"Mommy, mommy, it`s too loose, it`ll fall off for sure!"
Aliya sighed and set her glass down on her bedroom nightstand. Both of her hands liberated, she squatted down in front of Jade, her six year old daughter, and started adjusting the straps around her tiny waist. Jade jerked back slightly at the touch of her mother`s breath, rank with alcohol, but remained quiet while her mother`s unsteady hands made a better fit of her costume. When Aliya was satisfied, she stood back up and took her glass back into her hand. Jade still believed her clothing could have been a bit more accommodating, but her mother seemed to be in one of her "moods", so Jade decided she would just bother her coach after she got to the recital.
As she took another sip of her drink, Aliya`s focus on her daughter suddenly doubled in its intensity. Jade, placed under the increasingly scrutinizing glare of her mother, felt herself shrink a bit inside. To Aliya`s attentions, it was like something had suddenly changed with Jade, like there was some great alteration in her daughter that she had somehow managed to miss until now.
"Jade..."
"Yes, mommy?"
"Have you.. bathed yet, honey?"
Jade felt a bit nervous, but she couldn`t help sounding a bit offended. "Of course, mommy!"
No, that wasn`t it. To most anyone, Jade looked like a cute little girl, like a miniature version of her mother: same rich-brown hair, same deep blue eyes, and a perfect face marred only here and there by the genetics of her father. But to her mother, something seemed different. She`s becoming uglier by the day. Aliya thought to herself. She tried to keep the pained expression from her face. What is happening to my baby?
Suddenly, the large, wall mounted video screen behind Aliya beeped loudly and lit up -- printed clearly on the screen in flashing yellow letters were the words "incoming call." Aliya turned to the monitor in surprise, and Jade suddenly felt like she wanted to be anywhere but here. She was thankful, then when Aliya ushered her out of the room because of "an important call." When Jade had shut the door behind herself, Aliya gathered her wits and commanded the call through with a quick, spoken command. The screen blipped quietly, and suddenly the face of a balding, sullen looking man appeared.
"Ms. Coral, glad to see you. Do you.."
"Cut to the chase, Eriks. My daughter has a musical recital tonight and we`re already running late."
The balding man bowed slightly. "My apologies. We`ve been in correspondence with..."
"Eriks." Aliya`s voice suddenly became very stern. "Do you have any information about my husband or not?"
Eriks swallowed hard and tried to avert his eyes from Aliya, knowing full well that the news he had was not going to please his employer. "The same story, I`m afraid. Dr. Coral was working on some derivative of the Mana Prism, but all information as to his purpose and whereabouts were lost during the Cleansing War.."
"Bullshit." Aliya said abruptly, and took a long draught on her drink. This was pause enough that Jade, who was waiting outside her mother`s bedroom patiently, peeked her head in anxiously, afraid that this secretive business might make her late for her recital. Aliya looked over her shoulder, sensing her daughter`s entry, and glared that motherly glared until Jade sheepishly disappeared from the door crack again. Turning back to the video screen, Aliya continued the conversation. "Whatever project the Kingdom thought was important enough to separate my husband from his family is apparently a closely guarded secret, but if they think that`s good enough to put me off..."
"Ma`am, to their credit, this turn in the project was obviously spearheaded by Archbishop Meres`s administration and has little or nothing to do with the crown."
"Eriks, are you suggesting I believe their stories about my husband`s laboratory being destroyed in a storm? And yet they can`t even tell me where this storm was? They don`t even have the balls to blame his disappearance on the war."
"..all the more reason to contemplate the possible truth in their claims.."
"Eriks, this isn`t good enough. Either you go back and get some real information, or you`re fired."
Eriks`s eyes suddenly widened. "Ms. Coral, please, you must understand, no matter how much money you throw at this, it`s not going to change. The government is telling the truth! Please, just consider..."
A dangerous light flashed in Aliya`s eyes. "Eriks, are you telling me there`s nothing more for you to find?"
"Y.. yes, ma`am."
"Then you`re fired."
Eriks only had time to take in the breath that would voice his protest before Aliya uttered the one word command to shut her monitor off. Almost immediately, the yellow letters flashed back on again, signaling that there was another incoming call from Eriks, but Aliya chose to ignore it. She drained the last of her glass into her mouth, pondering to herself what steps she would take next. As she set the emptied glass back on her nightstand, she perceived the slight vibration of her bedroom door.
"All right, Jade." Aliya called out, opening her closet door to fetch her fur coat. "I`m ready to go."
* * *
Aliya waited impatiently for the recital to begin, but it seemed an eternity. The old-fashioned red velvet curtains were drawn closed now, and according to the program in hand, which was printed on thick, expensive paper with a ribbon of lace running down the seam, the show should have started thirty minutes ago. Most people wouldn`t have minded the late too much given Aliya`s surroundings -- a balcony, in a velvety couch large enough for her to lay down on, and then some. Lucca Private School was the most expensive private school in all of Truce, probably all of Guardia (Of course, it was one of the only private schools in all of Guardia), and it had its perks. Additionally, being part of the most prestigious family in the most prestigious school in all of Guardia came with additional perks. Yet all in all, Aliya was just dying for another drink, and that was a perk that was most certainly not provided in the Lucca Auditorium, no matter how prestigious the family. Aliya kneaded the fabric of her cashmere sweater impatiently as she waited for the performance, which would probably seem another eternity in itself.
At some time between 7:30 and eternity, Aliya was joined on the balcony by another. The second person approached cautiously, perhaps unsure of who was sharing the balcony, but then sat down relieved upon seeing who her company would be. Aliya looked to her new visitor in surprise, and suppressed a groan.
"Hello, Nicola."
"Hello, Aliya." The other woman said softly in a voice like cream, a small, almost nervous smile curling up the sides of her round face. To be fair, though Nicola could be a bit dense, Aliya usually enjoyed the other woman`s company: her husband had introduced them long ago and they had become fast friends. Nicola herself was a woman past her prime, a trophy wife to a former Parliament member who had retired to Truce. Though the man was twice her age, Nicola managed to conceive a child with him (unless certain rumors were to be believed), and that child was right around Jade`s age: they were performing in this recital together. Still, even though Nicola was someone Aliya could call friend, she wasn`t in the mood for company right now.
Nicola, for her part, seemed uncomfortable and a bit shy. When it was obvious that Aliya had little to say, Nicola took it on her own shoulders to try and strike up the conversation. It started tame enough: How are you? Fine. Was your daughter excited for tonight? Yes, too much so. Ah, mine too.
And so it continued, Nicola leading a pointless conversation while Aliya fended it off with distracted answers. The conversation paused when there was a loud thump behind the curtains that echoed through the spacious auditorium: both women looked to the stage, half expecting the performance to finally start. It didn`t. Aliya sighed heavily, her head sinking into her hands.
"Aliya?"
When Nicola spoke, the conversation suddenly shifted. It felt different, like a shift in the temperature just before a tornado. Suddenly off guard, Aliya turned to face her friend. "What?"
"I... Aliya, I`m worried about you?"
Aliya`s eyes lit up. "Worried? About me?"
"Yes."
"Why, in Spekkio`s name?"
"Well.. Aliya, I never see you anymore. You don`t even drive Jade over to our home anymore. And when I do get to see you, you`re so moody and.. brooding.. Aliya..."
"Well, you`ll have to excuse me Nicola, if I seem a little moody. I lost a husband in the Cleansing Wars, and my government won`t tell me why."
"See, that`s what I mean." Nicola said, scratching the armrest of the velvet couch with her long, fake fingernails. "Aliya, you`ve got to relax. Please. What`s done is done: Aaron is gone and.."
Aliya`s eyes flared up dangerously and to Nicola it seemed like she grew a foot in height. "Don`t you ever..."
Aliya`s words were cut off as suddenly the lights dimmed. The pulleys on the oversized theater curtains squealed as they pulled their load to the sides, revealing an over-elaborate, over-budgeted set that looked like a bastardized conglomeration of an ocean based prom theme and a holiday mall display. As the curtains settled at the sides of the stage, a musical introduction, played solely on the keys of a piano, played through the stadium speakers, and the first of the the uniformed dancers began to stray on to stage.
"Aliya..." Nicola attempted once more, speaking slightly louder to be heard over the music.
"Enough, Nicola." Aliya said dismissively. "Let me watch my kid."
Both women turned their attention to the stage: Nicola reluctantly, Aliya with determination. The girls came waltzing on stage like ballerinas in training, each one attempting a mostly failed pirouette as they crossed the center stage. They all wore the same thing, lacy uniforms with bared shoulders, knee length dresses, tights, and shoes, all in blinding white. Aliya barely caught her own daughter entering the stage, and that feeling of wrongness washed over her again. Jade seemed to be in perfect step with the other girls, but to Aliya something seemed wrong.. she lacked the radiance, the grace, of her peers. She appeared to be stumbling on stage, to be one beat away from sprawling on her face, after which the other children would either ridicule her or pretend she never existed. Jade had only taken up dancing because her mother had loved to dance herself, but now Aliya wished she had never let her daughter know about it, just to save the little girl from this embarrassment.
When all the children had their places, they folded their arms before them and bowed, which resulted in the amorous applause of all the parents present. Then, one of the girls stepped forward towards the hanging mic at the center of the stage. The girls then began to sing, clearly lead by the girl in front. Unsurprisingly, the lead singer was Nicola`s daughter, who was blessed not only with the looks that her mother had in her younger days, but also with her silky voice. Aliya`s eyes darted from Nicola`s child to her own, and even though the chorus, from the balcony, should have sounded like seventy little girls trying to carry one tune, Aliya could only hear the voice of her daughter: on key, but somehow wrong, somehow ugly. The lyrics of the music seemed to blend into one discorded hum that made the inside of Aliya`s ears ache.
What is wrong with her? The question persisted in Aliya`s head through the performance, and continued to haunt her after the performance as she waited patiently in the balcony, where Jade was supposed to meet her after she dressed. Nicola also waited, explaining meekly that she had told her own daughter to meet her in the same place, but she remained perfectly silent save that one comment. Both girls entered the balcony together, excitedly discussing their earlier performance, but when they saw their mothers they both fell silent, as if the mood in that balcony were heavy enough to pin their tongues to their jaws.
Nicola noticed the girls first, but it was Aliya who stood up and regarded them both with a sideways smile. That smile felt to Aliya like lifting a barbell up with her lips. Even seeing the two girls together, that out of place aura around Jade persisted. "Ready to go home, darling?"
Jade nodded meekly, looked towards the floor, and reached her hand towards her mother. Aliya grabbed it without saying another word and lead her daughter towards the auditorium exit, not sparing her another glance. Nicola and her daughter followed close behind.
At some time between 7:30 and eternity, Aliya was joined on the balcony by another. The second person approached cautiously, perhaps unsure of who was sharing the balcony, but then sat down relieved upon seeing who her company would be. Aliya looked to her new visitor in surprise, and suppressed a groan.
"Hello, Nicola."
"Hello, Aliya." The other woman said softly in a voice like cream, a small, almost nervous smile curling up the sides of her round face. To be fair, though Nicola could be a bit dense, Aliya usually enjoyed the other woman`s company: her husband had introduced them long ago and they had become fast friends. Nicola herself was a woman past her prime, a trophy wife to a former Parliament member who had retired to Truce. Though the man was twice her age, Nicola managed to conceive a child with him (unless certain rumors were to be believed), and that child was right around Jade`s age: they were performing in this recital together. Still, even though Nicola was someone Aliya could call friend, she wasn`t in the mood for company right now.
Nicola, for her part, seemed uncomfortable and a bit shy. When it was obvious that Aliya had little to say, Nicola took it on her own shoulders to try and strike up the conversation. It started tame enough: How are you? Fine. Was your daughter excited for tonight? Yes, too much so. Ah, mine too.
And so it continued, Nicola leading a pointless conversation while Aliya fended it off with distracted answers. The conversation paused when there was a loud thump behind the curtains that echoed through the spacious auditorium: both women looked to the stage, half expecting the performance to finally start. It didn`t. Aliya sighed heavily, her head sinking into her hands.
"Aliya?"
When Nicola spoke, the conversation suddenly shifted. It felt different, like a shift in the temperature just before a tornado. Suddenly off guard, Aliya turned to face her friend. "What?"
"I... Aliya, I`m worried about you?"
Aliya`s eyes lit up. "Worried? About me?"
"Yes."
"Why, in Spekkio`s name?"
"Well.. Aliya, I never see you anymore. You don`t even drive Jade over to our home anymore. And when I do get to see you, you`re so moody and.. brooding.. Aliya..."
"Well, you`ll have to excuse me Nicola, if I seem a little moody. I lost a husband in the Cleansing Wars, and my government won`t tell me why."
"See, that`s what I mean." Nicola said, scratching the armrest of the velvet couch with her long, fake fingernails. "Aliya, you`ve got to relax. Please. What`s done is done: Aaron is gone and.."
Aliya`s eyes flared up dangerously and to Nicola it seemed like she grew a foot in height. "Don`t you ever..."
Aliya`s words were cut off as suddenly the lights dimmed. The pulleys on the oversized theater curtains squealed as they pulled their load to the sides, revealing an over-elaborate, over-budgeted set that looked like a bastardized conglomeration of an ocean based prom theme and a holiday mall display. As the curtains settled at the sides of the stage, a musical introduction, played solely on the keys of a piano, played through the stadium speakers, and the first of the the uniformed dancers began to stray on to stage.
"Aliya..." Nicola attempted once more, speaking slightly louder to be heard over the music.
"Enough, Nicola." Aliya said dismissively. "Let me watch my kid."
