The two woke early in the evening. While neither relished the idea of parting, they both silently agreed it should be done early. And so they ate together once more next to the fire, a solemn quiet hanging in the air.
“Hey, Gyles?”
“Yeah?”
“You said something earlier this morning about the tribes in this area being angry right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Well, won’t it be dangerous for me to travel then?”
“Nah, you’ll be fine.”
“You sure? Also, why haven't I seen any of these people?
“Yeah, the answer to both questions is simple, son. They believe these obelisks are the path of god.”
“And how does that have anything to do with them bothering me? Wouldn’t they be angry that I'm near their holy places?”
“No, son. What I mean is, they believe it’s the path to god. Or the path to the ‘other side’ ya know, death.”
“Oh, still. What?”
“Oi... They won't bother you because it’s sacred to them to walk to the ‘other side’. Some of the elders might even think you are a spirit or something.”
“Ah, I see…. I guess.”
“Just don’t bother them, and they won’t bother you, simple as that. It took me years to actually see one myself. So I doubt you’ll ever meet them.”
The two sat in silence for a while longer, the obelisk eventually submerging beneath the sand being the trigger for them to continue forward. With an awkward exchange of stares and finally a wave from both, Gyles turned and walked off into the desert plateaus.
Cypher turned away, a sadness in his heart at being alone again. His theory of the plateaus making the next beacon hard to find was only partially true. As after a few minutes of looking about, he saw the distinct light. It’s beams brightened up a plateau that was in his view. While he couldn’t see it directly, he set off in it’s direction, confident in its appearance.
As he trudged forward, he secretly hoped that plateau’s would block the relentless wind and make his journey easier. Unfortunately, this was far from reality. The rock faces created funnels that nearly forced the man off his feet with gales of wind.
His walking was made all the more difficult by the dull pain he still felt in his body. And while his daily drink subdued it, it numbed the rest of him as well. Making him feel lethargic and clumsy as he fought forward through the wind.
While the going was slow, his body and mind was still trained for these endless dunes. And with a plodding yet endless pace, he soon turned the corner of a plateau. The obelisk moved into his view finally. Out of breath, he stood next to the rockface, his eyes blinking as he stared at the obelisk in confusion.
At the beacon's base, about fifty similar white tents were assembled. A few campfire’s burned and people milled about in the campsite. The murmur of talking and music carrying across the sand to his ears. And for a moment he thought he smelled something besides gruel, his stomach grumbling audibly.
“Do not move.”
A soft yet firm, feminine voice whispered behind him as he felt something on his shoulder near his neck.
“Great, I’ve been captured again. I hope this one just kills me.” He thought as he remained stock still.
The sand behind him slowly shifted as the women moved around his side, the pressure on his shoulder lifting slowly. As the lady moved around to his front, he got a good view of his ambusher.
She stood slightly shorter than him with a lithe form and a light age to her sharp face. Her eyes were completely grey, lacking any form of definition in their shape. With skin that carried a strange iridescent white that seemed to glow like the moon. Her hair scattered across her head an arctic blue. Covering her form, was a set of glimmering silver robes that reflected the moonlight.
Her arm was held out towards him, and after a moment Cypher realized that rather than wielding a knife. She instead was holding a large beige and black spider upside down by its back. It’s eight fuzzy legs squirming in frustration as it tries to fruitlessly right itself.
“You're lucky I got to you first.” She said, her voice a whisper that echoed into his mind.
Tossing the spider to the ground, she swiftly stomped it to bits that sunk back into the sand. Her gaze remaining unbroken on Cypher.
“Uh.. Thank you for saving me?”
“Of course, stranger.” The woman stepped forward, her eyes unblinking as she drew ever closer.
Cypher carefully stepped back, his discomfort rising as he realized the lady hadn’t actually opened her mouth. Instead, the words just appeared in his head.
“Don’t worry, I can’t read your thoughts unless you let me.”
At this he moved further away, the woman's gaze following him as he slowly backed away.
