ISSUE 20: THE FATHER REVEALED

Unlike my home universe: The Urraden House lives on. The Typherian civil war decimated many in my world. They thought the Ayeers could bring forth peace. I gave them peace. Of the grave. I still have a score to settle with the United Earth Front. They meddled. One of them even took an Odessen as a trophy union piece. I will return to my point of origin and continue my Throne Breaking.—Thoth

My mirror cloaks himself in righteous fury. That can be channeled. We all use each other. Our enemies think themselves above this base fact. They delude themselves. The only ones dumb enough to believe in “inherent goodness” are those drooling mongrels from Bardax.—The All-Father

After the Arcway of Nival came fully online, the Tree of Eden network had a foothold beyond the local cluster of the Milky Way Galaxy. One universe is big enough? But the countless numbers relying on our dear Edenverse? More than I could ever fathom. Even after all these long eons. We had barely missed a bullet. It wasn’t just Karvax arrayed against my grandfather. The All-Father sent backup. The wound that Thoth gave me that day left a permanent scar. Just under my left rib. No amount of Lorain’s healing power could remove it. For those hand claws were of Unity’s direct creation. Just shy of Creation level. But if I hadn’t jumped in, my little brother and my grandfather wouldn’t have been counted among the living.—Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 22nd century

Mid Ring Docking

Typha

September 15th, 2114

Karvax snorted.

This place reeked of peace, love, and joy. That wouldn’t do. He checked his Chrono.

The parade would be within the next few days. He would be ready. He glanced at X’mil. Noting the bags under the smaller man’s eyes. Made the big demi brute thankful he didn’t possess any hint of Shaman's ability. Just bad for the complexion. A visual alert ran across his H.U.D.

A rather perky blonde Typherian woman was saying, <<….I repeat, the Forger Homeworld is now a part of the Unioned Network. Please stand by for further….>>

X’mil held back an ugly laugh, “That’s rich. What wonders will they pull next?”

Karvax rolled his shoulders, “Let’s go. Heard some of the liquor is decent!” He was still a mountain of a man but his skin tone and hair had been altered. His cover records stating he had been in a mining accident. Those were common enough, even with the added tech protection out in the void. So his additional hardware wouldn’t raise much suspicion. It was why he had to leave Bright Eyes behind. That didn’t sit well with him but he had no choice. Even though V’alkor was the target, he heard rumors that some of Earth’s top demis would be attending as well. That meant the Golden Dart would be here. He grinned savagely. Clapping X’mil on the shoulder. The former attendant's features had been altered as well.

“Let’s just get this date over with!”

The customs officer waved them over to the scanners.

The creature that the All-Father had implanted in Karvax so long ago was slumbering. Each part of its being wrapped around separate parts of the giant’s body. It was the only way to get certain things past such a device. Like its Intez inspiration, it could divide itself to remain cloaked within its host. The officer frowned and brought up the IDs.

Karl McPhearson and Hul’an of House Xarka. A simple miner of Neo Grand Hylis, a frontier world on the cutting end of the Milky Way, alongside his 5th Auxillary farming associate. Xarka was one of the neutral Houses since its primary goals involved feeding the Ascendancy. Most of its members were pragmatic to a fault. Its motto, “What grows endures” described the personality as well. Families and farming. Karvax knew that hit X’mil in the face like a wet fish but the human didn’t care what the little weasel of a Typherian wanted.

“Why you humans insist on such dangerous work without proper 5th generation anti-grav gear…”

Karvax gave a hearty snort, “Unlike the rest of my family, I’ve always been a thrill-seeker. Comes with the territory!”

X’mil dared not speak. He wasn’t as good of an actor as Karvax. The big brute had a rough charm the other man would never acquire. The anger radiating off X’mil made Karvax lean in and wink roguishly at the officer, “He’s here because he’s got a lady friend in port who’s needing a “voice of paternal rite.” The Commons Typherian winced. “Ahhh. Of course!”