Both women turned their attention to the stage: Nicola reluctantly, Aliya with determination. The girls came waltzing on stage like ballerinas in training, each one attempting a mostly failed pirouette as they crossed the center stage. They all wore the same thing, lacy uniforms with bared shoulders, knee length dresses, tights, and shoes, all in blinding white. Aliya barely caught her own daughter entering the stage, and that feeling of wrongness washed over her again. Jade seemed to be in perfect step with the other girls, but to Aliya something seemed wrong.. she lacked the radiance, the grace, of her peers. She appeared to be stumbling on stage, to be one beat away from sprawling on her face, after which the other children would either ridicule her or pretend she never existed. Jade had only taken up dancing because her mother had loved to dance herself, but now Aliya wished she had never let her daughter know about it, just to save the little girl from this embarrassment.
When all the children had their places, they folded their arms before them and bowed, which resulted in the amorous applause of all the parents present. Then, one of the girls stepped forward towards the hanging mic at the center of the stage. The girls then began to sing, clearly lead by the girl in front. Unsurprisingly, the lead singer was Nicola`s daughter, who was blessed not only with the looks that her mother had in her younger days, but also with her silky voice. Aliya`s eyes darted from Nicola`s child to her own, and even though the chorus, from the balcony, should have sounded like seventy little girls trying to carry one tune, Aliya could only hear the voice of her daughter: on key, but somehow wrong, somehow ugly. The lyrics of the music seemed to blend into one discorded hum that made the inside of Aliya`s ears ache.
What is wrong with her? The question persisted in Aliya`s head through the performance, and continued to haunt her after the performance as she waited patiently in the balcony, where Jade was supposed to meet her after she dressed. Nicola also waited, explaining meekly that she had told her own daughter to meet her in the same place, but she remained perfectly silent save that one comment. Both girls entered the balcony together, excitedly discussing their earlier performance, but when they saw their mothers they both fell silent, as if the mood in that balcony were heavy enough to pin their tongues to their jaws.
Nicola noticed the girls first, but it was Aliya who stood up and regarded them both with a sideways smile. That smile felt to Aliya like lifting a barbell up with her lips. Even seeing the two girls together, that out of place aura around Jade persisted. "Ready to go home, darling?"
Jade nodded meekly, looked towards the floor, and reached her hand towards her mother. Aliya grabbed it without saying another word and lead her daughter towards the auditorium exit, not sparing her another glance. Nicola and her daughter followed close behind.
* * *
The parking lot for Lucca Private School was also a luxurious affair -- five stories tall, air conditioned, and with more space than the rather exclusive school would ever need. Aliya and Nicola`s cars were both located on the first floor which was located, conveniently enough, on the complete opposite end of the auditorium as the balcony. This meant that the march from balcony to JetBike was a rather long one, and it was a walk turned into a journey by the insanely long, tense silence that accompanied it. No one, not woman or child spoke on the way. They moved at a brisk pace until they turned a corner towards the towering glass doors that separated the auditorium from the parking structure. There, standing directly in the doorway was an old woman, hunched over so that she was probably not even four feet tall. She was draped in a multi-colored afghan that looked abysmally domestic -- nothing you`d expect to see in the Lucca Private School. What she was here for was another matter entirely -- she could only be some girl`s grandmother, probably great grandmother, and here her family seemed to have abandoned her by the door. Squarely in front of the door, in fact.
Aliya tried to remain polite by standing in front of the door she was blocking, clearly indicating her attention to leave. The woman, though, seemed to be staring through the door and off into some uncharted distance, and was plainly unaware of the four ladies behind her. Finally, Aliya had enough and reached forward to gently grab the woman`s hand, trying to get her attention. Aliya felt surprised at the touch of the old woman -- even through her sleeve, her arm felt brittle, like dried mud, ready to evaporate at a touch.
"Miss, if you would please move, we`re trying to get through the door?"
The woman turned to look at Aliya then, and indeed, she looked as brittle as she felt. Her face was cracked as old, wet leather and her dark brown eyes looked like glass spheres that were barely settled into her head: Yet the eyes themselves took Aliya`s breath away. They looked ancient, older even than this woman could possibly be, like their possessor had already forgotten more than Aliya herself would ever learn. To Aliya it felt as if a spell had settled on her, freezing her to the spot, and it wasn`t until the woman spoke that it was broken. Her voice sounded like a rhythmic breeze through a treetop, but it was a far stronger voice than Aliya suspected the frail old body would have been capable of.
"Oh, I`m sorry dear." She said simply. She smiled, and Aliya thought the woman`s face might fall apart, or even crack into two. The woman slowly inched away from the door, and Aliya, still a bit dazed, approached it solemnly.
"Aren`t you Aliya Coral?"
Aliya bolted upright. She felt like she had had cold water poured on her head. And why? Why shouldn`t this woman know my name? Aliya could say nothing, though, only look at the woman, whose timeless eyes demanded her attention like two suns in a bare sky.
"You are. The beautiful, brilliant wife of the late Dr. Aaron Coral, I believe? Every nerd`s dream girl, I believe. You`re something of a legend, after all."
Wonder and confusion was mixed with sudden rage, and Aliya couldn`t stop herself before she took a step towards the woman, her face bearing an intimidating scowl. "What did you say?"
The woman look unfazed however. "Don`t get all touchy, dear me. I regard you very highly. Why, with your beauty you could have settled for any man in the web, and you settle instead for homely Dr. Carol." The woman smiled. "It must be love!"
Aliya was further infuriated. Nicola could sense it, and tried to lay a hand of warning on Aliya`s elbow, but the other woman brushed the hand away. "How dare you speak of my husband like that? He was a beautiful man!"
The woman nodded softly. "I`m sure he was to you, dear. But I actually knew him quite well myself. I don`t know if you know me..."
"I certainly don`t!"
"...my name is Havisham. I`m an old acquaintance of your late husband, bless his soul. I probably knew him before yourself. Just imagine the coincidence, us meeting here today!"
Aliya`s confusion and bewilderment won over her rage, and she felt quieted again. Nicola manged to gain a tighter grip on Aliya`s elbow.
"A real tragedy about his death. A freak storm, I hear, and right before the Cleansing War, though it spared him a glimpse of those troubled times, be thankful for that. I was actually in the area when it happened..."
"In the area?" Aliya shouted, with ferocity so sudden it startled everyone else save Havisham. "You know where he was?"
"Indeed." The old woman smiled and nodded. "Haven`t you been told yet?"
"No... no, but if you know, I would do anything to know myself! Please, just name your price.."
Already Aliya was digging through the pockets of her fur coat for a wallet, but the old woman just shook her head. "No need, dear. If anyone deserves to know, it`s you. If I`m not mistaken, he was working on the mana prism project, the one he started by order of Dr. Bekkler, to compare Gate`s simple five elemental magic scheme to the more complex thread based theory from Aryth. They had to build him a special laboratory, somewhere in the mountains but near the ocean..."
Aliya could feel beads of sweat popping out of her palms. "Yes... go on..."
"It`s to the south, I believe. East of old Zenan, very out of the way, on a fringe area of Guardia. Probably couldn`t find it without someone to show you.. but I believe it`s close to a settlement.. savage place, actually... but.. the name of the place was Demwerk, if I`m not mistaken."
It felt to Aliya like bolts of lightning raced from her heart through every vein of her body. "Dem.. Demwerk?"
"Yes, I`m sure of it."
"Th.. thank you!" Aliya almost surged forward to embrace the woman, but was afraid she might crumble to dust as she feared, afraid she might break this diamond of a woman. "What was your name again... ma`am?"
"Havisham, dear, just Miss Havisham."
"Havisham... I owe you a great, great debt. I believe you know where to find me.. if you ever need anything from me..."
The woman laughed lightly. "Oh, don`t worry about me dear, I have just about everything I need."
"Still.. don`t forget me. You are a woman wrapped in blessings, ma`am, and angel in disguise!"
The woman laughed. "Just glad I could help."
"Thank you so much!" Aliya said, and had her first genuine smile for days. She practically ran through the door to her vehicle, and was all Jade`s tiny legs could do to keep up. The ride home was quick and silent, but under a far different blanket than the ride to the auditorium had been.
When Aliya reached home, she almost immediately put Jade to bed, even though it was still half an hour to her bedtime. Two hours later, Aliya had made all the preparations she needed to travel to a small out of the way village named Demwerk, where she would remain for an undefined amount of time.
Aliya tried to remain polite by standing in front of the door she was blocking, clearly indicating her attention to leave. The woman, though, seemed to be staring through the door and off into some uncharted distance, and was plainly unaware of the four ladies behind her. Finally, Aliya had enough and reached forward to gently grab the woman`s hand, trying to get her attention. Aliya felt surprised at the touch of the old woman -- even through her sleeve, her arm felt brittle, like dried mud, ready to evaporate at a touch.
"Miss, if you would please move, we`re trying to get through the door?"
The woman turned to look at Aliya then, and indeed, she looked as brittle as she felt. Her face was cracked as old, wet leather and her dark brown eyes looked like glass spheres that were barely settled into her head: Yet the eyes themselves took Aliya`s breath away. They looked ancient, older even than this woman could possibly be, like their possessor had already forgotten more than Aliya herself would ever learn. To Aliya it felt as if a spell had settled on her, freezing her to the spot, and it wasn`t until the woman spoke that it was broken. Her voice sounded like a rhythmic breeze through a treetop, but it was a far stronger voice than Aliya suspected the frail old body would have been capable of.
"Oh, I`m sorry dear." She said simply. She smiled, and Aliya thought the woman`s face might fall apart, or even crack into two. The woman slowly inched away from the door, and Aliya, still a bit dazed, approached it solemnly.
"Aren`t you Aliya Coral?"
Aliya bolted upright. She felt like she had had cold water poured on her head. And why? Why shouldn`t this woman know my name? Aliya could say nothing, though, only look at the woman, whose timeless eyes demanded her attention like two suns in a bare sky.
"You are. The beautiful, brilliant wife of the late Dr. Aaron Coral, I believe? Every nerd`s dream girl, I believe. You`re something of a legend, after all."
Wonder and confusion was mixed with sudden rage, and Aliya couldn`t stop herself before she took a step towards the woman, her face bearing an intimidating scowl. "What did you say?"
The woman look unfazed however. "Don`t get all touchy, dear me. I regard you very highly. Why, with your beauty you could have settled for any man in the web, and you settle instead for homely Dr. Carol." The woman smiled. "It must be love!"
Aliya was further infuriated. Nicola could sense it, and tried to lay a hand of warning on Aliya`s elbow, but the other woman brushed the hand away. "How dare you speak of my husband like that? He was a beautiful man!"
The woman nodded softly. "I`m sure he was to you, dear. But I actually knew him quite well myself. I don`t know if you know me..."
"I certainly don`t!"
"...my name is Havisham. I`m an old acquaintance of your late husband, bless his soul. I probably knew him before yourself. Just imagine the coincidence, us meeting here today!"
Aliya`s confusion and bewilderment won over her rage, and she felt quieted again. Nicola manged to gain a tighter grip on Aliya`s elbow.
"A real tragedy about his death. A freak storm, I hear, and right before the Cleansing War, though it spared him a glimpse of those troubled times, be thankful for that. I was actually in the area when it happened..."
"In the area?" Aliya shouted, with ferocity so sudden it startled everyone else save Havisham. "You know where he was?"
"Indeed." The old woman smiled and nodded. "Haven`t you been told yet?"
"No... no, but if you know, I would do anything to know myself! Please, just name your price.."
Already Aliya was digging through the pockets of her fur coat for a wallet, but the old woman just shook her head. "No need, dear. If anyone deserves to know, it`s you. If I`m not mistaken, he was working on the mana prism project, the one he started by order of Dr. Bekkler, to compare Gate`s simple five elemental magic scheme to the more complex thread based theory from Aryth. They had to build him a special laboratory, somewhere in the mountains but near the ocean..."
Aliya could feel beads of sweat popping out of her palms. "Yes... go on..."
"It`s to the south, I believe. East of old Zenan, very out of the way, on a fringe area of Guardia. Probably couldn`t find it without someone to show you.. but I believe it`s close to a settlement.. savage place, actually... but.. the name of the place was Demwerk, if I`m not mistaken."
It felt to Aliya like bolts of lightning raced from her heart through every vein of her body. "Dem.. Demwerk?"
"Yes, I`m sure of it."
"Th.. thank you!" Aliya almost surged forward to embrace the woman, but was afraid she might crumble to dust as she feared, afraid she might break this diamond of a woman. "What was your name again... ma`am?"
"Havisham, dear, just Miss Havisham."
"Havisham... I owe you a great, great debt. I believe you know where to find me.. if you ever need anything from me..."
The woman laughed lightly. "Oh, don`t worry about me dear, I have just about everything I need."
"Still.. don`t forget me. You are a woman wrapped in blessings, ma`am, and angel in disguise!"
The woman laughed. "Just glad I could help."
"Thank you so much!" Aliya said, and had her first genuine smile for days. She practically ran through the door to her vehicle, and was all Jade`s tiny legs could do to keep up. The ride home was quick and silent, but under a far different blanket than the ride to the auditorium had been.
When Aliya reached home, she almost immediately put Jade to bed, even though it was still half an hour to her bedtime. Two hours later, Aliya had made all the preparations she needed to travel to a small out of the way village named Demwerk, where she would remain for an undefined amount of time.
* * *
The journey to the lawless land of Demwerk ended up being more convoluted than Aliya had expected. A southbound train got her close to Zenan, but no trains ran to Demwerk, nor did any major roads. Aliya`s journey to Demwerk was eventually completed by an old, dingy, rusted bus, which only held half a dozen passengers besides herself -- the back half was stocked with assorted goods that were being shipped, in a rather unorthodox fashion, to fringe settlements like Demwerk.
