“Burn! You all will burn! The time is past nigh that sin overtakes the world. An alien walks among us, promising futures that should not be possible. Claiming they alone have the power to save all of us from the inevitably of death. Our leaders all fail to see, our elected officials meant to guide us are blinded to the truth of such things. They see only a convenient road paved in gold. It may look wide enough to support the people they lead, but it is a trap of honey. At the end of the road we all will be suckling at the breast of a tyrant. A would be master who wishes to claim the souls of every mortal. Turn back now! Save your soul from being devoured by an immortal beast! I have seen what it does to mortals, there is no mercy when it falls upon its prey. Where the Mistress of Chaos commands it, Death consumes. I warn thee all, beware the life obtained through these impossible gifts. Knowledge breeds curiosity, which leads to discovery, which leads to burden, which drags down entire populations and will be the downfall that brings about the ruin of your planet.”
* Radical speech made by an unknown person on the planet of Tios, roughly eighteen rotations before beginning of the Beta Test for remote Vessels.
Nyx hadn’t wanted to draw that card, she had placed the deck down for that very reason. When she had said she was going to draw a couple, the first had felt right and eagerly flipped up into her hand on its own. The next had felt so off putting, that Nyx knew instinctively not to draw it. It had turned over to reveal itself anyway.
The foe card. Now, somewhere out there in the cosmos she had created, an enemy would appear. Not that it was anything new, she had a vast amount of enemies. This however, was a highly potent artifact imbued with her own chaos energy.
This deck, these cards, had a life of their own. They didn’t speak, never moved, and rarely did one ever even let you see what it was. Nyx had asked to draw the cards from it though, so it let her. As its master, she had the right to draw as many cards as she wanted.
The deck got to set effects in motion for each card she drew, all corresponding to the face of the card drawn. Good, bad, neutral, life giving, world ending, the possibilities were numerous and as chaotic as her own soul.
Nyx knew she needed to stop playing with the thing, but every so often she grew bored of the staleness. Her universe needed to grow, and mature. The time it was taking seemed to stretch eons. Her immortality made the passing time seem trivial, but watching the mortals squabble and continuously die out before reaching their maximum potentials grated on her.
Time and time again she had experimented with making their bodies immortal. Her father had done it without even trying to. Nyx could only give immortal life to the offspring directly created from her own powers. Each one weakening her a bit more than the last.
Small breakthroughs in technologies and magic let her grant long lives to a handful of mortals. Some were at extremely high costs, some were so painful that no one wanted to try it. Then she had found the ore radiating life essence. When Hizumi had poured her power into it, it had responded by becoming a tiny replica of her.
This ore led to the need of a skilled craftsman, which had led Nyx to Theadora. She sent her liaison to scout her out and get her help with smithing the material, and he had come back with more good news than Nyx had heard in a long time. When the Master Smith had expressed her desire to work solely with the metal and created a production site at the mine itself, Nyx almost shouted out in joy.
Even if the cache of the life essence ore was smaller than it should have been, it was enough to start. She could experiment with a few select worlds, hand over perfected immortal vessels to her trusted council when they were assured to work properly, then expand from there until she had everything she needed.
Hizumi wouldn’t need to siphon off of her anymore either, and that would be a huge step in her plans to turn her power degradation into cultivation. Giving her apprentice raw chaos was necessary for the end goals, but devastating to her short term defense. Nyx had never been this weak, not even after her banishment did she feel so drained.
Time, all she needed was more time.
Hizumi walked the courtyards, enjoying the clear sky and smell of salt water. The sea washing against the cliff side was calm today. She had no cares about much when she could walk freely during the days when the Mansion was peaceful. All of the politics washed away, drug out to see by the tide.
Standing atop the massive cliff was Mistress Nyx’s Mansion, a massive population center built to house dignitaries from all of the worlds united into the Galactic Federation. Hizumi hated the place.
“You can’t keep this up.”
