by Kyle West
“How did it get there to begin with?” I asked.
“Long ago, when Ragnarok first crashed into the Earth, it unleashed the power of creation. The Wild spread, and it was several decades before its growth slowed. It was during this time of explosive growth that the Two Seas were born: The Seas of Creation and Destruction. Their melding in the middle is what gave rise to the Xenofold.”
“Maybe that power of creation can be tapped into again,” Isaru said.
“Without sufficient quantities of ichor, it is impossible,” Isandru said. “Besides, we no longer have the means, as Hyperborea once did. And that is a good thing. Would that the Sea had never been found, and Hyperborea never built.”
Isandru saying this triggered my memory. “I had a dream last night — something that seemed to corroborate the fact that the Samalites had the Prophecy in their possession when they went north.”
“What dream?”
So, I told him, a bit more efficiently than I’d told Isaru and Fiona. Within a minute, Isandru had listened to and understood my words.
“Another clue,” Isandru said. “Even if the Prophecy is in Hyperborea, its ruins are vast, and would take days — if not weeks — to search. And that is assuming one were to survive the journey. It is far too dangerous — not when Colonia was the Prophecy’s last known location.”
“Hyperborea is impossible to reach, then?” Isaru asked.
“Very little is impossible...but it might as well be,” Isandru said.
“What can you tell us about the city?” I asked. “You lived during that time. You’re the only one alive who can tell us about it. It’s clear that it is the center of the problem the Red Wild finds itself in.”
Elder Isandru went quiet, seeming to brace himself for the question he knew was coming.
“What I mean is,” I said, “we need to know everything about it. Everything you know.”
“I can only tell you so much,” Isandru said. “Suffice it to say, most say the hubris of Hyperborea is what destroyed it, and they would not be far wrong. For Hyperborea’s pride, for its misuse of the Sea, many of its children were born disconnected from the Xenofold. I have told you before that ichor contains the collective memory of the Elekai — well, take that memory away, and it weakens the Xenofold. Our bloodlines have weakened...our connections to the Xenofold have weakened...and the Wild as a whole has weakened.
“This was noticed even during Hyperborea’s time. During the beginning of the city, a child being born Giftless was unheard of. Today, it is common. Gifts today are well-known to skip generations, and someone with three is considered blessed. Just to think, in those days, most children had the capacity to train all Twelve Gifts, so the fact that there were children being born that couldn’t manifest any was cause for alarm. They identified the symptom, but not the cure — it was realized, too late, that the draining of the Sea was causing the disconnect. Or perhaps Hyperborea blinded itself, such was its desire for power.
“A man named Rakhim Shal — a powerful Prophet — gave to the Elders of the original Seekers’ Sanctum the solution which they were looking for — a solution which did not necessitate their stopping the use of ichor. Shal proposed a plan that, today, would sound like madness — the creation of a separate Xenofold, one far more powerful than the Elekai Xenofold.”
“What do you mean, a separate Xenofold?” Fiona asked. “How is such a thing possible?”
“Hyperborea achieved the impossible. They prided themselves on it. Indeed, it was believed anything was possible with ichor, the very power of creation. With ichor, one is only limited by imagination in what they can accomplish. And that, in essence, is true power. No boundaries, able to do what you will. It was all possible with ichor.”
“Incredible,” Isaru said.
“This Xenofold, in fact, was created. It was powered by a massive tower, where the ichor of the Sea was hyper-concentrated. This tower — the Tower of Shal — channeled enough power for any person not born with one of the Twelve Gifts to be so imbued.”
I had been taught the Xenofold was the most powerful thing there ever was. It was spoken of with reverence, and it was the place where the old gods lived, and it was where the Elekai returned when they died. To say that Hyperborea had created an entirely new one was hardly believable — and tantamount to sacrilege.
“With ichor,” Isandru said, to fill the silence, “it is possible to imagine one’s way into building anything. Once one has had a taste of that power — it would require the world ending for them to give it up.”
