ISSUE 10: THE WHITE TREE

I had no idea. House history is twisted by the revision of Set. Everything here within this Dweller Gate showed me why evil fears the light. –Ith’aria

A Yellow Defender? I wonder what other skills she will master with that? Why did it happen now and not sooner? It had laid dormant on the ship for years. That worries me.—Mary Herbert Lanis

It would take time for Doc to sync with her belt. But we didn’t have the luxury during our trip to cleanse the Dweller Gate. So many things I wanted to ask but it wasn’t the right time. Considering the situation. We had to concentrate on getting that Orator out. Him and his tree. At the time, I thought this was the tree my siblings had mentioned. But no, they meant the People of White Home. They were the White Tree of Typha. Who would help shape the fate of all. Even mine. —Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 22nd century

Dweller Gate

Location: Unknown

August 4th, 2114

Lorain Lanis dodged to the side. The black morass reaching out for her. She formed a simple wall between herself and the oily substance. Her voice was almost conversational, “Not this time! I am not on the menu!” A great crack of air rushed past her. Eliza twisting in a corkscrew pattern to power drive into the mass. Sending it flying down the corridor. The other two women knelt and launched a cascade of micro mortars at the menace. It would dissolve it temporarily. Eliza’s body was a blur as she landed punch after punch. The vibrations reverberating through the wall. But not strong enough to breach the Gate’s internal structures.

Lorain knew Eliza was pulling her punches to prevent a breach.

It was one of the things she loved best. Even with all that power, Star was always thinking about those around her rather than going through them. It would have been child's play for Eliza to demolish this place. But they had yet to figure out who the remaining 3 biosignatures were. So they continued to delve deeper into the cavernous systems. The lights flickering on emergency power. Shadows growing thicker by the minute.

*****

The entity bellowed. Raging at the Orator. Seeking to tear the Light Sage from the very deck plating he used for defense. Bright purple sparks showered around him as the thing met the resistance of his barriers. He spoke, “I see you Unity. You will not find purchase!” He raised his arms. His white and green robes pooling around his elbows. His tattooed arms glowing silver in the low lights of the room. “The Last House protects me. The Wall will Endure. You will fail. I know your face demon.”

He raised his fists higher. Forming more protection incantations from the air around the Tree. The Three of Promise would need it to gain access to his homeworld. A realm locked outside the Transverse Gates of old. Even beyond the Markav Collective. He knew the true history. Set’s control would be broken. As a flame to diseased flesh. He bared his teeth at the black membrane attempting to dissolve his shielding. “First there was the Weave! Whos love encompassed all who Beheld it!”

It thrashed. Hissing its displeasure.

“Then came the Land. The Sea. The Air! THE VERY SOUL OF CREATION!”

He made a quick chopping motion.

“The Stars imbued with the Wisdom of the First.”

The horrid mass of oily flesh retreated as the voice intoned, “I deny you. By the will of the White. The Gates of the Black send you to the everlasting Void beyond the Ouroboros!”

*****

I muttered, “And so it was, the Souls encased in Flesh, granted by the Almighty, the Choice.” Mary twitched.

Pulling all of us to a stop.

Her voice harsh over the coms, <>

I did. Then my jaw went slack. “How did I say that?”

I had spoken ancient Typherian.

White replied, <>

I dashed towards the crawling mass of black flesh. The fires of Dark Matter eating away at its outer layers. Bursting into white-hot flame. It shrieked. A multitude of voices echoed from its ever-shifting mouths. “LAST BEARER! Wasted. Inert. Dead. You will not survive the Cliffs. The Soul unfurled, denied the Depths, denied the Stars! A bitter comfort. Useless being of matter and bone!”

My fist connected with the burning embers. Its dark mass shifting into an 8 legged spider. Boiling crimson eyes bore into me. “You think yourself immune? We see it yes. It grows within you!” I opened my mouth. Ice flowed all over its body. My breath even freezing the depowered doorway in a thick coat of hoarfrost. Ith’aria sprinted forward. Touching the frozen flesh. Her matter manipulation deepening the effect. In the distance, I heard it. The hum of a core drive. It had jumped somewhere else. A crackle of power flowed outward. It was a shock.

