Chapter XX – Daughter of Ruin

The shadows grew thicker and Nova found herself frozen in place.

The light of the stars was fading.

Her whole world was narrowing down to that shadowy hallway and that dancing flame.

She took a step back, transfixed.

This was not what she dealt with.

This didn’t make sense.

This didn’t have a solution.

A voice began quietly singing.

A sad song of loss.

Nova took another step back. She swayed slightly, teetering on the brink of the stairs, just steadying herself before she went tumbling down. She thought to call out to Seraphina – she was so close! – but her voice caught in her throat, her words failing her. Like a dream. Like a nightmare.

The candle flame vanished.

A moment passed.

The flame flickered back to life.

Closer now.

Then there came the sound of a rushing of wings. Something dark streaked past Nova’s head. A fraction of a second later there was a flash of purple light.

The lights came back on and the candle-bearing figure was gone. Matthias, the six-winged raven fluttered back towards Nova. She saw it settle on Seraphina’s shoulder, just as the witch emerged from the stairway behind Nova.

Nova opened and closed her mouth a few times, but still no sound would come out.

“Would you like to come to my room?” asked Seraphina.

Nova nodded slowly and meekly.

“Come then,” said Seraphina, and she headed back down the stairs.

Nova put a hand to her chest, feeling her furiously beating heart. She tried to steady her breathing and clear her mind, but she still felt like she was on the brink of an outright panic attack. Shaking, she followed Seraphina.

Entering Seraphina’s room, Nova immediately collapsed to her knees on the floor.

“Tha—thing—fuck—”

Seraphina observed her with inscrutable crimson eyes then padded over to a draw to withdraw some sticks of incense. She lit these and placed them in a jar. Nova felt the calm returning to her with the scented smoke.

“There was a… I dunno what,” said Nova.

“You’re naked,” observed Seraphina.

Nova glanced down at the towel she was wearing. “It attacked me… this… ghost or whatever… when I’d just got out of the shower,” said Nova, her words still feeling like they were tumbling out rather than being the result of any conscious or ordered thought on her part.

Seraphina went to a closet and retrieved a large dark cloak. She came over to Nova and draped it over her shoulders. Nova gratefully took it and pulled it around her.

“Did you see it?” she asked.

Seraphina nodded. “Matthias saw it. I noticed there was something extra on board when we returned from the surface.”

“You didn’t think to tell me?” asked Nova.

“I wasn’t sure what it was and couldn’t locate it,” replied Seraphina.

“Sera, even if you’re like… 1%... thinking that there might be a ghost on board… you gotta tell me that shit,” said Nova.

“Understood,” said Seraphina, “I will inform you in the future anytime I suspect a ghost or other spirit has come on board.”

Whatever the incense was that Seraphina was burning, it was definitely having the desired effect. Nova could feel her focus, the general cohesion of her thoughts, returning. She took in a deep breath.

Then it struck her. “Oh fuck! I left Charlie behind… I just ran out of there,” said Nova.

“Spirits aren’t usually interested in mechanical lifeforms,” said Seraphina. “He will be fine.”

“I think I might have dropped my tablet too…” said Nova.

“If you like I can go retrieve them for you,” said Seraphina.

Nova’s eyes surveyed the room. There was nothing overtly suspicious – no more than was usually the case in Seraphina’s room, anyway – but she still didn’t like the idea of being alone.

Seraphina seemed to glean what she was thinking. “Matthias can stay with you. If anything happens, he will alert me, and I will be back immediately.”

Nova swallowed then nodded.

With that Seraphina headed out and Nova was once again alone. Fortunately, Seraphina’s room was the only one on board without a window. She knew that if there was a window, she’d not be able to help herself imagining that figure staring in at her again.

Matthias sat on a perch and ruffled his feathers.

“Thanks for chasing away that ghost, bud,” said Nova.

The bird cocked his head to one side and left out a soft ‘caaawwr’.

For once, Nova found herself thankful for the unusual warmth of Seraphina’s room. Whatever that thing was, it had somehow made the air far colder with each appearance. She pulled Seraphina’s cloak close around her, shivering at the memory.

It didn’t take long for the witch to return. The door to the room slid open and she entered, Charlie trotting along behind her. She passed Nova’s tablet and a bag to her. Nova set these aside and knelt, reaching out her arms.

“Hey, boy!” she said and Charlie came happily running over to her. She picked him up in her arms and rose to her feet. “Sorry I left you behind.”

