PART 1

Lamir watched as the humans set camp. They set no fires nor tried to erect tents, only pulling out their bedrolls and welcoming the embrace of sleep.

He noticed Kyburn’s hand was shaking, however. Most of the soldiers were still on edge after the battle. Unsurprisingly so. They had just been through hell. Losing most of their brothers in arms would have that effect.

War was bloody and messy, Lamir knew that fact more than most. He sighed heavily, deactivating his helmet, and took in a lungful of air. The night sky was brilliant. The constellations on Isulia were beautiful as always. That much hadn’t changed.

Billions of twinkling stars met his gaze as if begging to be noticed. He wondered if Votis had been destroyed or not. Just one more of his many regrets, leaving his home during an invasion. But he had his mission. Isulia. Even in that, he had failed.

“Do you not need sleep?” Erik walked up to him, pulling him from his thoughts. “You look… tired.”

“Huh.” he chuckled. “I am tired, but not in the way that you think.”

“Well, after three thousand years of slumber, I’d imagine you caught up on your rest.” he joked. Erik smiled at him but his face grew solemn a moment later. “How do you feel? Really. If you don’t mind me asking. I can’t imagine sleeping for three millennia then jumping into battle like that.”

“Yes. Well, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me.” Lamir admitted. “Not knowing what happened to my home. Unable to contact anyone. Unsure if my best friend is dead or not. So much has happened and yet, I know nothing of the history here. Our way of life changed in an instant for us, but for those outside, it’s been lifetimes.”

“I… I’m sorry.” Erik handed him a crude cup. “It’s wine. Thought you’d need a drink.”

“Thank you.” Lamir smiled. “You too have been through a lot these past months. From what I heard, you were right to flee your home, albeit temporary. The Vog are smart and logical creatures. I’m sure we can come to an understanding with them. Do not worry. I will help you get your throne back.”

“I appreciate that, but I don’t care about my crown.” Erik took a sip of his own wine. “I just want my people to be safe. I lost their trust. I lost their homes. Because of me, we were forced to flee our land. I want to take it back, not only for myself but for them. I want to prove myself worthy of their loyalty.”

“I see. Do not lose heart then. Soon you will have your people's trust back.” Lamir encouraged. “Prove your worth through your actions. If you do that, they will see your true intentions.”

“I hope so.” Erik lowered his head.

“What are you two talking about?” Yvlana asked from behind.

Erik whipped his head around, whereas Lamir simply took another sip, waiting for his sister to make another rude comment.

To his surprise, none came.

“Where is the boy?” Yvlana asked. “He had many questions for us. We promised you both answers, so here we are. Ask away.”

She looked at Lamir with a smirk. He knew she was baiting them but said nothing. If she wanted to unload her distaste for humans on these people, so be it. Her eyes twinkled as Erik stuttered, then jumped up to fetch Henry from his bedroll.

Lamir could see that he wasn’t asleep, but rather reading from the holo-pad he had given him earlier. “Had he already figured out how to use it?” he wondered.

Quickly, Erik and Henry returned, eager for answers to burning questions. Lamir stayed put to make sure Yvlana didn’t take it too far. To her annoyance, however, not only did Henry join them but several others did too.

They were all eager to hear what the Emarine had to say. Inwardly, Lamir grinned as he saw Yvlana’s eyes twitch in irritation. “Serves her right.” he thought.

Erik, Henry, Kyburn, Trygve, Durlan, Arne, and Hazam all approached at once.

They sat around them in a semicircle. Waiting eagerly for someone else to ask the first question. Unsurprisingly, Lamir watched as Henry popped his hand up.

Yvlana visibly rolled her eyes, even in the dark he could see her whole body regretting her decision.

“Yes?”

“Where did you come from and why are you here?” Henry asked rapidly. “What happened to Votis? In this…” he hesitated. “Book thing. It records that many of your colonies were destroyed and overtaken by the Thrak. Did the same happen to Votis? Are you soldiers or just regular explorers?”

Lamir winced at the questions. Even he didn’t know that and it was bound to strike a chord in his sister. She took a deep breath and answered as calmly as she was able.

“My brother and I were recruited as cadets when the war began.” Yvlana started. “We were very young for our society standards. When the Thrak took our first colony without warning, we enlisted. They were quick and ruthless. Using the Ocaid, the Thrak easily jumped from planet to planet. There was very little we could do to stop them.”

