Jaded Dusk

by Scott Wale

  The three dropped the static shields they had obtained and left their post at the top of the ramp and turned the first corner heading towards the ramp up to the next level. They had defended the top of the ramp the entire time without being engaged and they now began to wonder where any reinforcements may have been sent if not to take back access to the controller. They continued up until they were one floor beneath that which connected to the receiving bay. Here, at the bottom of the ramp up to the next floor, awaited a barricade of shield bearers. Each formed tightly shoulder to shoulder with a row of static shields planted on the ground and another row held above that essentially formed a wall. The group had descended along a single path into subterranean corridors of Prominence and as far as they knew this barricade was the only way back out.

  “Nevit, you can go check the other end of this hallway to see if there’s another way up, but I fear we’re looking at our only exit”, Fenrit offered.

  “Hope you have one more great idea in you”, Nevit said upon reaching the other end of the hallway.

  “What could they possibly gain by blocking us in?” Fenrit wondered aloud.

  “Maybe they think we’re destroying the whole facility and can’t proceed with the plan while trapped inside”, Nevit said returning from his brief scouting mission.

  “Should we head back down and grab the static shields and try to push our way through?” Alejade asked.

  “Not a good idea”, Nevit commented. “Tradok will be detonating any time now and the further we are from the blast the better.”

  “Will we hear or feel the blast from up here?” Fenrit asked.

  “Probably, considering we’re pretty much on top of it still”, Nevit figured.

  “Let’s wait it out then and see if that opens up an opportunity”, Fenrit decided.

  The three stood in silence for what felt like an interminable period. Alejade’s mind went to Jandra and how she longed to reunite with the raptor and return to her life where she had taken safety for granted. If nothing else, this experience allowed her to fully appreciate what Fenrit and the premaliers did for their people. Fenrit’s mind focused on the wall of static shields as he anticipated the blast. He wasn’t sure what kind of opportunity would present itself, but he was eager to escape Prominence and relish in the fact that he would never have to return. Nevit’s mind fixated on Tradok. The impending explosion would be synonymous with his friend’s death. Nevit thought about his friend’s final message and what exactly his friend was asking him to do with the file that had been attached to the message.

  A muffled crack followed by a slight rumble broke the concentration of all three. If they had interpreted everything correctly, the controller was no more, the cymutts were no more and sadly Tradok was no more. The hallway lights flickered and then momentarily shut off. Pitch black enveloped the trio and sparked an idea in Fenrit’s head that maybe it was possible to somehow sneak over the wall of static shields. Auxiliary power kicked in a moment later washing away the darkness and Fenrit’s plan along with it. The once blinding corridor that had reflected white beams of light was now replaced by the dim lighting from an emitter covered with a red lens. The halls had shifted from disorienting to eerie.

  Fenrit’s eyes were the first to adjust to the halls that were now bathed in red. He witnessed the shield bearers stare up at the lights trying to make sense of what was occurring. Fenrit continued to watch as a static shield on the top row disappeared from the formation soon followed by another. A moment later the entire top row had disappeared and it didn’t take long for the bottom row to follow suit. The shield bearers had abandoned their position and scattered to different parts of the facility. It was unclear if they had received a new command or if the auxiliary power was a signal that it was now every living being for themselves.

  “The path is clear, let’s make our way to the receiving bay”, Fenrit directed.

  “Are they gone for good?” Alejade asked.

  “All that matters is that they’re not blocking the ramp”, Fenrit reasoned. “The entrance to the receiving bay wasn’t too far from the top. From there it should be an easy route back to the cave.”

  “Especially with all the cymutts now out of our way”, Nevit added.

  The trio made their way to the top of the ramp and over to the doorway that led out into the receiving bay. The door slid open and all three rushed a few steps towards the receiving bay exit before their eyes were drawn to an inanimate cymutt. It didn’t appear any different from when the group had first come through the receiving bay and in fact most of the cymutts that were lying about the floor were those they had seen earlier. The only difference existed in their mind. It was a sense of serenity. A cymutt could no longer spring to life as Tradok had warned when the group initially came through the receiving bay. The mechanical beasts were now harmless in the present moment and for all eternity. The group’s mission had been accomplished, yet they had not taken the time to recognize this achievement until now.

  Fenrit stared at the nearest cymutt that had drawn the attention of the trio and then let his attention move from one lifeless cymutt to the next. The destruction of the controller had the exact result that Tradok had promised and the explosion they had felt earlier had qualified the mission as a success. They had never doubted Tradok’s strategy and it was probably for the best as second guessing the strategy only would have made the endeavor that much more stressful. It was a wonder that something so powerful and fear inducing was channeled through a single point that ultimately served as its vulnerability.