Woof! said Charlie, seemingly accepting her apology.

“See anything weird?” Nova asked Seraphina, still cradling Charlie in her arms.

“Nothing,” said Seraphina, as Matthias fluttered over to land on her shoulder. “Everything was as normal.”

“Before… did you… get rid of it? When Matthias flew into it?” asked Nova.

“No, I just drove it off for now, but I can still sense its presence around,” said Seraphina. “It is close.”

“Close?” said Nova looking around.

“Yes,” said Seraphina. “But I’m not sure it is a dangerous spirit… I do not think it is angry or malicious.”

“Seemed pretty fucking malicious when it was a pulling a haunting on me,” said Nova.

“Sometimes the dead simply seek to communicate some message,” said Seraphina. “To those unfamiliar with spirits, I have heard this can be confronting.”

“Confronting is right,” said Nova. “I am not a fan of all this mystical-magical shit. I like things to make sense. Machines. Computers. Not this.”

“It makes sense to me,” said Seraphina.

“Yeah… well…” muttered Nova. “Hey, um… do you reckon I could stay here tonight?”

“I anticipated that you would want to,” said Seraphina. “I packed some of your clothes for you in that bag, including some pyjamas.”

Nova put Charlie down and wrapped Seraphina in a hug. “Naw, Sera, you’re the best!” she said. Sera didn’t return the gesture, her arms dangling at her sides.

“Mmmph,” said Seraphina.

Nova pulled away.

“I’m gonna go get dressed, so I’m not standing around all… naked,” said Nova.

“It does not concern me,” said Seraphina. “Many rituals are conducted skyclad on Hecate. Besides you have my cloak now.”

“Well, it bothers me,” said Nova, “But when I get back, I wanna work out how we solve this whole haunting situation.”

With that she headed into the bathroom and inspected the clothes Seraphina had brought. To her surprise, her choices were spot on.

I underestimate her sometimes, she thought.

She pulled out her favourite oversized t-shirt – soft from many washes – and a pair of shorts and pulled them on, then headed back out. Seraphina was sitting cross-legged on the floor. Matthias and Charlie were busily investigating each other, both seeming wary, but interested.

“Should have brought a bean bag,” said Nova, looking around. “Didn’t think of that when I was running from that ghost.”

“I could go get one,” said Seraphina.

“Oh no, you don’t need to do that,” said Nova. She took a spot on the floor next to Seraphina, sitting with her legs out to one side.

“Soooo… What can we do to get rid of the ghost?” said Nova once she was settled. “I’ll be real with you: if the ghost becomes a permanent fixture – malevolent or not – I am leaving the ship.”

“There are practices in goetia to dispel restless spirits,” said Seraphina, “But if they just want to communicate something, it is… nicer to try and understand them.”

“Oh,” said Nova, “You’re like one of those people who just want to relocate the spider. Well, I say dispel the spider, squash the ghost!”

Seraphina directed an unreadable expression towards her for a moment

“I hate spiders too,” said Nova. “Spiders and ghosts… you haven’t seen any spiders, have you?”

“Only that one,” said Seraphina, pointing towards an immense spider curled up and suspended in some sort of liquid in a jar on the shelf.

“Urgh,” said Nova, “Well, as long as it doesn’t become a spider ghost, I guess. Anyway, if you don’t want to dispel the ghost, how do we ‘communicate’ with it?”

“That isn’t always simple. I am not an expert medium,” said Seraphina, “I may need to consult my grimoire.”

“Do you think we should tell the Captain?” asked Nova.

“I think that would be best,” agreed Seraphina.

“Okay. Um, d’you mind handling that? Talking to Cap and working out what we do about this situation. I think I need to calm my nerves for a bit,” said Nova.

“That is fine.”

“I might play some Love Champions,” said Nova.

“Certainly,” said Seraphina. “You should try Lin Anshun’s route.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Nova.

Shortly after she had loaded up the game and begun chatting away to Zhao Linyi’s childhood friend. The ghost began fading from her mind. Seraphina had conjured up a large tome (to Nova it looked about half her size) which floated in the air in front of her. As she read it, she would turn the pages with a wave of her hand, never actually touching the book. Occasionally she would look up at the screen and make a recommendation to Nova. Matthias and Charlie appeared to now be playing some sort of game, taking turns chasing each other around the room.

“I wish Harry was here,” said Nova.

