Knights of the Inner Rim (Beyond the Outer Rim Book 0)

by Reiter

  “Oh, this is going to be good,” the female said. There was a bright smile in her voice and Valian allowed himself a slight smile as well. “You may ask your questions, Valian Styrke!”

  The smile faded from Valian’s face as a spark fired deep in his eyes. His nostrils flared as his mind prepared to take hold of the moment. “Now we’re getting somewhere!”

  The only discernable difference between entities and mortals is that the pains caused by entities last a great deal longer... and are often more troublesome to contend with!

  Freund

  (Rims Time: XI-4804.16)

  Zorkaysha sat on her throne, bathing in the light and stroking the fine yellow fur of her onyx snake, Lleerzi. Only a small section of the creature had fur, growing in the space between its sapphire wings. Most of its near five-meter long body was on the floor at her feet.

  “Are you sure this is wise?” the snake asked, receiving an immediate giggle from his mistress.

  “Lleerzi, shame on you!” she said, with a forming smile, scratching a little harder at the fur. The snake closed its emerald eyes and shuddered at the sensation. “How can I even begin to answer that question? We’re dealing with simple mortals... or at least he was one, when he was conceived.”

  “Oh... right!” the snake hissed. “From the one calling herself Eagle came this one. Bound for Death when your light touched him.”

  “Yes, Mortisia had a place for him already arranged,” Zorkaysha said, slowly standing up from her seat. She was, after all, not in a state a simple mortal would consider to be presentable. The males were especially still too preoccupied with sexual conquest to be capable of competency after seeing the entity in her naked form. Her complexion was the softest brown, not even what would be considered a tan hue, but she was flawless and quite tall compared to mortal women. Her golden eyebrows and eyelashes were the only examples of hair on her body and like most of the Etasi, her eyes were living light. “He was to rest beside his sisters... the only male of what would eventually become four attempts to bring life into the Rims through Arva’s womb.”

  “Was there an error with the mother?”

  “No, far from it actually. The DNA of the father was re-engineered. It was biologically impossible for him to seed a living child into the world. It was something of what they call a miracle that the two even conceived. Be a dear and bring me my headdress.”

  The snake had barely moved when the would-be goddess started moving her fingertips over her shoulders. The light from her hands fell to her crossed forearms, and gold bracers were left in the wake of its passing. Her arms slowly uncrossed, trailing light from the bracers, leaving a shimmering shower of light that became links of white gold and pearl settings which draped over her body with her skin showing through.

  “Sceptre?” Lleerzi asked before making his return trip.

  “No,” she answered after some consideration. “Subjugation is not the aim here... unless, of course, he insists on it.”

  “Do you think he will?”

  “It isn’t likely... but I’m not about to deny someone who wishes to worship me. But, as I said... it isn’t likely. He’s more likely to attack me.”

  “Then I will destroy him!” Lleerzi vowed.

  “You will take no action without my approval,” Zorkaysha commanded. “This boy has been manipulated since before his birth. A certain amount of hysterics should be expected.”

  The onyx snake returned with her headdress. It was a white gold skull cap with hundreds of white, yellow, and gold scarves hanging from it. The moment the metal touched her skin, each scarf was lined in living light and able to move on its own.

  “Lleerzi, our guest has been in limbo long enough,” Zorkaysha estimated, believing that her visitor was not as eager now that he was closer to her realm than his own. “Bring him through the veil.”

  The snake slithered to the edge of the throne platform and gazed down the steps, allowing his talent to focus through his emerald eyes. The door to the realm was opened and the young man started to materialize. “Should I make myself scarce?”

  “Whatever for?!” Zorkaysha asked, taking her seat again. “There is courtesy, my friend, and then there is submission. The longer both sides can keep from going to that extreme, the more we can hope to accomplish. A fanatic will die for me... I want to know if this emerging man will live for me!”

  Valian looked around, wondering where the room and Travis had gone.

  “They are fine,” Zorkaysha said softly. “Both the chamber and your Uncle Travis. You needn’t worry. You are welcome here... you’re safe here... and I offer you my apologies.”

  “Your apologies?” Valian inquired. “Not your humble apologies? Whoever you might be.”

  “I think we can both see humility is not one of my passions,” Zorkaysha smiled. “I prefer truth... I believe we have that in common.”

  “Aye, that is a preference we share. I get the feeling that you know my name-”

  “From the moment it was given to you,” Zorkaysha informed.

  “... but I do not know yours. Or should I say, I do not know what you wish me to call you.”

  “How very thoughtful,” she commented, standing up to walk down the stairs toward Valian. “I have been called so many things over the ages. And I speak of names of reverence.”

  “Of course you do,” Valian replied, realizing that he could see no doors to the room, no corridors leading out.

  “We don’t use the doors you are accustomed to, Valian,” Zorkaysha projected. “But I assure you that you are not a prisoner. Merely give the word and I shall return you to the place and time from which you were snatched.

  “I believe the names you are most familiar with...,” she continued, without losing any tempo to her speaking. “... would be Zorkaysha... or the Sacred Empress.” She smiled, watching realization find its home in Valian’s mind. “Yes, that Sacred Empress. Ulreejun loves it when he can lie without lying.”

