ISSUE 21: A MOMENT OF CLARITY
The Order is far older than most know.—Figment of History: The Last Wayfarer texts
I am Noah, these are the chronicles of creation. I must safeguard these tablets for the next Arbiters. For they will have the keys to heal the Splintering. That which birthed Unity.—Opening Inscription on the Tablets of Rykah nul Solara
I am the beginning, the middle, and the end. Beyond that are eternal pathways meant for souls to cross. To being again. That cycle cannot change. No matter how much Unity wishes it.—Light Shaman observations.
I don’t know what else the Arcane Order has in store for me. It wasn’t created by us. Or even our fore bearers. It just is. Our window into the vast insight of the Highest. –Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 23rd century
Noah’s Ark
The Dreaming
Beyond the Known Gateways
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Noah examined the maps.
The star charts expanded as they sped away from the flood.
There would be no return to that sector for many cycles.
Well beyond what he would observe with his flesh and blood form.
Each reflected the three stages. The vast cold of the void. The colors of the Dreaming. The Weave that connected the two. There were many things to fear. Rykah had fallen. As was prophesied. Noah turned. A flicker of light moved about the main cabin. Its presence radiated warmth. Curiosity.
Mixed with untapped power.
Noah said, “I see this flight will not be in vain. Welcome traveler.”
He inhaled the soft glow of the Weave. The duality wanted him aware.
His vigil was nearing its end.
*****
I replied, “You can see me?”
Noah tugged on his beard, “Your speech is odd but the feeling behind it is gentle.”
He reached out. The left tablet on his arm lit up like a Christmas tree. Foremost was the word, “Inheritor.”
He clapped his hands. Delighted. His face, though old, filled with vigor.
“Ahhh. The Three Aspects walk with you.”
All three dragons rose. Hi’ulk coiled about my head. Humming a strange melody. The right tablet responded. Repeating the notes. Noah reached out with his weathered hands. His eyes locked onto where he assumed my face would be.
“Ours is the heavy burden. We must hide the teachings of the Highest. Born from the ashes. To renew the next cycle. Others will claim that title. Let them.”
I said, “So we are ancients? Along with the J’kua and Markav Collective?”
Noah considered his words carefully. His hand went to his belt. Eyes alight with fire.
He responded, “We are made in the image of the Highest. Yet borne away from the Splintering. To seed the roadways with markers. So the others may rise once more.”
An image of an Arcway exploded onto the screens behind him. He motioned toward a chair as it rose from the floor. “The firstborn? That was the Weave. Followed by those you know as the Mother of All. The Father of All. Dear Hidan. They seeded Life.”
The images flashed.
Unity poised over White. The knife in his grip dripping with Black Scrawl.
His deep red eyes circled with a darker line of crimson.
“I win. Do you see? The Highest has failed you!”
His feathered wings were torn at the edges. Black oil dripped from wounds on his back.
Noah’s bright blue eyes filled my vision. “We all seed an aspect of Life. Hidan’s warders provided the planets. The atmosphere required. The Markav forged the Ouro Walls. TO prevent Universes from crushing one another. “
Another flash and I beheld a group of J’kua arguing.
“We should not have broken the Covenant!”
A smaller female with light gray eyes replied, “We cannot change this event but we can still some of the ripples. Work with the Scholars.”
Another whispered, “Black and White have fled Rykah! We are forsaken!”
“How will they ever trust us!?”
A multitude of voices flowed past. I was carried away by the current.
Noah lead me down a golden path. Each side twinkled with countless stars.
He said, “We cannot change the past. But we can lay the foundations for the future.”
I blurted out, “The Orb of Ta’mathon can see into the past! The Icath flow forward!”
Noah replied, “Indeed. Yet there is only one that can be all places. Simultaneously.”
He had stressed the subject. We couldn’t but one with a higher calling could peer across all levels of Time.
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I hugged myself. “The Highest?” This was well beyond my pay grade.
