by Blake Vanier
“Oh, cool, we’re going to become invisible?” Thea jumps with excitement.
“It’s more of a trick of the mind, but it has the same effect,” Sosimo says. “It will even affect each of you, so the tricky part is working together when you can’t see each other, which we’ll practice. We'll also be training with doormen.” He picks a rod with a red pointed end and a blue pointed end. “The Erohsians may have some heavy-duty doors, and these gals will take care of most anything in your way. They’re loud, messy, and take a week or more to recharge, so this is a tool of last resort.”
“How do they work?” Iona asks.
“Each one has three components to it.” Sosimo shows the red point and the blue point. “This is the hot end and this is the cold end, which are conveniently labeled. The hot end will melt the locking mechanism. The cold end will cool the metal after you’ve opened the door.”
“Why would we need to cool it down?” Ryder asks.
“Because melted metal is extremely hot, and you may not have time to let it cool down naturally before you squeeze through. The cold end is also a protective shield. It will cool any metal that gets flung at you when you’re trying to pry the door open.” Sosimo points to the center. “The center is what you use to pull the door open. It uses Fundamental Aether to latch on to the door, so you can open it when the lock is melted and the door is hot.”
“Couldn't we use our own skill to pull it open?” Iona asks.
Sosimo nods. “You could, but the skill required to multitask is at the edge of your current training. Plus, this is a Borukin device. We don’t have the Aether reserves to use on tasks like that, so we make self-sufficient tools. It’ll also be a great way to save Aether. Grebson and I will set up some training exercises for the bracelets and the doorman later. For now, we’ll start to practice with the Moltrik lepisents.”
“Is Grebson your brother?” Thea blurts out.
Sosimo looks at her then down. “Yes.”
“I thought your family was killed?”
“They were, and so was his. I tried to save all of them… but I failed.” Sosimo crushes the toothpick in his mouth. “If he wasn’t off pursuing his trophies, maybe we could have saved everyone.”
“Fae always said a relationship with a grudge goes bad like a container of milk,” Thea says. “But I’d never forgive him either.”
Sosimo looks at her, frowning. “You’d never forgive him?”
“No. Not ever.”
“But Grebson is his family,” Korbin says. “And Fae always said if you keep carrying around your baggage, you’ll be too tired to live your life.”
“It sounds like Fae was a smart lady.”
“She was.” Thea’s eyes well up.
Sosimo kneels down and hugs Thea. “We can work on this together.”
29
The Moltrik Corusnigma
Nero
Nero sets one of his books on the back seat of the prison truck as the royal caravan comes to a halt. They have arrived at the Borukin Gate on the west side of the Siroté Mountains. Construction equipment is scattered around in every direction as Borukins work on upgrading the walls and defense turrets.
“I’d like to see the Drebin try that again,” Jaice says when they pass through the wall.
Outside the Gate, tanks and burly vehicles arrayed in a defensive position provide cover during construction. Nero looks over the number of Borukins stationed there during the construction. He cannot count them all. His eyes drift past them to the north-west, where he had felt something when they were fleeing to Kiats so many months ago. Was that the Drebin?
The caravan splits off the main road following the Carn River to a road along the foothills. Nero sits up. “Where are we going? Isn’t Sunta along the Carn?”
Jaice turns around, nodding. “We’re going to the Moltrik Corusnigma first. The King wants the prince to pass the trial.”
“Are we going to be able to see it?”
“We’ll walk around the area, but I doubt we’ll see the attempt.”
“That’d be great if we could. I’ve heard of the Corusnigmas. They sound awesome. Have you ever seen one?”
Both of the guards shake their heads.
“I know there’s a lot of Aether and stuff, but what makes it so hard to get to the center?”
“It’s the randomness and the concentration of the Aether that’s the tricky part. If you’re caught in just one flare up, you’ll be lucky to survive,” Bresta says, eyes forward, driving. “The Moltrik Corusnigma doesn’t have any major physical obstacles. The real dangers are the electric forest, the magnetic morass, the molecular igniter, and the spotlight.”
