by S. G. Basu
“Your first challenge is coming up in a few weeks,” Palak continued. “You will be required to navigate through a complicated route in the ocean in an extremely specialized vehicle.”
Murmurs stopped the moment he mentioned “vehicle,” and “navigation.” Maia breathed in relief; they would finally be set free from their tiresome, cooped-up lives.
“You will learn more about these vehicles and their operation in Trainer Dill’s session, so hang on to that excitement. Right now I will show you some maps.”
What came right after was intricate. A myriad of paths, nooks, and hideaways that formed a convoluted maze on the ocean floors flashed on the screens. Then there were the ocean currents that created an invisible network in the waters. The currents were the key, Palak stated over and over again, to figuring out the best pathways through the ocean. There were hundreds of calculations and estimates to be made to devise the easiest and fastest routes, and another hundred to switch from one current to another with precision. At the end of the session, Maia found herself in a daze, as if a storm had caught her out in the open.
“Whew, that was intense,” Ren said as they walked toward the RC.
“And that’s just the first day,” Maia added with a sigh.
“Six more weeks until the challenge,” Nafi said as she punched the buttons of the elevator. “By then we’ll all have turned half crazy.”
They were laughing and poking fun at each other when the elevator came to stop at the 450th floor.
“You guys go ahead,” Dani said softly as the others filed out. “I have to pick something up from the dorm. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Oh no, you won’t.” Maia slipped right back into the elevator; she was not going to let the team splinter any further. “We’re coming with you.”
Everyone else followed, including a sulking Kusha. It was a quick stroll to the dorm where Dani picked up a book for the next session, and the gang headed back to the RC. They were about to turn toward the elevators when a flash of brown at the other end of the atrium caught Maia’s eye.
“Mahswa Tabrin,” Maia exclaimed before sprinting forward toward the fast-disappearing figure.
By the time the rest of the gang had decided to follow Maia, she had already caught the lady’s attention. Mahswa Tabrin, the Xifarian Tierremorphe who had given the team their firestone wristbands during the Seliban challenge, smiled indulgently as she watched them run up to her, panting and heaving.
“Mahswa Tabrin,” Maia gushed. “Honored to see you.”
“What a wonderful surprise to see you again, Maia,” Mahswa said. “How have you all been?”
“Fine, we’re all fine,” Maia replied.
“What are you doing here, Mahswa?” Nafi blurted. “Are you here for the Council as well?”
“Nafi . . .” Dani’s attempt to stop Nafi came a little too late.
Mahswa Tabrin smiled at a flushing Nafi.
“Come in here and we can talk a little,” she said, holding open the door at the end of the corridor, exposing a large, cozily furnished hallway. Mahswa Tabrin led them to a group of sofas that were stacked opulently with piles of pillows.
Maia noticed the dark circles under Mahswa’s eyes as she took her seat. The lady looked worried, almost sad, and far from the calm and serene presence Maia had always found her to be. Something must have been bothering Mahswa Tabrin, and Maia wondered if it had something to do with the lost Xifarian artifact. She also noted the long sword that hung from Mahswa’s waist, its bejeweled pommel peeking out of its sheath. Even the sight of the handle was breathtaking; it held the promise of a sword that would be no less than grand. Maia had not seen the Tierremorphe carry a weapon before and wondered if it was customary to bear arms during travels outside Xif.
“Yes, Nafi, I am here for the talks,” the lady said. “And do not worry, Dani, I will not tell anyone of what you know. I can keep secrets.”
It was astonishing that she remembered their names, Maia thought. She remembered another secret that Mahswa Tabrin held in her heart, of Maia being a Shimugien, a person with power to control light.
“This is a sad situation,” Mahswa Tabrin said in a deep, almost broken voice. “It seems like you all know this by now. An artifact of the most precious nature has been lost.”
“It’s true then? The heart of the Sedara has been taken?” Ren exclaimed. He still sounded disbelieving.
“I cannot confirm that, but I will not deny it either,” Mahswa replied, sighing deeply. “I can simply tell you that it might be a possibility.”
