A Third of the Moon and the Stars Struck

by Jade Brieanne

  Aeon Terra was the dry patch between the metropolis like Elysian and the jungle like Later Ụwa. The land was arid and the sand was a rich burning red and it was almost impossible to not get it everywhere when going outside. There was a man-made reservoir fed by a thin river that flowed from the Bay in Elysian, reaching just to the border of Aeon Terra. The kids would play around it, pretending it was the ocean.

  An ocean none of them had ever had the chance to see.

  “Be careful,” she yelled over her shoulder. “We’ve passed the Elysian-Aeon Terra border, so they have been alerted of our presence. Once we approach the city gates, the Pwoteksyon will get defensive.”

  Reem’s cycle wobbled a bit with the news. “The Pwoteksyon?”

  “Yeah,” Aria said with a smirk. “The Protectors.” She maneuvered her hovercycle towards a large dust covered main gate tall enough to blot out the sun. As they approached the dry cracked field that proceeded the gate, a door no higher than Aria’s hip opened and a flurry of children raced out of it. They were clad in hodge-podge armor, discarded scraps of metal and plastic, some bone, although Aria wasn’t going to ask where they got scrap bone to repurpose. It was all fitted over basic Aeon Terra attire: red, gold and tan keffiyeh headdresses that flowed to their shoulders, thick linen shirts with leather wrapped around their forearms to protect against the sun, loose-fitting trousers banded tight at the ankle with pieces of soft leather and slipped inside of tall brown boots.

  The children sprinted towards them, kicking up dust as they clambered into position, some of them circling them, others creating a line of defense between them and the gate. Makeshift swords and weapons were pointed in their directions, accompanied by shouts and snarls from the tiny protectors. One little boy giggled as his heavy keffiyeh slipped over the slop of his dark tanned forehead, covering doe brown eyes. The girl at his side nudged him, and he shook the keffiyeh back into place, trying hard to hide his smile with a frown.

  “These are the Pwoteksyon?” Reem said, his lip hitched.

  “The younger ones are called The Syons. Once we’re inside the gates, I’ll explain. If…we get inside the gates. Oh and don’t take their size for granted. They’ve been trained to protect this city and fiercely might I add.”

  “Trained,” Reem balked, his face showing every bit of confusion and horror he must be feeling. “To fight? But that’s–that’s–”

  “Against the treaty edicts? Sure, yet there are things you don’t know. Lots of things.”

  One of The Syons stepped forward, a lanky rust colored girl around the same age as Elle. She raised her sword and pointed it directly at Aria. “Vâsyâ!” she growled.

  Elle didn’t heed her command to stop–probably because she didn’t know it was a command to stop. All she saw was a threat and responded. She attacked first with a sharp battle cry, her hovercycle falling to the ground as she charged, her bō engaged. The girl answered Elle without hesitation, sliding her hands into a pair of Bagh naka–sharp tiger like hand weapons–and dropping into a defensive stance.

  The two entered the fight as if it were some kind of dance, dust swirling in their movements, blows, and strikes gliding in harmony with blocks and holds.

  Aria noticed something about both girls as they fought.

  Elle was very technical–her moves were clean, mechanical, and powerful. She, by far, was the more aggressive fighter. Of course, that meant nothing to apparent Syon leader. While Elle entered into the Astral program as a young girl, eager to learn how to fight, this girl had been taught to fight since she could walk. While Elle learned to fight out of a sense of adventure and purpose, this girl had learned to fight to survive. So while Elle was a cleaner fighter, this girl’s style was more natural, her defensive blocks graceful, and her answering offensive attacks, fluid, as if her Bagh naka’s were her own claws.

  “You smell of metal, Elysian child,” the girl quipped as she stepped out of the range of Elle’s swing.

  “Child?” Elle spat. “You dirt rat!”

  “Ti akiv!” Aria whistled at the young girl’s profanity. “Rather be a dirt rat than a stinking metal breeder!” The girl placed her hands on her hips and glared at Elle as if she were a snake. “Why are you here?”

  Elle ignored the question and engaged the girl back in battle with a forward thrust.

