by Franc Ingram
“How about we go inside,” Daycia suggested, pointing to an open room. Oleana ushered Lorn inside, then followed him, leaving Daycia to enter last, closing the door behind them.
“What if we aren’t who we say we are?” Lorn asked. There was no malice or ill intent in him, but Oleana knew it could have been construed the wrong way.
Daycia took it in stride. She smiled, running her hand through her shoulder-length fiery-red hair. “Well then I guess I would turn you over to the rangers for interrogation.”
“And you’re confident that the two of us together wouldn’t pose a problem for you.”
Oleana knew the answer to that. Locked away in his DNA Lorn had a power that rivaled Daycia’s, but her experience outmatched even Oleana’s, and that counted for more than Lorn understood.
“Number one,” Daycia turned to Lorn answering him reassuringly,” I do believe you are who you claim, and therefore wish me no harm. I just feel it prudent to confirm. Second, in all my five hundred years I have only one permanent scar,” Daycia pulled her hair back to show a white line that traveled from just under her right ear down around the back of her neck. “A parting gift from my mother when I made it clear that her views of humanity were not mine.” Daycia placed her hands on her hips, looking from Oleana to Lorn. “So,” she continued, “unless you’re both ultras I’ve never heard of before, no, I don’t see you posing a big problem for me.”
“Does that make you in….,” Lorn began.
Oleana was tired of the exchange. She knew Lorn could come up with a thousand questions if let loose. Instead, she licked two of her fingers and pressed them to Lorn’s birthmark, cutting his question short. The mark took on a golden glow much like a firefly. When Oleana moved, the arrowhead shifted, pointing directly at her, halting Lorn in the middle of his sentence.
Not finished with her parlor trick, Oleana rolled up her own sleeve to reveal her own mark. It was different, on its own it was just a thin ring of dark skin, easily ignore, but when it came into proximity with the activated mark of another Heir things changed. At the center of her mark the faint shadow of an arrow started to appear, mimicking Lorn’s, the distinct golden glow standing out against her brown skin.
“You are indeed one of the Three, and the Guardian,” Daycia said looking between them with obvious satisfaction. “Alwen, this is amazing. I was beginning to doubt if I would ever meet you again, Master of Skies.”
Oleana flinched at the sound of her old name. That name belonged to someone who had seen the world through naive eyes, the name of a girl who failed to do what she had needed to. “It’s Oleana now,” she corrected firmly, looking Daycia directly in her violet eyes.
“My apologies, Oleana,” Daycia said, nodding.
“It is odd to meet someone that knows more about me than I do,” Lorn confessed to Daycia. “Mom warned me, she told me that this is our fourth lifetime and that you knew her during her first, but hearing someone other than her say it aloud just feels weird.”
“One of the many things unique to you four Heirs of Eternity” Daycia said, then shifted her attention. “So, you’re a mom now,” Daycia stated, curiously glancing between Lorn and Oleana.
“It’s a long story. One I have no intention of …,” Oleana’s complaint was cut off by the sound of warning bells echoing outside.
CHAPTER THREE: YETIS
“What’s that,” Lorn said, peeking out the window.
“Please tell me it isn’t what I think,” Oleana said, reaching for her weapons. Lorn took the hint and did the same.
“Warning alarms for a breach of the wall. They’ve been coming more and more of late. Yetis on the loose again.”
Daycia opened the door in time to see young Colin running down the hall with the leather book clutched to his chest. “Hurry to the shelter,” he shouted to all whom he passed.
“I’m afraid we are destined for the viewing room,” Daycia announced.
Oleana followed her mentor, more out of habit than desire. She had a mission to complete, and getting involved in this little breech would just take time away from that pursuit. She knew Daycia’s help would cut the search time, so Oleana decided that she could summon enough patience to make it through one distraction.
From experience, Oleana didn’t count the yetis as a particularly dangerous foe in small numbers. They may have looked intimidating with their tall, muscular bodies covered in coarse fur, with elongated fans and curved claws, but they were dim-witted and tended to fight amongst themselves more than anyone else. In large groups, they could cause destruction and panic. For the untrained civilian, even one yeti could cause significant damage if provoked, but incursions weren’t new to the people of Solon and they knew how to stay away from the beasts.
Yetis, the creations of Cornelius, aka the Ice Ultra, sometimes got bored roaming the barren tundra and decided to eat their fill of human fare. They often tore their way through town taking all that they wished until the rangers forced them back over the wall.
The viewing room was already occupied. Oleana recognized two of them from their pictures on the wall. The other individual had to be the local head of the rangers; Oleana recognized the uniform and rank as soon as she set eyes on it. They greeted Lorn and Oleana with suspicious stares.
“Friends of mine,” Daycia said, recognizing the tension in the room as soon as they stepped in. Apparently, her approval was good enough because the others turned back to their business without another word.
The room would have been large enough to fit twenty people in it comfortably if an array of different equipment and maps weren’t taking up half the space. Three large, white strips of cloth, much like new sheets, were stretched taut from floor to ceiling, covering up the back wall, the others huddled around a semi-circular table positioned in front of them. There they watched a multitude of images captured from around the city of Solon projected onto the white fabric from some unseen equipment hidden behind the sheets.