“What are all those?” Nero asks.
“They are the smites of the Corusnigma. They’re manifestations of the different branches of the Moltrik cast: one for electricity, one for magnetism, one for chemical, and one for light. The electric forest and the spotlight will be pretty obvious if you see them. The molecular igniter is the most dangerous; it’ll break chemical bonds in your body, and there’s no physical signs. The magnetic morass is the least dangerous because it’s just an extremely high magnetic field. As long as you don’t have any conductive material on you, the effects only slow you down.”
Nero looks down the road through the front window. I really hope we get to see it.
*****
“How much farther do we need to go?” Seader asked, irritated. His combat helmet hung off his backpack and a steady flow of sweat dripped from his face. The thick humid air of the tropical forest was oppressive.
A Human excavator stepped over clumps of vegetation, hacking through the growth with a machete. “Not much farther, sir,” she said with derision.
The six of us, we who made the first steps on to the island together, had been surveying the different discoveries on the island. It had been three weeks now. Each new set of ruins was an exciting discovery; some big and some small. All seemed to have the markings of our Creators. We just needed to catch one break before it all fell into place and we could start to truly understand.
“Patience, my friend,” Rolk said. “We’ll get there in time.”
“How can you ask me to have patience?” Seader demanded. “If this Human is accurate, the new area matches the description of the Last Sacrifice. Finally, we’ll be able to put to rest the differences in our teachings.”
“As long as you’re prepared to be disappointed,” the Human leader, Onk, said, slapping at the bugs around his face. “It’s so amusing that, even to such a logical race, it’s not obvious that the Creators brought about the Final Days. Their sacrifice was nothing more than an effort to fix their own mistake.”
Seader shook his head, wiping the sweat off his sunburnt forehead. “You Humans and Borukins are fools. It was your rebellion that brought about the Final Days. If it weren’t for the love of our Creators and their sacrifice, none of us would be here.”
“Oh, please,” Onk said. “You’ve placed them on such a high pedestal that you’d lick their shoes clean if they–”
“For Stone’s sake, enough already,” I said fiercely. “We don’t know what we’ll find, but until then, let's not start this debate. It never goes anywhere.”
Onk and Seader grudgingly agreed. We all continued in silence.
No more than fifteen minutes later, a Borukin military officer ran up to us, sucking in deep breaths of air. “Corusmin Master Rolk, I’ve just got news we’ve had multiple sightings of cressen.”
“What!?” Seader gasped.
Rolk held up his hand. His hard, professional façade only showed the slightest hint of fear. “Calm yourself, Seader.” He turned back to the Borukin officer. “Can you be certain?”
The officer nodded. “Yes, certain. We have four independent sources who have seen the tell-tale yellow eyes. They are watching us.”
“How many?” Rolk asked.
“At least two, possibly three. They were seen on the ground and in the trees. We're not sure if
any are aerial.”
“That's it, then,” Seader cut in. “We need to pull out. We’re unprepared for this kind of threat.”
Onk let out a puff. “Leave it to the Erohsians to be the first to run.”
“Don’t, Onk,” Rolk said sharply. “This is serious. Seader is right to be concerned.”
Seader glared at Onk. “Of course I am. How did you not know cressen were here, Rolk?” Seader asked, the strain obvious in his voice.
“No one’s made it this far before,” Rolk replied. “Take a second to think. We need to look at this in the right light. Running away at this point does us no good, but I do think we should make plans to pull out and reassess the situation.”
“Reassess the situation?” Seader cried. “There’s no other option but to pull out. You and the moronic Humans can stay and fight, but I’m not sticking around to get massacred.”
Onk stepped forward. “What are you trying to say?”