“What happened after?” Isaru asked.
“The city lived on, and the Sea lowered. The Tower of Shal and the Thought Dome required so much ichor that the Sea was drained faster than ever before. And the Shen War was the final nail in the coffin, where the Sea was drained beyond any hope of recovery.”
“I can’t find much written about the Shen War,” Isaru said. “Most everything written about that time is pure speculation, and most of it doesn’t seem right.”
“There wasn’t time for people to write much of anything, then,” Isandru said. “And what was written was lost when the city finally fell to the Mindless.”
“Would that knowledge still be in Hyperborea?”
Isandru blinked. “If it wasn’t destroyed. But no man can reach Hyperborea without being killed by the Mindless. Men have often obsessed about Hyperborea to the point where they believed the city could be reached. And every time, they have been wrong.”
“But you might know a way,” Isaru said.
“Have you ever been back?” I asked.
For a moment, it seemed as if the Elder would answer. In the end, though, he just shook his head.
“We received word from King Taris, Isaru,” Isandru said, changing the subject. “He’s to arrive soon for a visit to the Sanctum.”
Isaru’s eyes widened; he didn’t seem to be particularly pleased about the news. “When?”
“We received the letter just a couple of days ago,” Isandru said. “I would have told you sooner, but with the Festival and then the attack...he is due to arrive at the end of this week. He also wrote that he had an important announcement.”
Isaru’s pale face blanched even further.
“What could it be?” Fiona asked.
“I have an idea,” Isaru said. “My training here was only supposed to be temporary. Something to instill a little discipline into me and keep me out of trouble...at least, according to my father.”
“Are you saying you’re leaving?” I asked.
“I can’t leave,” Isaru said. “I feel as if I’m only beginning to learn.”
“We Elders will do our best to persuade your father the King, if that is the nature of the announcement,” Isandru said. “However, even if you do have to go to Haven for a time, the Sanctum will always be open.”
“I will never be a Seeker if my father doesn’t will it,” Isaru said.
“Does he control your destiny?” Fiona asked.
“He does,” Isaru said. “I will do what I can to convince him, but he is...strong-willed.”
“As all kings are,” Isandru said. “He will be spending the majority of the visit with us Elders. Word of the dragon attack will soon reach his ears, if it hasn’t already. How he reacts to the news remains to be seen.”
“He may want me out of the Sanctum altogether,” Isaru said.
“The possibility exists,” Isandru said, “but your father is a man who can be reasoned with. You will have all of the Elders vouching for your continued training — at least until your apprenticeship.”
Isaru blinked. “That isn’t a sure thing, yet.”
“Your potential is great, and your progress so far has been amazing,” Isandru said. “The only way you will not become an apprentice is if you decide not to.”
“Or if my father decides.”
“Let we Elders take care of it,” Isandru said. “But back to Shanti’s point, concerning Colonia...”
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��Can we leave sooner?”
“There are many problems that need to be worked out,” Isandru said. “How to get in the Red Bastion reliably is the key.”
“So, how do we do it?” Isaru asked. “If the Prophecy is there, it will undoubtedly be under heavy guard.”
“That is why any plan to find it will need to be executed with great care,” Isandru said.
“Isaru has a point,” I said. “It’s hard to imagine how we could ever find the Prophecy in the Red Bastion. Common citizens aren’t even allowed in, except on official business. And if the Prophecy turns out to be missing the entire time, then that risk is for nothing. Do you know what they do to Elekai in Colonia? What’s the plan if we’re caught?”
“We still need more information,” Isandru said, avoiding my point. He nodded toward a book on his desk. “This book details the construction of the Bastion, and from its contents I’ve sketched a rough blueprint.”
As he opened a scroll and spread it across his desk, all three of us went around to look over his shoulder. A series of rooms, towers, and hallways had been detailed — multiple floors of them.