Oleana stood toward the back of the room, well out of everyone’s way. She held her arm out to keep Lorn at bay. He gave her a disappointed look, but it didn’t matter. Yeti incursions weren’t their problem.
“There they are,” the ranger said pointing. “Middle left screen.”
Oleana spotted three yetis stalking toward the butcher shop at the west end of the market district. They were after a quick meal. With the amount of people in the area at this hour, they were likely to cause panic. Stampeding people meant injuries, or worse. More pleasure for the yetis.
“Zyair if we cut them off before they hit the market, it shouldn’t be hard to drive them back over the wall without a fight,” Daycia offered.
The ranger shook his head. “Most of my men are out on the tundra. We got a report early this morning that a group of late season ice fishers got themselves trapped on a piece of glacier that broke off. To keep them contained, we need a two-pronged attack and I just don’t have the manpower for that.”
“Why would those fishers risk going out there in the first place?” Lorn asked drawing more attention to them than Oleana felt comfortable with.
The Dean of Technology gave the boy a disappointed look. “Times are hard young man. Hard working men and women need every penny they can earn.”
“I would be more than happy to join you in the field, along with Paley,” Daycia said. Then she glanced at Oleana who had her eyebrows raised in an unasked question. “Paley is my latest apprentice. Did a brief stint as a ranger then came to the college to study engineering. She’s talented and smart. You two really need to meet. On the battlefield?”
“Not going to happen,” Oleana said. She couldn’t manage to look Daycia in the eye while she refused, but her feelings were set. She paced the floor, a million reasons why not to get involved raced through her mind, but the number one reason was to frightening to even voice.
“Three yetis won’t pose a problem for you,” Daycia replied. “Besides it would be good practice for the boy. He’ll need it fo
r the journey ahead.” A look of mourning passed across Daycia’s face, wrinkling her smooth features. It was fleeting, but Oleana could guess at what caused it.
Just under a century ago, Daycia stood in that very market square with the original versions of Oleana, then Alwen, and Lorn, then Thurgood. They were inundated with yetis then. Daycia, trapped by the sheer number of them, had been unable to keep Cornelius from cutting her companions down.
Oleana jabbed her finger at Daycia’s face. “It’s because of that very thing that I’m not taking this sixteen-year-old out to fight those creatures. Three might not be a problem, but there are many more out there. As soon as we step outside these walls, the greater the risk of Cornelius finding us out. Do you think those three yetis are worth that?” Oleana’s voice cracked and all eyes were on her. She didn’t mean to yell, to lose control. The idea of facing yetis scared her more than she wanted to admit, even to herself. She pulled nervously at one of her dreadlocks “I’m not dying today, not for this.”
Daycia nodded, her eyes soft and understanding. She opened her mouth to say something, even took a hesitant step toward Oleana but Oleana was closed off. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked off toward a blank wall. Not another word needed to be said about it. Daycia turned back to the others. “The four of us, and what city guards we can gather, will be enough to hold off these three, but we must hurry.”
Oleana stared at the screens. People in the streets were already starting to panic as the yetis moved closer to crowded areas. The beasts seemed focused on the shop, and therefore made no move to pick on the stragglers.
“Stay here and coordinate things,” Daycia ordered. “We’ll talk more later.”
Oleana didn’t bother looking at her mentor, she just nodded. She could picture the disappointed look on the older woman’s face. Everyone else in the room purposefully looked at anything but the two of them. Oleana’s cheeks were flushed, she hated making a scene. Hated drawing attention.
The ranger, Zyair, was already out the door, presumably to round up what men he could find. Oleana felt a pang of guilt as she slid her sais back into their hilts. Staying put was the right thing to do. Safer for Lorn, safer for her. A master like Daycia could handle three yetis with no problem.
Lorn stepped up to the table, glancing over the city map embedded on top. He said nothing, but the droop in his shoulders, and the calm demeanor, spoke volumes. Oleana understood the need for combat experience, but not in Solon. Not today.
The two deans who remained in the room, accepted Oleana’s help without objection. The deans took the right and left screens, respectively. That left the middle for Oleana to watch. The air of the room was thick with nervous energy waiting for the two parties to reach the civilians.
Two men, who were wearing gray uniforms with, ’Solon Guard,’ stitched in red thread at their breast, arrived on the scene first. They took up positions in front of the yetis, slowing their progress and providing a layer of protection between the civilians and danger. But, if it came to a fight, the guards would be torn to shreds.
Daycia finally showed back up, with a tall woman wearing a professor’s tunic in tow - she must have been the talented Paley. It felt like all the air that was sucked out when the alarms began ringing, suddenly whooshed back in, refilling the space with fresh, sweet air. Everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief.
The two rangers were close behind, in full protective gear including helmets and shields, both embossed with the ranger’s emblem and the crest of Arismas, the realm in which Solon lay. The yetis made their displeasure at finding themselves surrounded known by letting out bloodcurdling screams.