“But how?” Ren sounded indignant. “I’ve heard that the light consumes anyone who comes in direct sight of it, let alone touch it.”
“You have heard correctly,” Mahswa Tabrin replied, her gaze sweeping over the group. Maia felt the lady’s glance rest on her a tad longer. “Unless someone with the power of the light tried to touch it.”
“A Shimugien,” Ren exclaimed.
“A what?” Kusha asked immediately.
“A Shimugien,” Ren gushed. “One who is born with a power over the L’miere crystals and can absorb their light and their energy. Only such a person could’ve taken the heart of the Sedara.”
“And such a person is easy to find?” Dani asked.
“No, not at all.” Mahswa Tabrin chuckled loudly. “A Shimugien is a marvel of nature, just as rare as the L’miere crystals themselves. I have only seen one in my lifetime, and I do not believe I will see another.”
“But, hold on, I still don’t follow.” Ren raised his hand and shook his head vehemently. His face was scrunched up in confusion.
“Yes, Ren?” the lady smiled.
“The heart, or the Verto-balancer Capsule, is made of two parts, right? The lighted core and the chalice that envelops and holds the core, isn’t it?”
Mahswa Tabrin nodded.
“And I thought the chalice is impenetrable and immovable. Then how could it have been broken or stolen?”
“The chalice could be dissolved, and then the core extracted.”
“But a Shimugien couldn’t have gotten past the chalice,” Ren said, his voice rising.
“And why not?” Nafi looked baffled. “Seems to me the Shimugien could practically do anything, like magic.”
Mahswa Tabrin broke into a soft, gentle laughter. It was soothing to hear her laughter spread across the room and twitter and fall.
“No, Nafi, that’s not true. There is no magic. Ren is correct,” Mahswa Tabrin said.
“So, someone else had to break the chalice first so the Shimugien could take the core out,” Ren continued his deduction.
“That is a possibility, yes.” Mahswa Tabrin nodded gravely.
“Wait,” Nafi interrupted again. “What’s so special about this chalice?”
“This chalice is not a clay pot, Nafi,” Ren replied with a generous smirk. “It’s supposedly made of super-refined Calbion. Only an extremely gifted Tierremorphe could’ve broken that sheath. Once that sheath was broken, the Shimugien could’ve taken the lighted core. Right?”
“So, there had to be at least two people working together,” Kusha inferred. He continued after a pause, “Why can’t they find them and ask? There can’t be more than a handful of Tierremorphes and even fewer Shimugien, right?”
Maia found it hard to keep thinking clearly. Even listening quietly to all that was being discussed felt like an impossible task. Thoughts, questions mostly, swirled incessantly in her dazed mind.
Two people? But Sophie had never mentioned anyone else. And why not? To protect the other person who had helped her?
“I told you already. Because they would probably be dead by now,” Ren explained. “The light they released on opening the Capsule would have consumed them. Not as fast as it would an ordinary person, but they still wouldn’t survive more than a year or two.”
A year was too much. Sophie had not lived that long, Maia knew. Her thoughts wandered again.
Sophie must’ve known the li
ght would consume her. She must’ve been scared. Yet, she faced it anyway.
Maia relished the surge of pride inside her.
“So, if the people who had taken the heart have perished already, what do you expect to find now, Mahswa Tabrin?” Nafi asked.
“I cannot tell you that,” Mahswa Tabrin said. “I would be divulging state secrets if I did.”
“I guess we’re hoping to find the chalice and the core?” Ren wondered aloud. “I assume that once we find them, we shall resurrect the heart of the Sedara.”
“Possibly,” Mahswa Tabrin replied.
“What does the chalice look like? And the core?” Kusha asked.
“Didn’t I tell you? They are formless entities capable of morphing freely. No one could know or predict what they look like,” Ren replied, and Mahswa Tabrin nodded in agreement.
“Then how can anyone hope to find them?” Nafi asked again.
“Nothing in this world stays lost forever,” Mahswa Tabrin said. “You can trace anything if you try hard enough or long enough.”
