Enid waited sat inside Apollo’s cockpit. She had landed on the Dark side of the planet, just outside the band of twilight that the inhabitants referred to as the boundary. This was called the bridge of traitors. She looked out to the lonely strip of rock that they would force traitors off of.

“Apollo, I love you dearly, but how the hell did you miss prehistoric dinosaurs roaming in there? And things that are big enough to swallow you whole flying around?”

“The boundary was…not on our scheduled scanning location list. Our previous scans indicated low biodiversity. And the electro-magnetic fields that permeate the area cancel my shields out and make effective high-resolution scanning impossible.”

“There you go with your logical computer responses that make too much sense. Oh well, lets hope I can track down our wayward lover.”

“While my scans of the area are incomplete due to the aforementioned EMF interference I do have enough data to suggest there are multiple species that could pierce your armor and vampiric hide with ease.”

“Meh. I can fly.”

“Your ability to shrug off threats frightens me Aunt Enid.”

“I’ll be fine. Just keep your nose out of there, go wait by the wormhole beacon. I’ll call you down when I’m out.”

“You are aware that the EMF interference will make communication impossible in the lower sections of that valley.”

“I am well aware. Just relax kid, I got this.”

Enid hopped out of the cockpit and ran to almost diving-board like piece of rock and dove off. The wings popped out of the back of her armor, and she glided over the water at the bottom and landed on the rocky shore. She started sniffing the air and looking for trail signs immediately. She tapped her wrist.

“Apollo?”

Enid received no response and her holo-phone couldn’t even form a coherent hologram. This place was all kinds of funky. Her could feel it through her suit there was a discernable charge in the air. Her armor was unaffected for the most part save it was constantly replenishing its supply of magical energy as fast as she could use it. She reached out her hand and chanted one of the ancient Atlantean spells her now despised Uncle Remus had taught her and a mini sun formed in her palm lighting up the prehistoric jungle of ferns around her. She could see the trees writhing with giant snakes and bat like creatures. She’d almost wish she hadn’t summoned the light. She caught the shadow of something massively large flying over top and snap her fingers making the ball of light she’d conjured vanish. She spoke to no one in particular so that the built in Atlantean recording device in her suit would at least have a record since the 29th century Earth tech was useless down here.

“Landed in the valley without incident. Looks like there is a lot of magical energy down here. No need for energy translation or blood magic. Suit is constantly being charged too full. Contrary to scans from Apollo this place is full of bio-diversity, very large and very scary bio-diversity. Let’s hope there are no fire breathing dragons.”

Enid removed one of the Atlantean tablets from her pack. One she knew to have plenty of data storage left and started taking scans of everything. She tapped a few commands to have it search for bipedal humanoid traces. She wandered the jungle aimlessly for quite some time. She picked up the traces of her prey just as she came across a very large, very toothy monstrosity. She quickly pulled the shadows around herself and darted to the left just as teeth snap forty-foot diameter tree trunk she had just been in front of like it was a twig. Her vampiric gift wasn’t fool proof and this thing was obviously having no trouble sensing her presence. She dove again as the spiked head of the overly large mutant dinosaur smashed another tree. Enid tossed her tablet further into the forest and lept up and on top of the monstrosity’s back. It started to writhe violently then rolled she lept up and into one of the trees.

“The uh…dinosaurs seem to be immune to mental influence here.”

Crack! The dinosaur smashed her tree. Crack! Its spiked head crashed into the tree. She leaped to another tree. No way she could outrun this thing, so she tried something she was loath to do and reached out with hand and chanted as he leaped to the ground unleashing a torrent of entropic purple lightning. She had trouble reigning it in and while it aged the dinosaur’s shoulder terribly it chained to several trees and other animals turning them to dust.

“Fuck.”