From the inside of a dust stained window, Aliya watched the unmolested plains of Guardia pass by. The further east they travelled the more barren the world seemed to become, morphing from lush green to dead browns. Every now and again the bus would pass and stop at increasingly seedy looking towns, though calling them towns might have been a stretch: it looked like some god had tripped and dropped a handful of imitation houses on the earth, and an unlucky few had decided that those houses would make good homes. Yet each passing town was not Demwerk, and at every stop one or two of Aliya`s fellow passengers would get off, until Aliya and the quiet bus driver were the only two remaining. As the small mountains off in the distance slowly grew in size, the bus pulled into another destination. It was the most frightening town yet -- to Aliya it looked like it should have been abandoned long ago, but the presence of two hulking men sauntering down the town`s pathetic excuse for a main street made it clear that this was no ghost town yet.
When the bus came to a stop, the bus driver stood up, looked towards the back of the bus, and confirmed Aliya`s worst fears with one word: "Demwerk."
After Aliya collected her luggage and walked off the bus, she watched her ride drive off towards the west, leaving a trail of smoke-like dust behind it. Aliya suddenly felt stranded and unprepared: in her small suitcase were a few sets of clothes and extra money. She had expected her destination, no matter how small, to offer some basic amenities -- somewhere to eat, somewhere to sleep -- but looking around now Aliya thought she might be lucky to get a glass of water. A quick search through her pockets revealed that her cell phone, unsurprisingly, got no service here.
A fine predicament you got yourself in, Aliya. Aliya wondered pessimistically. All your money can`t help you here. Still, the return trip was a long ways off, and Aliya had a job to do.
A quick walk down the dwarf dirt main street, which was no more than one hundred yards long, validated Aliya`s suspicions: a hot meal and a warm bed were not in the cards. There were only two businesses that Aliya could make out. One, a generic dry goods store with a broken window: it didn`t even look like it was open. The second was an equally unremarkable bar that seemed to be the only source of life in the town, though at closer inspection it really seemed to just be a slightly larger than normal house that someone decided to turn into a bar. Seeing no better place to start, Aliya cautiously made her way inside.
Aliya looked over the place, which wasn`t actually a bar, but just a large room with plenty of tables (and drinks) set out. The room was not packed, but there were a goodly number of men inside, and also a couple of Mystics. There were maybe two dozen, playing cards or nursing drinks. Not a single other woman was inside.
To the men inside, the entrance of Aliya grabbed there attention like an exploding flare, even though she entered as quietly as a mouse. It was like a sitcom, or a slapstick comedy, where an unlikely character walks somewhere they don`t belong and everyone and everything suddenly stops. Women were a rarity here, but Aliya was so uncommonly beautiful that most of the men of Demwerk would have sooner expected Celiose Cole to step through the door.
Aliya was intimidated, and for a moment she almost retreated from the building, back to the bus stop, where she could wait for the next opportunity to get home and then return here better prepared, maybe even with a hired escort. But just when caution was on the verge of defeating determination, the latter received a boost from an unlikely source: seeing the glasses of amber whiskey that the men were drinking from, Aliya`s hand shook slightly. A drink. I need a drink.
With sudden courage, Aliya strode forward in search of her own brand of nectar. It didn`t take long to find the man who could help her -- he was sitting behind a round table, a collection of half emptied bottles resting before him. He seemed amazed by Aliya`s approach, as if one of the Light Gods had returned and was ambling towards him.
"Whiskey." Aliya demanded. "I don`t care what kind, and I don`t care how much. Put it on ice and give it to me."
The server nodded and set to work. In seconds, Aliya had a glass of rank smelling whiskey with dirty ice floating about in it, and the price charged was three times what it should be, but Aliya didn`t care -- she took the glass gratefully, took one long drag, and sighed in relief. That taken care of, Aliya decided to start her investigation, and where better to begin than with this surly looking bartender wannabe?
"Sir?"
"Y.. yes ma`am?"
"I don`t suppose you could tell me anything about a laboratory around here, could you?"
"Excuse me?"
Aliya stole another sip and continued. "A laboratory. Guardian government stuff. I realize you don`t see a lot of the authorities down here, but.. well, I need to get to that place. I need to find it. I`d pay well for the information."
Aliya felt a hand fall gently on her shoulder and turned around to meet her new guest. It was a surprisingly young man, or at least he looked like a man. He was dressed only in baggy cargo pants and some sturdy boots, leaving the rest of his skin, which had a light blue tint, bare to the air. Running up the left side of his neck and up to his cheek were dark blue patches, almost like liver spots, and even his hair, a tangled mess of thin, filthy strands, looked dark green. He was thin, and his arms seemed a little too long for his body.
"Ex... excuse me... my lady.."
Aliya reeled back a little from the creature`s touch. If the fellow was offended by this, he didn`t show it. "What do you want?"
"You.. you said something about... a laboratory?"
Aliya set aside her revulsion of this creature long enough to listen. "Yes, yes I did."
"I.. I know where.. it is."
Aliya felt that surge of electricity bolt out of her heart again. "Where? Where is it? Tell me!"
"It`s.. in the mountains... I can show you..."
"Grale, you little urchin, leave that lady alone!"
The command came from a loud, boisterous, absolutely towering man who was beforehand drinking by himself at one of the round tables. He approached the curious little man, who seemed to shrivel away with the beat of each of his thunderous footsteps. "Grale?" The huge man said. "You leave her alone!"
"B.. but.."
"Leave her alone!" The large man recommanded, his voice booming like rolling thunder.
"Yessir." The creature said simply, and then scurried off like a little rat.
"Sorry about him. He`s half Mystic, and a Fionist besides. A double curse, if you ask me." The man said, looking back towards Aliya. He was smiling, but it was all but hidden underneath his tremendous beard. "Don`t believe you`ve been properly welcomed to the mining outpost of Demwerk."
Aliya felt slightly comforted by the departure of the creature named Grale, but though this man seemed friendly enough, his sheer size was comparably terrifying. "Thank you, sir."
"Oh, no need for words like sir and ma`am. My name is Greer. And yours?"
Before Aliya could even think twice, it slipped from her mouth: "Aliya Coral."
The large man whistled and straightened up slightly. "Mrs. Coral herself? So sorry about your husband. He was well known around here."
"I am starting to believe that everyone knew him but me." Aliya mused quietly.
"Couldn`t help but overhear, sounds like you`re looking for his old lab. Quite a spectacle, that. Don`t know what happened there for sure but.. quite a storm, ma`am."
"You mean you know where it is?"
"Where it was, sure. The perpetual storm. It`s a landmark, round here."
"The perpetual storm?"
"Haven`t you been told anything? The storm that took out your husband`s building, it`s never left. It just goes on, a-hootin and hollering just like the day it was born. But I reckon you came this far, that`s not enough to stop you, is it darling?"
A storm that never ended? How could the throne not know. "I must go." Aliya thought out loud.
"I thought so. My and my boys, we happen to be going by there for next week`s work. It`s poor company for a lady like yourself, but if you want to come along, I reckon it would be just fine. A fine batch of Spekkio`s followers -- won`t find no Ogans and the like with us."
The sudden kindness in such a barren place was surprising. In the back of her mind, Aliya knew she should be more cautious. But she was close, so close, and after a long and abysmal journey to the center of nowhere, a turn for the better was greatly appreciated. "I would pay you and your kind handsomely for this service."
The large man laughed gently. "No need. Dr. Coral was a good neighbor. I would offer nothing but the kindest service to you. We`ll be leaving tomorrow morning, from the old trail just behind this building. I reckon you`ll have trouble finding somewhere to stay, and I`m `fraid I can`t offer you a bed myself. But you can sleep in the lead wagon, if you`d like. It`s padded, and I can get you a blanket... it`s not what you`re used to, I reckon, but it`ll have to do."
"Thank you, Greer." Aliya found that she meant those words. "Thank you so much."
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
From the inside of a dust stained window, Aliya watched the unmolested plains of Guardia pass by. The further east they travelled the more barren the world seemed to become, morphing from lush green to dead browns. Every now and again the bus would pass and stop at increasingly seedy looking towns, though calling them towns might have been a stretch: it looked like some god had tripped and dropped a handful of imitation houses on the earth, and an unlucky few had decided that those houses would make good homes. Yet each passing town was not Demwerk, and at every stop one or two of Aliya`s fellow passengers would get off, until Aliya and the quiet bus driver were the only two remaining. As the small mountains off in the distance slowly grew in size, the bus pulled into another destination. It was the most frightening town yet -- to Aliya it looked like it should have been abandoned long ago, but the presence of two hulking men sauntering down the town`s pathetic excuse for a main street made it clear that this was no ghost town yet.
When the bus came to a stop, the bus driver stood up, looked towards the back of the bus, and confirmed Aliya`s worst fears with one word: "Demwerk."
After Aliya collected her luggage and walked off the bus, she watched her ride drive off towards the west, leaving a trail of smoke-like dust behind it. Aliya suddenly felt stranded and unprepared: in her small suitcase were a few sets of clothes and extra money. She had expected her destination, no matter how small, to offer some basic amenities -- somewhere to eat, somewhere to sleep -- but looking around now Aliya thought she might be lucky to get a glass of water. A quick search through her pockets revealed that her cell phone, unsurprisingly, got no service here.
A fine predicament you got yourself in, Aliya. Aliya wondered pessimistically. All your money can`t help you here. Still, the return trip was a long ways off, and Aliya had a job to do.
A quick walk down the dwarf dirt main street, which was no more than one hundred yards long, validated Aliya`s suspicions: a hot meal and a warm bed were not in the cards. There were only two businesses that Aliya could make out. One, a generic dry goods store with a broken window: it didn`t even look like it was open. The second was an equally unremarkable bar that seemed to be the only source of life in the town, though at closer inspection it really seemed to just be a slightly larger than normal house that someone decided to turn into a bar. Seeing no better place to start, Aliya cautiously made her way inside.
Aliya looked over the place, which wasn`t actually a bar, but just a large room with plenty of tables (and drinks) set out. The room was not packed, but there were a goodly number of men inside, and also a couple of Mystics. There were maybe two dozen, playing cards or nursing drinks. Not a single other woman was inside.
To the men inside, the entrance of Aliya grabbed there attention like an exploding flare, even though she entered as quietly as a mouse. It was like a sitcom, or a slapstick comedy, where an unlikely character walks somewhere they don`t belong and everyone and everything suddenly stops. Women were a rarity here, but Aliya was so uncommonly beautiful that most of the men of Demwerk would have sooner expected Celiose Cole to step through the door.
Aliya was intimidated, and for a moment she almost retreated from the building, back to the bus stop, where she could wait for the next opportunity to get home and then return here better prepared, maybe even with a hired escort. But just when caution was on the verge of defeating determination, the latter received a boost from an unlikely source: seeing the glasses of amber whiskey that the men were drinking from, Aliya`s hand shook slightly. A drink. I need a drink.
With sudden courage, Aliya strode forward in search of her own brand of nectar. It didn`t take long to find the man who could help her -- he was sitting behind a round table, a collection of half emptied bottles resting before him. He seemed amazed by Aliya`s approach, as if one of the Light Gods had returned and was ambling towards him.
"Whiskey." Aliya demanded. "I don`t care what kind, and I don`t care how much. Put it on ice and give it to me."
The server nodded and set to work. In seconds, Aliya had a glass of rank smelling whiskey with dirty ice floating about in it, and the price charged was three times what it should be, but Aliya didn`t care -- she took the glass gratefully, took one long drag, and sighed in relief. That taken care of, Aliya decided to start her investigation, and where better to begin than with this surly looking bartender wannabe?
"Sir?"
"Y.. yes ma`am?"
"I don`t suppose you could tell me anything about a laboratory around here, could you?"
"Excuse me?"
Aliya stole another sip and continued. "A laboratory. Guardian government stuff. I realize you don`t see a lot of the authorities down here, but.. well, I need to get to that place. I need to find it. I`d pay well for the information."
Aliya felt a hand fall gently on her shoulder and turned around to meet her new guest. It was a surprisingly young man, or at least he looked like a man. He was dressed only in baggy cargo pants and some sturdy boots, leaving the rest of his skin, which had a light blue tint, bare to the air. Running up the left side of his neck and up to his cheek were dark blue patches, almost like liver spots, and even his hair, a tangled mess of thin, filthy strands, looked dark green. He was thin, and his arms seemed a little too long for his body.
"Ex... excuse me... my lady.."
Aliya reeled back a little from the creature`s touch. If the fellow was offended by this, he didn`t show it. "What do you want?"
"You.. you said something about... a laboratory?"
Aliya set aside her revulsion of this creature long enough to listen. "Yes, yes I did."
"I.. I know where.. it is."
Aliya felt that surge of electricity bolt out of her heart again. "Where? Where is it? Tell me!"
"It`s.. in the mountains... I can show you..."
"Grale, you little urchin, leave that lady alone!"
The command came from a loud, boisterous, absolutely towering man who was beforehand drinking by himself at one of the round tables. He approached the curious little man, who seemed to shrivel away with the beat of each of his thunderous footsteps. "Grale?" The huge man said. "You leave her alone!"
"B.. but.."
"Leave her alone!" The large man recommanded, his voice booming like rolling thunder.
"Yessir." The creature said simply, and then scurried off like a little rat.
"Sorry about him. He`s half Mystic, and a Fionist besides. A double curse, if you ask me." The man said, looking back towards Aliya. He was smiling, but it was all but hidden underneath his tremendous beard. "Don`t believe you`ve been properly welcomed to the mining outpost of Demwerk."
