Royal Gardens - Past - Va’Dresruyuna
Chilled air carrying silent snowflakes blew through the Royal Gardens. The cold season had finally arrived, and with it came the darkening of Dresruyuna’s favorite place to hide. The once vibrant spectrum of colors, scents, and textures had all retreated into dull browns and oranges to survive. Soon the blizzard would arrive properly over the royal city, and the only colors that would remain were blankets of whites and grays.
“I don’t know how you stand walking around in this weather with basically nothing on,” grumbled Udivax. They walked beside Dresruyuna, covered in several layers of thick, heat-retaining cloth designed with a polar-camo pattern that allowed them to blend in with the snowfall.
Dresruyuna, on the other hand, had on her usual wispy ensemble that consisted of golden clasps with interlinking, translucent silks that left little to the imagination. “Simple, dear Udivax: I’ve never been bothered by the cold. If anything, I highly prefer it to the sweltering saunas we’re subjected to at the height of the warm season. Besides, it’s the Queen-to-be’s job to display and act like a beacon and paragon of the Fan form, no matter the weather.”
“Still wouldn’t kill you to wear something less revealing,” Udivax said.
“We could always return to my chambers and do away with clothing all together,” Dresruyuna offered. “Though I find it hilarious that you only ever make jealous comments like this after such dances of intertwining flesh.”
What came out of Udivax’s mouth next was lost to the wind. Then she replied, “I’m not jealous. Protective is the word I would use.”
Dresruyuna came to a stop near her favorite balcony to look back at the shivering form of Udivax. “Ah, but isn’t wanting to protect me best done with a jealous mindset? After all, if you can covet and keep my beauty all to yourself then surely no one will come to ruin your precious flower.”
Udivax threw up her hands with only a touch of real frustration put into the movements. “If only I could find it just as funny when you act like this after our little trysts. Why are we out here anyways? To my knowledge we have no further meetings or appearances until midway through the next cycle. There’s no one to hide from, no duties to put off until the last minute.”
“You wound me,” pouted Dresruyuna, putting a hand on her chest and showing off her pointed fangs. “Maybe I just wanted to go on a walk and enjoy the fresh snow before the blizzard picks up.”
Udivax wasn’t buying it. “Uh huh. Sure.”
“Fiiiiinnnneeee,” groaned Dresruyuna.
She pointed out across the balcony to the rest of Mithea. Every little source of light was refracted and amplified by the falling snow, to the point that the city looked more like a ball made of seiria than an assemblage of metal structures.
“I wanted to take a few recordings of the first snowfall of the hectocycle. There’s a certain mystical quality to it that is missed by subsequent blizzards. As it stands now, the snow has yet to cling to every little crevice and nook available. That means the environment is still in the transitional period between what it was and the clean, fresh, royal beginning offered by winter.”
Udivax squinted out over the city, cupping their claws over their face so the snow didn’t blow directly into their eyes. “Guess you see something I don’t. But that’s nothing new. Go on then, take your holo-captures so we can return to somewhere warmer and safer.”
Dresruyuna flashed a smile before producing her transparent rectangular slate that was no bigger than her hand. Runes of light danced across the surface of the device as she held it up and began tweaking the settings so the moment would be captured perfectly. Holo-capturing wasn’t her primary hobby by any stretch of the imagination, yet she still put a great deal of effort into the activity whenever she had a chance to do so.
After adjusting the angle such that the distant lakes amid the farmlands were framed perfectly between the Spires of War and Information, Dresruyuna finally got the recording she was after. But no sooner had she begun to review her work then a muffled explosion rocked the city.
Udivax immediately sprang into action, producing their ceremonial firearm and diving to shield Dresruyuna from the direction of the blast. However, this was no assassination attempt. The explosion wasn’t located in, around, or near the Royal Palace. Instead, it came from the Spire of War.
The structure was belching flame and smoke from a spot midway up the tower. Then another explosion went off, boring a new wound higher up. And another. And another. This was no accident like what had happened to the Spire of Engineering several kilocycles ago. Someone was doing their damnedest to bring the Spire of War down.
“We need to go!” urged Udivax as they dragged Dresruyuna towards the exit of the gardens. “You can’t stay here gawking. Who knows how many more bombs will go off, or if whomever is behind this attack will start picking off foolish nobles thinking this a spectacle to be admired. Come on!”
Reluctantly, Dresruyuna let herself be swept back into the palace and down a special elevator that would take her directly to a safe bunker within the catacombs below. She ignored Udivax’s murmurings and anxious glances at their slate, instead focusing on the holo-capture she’d just made. The Spire of War was on the left of the recording as she pinched and zoomed in on the spot where the first detonation had occurred.
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“Well I’ll be,” Dresruyuna commented. “You’re going to want to see this, Udivax.”
Udivax spared only a moment’s glance at first. Then as they realized what they were seeing, their full attention focused on Dresruyuna’s slate. “Those are special ops Ixone clinging to the exterior. Why are they…?”
Dresruyuna flicked the holo-image to where the next explosion took place. Sure enough, more An in carapaces of white with helmets that masked their tentacles and faces. “I’m not sure. But I think we just found out that what Prime Ta’Ezur said a decacycle ago is true. The Ixone are revolting.”
***
Dresruyuna and Udivax passed through the spiraling vault doors of the royal bunker to find that the Supreme Queen was already there with the Prime of War. Handmaidens and Nan runners were bringing Xa’Grubudani and Ta’Srubazal reports of the situation from across not just Mithea but all of Kux Prime. Dresruyuna settled in at one of the few open desks and listened intently to the chaos around her.