“What do you mean ‘society standards?” Trygve interrupted. “How old are you two. How long is the Emarine lifespan?”

Yvlana looked at Lamir but he only shrugged at her, letting her know she got herself into this situation. She shot a glare at him but looked at the older man.

“We graduated from our class in our seventies.” Yvlana waited to see their looks of surprise. “I am seventy-three. My brother is seventy-eight. If you don’t count three thousand one hundred and seven years onto that. An Emarine’s average lifespan is normally eleven to twelve thousand years.”

To her delight, Lamir saw the look of joy on her face as everyone stared at her in amazement.

“By Hashem,” Trygve whispered. “You truly are magnificent. What is it like? To have such a long life?”

Yvlana laughed. “How would I know? I’m only 73. Still considered a girl in many aspects.”

Everyone stared at her, mouths agape, a combination of fascination and confusion.

“Please continue.” Durlan jumped in. As eager if not more eager than Henry to hear the rest of her story. “You said the Thrak were attacking your colonies.”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Yes.” Yvlana’s mood darkened. “At the same time. Your people. Earth was also attacked.” Yvlana raised her chin and gazed at the night sky before continuing. “In order to survive. Emarine and humans worked together to stem the tide of the overwhelming odds. We pushed back but the Thrak numbered in the hundreds of billions.”

“Whole planets were wiped out in a matter of weeks. Nothing we could do would stop them. We lost over seven hundred million civilians in the first wave. As you can imagine, it only got worse. Far worse.” she grabbed Lamir’s cup and gulped down the rest of his wine. “So, in a vain attempt at survival, I and a couple dozen others were chosen to colonize this world. Isulia. We were to harvest its resources and set up military bases. We were also tasked in creating our first army of A.I.”

“Like Pilgrim?” Henry tilted his head. “How can A.I. help you fight?”

The rest of the group were looking at Yvlana with stunned faces as if their world had been blown off its axis, but not Henry, he took it with strides. He must’ve read far more of that holo-pad than Lamir realized to be unphased by the information his sister just gushed out.

Quickly, Lamir also realized that it wasn’t that the boy wasn’t unphased but rather wanting to soak up every bit of knowledge as possible before mentally processing it. He was a true study. Lamir grinned, impressed by his questions. He wanted to learn, and he wouldn’t let his own emotions get in the way of that.

At least not until his appetite for knowledge was abated, though, something told Lamir that it would be some time before that happened.

“A.I. are computers. We could upload a single A.I. to control entire armies at once.” Yvlana explained. “We could use them as soldiers and at little cost to Emarine life. They would replace our numbers, which we desperately needed.”

“However, that was not our primary goal,” Yvlana admitted.

“What was?” it was Kyburn’s turn to speak up.

“Our goal was to mine the rich materials from Isulia,” she answered.

“Frostrium Steel.” Erik guessed.

“Yes. F.T.S. for short. Isulia is full of it and we used most, if not all our weapons and battlecruisers and S.R. fighters with the same material. It is our greatest weapon against the Thrak.” Yvlana said. “But not long after we arrived here, so did the Thrak. In a series of unfortunate events, we were left behind. Stranded on Isulia.”

“What about us?” Kyburn asked. “Humans I mean. What happened to us? If we are not from Isulia, do you know how we got here?”

“No. I’m afraid I don’t know how you arrived here.” Yvlana replied.

“What happened to earth?” Henry asked.

Lamir, once again winced at the question, as did Yvlana. As much as she disliked the humans, that question was riddled with sorrow and hopelessness. He saw her hesitate, unable or unwilling to bring the news to these primitive humans.

“Earth is gone,” Lamir answered for her. “During the war with the Thrak, earth was destroyed and the humans were forced to flee. With the destruction of their homeworld, the humans left us to our own fates and escaped into deep space. After that, we don’t know what happened to them.”

“You, however, are most likely remnants of their colony fleet. During their exodus of earth, they scattered across the galaxies, searching for new homes. Perhaps you came here to start over, or you crashed here, who knows. But you arrived here far after we entered our cryo-pods.” Lamir said softly. “How you restarted from the stone age, we don’t know. My best guess is you crash-landed on Isulia and were forced to start fresh. Your lack of technology would further support my hypothesis.”

“What did you mean, we left you to your own fates?” Erik asked cautiously.

“You humans left us in our time of need,” Yvlana said coldly. “On the brink of collapse, our own homeworld being overrun, you left us. You left us to die.”