“Ah yes, I apologize. Without my sisters to remind me, I often forget etiquette. My name is -” What could only be described as a combination of rhythmic chanting combined with scratching on a chalkboard and static from a radio echoed in Cyphers mind, “What’s your name?”
Cypher, now sweating from discomfort, looked around himself. Seeing no one else, he looked back at the woman whose head was now tilted to the side in curiosity. A faint smile played across her lips, and for a second he thought her teeth resembled needles. Yet after blinking they appeared normal.
“My name is Cypher. Do you have another name you go by, or a title? Because I didn’t understand any of that.” He said, the hair on his back standing as if he were being stalked by a predator.
“Hmmm, Cypher… You have a beautiful soul.”
“Huh? You can see?”
The woman’s head tilted the other direction as she heard his question. “Yessss, I see not through my eyes. But through my soul, and I see you clearer then you see me.”
“What are you?”
“Me? I am the third priestess to our lord, Light.” The voice in his head said as a look of amusement spread across her visage. “I have given my vision to him, and he has granted me a new sight.”
“Uh… Who?” Cypher immediately shrunk as he realized the stupidity of his question.
The women’s gleeful appearance disappearing to one of disgust. “Ah, those of the city truly are disgraced. Failing to spread the word of our lord to a soul of such immensity. Come, I will tell you amongst my people.” With that, she turned and started marching off towards the camp.
Cypher stood still, watching the women as she walked away from him. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t just stay with these crazies, why did Gyles have to leave now…” He looked around himself, wondering if there was somewhere else he could go if possible.
“You will die out here if you do not drink of the pillars.”
The priestess was staring at him again, his appearance growing ever more sheepish as he awkwardly looked about. The presence of her blind gaze grew too much for Cypher, and with much trepidation he followed.
Stolen novel; please report.
The campsite was filled with the sounds and smells of activity, as people cooked dinners and mingled amongst one another. The priestess led Cypher straight through the center of the assembly. His nervousness growing ever higher as curious eyes followed this new stranger.
Eventually he was led to a clearing near the center, where a large building-like tent faced the opening. A long wooden table sat near its opening, a set of five matching chairs arranged to face outwards from the tent faced a roaring fire. Twenty or so people sat around the fire on some assembled rocks, chatting quietly amongst themselves. One bored looking slightly rotund man was seated at the table, his fingers drumming on the table as he watched the fire burn.
Like water in a calm stream, the lady moved past the people with only a few noticing as she walked to the table. The conversations soon became silent however as their eyes landed on Cypher.
“Ah, my lady! Welcome back from your walk, I see you’ve brought back that guest.” The large man spoke, his face quickly becoming one of subdued excitement. “Yes, I see. But can you please consider my proposition?”
The woman stared at the rotund man, a pleasant yet unmoving smile stitched across her face. The man’s face changed to one of desperation as she spoke in his mind, Cypher being forced to guess as she yet refrained from speaking aloud.
“But Madam, there is nothing out here besides sand! We waste our time traveling such banal lands, perhaps your visions are wrong this time.”
The eyes that were on Cypher quickly turned towards the conversation. The air of the camp turned from comfortable to a deep anxious one. The area around the priestess seemingly shimmering in energy and emotion.
Cypher, relieved to have the pressure off him, watched with curiosity as the man’s face shifted to one of increasing horror. The priestess for all her effort remained unchanged, her subordinate slowly becoming paler as he slumped to the ground. His hands outstretched and his head against the sand as he whispered apologies.
Averting her gaze from the prostrated man, she gracefully moved past him and seated herself at the center chair. With a smooth motion, she curled her finger towards Cypher, gesturing him closer. “Please seat yourself before the table.” Her voice whispering in his mind, as she gazed at Cypher.
Deciding it would be best to listen. Cypher moved around the fire, finding a clear rock near the front he sat down, the heat warming his back.
