by Jeremy Dwyer
“The mystery deepens,” Celio said, walking down the stairs.
Desmond, Jaguar and Anan walked down behind Celio.
Anan said: “I’ve studied many cultures, lost temples, ancient cities. This city, however, appears not to be a singular culture. There is a wide variety of architectural styles – this tower contrasts with the pyramids, the colossal statues and the fountain arch. It is possible that this city stood for ages with a different architectural mindset in each.” He didn’t like to talk much, unless it was about subjects he cared about, in which case he said a great deal.
“It could take a lifetime to discover the answers. Too bad I have only one, and only what’s left of it,” Celio said.
They reached the bottom and saw that there was a door with an inscription upon it. Anan looked closely and read it aloud:
Below the largest one they burn.
Twice more they count and slowly turn.
Thrice below find cooler fire.
Thrice again see the monarch spire.
Twice thrice more a chill arrives.
Seven more have wild lives.
Five more are like the burning sands.
Twice thrice more faintly warming all lands.
Light the flames of all but one.
Whose darkness makes the light of none.
Yet count the dark among the light,
To number every day and night.
Celio listened and picked out the numbers. “This describes a numeric sequence,” he said.
“I’m listening,” Anan said.
“First, the largest one (1). Then three (3), which is twice more than (1) – that’s the slowly turning part. Then six (6) which counts thrice from three (3) – that’s the cooler fire. Then, nine (9) which counts thrice from six (6) – that’s the monarch spire. Then seventeen (17), because twice thrice means three (3) doublings which is eight (8) and eight (8) plus (9) gives seventeen (17) – that’s the arriving chill. Then, twenty-four (24) which is seven (7) more than seventeen (17) – that’s the wild lives. Then, twenty-nine (29), which is five (5) more than twenty-four (24) – that’s the burning sands. Then, thirty-seven (37), which is twice thrice more, being eight (8) more, than the twenty-nine (29) – that’s the part about faintly warming all the lands,” Celio said.
“So the sequence is 1,3,6,9,17,24,29.37. What does it mean?” Anan said.
“Those are the numbers in the temple!” Jaguar said.
“What numbers? What temple?” Celio asked.
“Do tell,” Anan said.
“We found our way into a sun-worshipper’s temple. It was a cylindrical structure with an inner room,” Desmond said.
“And a trap!” Jaguar said.
“Yes. I owe a debt to Jaguar here for kindly helping me to avoid a rather unpleasant outcome,” Desmond said.
“What of the inner room?” Anan asked.
“There were statues in different positions, ranging from one (1) standing to thirty-seven (37) lying face down. They were arranged in rings, with thirty-seven (37), then twenty-nine (29), then twenty-four (24) down to one (1), like the sequence you just extracted out of that inscription,” Desmond said.
“Was the (1) standing, the thirty-seven (37) lying face down?” Anan asked.
“Yes. That’s right,” Desmond said.
“What does the sequence of numbers mean?” Anan asked.
“There are nine (9) blue suns – the part with the monarch spire. The sun-worshippers call them the sky’s nine (9) kings,” Celio said.
“I hope there’s more to support this interpretation,” Anan said, interested, but unconvinced.
“There are twenty-four (24) yellow suns – the part with the wild lives. They can’t be predicted, so that could describe them,” Celio said.
“You have a theory that fits the facts, but not proof,” Anan said.
“There are thirty-seven (37) red suns – the part with faintly warming all lands. They’re the weakest,” Celio said.
“The other numbers don’t fit the astronomy. Interesting theory, but I’m not convinced,” Anan said.
“They fit the number of statues in the sun-worshipper’s temple,” Desmond said.
“There is likely a connection,” Celio said.
“Not necessarily. There’s more than one way to interpret the verses of that inscription. For instance, twice thrice could also be two (2) triplings, which would give nine (9),” Anan said.
“What are the chances he would have come up with the same numbers as we saw?” Desmond asked.
“That’s evidence, not proof. Don’t throw away the idea, though. There could be something to it,” Anan said. He knew that this implied something substantial about the suns in the sky.
“There’s more to the story inside that temple,” Desmond said.
“I’ll bet there is. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?” Anan said.
“I will not go again and anger the sun gods!” Jaguar said.
“If you went once, and they didn’t punish you, why would they punish you for returning?” Anan asked.
“The sun gods forgive once, not twice,” Jaguar said.
“They allowed you to enter their glorious temple, and then you reject them by refusing to go back – is it not worthy of you? That refusal could anger them greatly!” Anan said. He studied many cultures and knew how to deal with primitive minds and get them to think differently in the context of their beliefs.
Jaguar looked stunned, as if the older man might be right.
“As you were there before, please lead the way,” Anan said, looking to Desmond, who was impressed at the older man’s cunning and persuasion.
Desmond began walking back up the stairs, and Celio, Anan and even Jaguar followed.
~~~
Deep beneath the city, the exchange was overheard by Serfex, who could hear their words through the hidden passages throughout Thalkalana. Nov’Talod was still with him, and still confined to his cage. He heard the conversation as well.
“These may be the first intelligent visitors we’ve had in a long time. Perhaps the jungle warrior may even learn something,” Nov’Talod said.