  “He spoke of your faith being justified,” Valian recalled.

  “Such a sharp memory, too,” Zorkaysha smiled, reaching the lower floor. Valian looked into her eyes without fear or confusion. His mind was focused on the point he had made. “That is good.”

  Zorkaysha took hold of his arm and Valian bent it in the fashion of how it would have been had he offered it. He closed his eyes, nearly overwhelmed by the presence of the woman. Her touch might have started at his arm, but it was his heart that began racing as a particular heat rose from his chest.

  “That smell!” he thought, closing his eyes. “This must be what heaven smells like.”

  Feeling his thoughts... and some of his rising passions, Zorkaysha encapsulated her essence, blushing at the predicament she had put the young man in. “Again, my apologies. It has been some time since I last entertained company of your sort.”

  Continuing the walk, Valian closed his eyes and focused his thoughts inward. He did not try to fight the feelings he was experiencing. His training with his Praeceptor had already shown him that was a fool’s errand. Instead he categorized the sensations, filing them away to use as a basis of reference at some later date. His mind was then able to return to the present moment and the objective he had set for himself.

  “If you truly wish to apologize, you will provide me with answers instead of immeasurable distractions.”

  Zorkaysha patted his arm, giggling and taking them out of her chamber. The walkway they were suddenly on was made of a crystal that looked and felt like glass. It was actually a bridge suspended over a lush, green valley and Zorkaysha continued to lead the young man down the path. “Most interesting, a compliment, a complaint, and a directive wrapped into one statement. How very clever.

  “My first apology is simple to explain,” the Sacred Empress began. “I find it incredibly unfair that so many decisions were made for you even before you had the opportunity to leave your mother’s womb.”

  “And because of you I was born,” Valian added.

 
“Because of your mother,” Zorkaysha corrected. “Travis and Ulreejun are under the impression that I only spoke to Travis that day. That would be inaccurate. I spoke to your mother and father as well.”

  “Why did you talk to my mother?”

  “She was the only woman in Travis’ group who was of her own mind. She had taken Kolinkar for a mate, so I had interest in talking to him as well.”

  “That sounds somewhat sexist,” Valian measured.

  “Only somewhat?” Zorkaysha asked. “How is it not sexist?”

  “I was trying to be polite,” Valian stressed.

  “Lies are only a courteous comfort to the incompetent, unwary, or uninspired,” she shared. “I truly appreciate your capacity for integrity and truth.

  “To continue, I asked your mother to choose: service to me or death. Her only request was that you live. If I could promise that she would do as I asked, provided I did not request the harming of either her husband or her child. As I stated before, this made me curious as to what her so-called husband would request.”

  “So-called?”

  “A matter of reference at the time, Valian,” she assured. “... and only at that time.

  “He only wanted one thing: for the image he held tightly in his heart to come true. In that image was a happy and healthy child being held by its mother. She too was happy and healthy. Oddly enough, he was not in the picture... when I inquired why he wasn’t, he told me that the people in the picture could control themselves. They were not savages like he considered himself to be.”

  “My father-”

  “No, not the father you knew,” Zorkaysha asserted. “That man was very much in control of his rages.”

  “And that was because of what you did for him.”

  “What I did for the both of you!” Zorkaysha stated. “His plea touched me... I decided to give the level of control he requested for you to him as well. The others received what Fate had in store for them.”

  “So you and Fate are not the same?”

  “Gracious, no!” she exclaimed. “Sister Fate is much more powerful than anything you will see here. But she allows me to work in her light... which brings us to you, Valian Styrke. Simply because more than my light has touched you. In the instant that I reworked your destiny, Fate herself worked her power into you.

  “And before you ask, she shares with me what she wishes for me to know; her reasons and objectives remain her secret. I only know you are something that the mortal realm has not seen in ages, which puts upon you a tremendous responsibility, if you wish to accept it. If not, like so many powers given to us, it too will be wasted.

  “Let’s see... that brings us to the second inquiry,” Zorkaysha continued. “My faith in you being justified. I summoned Jorkethian. I told him his skills were needed and sent him to the Duke’s House on the day of the race. The disguise was something he put together all on his own.

  “And last but not least, why have I brought you here and now. The rift. It was not the result of an altercation with the Vythe. It was the Vythe making a breach point into your realm. Before it could be secured, however, I attacked them. Normally I am much more successful against a handful of the Vythe.”

  “But?”

  “Turns out there were more than a handful,” she stated, frowning as she remembered the conflict.

  “And you were nearly defeated,” Valian assessed.

  “The arrival of the ship distracted the leader of the group I had engaged. In a fit of anger he ripped the paneling away from its port side. In that same instant I was able to reverse the tide of our conflict. By the time I got to the ship... most of the passengers were dead.”

  “And your way of saying ‘thank you’ was to subjugate the remaining passengers?!”

  “They were given an option!” she fired back.

  “And who would choose death over a life of servitude?”

  “Someone who is able to see beyond their own selfish aims,” Zorkaysha answered.