Aliya felt slightly comforted by the departure of the creature named Grale, but though this man seemed friendly enough, his sheer size was comparably terrifying. "Thank you, sir."
"Oh, no need for words like sir and ma`am. My name is Greer. And yours?"
Before Aliya could even think twice, it slipped from her mouth: "Aliya Coral."
The large man whistled and straightened up slightly. "Mrs. Coral herself? So sorry about your husband. He was well known around here."
"I am starting to believe that everyone knew him but me." Aliya mused quietly.
"Couldn`t help but overhear, sounds like you`re looking for his old lab. Quite a spectacle, that. Don`t know what happened there for sure but.. quite a storm, ma`am."
"You mean you know where it is?"
"Where it was, sure. The perpetual storm. It`s a landmark, round here."
"The perpetual storm?"
"Haven`t you been told anything? The storm that took out your husband`s building, it`s never left. It just goes on, a-hootin and hollering just like the day it was born. But I reckon you came this far, that`s not enough to stop you, is it darling?"
A storm that never ended? How could the throne not know. "I must go." Aliya thought out loud.
"I thought so. My and my boys, we happen to be going by there for next week`s work. It`s poor company for a lady like yourself, but if you want to come along, I reckon it would be just fine. A fine batch of Spekkio`s followers -- won`t find no Ogans and the like with us."
The sudden kindness in such a barren place was surprising. In the back of her mind, Aliya knew she should be more cautious. But she was close, so close, and after a long and abysmal journey to the center of nowhere, a turn for the better was greatly appreciated. "I would pay you and your kind handsomely for this service."
The large man laughed gently. "No need. Dr. Coral was a good neighbor. I would offer nothing but the kindest service to you. We`ll be leaving tomorrow morning, from the old trail just behind this building. I reckon you`ll have trouble finding somewhere to stay, and I`m `fraid I can`t offer you a bed myself. But you can sleep in the lead wagon, if you`d like. It`s padded, and I can get you a blanket... it`s not what you`re used to, I reckon, but it`ll have to do."
"Thank you, Greer." Aliya found that she meant those words. "Thank you so much."
* * *
Though she was grateful for it, the night of sleep in the leading wagon of Greer`s convoy was less than pleasant. The seats were padded, but it felt like sawdust, and Aliya was sure she would have preferred sleeping in the grass, had there been some around. Her discomfort coupled with her anxiety for the next day was enough to keep her tossing well into the night, and she wasn`t sure she had slept at all when a large hand suddenly roused her. Aliya was momentarily afraid that someone from the mining town might have decided to take advantage of a relatively helpless woman resting in the wide open, but the man, though large and a bit scary looking, seemed friendly enough. His gargantuan face cracked into a toothless smile. "Hullo, Mrs. Coral. We be leaving soon."
As Aliya stood up, she felt her back crack in protest. Her jeans and sweater, the same ones she had been wearing yesterday, were starched by filth. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each: she was certain she`d be spending some of this scenic trip through the mountains napping. Aliya tucked her luggage under one of her arms and hopped down from the wagon. It was then that she noticed for the first time the motley assortment of men she was with. Unshaven, unwashed, almost neanderthal-looking folks, most with arms the size of tree trunks. Many were tying horses up to the lead wagons, while others were scraping out the trailing carts that were obviously meant for whatever they were mining. Most seemed to stop and stare at Aliya for amounts of time that could only be considered rude, but Aliya had to remind herself -- they definitely weren`t getting much company from the fairer sex, so she must look like a glass of cold water to a man dying of thirst.
Of course, that wasn`t exactly comforting either.
"Ah, Mrs. Coral, you look up and ready.`
Aliya turned to Greer and bowed her head slightly. "I`m a bit hungry, though. Where does one get food around here?"
"Don`t worry about that." Greer then patted a bag that was slung over his shoulder with one of his heavy, massive hands. "We`ve brought along all the provisions we`ll need. We`ll stop for breakfast after we get a start. There`s a few patches of grass and a stream at the mountain base where the horses can fill up, and that`s where we`ll be eating ourselves. Just hop on in somewhere -- you can ride with me now." Greer`s beard crinkled on top of his hidden smile and then stepped into a nearby wagon. Aliya could think of no better place to be, and certainly no one present that she knew better than Greer, so she leapt into the passenger side of his wagon, though the man was so huge that he actually left little room.
"Horses?" Aliya said, considering the beasts for the first time. "I`ve.. never seen one."
"Really?" Greer chuckled. "Well, I know back in the cities you`ve got them fancy robots and machines -- Dr. Coral had some himself, and that building o` his was the newest thing we`ve seen around here in some time. But we ain`t got no batteries or fuel, so our beasts have to do the work."
For the beginning of the trip, the horses fascinated Aliya. The creatures seemed both noble and strong, though a bit undercared for, but given their greenless surroundings Aliya supposed that was unavoidable. Aliya watched the creatures pull them along, a small convoy of four mining trains. She secretly marveled at the fact that she had never seen horses before. Yes, she was a city girl, and sheltered at that, she had to admit, but she`d been on the planet long enough that she should have had at least one opportunity to see a real life horse.
When the gang finally neared the mountain, Aliya spotted a few clusters of trees. Soon, Aliya could see the stream Greer had mentioned, and the scattered clumps of grass that the horses would need. Finally, when Aliya could take it no more, Greer barked a command and the trains all drew to a stop.
"Thank Spekkio." Aliya sighed. "Another few minutes and I thought I might faint..."
Aliya noticed that no one was dismounting. Hardly anyone actually moved. Instead, all eyes seemed to settle slowly on Greer`s wagon, or more precisely, on Aliya herself.
"What.. is it?" Aliya asked nervously.
"Sorry, darling." Greer said. Aliya could suddenly see that smile underneath his beard. She could see it very well. It sent a cold chill up her spine. "I didn`t think any lady would be stupid enough to come up to Demwerk, especially not one that`s rich and beautiful. That`s twice cursed, in Demwerk."
Suddenly, Greer`s meathook of a right hand lunged for Aliya. Overcome with shock and confusion, she was barely able to react, and Greer`s claw closed around her collar easily. Aliya thrashed against the arm, but it was futile -- her arms were like reeds beating against the side of an aircraft carrier. Greer only chuckled, low and menacing. In desperation, Aliya lurched towards one of Greer`s eyes, and was rewarded with a thumb planted firmly in the large man`s eyeball. Greer cried out in pain and started to push Aliya out to arm`s length, but Aliya pressed her attack, digging her fingers into the side of Greer`s skull and pressing her thumb into socket, leading with her thumbnail. The thumb slipped into the eyeball like teeth biting into a stubborn grape: Greer could take no more: he took a tight hold of Aliya`s sweater and tried to pull her towards him, but the shirt instead ripped half way off, freeing Aliya from Greer`s grip.
Greet began to cry out orders almost immediately as he clutched at his wounded eye. Aliya darted away from the trains, but she had not been an athletic woman since her husband`s passing, and the mountain hardened men of Greer`s gang were quick to catch up with her. Aliya turned towards the stream, hoping maybe she could beat the brutes in a swimming match, but she stopped dead when she found that that path was also cut off -- for there, standing between the stream and her, stood Grale, a furious fire in his eyes that stopped Aliya dead in her tracks no matter the peril at his back.
Grale growled and then leapt, and for a moment Aliya was certain that this was the end. But the half man, half mystic instead leapt over her, and like an arrow flew towards the three men who had been chasing Aliya. Though the creature-man was hardly half the size of any of them, he knocked the leader down with a furious kick to the head that probably left him unconscious. Grale did a graceful backflip from his kick and landed again on his feet, and it seemed to Aliya that two knives magically appeared in his hands. He dove at one of the other attackers and drug the knife across his ankle: the large man cried and then crumpled to the ground helplessly. The third and final pursuer made a move towards Grale, but Grale was already up again, and like a squirrel he leapt to one of the nearby trees. He clung to it for one moment, and then he pushed himself off towards his assailant, elbow first. Grale connected with the last man`s belly, knocking the wind from his lung and sending him to the ground with his friends.
Greer, still grasping his eye, had managed to run towards Aliya. He now had a weapon drawn, a spike club that he held before himself distrustfully. He regarded Grale with his good eye, but the blue skinned man stepped forward, placing himself between Greer and Aliya, and spread his arms out, a dagger dangling from each hand.
"She.. is mine." Grale said. "Leave here.. now."
"You little twit.." Greer said. He had his club raised for an attack, but Grale was faster -- much faster. He threw one of his daggers at Greer, though instead of puncturing the man himself, the dagger flew harmlessly into the club that was over the huge man`s head. Yet despite his large size, the small dagger flying into the club seemed to knock Greer`s arm back as if it had been shot. The mining leader nearly lost the grip on his weapon.
"Leave here." Grale ordered. As he spoke, he fetched another dagger for his unarmed hand from his cargo pants. "The next one.. won`t miss."
Greer growled, but Aliya could see in his eyes that he was struggling with a decision. Obviously, Greer had never known that the bothersome half man, half mystic was capable of such feats. But in the end, he decided that this treasure, this mere woman, was probably not worth the risk. Not when he still had his luggage with all her true riches in the wagon. "Boys... get you`re stuff. We`re heading back to Demwerk." Greer then lifted his club, leveling it towards Grale. "I`ll remember this, darling. Best not show yourself in Demwerk, or even these hills, again. Rot, for all I care, but I will kill you, fancy daggers or no."
Greer turned. Aliya watched in frozen terror as the other three attacks got up and returned to their trains -- one crouched while he walked, one hopped on one leg, and the last seemed absolutely lost. Slowly, they took their trains out of the patch of trees, Greer`s hateful eyes turning back every few seconds to see if Grale might have left the prized woman alone. He hadn`t -- the halfbreed stood before Aliya like a guardian angel.
Finally, they were out of sight, and Grale turned towards Aliya. The woman looked upon her rescuer in doubt. Had she just slipped from one menace to the next. She had managed to claw away from Greer; There would be no such luck with this half-beast. Aliya`s brought her knees up to her chest, trembling in terror.
"Lady... please... I won`t hurt you..."
"I`ve heard that before!" Aliya shouted.
"Please.. lady.. let me take you.. back to Demwerk... I`ll protect you. Get on a bus... go home. It`s too dangerous here." Grale took a step forward, holding one hand out. Aliya gave a small cry and scooted back. "Please, lady. This is not... just a mining town. There are bad people here. Bad people.. who do whatever they want."
"And what makes you different?"
"Please lady!... I want to help you!"
Aliya struggled to her feet. She was almost shaking too violently to stand. "I don`t want your help. And I can`t turn back. I must find see the place where my husband died. I have to see it with my own eyes."
"You shouldn`t, lady... it`s dangerous. But I can.. take you there. I know the way. I went there.. often."
Aliya`s eyes narrowed. "You? Aaron hated your kind. And I have no love for you either."
"I.. brought him food. Guardia.. offered me much.. to keep it secret, and keep the doctor fed. But it was.. my pleasure."
Aliya`s didn`t believe the bizarre, scrawny little man. Once bitten, twice shy. He reeked of queerness. "I will find it on my own. Leave me alone."
"Please, let me show you!" Grale implored, almost falling to his knees. "My home is in this grove and... I can get you a new shirt. You.. need one. And food. I have lots of food... fresh food! Please, lady, at least let me.. see you off clothed and fed!"
Aliya`s stomach suddenly grumbled, reminding her of her plight. She was unfit for mountain hiking, and she certainly couldn`t go back to Demwerk, not after what happened. So here she was, out of the frying pan and staring into the fire, and her only hope rested on a strange beast. If he wanted something from her, he could have taken already -- she had seen what this Grale had done to those attacking her. She would not be able to stop them. Yet she could not bring herself to trust him. Not entirely. "Very well." Aliya nodded. Grale took a small step towards Aliya, but she stepped back and shook her head. "Don`t touch me. Lead the way. I will follow."
As Aliya stood up, she felt her back crack in protest. Her jeans and sweater, the same ones she had been wearing yesterday, were starched by filth. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each: she was certain she`d be spending some of this scenic trip through the mountains napping. Aliya tucked her luggage under one of her arms and hopped down from the wagon. It was then that she noticed for the first time the motley assortment of men she was with. Unshaven, unwashed, almost neanderthal-looking folks, most with arms the size of tree trunks. Many were tying horses up to the lead wagons, while others were scraping out the trailing carts that were obviously meant for whatever they were mining. Most seemed to stop and stare at Aliya for amounts of time that could only be considered rude, but Aliya had to remind herself -- they definitely weren`t getting much company from the fairer sex, so she must look like a glass of cold water to a man dying of thirst.
Of course, that wasn`t exactly comforting either.
"Ah, Mrs. Coral, you look up and ready.`
Aliya turned to Greer and bowed her head slightly. "I`m a bit hungry, though. Where does one get food around here?"
"Don`t worry about that." Greer then patted a bag that was slung over his shoulder with one of his heavy, massive hands. "We`ve brought along all the provisions we`ll need. We`ll stop for breakfast after we get a start. There`s a few patches of grass and a stream at the mountain base where the horses can fill up, and that`s where we`ll be eating ourselves. Just hop on in somewhere -- you can ride with me now." Greer`s beard crinkled on top of his hidden smile and then stepped into a nearby wagon. Aliya could think of no better place to be, and certainly no one present that she knew better than Greer, so she leapt into the passenger side of his wagon, though the man was so huge that he actually left little room.
"Horses?" Aliya said, considering the beasts for the first time. "I`ve.. never seen one."
