by Jeremy Dwyer
“In two (2) days, they will be so aligned,” Blazer Endrit said.
“How long will the alignment last?” Nehexalor asked.
“For five (5) days,” Blazer Endrit said.
“And how long will it take to gather the children to the temple? We will need to summon them here, to this island, where the temple towers are,” Nehexalor asked.
“A single day. I can direct Governor Lux to issue an order to all the residents. They will be required to register the children with the bank, for tax and training purposes. That will bring them without suspicion, under the guise of economic considerations,” Duchess Uliana said.
“Begin the registration process tomorrow. Bring as many children as you can, as the excess number can sweeten the sacrifice to the blue suns and strengthen the spirits within the temple towers,” Nehexalor said.
“Wait here until I return. Tomorrow, I will give my instructions to Governor Lux so that he can issue the summons,” Duchess Uliana said. She unlocked and opened the door to her office. As she left, she closed and locked her office door behind her before returning to the head table to oversee the trading activities of the central bank.
Duchess Uliana saw that the Chronicler, Caemgen, was still there, looking over the central bank’s books while Governor Lux observed the trading activity. She was confident that the Chronicler, Caemgen, didn’t overhear her plans.
~~~
After their prayers, Aura sat down and cried, holding Arik in her arms. Kassia held her sister and nephew, and just cried with her. She hoped to have her sister back. She hoped that Aura would repent and accept God’s Mercy. She hoped that Aura would actually believe.
Daley just watched over them, still trying to grasp everything Kassia had said.
Claudia drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from her vial, to energize her telepathic powers once again. She continued probing Kassia’s mind, learning of her dealings with the central bank and the financial fraud of which she was aware. She also probed Aura, looking for answers. Then, she probed Kassia’s thoughts again, to gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of her message about God and the Son of God. She didn’t believe it. She didn’t disbelieve it. She wanted to understand. She wanted to believe.
“Aura, I love you so much. And I always will love you,” Kassia said.
Aura soon fell asleep, exhausted from her emotions.
Kassia held Arik in her own arms while his mother slept. The boy squirmed, trying to get away. She could tell he wasn’t so much afraid as bored and wanted to walk around, so she walked him around the room. There was a door, but Daley had closed it.
In Aura’s sleep, she had a vision, and there were children, by thousands, being summoned to the main island of the central bank. The city gates closed, so that no ships could enter or leave. Then, all the children were lined up around the crystal towers of a sun temple that was standing there on the island. A man started singing, praising the nine (9) blue stars, and then three (3) other men, all of whose skin was blue, called forth the waters, turning the water to fire. The fire burned all the children to ash. Then, an evil spirit descended from the blue stars and entered into the towers.
Aura awoke, screaming: “No! No! No! It’s all a lie! Everything here is a lie! The city! It’s a giant lie! It was built to murder the children! To sacrifice them to the sun gods!”
Arik started crying when his mother screamed.
“What?!!” Kassia asked. Aura had been sleeping an hour before this outburst. She held Arik, because Aura’s every word was frightening and terrible.
Claudia probed Aura’s mind and said: “You had a bad dream.”
“What if it wasn’t a dream?” Kassia asked.
“They’re going to come for the children! They’re going to make us register our children for taxes and education, by taking them to the central bank’s main island. Then, they’re going to close all the city gates, so no ships can enter or leave. When we’re trapped, they plan to burn all the children to death as part of a ritual to worship the blue suns. That was the dream. I would never have thought of that. I have no idea where that came from,” Aura said, still terrified. She reached out for Arik, who was crying, and he came to her. She held him tight in her arms.
“The oceans are powerful, and strange things can happen because of how people use those powers. Maybe a telepath was trying to manipulate you, out of revenge over something you or the king did,” Daley said.
Claudia probed the thoughts of anyone in the area – in fact, she had never stopped probing them. “No. That’s not it. The dream was hers,” she said.
“Let’s admit it, you’ve done a lot of terrible things. Could it be your guilty conscience making these dreams?” Daley asked.
“No. The dream didn’t have her being punished. This sounds like something else,” Claudia said.
Alonso recorded all of this into his book and then asked: “Did this dream have a time to it? Do you know when these events happened – or will happen?”
“Tomorrow,” Aura said.
“If it’s true, we need to be prepared. I’m afraid that it just might be,” Kassia said.
“It is true. I’ve never had a dream like that. That’s why I’m afraid. No one is taking him from me!” Aura said.
“No, they’re not taking him. Not over my dead body, anyway,” Kassia said.
Alonso recorded all of this conversation into his book and he was intrigued by it. He was not yet alarmed, because it was another person’s account of a dream, not something he witnessed personally; therefore, it was not highly probable, in his estimation.
