Soldiers of the Heavens

by Stephen L. Nowland

  “Entropy affects all things, even sa’quaarin relics. I would suggest the conditions here are far worse, leading to this breakdown.”

  “Well, you’ve picked a hell of a place to strand us on,” Robert muttered as he took in the room’s sparse furnishings.

  “This is not of my doing, but speaks to a greater problem. What I’m seeing here is neglect, and the effects of prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures. These cables running along the floor seem to be conduits for power, an unconventional approach I have not seen used before.” On a hunch, Aiden moved over to one of the ice-covered devices for a closer look.

  He swept his gauntleted hand over the frozen water and underneath appeared to be a cylinder, much like the other arcane generators he had seen. It was clearly inoperable, even without the ice covering it.

  “Those cables might lead to another power source,” Aiden suggested. “This one is obviously broken.”

  “Someone has evidently tried to bypass it,” Terinus mused. “The portal appears otherwise undamaged, but without power, we will be unable to return to the Black Tower of our own world.”

  Perhaps I can power it, Sayana suggested, going in for a closer look at the place where the conduits met the arch.

  “Even if you are able to channel enough power to bridge the gulf between worlds,” Terinus rasped, “it would collapse as soon as you withdrew your touch. In effect, we could escape but you would be trapped here.”

  Not an optimal result for me, she mused.

  “Well, let’s just keep that as a backup plan, okay?” Pacian suggested with a sidelong glance at the levitating sorceress. Robert would normally come to her defence, but remained curiously silent. This didn't stop Sayana glaring at Pacian with blazing white eyes. Aiden felt she was showing remarkable restraint, given the recent altercation between the two. The sorceress could probably break him in two with little effort, yet chose not to. This, more than anything else told Aiden that Sayana was still in control of her immense power.

  A sudden blast of icy wind blew through the chamber, causing Aiden to reel from the onslaught. Nellise was peering out through the door and closed it almost as quickly as she’d opened it.

  “It’s far worse outside,” she remarked. “I can’t believe anything could survive out there for long, let alone an entire civilisation. Where have you brought us?’

  “The information I uncovered indicated this was a pleasant, temperate world,” Terinus answered defensively. “The immediate area should be rolling hills and pastures, with a city in walking distance. I cannot make the portal work from here, so we need to follow these conduits and find out where they lead.”

  “Just how old was this information you found?” Aiden asked.

  “It was written three centuries ago, and although that may seem a long time by your standards, worlds generally do not change so dramatically in this span of time. Clearly, something has gone terribly wrong.”

  “Something tells me we won’t be doing any shopping,” Pacian muttered, grasping the hilt of his weapon tightly as they reluctantly headed for the door.

  Aiden was forced to steel his resolve to step outside, for as Nellise had reported, it was far colder outside, intensified by the howling wind which blew across a frozen landscape, lit by a weak sun hovering just above the horizon. Squinting against the harsh conditions, he looked upon a forest of dead trees clawing at the sky, like blackened skeletal hands bursting out of the icy ground.

  The building they emerged from appeared to be a solitary structure in the middle of the dead forest. It was difficult to determine what it was made of, given the thick layer of ice covering most of the exterior. Only the door had been free of ice, and upon closer inspection appeared to have been dug out of its frozen casing with a heavy pick of some kind.

  “Someone recently dug this door open,” Aiden shouted against the wind. “There has to be life around here somewhere.”

  “Hard to believe anyone can live in this,” Nellise called back.

  “So much for your ‘pleasant world’,” Pacian said to Terinus, who silently took in the desolation.

  “We risk exposure if we stay out in this too long,” Nellise advised. “Hold still while I bring us some relief.” She took out her crystal and began whispering a prayer. Her words were lost in the howling wind, but a few moments later she walked around, touching each of them once on the shoulder.

  At her touch, Aiden felt the wind’s bite lessen substantially, as if he were sheltered by an invisible wall.

  “It will last for a few hours, so hopefully we can find shelter before then,” the cleric explained.