“Look at those teeth,” Lorn said, his voice high and loud. His hands cradled his face as if to hold the excitement in. “and those claws! And that build. Wow that fur looks coarse enough to stop a blade.” Lorn bounced on his tiptoes inching ever closer to the screens.
“Watch how they attack,” Oleana instructed her son. “Pay attention to how they fight and think about what the best counter would be.” Fighting wasn’t the only way to gain knowledge.
Lorn nodded. His eyes darted back and forth between the different vantage points of the street. Give Lorn an opportunity to learn, and he soaked it up. That was one quality that stayed with him, no matter what incarnation she ran into.
With alarm bells still ringing throughout the city, most people were taking the hint to find shelter in the solid structures along the market walls. Others chose to make their exit at the east end where the market gave way to the garment district. Three large factories took up much of the area. Family businesses squeezed between the free spaces. Many of them had pens in the back where they raised, and housed, small herds of baymar. The native Euphorian animals had soft, fluffy coats that were prized for making quality clothing.
Oleana searched through what little she could see of the area on screen. The herds of docile baymar would make a tasty treat for the ravenous yetis. They scaled the great wall, so no holding pen would keep them at bay. Oleana didn’t need the civilians running into more trouble.
The fourth shop on the left, had a sign above it reading, ‘Misty’s Boutique.’ Oleana spotted movement on the left side of the old stone building. The door was lying in the street, splintered with claw marks gouged deep inside the tough wood.
“Can you get me a better view of this building here?” Oleana asked, as she peered closely at the screen, trying to make out more detail of the scene. The Dean of Engineering disappeared behind the sheet. The block images shimmered, then went black for long enough to make Oleana worried. Finally, a new set of images popped up. One of them happened to be a long-range view that covered several of the backyard pens.
Oleana spotted four yetis in the back of the shop tearing into the pen, chasing the scared baymar around. The gruesome scene of blood and guts was sickening, but what she saw coming toward the shop caused her heart to thud against her chest. A group of twelve people were fleeing the chaos of the market, heading straight for the yetis.
“Mom,” Lorn called urgently, leaning closer to the screen.
“I see it,” she assured him, then speaking to the nearest dean, she asked, “Can you guys get some guards over to the east end?”
“No mom, look.” Lorn raised his arm to show the glowing arrow on his hairless muscular forearm.
Oleana jammed her sleeve back to see that her birthmark glowed as well; sparkling like it was sprinkled with diamond dust against her cocoa brown skin. Inside the ring, she could make out the faint impression of a paw print, the mark of the Master of Animals.
Looking back out the door, Oleana hoped some lucky student just walked by then she could snatch him up and they could be on their way, instead of joining yet another useless fight. The hall was empty and no one could be heard. That left her with only one other option. Oleana turned her attention back to the screens. She spotted, at the end of the pack of people leaving the market, a man that looked to be around Oleana’s age. He stood out only because he was rubbing furiously at his forearm while he tried to keep up with the others.
“This is not how this was supposed to go,” Oleana said looking up, seeing past the ceiling, and calling to the Twelve in the skies above. She should have been used to watching one of the three walk straight into danger by now.
“Does that mean…,” Lorn started to ask, his hands tugging at Oleana’s coat excitedly.
“Yes,” Oleana answered before he could finish. The two deans looked back and forth between them with looks of both awe, and excitement. Of course they could put things together. So much for remaining anonymous.
Many of the people of Euphoria knew the legend of the Heirs of Eternity - the three kings and their loyal guardian. The deans of the Founders College would know better than most how real the story was. Daycia likely wrote a book about it a century ago, tucked away on some shelf in the Thousand Years Library. The older woman had a way with words that must have made the tale about how the Twelve- the col
lective of AI's that deposited mankind on Euphoria- created the four Heirs to undo their mistake in creating the ultras.
Oleana could just imagine how grand it must have seemed when Daycia wrote about how each Heir could tap into the unique set of bio signal frequencies specific to each form of life. Lorn could manipulate the weather. Oleana had a limited influence over people. Another could affect animals, and the last the earth.
Oleana wondered how many times each one of the faces that looked at her read Daycia’s book and hoped one day to come across such legends. Now Oleana and her son were standing in front of them. She knew keeping hidden meant staying safe. The college tended to be a breeding ground of gossip, and secrets didn’t stay secret for long.
“Yes, we are who you think we are," Oleana answered their unasked question, “and no, you can’t tell anyone. Anyone,” Oleana insisted. The deans nodded in unison, mouths still open in shock.
“Are we going?” Lorn asked. He didn't wait for the answer, already moving for the door.
“Time to go fight the yetis,” Oleana confirmed.
CHAPTER FOUR: MASTER OF ANIMALS
When the alarm bells first sounded, Leith was busy enjoying a pilfered lunchtime snack he’d acquired from one of the poorly watched shops in the open-air market at the heart of Solon. In his youth, the yetis ventured into the city once every three of four years. In the last year, they’d breached the wall eight times already, causing great damage to property and people. Leith didn’t put much stock in the doomsday nonsense some of the elders spoke of in hushed tones, but maybe the end was indeed on the horizon. Something had the yetis going crazy.