“After we sacrificed so many lives to save your earth, you betrayed us.” Yvlana spat.

“We realize, of course, we failed to save the earth too.” Lamir cut in. “There is, however, and perhaps always will be, a negative stigma attached to the ‘human’ name for us Emarine.”

Everyone was frozen in place, understanding now, why Yvlana disliked them so much. Though it wasn’t their fault, their mere presence brought back those memories for her. Ones that would indeed bring rath. He saw it on all their faces.

No one said it but Lamir could see it in everyone’s eyes. They understood her hatred. Yvlana stood, her body towering over their sitting forms, and left without another word.

“I’m sorry,” Henry said innocently. “That… must be tough then. To see us like this.”

“Don’t worry, kid.” Lamir made sure to smile at him. “It’s not your fault. She knows it too. Please understand, for us, that wound is still fresh. To us, it's been less than a year. We still don’t know if Votis is out there. We still don’t know if everything we’ve ever known is dead, or alive. You must forgive my sister, she still grieves in her own way.”

The older men in the group brooded silently whereas the younger men looked guilt-ridden.

“Everything we’ve ever known is gone. And now, we have a chance to bring one thing back from the dead.” Lamir said sorrowfully.

“Kaladin,” Erik answered for him. “Kaladin is the friend you spoke of. Is he…” Erik trailed off.

“Yes,” Lamir confirmed. “Her and Kaladin were together. He sacrificed himself to save us when we were left behind. If there is even the slightest chance he is alive, then my sister and I will do anything to bring him back. Anything. If that means we have to kill every last Thrak on Isulia to do it, then we will, no matter what it takes.”

“He’s alive,” Erik assured him. “I-I feel it. We just have to get there.”

“We will help you,” Kyburn promised. “But we have our own problems to deal with. Our own people to protect. I know you understand that. Getting into Vulkira will be difficult and time-consuming, especially when Thrak are at our backs and threatening our world as we know it. If they are as dangerous as you make them out to be, my. No. Our first priority is to stop them at all costs before it is too late.”

“Do not fret. I know why you are saying this and it is unnecessary.” Lamir waved his hand. “I will keep my promise to you. Neither I nor my sister will abandon you. We will rid this world of those vile creatures, that I promise. But the moment that is done. I will expect you all to keep your end of the bargain.”

“We will,” Erik promised.

“I have one more question,” Henry spoke up, eager for more answers. “Well, many more but that can wait. What can you tell me about Tepra?”

“Tepra is the homeworld of the Vog.” Lamir raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask?”

“According to what Erik has seen through Felkuru, it seems their homeworld is dying. Do you not know anything about that?”

“No.” Lamir frowned in confusion. “The last thing I knew about the Vog, was that they were untouched by the Thrak.”

“Hm.” both Henry and Erik exhaled at the same time.

“I wonder.” Erik scratched his chin.

“How long has Felkuru been here?” Henry asked no one in particular.

PART 2

They hadn’t stayed long and no one slept that night. Their group had moved out long before the sun rose. Lamir felt uneasy though, knowing the Thrak were behind them. He once again glanced back, searching the horizon for any movement. But, each time, he saw nothing.

“Well, you weren’t kidding about that wall...” Yvlana whistled. This time addressing the humans.

“That is the Xerian border. Our kingdom is completely surrounded by it.” Kyburn shouted over the galloping horses.

“Will he let us in?” Trygve asked him. “After all these years of silence and contempt, I’m not sure if Xerath will look kindly upon another nation flocking to his borders.”

“If you don’t, all your people will be hunted down and slaughtered,” Lamir said.

“Well… that's a pleasant thought,” Trygve said sarcastically.

“I think we have another problem!” Henry yelled over them. “Look!”

All heads turned, immediately changing into stunned and worried faces. A shimmer of movement popped up over the horizon and Lamir cursed under his breath. He had literally just looked, and now, they were there, coming for them.

A massive army of Thrak was following them. As far as the eye could see. Yvlana stopped for a moment. He skidded to a halt next to her, feeling her anxiety rising. “I have to see him again before I die,” she said to him. “I won’t let this be the end for us.”

“I won’t let that happen either. We will find a way, we always do.” Lamir placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her. “If we can get to that wall, and with the human’s help, we can defend ourselves. We have a good chance of repelling them with defenses like that.”

“I hope you're right,” Yvlana whispered. “Cause if you aren’t… we’re all dead. Kaladin included.”