“Do you require food?” asked Seraphina.

“I don’t just talk about Harry when I want food. He’s a mate,” said Nova.

“I have observed that most of your unprompted mentions of Harry relate to food.”

“Well, yes, I do want food, as it so happens,” said Nova, “But…”

“I have—”

“Weird food. We’ve been over this. I’m just not into it. And it’s totally fine that you are, but it ain’t for me,” said Nova.

“You could go to the mess and make something yourself,” said Seraphina.

Nova looked dissatisfied with this notion. “Harry said I was banned from cooking.”

“I could cook for you,” said Seraphina.

“Can you cook normal food? Or just witch food?” asked Nova. She noticed something on the screen and leant in closer to get a better look, “This area looks different.”

“Perhaps you’ve found a hidden route,” said Seraphina.

“No…” said Nova, squinting at the screen.

Then she saw it, a cold chill running through her.

Because there, barely noticeable among the detailed background, was a character that had never been in the game previously. A character with a very different design to the others.

A shrouded woman holding a solitary candle.

As Sutay ran through the handover checklist, he was somewhat distracted. Not that he needed to be the epitome of focus to finish the job – it was always the same. Not much ever really happened at Yengishahr Spaceport. Today was no different.

Or at least, today he didn’t have anything out of the ordinary to include in his handover notes. However, as far as he was personally concerned, something very exciting had taken place. He rushed through the handover checklist, ticking off successive items without double-checking to ensure they had been done. His team knew what they were doing, so he was perfectly confident that everything would get done without his having to interfere. It was the one real perk of this management job – it really didn’t involve much work.

He put his tablet down on his desk and glanced out the window. His office looked out on the bleak expanse of the spaceport’s landing pad. As usual, the pad was scarcely used. The day’s light was fading and the floodlights were coming on.

Almost there, he thought. The pessimistic side of him worried that Yusminay, the night manager, would be late. She had never been late before, but it would be just his luck if today was to be the one time it happened.

He pushed that thought from his mind and checked the time. Any moment now he’d be done.

He drummed his fingers impatiently on his desk.

Any moment.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He’d already messaged his family to say he might be late. Tied up with work, he’d said. He’d told his wife not to bother with his dinner tonight. He’d find something on his way home.

After all, tonight was special. A very pretty offworlder had asked to meet with him after he finished. Normally, he’d have been sceptical that any such request was something to get excited about, but everything about this woman made her intentions – her desires – clear. She’d just finished a long journey from some planet he’d never heard of. She had been coming for a possible job on Yarkan, but the job had fallen through and now she was all alone and sad on this wind-blasted and remote world.

As it turned out, Sutay still had the charm. Not that he had much opportunity to use it anymore. His wife certainly showed no interest in him these days. Yet he had become newly confident that it was still there. It’d just been dormant these recent years. He had enough, at least, that he could convince this lonely, disappointed offworlder that he could provide her with the comfort she was craving.

Tonight, Sutay Buyaroghul was going to remind himself what it was to be a man. Husband to a disinterested wife. Father to bratty, ungrateful children. Duty manager of the security team at a sparsely trafficked spaceport. Not promoted in ten years. Life had done a lot to beat it out of him, but tonight was going to be different. He was a wolf of Yarkan!

On queue the door opened. In walked Yusminay.

“Got the report?” she asked.

Wordlessly he handed it to her. She did an impression of someone looking it over. “Seems fine.”

That’s what she always said.

“I’m going to go,” said Sutay.

“See you tomorrow,” said Yusminay. They passed each other as he left the desk and she walked around to take up her place behind it.

Stepping out into the spaceport concourse, he had a nervous moment when he couldn’t see the woman he was meeting. However, as he was looking around for her, an elderly man – an offworlder by the looks of him – walked up.

“Are you Sutay?” asked the man.

Sutay nodded, trying to fathom what this could be about.

“A lady asked me to give you a message: she said to meet her in storage room 3A in five minutes.”

“What?” asked Sutay.

Storage room 3A? Why would she be there? That’s not open to the public…

“This woman, what did she look like?”

The man shrugged. “I don’t know. Looked Shang probably. Fairly tall. Pretty.”

That’s her.

Well, this was a mystery, but strange as it was, Sutay wasn’t about to let it ruin his plans.

“Thank you for the message,” he said.

The old man gave a curt nod and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Sutay checked the time. He felt like he’d already waited long enough, but he supposed he could endure another five minutes.