  Aria twisted her lips as they continued to fight. It was a valid question. Aeon Terra folk were naturally distrustful of Elysians and for good reason–the Aeon Terra Raid.

  After the treaty was signed and the rebels were exiled to this city, a number of Elysians attacked it for a lot of foolish reasons: for revenge, a preemptive strike against rebels they couldn’t trust, egos.

  Although most Aeon Terrans were trained to fight as well as Elysians, due to the provisions forbidding them to engage in battle, most were terrified to defend themselves as they feared it would bring Caeli’s wrath onto their lands. Because of that fear, Aeon Terra took the most losses.

  The Pwoteksyon were not afraid. They were angry and brave and righteous. After days of watching their people die, they decided to fight and win their city back and dared anyone to attack again. Secretly, a meeting was held between The Above, Aria and the leaders of the Aeon Terra. It was a meeting withheld from the records, from The Fallen, Be’er Sheeba and The Temple. It wasn’t the first time and it would be the last the rest of Caeli would be left in the dark. Aria named them the protectors of Aeon Terra and gave them full authority to defend the city against any kind of attack, Elysian, Later Ụwaian, or anyone else foolish enough to travel to the desert to pick a fight.

  Of course, Elle and Reem wouldn’t have known that. It would have been the reason Elle jumped into a fight she wasn’t going to win. The fight ended with Elle on her back and the girl’s Bagh naka’s claws at her neck.

  Aria figured this was the perfect time to stop being a spectator before she had to explain to Khavah Dantò why her granddaughter’s neck looked like it had lost a fight to a can opener.

  “Ah, ah,” she tutted. “You don’t want to do that, little one.”

  She didn’t move. “And why not,” she hissed.

  “Well, for starters that’s the Heir.”

  “To?”

  “Tambour.”

  The girl’s eye narrowed as she looked away from Elle for the first time since the fight began. “You lie,” she snarled, her teeth bared in warning.

  “Now why would I do that?” Aria chuckled and leaned against her bike. “You don’t have to believe me, but it would be wise to believe me. I’m doing this more for your benefit than hers.”

  “Babu Aurora…what if she’s telling the truth?” tried the young boy from earlier. He pushed his keffiyeh up and his eyes widen as if this were the worst possible outcome ever. “You’ll get in trouble.”

  “Shut up, Rhys.” Babu Aurora–know she knew the leader’s name–retracted her claws and slowly stood. “We never forget! She attacked me first! I was only defending myself,” she grumbled. “Those are the laws.”

  “Oh, I know and I will serve as a witness to that. I’m just saving you the headache. The last thing you want is more Elysians here, right?”

  “Who are you?” the girl asked as she hovered near Elle, the threat still emanating from her.

  “You don’t know me, little one? Ah. You may be too young to know my scent,” Aria guessed as she dismounted her cycle.

  “Why would I know you, Elysian?” she shot back. She said the name Elysian like it was trash.

  Elle bristled from her spot on the ground. “You will respect us!”

  Babu Aurora spat at the ground in answer. “I’ll respect what deserves respect.”

  Aria sighed and took a step forward before the two began tearing into each other again. “I used to live here, little one. A long time ago in the house at the top of the madina.”

  “With the red roof?” Rhys asked, his eyes sparkling, his voice full of wonder and curiosity. The girl glared at him and he rushed to hide behi
nd another Syon.

  “Yes, little one,” she said to the boy, “with the red roof and the bitter root flowers that grow at the door. You’ve smelled them right? Smells like wet dirt?”

  Rhys peeked from behind his friend’s back and nodded. The girl took a step in front of the little boy before he could ask another question. “No one lives there. The owner of that house died. Her mate is in Antris.” She unsheathed the sword across her back again and pointed it at Aria’s chest. “Again, who are you?” she growled.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me the watchword?”

  Babu Aurora shook her head. “No stupid metal breeder would know it, so why ask?”

  Reem, who stood a step behind her, his unfamiliarity with fighting apparent, sputtered nonsensically while Elle positively radiated with anger. Aria couldn’t tell if it was on her behalf or because of the “stupid metal breeder” part. Elysians were known to be proud and arrogant creatures and Aeon Terrans were stubborn and resistive. Both detested each other.