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Lorain whirled as a man encased in white metallic armor raised his golden hilted scythe high into the air. Mary shouted something in ancient Typherian. The guardian hesitated. Then his white helm retracted. Wild red hair. Black and gold eyes. With a tattoo of a star on his forehead. He nodded at Mary. White waited as Mary translated.

He wasn’t telepathic at all.

“I am Orioh. Of the White Tree Home. Guardian. My brother lies beyond. Yet that is only a manifestation. We must travel deeper. To cleanse the taint within the Weave of this Gate.”

I parted the doorway.

Taking care to peer through. A man was shrouded by a wall of power. Even greater than most Human Light Shamans. I fired my Dark Matter rays into the creature. A twin to the horrid thing behind us. Rinse and repeat as dad would say.

The black mass shriveled in upon itself. Orioh called out, “It is time brother.”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

His brother lowered the shield around himself but kept a curious white tree encased. Hoisting it onto his back. A simple grav plate keeping it secured. He reached out to me. His bushy red beard reminding me of Elias Payne. He grabbed my hand. “Quickly!” We followed. My steps grew lighter. Boosted by the song emanating from the Orator. Everyone’s faces locked on the darkness ahead. I imagined that Unity and whatever Chronos had left here wouldn’t give up its field without a fight.

Tendrils of mist hit my face as we entered the main power chamber. A woman turned. Well, it was female from the neck down. The threadbare straps she had barely covered her indecency. The head was three serpents. One gold. One Green and the final one, Black.

It hissed, “I see. The brothers summoned help. I am the Avatar of Ishtar.”

She spat three kinds of acid in our direction. Doc’s yellow barriers directed two shots right back at Snake Face. It reminded me of those old water tunnels back home.

*****

Doc told her mother, <>

Mary tossed some grav disks at the thing’s necks. One connected. Sending a horrific jolt through the golden one’s scales. Its head burst apart. Black tendrils wiggling. Doc shuddered. Why was it always tentacles when it came to Void Walker misfits? Ith’aria molded metals around her. In the shape of tiny balls. Which she hurled at the monster. Making sure to keep it off balance. Eliza’s fist connected with an explosive crack as she decked the green head. The brother’s fought back to back. Demolishing tentacles as they sprang up from the floor. Mary replied, <>

The Pinkerton trio had gifted Mary with some special AOE devices. She rolled them out. About the size of baseballs. The snake thing snarled, “That will not be---“ The room flashed white as the female-shaped monster bellowed.

*****

We weren’t blinded. The Void Walker script faded.

I rested my foot on the apex of Snake Face’s spine. Immobilizing her with the amount of pressure needed. Doc had let me know how much to apply. I didn’t want anyone getting near this thing. She wasn’t able to spit because her venom sac was cut off by the pressure. Pretty devious of Ishtar to breed this thing with unusual placements. Who would immediately think to put that along the spine? It used to be Typherian. I could tell by the markers under its skin. Buried deep within the spinal column.

The Orator knelt. “Be at peace.” He touched her back. Her form slowly deteriorating alongside the vigor of his chanting. He brought a simple necklace to his lips. His feelings of remorse were all the more noticeable now. Had she been his wife? Mother? He pocketed the tan threaded jewelry and stood. He pointed, “Now to clear the Weave itself.”

White’s power flowed over me. The solid heft of the Spear a living thing in my hands.

A White Defender for a Banner Day!

A glowing portal manifested. A long pale snout emerged. Its forked tongue a deep green.

Snakes. It was either that or dragons.

Orioh charged in from the right. His scythe humming with energy. Excalibur came to mind as I attacked from the left. 8 more heads appeared. A Hydra! Golden shafts of light rammed into three heads with enough force to snap them back. Cracking against each other. Doc’s aura of satisfaction wafted over me.

After what felt like hours the great serpentine body dissolved.

Much like the Void Walkers themselves upon death. Leaving no trace. A cheery tune echoed, <>

The heavy scent of death cleared. Orioh sat heavily upon a rising chair. As it came up from the very ground. “With that done, we will show you some records, Chronos wanted to pillage the data points here. To find our home. C’alain’s Last Act.”

He forestalled questions with an added, “I know of you Scion. You bear C’alain’s Gray eyes. No other Typherian has those eyes. Only those blessed by the Weave will have such eyes among our people.”

Considering how many humans had gray eyes…..