Those five minutes dragged, but pass they did. He hurried to the storage room. He fumbled his keycard as he went to open the door, but eventually he succeeded. With an obliging beep it slid open.

And there she was.

“Hello, Sutay,” she said, a wicked smile on her face.

He was momentarily lost for words. Her demeanour had changed. It had been meek and desperate previously. But now she had assuredness about her. It was intimidating.

But also appealing.

“Hello… Miss…” he swallowed as her eyes bored into him, her smile suggestive and dangerous, “Zhen Yan.”

She walked over to him and stopped just in front of him.

“Tell me,” she said, “Are there cameras in here?”

He shook his head.

“Excellent.”

“How, um, did you get here? This is a restricted…” his voice trailed off as he withered beneath her stare.

“That doesn’t matter. But you can tell me something. Do you keep records of which starships the STOCs that land here belong to?”

What a strange question.

“We do…”

“And can you get me those records?” she asked.

This was already going very differently to the version he had imagined. He glanced around the shadowy storage room, as if something there would give him a clue as to what was going on. He looked back her way.

“I can’t give those out,” he said.

She lifted a hand to stroke the side of his face. “Not even for me?”

“What do you need that for?” he asked.

“No questions. Just answers,” she said, speaking softly.

He shook his head, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “I’m sorry… I really can’t give you that information.”

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain and looked down to see she had stabbed him with a small knife. His eyes widened in shock.

“You—”

“Oh, don’t make a fuss. I gave you a little prick, that’s all,” said Zhen Yan. She walked away from him and sat down on a box, crossing one leg over the other. As he watched her appearance shifted. Two fox-like ears sprung from the top of her head and nine bushy tails spread out like a fan behind her.

“Wha--?”

She sighed; her smile gone. She twirled the knife about and he was horrified to see the blade glistening with his own blood.

“You know I actually licked one of these once?” said Zhen Yan, seeing him looking at the blade. “I thought it would be a cool little intimidation technique, but of course I immediately realised that it was just super-gross. Do not recommend. Don’t know what came over me, frankly. Anyway, to get to the point, I was going to draw this out and play with you and whatnot, but two things caused me to reconsider. Firstly, I feel like everything has already taken too long and I’m running out of time with this job. By the time I travel here and back to Shangxia, that’s already basically a week. I mean, Big Bai’s paying well for this job, but still – with each passing hour it’s becoming less profitable for me. The other thing, though, is just that you are a really boring man. I just couldn’t see this game being fun. Long story short, I put two things into your bloodstream with that knife. One was a teeny-tiny little tracker. The other was a poison. I won’t tell you which one, but suffice it for you to know that you have about an hour or so to get me what I want. Do that and, well, I can stop the poison from killing you. Deal?”

As she spoke, Sutay felt the fear grip him. How was this happening? How was this real?

“Please…”

“Oh, stars, not another fucking one. I’m so sick of these pathetic grovelling animals. Don’t beg me. Just get on with it. Get me a record of any starships from Shangxia in the past week. Then get me all the security footage of those ships’ passengers when they arrived. Pretty simple. You understand?”

Sutay nodded.

“Then go. Get me the records.”

Sutay headed to the door. As he was just about to open it, she spoke again.

“Don’t go getting anyone else involved.”

He nodded and ran from the room. His brain desperately tried to think of any way out of this situation, but he drew a blank. With nothing for it he headed to the main security monitoring room, adjacent the office he’d left not so long ago.

How excited he’d been then.

The guard on duty saw him come in with a look of surprise. He immediately took his feet down off the desk he was sitting behind. “Manager Buyaroghul… I, um… I didn’t expect.”

“Don’t worry,” said Sutay, attempting to sound normal. “I just needed to check some records.”

“Oh, alright,” said the guard.

Sutay sat down at another terminal and entered the search parameters. The search came back. Only one result.

A starship called the Amrita.

Why is she interested in this?

Who is she?

He transferred the file to his tablet, then, after double checking the arrival time, brought up the security footage. Transferring that too, he hurried back the way he’d come, not even hearing the guard’s confused goodbye as he left the monitoring room.

Some part of him was hoping that somehow, he’d enter the storage room and find Zhen Yan gone.

But she was there.

“Hi,” she said, with a little wave and a smile as he entered.

“Only one ship,” he said.

“I don’t ask much,” said Zhen Yan. “Transfer me the files.”