“Indeed they are. I shall watch as they attempt to discover what secrets of this city that I cannot,” Serfex said.
“Yes, your great age – three hundred (300) millennia now, isn’t it – grants you experience, but not cleverness. They, in one (1) lifetime, will outthink you in your three thousand (3000) lifetimes,” Nov’Talod said, trying to torment his captor.
“You speak as if your own cleverness brought you great fortune. Yet, you lacked the perception to avoid your present captivity,” Serfex said.
“A mistake I’ve more than paid for,” Nov’Talod said.
“You committed murder, more than once. You can never pay for that,” Serfex said.
“Their pathetic lives were wasted on contemplation of things far beyond their own intelligence. I moved them on to higher places. Perhaps they’ve reached enlightenment,” Nov’Talod said, callously remembering and mocking the temple monks, as well as many others that he murdered in his days of freedom.
“Your assessment of their intelligence gave you no right to deal death,” Serfex said.
“Even you were cleverer than those arrogant old monks. I must give you credit – the tiara you constructed was rather ingenious, even if it was deadly. And, that would make you a murderer as well,” Nov’Talod said, laughing hysterically.
CHAPTER 42: Crushed by a Hand of Stone
A portal opened and the Tidal Sovereign appeared on the waters of the Kazofen Ocean. Victoria looked out onto the waters, yet she saw no ships around her. She did, however, see an island nearby.
One of the light scouts said: “There are colossal warrior statues on that island – over four hundred twenty (420) that I can see.”
~~~
On nearby Ixilonotu Island in the Kazofen Ocean, were over four hundred twenty (420) colossal stone statues of warriors. Each was one hundred ten (110) f
eet in height, and they were scattered over the rocky island.
On that same island, there was also an outpost of Redfire Sentinels, watching the seas and the suns.
One of them was Pelathata, a fifty-nine (59) year old woman who was a drinker of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean. She saw the ship appear and recognized that it fit the description of the ship that other Redfire Sentinels had reported. She was quite sharp, always with her eyes on the sea and its dangers.
Pelathata had seen few storms despite her age, as the Kazofen Ocean waters were generally quite calm in terms of weather and very busy with transport ships. Up until recent days, many sailed these seas looking for the purest water to bring back and give to their expert crystal benders to enable them to drink of it and renew their powers to control the various forms of stone. Their control was exerted over the precious stones, such as diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire and citrine along with the base stones, such as granite, limestone, sandstone and many others. This was the ocean of wealth – often called the “diamond waters” – as it conferred the most lucrative benefits on those who drank of it, enabling them to extract the raw crystals from the ground and manipulate them into useful forms. This was the heart of much commerce throughout the world. Only now, in these days of many tempests, these waters were all but empty.
Pelathata was a practical woman – she knew that commerce had to happen, as a world at work was less likely to become a world at war. The high volume of work helped ease resource constraints and diminish the need for rationing. She intensely hated rationing, which was what she grew up under in the Jenaldej Empire. They never had shortages, of course, but they never had plenty, either, as the central powers of allotment were given to the resource coordinators to decide who got what and how much. She thought that this was no way to live, despite their philosophies. They avoided one form of shortage by careful rationing, yet they created another shortage: a shortage of freedom. She left the Jenaldej Empire at the age of sixteen (16) and went out on her own. She found a great many opportunities as a lookout on board sailing ships and excelled because of her focus and her high innate potential for the use of the Lujladia waters. Her services were held in high regard and she commanded a greater payment in the mining industry that employed her on their ships to light the way on their travels. She formed many friendships over the decades – actually, partnerships as she considered them. She was able to get easier access to more highly purified Lujladia waters, making her an even more effective light scout and lookout.
Pelathata had far sight – allowing her to see over long distances and around corners, including the horizon. She also had quick sight, enabling her to see fast moving objects and events. When ships were anchored, she kept a watch for both approaching storms and for the counts and measures of the extracted minerals for reporting. Some of the hired help would occasionally attempt to pocket the extracted diamonds for themselves rather than delivering them to the mining site operator, who had paid the costs to bring them along and accepted the risks of the operation, some of which were not nearly as successful, depending on the natural occurrence of the deposits. Thus, she saved many ships by avoiding the few storms there were and prevented a great many thefts. This proved to be a lucrative career. However, by the age of fifty-one (51), her reputation for far sight powers had caught the attention of the Redfire Sentinels who asked her to join. When she learned that they were not impoverished charity workers, but did receive ample steady payment by an unknown yet ancient-and-still-living benefactor, she accepted their invitation and had remained with them ever since.
Pelathata turned to a fellow Redfire Sentinel and said: “Haltavna, I see her. The ship of the Ahitan woman has arrived in these waters. Send the warning.”