“I still don’t understand something, Mahswa Tabrin,” Dani interrupted. “If the lighted core is so deadly and the chalice so tough how did you put this thing together in the first place?”
Mahswa Tabrin chuckled. “Now, this I can answer. It was put together by one person, a princess named Ataii, back in the days when Xif had not yet been a traveling planet. She was one with the power of the light and the land, what you could call a Shimugien and a Tierremorphe rolled into one. Her power over the elements was absolute. The light could not harm her, and she was the one who could truly embrace it.”
Mahswa Tabrin paused. Once again Maia felt the lady’s gaze linger a moment too long on her face. Maia fought the urge to tell Sophie’s story. There was nothing more to know from Sophie’s tale than what people already knew, other than the fact that Sophie had claimed to have broken the heart into pieces. Sophie had not said anything about what she had done to the broken fragments, nor if anyone else had assisted her, but no one would believe that. The Xifarians would come after Maia, and destroy anything that stood in their way.
My friends . . .
There was no reason to endanger her friends more than they needed to be. Maia decided to keep her secret just that, a secret.
“Ataii was a princess of the R’armimon, right?” Ren asked.
The lady sat quietly. She did not say a word, not even offering a reason for her refusal to answer.
“But, wait a moment.” Nafi leaned forward, fixing a puzzled gaze on Mahswa. “What if the person who took the heart apart was just like Ataii? What if there was another Shimugien and Tierremorphe rolled into one?”
The lady shook her head, smiling. “A Shimugien is a rarity, and we have not had a perfectly formed Tierremorphe in generations. It would be a miracle to see both traits manifested in one person, given our current environs. And if by chance it had happened, we would have known. It would be rather difficult, almost impossible, for such a powerful being to stay hidden for so long.”
A hush fell. Maia let her mind drift away.
Mahswa Tabrin is right; Sophie was not a Tierremorphe. She only ever mentioned being a Shimugien. Someone else must have helped her, someone who . . .
“Mahswa Tabrin,” Maia blurted as she remembered something her mother had mentioned in her message. It had confused her then, and if anyone could clear it up, it would be Mahswa. “What is the Afterlight?”
Mahswa hesitated. “That’s a name for the lighted core of the Capsule after it’s released. The Afterlight is—” She stopped abruptly and sat staring at Maia, as if a thought had frozen her. The silence was prickling.
“That’s a beautiful sword,” Kusha broke the quiet. He was gazing in admiration at the jeweled pommel.
The lady smiled and rose to her feet to take the stunning object out of its sheath. Maia held her breath as Mahswa put the sword down on the table. It was indeed a thing of astounding beauty. Its broad, silver surface sparkled, and all along the center of the blade was a long line of scriptures that trailed from right below the guard down to the tip. The hilt was the most beautiful of all, with its intricate work of metal encrusted with jewels.
“This is Seigvard,” Mahswa Tabrin said in a voice that exuded reverence.
“The Seigvard?” Ren almost fell over the sword; he did not blink even once as he muttered, as if in a trance, “The sword of Ataii?”
“Yes, this is the sword of Ataii,” the lady replied. “Seigvard has seen more than any one of us hopes to see in a lifetime, or will.”
Maia had barely opened her mouth to ask more about Seigvard when the door at the opposite end of the hallway opened wide and the familiar clicking of heels sounded. The clip-clopping drew closer, frighteningly fast in its approach.
“Bones . . . we’re as good as dead,” Nafi whispered as the ominous form of Aerika strode up to the corner, nodded curtly at Mahswa Tabrin, and stared with cold displeasure at the team.
24: Secrets
As the group scrambled, Maia wished they could make Aerika disappear by some magic. But hard as she wished, nothing of that sort happened.
“Don’t you have a training session right about now?” Aerika snarled after she had bestowed her glare on the group long enough. “And this is a restricted area, are you not aware of that?” Aerika frowned, and Maia fidgeted under her stare.
“It is my fault.” Mahswa Tabrin came to the rescue. “I brought them here, got rather too excited on seeing old friends. My apologies.”
Aerika did not like the intervention one bit. Her face fell for a moment. She squeezed a small smile to her lips and nodded at Mahswa Tabrin. Then she waved dismissively at the five.