  “I can see there are a number of points where we will not agree,” Valian estimated.

  “Agreement on every point is not a requiem for an alliance, Valian. Trust and understanding, however, are very necessary.”

  “But I don’t understand you,” Valian claimed.

  “Of course you do,” she argued, “... you just don’t like or agree with my perspective.”

  Valian thought about her point for a moment. He looked at the woman and she giggled again. She stopped, and Valian could see they had reached the end of the bridge.

  “Where are we?”

  “Your next decision,” she stated plainly. “Ahead of you is a cave where you will meet K’Torru, the Thousand-Mind Monk. He will instruct you. The man is a grandmaster of the many facets of the mind which so many of your kind have forgotten. To your left is a portal that will take you back to the time and place when and where I collected you. You can either leave at this very moment, or you can meet with the most gifted PsyondaR I have ever known. If you leave through the portal, it is highly likely we will never speak again, and that may be to your advantage. But if you meet with the Monk, you are indebted to me and you must swear that you will see to it that our account is brought into balance.”

  “Stride for stride, I swear this to you!” Valian said plainly. The speed of his response surprised the entity and she smiled at the young man, nodding as she released his arm.

  “Then proceed as you best see-”

  Valian took hold of her shoulders, and through the wave of euphoria the abrupt contact brought him, he pushed through it, bringing the goddess to him. Their lips met, and Zorkaysha’s warning was muffled. Her hands came up to push him away, but instead, she took hold of his face and allowed herself to be swept up in his passion. Her arms then moved to embrace him, and she moaned as his arms tightened around her. The sleeves of his shirt gave to the strength and sharpness of her nails. Valian bled from the shoulders and the back but, the pain never registered.

  For a moment in time, his eyes were replaced with orbs of living light. And then everything went black... again.

  “There are many kinds of daring in the universe,” K’Torru said after waking Valian. “Yours is the sort less exercised. It is refreshing to see one who is able to take up the challenge. I am K’Torru. It is time for you to leave.”

  Valian looked at the slender man who wore the most simple clothes. They were clean, but without any expression of style. The top of his head was covered in thick black hair, but kept it in a tight ponytail. His face was clean, save for the mustache and goatee that reached to the middle of his chest. There was a slight slant to his eyes, but they were made of light.

  “What about my instruction?”

  “Who am I again?” the man asked.

  “K’Torru.”

  “There you see, I have taught you my name and you know it well. Your instruction is complete. Zorkaysha will be in touch with the means by which you can repay your debt to her.” The slender man took a hold of Valian’s arm. The young man lost all the feeling in his hand. Valian was turned and shoved through the portal which took him back to the room where he had been talking to Travis.

  “It turns out the rift was the byproduct of the Etasians and the Vythe bumping heads,” Travis explained.

  “Your mind is guarded, Valian,” K’Torru mentioned in a soft voice. “At the moment you are hearing one of my minds that I have place inside yours. I am using telekinetic sound to speak to you, as there are many sensitive minds about that I do not wish to alert by using telepathy.

  “The mind I have bestowed upon you will allow you to remember the lessons I have taught you. Remember, do not speak to me... think to me and I shall hear you... but only you can hear me.”

  “I don’t understand what is going on,” Valian thought.

  “To put it simply, I was told to do something and I did it. You are the latest plaything of the Sacred Empress, and she means to have much more amusement at your expense. You and I will forge a means by wh
ich she will be pleased and you will grow in worth in her eyes. And do not thank me for this. Thank Sister Fate.”

  “And what does she want with me?” Valian asked.

  “Try not to think of her in such a fashion,” K’Torru replied. “What Fate is... that is a concept which is still beyond you... at the moment. It is enough for you and I to know that Fate is working her power through you. The reason for this has not yet been revealed.

  “Now say, ‘all of that was a byproduct?!’ to Travis,” the mind of the monk directed.

  “All of that... was a byproduct?!” Valian posed.

  “Nice embellishment,” K’Torru remarked. “And by the way, notice that you are lying to protect someone. You cannot tell Travis what has transpired because Jorkethian would eventually know... which means Zorkaysha would eventually know.”

  “So the person I am protecting is myself!”

  “That is the student I have spent the last seven months training!”

  May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.

  Nelson Mandela

  (Rims Time: XI-4804.16)

  It was a fairly strange sensation, listening to Travis explain the Occurrence to him when he already knew what had happened. In the very beginning of his training with the Thousand-Mind Monk, being able to map his own mind and recall every event with incredible clarity was one of the disciplines Valian had been taught. Unbeknownst to the young man, being able to access his own memories meant being able to access his mother’s memories the moment her mind was linked to his physical form. The Occurrence had been two months before he had been born, and it was nearly the first memory he could read.

  Valian smiled, amusing himself with how much it took to keep from correcting Travis when he got some minor detail wrong.

  “And that, in one way or another, brings us up to the moment,” Travis said with a sigh. “I have been using my ability, as much as I could, to help you.”

  “And my Praeceptor?”

  “The voice I encountered during The Occurrence told me I’d meet him one day, but it wasn’t any more specific than that. I didn’t see him until after you had chosen him to be your teacher.”