The young man walking beside her broke the silence. He had been quiet the whole way out here, Hizumi had almost been able to forget he had asked to join her. She hadn’t really agreed, just shrugged and kept walking.
For almost three hours they had walked through the gardens and courtyards, finally coming to the cliffside overlook. Seclusion, that was what they had both wanted. Though for different reasons.
“I can do anything, you just worry about what happens to you if something goes wrong.”
“Well, you’re not wrong. If my father or any of the council finds out it was you who hired all of the pirates to sack trade routes, or that you incited rebellion just to force the other side to accept your aid, or any of the other things you’ve done…”
“Then it’s my head. If they find out and I have a headstart on them, it’s also whoever’s head that told them it was me.”
Darius just shook his head, unable to respond. The headstrong Hizumi never let him win anything. From their first sword fight practice, to the debates on moralities. Hizumi forced her domination with nearly as much pressure as the Mistress.
Though he admired her strong will, her tenacity to see things done. She was probably the best choice for Mistress Nyx to choose for an heir.
“How goes Tios?”
“Bad, Mistress Nyx gave in to the governor's pleas. They now have enough funding to feed and supply their people. Which means they’ll use it to fund and supply their military.” Her sigh was a clear sign that it was eating at her to be losing again. “My partner overseeing the Guilds says they are down to only two dozen vessels after major losses.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
Darius was shocked. That was a huge loss, both financially and in casualties.
“That few? I thought they were supposed to all be receiving massive power upgrades once a soul was connected? How do you lose nearly five thousand vessels in less than two rotations?”
“It was apparently foolish to let them run amok without training them properly first. Most were extremely powerful, but lacked the control and experience to use it correctly.”
The wind blew gently, pulling at Hizumi’s hair. Her eyes gazed longingly out over the horizon. She couldn’t put her finger on the exact thought, but something was tugging at her. A pull, maybe a memory. She had been alive long enough to know that small things can be forgotten, but the feelings might still remain.
She didn’t want to talk about a failure at the moment, she wanted to change the subject.
“Have you ever missed your home, Prince of the Ice?”
“No, and don’t call me that. My father is the King, and he is close enough to being immortal that I don’t foresee taking that role from him.”
“Want to change that?” Hizumi’s voice was playful, almost like she was joking.
“That’s not funny.”
“It’s not a joke. If the Mistress is really creating an army, it can be used just the same as playing for planets. It’s all about who gives the command and holds the reins.”
Darius was stunned for a moment, but looking into Hizumi’s eyes let him know that she was dead serious. The vessel project was supposed to be secret, him knowing was only because Hizumi hold told him.
“Not yet.”
“Time, it always takes time. You just keep up what you’re doing, act the Prince. Save the lower tier worlds from oppression, become the person everyone wants to support. You’re the good guy Darius, even if your father thinks otherwise. The planets I take are free from the tyranny Mistress Nyx eventually brings. Though they are also less represented and often left out of galactic politics. You are the voice that keeps those worlds from being pillaged and overrun. You even fought to allow free trade to worlds that don’t have a galactic representative, that alone makes most people see you as the hero.”
“Thanks, but I’m not King.”
“Not yet. Eventually, maybe. All things change in time.”
Hizumi was certain he would be the right man for the job. He would actually care for the people. His ideals might actually be suited to making the entire galaxy a better place.
Time, she needed to wait. Patience and cunning, she had a plan and needed to follow along with it.
“What are you two doing up here? Lovers escape?”
Hizumi whirled, already crackling with lightning. Her aura had been relaxed and missed the approach of the newcomer.
“Katrosa, I didn’t hear you coming.” Darius was quick to respond, trying to diffuse the tension.
“I was looking for Hizumi, might I borrow her for a few moments?”
“By all means, we were just about to head back. Walk with us?”
Katrosa, in her brightly colored gown and sunhat, curtsied and waved an arm to let them lead the way. Darius elbowed Hizumi softly in the ribs, her face was still holding a menacing scowl.
“What do you want, Kat?” Hizumi was forcing herself to talk in a level tone.