“It is large,” Isandru said. “A wonder of construction. There are ten floors, including turrets, battlements, and barracks for well over a thousand men. The bottom three floors are built into Red Cliff itself, holding the dungeons and storage areas. The Bastion was built by the Old Elekai from which to rule; a symbol of power to intimidate the local populace.”
“They really were different back then,” I said.
Elder Isandru said nothing, and I got the feeling that he believed the Elekai might not be so different today.
“Given the environment of late Old Colonia, it isn’t hard to imagine why the Annaran Covenant gained such control,” Isandru said. “In the end, the people changed their allegiance from one master to another. It is a highly complicated matter, best left to the Scholars who study that era, such as Seeker Marlene. It is said, and it has been said for a long time, that power corrupts. Though the Elekai only composed a minority of the people of Old Colonia, they believed they were the chosen ones of the gods. If you believe yourself the children of the gods, then what are mortals but tools to do your will?”
“Anna talked about that in the reversion,” I said. “Apparently, that belief was commonplace even in her lifetime.”
“And as the founders of Colonia faded from memory, stories spread, and we all know how easy it is for a good story to spread. And a good story often adds embellishments that stick. And other details might change — such as the Annarans’ belief that the Elekai were the evil ones, and it was against them that the gods fought during the Ragnarok War. At the time the Annaran Covenant was new to the world, almost three centuries ago, the people’s discontent against the Elekai aristocracy was at an all-time high. If Anna — or Annara — could be used as an instrument against the Elekai, that would lead to their dismantlement. What followed the Uprising, the Exile, Hyperborea, and the Sundering of the Dragons — everything that has shaped our history to this day. Before that time, only Elekai Wilders lived in the Red Wild. That changed with the Exile, when the dragons took those of the fleeing Godsblood in. Originally, the Red Wild was only supposed to be a temporary refuge. However, the Wild became our home, and it wasn’t long until there was no longer any desire to return to Colonia.”
“I thought the Prophecy said that the Elekai would take over Colonia someday,” I said.
“There will be a war again,” Isandru said. “Though it has been years since there has been anything serious. The Makai openly fight any Colonians who come near their borders of the Red Wild, while Havenites are isolationists. Although, given how easy it is to forget important matters, we cannot be certain of anything we think we know. For all we know, the Prophecy says something entirely different from what we’ve been taught.”
“Tradition can be wrong,” Isaru said.
“Do not blindly follow tradition,” Isandru said. “The very words Anna wrote as a guide for her Order. You know them as part of the Seeker’s Way.”
“How do we know she truly said that?” Fiona asked. “For all we know, that could be wrong, too.”
“Perhaps so,” Isandru said. “Specific words and phrases, however, passed down in memory with the intention of being remembered for posterity, are at much less of a threat of being corrupted. I believe this is true of the Seeker’s Way; we require all initiates to memorize the Way, as we have done for centuries. Indeed, when I was a boy, the Seeker’s Way was the same — at least the English version was.”
“Were you a Seeker when you were young?” I asked.
Isandru shook his head. “No. The Seekers were far different during the age of Hyperborea than they are now. But we are straying too far from what we were originally discussing.” Isandru returned his focus to the blueprint. “The Bastion is indeed the greatest fortress we currently know about. Situated on Red Cliff, along with the Dome of Annara, it is only accessible by one side — a northern gate that can only be reached by scaling the road leading up the cliff. All of its other sides are guarded both by cliff and wall, and the Dragonriders defend it by air — something we can be sure of given Isaru’s recent foray into Colonia.”
“How is it possible to get in without being detected, then?” I asked.
“I’m still trying to determine that,” Isandru said. “From what I can see, by air or by the front door are the only ways in. But it is possible that there is another entrance I’m simply not seeing. After all, Colonia has internal plumbing and sewers, so why wouldn’t the Bastion be the same?”
“It seems too high off the ground for there to be any sort of plumbing,” Isaru said.