Rolk put his hand on Onk's chest to stop him. “Onk, enough. Seader, get a hold of yourself, for Stone’s sake. I've encountered cressen before. Just because they’re dangerous doesn't mean they’re always hostile. We've made it this far. We’ve been here for over three weeks. Who's to say we’re even in danger? Cressen are simple creatures. They’re easy to read. We just need to avoid their trigger and we'll be fine. If we were going to trigger them, we would have already done it. Now that we know they're here, we can take the necessary precautions.”
Seader shook his head. “As if it’s that easy.”
Rolk nodded. “It is.” He turned to the Borukin officer. “Inform everyone that we’re in non-hostile cressen territory. That means no hostility to anything. Do not move any more ruins. No more exploring. Have everyone regroup at the camps and wait for further details.”
The Borukin nodded. “Right away, Corusmin Master.”
Rolk turned to Seader. “We’ll be alright. We’ll continue with our plan to see the newly discovered ruins and help the people get back to the ship. Then we can come up with a new plan.”
Seader pulled his large weapon tight to his body. “Cressen might be simple, but the Anterraktor isn’t. Where there are cressen, there’s always a guardian. What if we encounter it?”
Rolk held up his hands to our surroundings. “Everything we’ve encountered is incredibly old. I bet the Anterraktor has been around for a long time, so it's most likely hibernating. As long as we don't do anything stupid, we won't trigger the cressen, and we’ll be fine. Trust me on this.”
“This is a big risk,” Seader said.
“I know. I'll take responsibility for whatever happens.” Rolk turned back to the excavator. “Now, if you would, lead the way.”
Her face pale, the excavator began again.
We walked for over an hour through the dense forest, following cairns and markings on the trees. The path was difficult, always uphill. Unexpectedly, the vegetation fell away as we reached a cliff. The cliff wrapped around a large area of sunken ground. It looked like someone had taken a giant scoop out of the landscape. In the center of the hole were ruins consumed by vegetation. Even at this distance, I could tell they were immense. Six circular structures surrounded a hexagon-shaped clearing made of stone.
“‘In the crater, we took our last breaths, with the trap set, there was nothing left to do but wait for their arrival,’” Maizy said, looking off at the massive bowl in front of them.
“Orinda 3:14, the Battle of Orinda,” Rolk said. “I can see why they’re thinking this is the location of the Last Sacrifice. We wouldn’t be the first to make such a claim, though.” He turned to the Human excavator. “What have you learned so far?”
“We found what looks to be a sealed ruin. It runs underground at the edge of the large, flat surface. We haven’t a clue how to open it,” she said. “We also discovered that, just like the Corusnigmas, we were able to match each of the structures with a unique Aether signature, suggesting each structure seems to have been tied to one of the Aether casts.”
Rolk pointed to one of the six main structures, the one that was massively damaged. “Do you remember which cast was associated with that structure?”
“I believe that one had a Biat signature.”
“Hmmm,” Rolk tapped his knuckles on his hip. “I wonder if there’s significance in that. Why would the Biat structure be destroyed? And why is the Biat Corusnigma at the center? Are the Aether levels elevated?”
“Slightly,” the excavator responded, “but nothing close to the Corusnigmas. Whatever the purpose of this structure, I believe it failed.”
“Do you have any guesses as to what happened?” I asked.
The excavator shrugged, shaking her head. “Nothing solid. It looks like something tore itself out of the Biat structure. The others seem to have failed at head stones located on the large hexagon surface.”
“Enough talk,” Seader said. “I’d like to see them up close, so we can make our own educated opinions.”
The excavator flashed a look of frustration, dipping her head. “Of course. We have to follow the edge of the cliff for a while, then we can follow the old road to the center,” she said, pointing the way with her finger.
The path was better traveled than our earlier path, so we made good time. We covered the distance in thirty minutes and arrived alongside the severely damaged structure we had seen from above. Stones and debris were scattered among the vegetation. The structure was riddled with cylindrical voids of varying depth. There were plants growing in each of the openings.
“This is just a large storage container,” Seader said. “I bet these holes used to create a matrix of wood, or another high Aetheratin material before it decomposed.”