He tapped his tablet to her outstretched tablet and hit a few buttons on screen. Moments later she checked her device’s screen.

“Amrita…” she mused. She swiped through the files, watching a few moments of each. “This will work. Now. Off you go. And don’t mention this little encounter to anyone.”

“What about the antidote?”

She laughed. “Did I tell you I poisoned you? Haha! No, you’re fine. Carry on.”

He felt confusion at first, but belatedly his brain made sense of her words, piecing together their meaning.

He ran from the room.

But he hadn’t long departed when his confusion turned to anger. Was he not a man? Was he not a security manager at this very spaceport? Was this not a security breach?

I’m not letting that bitch take advantage of me. She tricked me. She…

I’m a wolf of Yarkan!

He felt his anger peaking as he took out his tablet and put in a call to Yusminay. She answered immediately. “This is Sutay. I’m outside Storage Room 3A. We’ve got a serious security issue here. Intruder is armed and dangerous.”

Yusminay did not mess around. Three guards arrived just moments later, weapons at the ready. He led them back to the storage room.

He stood to one side of the door. “Zhen Yan, this is Sutay Buyaroghul. Please come out unarmed. You—”

He didn’t get much further.

The door to the storage room opened and a flood of thick smoke came rushing out.

Coughing, he couldn’t see what happened next. But he heard her voice.

“I let you go. You got lucky. Then you had to go do something stupid.”

The smoke was getting thicker. Sutay couldn’t even see the guards either side of him. A second later, though, he very clearly saw the eruption of blood that showered over him. He heard the thud of a body hitting the ground. Gunshots. A gurgled scream, cut short. A wet sound. Another thud. Then a stinging pain between his ribs.

Sutay sunk to the ground.

He felt his clothes growing damp from the liberally gushing blood.

A face emerged from the smoke.

It was his own.

It peered down at him with a sneer of icy contempt.

“Idiot,” his own mouth said to him.

Whether the smoke got thicker or his vision was fading, he didn’t really know.

But very soon it was all over.

If the sun was rising, Mu saw little sign, its rays struggling to penetrate the thick clouds of dust that enveloped her. She could barely see where she was going. She picked her way through the crumbling streets of Karbaliq with only the occasional glance up – attempts to get her bearings in the hell of sand.

Though almost every centimetre of her was covered, the sand still got into her clothes, abrasive against her skin. So thick was it in the air that she imagined she would choke upon it, were she to remove the cloth that protected her airways. She found herself wondering if she shouldn’t have attempted to acquire one of the sand storm suits their pilot had give them when they disembarked at the caravanserai en route to Karbaliq.

It was not the sand alone that made the journey beyond difficult. For the sand was driven by the wind, and Mu found that her route took her directly into an almighty headwind – one that seemed hellbent on driving her back. It was as if the Black City itself was bidding she return to safety.

But she was not to be deterred.

She would reach Özgünyaylaq, or she would join the dead of Karbaliq.

So, she resisted the sand and reason and journeyed on.

At length she reached one of the signs that warned that she was about to leave the protected zone.

This is it, she thought.

She knew the moment she stepped across that threshold the voices would erupt as they had on the flight here. This time, however, there would be no airship safely ensconcing her, no companions to speak kind words to her. This time she was alone and exposed to will of the fallen.

She steeled her nerves and stepped across the unseen limit of the protection of the Qamlar.

Nothing changed immediately. Scanning her surrounds she continued along the cracking and ruinous canyon between two gargantuan façades of ancient design. The immense walls extended away down both sides of the road, becoming obscured in the swirling sand, rising to unseen heights.

Alright Karbaliq. I’m yours.

As if in answer she heard a sobbing sound on the wind. Small lights appeared up ahead, blinking into existence then fading away as she drew closer. There was an oppressive weight, part physical, part mental. The city seemed to have a mind of its own, and she felt its grim opprobrium upon her as she ventured forth.

The farther she went beyond the barrier, the more she heard. The sobbing came and went. Sometimes it came from in front of her, other times from behind. There was also the moaning of the dying. At times a scream would echo out then be swallowed up by the maelstrom. And there were the whispers: mostly unintelligible, but unending, rising to crescendos, then dropping away again.

The Qam’s words echoed in her mind. “Come to witness what your ancestors wrought?”

It wasn’t me, Mu reminded herself.

A memory of her own words came to her.

“My name is Aixin Mukushen of the Mukta Clan, Princess of the White Horse Banner.”