  “I understand.” Aria nodded. “I am an Elysian, and Elysians can be stupid,” she said, grinning.

  “Aria!” Reem exclaimed, incredulous.

  She looked at him over her shoulder. “Well, we can be.” She turned back to the girl. “Wakan Takan kici un. That’s the watch phrase to grant passage, am I correct?”

  “May the Great Spirit bless you,” she mumbled. “You know the watch phrase?” Babu Aurora asked sharply.

  “Sure I do! Does that work for you? You’re supposed to say something back in kind but I get it, you don’t know me. However, I am granted entrance into Vox Populi, so I don’t mean to be campy nor do I want to ruin this moment for you but can you take me to your leader? Notice I said take me, not run to them. The last girl didn’t quite understand that.”

  “Our leader…” the girl started.

  “Mosi Neith?” Aria looked up to the gate. “At least he was when I was last here,” she murmured.

  The little girl’s eyes widen. “Mosi Neith,” she said in disbelief. “How do you know his real name?”

  The hollow bellow of a horn interrupted her. The gates of the Vox Populi began creaking open with a loud groan. As they opened, Aria’s small careful smile bloomed into a full one. “Now we’re talking.”

  A contingent of people marched out of the gate, their formation three crisp lines. Anyone not familiar with the Elite Pwoteksyon Guard wouldn’t have known what was happening and she could tell that when Reem and Elle began to panic. Elle, a fighter, got over her panic quickly. She jumped up from the ground in an acrobatic move that had both Aria and Babu Aurora stunned, before she dropped into a defensive stance, rotating her bō until it was in front of her. Her other hand drifted to her rantai. Reem reached for the small dagger at his hip, tentatively raising it before him.

  Aria shook her head at them. She, unlike the two of them, was familiar with Elite Pwoteksyon Guard and recognized the uniform. On their heads was the thick traditional keffiyeh held to their skull by a thick golden chain. Their attire, unlike the young Syons which was an array of colors, was all white, save for the golden arm shield and golden cuirass. The Fè–the women guard– wore a long scarf at their right hip embroidered with the Sigillum dei Aemeth, while the Dů–the men–wore the scarf draped around their necks. Both had their foreheads adorned with the red Aeon Terra septagram and a thick black bar that ran across their eyes.

  Seeing them in rank and formation brought another storm of memories however it was the two at the back that brought back the fondest. The first was a man, tall, toasted tan skin and a chin dusted with stubble. His hair was black and long, and bone straight hair save for the long braid at his temple. A proud Golden Eagle feather was attached to his Pwoteksyon chain behind his ear that hung low to this collarbone. He spotted her first.

  “Sekhmet! Is that you?” he yelled as he took off through the throng of guards, stopping right outside of the circle of Syons. “We heard rumors that–that you had come back to us, to this realm, but I would have never believed it! Not in a million trillion eons!”

  Elle, who had not dropped from her defensive stance, frowned. “You call her that name as if it is a nickname. It is a title, to be revered and respected.”

  “Ellie, ease off the gas, kid,” Aria admonished. “When the rebels were exiled to Aeon Terra, they all took on new names. Since I lived here, I was required to take on one as well, except for mine was borrowed. They repurpose things here you see. Elysians called me Sekhmet, so they called me Sekhmet–easy.” She looked at the man staring at her like he was about to cry. “Babu Tito, are you just going to stand there or are you going to–oof!" Babu Tito damn near head-butted her in his rush to greet her, swooping her up, hugging her tight and spinning her around.

  “Brother, you know her?” the girl said, her sword lowering a touch.

  “We all know her, little one.”

  Aria recognized the voice for it was the one she’d asked for. Chief Kĥanği Sápi Black Crow. Or to her, he was simply Mosi Neith. He swept back his long greyed twin braids over his pure white robe. “Even you, but you were too young to memorize her spirit essence, too young to understand what sort of spirit mass stands before you! That’s Aria Jinni, the Hero of the War. Sekhmet. She is a Pwoteksyon just like you are. She helped protect this city when the Elysians attacked. You know the Wall of Spirits embedded in the Great Stone? That’s her and her mate’s names written on there, along with your grandmother and father.”