  The cables lead in this direction, Sayana advised, drifting over the undulating cables, seemingly oblivious to the blustering wind. While her initial change had prompted awe from Aiden and the others, seeing her so distant from immediate events rammed home her alien nature so much more. If she was cut, would she bleed? Would she lose touch with her humanity entirely and simply wander off to find other pursuits? It was an unsettling line of thought.

  They pushed on through the snow as Sayana flitted through the dead forest. Although Aiden wasn’t an expert on trees, these seemed to have perished long ago. Some of them appeared to have exploded, suggesting they were not accustomed to the intensity of the cold. He tried to ignore the implications of sudden weather change upon this world, especially if it had been green and vibrant only a century ago.

  The sun isn’t moving, Sayana suddenly remarked.

  “What?” Aiden asked, seeking clarification. He peered at the cold white disk hovering above the horizon, trying to understand what she was referring to.

  We have been here long enough for the sun to have set by now, she continued. It hasn’t moved at all.

  “How can that be?” Nellise asked nobody in particular.

  “Perhaps this place is frozen in time as well as in fact?” Aiden suggested. Terinus appeared to consider this for a moment, then used the end of his staff to flick a small rock against a nearby tree. It bounced off its icy shell and skittered into the snow a few yards away.

  “Time appears to be flowing normally,” he observed. “I know of no magic that could freeze an entire region in time. If the sun has stopped moving, then this area is locked in perpetual twilight. That would explain the frigid conditions, though what could have caused this world to stop turning is beyond my knowledge. We may not find the answers we seek, but for now I’d settle for a working portal to take us away from this benighted place.”

  The conduits continue this way, Sayana advised in sober tones as she continued to lead them through snowdrifts and across frozen creeks. Although hard to believe at first, the unmoving sun became more obvious with the passage of time and gave Aiden a chill that had nothing to do with the cold.

  The forest ended abruptly when they passed a crumbling tower straddling a precipitous drop. It was as if a mouth of unfathomable size had taken a bite out of the ground, severing the tower in half and removing a vast chunk of land. Peering through the blustery conditions, Aiden could see the sides of what appeared to be a crater filled with ice and rock, spanning several hundred yards. Although he didn't know how it happened, Aiden felt it was unnatural and was filled with a sense of dread. The cables continued to the right, around the edge of the crater.

  They continued onward, and after an indeterminate amount of time, a large building could be seen ahead. The forest of dead trees had thinned out as they travelled, with an increasing number of tree stumps dotting the landscape.

  The building itself was a squat, grey structure lined with thick ice. In addition to the twin cables, Sayana noticed faint tracks in the snow before them, heading to and from the building. As one, they drew their weapons and prepared themselves for anything as they cautiously proceeded forward.

  Signs of axes and saws could be seen upon the stumps, a strong indication there was intelligent life here somewhere, or at least, had been until recently. Pacian darted ahead and began moving through the landscape
with minimal impact, scouting ahead even though Aiden was sure Sayana could have done the same thing far more effectively. They had fallen into an old pattern of behaviour developed from long periods of working together in tense situations.

  As they closed in on the building, more details became apparent. It appeared to be a fort, with high outer walls of massive pale blue blocks of stone. Large sections of the wall were missing, gouged from the rest of the structure by unknown forces. In the comparative shelter of the fort were a number of tents in once-colourful hues, now faded and worn.

  Movement could be seen among the walls, and the occasional aroma of hot food wafted past Aiden’s nostrils. He and the others found Pacian a few moments later, crouched behind a thick stump, watching the camp ahead with intense interest.

  “Civilisation, such as it is,” he whispered to Aiden. Although roughly fifty yards distant, it was obvious men and women were going about the necessities of daily life in the shadow of the fort. If the conditions bothered them, they did not show it.

  “That place looks like it was in a war, and lost,” Robert remarked after a brief observation of the scene. “These people don’t look like conquerors to me, though. If they’re the winners, why are they living in tents?”