Rolk nodded. “I agree.” His attention wandered away from the structure before he turned back to the excavator. “Has there been a thorough survey of this crater?”
“Not yet, sir. We were mostly focused on the center,” she replied.
Rolk marched off in the direction he had been looking. We began to follow, but he held us back with a raised hand. “Just wait a moment. I feel something.” He continued through the forest and disappeared as he pushed through a thicket. I held my breath. “Alright, everyone,” he yelled back. “I think it's safe.”
We moved forward, struggling through the same vegetation that he had. It opened to a small clearing. Rolk was standing in the center, hands out, as if he were warming them in front of a mesmerizing fire. I could feel a hint of radiating Aether, now that I was closer. I could only imagine what he was feeling.
“What's the Aether coming from?” I asked.
Rolk shook his head. “I'm not sure, but it seems to be centered here. I feel like the Aether is contained by something. There's a lot more to it than what I'm sensing.” He closed his eyes for a moment. “Onk, come here, but not too close. I need to borrow some Aether.”
“Are you sure this is wise?” Seader asked.
“It hasn’t reacted to me yet. A touch of Aether won't do anything.” Rolk pulled out his styk, holding it toward Onk. Onk touched it with a small spark of Aether. “Thank you.” Rolk turned back to the empty air and held up one hand, his fingertips scintillating with Aether.
The Aether latched onto something, and a flare of light bloomed from the center. We covered our eyes. I pulled my bo staff forward, preparing for whatever was to come, but fortunately nothing attacked us. I blinked away the spots in my vision. Once I could see, a watermelon-sized sphere was bobbing in the air in front of Rolk, glowing.
“Wow, that's curious. It's like the Aether made it take shape.” Rolk reached out and touched it. “There's a lot of Aether in this thing. It's impressive. I've never seen anything like it… it feels alive.” He stepped away from the sphere and approached Seader. “Could I borrow your Aether Equipment? I'd like to take some measurements.”
“NO, STOP!” Seader yelled.
We turned just in time to see Onk touching the sphere. There was a large crack, and a bright wave of energy sent
Onk flying and tumbling along the ground. I covered my face and felt the warmth of the Aether pass through me. It set my skin tingling.
Rolk rushed over to kneel beside Onk. “Are you okay?”
Onk shook his head. “Yeah. What happened?”
“I'm not sure,” Rolk said. “The sphere reacted to you in a way I wouldn’t have expected. You shouldn’t have done that.”
Leaves slapped our faces. The swirling wind picked up, quickly turning into a roar. The trees and plants rustled. I had to cover my face from the pelting of leaves and twigs. I peeked through my hands at the sphere, to see it melting into a glowing ooze that fell to the forest floor. It bubbled into a mist, then evaporated into nothing. The colors around me began to dim and the edges of the world blurred.
“It’s causing an Aether shift,” I yelled over the noise. I could only imagine the amount of Aether necessary to cause such a shift.
The sphere melted away and the wind calmed down. The leaves gently glided back to the forest floor. The color and sharpness of the natural world came back―almost completely.
“Is that it?” Seader asked.
Rolk stood up. “No. There's something here with us.” He stepped toward the center of the clearing and slowly rotated, his styk poised.
Suddenly, light caught my eye. I turned to look. Ten orange claws burned into existence, floating in midair, swaying ever so slightly. Before we could react, they lunged at Onk. Onk instinctively released a blast of Moltrik Aether from his lepisent. The bolt of electricity exploded against the being and sent an electrically charged mass flying into the vegetation.
A Human-sized creature rose from the storm of electricity; its claws glowed even brighter. Streamers of electricity traced out its invisible body. Its wolf-like head snapped directly toward Onk, and it launched itself at him on stocky legs, its massive gorilla-like arms tearing up the ground. Rolk leapt toward the creature, swinging. Just then, the last bit of electricity faded from the creature’s body and it faded from view. Once more, only its claws were visible. Rolk toppled to the ground as his styk passed through the creature.