  The door between the interior of Prominence and the receiving bay slid open. Fenrit reflexively pulled Scourge off his shoulder and drew an arrow before even seeing his target. He held his arrow fully drawn searching for what had opened the door. It didn’t take long until he laid his sights on Zephyr. The Denebalg had entered the receiving bay and headed directly to the first deceased cymutt acting completely oblivious to Alejade, Fenrit and Nevit’s presence. Zephyr had draped himself in a hoodless black cloak as if he was attending a funeral. He paused a moment over the cymutt corpse staring down at it with dispirited eyes. After what seemed like an eternity to Fenrit, Zephyr dropped to his knees and buried his face into his arm that he had laid over the cymutt body. Fenrit could only assume that the Denebalg was weeping, so the premalier slowly brought his bowstring back to rest and returned the arrow back to his quiver.

  The trio couldn’t help but observe as Zephyr grieved over the cymutt. Alejade found it peculiar that such emotions could be triggered over something that never even contained a miniscule amount of life essence. She would not be one to judge after having been ridiculed many times herself over the grief she experienced after the loss of a creature.

  Zephyr regained his composure and stood up, while continuing to ignore the presence of his spectators. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a device. He began pressing some buttons on the device’s exterior and then turned towards the center column of the receiving bay. Alejade, Fenrit and Nevit all struggled to get a good look at what the Denebalg had withdrawn. When Zephyr had turned to face the center column, Alejade was able to take a few steps to the side to improve her angle of perception, which allowed her to immediately recognize the device. It was the ‘divider’ that she had seen, what felt like forever ago, in the mining explosives shop in Shadowport. The shopkeeper’s description of the explosive’s effectiveness played in her head. The ‘divider’ wasn’t meant to blow things apart, but rather slice things up.

  “We need to go now”, Alejade said with unmistakable urgency.

  “What is it?” Nevit asked still not able to catch a glimpse of the item.

  “Now!” Alejade commanded turning to head for the receiving bay’s door.

  Fenrit and Nevit didn’t think twice before following her lead. All three sprinted out the bay door leading to the outside and kept up their pace as they headed towards the rock face that lead down to the cave. Before they reached the edge of the cliff a
loud crack sounded just as it had when Tradok’s explosive had detonated, but this one hadn’t been muffled by layers of foundation. Alejade and Nevit both dove to the ground covering their heads, which in hindsight felt like a futile effort towards safety. Fenrit turned to watch as moments after the loud crack the receiving bay ceiling fell followed by the entire receiving bay collapsing in on itself. The support wall shared between the receiving bay and the rest of the facility was pulled into the implosion causing considerable damage to the adjacent portion of Prominence including the hallways that led down to the controller. When the dust settled it appeared that where the receiving bay once stood had now sunk into the ground as the ‘divider’ had sliced through the rock beneath the receiving bay and all the debris had collected in a subterranean pile. While a good share of the rest of Prominence still remained, the damage was definitely an eyesore that had done much to remove the intimidation the entire intact facility created at first sight.

  “We should have just brought a few of those”, Nevit jested.

  “At least this brings peace of mind that if there were any remains of the controller from Tradok’s explosion, those fragments are well buried now”, Fenrit observed.

  “I’ve seen enough”, Alejade commented. “Let’s start our journey back to the Jade Plains, so I can feel that much closer to home again.”

  “Agreed”, Fenrit said.

  XXIX.

  Cerevus jabbed at the inactive cymutt frame. This particular cymutt had just made its way through the hole created in Aman’s wall when all the cymutts simultaneously fell into their eternal slumber. It had initially been part of the second wave, which was pouring into Aman after the first wave had been vanquished by a steady volley of arrows. By Cerevus’ estimation the second wave would have eventually been eliminated, but the third wave would have overtaken Aman’s defenders. Cerevus had credited Fenrit with accomplishing his mission and looked forward to sharing with his fellow premalier just how little time was left before Aman would have been captured.

  The peculiar observation that Cerevus and the other defenders of Aman had noted was the lack of aggression in the cymutts. Few casualties had occurred among the defenders and the few that Cerevus had witnessed could almost be described as the cymutts defending themselves. It was unclear what the cymutts were trying to accomplish, but the scene contained immense disparity when compared to the events of Dimday. No one had questioned the defenders of Aman’s use of force as the cymutt’s act of marching on Aman was an act of aggression in itself.

  Cerevus looked up from his position on the forest floor and caught sight of Halden who was leaving his position next to Jalpa and retreating to the center of Aman where the Loupiq and Chafel resided. The brief battle had concluded and already Halden was furthering his agenda Cerevus thought. Slandering an elder was unthinkable, but Cerevus could follow him to help mitigate any damage Halden was about to perform.

  Cerevus remained on the forest floor and tracked Halden as he walked the network of bridges high up in the trees towards the center of Aman. Halden’s nearly straight path confirmed Cerevus’ belief that the elder was intent on meeting with Arkiva and Virra. With all the commotion from the recent events it would be difficult for Halden to call for a closed meeting between the three. Cerevus would be present and if he couldn’t influence the direction of the meeting, he would at least be informed.

  Halden descended a ramp down to the forest floor with Aman that led directly to where the Loupiq and Chafel awaited the outcome of the battle. The elder proceeded to the structure where Arkiva and Virra had located themselves. Several Loupiq and Chafel were already in attendance when the sole male elder entered shortly followed by his tracker.

