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After the initial awe, these people told me of their problem and it was as I knew, they were indeed in grave danger. They desired to prevent their plight, but, a challenge obstructed their way in the form of a Citadel and an army. Ra and Seth greeted me and thanked me for the food as I strolled past them towards Thalbeon's tent. I heard a buzz, turning my head I could see a type of generator that seemed to provide power to the whole camp. The camp was not small with tents scattered around a central clearing and some soldiers sat by a fire having a meal, while others played dice. A minstrel played a ballad filling the night with a melody; and yet some tents looked occupied as some men chose to spend these moments in solace. It seemed each veered towards their devices to offer themselves comfort. The music changed and dancing began, and then I noticed that they had been drinking. Perhaps it’s a celebration, to lift their spirits; I entered the tent to see Thalbeon giving orders to his captains. I paused at the entrance, he noticed and signalled his captains’ goodnight.
“Thank you for coming,” he said to me, I smiled and nodded in response.
“We have little time left,” I replied.
“I know, I have issued orders for the men to be ready by first light. We will begin our march then.”
“How many warriors do you have?”
“There are two thousand men here, six thousand at the main camp, with our Empress bombarding the Citadel's defences. There are another two thousand in reserve, hidden in the forest. They have orders to join the attack once the Citadel has fallen. The rest of the army is defending our families at home.”
“That sounds reasonable. What weapons do you possess?”
“The Empress permitted the use of the over-unity device to transmit power for our devices, so a siege can be held near indefinitely. We have twenty powerful vibro-siege engines, ten armoured vessels and one T1 explosive device. The warriors themselves are armed with whatever they can carry. The Sphinx have given us a thousand of their best warriors and they requested to be directly under your command. The Avians have also agreed to join in our endeavour, though their numbers are small.”
“This power supply, is it the one outside?”
“No that receives the power transmitted by the power supply.”
“I see, and I assume the T1 is a very powerful explosive device?” I responded and he nodded.
“The Empress detests the weapon, had it not been for the Union we would not have one. Personally I would prefer it not to be used and this is why I prayed that you would come.”
“Hail Thalbeon of Gaia, I will lead the Sphinx warriors to the offending Citadel. Is there anything else you feel to inform me?”
“The Sphinx warriors are different from us, perhaps you should meet with them tonight.”
"I will. Anything else?” I replied and he paused uncertain for a moment.
“Are you the goddess of war?” I had heard this question before, in the minds of others. It brought laughter from me and I soon realised from the look on his face that my reaction was misunderstood.
“Fear not mortal, I am simply Traveller. When I was mortal I served under a great leader and led many into battles wining many wars. Still, I am no god.” I turned to leave and stopped, turning to face him. “The eternal truth is that there is no goddess of war, but only one eternal being, out of which the tangible comes from the intangible; everything from nothing.” I added, before walking out of the tent.
I took in the view for a moment, watching them dance and make merry under the light of the night sky. A few still remained outside but others had either retired to their tents or kept watch over the camp. I lifted my eyes to the skies and saw a clear view of the stars, already I missed my kin. I moved my thoughts to the task ahead of me, walking away from Thalbeon's tent as I did so; I was certain The Orion Confederation was at work here. These Humans didn't know that Terra herself, the spirit of Gaia called me, to save it from a catastrophe. From their point of view, some rebels had holed themselves in the Citadel preparing to unleash a terrible weapon, capable of unleashing a viral strain that would decimate the population. It was surprising that such an old race as this was yet to evolve beyond violence, still, their cause was thing that I could understand. It was the consequence of incarnation, the primal drives of the flesh, and not experiencing suffering and love was not living. The trick's to never forget that there is a beyond, it does go on. The spirit never dies and there is existence beyond the incarnate. One day we Travellers will ascend to a new realm of understanding and move into a seventh dimension reality, and my heart glowed with the thought. Oasis, the first, said the next stage was absolute wisdom and understanding, its teaching was hard even for him. One day, I thought, after all what was time to such as us.