While many Houses resisted the changes on Typha, Karvax was hoping this cover would do the trick for now, since the Commons were more accepting of 3rd or 4th auxiliary House branches marrying into Common Clans or to more prominent “free-thinking” Houses like Ayeer, Odessen or M’tah. The paternal rite was a way of saying, “This House bloodline is in dispute because they have too many genetic castoffs or mutes.” The All-Father had made him read all the gag-worthy updates.

X’mil’s former House status would be far too apparent in his manner so his ID was of a minor aux who “knocked” up a higher-level House official. The scandal setup was common enough. But since that community cared about having rabbit level of offspring, the demi held his breath.

The officer waved them forward, offering condolences. “I do hope you can claim the rites. Children should have a father!” X’mil nodded jerkily. Still not trusting himself to speak. It was an abject humiliation. He could no longer sire children due to what she did to his nodes. Her vote had condemned him.

His dark shaman marks itched under the synth skin coverings.

Only a bit longer. Then he could unleash his power.

Karvax waved farewell and ambled next to X’mil. “Let’s get some grub. Not gonna do anything on an empty stomach.”

*****

Gwen Murphy paused. Trouble and Gulliver pulling up short next to her. Their orange bills clamping down tightly as they glanced about. Testing the air. When a Weave Speaker had a reaction her protectors expected the worst. Her copper and black eyes rolling back into her head as Trouble caught her with his Defender powers. Her uncle J’dax darted forward. Cradling her. He raced towards the Ayeer compound. As he entered the main courtyard, Tobin and Jace took up defensive positions.

The King’s Own materialized from their hidden alcoves. Their rifles fixed on every possible corner of attack. J’dax carried his niece into the medical wing. The machines linking with her biometric readouts.

<>

Within moments Q’vera, M’taris and V’alkor were present. J’dax caught a glimmer from the corner of his eye. A High Guard. The fighter had let him know he was here. That meant the planetary regiment for the King’s Own was present. All cloaked. Sharp clacks echoed across the flooring.

Anna McQuire had arrived. Her dark flinty blue-gray eyes smoldering.

“Gwendolyn Alice Murphy.” She pulled off her white Weave blunting gloves.

Placing her hands on each of Gwen’s temples. She shared a look with V’alkor. He made a cutting motion and the medical wing sealed itself. M’taris gripped her husband’s hand. Within Gwen’s mindscape was a burning tree. Anna hissed, “I told you not to look.”

She glanced at Trouble. “Place an Omega shield around us. This is going to get rough.”

The black-feathered duck quacked softly in reply, <>

Gulliver called out to Lanis along the Defender line, <>

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

J’dax shuddered.

Sensing his sister’s alarm over the Family line.

Somehow she knew Gwen was trapped in a vice.

J’dax roared, >>Anna will walk Gwen through it. Have faith in her Speaker abilities! Gwen does! <<

The Jupiter Rising

Normal Space (FLT Transit)

Destination: Forger Shield World Amali

I pulled mom into an embrace. One, to prevent her from pulling Jupiter Rising apart. Two? The biting glare she was shooting at Doc had me worried. I normally didn’t do this without asking but I placed an empathetic block on mom’s sharpest bursts of rage. So Gwen and the others would be spared the brunt of it. She bellowed, “Use that belt of yours and teleport to my baby!” Lorain reared back like she had been slapped. Then she shook herself like a Bardaxian during a rainstorm.

Mom’s guilt was a spear through my chest.

Because she hadn’t been able to be with her other children in the same way as me.

Knowing how everyone felt at that moment helped.

Her green eyes narrowing, “I can’t. Your father put the whole Ayeer complex on lockdown. Including the highly classified parts.” Mom hung her head. Her pulse going a mile a minute. Dad stormed onto the bridge. Placing himself in front of me and mom. “Everyone leave. Yes, you too Space Cadet.” He pulled mom over to the upper conference area of the bridge and sealed the doors. The rest of us maneuvered outside. I asked Jupiter, “There’s more to that lockdown I bet.”

She responded, “Indeed. While outsiders will never notice, other Houses will take similar measures by V’alkor’s show of might. Gwen has complicated a certain sequence of events.”

