eyes danced in the fire’s light as they regarded him and it was then Shayne realised they were the same shade of yellow. Shayne’s gaze narrowed. Maltat, he thought, but Pan’arden returned her attention to Hanniver and the tiger also looked away, resting its head on its paws as it stared out into the darkness. The hour of Kíe’s teaching came and he stood up, pacing around the fire which reflected off his face. Part of his demeanour appeared in conflict, as if he was not sure which legend he would recite, he shook his indecision off when he stopped pacing, deciding on his direction.
‘Theodeus was not a powerful Ta’Orian of magic. He was the son of a man far more skilled and of greater intelligence, and it is true that his father was one of the great fighting Shingahs[11] and commanded many men.
‘Theodeus was known as the Meek; where his father always commanded he always obeyed, where his father fought great battles, Theodeus was slow in the command of the world and knew not how to wield a sword. He loved the scripture and spent many hours in the depths of the Sentinel Tower observing and mastering all the laws of the wizard, while those aroun
d him practiced in the arts of war. He was a competent conjuror and knew the law in depth. Some say he understood it on a greater scale than the more powerful masters that he followed but his failing came in his ability; too slow to outcast another wizard, and too lost in thought to be a true warrior. He was a reminder of the ancient days when wizards did not concern themselves with the wars of others and only dwelt in knowledge.
‘Theodeus was not expected to be great in those dark days; but he turned out to be a wise philosopher and wrote many scriptures we still read today. He was a historian; writing down the time period in which he lived, but most importantly he was the vessel of the Kéaran and he was shown the future of the world.’ As Kíe spoke some of the lionmen looked around at each other. The moonlight seemed to grow bolder as the fire’s light dwindled but the faint flickering only added to the atmosphere of the night.
‘One night Theodeus was deep asleep where he dreamt of the stars. He often had those dreams, but this was different, this time it was a vision.’ Kíe then went into the story. The images he created, as he stood before his audience, fired the imagination. Such was his skill as a storyteller.
***
His dream started as any other, he knew that he was in the dream world for all wizards were trained to control them. Commanding the events of their sleep was a fundamental part of their training. They had to master it before they were eligible to learn the laws of magic. Like many other times he sat upon the back of his valiant steed and flew into the sky. This time something unusual happened, at first he thought he had slipped, but his mind was still sharp as if he were awake. The constellations surrounded him and they took form; the stars moulding into the face of the Lord, Ká’ranarder; the lion-god looked down upon Theodeus and his companion as they galloped further into the darkness.
‘Where are we to go?’ He asked the Lord of the heavens.
To show one the stars, he replied and his starry face broke out into his full lion form and he raced along the constellations coming to rest next to Theodeus, the stars of his form glowing so brightly that the light burned his eyes. It seemed to Theodeus that Ká’ranarder strayed his mind for he drifted and forgot that he was in sleep. Then it happened, Theodeus did not move in time, instead he shifted in space, like the Rahiaah of old, into the dream world and he found that every sense of his being was in a world so strange, so alien. He did not feel the earth beneath his feet, or the horse between his legs. A cold came upon him which he had never felt. The breath which gave Theodeus life left him and his stomach turned within him. In the depths of his fear the wizard called out to the White Lion but no sound left his lips. Theodeus was surrounded by a silence and darkness like none before have ever experienced, then he saw the stars. How many stars did he see? More than he could have ever thought and of various shades; so many that the sky was almost alight with them, more than any man could have ever seen, more than the sands on all the beaches and in all the deserts, that is how many stars Theodeus the Meek saw. His fear began to grow, but then he heard a voice inside his head.
It is all right, for I have allowed you to breathe, turn around and see the world I have made. Breath and warmth came to the scholar, and he gladly accepted it. He turned to see Ká’ranarder’s world, it was Casader. She lay half in darkness, but unlike Yaulma who was white and grey and never moves in the sky, she was a blue and yellow jewel, with great white clouds that cast shadows on the lands below. The sea was greater than one could imagine with islands scattered throughout. The beauty and majesty struck Theodeus, all fear left him but he found it return all too soon.
‘How can this be Lord, for this world sits in the blackness, where is the turtle, that many believe to bear the world? Where is the sun and the moon?’