  I expect we’ll find out why in a few minutes, Sayana responded in their minds. She was nowhere to be seen, most likely having turned invisible when they all began creeping around.

  “Why?” Robert asked.

  Because there are fourteen warriors surrounding this position, moving in with large bows ready to shoot. The casual manner in which Sayana described the impending ambush made Aiden pause a moment before her words sunk in properly. By the time he turned around with his weapon at the ready, it was already too late. A group of very tall, solid-looking people wrapped from head to toe in layers of white rag and cloth, burst from cover and brought their bows to bear.

  “Some scout you turned out to be,” Aiden muttered to Pacian.

  “I knew they were there, I just didn’t see the point in getting upset about it,” the former ascetic replied with a shrug. “We’re going to need help to get out of this frozen hell and I’m generally not the one who does the talking. You’re up, mate.”

  Put on the spot, Aiden took a moment to gather his thoughts. One of the ambushers barked a series of sharp words at them that he couldn’t understand. A language barrier was going to make communication far more difficult, and potentially dangerous. Fortunately, Sayana came up with a solution.

  I can understand the general meaning of their words from their thoughts, she told Aiden and the others, speaking only in their minds. Speak, and I will translate. Mildly bemused by this declaration, Aiden lowered his sword and addressed the large man who had spoken to them.

  “We’re not looking for a fight, but we’re not going to be taken prisoner, either,” he warned, looking up at his counterpart who appeared astonished at what Aiden presumed was Sayana’s voice in his head.

  “Lower your weapons,” their leader ordered, with Sayana’s voice translating in Aiden’s mind, who went one step further and sheathed his sword. The others also put on a show of compliance. “How do I understand your language?” he added. “I hear your strange voice with my ears, yet my mind seems to know what it means.”

  “We have magic translating our words,” Aiden explained, leaving out the part of a transcendent, invisible sorceress hovering somewhere in their midst.

  “Where have you come from?” their leader continued, making no move to order his followers to lower their weapons. His voice was a deep baritone, a strange counterpoint to Sayana’s soft words in Aiden’s mind. “Long have we patrolled this area. There are no other settlements.”

  “Can I assume you answer to a higher authority?” Robert interjected.

  “Out here, I am the only authority,” the hulking man responded evenly.

  “Okay… so, why don’t you take us into that fort of yours and you can hand us over to whoever runs the place. No offence to you, but we’ve got a bit of a story to tell and I hate repeating myself.” The warrior seemed to think this over for a long moment, before ordering his people to lower their weapons.

  “This makes sense. Move into the fort. Try nothing — if you show any sign of belligerence, you will die.”

  “Chatty fellow,” Pacian remarked dryly as the other warriors began ushering them towards the fort. Though they had lowered their bows, they remained nocked and ready to shoot. The weapons seemed roughly the same size as Aielish longbows, but appeared smaller in the oversized hands of the warriors holding them.

  Once they emerged from their surroundings, Aiden could see their “hosts” were nearly eight feet in height, with massively broad shoulders and huge hands. He couldn’t even guess at their weight, but he was sure it would be a suitably impressive figure. They moved with heavy steps, but two of their number kept to the rear of the group to cover their tracks.

  Their caution goes far beyond simple escort duty, Sayana remarked.

  “Yeah, makes me wonder who or what else is out there to be cautious about,” Aiden mumbled under his breath, hoping she could understand him. Presently, they left the confines of the forest and entered the courtyard of the old fort. Robert’s earlier assessment had proven correct, for the walls were showing extensive damage, as was the fort itself. They even entered the courtyard through a gaping hole in the wall, probably the result of an oversized battering ram.

  More of the large people huddled for warmth in the terrible conditions, crowding around campfires and under worn canvas tents. They wore heavy cloth and rag just like the patrol, but their faces were visible. They were olive-skinned and wore their hair long and dark. Their noses were generally large and flat. Remaining seated, they peered curiously up at the newcomers, no doubt wondering what these tiny people were about. Aiden had never felt so small, and wondered idly if this was how the diminutive raelani felt amongst humans.