Even my ship knew more than me.

I glanced at Dexter, his face was impassive. Eyes glassy. The faint outline of his Throne crown phasing in for a brief millisecond. He shook himself then glanced at Doc. She nodded. “Understood.” Then she pulled me over and dragged me to the recreation level. “I'll brief you on our next Forger stop. Anna will handle it ok?”

I rose a few inches into the air. Carrying Lorain in my arms.

“Got it. Think I’ll ever let myself know the whole picture?”

She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes.

That bad then. I put on a brave face. Smiling I replied, “Let’s handle one step at a time then.” I sorely wanted to fly to Typha. I could be there and back again before anyone noticed my absence. Doc poked my nose. Leaning to whisper into my ear, “All the wrong people would notice your frantic flight. Why would the scion return if there wasn’t trouble at home. Who does she protect?”

I reached the main rec level. The doors slid open, “This will help Gwen? Me just flying off to…” Doc nodded rapidly. “The shutdown already drew less than savory eyes. We mustn’t compound it.”

*****

Thomas placed the message before his wife’s eyes.

48%

Her eyes clung to that number. It rose another 3 points.

Teddy’s writing clearly visible.

Her voice broke, “Why our children? Why…”

Thomas reached out to pull his wife in close.

His voice quiet among the hum of instrumentation and faint readouts.

“Across a sea of stars, I found my place. We may toil but we will find rest. Guided by the flame of Creation.” It was an old Markav prayer. Of the Exodus. He was fond of the many sayings his fellow sapients came up with. Knowing that no one ever really walked alone. J’ino rested her cheek against his chest. She stubbornly rubbed her face. “I won’t cry.” Thomas nodded along with her. Even as her tears ran through the cloth material of his daytime clothing.

He said nothing as he pulled her to the side couch near the small coffee table. Jupiter ran the preferred combinations. The aroma hanging in the air. Thomas prayed it would bring a small flicker of comfort. He continued to pointedly ignore the glimmer of tears as she reached out to drink her hot chocolate. Eventually, she managed to say, “I’ll apologize to Lorain. I shouldn’t have…”

Thomas thumbed away another errant tear.

Glancing at the updated note: 58%

*****

Gwen Murphy stared at the destruction around her. Every aspect, artificial and living upon the surface of Typha was decimated. Withered. At the apex of the bodies littered about was a man cackling. His crown of bones gleaming in the rays of the dying twin suns that hung overhead. Leathered wings sprouted from his back. The world shifted. He was standing next to her. Taking her hand. His voice dripping with excitement, “Do you see it? The wonders I have created! Just as you wished it.” Gwen couldn’t remove her hand. Her body was not her own.

She glanced down at her body. Horrified.

Ancient, bent, and broken.

No reflective surface to let her see the face.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

One thought rose to the surface: Why had she slipped into the Weave here? It wasn’t safe. It wasn’t….

Two warped hunchback silhouettes followed. Their feet dragging in the muck.

Pale blank faces turned towards the eclipsed suns.

“We have one in our net. Yes. Shall we eat it?”

The other grunted, “No. Not yet. Another light entered this place.”

Their child-like giggles curled around Gwen.

The scent of burning bodies filled her nostrils.

The King of Bones lifted her chin towards what used to be the Seat of Typha.

The dark infused mass rippled.

Oily tendrils sucking at the ground beneath scaled feet.

He pulled her towards that writhing maw. “Upon the broken branch beats the heart of what was.” Within that velvety gloom, a familiar set of heartbeats resounded.

No, no, no, no!

Gwen couldn't shut her eyes.

Two desiccated corpses sat upon two thrones. One achingly bright. The other was carved from ebony. Their iconic weapons shattered at their feet. What little of the uniform’s remained confirmed it.

There sat her siblings. Their bleached bones open to the elements. Words formed around the ashen dais.

///The circle is completed. A monument to their hubris.///

A pair of hands gripped Gwen’s shoulders. Turning her away from that site. Into the pitch-black orbs of Chronos. Her hands pulled at her belt. Firing a shot into his chest. Her voice was not her own. “Thank you, father. Now the way is open!”