There is no turtle, nor is there a god bearing it upon his back. My law holds the world in the darkness, as it does for all worlds, and the sun and the moon are beyond thee, you are a Timelord, speed up the world and see what becomes of it. So the wizard did and two strange things happened, one of which the land on the world moved but the world itself did not, but not only that, Yaulma on the horizon rose and moved in the darkness as the world turned, bearing the same phases. Theodeus soon realised the world was round and that it turned like a gear-wheel in the nothingness, the moon travelled around Casader and instead of the sun travelling around the planet, Theodeus found that the world spun upon an invisible axis. The sun did not to move at all, it stayed in the blackness, it occurred to him that it was very far away, much further than the moon. The wizard was not sure why, but this seemed correct. When he had observed all that there was to be observed he returned to normal time and the Author of all said,
What is it that you see?
‘I see what is written in the ancient scrolls, the words of the first wizard.’ Theodeus then looked at the stars deep in thought.
Tell me what you are thinking?
‘What you already know, that the Lords of the Great Power come from another world, that the stars are not stars but are suns like our own, suns that reach further than a wizard’s mind, the next DragonLord, just like the first Lord of Time will come from one of those suns.’ It was at that moment of revelation that Theodeus awoke in a healer’s bed to find that seven months had passed. The shingah have been given the duty to prepare the way of the return of the Lord of Casader, the mighty DragonGod.
One day an outsider will come to the land of Endaran, for it has been foreseen, he will come in chains and leave boundless. He will be drawn to the Silver City and will be tested by the Nebu-Magor, the Mímesma, and he will survive, he will surpass the wizards and be given the full gift of Ta’hylan. He will depart his kin, for he is not of them and he will take the throne of which was stolen from him.
The saviour will come from the heavens he will emerge from the mouth of a dragon, that flies swifter than any dragon with flames of blue fire coming from its belly and a tail that burns brightly and stretches far beyond its length. On that day nothing will ever be the same again.
***
Shayne’s eyes darkened as he listened to Kíe, his face was expressionless but his gaze radiated with malevolence. He did not know what to believe, but he did not like what he was hearing. The Earthmen who were listening were also ambivalent and they stole glances over at the Starborn sitting quietly by himself. Kíe finished the entertainment with that story. The natives were now more sombre but the mood amongst them quickly lifted as they began to talk amongst themselves. When Kíe came over, Shayne softly spoke to him.
‘What was that about?’
‘What do you mean?’ Kíe asked with perfect innocence.
‘Is that what you believe? Honestly do you think that I will come and save you?’
‘You give yourself too much acclaim Afra’hama, who is to say the story is about you? Or is even about a single oríde?’
‘You are setting yourself up for major disappointment.’ Shayne’s eyes narrowed, betraying his malice.
‘You do have a role to play Afra’hama, but that was just one prophesy, there were many more, and that one, believe it or not, has mostly come to pass long before your kind came here.’
‘I cannot do anything for you. I cannot save you. I cannot even save myself!’ the tone in Starborn’s voice was harsh but his voice as always remained soft. Hanniver came over and knelt by Kíe and Shayne. His resolve was strong enough for him to look directly into Shayne’s eyes, a firm warning in his gaze.
‘Do not try and change their position towards you Forrester,’ he cautioned. ‘Do not jeopardise this colony!’ He rose back up with a relaxed expression upon his face; calling goodnight to his men, he then made his way to his bivouac.
Kíe glanced from Shayne to the Brigadier and back again, ‘What did he say?’
‘It is not important. He was reminding me of my duty, is all.’
‘Sounded like a firm reminder,’ Kíe paused for a moment as he watched the Brigadier retreat to his camp. ‘I understand the words ‘do not’ you do not have to
worry about fulfilling the words in the text Afra’hama, for it has already happened in the eyes of the Kéaran, your choices will be your own but ultimately they will serve as events already occurred.’
‘What you just said is a contradiction in terms.’
Kíe gave one of his carefree smiles and slapped Shayne on the back. ‘One day you will understand.’ He then made his way to the base of the tree, where he lay down; resting against the old trunk.
All but two warriors had retired by the time Shayne decided to do the same. The light from the moon faded as the phases retreated into the night. Most of the light now came from the dying embers, with the remaining glow casting short shadows through the willow. Shayne had not set up his bivouac-swag to sleep in so instead he just unrolled his sleeping bag and lay on top of it. He did not have a good view of the stars, but he caught glimpses as the wind came and rustled the leaves. He lay there for a while looking up at them, desiring to see them from space once again; to be rid of this world for a while. Eventually he fell asleep to the sound of the wind and a couple of horses slowly moving in the night.
***
He stood in the open field, it was dark, the moon was new and stars shone above. He looked out at the plains, watching as the grass shifted in the wind; moving in waves as the field searched and swept out into the emptiness beyond. A black fox came into view. He had come to expect it. The fox turned its head as it regarded him. We must go, she said with words that rang inside his mind.
The Book of Ominiue: Starborn Page 13