I brought my mind back to the present as I left the Human camp, to where the Sphinx lay. I retrieved from my mind memories of what I knew of their race, from our encounters in other realms; those I had met in the past looked fierce with the gentlest of spirits. With the body of a large cat and the most beautiful wings, their form was magnificent and mysterious. They were wise beyond the average mortal shell, were these their kin? I saw a fire in the distance and then I saw a vision different from that of Thalbeon's camp. Their tents were laid out orderly surrounding the centre of the camp and there was a fire where the warriors sat, ate and conversed without words. Some sat by their tents engaged in individual interests, there was an air of melody and it felt serene in its calmness. I had reached their camp and there was little commotion as one thousand Sphinx got into position at full attention; one of them walked to me, now this was a perfect army. As he walked towards me in a decidedly slow pace, I took in the view of the Sphinx warriors before me. They all wore heavy armour and none of their number was shorter than seven feet tall. They were Humanoid but not Human looking, bearing a closer resemblance to cats; seeming to have evolved from an odd combination of canine, feline and avian. There were some with thick long manes and others were bare. Each held a staff with a short blade equipped on the side, better for close-quarter fighting; the staffs looked like an archaic version of the Szrea pulse staff. It was a deep black and seemed to be made of composite parts, and different materials; however, they seemed to be sturdily bound together. It had an open groove at the top and I expected a weapon slid out from there; truly it looked to be a beautifully crafted tool.
“Hail Traveller. The Sphinx welcome you.”
“Hail the Sphinx,” I replied.
“I am called Gr'vll,” he said to me. “You speak to all and I speak for all.” Telepathy, they were more evolved than the Humans. Gr'vll was the only one of their number with wings, it would seem that they continued development from this stage until the full adult Sphinx I had witnessed in other realms.
“I heard that you requested that I lead you into battle?” I asked.
“Hail Traveller! Glorious warrior of old, our elders told us of you, we would be honoured to follow you.”
“So be it. When it is light, Ra will bring you to me.” This brought a loud cheer in the form of roars from the Sphinx.
“Gr'vll, let us speak,” I said and we stepped away from the group, and I called Ra and Seth to me.
“What do the Sphinx know of the situation?” I asked Gr'vll.
“The elders say, hasten to redeem your celestial mother. Join your brothers in the fight.” Perhaps the elders knew the truth, but then why do they not interfere?
“I see. You communicate with your kin through your mind?” I asked and he nodded in affirmation.
Just then Ra and Seth appeared. Ra, bring them to me at first light, I asked her through my thoughts. As you wish, I heard her reply. She moved herself and settled down in the centre of the camp. All eyes were on her; she lifted her head and growled teasingly. I bid Gr'vll goodnight and left their camp. I needed to see the situation myself; making sure I was a good distance from the camp, I collected my thoughts and focused my will. I began to weave the air with my fingers, humming
the sounds in my mind and I created a small portal, it opened and I passed through finding before me an urgent battle. Disconnected limbs littered the ground, except were long projectiles stood with impaled soldiers and the soil was heavy with blood. Lifting my head to the scene before me, I watched as an enemy soldier had its head half blown off by a rifle. Some of the enemy had heavier armour to defend against rifles and they fought the Humans. I watched as one man frenzied in a blood rage slashed wildly at his enemies, piercing his sonic blade into the eye of one and removing the arm of another. But then I saw the oddest thing, he attacked his own men; his lust was driving him out of control. I yearned to assist, alas I must not, else I would reveal my presence too soon. I gazed at the Citadel, it was immense in size and surprisingly it was not on the ground. Engines underneath it kept it afloat and these engines were also under attack. It seemed futile however, as the engines were heavily armoured. I watched for a few moments then I passed my awareness briefly over the Citadel; I knew it, I thought, as I felt their presence. There were three of the Confederation in the Citadel. Suddenly the situation was much clearer, they used a typical tactic of deception to fool honest men into rebels. This world had need of only one rebellion and that was a rebellion against these rebels. I could see their plan and I knew that I must stop them. My thoughts were interrupted by more death screams coming from my right side. I had seen enough, so I opened the portal and returned to the edge of the camp.
Advent Page 5