Other bodies were arrayed around her.

Gwen knew them all from her nightmares.

The All-Father,Urraden blood bound feud. The All-Mother, his assassin wife. Medusa.

The mummy of the Everliving Death.

Countless others. The endless refrain:

The Golden Walls lie dormant. The blood-red tide is lapping at the shores. The truth was birthed from the corpse of the old.

Cold metal glinted within the waxing starlight.

The king’s eyes smoldered with an inner yellow flame.

“Do you see it?”

The Gray Herald’s corpse rested below the dais. His arms crossed.

Another failure.

The crown of bones clattered to the ground.

Dark mirrors materialized above her. A man with a bloodied sword walked towards her. His black hair was cut short. His eyes the black within black of a Keeper. He pointed the blade at her, “You go too far. Little bird.” He raised the blade high above his head. The symbols of black scrawl dancing across its tarnished surface.

The pale ones halted.

Their blank faces pealing back, revealing sharped rows of teeth, “NO! OURS TO HAVE!”

*****

Anna darted across the corrupted vision. She bit her lip until the copper tang filled her mouth. Where was Gwen!? She centered herself. Pointedly ignoring the hellscape around her. This place was filled with lies. With that one core of truth that Unity wanted to twist. Typha was the last place one should use their Weave ability on. The stronger the person was, the worse it got, to the point that if Anna didn’t locate Gwen soon the falsehoods would cloud her vision forever!

She muttered, “Not today. Not ever you fiend. I nearly made that mistake once before!”

She found Gwen trembling. Body swaying as she hugged herself. “Blood will call to blood!”

With her right hand, Anna pressed her palm into the very most top of the girl’s shoulder blades. “What did I tell you?! You little shit. NO PEEKING IN UNDESIRABLE LOCATIONS!” She cocked her leg back. Aiming a swift kick to Gwen’s behind. That made the girl spin in place.

“Teacher!”, she exclaimed.

Anna shot the two pale monstrosities a rather special salute and faded from view. Taking her idiotic protégée with her.

The girl sputtered and her eyes snapped open.

The concerned faces of her grandparents coming into focus. Along with two warm weights on her chest. Two ducks quacked rapidly.

Feathers rustling as Anna shouted each word.

“DO! NOT! GO! INTO! THE! WEAVE! HERE!”

A few more choice words were muttered. Mostly about foolhardy Murphy brats, too noble for their own good, with V’alkor adding, “Thank you, Anna.” The holo-host poked Gwen in the chest for emphasis, “I am officially grounding you. Back to basics.” Gwen’s crestfallen features drooped even further as she felt the Weave sense slam shut. With Anna locking away the key.

The blurred reflections of her family crowded in as she sobbed.

*****

Tobin wanted to be angry. But Anna was right. Why had Gwen done such a foolish act?!

Jace gripped his practice blade. The hilt biting into his palm.

Anna faced the reflective surface of the mirror. The pale ones faded from view but not before she beheld the Burning Tree. Eliza and Dexter hanging from a noose. She pulled her gloves back on. Forcing Gwen to place her’s on as well. The voices faded. The scent of old death receeded. She rubbed her temples, “I need a drink.”

*****

Thomas rose from the bed they shared on the Jupiter Rising.

Bringing the message over to his wife. Her gaze resting on it.

///Certain Parties request that we send Gwen to you. A squad of High Fighters of the King's Own will be in attendance. Along with two avian friends.///

J’ino’s gray-green irises expanded. Thomas knew that look quite well.

For it was usually reserved for Jace or Tobin.

“She is grounded forever.”

*****

The Pale Ones circled the Throne of Bones. It was too bad the Weave Speaker had escaped. It would have added to the collection! Each of Unity’s Serpents was strongest here. Made for slim pickings though. They always got the most bountiful of the Lying House’s finest morsels.

Another time. They would weave a tune that no Speaker could resist.

The King of Bone and Ruin would reign. Alongside his Bride.

Unity only had to choose.