"Really?" Greer chuckled. "Well, I know back in the cities you`ve got them fancy robots and machines -- Dr. Coral had some himself, and that building o` his was the newest thing we`ve seen around here in some time. But we ain`t got no batteries or fuel, so our beasts have to do the work."
For the beginning of the trip, the horses fascinated Aliya. The creatures seemed both noble and strong, though a bit undercared for, but given their greenless surroundings Aliya supposed that was unavoidable. Aliya watched the creatures pull them along, a small convoy of four mining trains. She secretly marveled at the fact that she had never seen horses before. Yes, she was a city girl, and sheltered at that, she had to admit, but she`d been on the planet long enough that she should have had at least one opportunity to see a real life horse.
When the gang finally neared the mountain, Aliya spotted a few clusters of trees. Soon, Aliya could see the stream Greer had mentioned, and the scattered clumps of grass that the horses would need. Finally, when Aliya could take it no more, Greer barked a command and the trains all drew to a stop.
"Thank Spekkio." Aliya sighed. "Another few minutes and I thought I might faint..."
Aliya noticed that no one was dismounting. Hardly anyone actually moved. Instead, all eyes seemed to settle slowly on Greer`s wagon, or more precisely, on Aliya herself.
"What.. is it?" Aliya asked nervously.
"Sorry, darling." Greer said. Aliya could suddenly see that smile underneath his beard. She could see it very well. It sent a cold chill up her spine. "I didn`t think any lady would be stupid enough to come up to Demwerk, especially not one that`s rich and beautiful. That`s twice cursed, in Demwerk."
Suddenly, Greer`s meathook of a right hand lunged for Aliya. Overcome with shock and confusion, she was barely able to react, and Greer`s claw closed around her collar easily. Aliya thrashed against the arm, but it was futile -- her arms were like reeds beating against the side of an aircraft carrier. Greer only chuckled, low and menacing. In desperation, Aliya lurched towards one of Greer`s eyes, and was rewarded with a thumb planted firmly in the large man`s eyeball. Greer cried out in pain and started to push Aliya out to arm`s length, but Aliya pressed her attack, digging her fingers into the side of Greer`s skull and pressing her thumb into socket, leading with her thumbnail. The thumb slipped into the eyeball like teeth biting into a stubborn grape: Greer could take no more: he took a tight hold of Aliya`s sweater and tried to pull her towards him, but the shirt instead ripped half way off, freeing Aliya from Greer`s grip.
Greet began to cry out orders almost immediately as he clutched at his wounded eye. Aliya darted away from the trains, but she had not been an athletic woman since her husband`s passing, and the mountain hardened men of Greer`s gang were quick to catch up with her. Aliya turned towards the stream, hoping maybe she could beat the brutes in a swimming match, but she stopped dead when she found that that path was also cut off -- for there, standing between the stream and her, stood Grale, a furious fire in his eyes that stopped Aliya dead in her tracks no matter the peril at his back.
Grale growled and then leapt, and for a moment Aliya was certain that this was the end. But the half man, half mystic instead leapt over her, and like an arrow flew towards the three men who had been chasing Aliya. Though the creature-man was hardly half the size of any of them, he knocked the leader down with a furious kick to the head that probably left him unconscious. Grale did a graceful backflip from his kick and landed again on his feet, and it seemed to Aliya that two knives magically appeared in his hands. He dove at one of the other attackers and drug the knife across his ankle: the large man cried and then crumpled to the ground helplessly. The third and final pursuer made a move towards Grale, but Grale was already up again, and like a squirrel he leapt to one of the nearby trees. He clung to it for one moment, and then he pushed himself off towards his assailant, elbow first. Grale connected with the last man`s belly, knocking the wind from his lung and sending him to the ground with his friends.
Greer, still grasping his eye, had managed to run towards Aliya. He now had a weapon drawn, a spike club that he held before himself distrustfully. He regarded Grale with his good eye, but the blue skinned man stepped forward, placing himself between Greer and Aliya, and spread his arms out, a dagger dangling from each hand.
"She.. is mine." Grale said. "Leave here.. now."
"You little twit.." Greer said. He had his club raised for an attack, but Grale was faster -- much faster. He threw one of his daggers at Greer, though instead of puncturing the man himself, the dagger flew harmlessly into the club that was over the huge man`s head. Yet despite his large size, the small dagger flying into the club seemed to knock Greer`s arm back as if it had been shot. The mining leader nearly lost the grip on his weapon.
"Leave here." Grale ordered. As he spoke, he fetched another dagger for his unarmed hand from his cargo pants. "The next one.. won`t miss."
Greer growled, but Aliya could see in his eyes that he was struggling with a decision. Obviously, Greer had never known that the bothersome half man, half mystic was capable of such feats. But in the end, he decided that this treasure, this mere woman, was probably not worth the risk. Not when he still had his luggage with all her true riches in the wagon. "Boys... get you`re stuff. We`re heading back to Demwerk." Greer then lifted his club, leveling it towards Grale. "I`ll remember this, darling. Best not show yourself in Demwerk, or even these hills, again. Rot, for all I care, but I will kill you, fancy daggers or no."
Greer turned. Aliya watched in frozen terror as the other three attacks got up and returned to their trains -- one crouched while he walked, one hopped on one leg, and the last seemed absolutely lost. Slowly, they took their trains out of the patch of trees, Greer`s hateful eyes turning back every few seconds to see if Grale might have left the prized woman alone. He hadn`t -- the halfbreed stood before Aliya like a guardian angel.
Finally, they were out of sight, and Grale turned towards Aliya. The woman looked upon her rescuer in doubt. Had she just slipped from one menace to the next. She had managed to claw away from Greer; There would be no such luck with this half-beast. Aliya`s brought her knees up to her chest, trembling in terror.
"Lady... please... I won`t hurt you..."
"I`ve heard that before!" Aliya shouted.
"Please.. lady.. let me take you.. back to Demwerk... I`ll protect you. Get on a bus... go home. It`s too dangerous here." Grale took a step forward, holding one hand out. Aliya gave a small cry and scooted back. "Please, lady. This is not... just a mining town. There are bad people here. Bad people.. who do whatever they want."
"And what makes you different?"
"Please lady!... I want to help you!"
Aliya struggled to her feet. She was almost shaking too violently to stand. "I don`t want your help. And I can`t turn back. I must find see the place where my husband died. I have to see it with my own eyes."
"You shouldn`t, lady... it`s dangerous. But I can.. take you there. I know the way. I went there.. often."
Aliya`s eyes narrowed. "You? Aaron hated your kind. And I have no love for you either."
"I.. brought him food. Guardia.. offered me much.. to keep it secret, and keep the doctor fed. But it was.. my pleasure."
Aliya`s didn`t believe the bizarre, scrawny little man. Once bitten, twice shy. He reeked of queerness. "I will find it on my own. Leave me alone."
"Please, let me show you!" Grale implored, almost falling to his knees. "My home is in this grove and... I can get you a new shirt. You.. need one. And food. I have lots of food... fresh food! Please, lady, at least let me.. see you off clothed and fed!"
Aliya`s stomach suddenly grumbled, reminding her of her plight. She was unfit for mountain hiking, and she certainly couldn`t go back to Demwerk, not after what happened. So here she was, out of the frying pan and staring into the fire, and her only hope rested on a strange beast. If he wanted something from her, he could have taken already -- she had seen what this Grale had done to those attacking her. She would not be able to stop them. Yet she could not bring herself to trust him. Not entirely. "Very well." Aliya nodded. Grale took a small step towards Aliya, but she stepped back and shook her head. "Don`t touch me. Lead the way. I will follow."
* * *
The walk was a blessedly short one made by following the runoff stream through clusters of trees scattered around the mountain base. Aliya was expecting the worst from Grale`s home, but as the two drew upon it, Aliya set her eyes on something undeniably pleasant. Next to the stream was a small, sloppily handcrafted shack that was barely large enough to have one room. Surrounding it were lush greens, scattered flowers, and a fruitful, well cultivated garden that was about ten yards squared. Surrounded at all sides by yellowed grass and limping, pathetic trees, Grale`s little patch of life stood as a small patch of color on a blanket of desolation. Even the sun, before a bothersome annoyance above, seemed to coalesce with the cool, blue sky, into an entity that was pleasantly warm and cheerful.
"Just... wait here, lady." Grale said. He then disappeared into his small hut and emerged a few seconds later with a wooden bowl and a folded piece of fabric. He quickly unfurled the fabric, which was a shirt, and handed it to Aliya. She turned it over in her hands doubtfully -- the garment was universally ugly, colored a brownish green that reminded Aliya of changing Jade`s diapers years ago. Still, the fabric was surprisingly light and soft, and this was no time to worry about fashion.
Aliya started removing the tattered remnants of her own sweater when she noticed Grale again. "Could you turn around?" She said flatly. Grale started, looked around as if he was suddenly lost, and then nervously set the bowl on the ground in front of Aliya before turning around.
Still a bit suspicious, Aliya began to quietly take her ruined shirt off. She wasted no time in slipping the other one on -- it was a little tight and a little long in the sleeves, as obviously it was something made for Grale alone. But it was surprisingly comfortable, and a far deal greater than finishing the journey in shredded clothes.
Aliya nearly gave the half mystic permission to turn back around, but first she decided to spy at what was in the wooden bowl. As she knelt closer though, the smell alone pronounced the bowl`s contents, so that it was hardly necessary to look: The scentl of vegetables, so fresh that it was almost overwhelming, Onions. Carrots. Peppers. There were other, less volatile things in the bowl, but even the bits of potato inside had a smell of their own. They were all there, cut into pieces, laid raw in a bowl. Aliya took up the bowl and started nibbling on a carrot.
"Okay. You can turn around now."
Grale turned and saw Aliya, wearing his shirt and nibbling food out of his bowl. His face suddenly lit up. "Do you like it?"
"The shirt?" Aliya felt it with her free hand. It did feel great -- she wondered again what the fabric was made of. "It`s ugly, you know, but it will do."
"Ah.. and the food.. do you like.. my garden?"
Aliya, finishing one of the carrots, then picked out a chunk of onion. She wasn`t normally an onion person, but beggars could not be choosers. Besides, its freshness made it more than bearable. "Yeah, but.. don`t you ever cook this stuff?"
"Used to." Grale said. He squatted down on his haunches and regarded the bowl Aliya was using queerly. "Too many mistakes, though. They`re.. just fine this way."
"I used to cook up a pretty good stew." Aliya said. She picked out one of the potatoes. Raw, again, but oddly delicious. "Do you have any meat around?"
"No..." Grale said, and shook his head gravely. "We mustn`t eat... our fellow friends of the forest."
Fionist. Aliya thought to herself. In her head, the word sounded like a curse. "No matter. I`ll eat what I have."
Aliya did just that. There were bits of vegetables she knew she didn`t like, but they were somehow good enough that she ate them anyways. There were even a few things in the bowl that she didn`t recognize, and when she tried them, it turned she liked those best of all. The bowl wasn`t large, but it had variety and it was tasty, so when its contents were gone Aliya was satisfied.
The woman stood back up. "All right then. That was fine, but we should get started."
"Lady, must we.. so fast. If you don`t mind my saying... you look dead on your feet. It`s along walk.. through mountains. It takes many hours. Very.. tiring."
Aliya hated to admit it, but she was tired, incredibly tired. As the adrenaline left her body, it drained what little sleep she had managed the night before, and now with her stomach full she felt more drowsy than ever. But what was she supposed to do? Take a nap with this.. creature.. nearby. She had already fallen for the trap of a man, This seemed too convenient a setup for the beast. Had there been some kind of sleeping drug in her vegetables to add to the flavor.
"I don`t need any sleep." Aliya said coldly.
"But... I have a hammock in my home.." Grale gestured pleadingly towards his shack. "More comfortable.. then a pillow of rocks. Trust me. We can leave.. in the early afternoon.. and be there before night." Grale`s eyes looked up to Aliya pathetically.
It was true. There was no way she could march all day. She`d have to sleep sometime. The creature had given her food, had given her a shirt. He seemed pathetic enough. But don`t forget what he did to those men. A voice in Aliya`s head called out. The men who tried to rape you, the men who did rob you. Another, more reasonable voice claimed. He`s a Fionist tree-freak, for Spekkio`s sake.
This was ridiculous. Couldn`t Guardia have just put her husband`s research facilities on the edge of town or something -- or at least closer to normal people.
"Fine." Aliya finally conceded. "But I sleep light.. so don`t think of trying anything. Wake me up when we should go.. wake me up an hour earlier, in fact, just to be sure."
"Yes, lady." Grale crept up to his shack and opened the door. "Now go, go."
Aliya slipped into Grale`s home, almost completely unfurnished except for some tools in the corner, a small homemade shelf with his plates, bowls, and clothes on it, a singular, primitive painting hung on the wall and, of course, the hammock, strewn from one wall to the other. Aliya distrustfully checked its strength with her hand a few times then, satisfied, sunk into it. It felt like it was made of the same stuff as her shirt, and before she could wonder again where it came from, she fell asleep.
"Just... wait here, lady." Grale said. He then disappeared into his small hut and emerged a few seconds later with a wooden bowl and a folded piece of fabric. He quickly unfurled the fabric, which was a shirt, and handed it to Aliya. She turned it over in her hands doubtfully -- the garment was universally ugly, colored a brownish green that reminded Aliya of changing Jade`s diapers years ago. Still, the fabric was surprisingly light and soft, and this was no time to worry about fashion.
Aliya started removing the tattered remnants of her own sweater when she noticed Grale again. "Could you turn around?" She said flatly. Grale started, looked around as if he was suddenly lost, and then nervously set the bowl on the ground in front of Aliya before turning around.