She snapped her hand back as she felt the black veins burning under her glove. These weren’t from blood magic here though…these were from touching the entropic energy of creation. She opened and closed her fist willing her blood to heal the terrible damage she’d just wrought on herself. The mutant dinosaur howled in agony as it tried to chase her, but its front leg was lame now and she easily outpaced it. She scooped up the tablet with her free hand. After a kilometer or so she stopped running sure it would soon die from the damage she’d caused it. She flexed her right hand as she walked. It was healing, slowly. She picked the trail of the wayward lover up again and followed it. Hopefully she would find Y’trrrl at the end of the path.

Enid followed the trail long enough she had to stop and drink a couple of synth-o to replenish her blood supply. She was starting to understand that this was not so much a valley but some from of crevasse cut into the crust of the world. She was her Atlantean tablet had seen traces of extra-terrestrial origin. Whatever had caused it was definitely an extinction level event on the level that killed off Earth’s dinosaurs. Why then the remnants of this world’s pre-history existed down here confused her. But the fact was it didn’t matter. It was ancient history and that was for scientists to sort out. She ran into the biggest source of extraterrestrial rock it dwarfed her, it was at least fifteen kilometers in each direction. She climbed up on top of it to get a better view. The meteor remnant had been worn down in the epochs since it feel but it was still high enough it was taller than the forest around it. As she crested the peak of it, she saw a building in the distance. She slid and jumped down the other side.

Enid was back into the full shadow of the crevasse when she reached the structure. She looked through her tablet the building. Her tablet was telling her the structure was older than the crevasse that it housed. Massive stairs led past two to towering statues.

“Found some…form of temple? Two statues, not Sauroid. They appear to be…human-style angels holding staves. Everything is overgrown with the foliage of this place. Magical energy is much more intense here. Atlantean tablet says temple is older than its surroundings. Might be reading it wrong, no way this place survived that asteroid.”

Enid ascended the steps. She could see disturbed vines as if someone raced up the steps relatively recently. She walked through the grand entrance. Wall art in the form bas-relief was everywhere. She scanned the pictures with the tablet carefully pushing vines away to see it all. As she got deeper in the outside jungle held less sway. She started touching the carved pictographs with her fingers.

“Tablet is picking up signs of advanced tech here. There is bas-relief here also. Seems to be telling a story. I do not understand the runic language, but if I go by the pictures… it seems like they are trying to say that a great apocalypse would come, or has come? That the world would be divided into two halves light and darkness… That… an angel? Will save the world from complete destruction. Looks like this planet used to have normal rotation…perhaps the asteroid caused it to lose it’s momentum? Doesn’t seem physically possible to me… Not sure what this last part means. It shows…the same staff as statues out front only it has light radiating from it. Yep nope no clue.”

Enid jumped when she heard a voice behind her, the language was sauroid, but…different. It sounded me eloquent. She heard a tail slapping the ground and something akin to reverence in the voice behind her.

“The story ends with the creator’s most precious daughter coming from the stars to restore the balance and peace to our world. She will then ascend the stairs of the Temple of Shadows and reclaim that which is rightfully hers.”

Enid’s fingers slowly lifted off the wall-carvings and she turned to see who spoke. She saw the oldest Sauroid she’d ever seen standing before her. The eyes sockets empty and stitched shut. The scales were long faded grey with age. The woman was leaning on a wooden facsimile of the staff the towering angel statues had been holding.

“Welcome back Seraph. We have long awaited your return.”

“You…are mistaken, I am Enid of the Aurelius Clutch, Born of the Earth Sphere. I am here looking for a man…”

“You are Seraph. I am the watcher. As with all watchers before me, my eyes were removed so that I could see only the truth.”

“I am sorry honored Dull Scale, I have never been to this planet before. And even if I had, I have not the power to stop a fifteen-kilometer wide asteroid. Or keep a planet from shattering.”

The watcher touched Enid’s right hand.

“You have recently channeled the energies of creation in the jungle. I sensed it, it is how I knew of your coming. Your true reason for being here awaits you in the temple proper.”

The old woman turned and started walking away from Enid. Her staff clicking against the strange stone of the temple. Enid hurried to catch up to the strangely spry elderly sauroid.

“I am not this Seraph. I went by that name once, but it was a lie, an illusion to hide who I really was.”