The priestess sharply snapped her fingers, the noise ringing out through the campsite. The rotund man, for all his size, suddenly sprung to his feet, a nervous sweat covering his face. “The lady wishes to welcome our new guest! She would like everyone to treat Cypher as one of our own. As a welcome present, she will be reciting the story of our lord! So please remain quiet and respectful as she speaks to our souls!” The man belted out in a loud and rough voice.
Silence followed his words, Cypher felt eyes on his back yet remained facing forward as the priestess gaze was by far more unnerving.
As Cypher waited for her to speak, their eyes remaining locked as time seemed to stretch. The world shifted strangely, everything moving further away as even the noise of the fire disappeared. An abyss swallowed him with absolute nothingness surrounding him, his gaze remaining locked on the priestess as she alone remained.
Suddenly before him, her hand outstretched to him, a kind and soft expression on her face. Taking her hand, he looked as she gestured out into the abyss.
A spark, magnificent in it’s enormity, suddenly filled the darkness. The spark taking the shape of a man, light radiating off his form with a sparkling brilliance. His hands moved, stars coming from his fingers as he shaped them into galaxies. With the movements of a master artisan he moved, every action forming ever more extravagant shapes and figures.
Behind the brilliant shine of the man, a being of shadow moved. It’s form becoming defined by the light as it shaped itself into that of a woman. This new being moved next to the man, imitating his movements to create spheres of darkness. Moving them beyond her hands these orbs swallowed the stars and destroyed the careful artistry of the galaxies.
Suddenly shrinking down, Cypher suddenly found himself in a massive crystal palace. It’s thousands of reflecting surfaces showing different images of himself and the priestess in such a dizzying speed that he found himself growing nauseous.
The lady gestured, pulling his attention away from the walls and stared out in front of him. The man from before stood before them, his hands moving carefully as he worked on something. Before him stood the figure of a person. After a few more touches the man stepped away.
With a great shudder the person moved, it’s face looking about. With a great motion the man hugged the person before walking them towards a great door down the hall. It’s massive crystal structure shifting to show a magnificent garden that seemed to curve off into the sky. With a pat on the back and another hug, the man turned away from his creation as it wandered off to join the throngs of playing individuals.
As the doors began to close, an ever shifting monster of a thing reached out and touched the person. From that touch, a creeping mass of flesh connected to the person. The monster made Cyphers eyes itch to look at, its form one of flesh that shifted seemingly at random. Eyes forming only to turn into arms and then organs. It’s touch seeming to spread along all that the man created. As the doors closed, the scene shifted again.
The man was now knelt in a field beneath a tree, his arms softly cradling the form of the person he had created. Their shell was cracked all along their body, the bright orb at its center now exposed to the sky. A dark splotch was marked on the otherwise perfect orb.
Suddenly, the women and the beast appeared. And with great violence they attacked the man. For minutes they beat him, yet he did not react, his arms protecting the person before him.
The attackers drew back, and together they drew a dagger driving it deeply into the back of the man. The person suddenly disappeared, leaving the man alone as the attackers carved his body into pieces. Using wires they strung him up and used his body as a puppet creating poor imitations of his creations. The pieces suddenly shattered and flung off into the air, disappearing into the void of space.
Cypher was suddenly pulled from his place, thousands of sights and sounds he didn’t recognize flashing before him. Stars forming and dying only to start again appearing before him. A life he didn’t recognize passed his face, only to transform into his arrival and journey thus far.
Like the end of a rollercoaster he felt his body come to a stop, the crackling of the fire suddenly filling his ears again. His breathing erratic as his bewildered gaze remained on the priestess, her face just as implacable and unmoving as before.
“Most don’t stay in the vision for so long, you must have quite a lot of mental fortitude.” The whisper of her voice echoing in his mind.
As if snapping himself out of a trance, he ripped his gaze away from hers. His body covered in a sheen of cold sweat as he looked about. All the other people seemed to have left during his time in the vision. While he had felt mere minutes pass, the slow rising of the sun in the distance proved him wrong.