“I wish to ask about your project, on Tios.” Katrosa spoke carefully when naming the planet.
Hizumi closed her eyes and took in a long breath. This planet and failure of an operation were not going to leave her alone. If only it had gone to plan, what had gone wrong with it? She didn’t do it herself, that was what went wrong.
“It is going over poorly, the project is not ready to be unveiled yet.”
“I don’t particularly care about your abysmal performance in playing conqueror, I simply want a map of the planet before they wreck the place.”
Hizumi was ready to reach out and strangely the girl. Hizumi knew better though, even if she looked barely older than a teenager, her mind was that of someone much older. Katrosa was an experiment in immortality herself, she was the only survivor of that style of testing.
“A map? What could you need a map of a world for? You never even go to any other worlds.”
Darius was walking away, pretending to not notice angry glances being thrown between the two. Hizumi and Katrosa followed, but were staring intensely at the other instead of where they were going.
“That is why I want a map. It gives me a chance to imagine myself exploring the world through what I can see.”
“I don’t have one. Not a physical one anyway.”
“Then get me one.” Katrosa demanded.
Hizumi was halfway into slapping her when Katrosa’s cane rose up to stop her arm. Sparks started shooting out as Hiuzmi’s blood began to boil. This experiment gone wrong was about to end.
“You… do… not… command me!”
Hizumi punctuated each word with fast punches. Each one found something solid, but Katrosa simply smiled and took them all. Her cane was pointed straight up in front of her like a dueling sword.
“Hahaha, I simply ask that you get me a map of the world you are about to destroy. I want to have a piece of history, so I can preserve it for the future.”
Katrosa’s laughter was like nails on a chalkboard to Hizumi. Even if the girl had a charming voice and appearance, Hizumi detested her.
“Get the Admiral to do it. He’s already on his way to the planet, he might even be planning to create documented maps and surveys already. Your selfishness is leading to a lack of patience, and I will not suffer you becoming no more than a spoiled brat. If you wish to continue your existence in my Mistress’ mansion, do not annoy me again.”
Hizumi had gone ice cold with those words. Darius was several meters away, standing still and acting like he couldn’t hear or see the argument. Katrosa put her cane down, tucking it back under the folds of her gown.
“Admiral Griffon is on his way there? Forgive my intrusion then, I will contact the Admiral and request my wants from him.” Katrosa dipped her head slightly, then walked away in the opposite direction of the mansion.
Hizumi watched as she went, wondering if she could truly follow through on her threat. If Katrosa pushed her to the point of needing to take her out… Hizumi decided she needed to know more about the powers that Katrosa could use. Mistress Nyx never shared what truly happened during that experiment.
The only survivor had suddenly become immortal and independent of the chaos energy that the Mistress shared. Her strength had increased to an insane level, her speed and dexterity matched. Those hungry, nearly blank eyes, were the only part of her that wasn’t beautiful.
Hizumi needed to find the technicians that had set up that lab, maybe one of them could give her some insight. Darius was still standing there waiting for her, but now he was watching her with a concerned expression.
“What?” Hizumi snapped the question at him.
“Would you really do it?”
Her nod was enough. They walked in silence back to the mansion courtyards. After they crossed into the covered walkways leading to the main housing compound, Darius waved and said his goodbye. He had a house with his father’s court, up in the towers. Hizumi had rooms directly under Mistress Nyx’s main rooms.
The solitude of the private housing tower she had was comforting, and upsetting all at once. She stripped, ran boiling water for a bath, then screamed as she released a bolt of energy out of the window. Letting the sky taste her fury, announcing her anger and frustration to the cosmos.
Her stress relaxed and she felt much better. She grabbed an old book from her nightstand before getting in the water. The steam rose and obscured most of the room after a few minutes. Hizumi relaxed into the warm water, opening the pages of her diary to the latest entries.
She needed the time to meditate and reflect on her path. If Tios was lost, how could she make sure that it didn’t end up being a fatal loss to her plans?