“The truth comes to us in strange ways Seraph. You see with your eyes but you do not see with your heart. The eyes lie to you. That is why you close them when you are lost.”

Enid grumbled as she hurried to keep up with the much taller sauroid. The old woman eventually reached a set of double doors. Like the rest of the temples interior they were rather advanced looking. Dust covered them but Enid could make out what were once LED’s.

“This temple…you have electric lightning and integrated circuits…I thought.”

“My people were once very advanced. We travelled to the other spheres but an object of great density flew came one day and with it brought death. You explained that it devoured everything in its path and that you were sent to deflect it. You saved who you could.”

The woman stuck her staff in a port in the wall and the doors hissed and kicked up dust as they slid open. The light from the room was blinding. Once Enid’s eyes adjusted, she saw her staff floating there in what appeared to be an energy shield and antigrav field.

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“This makes no sense. Where are all the cities?”

“Deep beneath the ice and the waves. The bulk of our civilization lived where the dark side is now.”

“Why do you keep this history to yourself?”

“We tried in the distant past but were attacked and persecuted. It was all we could do to survive. We retreated here to your temple for shelter.”

Enid didn’t look directly at the brilliantly glowing staff.

“This is not my staff.”

“It is Seraph, as you once said to my ancestors, you will return and you would restore what was lost, you would not know us, but we would know you.”

The woman pointed to a painting on the wall. Enid did a double take. It was the only thing in this entire temple that still held color and there she was in black armor with flowing red hair reaching to take the staff.

“Look, I’m not her, I’m a vampire.”

“Take up your staff and I will take you to the one you seek.”

Enid sighed and approached the energy shield. Scanning it with her tablet. It couldn’t resolve the staff or the device containing. This was what was radiating all the magical energy and interfering with scanners. It flared again she could feel pressure from the light pushing against her. The staff was so bright she couldn’t look at it directly without being blinded then she noticed the wall carvings here. She blinked it showed her fighting disfigured fallen angels with a blade of light. Then she took up the staff and after a few more fights the sword was missing from the battles only the staff remained.

She didn’t want to believe this staff belong to her but in her heart she knew the old sauroid was speaking the truth. Her gift was unfailing and this staff was hers, somehow some way. She listened to the wisdom of the woman and closed her eyes. She let her gift guide her hand. She felt the tingle as her fingers and forearm passed through the energy field and she grasped the warm metal of the staff and pulled it out. She held it over head and felt a pulse of energy flow through her then the staff vanished from her hand. She opened her eyes, and the room was shrouded in darkness.

“This way.”

Enid blinked at the old woman who had waited her entire life for this moment and she basically just shrugged like she knew this was going to happen today, in this exact manner. Enid shook her head and hurried to catch up.

“You said the staff was mine, but it just vanished.”

“You aren’t ready for the truth.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like it meant.”

“You are incredibly annoying.”

“I simply am.”

Enid frowned and followed the old woman. The temple was massive and it took them several minutes to reach their destination. On the far side of the temple, along its rear was a walled settlement. It had farm fields and orchards lit by some form of artificial light. Many sauroids of both light and dark side called it home. The flyer’s wingers were clipped. Enid frowned.

“Did you really need to clip their wings?”

“That was their own peoples doing, we merely took them in when they were sent into the crevasse.”

Enid followed the woman down the massive set of stairs. This looked like a ramshackle post-apocalyptic town. Random pieces of wood and metal made up the bulk of the building materials. The fields and orchards were in hot houses using solar lamps powered by archaic fusion generators.

“I…can provide better power and lamps.”

“I know. And you will as you once promised.”

“How do you know all this?”

As the pair entered the settlement many eyes, some belonging to children watched them pass. Whispers of the name Seraph spread through the shanty town quickly.

“The prophecy.”

“The dark siders had one too.”

“Bits and pieces of the true one yes.”

The woman stopped at one of the scrap buildings and started to go inside. Enid stopped following her when she realized this the woman’s home. The woman looked back at her.