~~~
The next day, Duchess Uliana approached Governor Lux at the head table of the trading floor and said: “Governor, today, you are to issue an order, requiring that all the children from the Port of Illumination come here, to this island. They are to be registered for tax purposes. We need to know how many of them can be trained and assigned different waterbindings to better manage our economy and the prices of services and goods.”
“Yes, Duchess,” Governor Lux said. The request was actually not surprising or unreasonable to him: the central bank always did agree that a proper distribution of waterbindings could be an effective way of controlling prices in every market. The Jenaldej Empire, he believed, did that much better than anyone else. The rest of the world had customs that could best be described as inefficient. He envied the Jenaldej policies of strict control within the continent of Revod, but he lamented that he didn’t have a way of enforcing the central bank’s own policies globally.
“Also, have your architect at the ready. I have an assignment for him,” Duchess Uliana said.
“What are your instructions, Duchess? I will relay them to him,” Governor Lux asked.
“Bring him to me, so that I can tell him myself, at the proper time. It will be very soon, Governor,” Duchess Uliana asked.
“I will issue the registration order, and then bring the architect,” Governor Lux said. He wrote up orders and gave them to his couriers, ordering them to travel by ship across the interior waters and deliver the message to everyone in the crystal city that surrounded Haza’Kedro’Maral Island.
~~~
Claudia awoke from her slumber in the corner of the room of the crystal building where they were staying. She drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean from her vial, energizing her telepathic powers once again. She probed the area around them for thoughts of any interest, and she found them.
“That was no dream! Let’s get out of here! Now!” Claudia said.
“What?” Daley asked.
“What do you mean?” Aura asked.
“Be specific,” Alonso said.
“I hear their thoughts. Bank officers are going all through the city, issuing summons to the families to bring their children to Haza’Kedro’Maral Island. They want to set the tax rates and decide on the education and waterbindings for every child living in this city,” Claudia said.
“That’s enough
to convince me we’re in danger,” Kassia asked.
“Did they close the city gates yet?” Aura asked.
Claudia probed the thoughts of people in the vicinity a little further and found nothing to indicate the answer, either way. “I’m not sure. No one seems to be thinking about that, either way,” she said.
“Good! Because we’re not going to let this happen. Not to my son. Not to any children,” Aura said.
“What are you planning on doing?” Kassia asked.
“If you think it will work, do it now, and do it fast,” Claudia said.
“What do you mean? A song?” Daley asked.
Kassia picked up Arik and held him. “I’ve got him. Do what you have to do,” she said.
Aura drank anew of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean from her vial and her powers of music were energized.
Daley opened the door and they all left the building and went out into the city. Thousands of families were moving about, heading toward the interior city edge, and starting to get onto boats.
“Now!” Claudia said. She knew what was coming. She didn’t know if it would work. She actually began using her own telepathic powers, telling people to go back, but only a few seemed to be listening, showing signs of hesitation.
Aura stood at the interior edge of the ring-shaped crystal city, near the body of the water that lay between the Port of Illumination and Haza’Kedro’Maral Island. She began singing:
When I first arrived here, I was very impressed.
This crystal city glitters with gold and bright light.
I trusted in its promise.
I hoped for the future.
Thinking that rich rewards were within sight.
Now I know that the truth has been suppressed.
This crystal city will soon be a grave.
We cannot trust what the powerful say.
Hope has sailed away to distant shores.
Only by escaping can our lives be saved.
(Refrain)
Follow me! All of us must now leave this city of lies!
Believe me! All of those who stay will soon meet their demise!
In a moment of clarity, I was shown a vision.
The hidden cruel purpose of this place was revealed.
All the gold and the gems,
All the buying and lending,
Is just a distraction until our fates are sealed.
We value money, and all kinds of treasure.
Here we pursue it, with every heartbeat and breath.
Above us, the true masters,
Above them, their sun gods,
Are planning a ritual of cruelty and death.
(Refrain)
The world endured tempest, then darkness and lies.
Now we yearn for peace and prosperity.
I wish they were found here.
I wish they were found now.
But the evil here now threatens our lives and liberty.
We must not trust in those who tempt and entrap us.
Hate and greed are the sad truths of sky, sea and land.
I wish love were the only law.
I wish fair dealings prevailed.
But the wicked truth you must hear and understand.
(Refrain)
The song was powerful, and it reverberated throughout the entire ring-shaped crystal city. Her commanding words and their powerful melody swept across the interior waters – they were the same Pirovalen waters she drank – and were carried by them to Haza’Kedro’Maral Island. All the people heard her message, and they boarded the ships. Only now, the ships headed outward, toward the outer edge of the Port of Illumination, and exited the city’s gates.
~~~
Erlend waited inside the Trading Center One building, at the head table, next to Governor Lux.