Daughter of Ruin!

She pushed on, trying to quiet her mind, ignore the persistent voices; the memories that swirled about like the desert sands.

You are alone.

It’s just a short walk.

Just endure.

Around her she saw faces appear in the clouds of sand, melting away each time she glanced their way. Lights danced in the tempest.

She came to an open square. At its centre was a crumbling fountain. She approached the fountain. As she did so, the winds began to calm. Spectral figures assembled at the edges of the plaza, faceless and silent. Dawn’s early light washed over the scene.

She came to the fountain and gazed into it. Sand piled high and no water flowed.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

The sand melted into water. The fragments of the ruined fountain reassembled and bright daylight shone down on the plaza. Children ran by, shouted at by their parents. Merchants’ stalls were arrayed around the edges of the plaza. A band played a cheerful melody and a small group of onlookers had been drawn in, now dancing to the sound.

Mu surveyed the scene of bustling life and activity and felt a chill, even as the warmth of the sun fell upon her.

A woman approached her. Middle-aged with a kindly face, lined by a life in the harsh conditions of Yarkan.

“You look lost,” she said.

Mu took a moment to find her voice. “I… I haven’t been here before.”

“That’s alright, I can show you around,” said the woman.

“Oh, thank you.”

“What are you here for? Where are you from?”

“I’m from far away,” said Mu.

“Ah,” said the woman with a smile. “I guess we all came here from far away once upon a time.”

Mu nodded.

“You didn’t answer my other question: what are you here for?”

“I guess I don’t really know,” said Mu. “I want to help. Somehow. In whatever way I can.”

“That’s very kind of you,” said the woman, her eyes kindly, but distant, “But I wonder sometimes if we can truly be helped anymore.”

Mu gave her a strange look, her mind repeating that odd line over and over.

“But that’s alright. Why don’t I show you around?”

Mu followed the woman. She was an enthusiastic tour guide, keen to explain what each edifice around the square was, which stalls sold the best foods, the story behind the song the band was playing.

“It was played at the first great festival on Yarkan, when our ancestors first disembarked from the Clanship and began to settle this world. It is an expression of hope for a people long lost among the stars.”

“We Aixin have similar songs,” said Mu. “They tell of how our people finally settled on new worlds.”

The woman looked confused a moment. “Aixin… I do not know the Aixin. You are Star Nomads too?”

Mu nodded. “We are. I guess you will know us in time.”

The woman smiled. “I’m sure. Even if we speak different languages and worship different stars, I think there is a great, unspoken unity among the people of the Clanships.”

Mu smiled sadly. “It would be nice if that were the case.”

The woman gave Mu a piercing look, her demeanour suddenly changed. “It could have been.”

Mu was puzzled a moment.

“But I have another question for you,” said the woman.

“Yes?”

The woman’s smile completely vanished. “Why did you kill us?”

Mu recoiled in shock.

“I’m sorry?”

“I asked why you killed us, Daughter of Ruin.”

Mu shook her head. “I am not him. I left the Imperial Court behind. I do not want to be a part of that legacy.”

“Yet his blood still flows in your veins. And that destiny is still yours. You will be the Mother of Theophants. You and your children shall bring ruin to countless other worlds. The legacy is inescapably yours.”

It was night now and fires burned around the courtyard. Soldiers were gathering.

The woman Mu had been talking to called out: “She is here.”

Four soldiers advanced towards her. They were titans among men, dressed in wolfskin cloaks, their hardened visages gazing out of the wolves’ jaws. The metal plates of their armour shone with the light of the flames, intricately patterned with the images of Jaril myth and the crests of their ancient Clanship. Each man carried a wickedly curved blade.

Börilar, Mu thought. The elite warriors of the Jaril Confederacy. She had read of them in the histories. Wolves of the Khagan.

“The enemy is here,” said the woman and the four mighty warriors advanced towards Mu.

She froze a moment.

But only a moment.

She felt the adrenaline seize her. She withdrew her own sword. A moment ago, she had been shaking. No longer.

For the first time her mind stilled and she felt the Starflow. These warriors were creations of the Starflow, the Tempest embodied. She knew their moves, felt their power.

She steeled her resolve. The Black City would not take her like this.

“The Alabey shall not claim these lands,” announced one Böri, larger even than his comrades.

“For the Khagan!” shouted the other three, pounding their chests with armoured fists.

