The Smuggler's Ascension

by Christopher Ingersoll

  Kristof realized that there were tears in his eyes as he became aware that an apparition floated above the orb before them, and he knew who it was that had been summoned before he even looked up.

  “Is it so hard to look upon me, my love?” Anasha’s spirit asked him softly as she looked down at him.

  “It has just been so long, my love,” Kristof responded with a catch in his voice, not trusting himself to speak further as he looked upon her. Anasha was as heartbreakingly beautiful as he remembered her, and she floated above them with a luminescent glow.

  Anasha smiled down at him before turning to her father, who looked upon her with love and the sense of his deep loss upon learning of her death. The play of emotions upon Subat’s face were in stark contrast to his normal somber expression.

  “Greetings, father,” Anasha spoke softly. “As I once told you long ago, before us sits the vessel upon which all our hope now rests. Guide him as best you can, for should he fail, Purannis shall fall into a darkness from which it will never recover.”

  “It will be as you say, my daughter,” Subat answered with a bow of his head. “As always, you are the light that guides me.”

  Anasha smiled and knelt to pass an ethereal hand along her father’s cheek, before rising again and turning to Sabine. Kristof looked on as the two women gazed upon each other for the first time. There was a deep abiding love in Anasha’s eyes as she smiled down at Sabine. Surprisingly, Kristof also saw a similar look upon Sabine’s face as she returned Anasha’s gaze.

  “Well met, my soul’s sister,” Anasha said after a time. “Long have I foreseen your coming, as a light to lift our dear Kristof away from the brink of darkness. Know that I love you even as Kristof loves you, and my blessing goes with the both of you for all days.”

  Anasha’s spirit knelt and embraced Sabine, who sat with tears in her eyes as she looked with love upon Anasha in return. And then Anasha rose and looked once more upon Kristof.

  “Know thee all present, that here rests the ak’Sun Su’Tani,” Anasha said formally then, and Kristof felt a brief release of power through the core of his being. “The Lord Protector of Light has come, even as the darkness of eternal night looms upon the horizon. Know that your father acts now in the service of an agent of the Great Darkness, though he himself is not aware of it. He has unwittingly married one of the Gau’dran’Seti, a worshiper of Death, and has become Death’s pawn. Do not fail us, my Kristof, for should you not find a way to turn back this darkness, then forever shall night fall upon Purannis; and all, even our beloved Sabine, shall perish into that eternal night.”

  Kristof bowed his head in respect, accepting the burden Anasha placed upon him even as he struggled to think of how he alone could accomplish such a task. But then Anasha called his attention back to her as she looked down upon him and Sabine with a smile.

  “In the time that is left to me, I would offer a gift to the two of you,” Anasha said, “a gift to show my ever abiding love for you both. I know of the struggles which plague your hearts, so I would aid you in finding a solution, I would perform the ritual of Akana’San’Tani, the Binding, for you both.”

  “I don’t understand?” Sabine said softly.

  “Akana’San’Tani is an ancient Su’Tani ritual of marriage,” Subat said softly. “It supersedes all Puranni laws and rituals of marriage and cannot be undone nor ignored, not even by the royal council or yourself. It is a union of not only body, but a merging of souls as well. You must be absolutely sure if you choose to enter into this, for once done, it cannot be undone.”

  Kristof looked to Sabine, and they spent a long time staring into each other’s eyes. Kristof thought back over their brief time together and all that they had been through, and all that he felt for this tiny, powerful woman. He knew in his heart and soul that there would not be another love for him again in his life, and he nodded to her with a smile.

  Sabine smiled and nodded in return, but then she turned to Anasha and spoke.

  “I have only one request first,” Sabine said softly. “Two, rather. First, I wish for Subat to perform the ceremony if he is able.” Sabine looked from Kristof to Anasha and then said, “I also wish for you, my soul’s sister, to join us in this union, so that the three of us may be as one spirit in this union, and you remain forever in our hearts and spirits as one.”

  Sabine had clearly caught Anasha by surprise, and Kristof was surprised himself at Sabine’s offer. To Kristof the idea felt deeply right, and he could see the joy evident in Anasha’s face even as she knelt before Sabine.

  “You make my heart swell in amazement at the openness and depth of your love,” Anasha said in wonder, before continuing. “I know that at one time you did hate me, though. I can feel your love for me now, but I must know what changed.”

  “I hated you only because I feared it was you that Kristof saw, and not me,” Sabine said a bit embarrassedly. “Yet even as he set my mind at ease, I could somehow feel all that you had done for him and helped him to be, and it felt as if you had somehow always been a part of my life, and I found myself loving you more and more. And now that I have met you, I do not want to let you go.”

  “Then I accept,” Anasha wept as she and Sabine embraced. Then the two women turned to look upon Kristof as he sat watching them, their nearly identical expressions expectant.

  “My life was never deserving of the love I found in you, Anasha,” Kristof said when he managed to find his voice at last. “To find such love again with you, Sabine, was another miracle I did not deserve. To be joined in this union with you both, I am again undeserving of such love, but I accept it wholeheartedly and only hope I can live long enough to be worthy of you both.”