I didn’t finish the thought as Doc rested her hands on my chest. “I will demand that you throw away those clothes. Not coming back to Earth!” I looked down. Wincing at all the muck that had splattered everywhere.

I retorted, “Well it was either this or….”

She put a finger to my lips. “Hush you!” I grinned.

Mary hit my shoulder with the stock of her rifle.

“Let’s get this place working first.” She shot her daughter a look.

Very motherly. Ancient in the ways of “We will talk later!”

Orioh offered a flask to his brother.

My H.U.D updated.

//Scion of Last House. Do you offer the rites of protection? Of Flesh, Blood, and Soul?//

White interjected, <>

Record of Travel

The orbit of White Tree Home

Time Sync Noted, Advise Temporal Council

Orioh helped his brother load the Tree of Healing into the vast hold of the Transversal Gate. The first of its kind. Unlike most Gates, this one could travel through the Multiverse without alerting the other Gates within the network. That would be vital. The Tenants of C’alain said this aspect would protect them from discovery until the time of Convergence. Where the Scion of the Last House would arrive. Bringing the War of Sundering to a close. The last update from the J’kua vessel indicated that Chronos would discover their home if they did not jump to another Universe within the next 2 cycles.

So they went. Guided by the visions of their High Speakers.

It was built with a crew of 1000s in mind but for this maiden voyage?

Orioh, Tama, and his brother, H’elis. Tama was their teacher. She had been old even as their colony rose from the fresh earth of this new land. They had 4 viable planets to colonize. They would need all the space. Each ship sent through the rift had trillions of embryos. All collected from unmolested versions of Typha. Set hadn’t found them all. But they knew they had to preserve the true lines of power contained within the Weave’s grand design.

Not the power of skills but the sheer potency of their souls.

Those with no “extra talents” like telepathy or matter manipulation.

Those were gifts from Set. Which could serve Unity as easily as the Weave.

They would tip the balance.

Pulled from all those universes protected by the Apex of Eden.

There would be no second Sundering.

Orioh was plagued with dreams. Tama wouldn’t elaborate. Her face calm but underneath that tranquil façade, he sensed his teacher pulling away from them. She would only say, “The circle must be maintained.” She gripped her necklace. Its white and tan stones flashing in the artificial light of the Gate.

*****

Lorain asked, “Can I see that necklace?”

H’elis relented after a few moments. His face drawn, “She knew. Yet still came aboard this place. To help us. To save us all.”

Lorain’s pupils dilated. Her voice changed. “I still live. It took my body but not my soul. Healer, I require no replacement body. I await them in the Dreaming within Earth’s Weave.”

Doc blinked rapidly then handed the necklace back to H’elis.

“Guess that means we are going back home. Once Eliza harvests enough background cosmic background radiation. Why that power source?”

Orioh answered, “Because that is one of the few sources that is constant between many universes. Its rare to find one devoid of it.”

Mary and Ith’aria shared a glance.

This would have to be hidden within Project Freefall as well.

New Asbury (Camp Osiris)

The Jupiter Rising

Thomas stared at his daughter.

“Is that it or….”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “Uhhh, more sapient weapons. Orioh won’t name his scythe but it gives off the same impression to me.”

J’ino was grilling Mary and Ith’aria.

The triplet’s comments making more sense.

She yelled, “Eliza Elizabeth Murphy!”

Thomas wrapped an arm around Eliza’s shoulders.

“One day at a time.”

She responded, “I miss the days of Bank Robbers myself.”

He nodded. Noting that his wife wasn’t agitated. Concerned but like with anything else, wanted a bit of that normalcy of venting. Since Typherian issues didn’t allow for “public” hysterics. Not that she was legit frantic. Just venting.

She poked Eliza in the chest, “Next time: Bring Cooper as well. Along with more weapons. Those nice Pinkertons have a veritable warehouse worth of ordinance.” She fixed her daughter’s shirt.

*****

I let mom work me over. She was checking for wounds. Scraped knees. Anything to make herself feel more normal. Her breathing was steady. Her eyes sweeping over me critically. I surreptitiously observed dad. The blocks clicking into place.

I checked.

Yep. She was a month along.

Dad placed an arm around Mom. A paternal twinkle.

Before this was over we’d have an army of Murphys.