  The patrol escorted them towards the fort itself, where the pair of conduits continued. Their progress was halted at thick wooden doors by a pair of women clad in worn, rusty metal armour. Each carried a massive club, fashioned from the dead trees surrounding the fort.

  “Why do you bring strangers to our home, Carthack?” one of them asked the leader of the patrol, translated by Sayana once more.

  “The fact they are strangers who still live should be reason enough,” he grunted back. “Let us pass.”

  “They are heavily armed, yet you think to bring them into the inner sanctum? Strip them of their equipment first.”

  “They are not prisoners, Sech, and I will take no action against them unless it is warranted.”

  “Are you in charge?” Pacian said, speaking to the tall, robust looking-woman before him. She seemed momentarily astonished at the strange manner of understanding him, but quickly recovered.

  “No, but I —”

  “Stand aside so the grown-ups can talk,” Pacian interrupted with only the slightest hint of menace in his voice. Aiden stifled a groan at his choice of words, and wondered if Sayana could be a little creative with the translation. Evidently the guard heard him verbatim, for she fumed at his insolence and tightened her grip on the heavy wooden club. She seemed about to protest, but her counterpart laid a hand on her elbow and as one, they stepped aside.

  “Keep an eye on this one,” the woman named Sech growled, gesturing at Pacian. “If he talks to the Marshal like that, he’s likely to lose his tiny little head.”

  “That is the Marshal’s call to make, not yours,” Carthack responded in a voice which smothered all debate, as he herded Aiden and the others through the door. Looking curiously up at the huge man leading them inside, Aiden wondered if there was tension within their ranks or if he simply had an issue with the woman.

  “What were you thinking?” Nellise whispered to Pacian, giving him a jab in the ribs for his insolent behaviour.

  “I know an over-promoted thug when I see one,” he replied in hushed tones. “It’s a
waste of time dealing with people like that. We need to talk to someone who can help us, not throw us in jail.”

  They moved into halls made of massive blue-stone blocks. The air was noticeably warmer inside, though their breath still misted before them. Still, it was a relief to be out of the unrelenting wind if only for a while. Aiden shifted his vision to a spectrum where he could discern people and objects hidden from sight, but couldn't see the distinctive blue silhouette of Sayana's form anywhere nearby.

  “Are you still with us Sy?” he whispered, hoping her accentuated senses could hear him.

  Look up, came her response within Aiden's mind. Glancing up at the high ceiling, he saw her floating through the air above them where nobody in the crowded fort could bump into her by accident. I will remain invisible, lest they find my appearance upsetting.

  “That's probably wise,” Aiden conceded, appreciating her discretion. Their hosts seemed jumpy enough as it was without a hovering, blue-skinned woman with blazing eyes appearing in their midst.

  Another of Robert’s observations about the fort came up when they looked upon dozens of people lining the halls of the fort’s interior, some of them appearing to be sick, tired and hungry. Evidently people were living outside because there simply wasn’t enough room in here for them. They stared back at the strange, small people walking past. Aiden assumed he and his friends appeared as alien to these large people as they did to Aiden and his companions.

  Though the ceilings were ten feet high, the door frames were only six feet, forcing these huge people to duck as they moved throughout the fort. The cables ran openly along the floor then curved sharply to the right, through one of the doors. Their escorts were guiding them straight ahead, but Aiden peered through the doorway on their way past and caught a glimpse of a large chamber, half-filled with hulking blocks of what appeared to be stone near the centre of the open space.

  Aiden glanced meaningfully back at Terinus, who nodded in silent agreement — this was a room they were going to have to visit very soon.

  Presently, at the end of the corridor they arrived at a solid door, flanked by two guards. At a gesture from Carthack, one of them opened the door and allowed them to pass. The inside of the room was similar to the austere hallways, except with the addition of practical furniture, all of which seemed to have been made from the blackened wood common throughout the camp. A crackling fireplace provided warmth to the small room from nearby, though it could do little but take the edge off the profound cold.