Still a bit suspicious, Aliya began to quietly take her ruined shirt off. She wasted no time in slipping the other one on -- it was a little tight and a little long in the sleeves, as obviously it was something made for Grale alone. But it was surprisingly comfortable, and a far deal greater than finishing the journey in shredded clothes.
Aliya nearly gave the half mystic permission to turn back around, but first she decided to spy at what was in the wooden bowl. As she knelt closer though, the smell alone pronounced the bowl`s contents, so that it was hardly necessary to look: The scentl of vegetables, so fresh that it was almost overwhelming, Onions. Carrots. Peppers. There were other, less volatile things in the bowl, but even the bits of potato inside had a smell of their own. They were all there, cut into pieces, laid raw in a bowl. Aliya took up the bowl and started nibbling on a carrot.
"Okay. You can turn around now."
Grale turned and saw Aliya, wearing his shirt and nibbling food out of his bowl. His face suddenly lit up. "Do you like it?"
"The shirt?" Aliya felt it with her free hand. It did feel great -- she wondered again what the fabric was made of. "It`s ugly, you know, but it will do."
"Ah.. and the food.. do you like.. my garden?"
Aliya, finishing one of the carrots, then picked out a chunk of onion. She wasn`t normally an onion person, but beggars could not be choosers. Besides, its freshness made it more than bearable. "Yeah, but.. don`t you ever cook this stuff?"
"Used to." Grale said. He squatted down on his haunches and regarded the bowl Aliya was using queerly. "Too many mistakes, though. They`re.. just fine this way."
"I used to cook up a pretty good stew." Aliya said. She picked out one of the potatoes. Raw, again, but oddly delicious. "Do you have any meat around?"
"No..." Grale said, and shook his head gravely. "We mustn`t eat... our fellow friends of the forest."
Fionist. Aliya thought to herself. In her head, the word sounded like a curse. "No matter. I`ll eat what I have."
Aliya did just that. There were bits of vegetables she knew she didn`t like, but they were somehow good enough that she ate them anyways. There were even a few things in the bowl that she didn`t recognize, and when she tried them, it turned she liked those best of all. The bowl wasn`t large, but it had variety and it was tasty, so when its contents were gone Aliya was satisfied.
The woman stood back up. "All right then. That was fine, but we should get started."
"Lady, must we.. so fast. If you don`t mind my saying... you look dead on your feet. It`s along walk.. through mountains. It takes many hours. Very.. tiring."
Aliya hated to admit it, but she was tired, incredibly tired. As the adrenaline left her body, it drained what little sleep she had managed the night before, and now with her stomach full she felt more drowsy than ever. But what was she supposed to do? Take a nap with this.. creature.. nearby. She had already fallen for the trap of a man, This seemed too convenient a setup for the beast. Had there been some kind of sleeping drug in her vegetables to add to the flavor.
"I don`t need any sleep." Aliya said coldly.
"But... I have a hammock in my home.." Grale gestured pleadingly towards his shack. "More comfortable.. then a pillow of rocks. Trust me. We can leave.. in the early afternoon.. and be there before night." Grale`s eyes looked up to Aliya pathetically.
It was true. There was no way she could march all day. She`d have to sleep sometime. The creature had given her food, had given her a shirt. He seemed pathetic enough. But don`t forget what he did to those men. A voice in Aliya`s head called out. The men who tried to rape you, the men who did rob you. Another, more reasonable voice claimed. He`s a Fionist tree-freak, for Spekkio`s sake.
This was ridiculous. Couldn`t Guardia have just put her husband`s research facilities on the edge of town or something -- or at least closer to normal people.
"Fine." Aliya finally conceded. "But I sleep light.. so don`t think of trying anything. Wake me up when we should go.. wake me up an hour earlier, in fact, just to be sure."
"Yes, lady." Grale crept up to his shack and opened the door. "Now go, go."
Aliya slipped into Grale`s home, almost completely unfurnished except for some tools in the corner, a small homemade shelf with his plates, bowls, and clothes on it, a singular, primitive painting hung on the wall and, of course, the hammock, strewn from one wall to the other. Aliya distrustfully checked its strength with her hand a few times then, satisfied, sunk into it. It felt like it was made of the same stuff as her shirt, and before she could wonder again where it came from, she fell asleep.
* * *
Aliya did not sleep like most people. When she slept, her mind did not rest, but instead seemed to work harder. It was in sleep that rationale washed over Aliya. For the first time she let her situation sink in. Here, stranded in the middle of Gate with a mysterious half-breed, chasing a disaster where she would most likely find no answers. And her reward? A trip back to a little slice of hell called Demwerk where she would be lucky to get on the next bus out of town with her body completely in tact. She needed a drink, and that was something Grale was definitely not going to have.
But most of all she was frightened. It was on the sleepy edge of reason, lost in a sea of dreams that Aliya realized the futility of her chase. Uninhibited by emotion, she was reminded of a daughter and a life on the other side of this continent. She could take up Grale`s offer, use his protection until she got back on a bus, a bus back to civilization.
"But you can`t do that, now, can you dear?"
I can`t do that.
Aliya bolted awake, clawing in a panic for something to fend off the stranger who had awaken her. Her arm halfway towards Grale`s shelf, she looked at the newcomer for the first time: A woman who looked as old as the first rain, and who looked as wise as someone who had been alive even before then.
"Havisham.." Aliya said, her voice a hoarse whisper. "What are you.. doing here?"
"I came to check up on you." Havisham said, her weather face miraculously bending into a smile. "And a pity, too, to find yourself contemplating giving up already."
Aliya`s head swam with bewilderment. "You.. I was talking in my sleep?"
The older woman chuckled. "You could say that. It`s almost like I could see that determination of yours washing away."
"How did you get in here... where`s Grale?"
"Oh, don`t worry, he`s watching guard over you, dear. But I`m a hard girl to spot when I don`t want to be seen."
"I don`t get it. Who are you? Why.. why did you lead me here?"
"You need to find yourself, and this is the only place you can do it."
"What do you mean?"
"You have no idea who you are."
Aliya looked at Havisham, disbelieving. "I know exactly who I am. I`m a woman who lost her husband, someone who wants answers."
"Aliya, what is your maiden name?"
Aliya looked at Havisham blankly. What was wrong with her? Why could she not suddenly remember such a simple detail?
"Aliya... what was your mother`s name? Where did you grow up? How did such a fair woman come to prefer such odd things as computer games and science to dolls and boys?"
Aliya felt her mind ache, like some cavernous hole had just been carved in it. Some kind of sorcery had made its way there, and it felt to Aliya like she was suddenly empty, like some sorcery had taken a part of her life away. "...what are you?"
"I`ll tell you later, my dear. But please listen to me now. You can`t turn back. Not yet."
There was a knock on the door, and Havisham wasn`t there anymore. It`s not that she disappeared. More that she had never been there, that Aliya could not honestly be certain she had seen her at all. Her memory, and the uncertainty of that memory, felt to Aliya like a waking dream.
The knock repeated. "Lady, it`s past noon... we should be leaving now."
Aliya nodded to herself. "Yes. We should."
But most of all she was frightened. It was on the sleepy edge of reason, lost in a sea of dreams that Aliya realized the futility of her chase. Uninhibited by emotion, she was reminded of a daughter and a life on the other side of this continent. She could take up Grale`s offer, use his protection until she got back on a bus, a bus back to civilization.
"But you can`t do that, now, can you dear?"
I can`t do that.
Aliya bolted awake, clawing in a panic for something to fend off the stranger who had awaken her. Her arm halfway towards Grale`s shelf, she looked at the newcomer for the first time: A woman who looked as old as the first rain, and who looked as wise as someone who had been alive even before then.
"Havisham.." Aliya said, her voice a hoarse whisper. "What are you.. doing here?"
"I came to check up on you." Havisham said, her weather face miraculously bending into a smile. "And a pity, too, to find yourself contemplating giving up already."
Aliya`s head swam with bewilderment. "You.. I was talking in my sleep?"
The older woman chuckled. "You could say that. It`s almost like I could see that determination of yours washing away."
"How did you get in here... where`s Grale?"
"Oh, don`t worry, he`s watching guard over you, dear. But I`m a hard girl to spot when I don`t want to be seen."
"I don`t get it. Who are you? Why.. why did you lead me here?"
"You need to find yourself, and this is the only place you can do it."
"What do you mean?"
"You have no idea who you are."
Aliya looked at Havisham, disbelieving. "I know exactly who I am. I`m a woman who lost her husband, someone who wants answers."
"Aliya, what is your maiden name?"
Aliya looked at Havisham blankly. What was wrong with her? Why could she not suddenly remember such a simple detail?
"Aliya... what was your mother`s name? Where did you grow up? How did such a fair woman come to prefer such odd things as computer games and science to dolls and boys?"
Aliya felt her mind ache, like some cavernous hole had just been carved in it. Some kind of sorcery had made its way there, and it felt to Aliya like she was suddenly empty, like some sorcery had taken a part of her life away. "...what are you?"
"I`ll tell you later, my dear. But please listen to me now. You can`t turn back. Not yet."
There was a knock on the door, and Havisham wasn`t there anymore. It`s not that she disappeared. More that she had never been there, that Aliya could not honestly be certain she had seen her at all. Her memory, and the uncertainty of that memory, felt to Aliya like a waking dream.
The knock repeated. "Lady, it`s past noon... we should be leaving now."
Aliya nodded to herself. "Yes. We should."
* * *
The trip was every bit as long and tiring as Grale had hinted at, and then some -- Aliya had to ask to stop several times, and though Grale assured her that every break ushered the darkness closer, he promised he would take as much time as needed. The halfbreed had even taken the time to pack some provisions, like water and food. The water Aliya was especially thankful for, since she found that despite the cool mountain air, she was sweating constantly.
The "mountains" were actually more like large, barren hills, but they were still trying for Aliya. They scaled several hills, and after each one Aliya needed a breather. It was during these times that she actually found herself talking with Grale. The man beast, it seemed, knew Aaron Coral because he had actually served him meals, at Guardia`s request. They offered to pay Grale well, but Grale would have none of it -- he was more than happy to make the half a day march to resupply the good doctor. Why hadn`t they just given Aaron food, or put him in a location a little closer to civilization, and maybe a restaurant? to this, Grale had no answer. He just shrugged and said, "I guess they were trying to keep a secret."
Aliya tried to get more from Grale about her husband`s last months. According to Grale the doctor was distant. He didn`t seem to appreciate Grale or his company, and he didn`t like talking to him. He never came out and said it, but Aliya got the impression that Grale was not all that comfortable around Aaron himself. Not surprising, considering he had distrusted mystics of any type for as long as Aliya had known him. When asking about the last time Grale had seen Dr. Coral, the half-man became particularly silent, saying that her remembered nothing in particular.
When Aliya and Grale had peaked the fourth hill of the day, they stopped for their break at Aliya`s request. It was then, as she seated herself on the dry, cracked ground, that she heard it -- a crack, like muted thunder, except that as the thunder rolled its pitch suddenly went up as as it faded away. Surprised, Aliya glanced around until she saw it, further north: a mass of dark purple clouds, low to the ground, that glittered with forked lightning. She could barely see them -- the storm itself seemed to have almost settled on the floor of the valley beyond another two hills. And yet, from here, she could almost feel the storm`s atmosphere, like a dark blanket. Thoughts of turning back filled her head again: she felt suddenly certain that nothing but hopelessness awaited her over two more hills.
I can`t go back. She thought. Not now.
"That`s it...." Grale said, his voice full of wonder. "The perpetual storm."
Aliya no longer felt like resting: She stood back up and began marching towards the storm.
The "mountains" were actually more like large, barren hills, but they were still trying for Aliya. They scaled several hills, and after each one Aliya needed a breather. It was during these times that she actually found herself talking with Grale. The man beast, it seemed, knew Aaron Coral because he had actually served him meals, at Guardia`s request. They offered to pay Grale well, but Grale would have none of it -- he was more than happy to make the half a day march to resupply the good doctor. Why hadn`t they just given Aaron food, or put him in a location a little closer to civilization, and maybe a restaurant? to this, Grale had no answer. He just shrugged and said, "I guess they were trying to keep a secret."
Aliya tried to get more from Grale about her husband`s last months. According to Grale the doctor was distant. He didn`t seem to appreciate Grale or his company, and he didn`t like talking to him. He never came out and said it, but Aliya got the impression that Grale was not all that comfortable around Aaron himself. Not surprising, considering he had distrusted mystics of any type for as long as Aliya had known him. When asking about the last time Grale had seen Dr. Coral, the half-man became particularly silent, saying that her remembered nothing in particular.
When Aliya and Grale had peaked the fourth hill of the day, they stopped for their break at Aliya`s request. It was then, as she seated herself on the dry, cracked ground, that she heard it -- a crack, like muted thunder, except that as the thunder rolled its pitch suddenly went up as as it faded away. Surprised, Aliya glanced around until she saw it, further north: a mass of dark purple clouds, low to the ground, that glittered with forked lightning. She could barely see them -- the storm itself seemed to have almost settled on the floor of the valley beyond another two hills. And yet, from here, she could almost feel the storm`s atmosphere, like a dark blanket. Thoughts of turning back filled her head again: she felt suddenly certain that nothing but hopelessness awaited her over two more hills.
I can`t go back. She thought. Not now.
"That`s it...." Grale said, his voice full of wonder. "The perpetual storm."
Aliya no longer felt like resting: She stood back up and began marching towards the storm.