Looking back towards the priestess, he nearly jumped out of his skin as she was now seated next to him. The very aura of the women deeply disturbed him, the very air itself becoming unerringly calm in her presence.
“Uh, where did everyone go?” He spoke, attempting to distract himself.
“My flock have borne witness to the vision of the Lord of Light many times. The first time is always the most intense, I wonder how much you saw?” The woman was now leaned forward, a quizzical glint in her unblinking eyes.
Clearing his throat, he nervously spoke. “Well-”, Regaling what he had witnessed to the priestess initially felt relieving. Yet the woman remained unchanged throughout the story, his voice growing quieter as he went. With the voice of a mouse, he finished his words and looked up at the priestess, her face locked like a statue with a faint smile. The woman's gaze felt like that of a lion eyeing a mouse, and in that moment Cypher felt every muscle in his body tense as he waited for a reaction.
Her face shifted slowly, her smile growing into a full razor toothed grin. And for the first time he heard a noise come from her, a laugh. In that moment he prayed to never hear it again.
Her laugh was quiet yet it seemed to be layered with five other voices, its every noise echoing and scratching at the corners of his mind. While it wasn’t long, he felt every second of it. At its core, he could pick out the voice of the woman herself. Yet surrounding it, the tendrils of noise warped it. The layers deeply unsettled him as they formed a chorus that swelled and crashed seemingly at random.
Her head turned away from him, seemingly focusing on some point far away in the sky. When her face eventually returned to normal, Cypher felt ringing in his ears as the sound of the crackling fire returned to him.
“It brings me great joy for one to see so much of my Lord on their first try.”
While it was still strange, Cypher was greatly relieved by the shift back to her talking in his head. “What was all of that anyway?”
“What you saw was the story of Light, The Shattered God of Creation. The others you bore witness to were the other Primordial Gods. Darkness and Entropy, long may their names be burned away.”
“Huh?”
“The Lord Light, he created this universe, he created our very souls. Darkness, she brought destruction and death to his perfect creations. Entropy, they brought rot and decay so that even the undying may be brought low. In their jealousy they attempted to ruin all, yet our Lord protected us. In their infinite cruelty they killed and shattered our lord's very soul.”
“And.. Does that mean he will someday return?”
The priestess’s gaze shifted back onto Cypher, yet now he felt a soft tenderness to it’s unchanged appearance. “Yes, as his followers we seek the fragments. Someday, Light will return. And he will scour the universe of all imperfections.”
“Is that why you travel the desert?”
“That’s right, long ago my lord granted a vision to me. ‘Follow the black stone emblazoned with fire, it will lead you to the reclaimer.’ For nearly six hundred years my flock and I have explored these endless sands, chasing the rumors of these stones. Yet now, we sit beneath the shadow of one.”
“Wow.. That’s a really long time to spend wandering on faith alone.”
“My lord is a generous one Cypher. These years being but a blink of the eye compared to eons of service. Yet tonight it seems my patience has been rewarded.”
Cypher stares blankly at the fire before him, his exhaustion catching up to him as his mind zones out. Blinking, he realizes she is waiting for him to speak and rapidly refocuses on her. “Oh! Sorry! What do you mean? How were you rewarded?”
Much to his surprise a genuine smile crosses her face at Cyphers lack of focus. “I apologize, I sometimes forget the limits of others. The tower of stone provided a tent that we set up at the southern edge of camp. Please, rest yourself there and we can continue tomorrow.”
Cypher nodded his head. “Well, if you're sure. I do need some sleep after that show.”
The priestess bowed her head slightly “Of course, please sleep well. We will have much to discuss come nightfall.”
Waiting a moment, he looked at her expecting more words. Yet as her gaze remained towards the sand he turned away and headed towards the tent she mentioned. The tent was easy enough to find, it being the only one not sealed tight at the edge of camp. And with practiced ease he slipped inside and fell asleep.