  All now wept freely, including Subat, as Subat began the ceremony. Anasha placed her ethereal hands in those of Kristof and Sabine, and suddenly Kristof felt his spirit rise free of his body as Subat began the ritual chants. He could feel Sabine’s spirit next to him as well, and together they faced Anasha now as equals. As the ritual continued, Kristof began to feel his spirit sinking into Anasha’s and Sabine’s, even as theirs sank into his and each other’s.

  The ritual of Akana’San’Tani continued, Subat’s voice rising and falling in musical cadences; and soon Kristof’s thoughts joined the thoughts of the loves of his life, and he truly felt the love these women bore him, as well as the love they miraculously bore for each other. And then suddenly there was no sense of each other as separate beings at all, for they had become one spirit, and together they soared to the reaches of the universe and beyond in the flash of a single thought until all senses faded.

  When Kristof finally began to realize that he could feel his body once more, he opened his eyes and looked around. Anasha’s spirit was gone and the orbs had gone dark. Sabine was crying, though they were tears of joy, and Kristof pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Moments later he felt Subat embrace them both.

  “Welcome, my children,” Subat said simply as they all sat and basked in the loving presence of each other and Anasha’s memory.

  ~*~

  ~34~

  Sabine looked on in a smug happiness as the royal court exploded in loud shouts of outrage upon hearing that the Queen was now wed to Kristof. Shouts of smuggler and criminal were rampant among the myriad protests, and Sabine found their collective chagrin at no longer having the hope of the Queen possibly marrying into their families to be fitting recompense for years of making her feel as if she didn’t belong at court. The look of anger growing on Kristof’s face, however, took away some of the joy she felt at the court’s discontent.

  It was Subat, however, who took the most displeasure from the shouted insults and general disrespect thrown at Kristof. The bald Su’Tani commander stepped to the front of the dais before Sabine and slammed his ceremonial staff on the tiled floor several times while trying to call for order, but the slamming of the staff and the cracking of the tiles beneath it failed to register on the court.

  And then Max stepped f
orward.

  “SILENCE!” the android’s voice boomed through the court, and the voices that were moments before filled with vitriol suddenly fell dead as the echoes of Max’s command slowly faded.

  “Thank you, Max,” Sabine said as she rose from the throne and looked out over the members of the royal court. All eyes were on her now. Most looked on curiously at their new queen, while others looked on in disapproval, and others displayed looks of open hostility.

  “I think I have heard just about as much disrespect as I intend to listen to today,” Sabine addressed the crowded room. “I sincerely doubt you would have voiced such disrespect in my mother’s presence, and I know for a fact that my father, were he still alive, would most surely have resurrected the practice of public flogging over your behavior. I know you see before you a young woman as your Queen, someone to whom you can attempt to cow and sway to your ways of thinking and behaving. Let me assure you, I am my own person and I will not be swayed by your shallow, pompous buffoonery.”

  “You say this man is unfit to be my husband,” Sabine continued, giving Kristof a warm smile. “You call him a smuggler, and criminal, and you are right.” She silenced the outcry with a stern look before it could begin again. “This man smuggled food to the starving people of Bonibus when all of you feared to lift a finger against the Clovani Empire and its blockade, and for that you call him a criminal. This man lost his loving wife in that effort, and spent several years in prison afterwards, branded a criminal by the Clovani. And then yes, he continued his ‘smuggler’s’ ways after he was released, bringing weapons and food and medicine to those who had the courage to fight tyranny while all of you sat here on your fat, pampered asses and did nothing.”

  “So yes, he is a smuggler and a criminal in the eyes of some,” Sabine went on, “And we are all safer for his selfless acts that have helped delayed the day the Clovani would come for us next, a day that is now upon us. This brave man has also been revealed to be Su’Tani, a member of our most revered defenders, and you people have the gall to stand there and seek to slander him? Outrageous, I say. Who among you has done even the least of this brave man’s acts in the defense against tyranny and oppression? Speak now, if you feel you can fill the least bit of this man’s shoes.”

  Silence filled the courtroom, somehow louder than the outcry of voices that had rang out minutes before. Sabine held the assembly of the noble houses of Purannis in her steely glare for long moments before going on.

  “I realize many off you are disappointed at being denied my sunny disposition being added to your families,” Sabine said lightly, shifting the mood of the conversation, and was greeted with many laughs throughout the room. “Ancient traditions among our people have blessed the union of Su’Tani and members of the royal family in the past, even those who have sat the throne. Master Subat and the Su’Tani Elders has acknowledged Mister Anders as a true Su’Tani, and has blessed our union.” Sabine ignored the scattered grumbles that passed through sections of the crowd. She noted the families that seemed most discontent and logged the information away to deal with later.

  “It has also been revealed to Master Subat and myself that Kristof Anders is more than just Su’Tani,” Sabine went on, readying herself for the outcry to come. “Last night, during the Ritual of Tu’Laria, it has also been revealed to us that after long millennia, a new ak’Sun Su’Tani has been named in Mr. Anders.”