The Chronicler Caemgen was standing nearby, still observing the activity of the merchants and bankers on the trading floor and poring over the contents of the central bank’s books, recording it all into his own book.
“The Duchess has special instructions for you, Erlend, but she wishes to communicate them to you personally. Otherwise, if she had told me what she required, I would have given you the assignment already, so that the work could be underway,” Governor Lux said.
Just as Governor Lux was speaking, powerful music could be heard: the City of Lies song resounded throughout the building.
Several of the merchants on the trading floor got up and began to leave the building, heading outside toward the island’s coast.
“What is this music, Governor? What is happening?” Erlend asked.
“I have no idea! The central bank has many adversaries, both within and without, so I cannot be sure,” Governor Lux said. He was startled, but he also paid attention to the lyrics: this music was an accusation against sun worshippers, and Duchess Uliana was the leader of a cult of them.
“We are in danger right here and now, Governor. We should get away from this situation. I don’t know where,” Erlend said.
“Yes, I agree. We need to strategically withdraw,” Governor Lux said.
A cloak of darkness suddenly fell over Erlend, and he felt himself whisked away by force.
Caemgen heard the song, but he was unaffected by it – he was neither afraid nor enchanted by its lyrics or its melody. He recorded the song into his book and thought that he understood the meaning of the music. If it was true, then it meant that he was standing near the site of a planned act of mass murder. He also recorded the movement around him, watching as many people were fleeing the building. He noticed the disappearance of Erlend into the darkness, but had no idea who perpetrated it. As a Chronicler of the Oath, it was his duty to observe and record events of interest. In this situation, that meant he should remain in this vicinity to learn what was to soon occur.
Governor Lux was stunned at the disappearance of his architect, Erlend, and he had no way of knowing who was responsible for any of this chaos. He hurried out of the Trading Center One building, walked briskly across a short stretch of Haza’Kedro’Maral Island and headed toward the Trading Center Five building where his office was located. Along the way, he watched as merchants and various other professionals fled the island in hundreds of ships. They were sailing outward, toward the ring-shaped crystal city that surrounded them – the so-called Port of Illumination, which he now believed was meant for a most unprofitable purpose, if the song’s lyrics were true.
Lux wondered if he should follow the fleeing multitudes – the song powerfully suggested that he should, but he was a man given to a good bit of consideration rather than emotion, as any bank governor ought to be. Uncertain of the best move to make, he drank anew of the waters of the Zovvin Ocean from his vial and was energized. He reached into the spirit world to find the spirit known as Havatissa, who had guided him before. He received no response – which was yet another cause for concern – and this meant that no assistance or guidance was forthcoming regarding his present situation. Given the circumstances, Lux decided that the warning of immediate danger outweighed any other concern or opportunity that would likely arise from remaining, so he boarded one of the fleeing ships, which left the island. The ship sailed across the interior waters, passed through one of the crystal city’s water channels, exited by way of its northernmost gate and went out to sea.
~~~
From within her office in the Trading Center One building, Duchess Uliana heard the song and was filled with rage and fury. The Torches of Majesty stood by her side, and they were clearly disturbed by this interference.
“We must leave this city!” Blazer Endrit said.
“The call of her voice is powerful!” Blazer Luken said.
“I am trying not to listen, but she beckons me,” Blazer Darakizar said.
Duchess Uliana turned to Nehexalor and said: “Nehexalor! You must sing against her! Do not let them escape!”
Nehexalor was there with them and heard the same music but he could do nothing to stop it. The City of Lies song
was so powerful that his own voice was drowned out when he tried to sing, even though he also drank the Pirovalen Ocean waters. The other singer had innate potential for music that far exceeded his own. The best that he could do was to produce a hymn that drowned out the music so that it did not affect anyone around him. If the Torches of Majesty were lured away by its spell, or if it affected Duchess Uliana or him personally, then all was lost and the Temple of the Sky’s Nine (9) Kings would never be consecrated.
~~~
While exploring the streets and buildings of the Port of Illumination and recording his observations into his book, the Chronicler Silvius heard this song. Out of curiosity, he followed some of the families who were boarding a ship, which soon sailed out of the crystal city.
~~~
Alonso recorded all of this into his book, and he followed Claudia, Aura, Daley and Kassia, who was carrying Arik in her arms, as they boarded one of the ships. After several hundred other people boarded and the ship was full, they traveled through the easternmost city gate leading out of the Port of Illumination, and sailed out onto the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean. Hundreds of other ships traveled alongside them, and hundreds more went in other directions through the eight (8) other gates all around the city.
“Where are we going?” Aura asked.
“You tell us. Your voice led us out of the danger,” Claudia said.
“Just listen to God and trust Him to tell you. He will lead us to safety,” Kassia said.
END