“You have more questions come and let them be answered.”

Enid sighed and followed the woman inside. The home was covered in metal books they did not contain writing, they contained dots and bumps similar to brail. It was cluttered the woman navigated it with ease and removes a stack of books from a bench and motioned to it. She sat on another and put her staff aside and then lit up a pipe and puffed on it.

“Why is there so much magical energy down here, was it the staff?”

“The staff was our savior and our curse.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The old woman started to trace the ornate carvings on her own staff as if deep in though.

“The staff made normally docile creatures large and dangerous. The jungle grew to vast proportions in it’s light. Strange energy infused everything even we who lived in its shadow. Slowly the life will fade, leaving only a shadow of what used to be. We were in constant danger of attack for the massive beasts. Now, we will be safe. They protected us from the others however, the Dark and the Light. Here where they tossed their unwanted, their lost, their impure, those with what you would call birth defects, they expected them to die. The keepers of the staff would rescue them, carry them here. They grew strong in the light of the staff. They had children and their children had children. Now those who never belonged above have lost the protection of your staff’s light.”

Enid swallowed hard and blinked at the old woman in disbelief.

“If the staff kept you safe, why would you tell me to take it when I did not want it? What purpose did it serve? If Seraph saved you, she would have wanted you to be safe.”

“It is how it needs to be. The staff has served its purpose here and now it will serve its true purpose in your hands Seraph.”

“I keep telling you, I am not Seraph.”

“Yet the staff let you take it.”

“Lady, it vanished.”

“As was foretold. All others who have called themselves our savior, owner of the staff, who have dared touch it were disintegrated in flashes of light. Many have come who thought they were worthy. We watchers always knew of they were false but it was their destiny to die to its light, so it was.”

“You believe that, I can tell.”

“Ah but your gift doesn’t tell you if I believe or not, it tells you the truth of all things.”

Enid muttered under her breath.

“Cursing does not make my words any less true.”

“You are a cranky, bossy, annoying old lady.”

“In that way we are similar are we not?”

Enid stood up and started to pace.

“Resist, deny, pace all you wish Seraph. All is came to pass as you told the first watcher it would. Now the prophecy spoke of by our greatest seer is also coming to pass you have started the first steps towards peace and unifying the disparate parts of our once united people under your glory.”

“What?”

“Your image spreads through our peoples of all types like wildfire. Whispers of the Dark Mother spread like wildfire through The Light and The Dark. One day all of our peoples will look to the stars united under her banner and speak of the woman who came to our world and lifted our hearts from the hatreds of the old ways. Gave succor to the weak, brought the prideful low and reunited a broken people.”

Enid felt sick again.

“Fuck.”

“The light of Seraph will shine on our people once more, though they will call you a different name.”

“I am not a goddess, or an angel. I pointed to a random place on a star map and said plot a course. I just didn’t want go home.”

“Your eyes saw random, your heart knew. The hand of the creator reached down and guided your finger to us.”

“You have an answer for everything don’t you?”

“No, I still do not have the old festival bread recipe my grandmother used to make us when I was a little girl.”

“You’re very funny.”

“Thank you, I try. You will find your lost lover among the people of our sanctuary. He is often staring longingly into the jungle waiting for his love to appear.”

Enid glanced down and her holo-phone was no longer erroring out. The field the staff had been creating was already dissipating.

“Thank you, Watcher.”

“Thank you, Seraph.”

Enid muttered a few more choice curse words under her breath as she walked out of the old woman’s house. She looked about the shanty town people were going about their business, most of which seemed to be surviving. Hunters were dragging back game others were tending to the massive green houses. She got a few looks but for the most part the folks kept to themselves. She saw what passed for a tavern or bar just based on the smell of alcohol permeating the place. She reasoned when she had issues with her love life, alcohol wasn’t far behind. She went inside. It was sparsely populated, likely because most were working. A chubby sauroid with bright red scales was wiping down the bar. He looked at her, his tail started lightly thumbing the wooden floor beneath it.