  “The cymutts are no longer a threat, which means it’s now time to discuss the future of our people”, Halden announced.

  “Unusual hastiness for you”, Arkiva replied in an almost insulting tone.

  “We can’t live at the side of the Ipta forever”, Halden defended himself. “It will take time to develop a long term plan, but there are a few matters we can discuss immediately.”

  “What would those matters be?” Virra asked.

  “We have yet to discuss the punishment for Fenrit’s actions”, Halden said cutting straight to the point.

  Cerevus snarled at the topic. Only moments ago Fenrit had eliminated the greatest threat to his people and already Halden seeks a reprimand for his actions.

  “I agree that the matter needs to be discussed, but it will require much deliberation before an appropriate response can be reached”, Arkiva declared. “We must consider all points including what his actions have done for our people today.”

  “His attributed actions”, Halden said as if a correction was needed. “At this time we can’t be assured that today’s events were the result of his actions. What we can be sure of is that he deliberately disobeyed a standard that we’ve set in place for our people. We need to set an example that actions like his will not be tolerated.”

  “Sadly, I cannot disagree with you”, Arkiva conceded. “Actions outside of the established standards do deserve a punishment. For the safety of our people these types of decisions need to be brought before the group of elders and not handled by an individual. We are stronger as a society.”

  “I believe an exception can be made in extenuating circumstances”, Virra dissented. “Whether he had succeeded in his mission or not, his heart was in the right place.”

  “Noted”, Arkiva acknowledged.

  “I believe we need to discuss suitable punishments”, Halden said trying to expedite the discussion.

  “I will leave that decision to you two as I want to have no part of it”, Virra stated realizing her minority position. “I only ask that you consider the fact that Fenrit is a capable being and limiting his abilities is a detriment to our society.”

  “You’re correct, which only makes this decision more difficult”, Arkiva replied.

  “That is indeed correct”, Halden said with a hint of malevolence. “Fenrit has served his people well in his role as a premalier. I believe it is time for that role to end.”

  “What exactly do you propose?” Arkiva asked.

  “Fenrit’s mistake was to interact with the outside world on a level that put his people in jeopardy”, Halden explained. “To eliminate the risk of that occurring again he needs to be confined to the village, which precludes his function in the premaliers.”

  “Temporary?” Arkiva asked seeking clarification.

  “Permanent”, Halden argued.

  “For as long as I’ve been an elder the premaliers have governed their own”, Arkiva began. “Now is not the time to supersede that tradition. I recommend temporary confinement to the village, thereafter the premaliers can decide on the fate of Fenrit.”

  “That will be sufficient”, Halden quickly agreed.

  Cerevus sighed at the final decision. Fenrit would not tolerate being confined to the village. The heart of the premalier only continued to beat through the sense of freedom that interaction with the Jade Plains provided. Cerevus wasn’t sure how Fenrit would react to the decision, but it was safe to think that Fenrit would never be the same.

  “And what of Alejade?” Halden asked.

  “She acted only to control her brother”, Virra defended.

  “She was put in a difficult position, but I have no doubt she acted with pure intentions”, Arkiva reasoned. “I believe she sought to serve as a representative for the group of elders when she realized they were being circumvented. For this reason she will receive no punishment.”

  “Acceptable”, Halden conceded.

  The true damage had been done. For the first time a premalier would be held accountable for their actions by the group of elders. This was the opportunity that Halden needed to create a fissure in the power that was shared between the premaliers and the group of elders. Halden had successfully taken a model premalier and had him reprimanded. The precedent had been set and now that Fenrit had f
ailed to remain unharmed, others would soon meet the same fate.

  ***

  “Today we mourn, for tomorrow and hereafter we will show strength”, Alejade chanted over the funeral pyre.

  The remaining trio had reunited with Jandra and then made their way back through the cave. They kept moving until they reached just outside the mouth of the cave at the apex of the trail. Fenrit had felt safer putting distance between the group and Prominence. After achieving the sense of security, he agreed to let Alejade perform the funeral rituals for their fallen comrade.

  Nevit stared into the flickering flames with his purple eyes. He hadn’t just lost a friend, but the only way of life he had known for the last several years. Tradok had brought balance to Nevit’s life. The unlikely pair had somehow created a bond and now Nevit’s future path was unclear. It seemed pointless to return to Shadowport or any other residence he had held over his lifetime. It had yet to be formally planned, but Alejade and Fenrit would surely return to their people. Where exactly would he go and how would he fit in to his new place?

  “You’re welcome to journey back with us as we rejoin our people”, Alejade offered as if she had read the Mortoptera’s mind.

  “Thank you, but it seems like that would be a little awkward”, Nevit replied as his eyes turned from purple to orange.

  “I would imagine the Loupiq and Chafel will welcome you with open arms”, Fenrit interjected. “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for myself.”

  “You’re being too hard on yourself, brother”, Alejade began. “You will have to face the elders, but their decision will be just and you will eventually move past it.”