* * *
The last two hills were the longest by far, and yet with every step Aliya could feel herself sinking further and further into the essence of the storm. The very air was tense, like a brittle tree branch waiting to break. By the time she ascended the final hill, night had descended upon the mountains, but the valley below her was lit by a storm that would never fade: a swirling maelstrom of purple clouds that flashed with lightning. The odd, distorted sound of thunder escaped from the cyclone in bursts, every last clap queerly scaling in tone near its end. The top of the hill was a safe distance from the miniature storm, but Aliya felt the gravity of the place, threatening to suck her in if she merely thought herself too light. The storm seemed to push her breath back into her body.
"See lady?" Grale said, speaking louder to be heard over the storm. "This is what became of the laboratory... a small building, it was... small, to create something this size... but this is all there is, and it never ends."
Aliya stared into the storm, disbelieving. Here, this storm had existed for over two years. Even if Aaron had survived it, even if he found a pocket in the storm somewhere inside, he would be dead by another means by now. But this was not the answer Aliya sought. This was another question. An answer would ease her pain. Another question would only double it. She felt her mind wane as a tear welled up in her eye: she could not go on like this!
"Your answers are inside."
It was the second time that day that Havisham had appeared from nothing. Grale had a knife in both of his hands in one breath: he was not used to being snuck up on. The halfbreed stared at the old woman in amazement, but kept his weapons ready, waiting for an excuse to use them.
"Grale it`s.. okay." Aliya said half-heartedly. She turned to Havisham, her eyes pleading. "What is this? What is going on. You brought me here, I can feel that. But why?"
"I told you." Havisham said patiently. "To find yourself." One of the old woman`s frail, ancient hands gestured towards the raging storm below. "You must go inside."
"Lady cannot go inside!" Grale screamed at Havisham, and then she looked to Aliya with concern. "You cannot go inside. Birds that fly too close to the storm, they never come out. Their bodies are broken then swallowed. You would.. do no better. Please, lady! I`m sorry, lady! Please!"
Aliya smiled at Grale`s concern. She suddenly became aware that a part of her that was missing was slowly being restored, a part of her that made her feel very guilty for not thanking this misunderstood creature properly. She bent over to the stringy man and kissed him lightly on the nose -- his light blue cheeks almost immediately erupted into a blush.
"Thank you Grale." Aliya whispered.
Bravery, certainty, and longing suddenly surged through Aliya, and she felt like a deeply wounded part of her was slowly healing. No longer doubting, Aliya said nothing more and took her first step towards the storm. Grale watched silently, horrified, as his charge vanished into the chaotic torrent.
"See lady?" Grale said, speaking louder to be heard over the storm. "This is what became of the laboratory... a small building, it was... small, to create something this size... but this is all there is, and it never ends."
Aliya stared into the storm, disbelieving. Here, this storm had existed for over two years. Even if Aaron had survived it, even if he found a pocket in the storm somewhere inside, he would be dead by another means by now. But this was not the answer Aliya sought. This was another question. An answer would ease her pain. Another question would only double it. She felt her mind wane as a tear welled up in her eye: she could not go on like this!
"Your answers are inside."
It was the second time that day that Havisham had appeared from nothing. Grale had a knife in both of his hands in one breath: he was not used to being snuck up on. The halfbreed stared at the old woman in amazement, but kept his weapons ready, waiting for an excuse to use them.
"Grale it`s.. okay." Aliya said half-heartedly. She turned to Havisham, her eyes pleading. "What is this? What is going on. You brought me here, I can feel that. But why?"
"I told you." Havisham said patiently. "To find yourself." One of the old woman`s frail, ancient hands gestured towards the raging storm below. "You must go inside."
"Lady cannot go inside!" Grale screamed at Havisham, and then she looked to Aliya with concern. "You cannot go inside. Birds that fly too close to the storm, they never come out. Their bodies are broken then swallowed. You would.. do no better. Please, lady! I`m sorry, lady! Please!"
Aliya smiled at Grale`s concern. She suddenly became aware that a part of her that was missing was slowly being restored, a part of her that made her feel very guilty for not thanking this misunderstood creature properly. She bent over to the stringy man and kissed him lightly on the nose -- his light blue cheeks almost immediately erupted into a blush.
"Thank you Grale." Aliya whispered.
Bravery, certainty, and longing suddenly surged through Aliya, and she felt like a deeply wounded part of her was slowly healing. No longer doubting, Aliya said nothing more and took her first step towards the storm. Grale watched silently, horrified, as his charge vanished into the chaotic torrent.
* * *
Destroy the Defilers!
I can`t do that. They rip apart mana. They tear us to shreds. I cannot touch them.
You have to do something.
...
Then be done with it! Let them win, but leave us alone! Destroy the non-humans!
The world was darkness to Aliya, and then it lit up, like a row of stage lights being flicked on. The storm was gone, and in its place was an expansive light blue hall, like a palace. Thebean pillars towered overhead dozens of feet, holding up a marble stone ceiling from which hung an elaborate chandelier large enough to fill an entire room. The floor was covered by regal, red carpet which then flowed up large winding stairs that flanked both sides of the room. The wall behind Aliya was bare: not even a door marred its uniform perfection. And on the floor above, the balcony that could only be reached by those stairways, stood the most breathtaking sight Aliya could imagine.
"Aaron!" She shouted, racing forward to look up at her husband from the ground floor.
Aaron`s indescribably handsome face melted into a smile. "Aliya. You finally came."
Though the room was completely empty, from somewhere came the sound of a string quartet. Aliya almost instantly recognized the song.
Our song. she thought. The song itself was was an old heavy metal song that they had found they both liked. The song itself was surprisingly melodious, and sounded perfectly natural coming from a set of string instruments.
Aaron slowly, gracefully began to descend the stairs, and Aliya watched every step in adulation, though each step were part of a grand performance. Finally, he reached the bottom and walked to his wife, slipping one of his hands in hers.
"I never thought I`d see you again." She said, choking back on the tears.
He smiled and said nothing, instead wrapping his arm around her waist and beginning a dance to the melody. For the first time, Aliya noticed he was wearing a tux. He hated tuxes; his mother had barely gotten him to wear one on his wedding day, even though he looked absolutely gallant in it. She was wearing a dress herself, wedding white, with wide skirts just like a ball room dress.
They whirled around the room, alone in the universe except for the room and the music. Aaron`s dancing seemed impeccable: Surprising, since he had always disliked dancing, and further disliked Aliya`s love of it.
But it`s perfect. Aliya thought. She rested her head upon Aaron`s shoulder.
"Aliya?" He said.
Her reply was a whisper. "Yes."
"Sing for us."
Aliya looked up at Aaron with a soft expression. "Sing?"
"I gave you a voice like silk. I wanted it to be the most beautiful thing in the world. Sing for us."
Aliya replaced her head on Aaron`s shoulder. Something about his request didn`t ring true, and when she noticed it felt like the quartet missed a beat, But it was a perfectly reasonable request. She did like to sing, even if she didn`t do it often enough. She sang softly, so that even if the room was full only Aaron and herself could hear, but when the words escaped her lips they instead seemed to fill the entire room.
So close, no matter how far.
Couldn`t be much more from the heart.
Forever trusting who we are.
And nothing else matters.
Aliya slid into silence for a moment, and then Aaron`s grip on Aliya`s hand tightened "It`s beautiful. Please... continue."
Never opened myself this way.
Life is ours, we live it our way.
All these words I don`t just say.
And nothing else matters.
Trust I seek, and I find in you
Every day for us something new.
Open mind for a different view.
And nothing else matters.
"Please... go on.. Aliya."
That sense of wrongness swam again through Aliya, and for a moment she felt as if she were half awakened from a dream. "I.. don`t want to. Let`s just be alone in here, Aaron."
Aaron didn`t speak again. The two continued dancing, and the band continued playing. Yet as they spun about the room, the music seemed to suffer. Though there were no live accompanists in the room, one by one the different instruments seemed to stutter, and then fall away completely, until only the lonely, mournful sound of a violin continued. The tune was slightly off key, changing the tune from its appealing, confessional nature to something brooding and discordant.
Aliya sensed the made up world falling apart. The room transformed to a dreamlike palace to a strange and twisted place of cold metal and computers. The change made Aliya trembled, and she stepped back from her husband, who had grown clumsy and careless. Aliya looked into the face of the man she missed so much and gasped.
Where her husband once stood was a twisted parody. Aaron, whose inner beauty shined above all else, was gone, and what stood here was a whispy, homely man whose ears and nose were too big for his face. His thin blonde hair was shedding at the top of his head, leaving small, almost translucent patches. He looked sick.
"Aaron, what happened to you?"
He did not reply. He stood still as a statue. Aliya lunged forward to hold him, but she passed right through him, and the sudden momentum almost sent Aliya sprawling to the floor. She was stopped by a large, humming machine that Aaron had been standing in front of. Aliya instantly recognized it: The mana prism, her husband`s pride and joy, and the reason why Archbishop Meres had contracted Aaron for independent work.
"This is your husband`s facility, dear. Or at least, the memory of it."
Aliya turned around, and standing next to Aaron`s stone stiff body was Havisham. No smile was on her old face now -- she looked stern and concerned.
"What`s.. going on?"
"You are halfway home, Aliya."
"What happened to him?" She pointed desperately at Aaron`s still body. "What happened to my husband?"
"Nothing. That`s the way he`s always looked. You were just blinded to his ugliness. Now you see him the way others did..."
Destroy the non-humans!
"..and you are not deaf to his ugliness either. You may hear him the way others did."
Aliya scowled. "What are you doing to me? If I am dead, then let me die. Don`t torment me with this!"
Havisham walked forward, passing through Aaron, and stepped towards the massive machine. "Your husband`s mana prism started off novelly enough. A machine that could split mana up into its parts, an ingenious way of comparing the way Spekkio divided magic to the Glory Tower`s claim that all magic was made up of fabric."
Havisham reached forward and turned the machine on, and suddenly from one end that looked like a long turret there appeared several strings of light that danced on a thick sheet of metal on the opposite wall. Some were a lusterless silver and roamed aimlessly around the plate, while others vibrated with bright colors and crackled with energy.
"But he discovered something very dangerous in his studies."
Havisham reached forward and seemed to pick something invisible from out of the air, but as she drew it away from the machine`s turret and brought it closer to Aliya, the other woman could begin to just barely make it out: a thin, gossamer thread of gold, almost like a loose strand of a spider`s web.
"Humans have many names for this, dear. Coincidence. Destiny. Chance. Happenstance, divinity, predetermination. But this is most called by the name Fate."
Havisham let the thread loose and it floated softly back to the metal plate, where it rejoined its brothers. "Dangerous mana for any person to touch, your husband did so quite by accident."
Aliya drew herself back up and walked to the machine, where the mana strands were dancing against the metal plate. She held one of her hands up to touch them. The thin, gold strand started to float towards her hand like, but she brought her hand back down before it reached her.
"Do you remember, Aliya? Your maiden name? Your mother? Your childhood?"
"..no."
"Do you remember anything before Aaron?"
"..no. No, I don`t."
Aliya looked at her hands, finally beginning to realize. "What am I, then?"
"A dream. A wish. The woman Aaron thought of when he jerked himself off. The woman he saw himself marrying and starting a family with, no matter how out of his league she was. A woman who, despite being beautiful, saw him as a unique flavor just for her despite the fact that he was completely disregarded by almost all other females of his species."
Aliya turned towards the frozen statue of her husband. She circled him, regarding him carefully, then shook her head. "But.. even now.. there is something in him I love."
Havisham shook her head. "Aliya, you are not a complete person. Part of you was Aaron`s dream. And the other part of you is a part of me."
"You?"
Havisham nodded. "I am the sentient of Fate. A thinking part of mana, if you will, that few know of. And you are my daughter, born of me unwillingly by a wish made by a foolish, lonely man. But you are more dream than anything, Aliya, and now that the dreamer is dead, with every passing day part of what he was fades away, and left only with the gaps of yourself that you filled in when you were only a dream."
Aliya had begun to cry. She was past disbelief: everything Havisham said, she knew was true. "But why? Why did this happen?"
"Aaron wished for you. He also wished for success, which came surprisingly years later when Meres learned of the possibilities of the mana prism and gave him more funding and a secret facility out of the way of prying eyes to work in. It was here that he made his final wish -- to destroy Rajaat and the defilers that ravaged his homeland.
"It was something I couldn`t do, since the Defilers tore apart mana itself, I could not touch them. So he demanded I save Gate by finishing what the Defilers started, and destroy all the non-humans. I was a slave to his will, so I confess I would have followed the order, but the power of the mana prism was severed just in time..."
No, Dr. Sir! I can`t let you! I`m sorry, but I can`t let you!
Aliya flinched back as the blinding fast figure of Grale leapt on to the machine and knocked the turret to one side. In that instant, Aaron came back to life and turned to the machine with fury on his face.
Grale! How dare you! Get away from that now!
Aaron stepped towards the machine, but Grale continued his relentless attack on the machine. Aaron stopped mid step, watching in horror as the thin strands of mana wrapped around each other, creating surging braids, and then started to unravel again like a chain swing that was twisted up. The different colored strands began to leap and dance throughout the room.
Then everything exploded.
It was quick and brutal. The first blast threw Grale from the machine. The second one knocked Aaron on the floor brutally. Then, the strands of mana merged with one another until a small, purple ball began to throb. Aliya saw it then, the beginnings of the storm, concentrated into a ball the size of her fist. Grale awoke, saw what he had done, and immediately became frightened and fled. Moments later, the storm exploded around Havisham and Aliya, and they suddenly found themselves in the middle of it, a raging tempest of wind and electricity.
Havisham looked back towards Aliya, concern plain on her face. She spoke, and the sound of the storm was suddenly muted. "I am sorry, Aliya."