“Run along now. We do not have the entire day to chat.”
After muttering quick good-byes to Mahswa Tabrin, Maia and her friends rushed out to the atrium and gathered near the elevator doors.
“I hope they find the heart of the Sedara soon,” Kusha said as their elevator sped past the floors. “I hope they find it in one piece. It would solve all of our problems if they do.”
“Yes,” Ren replied. “I’m sure we’ll get it back and then things will go back to normal. No more fights and no more threats. We’ll live together in peace.”
At that moment, Maia knew she had to tell her friends the truth. She had to tell them. There would be no finding the heart in one piece. And then, even if they did find the pieces and put them back together, there would be no living in peace. For the Solianese and the Jjord, there would be no Tansi to call home.
“Wait,” she said as the group sprinted toward Dill’s classroom. It was hard to find the right words, and Maia knew it would get more difficult with every passing moment.
I have to do this. Now.
“We can’t make it to this session.”
They stopped and stared. Maia had been the leader of the team during the Xifarian phase, and while she had not been very keen on taking the responsibility to begin with, she had slowly embraced her position. She had defended and fought for her team’s success over and over again. Gradually, she had earned the respect of her teammates. And now, even though she was not the designated leader anymore, her words still grabbed everyone’s attention.
“You sure, Maia? Aerika will probably come to check on us,” Dani said after a moment’s pause.
“Yes, Bones will eat us alive if she finds us missing,” Nafi added, making some menacing gulping noises to drive her point home.
“There’s something I need to tell you.” Maia looked at them resolutely. “And no, it can’t wait.”
Dani sighed and looked around to check if Aerika was walking up behind them. Then she grabbed Maia’s arm and walked briskly in the direction opposite to Dill’s classroom. She led Maia into a room at the corner of the atrium while the rest of the team followed.
The room was small and sparsely furnished. As Nafi, Ren and Kusha hurriedly pulled up some chairs, Maia stood with her arms wrapped around herself, br
acing for the doubts and the questions. Dani kept fiddling with a portal on the door. She unhooked the PR key from her chain and fitted it into a small slot on the white panel with buttons.
“That’ll stop people from barging in, I hope,” Dani said after a while. “I have access to these study rooms, and I can bar entry to others while I’m using them. Unless, of course, Aerika finds out and overrides my access privileges.”
“Go on, Maia. Tell us,” Ren looked expectantly at Maia.
Maia did not know where to start; words seemed to be slipping away from her mind like water spilling from a broken cup.
“I’m a Shimugien,” she stated simply.
Gaping mouths and shocked silence greeted her statement. Not seeing a single eye blink, Maia decided to continue. With great care she related everything that had happened on Xif, up to finding out about her power over light. Maia recounted how she had assimilated a precious light generating L’miere crystal, and how Principal Pomewege and Mahswa Tabrin had come to her rescue. By the time she ended that story, a little normalcy had returned to the room.
“That’s how Mahswa Tabrin knew you,” Nafi exclaimed. “I’d always wondered.”
“Is that why the principal asked Miir to teach you telekinetics?” Ren asked, and Maia nodded.
“But, Maia,” Kusha waved eagerly to draw her attention. “You should’ve told us, we could’ve kept that secret.”
“I know you could.” Maia looked away, not bearing to face them until she had told them everything. “I was asked to not tell anyone.”
“Anyway, your being a Shimugien has nothing to do with what’s going on now,” Dani reasoned. “And you’re safe here with us. We should get back to class now.”
“No, we can’t.” Maia was surprised at the conviction in her own voice. “I have to tell you more . . . about Sophie.”
“Who’s Sophie?” Kusha looked utterly confused.
“My mother. Her name was Sophia Avaroh,” Maia replied. It was strange how she felt stronger and taller the moment she had said her mother’s name aloud. It was as if she could take on any threat that would dare to confront her or the memory of her mother. She told them everything she knew about her mother. She waited for the questions to come in torrents, but there was absolutely nothing until Ren let out an anguished groan.