“Honored by your presence in here, Seraph. Do you want a drink?”

“If I could get drunk I would want several but… as it is, it would be a waste of time. I was wondering though, new water tribesman came down here recently… lost his true love. Probably depressed?”

“Oh that one. He spends his time fishing at the edge of the temple. He’s certain his love will find him. Says she’s a powerful mind mage.”

“Ya, she’s…not coming.”

“I told the boy that, but love makes you blind as the watcher.”

“She seemed to see plenty if you ask me.”

He laughed his tail slapping happily.

“You are funnier than I expected.”

Enid motioned to the decorated walls of the steel building.

“So uh, why is this place decorated with streamers and lights? This typical?”

“Oh no, we’re celebrating your coming. Watcher told us it would be today. That’s why everyone’s rushing to get done. Feast tonight in your honor.”

“But without the staff…”

He shrugged.

“We’ll live as the people have down here for thousands of turnings of the spheres. Not that we can see them. You’ll stay for the feast yes?”

“I will probably have to, need to convince him to come with me willingly. Excuse me.”

The bartender nodded and Enid left the build. She tapped her wrist.

“Apollo?”

“You survived! I picked up your phone but I couldn’t open up comms, I was worried.”

“I had them turned off.”

“Aunt Enid, you’re still in the crevasse.”

“I am. I neutralized the source of the EMF interference. Anything new since I’ve been out of contact?”

“We have successfully created a wormhole and have received our first transport of water.”

“I guess I’m going to have to land it huh?”

“Yes. Its autopilot is primitive.”

“Alright, I’ll take care of that once I’m done here, might be a few more hours. Still haven’t found my target. But I’m close. Feel free to start scanning the boundary. Some interesting bio-diversity that will die off soon. Also seems like massive asteroid hit the planet. Might have some interesting properties. Also there’s an ancient structure. And we’ll need deeper resonance scanners for the dark side, apparently there are ancient cities there.”

“You seem to have discovered quite a bit of new information. The trip seems to have been fruitful.”

“Ya, fruitful. Enid out.”

Enid tapped her wrist and put her hands on her hips and looked for the river, she found it and followed it to the temple wall. At its base she found a pathetic looking sauroid who was half-heartedly spear fishing. She felt bad for the morose looking fellow and spoke up, trying to keep her tone light.

“You know, it works better when you aim.”

He jumped and looked around for the source of the voice his eyes finally finding Enid.

“You…you are Seraph, the one they’ve been preparing for weeks.”

“That’s what they’re calling me, but my real name is Enid. Enid of the Aurelius Clutch.”

“You have no tail, I thought you’d have a tail, and more scales.”

Enid shapeshifted into a female sauroid with blue and magenta scales.

“Better?”

He blinked at her.

“You sound better…”

Enid let her form slip back to her human shape.

“I can be whatever I want, that was quick and dirty, I can do better.”

He motioned to the Watcher’s home.

“The watcher lives there, she is who you seek.”

“No, actually I came here for you.”

“Me?”

“Your name is Y’trrrl, correct?”

“Yes.”

“I have a message for you.”

Enid tapped her wrist and moved the holo-display so Y’trrrl could see it. An image of T’raaalie appeared. His tail started to slap the earthen bank as she spoke.

“Y’trrrl the person before you is the Boundarywalker and great Mind Mage Enid of the Aurelius Clutch. She has arranged for us to travel to her home sphere and act as intermediaries for our peoples. We can be together. You can trust her. She is who she says she is. We can be together, have the children we wanted so badly and neither of us needs to suffer any longer. I love you and I cannot wait to see you. She will bring you to me.”

Enid swiped her hand over her wrist closing the projection. He had tears in his eyes as he looked at Enid next.

“You are Seraph, the great unifier. I am sorry I doubted you.”

“I’m just doing a job for someone.”

“When can we leave? Soon?”

Enid held up her hand and shook her head.

“Soon. Soon. We’re staying for the feast, its only been a couple of weeks, you’ll be fine for another few hours.”