Aliya shook her head. "No... I can`t.. go with you. I want to live. I have a daughter, Havisham. You`d have me leave her alone?"
"If I leave you here, you will become a shell of a person. Your other half is with me. You can go back to your daughter, but she will grow out of favor in your eyes, as the shattered image of the part of her that is a part of your husband loses its luster."
"I love my daughter." Aliya said firmly.
"I`m sure you do. But you will lose that love, little by little."
Aliya could almost hear Nicola`s voice in her head right now. "You`ve changed." she said. And I have.
"You have a choice, Aliya." Havisham held her hand out. "But I believe you know already which path you will choose."
Aliya looked at the ancient hand, more ancient by far then she ever could have realized. Her mind raced in circles, treading the same thoughts over and over. Havisham.. Fate.. was correct. There was no where else to go.
I can`t do that. They rip apart mana. They tear us to shreds. I cannot touch them.
You have to do something.
...
Then be done with it! Let them win, but leave us alone! Destroy the non-humans!
The world was darkness to Aliya, and then it lit up, like a row of stage lights being flicked on. The storm was gone, and in its place was an expansive light blue hall, like a palace. Thebean pillars towered overhead dozens of feet, holding up a marble stone ceiling from which hung an elaborate chandelier large enough to fill an entire room. The floor was covered by regal, red carpet which then flowed up large winding stairs that flanked both sides of the room. The wall behind Aliya was bare: not even a door marred its uniform perfection. And on the floor above, the balcony that could only be reached by those stairways, stood the most breathtaking sight Aliya could imagine.
"Aaron!" She shouted, racing forward to look up at her husband from the ground floor.
Aaron`s indescribably handsome face melted into a smile. "Aliya. You finally came."
Though the room was completely empty, from somewhere came the sound of a string quartet. Aliya almost instantly recognized the song.
Our song. she thought. The song itself was was an old heavy metal song that they had found they both liked. The song itself was surprisingly melodious, and sounded perfectly natural coming from a set of string instruments.
Aaron slowly, gracefully began to descend the stairs, and Aliya watched every step in adulation, though each step were part of a grand performance. Finally, he reached the bottom and walked to his wife, slipping one of his hands in hers.
"I never thought I`d see you again." She said, choking back on the tears.
He smiled and said nothing, instead wrapping his arm around her waist and beginning a dance to the melody. For the first time, Aliya noticed he was wearing a tux. He hated tuxes; his mother had barely gotten him to wear one on his wedding day, even though he looked absolutely gallant in it. She was wearing a dress herself, wedding white, with wide skirts just like a ball room dress.
They whirled around the room, alone in the universe except for the room and the music. Aaron`s dancing seemed impeccable: Surprising, since he had always disliked dancing, and further disliked Aliya`s love of it.
But it`s perfect. Aliya thought. She rested her head upon Aaron`s shoulder.
"Aliya?" He said.
Her reply was a whisper. "Yes."
"Sing for us."
Aliya looked up at Aaron with a soft expression. "Sing?"
"I gave you a voice like silk. I wanted it to be the most beautiful thing in the world. Sing for us."
Aliya replaced her head on Aaron`s shoulder. Something about his request didn`t ring true, and when she noticed it felt like the quartet missed a beat, But it was a perfectly reasonable request. She did like to sing, even if she didn`t do it often enough. She sang softly, so that even if the room was full only Aaron and herself could hear, but when the words escaped her lips they instead seemed to fill the entire room.
So close, no matter how far.
Couldn`t be much more from the heart.
Forever trusting who we are.
And nothing else matters.
Aliya slid into silence for a moment, and then Aaron`s grip on Aliya`s hand tightened "It`s beautiful. Please... continue."
Never opened myself this way.
Life is ours, we live it our way.
All these words I don`t just say.
And nothing else matters.
Trust I seek, and I find in you
Every day for us something new.
Open mind for a different view.
And nothing else matters.
"Please... go on.. Aliya."
That sense of wrongness swam again through Aliya, and for a moment she felt as if she were half awakened from a dream. "I.. don`t want to. Let`s just be alone in here, Aaron."
Aaron didn`t speak again. The two continued dancing, and the band continued playing. Yet as they spun about the room, the music seemed to suffer. Though there were no live accompanists in the room, one by one the different instruments seemed to stutter, and then fall away completely, until only the lonely, mournful sound of a violin continued. The tune was slightly off key, changing the tune from its appealing, confessional nature to something brooding and discordant.
Aliya sensed the made up world falling apart. The room transformed to a dreamlike palace to a strange and twisted place of cold metal and computers. The change made Aliya trembled, and she stepped back from her husband, who had grown clumsy and careless. Aliya looked into the face of the man she missed so much and gasped.
Where her husband once stood was a twisted parody. Aaron, whose inner beauty shined above all else, was gone, and what stood here was a whispy, homely man whose ears and nose were too big for his face. His thin blonde hair was shedding at the top of his head, leaving small, almost translucent patches. He looked sick.
"Aaron, what happened to you?"
He did not reply. He stood still as a statue. Aliya lunged forward to hold him, but she passed right through him, and the sudden momentum almost sent Aliya sprawling to the floor. She was stopped by a large, humming machine that Aaron had been standing in front of. Aliya instantly recognized it: The mana prism, her husband`s pride and joy, and the reason why Archbishop Meres had contracted Aaron for independent work.
"This is your husband`s facility, dear. Or at least, the memory of it."
Aliya turned around, and standing next to Aaron`s stone stiff body was Havisham. No smile was on her old face now -- she looked stern and concerned.
"What`s.. going on?"
"You are halfway home, Aliya."
"What happened to him?" She pointed desperately at Aaron`s still body. "What happened to my husband?"
"Nothing. That`s the way he`s always looked. You were just blinded to his ugliness. Now you see him the way others did..."
Destroy the non-humans!
"..and you are not deaf to his ugliness either. You may hear him the way others did."
Aliya scowled. "What are you doing to me? If I am dead, then let me die. Don`t torment me with this!"
Havisham walked forward, passing through Aaron, and stepped towards the massive machine. "Your husband`s mana prism started off novelly enough. A machine that could split mana up into its parts, an ingenious way of comparing the way Spekkio divided magic to the Glory Tower`s claim that all magic was made up of fabric."
Havisham reached forward and turned the machine on, and suddenly from one end that looked like a long turret there appeared several strings of light that danced on a thick sheet of metal on the opposite wall. Some were a lusterless silver and roamed aimlessly around the plate, while others vibrated with bright colors and crackled with energy.
"But he discovered something very dangerous in his studies."
Havisham reached forward and seemed to pick something invisible from out of the air, but as she drew it away from the machine`s turret and brought it closer to Aliya, the other woman could begin to just barely make it out: a thin, gossamer thread of gold, almost like a loose strand of a spider`s web.
"Humans have many names for this, dear. Coincidence. Destiny. Chance. Happenstance, divinity, predetermination. But this is most called by the name Fate."
Havisham let the thread loose and it floated softly back to the metal plate, where it rejoined its brothers. "Dangerous mana for any person to touch, your husband did so quite by accident."
Aliya drew herself back up and walked to the machine, where the mana strands were dancing against the metal plate. She held one of her hands up to touch them. The thin, gold strand started to float towards her hand like, but she brought her hand back down before it reached her.
"Do you remember, Aliya? Your maiden name? Your mother? Your childhood?"
"..no."
"Do you remember anything before Aaron?"
"..no. No, I don`t."
Aliya looked at her hands, finally beginning to realize. "What am I, then?"
"A dream. A wish. The woman Aaron thought of when he jerked himself off. The woman he saw himself marrying and starting a family with, no matter how out of his league she was. A woman who, despite being beautiful, saw him as a unique flavor just for her despite the fact that he was completely disregarded by almost all other females of his species."
Aliya turned towards the frozen statue of her husband. She circled him, regarding him carefully, then shook her head. "But.. even now.. there is something in him I love."
Havisham shook her head. "Aliya, you are not a complete person. Part of you was Aaron`s dream. And the other part of you is a part of me."
"You?"
Havisham nodded. "I am the sentient of Fate. A thinking part of mana, if you will, that few know of. And you are my daughter, born of me unwillingly by a wish made by a foolish, lonely man. But you are more dream than anything, Aliya, and now that the dreamer is dead, with every passing day part of what he was fades away, and left only with the gaps of yourself that you filled in when you were only a dream."
Aliya had begun to cry. She was past disbelief: everything Havisham said, she knew was true. "But why? Why did this happen?"
"Aaron wished for you. He also wished for success, which came surprisingly years later when Meres learned of the possibilities of the mana prism and gave him more funding and a secret facility out of the way of prying eyes to work in. It was here that he made his final wish -- to destroy Rajaat and the defilers that ravaged his homeland.
"It was something I couldn`t do, since the Defilers tore apart mana itself, I could not touch them. So he demanded I save Gate by finishing what the Defilers started, and destroy all the non-humans. I was a slave to his will, so I confess I would have followed the order, but the power of the mana prism was severed just in time..."
No, Dr. Sir! I can`t let you! I`m sorry, but I can`t let you!
Aliya flinched back as the blinding fast figure of Grale leapt on to the machine and knocked the turret to one side. In that instant, Aaron came back to life and turned to the machine with fury on his face.
Grale! How dare you! Get away from that now!
Aaron stepped towards the machine, but Grale continued his relentless attack on the machine. Aaron stopped mid step, watching in horror as the thin strands of mana wrapped around each other, creating surging braids, and then started to unravel again like a chain swing that was twisted up. The different colored strands began to leap and dance throughout the room.
Then everything exploded.
It was quick and brutal. The first blast threw Grale from the machine. The second one knocked Aaron on the floor brutally. Then, the strands of mana merged with one another until a small, purple ball began to throb. Aliya saw it then, the beginnings of the storm, concentrated into a ball the size of her fist. Grale awoke, saw what he had done, and immediately became frightened and fled. Moments later, the storm exploded around Havisham and Aliya, and they suddenly found themselves in the middle of it, a raging tempest of wind and electricity.
Havisham looked back towards Aliya, concern plain on her face. She spoke, and the sound of the storm was suddenly muted. "I am sorry, Aliya."
Aliya shook her head. "No... I can`t.. go with you. I want to live. I have a daughter, Havisham. You`d have me leave her alone?"
"If I leave you here, you will become a shell of a person. Your other half is with me. You can go back to your daughter, but she will grow out of favor in your eyes, as the shattered image of the part of her that is a part of your husband loses its luster."
"I love my daughter." Aliya said firmly.
"I`m sure you do. But you will lose that love, little by little."
Aliya could almost hear Nicola`s voice in her head right now. "You`ve changed." she said. And I have.
"You have a choice, Aliya." Havisham held her hand out. "But I believe you know already which path you will choose."
Aliya looked at the ancient hand, more ancient by far then she ever could have realized. Her mind raced in circles, treading the same thoughts over and over. Havisham.. Fate.. was correct. There was no where else to go.
* * *
Back in Truce, a girl by the name of Jade Coral slept soundly in a twin sized bed at her grandmother`s home. The room had once been her father`s, and the bed had the scent of hay, but it comforted Jade. While her waking hours were muddled with thoughts of her mother, her new distant behavior, and the bizarre way she left one morning. But in sleep there was questions stopped, and her sleep was quiet and dreamless.
In the middle of the night, when Jade`s sleep was deepest, a figure appeared in her room and approached her. A beautiful woman with dark brown hair and deep, cobalt blue eyes. She was draped in the mists of dreams, and walked with the grace of endlessness. She made her way to the bed, dropped down on her knees, and laid her chin on the bedside so that she faced her daughter.
"Hello, Jade."
The beautiful girl in the bed did not stir. If anything, she sunk deeper into sleep, aided by a voice that was timeless and beautiful. Despite her sleep, though, the woman`s voice rooted itself firmly into her mind, where it would remain for the rest of her life.
"I`m so, so sorry. I have to go, dear. It won`t be easy for you to understand, and I`m afraid your silly mommy and daddy have thoughtlessly put you in a very difficult position. You`ll have to be strong, Jade.. but never forget that your mommy and daddy loved you very, very much. And even though Mommy`s not around, she`ll always be with you."
The beautiful woman leaned forward and gently kissed Jade on the side of the mouth. "I love you, honey. Never forget me."
Then the woman was there no longer. A single tear welled up in the corner of the girl`s eye and trickled a forked path down her face. When she woke up the next morning, the tear stain was still fresh.
In the middle of the night, when Jade`s sleep was deepest, a figure appeared in her room and approached her. A beautiful woman with dark brown hair and deep, cobalt blue eyes. She was draped in the mists of dreams, and walked with the grace of endlessness. She made her way to the bed, dropped down on her knees, and laid her chin on the bedside so that she faced her daughter.
"Hello, Jade."
The beautiful girl in the bed did not stir. If anything, she sunk deeper into sleep, aided by a voice that was timeless and beautiful. Despite her sleep, though, the woman`s voice rooted itself firmly into her mind, where it would remain for the rest of her life.
"I`m so, so sorry. I have to go, dear. It won`t be easy for you to understand, and I`m afraid your silly mommy and daddy have thoughtlessly put you in a very difficult position. You`ll have to be strong, Jade.. but never forget that your mommy and daddy loved you very, very much. And even though Mommy`s not around, she`ll always be with you."
The beautiful woman leaned forward and gently kissed Jade on the side of the mouth. "I love you, honey. Never forget me."
Then the woman was there no longer. A single tear welled up in the corner of the girl`s eye and trickled a forked path down her face. When she woke up the next morning, the tear stain was still fresh.