Mu slowed her breathing, closed her eyes, gathered the power of the Starflow to her, channelled it to her blade. A blade tempered by master smiths of Longque.

Nara Enduri, give me strength.

The Börilar moved quickly for men so large and heavily armoured. But Mu was quicker. Trained by the swordmasters of the Imperial Court; a Resonant of Nara Enduri. She blocked the first strike, but nearly lost her footing as she braced against the sheer strength with which the blow was swung.

The next was coming, but she foresaw it before it fell. The next came even quicker.

I won’t survive parrying these attacks. I’m no match for their strength.

I must be swifter still.

She darted about, trying to stay out of reach of the storm of blades that had descended upon her. It was no easy feat: like their lupine totem, the Börilar moved with ruthless coordination, positioning themselves to block her escapes, striving to anticipate her movements.

Yet, though they were of the Starflow, they did not have Mu’s foresight, and each time they blocked off one route of escape she had already located another.

She felt a thrill. No more doubt. No more guilt. Just mortal battle. Simple.

She saw an opening and lunged forward, but even anticipating the Böri’s movement, she could not find the gap in his armour, her blow glancing away. In that moment, after her failed attack, she had to twist away from another strike, one aimed at bisecting her through the waist.

The attack had left her penned in. The Jaril pack nearly had her in their jaws.

With a quick spin she avoided two more strikes, side stepped, and dove for the only remaining gap. A piece of her cloak was severed, fluttering in the night breeze, yet the blades of Börilar did not find her unarmoured flesh. In a moment, she was free.

The attacks did not relent.

Neither did Mu.

She saw the moment coming, the infinitesimal window, and she took it, thrusting that wicked and thirsty blade of Longque. This time her aim was true, and it slid betwixt one warrior’s teeth, piercing the wolfskin that lay upon the back of his neck. With an almighty effort, she yanked the blade free and was rewarded for her efforts with a spray of gore. There was no time to pause. Their comrade’s death did not give cause for the Börilar to relent for even an instant and Mu had to once again free herself from the threat of being surrounded.

But the odds had improved.

And Mu had not done all she could just yet.

The Tempest had been born of her ancestor’s Theophany, and just as the accusatory dead did, it knew whose blood flowed in her veins. She called out silently to the Starflow; across the many lightyears Nara Enduri gave its answer, a flood of power finding her in that ruined city on that remote world.

Her blade flared with the raw power of the Starflow, now moving with greater force and fury than any ordinary human could hope to muster.

A second Böri fell to her.

An instant later, she felt the sting of a blade against her calf, but it was a glancing blow, a tiny miscalculation on her part, and adrenaline combined with the cosmic power coursing through her to keep her moving, forcing the pain from her mind.

The Starflow kept pouring in and time was slowing for her. Now the outcome of this combat was a foregone conclusion.

She made it swift.

A third man went down.

Only their captain, the giant among giants was left.

But not for long.

Her blade found him, and with strength no woman of her stature should ordinarily possess, she swept his head from his shoulders. The twitching and decapitated corpse sagged to the ground, the man’s heart pumping its last, sending out a crimson mist.

Time returned to normal.

Drenched in blood and surrounded by her fallen foes, Mu stood victorious.

She felt the adrenaline leaving her. The pain of her injuries, the fatigue of her muscles – all came flooding back. The Starflow that had been so precisely channelled into her blade now ebbed away, the swirling chaos of the Tempest once more blinding her to the future.

Only now did she look around her.

The scene had changed.

There were no fallen wolf warriors.

But there was no shortage of fallen. Bodies lay strewn across the plaza – men, women, and children. Fires burnt high, throwing little stars up into the bright desert sky. Flies buzzed about the many, many corpses. Black rubble of the great city was strewn liberally about.

But there was still life.

The woman from before approached. Now her clothes were ripped, soiled with blood and dirt. Her hair hung lank and filthy, her face covered in grime, streaked by tears.

“Just as then. Just as he did.”

The realisation dawned with grim inevitability on Mu.

She shook her head, willing it not be true.

“Your blood gives you the power of a cruel god, Daughter of Ruin. You brought that power here to Yarkan. And with it, you slaughtered us.”

“No,” Mu said, “I fought. I defended myself. I was deceived.”

The woman stared at her with sorrowful eyes. “Perhaps, but only by your own hubris.”

Her condemnation uttered, she collapsed to the blackened ground, joining the fallen of Karbaliq.