  Sabine had expected the outbreak of disbelief at her declaration, and she allowed the assembled nobles to give voice to their disbelief at being asked to now believe in ancient legends. She had discussed this moment with Kristof and Subat before they summoned the noble families to the courtroom and how best to address it. After a time, Subat returned to the fore and again pounded his staff upon the floor. This time the room feel silent without Max’s urging.

  “I know the things that you have heard here today are incredible,” Subat said after the room fell silent.

  “Unbelievable, you mean,” a voice called out.

  “Any of you who wish to impugn my honor by calling me a liar may answer my open challenge after this meeting,” Subat replied with thinly veiled menace in his voice. Tradition held the Su’Tani as the defenders of the people and of the truth, and many Su’Tani served the Puranni people as judges and arbitrators. To call a Su’Tani a liar was considered a most grave insult, an insult that typically resulted in the accuser’s blood watering the lawn profusely. The room again fell silent as Subat’s challenge went unsurprisingly unanswered.

  “The armada of the Clovani Empire now stands upon our frontier,” Subat went on after a moment. “To make matters worse, they have been joined by fleet elements under the command of the traitorous house of Duranis. The assassination of Queen Josephine was carried out by a group of Forcun assassins in the employ of House Duranis, and aided by Queen Sabine’s own uncle, Salas Arctura, in a bid to seize the throne in the event of Queen Sabine’s death as well; a death which they then conspired with the Clovani Empire to achieve. It may be that the Clovani Empire still seeks to aid Salas Arctura and the House of Duranis to seize the throne, but we now have reason to believe that the Clovani Emperor no longer seeks an alliance, but rather our total destruction.”

  Sabine watched as the gathered nobles processed all that they had just learned. The exact details of the plot against her mother and herself had not been made public until now, though many had suspected elements of it. Much of the evidence would have to wait until a trial. It was no secret that House Duranis had always been ambitious, but the depths of their treachery left the nobles in a state of shock. Sabine knew that many of the assembled noblemen and noblewomen had extensive dealings with House Duranis in the past, though Subat’s investigations had revealed no coconspirators in the plot beyond her uncle.

  Thoughts of Stephan came to her as she listened while Subat began answering questions regarding various aspects of the plot to seize the throne as best he could, without revealing too much of what they knew. She had told Stephan that she would pull the trigger herself at his execution, and she had seen true pain in the man’s eyes rather than the hate she had expected. She was now no longer so sure that executing Stephan was the best course of action. Another option began to form in her mind for when and if they made it through the coming conflict.

  Further questioning while Stephan was drugged had found that the man had truly known nothing of the plot until it was already set in motion and mostly complete. Sabine took some solace in the knowledge that the man, who along with Subat, that had practically raised her since she was thirteen and sent to the Sanctuary had not actively plotted in her murder. She also knew herself the struggle that could come when faced with the choice between duty to family and maintaining one’s honor was set against what was right, though she had never been faced with a choice as severe as Stephan’s. Had he succeeded, Stephan would have had to live with the knowledge he had betrayed and brought about the death of his Queen, while had he refused he would have been ostracized from his family if they had won out in the end.

  Sympathy for Stephan was not something Sabine wished to feel at the moment, but it remained all the same. To take her mind from it and save it for another day, she turned her eyes to Kristof and let her thoughts dwell on the thought that he was now her husband. The previous night seemed like a dream to her now, but there was no denying that it had happened. She could feel the difference within her from the merging of souls between herself, Kristof, and Anasha. She could feel memories in her mind of Kristof that were not her own, just as if she concentrated she could see herself through Kristof’s eyes.

  It was a unique experience to say the least, and one that had made Sabine blush furiously several times that morning as memories of the first time she and Kristof made love flooded her mind from his perspective. She had refused to speak for a long time when he asked her why she had turned as red as a Morovian apple. When she did finally bring herself to tell him, it had sparked off similar memories in him. What followed w
as very vigorous, she remembered with a smile, and from the side of the dais Kristof returned her smile as if sharing her thoughts; and perhaps he had. They were closer than ever now, inseparable on a level few would ever know.

  Sabine’s thoughts evaporated and returned to the moment when voices from the assembled nobles began to rise once more. Concentrating on the line of discussion, she found Subat being interrogated on her claims that Kristof was now also the ak’Sun Su’Tani. To most, she knew, the ak’Sun Su’Tani was just a legend and no more, just as their Gods had become myths and stories told to children when they were young. Only the Su’Tani held to the old beliefs still.

  Subat motioned toward the wall behind the throne and a group of elderly men and women came forward to face the crowded hall. They were the Su’Tani Elders, known as the Su’Vanii, and each was blessed with powerful gifts of premonition and precognition. The Seers and the Dreamers they were sometimes called, and the validity of their gifts had been proven many times over during many generations, until the Su’Tani order as a whole had become synonymous with seers of the future and of the truth.

  “Master Subat has spoken truly,” announced Grand Master Annylas, a wizened old woman who walked with the aid of a gnarled root fashioned into a walking stick and lovingly polished over the years. “And the pronouncement has been verified from the spirit realm as well. Know this, though. The Great Darkness descends even upon us even as we speak,” she continued. “Only to the ak’Sun Su’Tani can we now turn. In his hands and only his, rests our deliverance.”