“Colonia has plenty of plumbing,” I said. “Most of the drinking water is brought in via aqueducts from springs in surrounding hills. One of these aqueducts flows right into Red Cliff itself through a tunnel.”
Isandru looked at me. “I’ve seen no record of this aqueduct.”
“When was that book written?” I asked.
“It’s old, admittedly. It’s dated from the Third Century.”
“The Dome Aqueduct was built during my grandparents’ time. It’s Colonia’s largest aqueduct, supplying water to Red Cliff and the Dome District north of the Inner Wall. The aqueduct splits in the cliff; one of these splits is used for drinking and general use while the other is used for waste disposal, ending up in the Colorado River south of town.”
“So if we follow this aqueduct,” Isaru said, “it will lead us right into Red Cliff?”
Yes,” I said. “I don’t know whether the system connects to the Bastion’s lower levels. It’s possible.”
“I should have thought of this before,” Isandru said. “Plumbing works differently in the Red Wild.”
“Colonia’s four aqueducts were built during older times,” I said. “The people of Colonia take them for granted, too. My father knew a lot about that sort of stuff, and he explained it to me when I was a kid.”
“From what you’re describing,” Fiona said, “there seems to be two ways in...either through the wastewater aqueduct, or the drinking water aqueduct.”
“Is this really a choice?” Isaru asked.
“We can either start by the river and work our way up,” I said, “or we could follow the aqueduct down from the hills. It might be easier to be spotted on the aqueduct itself, unless it was night. A dragon could easily land us up there, and I doubt it’s guarded.”
“What about the sewer?” Isandru asked.
“It has the advantage of being underground for much of the time. It’s dumped directly into the river. We’d need lights, and it would be a hell of a climb.”
“Smelly, too, I imagine,” Isaru said. “With no guarantee of getting inside at the end.”
“There has to be a way,” Fiona said. “Workers would need an easy way in for maintenance. Why wouldn’t there be access to the Red Bastion itself?”
Isandru chuckled. “Here I’ve been researching for week
s, and I could have had my answer within minutes.”
“So, should we do it?” Fiona asked.
“We have a lead,” Isandru said. “Assuming it is a way in, there’s the matter of locating the Prophecy itself.”
“Have you found anything out about that, Elder?” I asked.
“The Bastion is the location of the Covenant’s Treasury,” Isandru said. “That seems the most likely place.”
“How do we break into the treasury?” Isaru asked.
“Getting in won’t be easy,” Isandru said. “It would require getting past all the guards without raising an alarm. Of course, the vault itself would need to be opened, and the Prophecy sought out within.”
“Where is the Treasury located?” Isaru asked.
“According to what I’ve read, it is accessible from the first floor. A set of steps leads down toward the Bastion’s back, here...”
Isandru pointed on his blueprint. Where he was pointing was on the back end of the Bastion, as far opposite from the doors as possible.
“Down the stairs, the Treasury is guarded by a door of solid bronze. No doubt it is under heavy guard.”
“This just gets easier and easier, doesn’t it?” I asked.
“How does it open?” Isaru asked. “Is there a key?”
“I simply don’t know, Isaru. It could simply remain closed from the sheer weight of the door.”
“It’s hard to imagine how we’d make it that far without getting caught,” I said.
“Which is why I don’t want any of you to attempt it until you are better-trained. Killing someone in real life is starkly different from winning a duel. And killing should be avoided, such as it is within our power.”
I knew Isandru was right, there. I’d have Fiona and Isaru beside me, but against the Covenant’s elite fighters, and especially if we were outnumbered, we might meet our match.
“This is why information is key,” Isandru continued. “Without information, we’re walking in blind. The aqueduct gives us a good lead. As Fiona said, it’s hard to imagine there not being some form of entrance from there. Perhaps it won’t lead into the Bastion itself, but it might at least get you inside the walls at night.”