“The Spire of Science just experienced another detonation,” reported a yellow-hued Fan. “Combined with the other organic-based explosions that makes a total of 37.”
If this were any other event, the number 37 wouldn’t have mattered. However, given the night’s violence, Dresruyuna couldn’t help but recall in scripture all the times where that number had been a precursor to dark times across Kux Prime. Grubudani seemed to be thinking similarly, as the frown she was wearing grew tighter.
“Does anyone have a report on the other Primes?” barked Srubazal. “We need to confirm their whereabouts now!”
“I have a message from Prime Thi’Aphallir that the Spire of Medicine is filling beds at an alarming rate,” spoke a green Nan.
Another Nan, this time blue, added, “I can also confirm that Prime Sa’Drazzadom is already attempting to repair the damage to the Spire of Engineering. She doesn’t believe the main reactor has suffered any direct damage, though much of the supporting systems were knocked offline or disabled.”
That meant only the palace and a select few Ixfour spires would have reliable power until things calmed down. From the sounds of it, every single Spire was hit at once in such a coordinated effort that there should have been some warning from Prime Ta’Ezur. And with the whereabouts of Prime Tha’Trezimala being a mystery… There was only one dark explanation that came to Dresruyuna’s mind.
Srubazal had reached the same conclusion, shouting, “Make finding and securing the Prime of Science and the Asmoor Project a top priority! Stop bringing me useless drek about the Spire of War. It’s a lost cause. Let my subordinates do as I delegated.”
“Has anyone seen the Queen-to-be?” Grubudani asked, a quiet whisper in the flurry around her.
“Over here!” yelled Dresruyuna, waving to the Supreme Queen. “I’m just staying out of the way for now!”
Seeing and hearing her daughter took a great weight from Grubudani’s shoulders. “Good. Good.” Then to those around her, “Put primary focus on the Asmoor Project’s safety. I pray we need not make the choice between the Prime of Science and her life’s work, but we must be prepared should the worst come to pass.”
An orange Fan timidly stepped towards the Supreme Queen, offering up a slate. “I was waiting for the right moment, your eminence. I carry a message from Prime Tha’Trezimala and…”
Srubazal ripped the slate from the Fan’s hands. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Despite the wrath directed her way, the Fan remained standing (albeit with wobbling knees). “It was a message for the Supreme Queen only. That’s what Tha’Trezimala told me.”
Grubudani intervened at that point, holding out a hand for the slate. Srubazal relinquished the device without pause. A message began to play the moment the Supreme Queen’s identity was confirmed.
Dresruyuna couldn’t see the tablet’s surface clearly from her current spot. What she could make out looked like Trezimala’s laboratory. It was chaotic, but not in the way Trezimala usually kept things. Sparks, flames, and miniature blasts happened in the background as Trezimala spoke quickly:
“We’ve got an entire strike team trying to break in and capture the Asmoor Project. I’ve already ordered the destruction of all data to prevent it being stolen. But nothing’s going to stop these damn An from getting the Core. This is likely to be the last you’ll hear and see of me. So I have just one thing to say: Dresruyuna…”
She was already up and racing towards the Supreme Queen before Trezimala could get out the second word.
“...Your bodyguard has the last remaining copy of the Asmoor Project’s documentation. I had my security slip her a shard when you last visited, with instructions not to tell you unless it would compromise your security or either the Supreme Queen or myself rescinded the order. It’s in your hands now. Don’t let my work be for nothing, clutch-sister.”
The message ended. Eyes turned to Udivax as they held up a prismatic data storage unit. “Normally I’d complain about having to keep this secret for so long, but that doesn’t help us now. You. Fan.” They pointed at the one who’d delivered the data slate. “How old is this message?”
“A milicycle,” stammered the Fan. In all the confusion, the Fan was bowing her head to Udivax without concern that technically she outranked them. “And that last explosion in the Spire happened…”
“Secure the data at once,” commanded Grubudani. Udivax bowed and allowed themselves to be whisked away on the tide of Kuxpir. Then the Supreme Queen turned to the Prime of War. “I do not believe we need to wait to hear about the Prime of Information. It is clear to me that Ta’Ezur played us all like fools, or otherwise failed in her duties. In the unlikely event she turns up asking for aid, I want her thrown in a cell under maximum security until matters have calmed down. Am I clear?”
“As seiria,” said Srubazal with a bob of their head.
“Good. Then there’s just the matter of the Queen-to-be.”
“Your eminence?” asked Dresruyuna.
Grubudani regarded her daughter with a stern expression mothers usually reserved when catching their progeny coming home far too late in the cycle. “I realize that the bonds of the clutch are strong, as are the bonds between bodyguards and those they protect. But I need to know for certain: Did you have any knowledge of tonight’s events or that shard before now?”
Even though she had nothing to fear or hide, Dresruyuna still had to fight down the urge to gulp and look away from the Supreme Queen’s gaze. “None at all, Supreme Queen. These revelations are as new to me as anyone else here.”
“Then I need to commend your bodyguard and Tha’Trezimala for keeping such a secret,” Grubudani sighed, deflating in her chair somewhat. “I only hope the loss of the Asmoor Core will be temporary. We may have the data to construct another, but that technology in the wrong hands can be devastating beyond words. May Kurilia preserve us all.”