  Babu Tito placed Aria down. “She is a friend of Aeon Terra, Babu Aurora. Even if she is a stinky metal breeder,” Babu Tito said, sticking his tongue out at her.

  Aria turned to Reem and Elle. “This dirt rat was no taller than a shriveled cactus last time I saw him. What have you been eating? Everything? You’re so damn tall!”

  “Food,” he deadpanned. “When I was forced to stop eating whatever the hell you were making, I began to grow like a normal boy. Now that you’re back, I might regress if you get weird and try to be domestic again.”

  “Regress, eh? Come here you little shit,” Aria growled, before pouncing on his back.

  Mosi Neith chuckled, a hand resting on his belly. “Come everyone. Let’s get back within the gates. Then Aria can tell us what the hell is going on. Elysian rumors don’t weigh much out here.”

  Aria linked her arm with Babu Tito as they began to head towards the gate. “They don’t hold much weight anywhere, Neith,” she finished with a wink.

  CHAPTER FORTY ONE

  After they’d been led past the gates, the enormity of how much Aeon Terra had grown since her death overwhelmed her. When she lived here, it was nothing but the training grounds, the Square, and a few thousand small sandstone houses, all with their doors facing the east and a window that always looked up to the Morning Star. Now it was massive. One small settlement had turned into three madinas–Vox Populi, as-Sūriyā and Bayt Lāhiyyaḧ–all populated with millions.

  Behind Vox Populi were two large structures that shot straight into the sky, a bright beam of light hovering between them, seeming to connect the two. They were beautiful buildings, surrounded by quabbas, their domes in shades of turquoise and gold, and minarets the color of sandstone and eggshell. And although Aria had never seen them in their new resplendent glory, she knew what they were. She’d signed off on their commissions.

  The days the rebels first populated Vox Populi were dark ones. When Aria drafted the treaty to send them away, she forgot one basic principle. A way of life. It was her error and through her error, buildings Lux and Vega came into existence. In those buildings, a system of proletariat servitude was created, allowing those chosen from Aeon Terra to serve the bourgeoisie of Elysian. Those who could afford it (which was many in Elysian) sponsored a child, enrolling them at either Lux (house labor) or Vega (manual labor) for training. That child would leave their household for the contracted amount of years until they were “freed” to come home. It served to bring money into Aeon Terra until they could sustain their o
wn trade but even when Aeon Terra became self-sufficient, the art of slaaf-‘ne became more law than opportunity.

  There was more than just the war and the raid that brought hostility between the two territories. When she learned that Babu Aurora was just freed from a contract, Aria could wholly understand her disdain.

  Even with the two buildings looming over Vox Populi and the knowledge they still existed looming over Aria’s conscience, she still felt good about being back home.

  Her first real meal since being reborn was a heavy cream stew of sunbird, pickled radishes, and hearty sandbeans. Her first drink was a brute desert ale and her first sweet was a skewer of prickly pear cacti. Her face ached from laughing as Babu Tito and Mosi Neith told story after story and by the end of the day she’d been hugged so many times she thought she might not be able to hug again for weeks!

  Once word spread that Sekhmet had returned, people flooded the Vox Populi’s Square. She was surrounded by new and old faces, some remembering their exploits together when they were younger, much younger, and newer ones who were completely besotted by her legend. She explained, with the help of Reem, how she was back in the flesh just as they remembered. Reem and Elle tempered this with as much patience as they could although they couldn’t fight their paranoia and wariness at being surrounded by so many Terrans.

  Yet as much as she enjoyed Aeon Terra and being here with people she cared for, Aria didn’t come back for a family reunion. She was brought back to win a war. So after she’d separated herself from the crowd, Babu Tito escorted her, Reem and Elle to Aria’s red roof home. Mosi Neith wanted to take the opportunity at having a member of The Fallen in his walls to drag him off to smoke cigars filled with kinnikinnick and talk about the diplomatic things that leaders do, but he conceded and let Reem stay at Aria’s side.