Haltavna’Sytoris was a fifty-five (55) year old woman who drank the waters of the Atrejan Ocean, giving her the power to communicate with the stars. She was particularly strong in her power, and could read the positions and movements of the red suns very precisely. She knew where they would be at any point in the future and could discover where they had been in the past. They were alive to her – she felt something about them that suggested they had feeling, life, spirit and will. The red suns were the weakest of the suns, and the most numerous, numbering thirty-seven (37). Yet, they were vibrant for her, and Haltavna often felt as if they were trying to reach out to her, and befriend her. She mentioned this feeling before, in her early days as one of the youngest members to join the Redfire Sentinels at the age of only seventeen (17), and she was told that she had too fanciful an imagination and that her emotions were not fully under control.
On one occasion, Haltavna was even warned that she might be opening herself up to more than the messages of the suns, but to evil spirits who were trying to deceive her. She didn’t believe this, but never again mentioned her beliefs about the red suns. She privately opened herself up to them, and was rewarded with a growing and intimate friendship. Haltavna knew of the reports of the fallen yellow sun – the one known as Prince Kirdothet, who had come down to the ground and attacked mortals – so this only strengthened her conviction that the red suns, like the yellow suns, were truly alive. However, the red suns were benevolent toward her, and did not try to attack or speak unkindly to her.
Haltavna’Sytoris drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean in her vial and was energized. She reached up to the red suns and sent the message of warning. The message traveled to every other red sun, and then down to other Atrejan-water-drinking Redfire Sentinels around the world for all to hear.
~~~
On board the Everlasting Pain, Farovaxen heard the message from the red suns.
“The Ahitan woman has been seen again. She is in the Kazofen Ocean,” Farovaxen said.
“Set your course,” Pradrock ordered.
“Once again, into the demon’s grasp you lead us. So shall it be,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said, and steered the Everlasting Pain to the southeast. They remained in airship mode and headed toward the Kazofen Ocean as quickly as they could.
~~~
The tiara had been recently expended, so it needed to be renewed. Victoria also needed renewal, by rest.
Victoria retired into her quarters and her light scouts and dark scouts stood guard outside. Victoria slept and dreamed.
Her dream was of a lone blade striking her suddenly, wielded by one whose eyes were closed. She also dreamt of a burning light, not from the suns, striking her. She awoke, screaming in terror and agony.
Her guards heard her and entered the room.
Victoria then said to them: “I dreamt of being struck with a blade held by someone whose eyes were closed, and of a burning light striking at me.”
One light scout looked out the cabin window and around the cabin itself and said: “I see no person approaching you carrying a blade, and I see no one hiding here in the darkness.”
One dark scout looked around the cabin and said to her: “I see no one hiding in a false light, or carrying a blade. Nor do I see a burning light.”
Victoria then left her quarters and stood on the deck of the Tidal Sovereign.
The voice of the demon, Matatirot, spoke to her, saying: “Upon an island many stand. Colossal warriors formed from stone. Bring them under your command. Have them break each mortal bone.”
Victoria then held out her arms and the blue diamonds of the tiara once again glowed bright.
The still air turned to a breeze, and then to a strong wind and then to a dangerous gale. The calm waters began to ripple and then waves began to rise. The waves rose high and moved quickly toward distant shores.
One light scout said: “To the east, the waters are striking at the Glivoran Trail, and the bodies of the enemies are being carried out to sea. Over one thousand (1000) of them have been drowned in the tempest.”
A second light scout said: “To the west, the waters have assaulted the Road of Kovoxotu, and the corpses of the enemies are being swept away. Over five (500) of them have been killed in the storm.
”
Victoria was alarmed at these extremely low numbers.
A third light scout said: “To the north, the waters have flooded the continent of Revod, and the remains of the enemies have been washed away. Over fifteen thousand (15000) of them have been ended by the gale.”
“No! Not nearly enough! I want millions of them dead! No less!” Victoria screamed.
A fourth light scout said: “To the south, the waters have battered the continent of Ihalik, and the bodies of the enemies have been dragged out to sea. Over twenty-five thousand (25000) of them have been killed by the tempest.”
“They are preparing against us! They have moved their people away from the shores! What of the ships in the sea?” Victoria said, furious.
A fifth light scout said: “Around us, I see one hundred ten (110) ships, and the waves of water have sunk them. No less than thirty-three thousand (33000) of their crew have died.”
“This is an outrage! More must die! We must strike harder and faster!” Victoria screamed.
The voice of the demon, Matatirot, spoke to Victoria, saying: “Calm the seas to lure them here. Let them think you are at rest. When the enemy does appear, awaken stone to end their quest.”
Victoria lowered her arms, and the tempest ended. The waves of water gave way to calm seas and the winds died down to a breeze, and then the air became still.
~~~
The Everlasting Pain, followed by the Feasting Dragons fleet, arrived at the eastern coast of the Road of Kovoxotu land bridge, overlooking the Kazofen Ocean.
“The seas are calm. We may have arrived too late,” Pradrock said.
“Too bad. I was rather hoping for another chance have you bring ruin to this ship,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.
“Always glad to disappoint you,” Akantha said to him.
The other Redfire Sentinel on board the Everlasting Pain was Va’Qileren. He drank anew of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean that he kept in a vial. He was energized and looked out at a great distance, turning to look in many directions.
“We are not too late. I see the ship – Victoria is still here, toward the southeast,” Va’Qileren said, pointing in the direction along which he saw her.