Noah placed his walking stick into the ground. Great waves parted the sea of stars.
Three golden pyramids floated above us. Two distant figures on a silver throne.
A stone circle….
I realized belatedly, an ouroboros floated behind them. As we approached two massive lions marched towards the dias of the Highest. Hi’ulk’s voice seized up. Awe dripping from his aura. The man rose. Holding a Silver Spear aloft.
“Take this as a sign of our enduring love.” His face was hidden behind a golden mask with 3 white circles. The woman was hidden behind a silver mask. 3 black circles woven into the metal. The floor had three crosses inlaid within the stonework. Ivory, gold, and obsidian.
The white lion bowed.
He replied, “I swear on the souls of my people, I Targus, shall follow your Word until the end of Time.” The lioness, her fur a sparking silver, bowed her head as well. Speaking to the woman.
“I so do pledge. As my oath is bound to my King. The Icath honors your Laws. I Ismir shall follow your Word until the end of Time.”
The twin rulers rose, their voices as one, “We ask much of you. Once you walk through this portal, your people will transform. Singing Life beyond the cycles.”
Targus padded forward, “To the lands beyond.”
Ismir turned. Her bright golden eyes pierced my soul.
“We await you. At the sands.”
*****
The humming warmth of Noah’s Ark surrounded me.
Noah placed a small white beaded necklace around my head. His voice soft, “Wear this always. It will know you.”
My arms raised. Each dragon let out a mighty bellow.
The energy boosted the Ark. Its oblong shape raced along a multi-hued corridor. I inhaled sharply. Each part of the ark, if one broke it apart, would form into the base for the Arcways.
Humanity had seeded the realm of the Arcane.
Hi’ulk’s knowing laughter followed me into slumber.
This is the first of your true awakening. Be not afraid.
*****
Lorain raced to the bridge. Alerts cascaded from all corridors.
Jupiter continued, <
The various fleets remained in a defensive position. Light Shamans and Sages poised to strike at whatever else emerged. The Jupiter had been placed with the recovered Gemini drones. J’ino tossed Lorain an emergency crash pack as the human strapped into the secondary gunner’s seat. Arthon was poised over the main guns. Eddie raised his head from the sensor feeds.
His voice terse, “We have 25,000 bogies coming in!”
Energy irises formed. Spitting out T-shaped ships. Their hulls were marked with deep grooves. As if a great claw had slashed them repeatedly. A Markav face manifested across all bridges of the Fleet.
Doc exclaimed, “The Collective! Goldenlight’s people!”
“We ask. Safety. Sanctuary. Devils consumed our world. Their gray corpses devoured many. Lost to the Abyss….”
The rest was lost as large spiked vessels of stone flowed in. From the remaining Dark Mirrors floating around the sector. Y’lansa shouted, “Attack formation, Elder Spear!” The Terran and Typherain fleets shot through the ailing Markav Collective vessels.
Y’lansa continued, “Launch all fighters.”
She prayed that Horus’ discoveries would be enough. Those missiles had been enhanced by magics beyond her understanding. Y’lansa barked, “Unleash Project Freefall Lancers.”
Unlike the Living Stone incursions within Eden? These were grotesque. Bloated. Easily the size of Earth’s moon.
Light Shamans clutched their heads. The scent of dried blood made them gag.
Unity’s work. The entire universe of the Collective was obliterated.
Mary ran from the bridge. She had to wake Eliza. There was no choice.
She prayed, “May God protect us from all the dark places we tread.”
*****
Mary’s panicked heartbeat registered. A piercing tone split my head in two. I groaned and forced myself into a seated position. The doorway hissed open. Mary shouted, “No time.” She grabbed my hand. Waving symbols over my face. Bright blue light engulfed me and I found myself floating at the forefront of the fleet. The massive dark shapes of the Living Stone destroyers closing in. In nothing but medical robes and pants.
Dexter said, >>We rise now. As one. Eden no longer slumbers.<<
I flexed my fingers. Finding my usual immunity was returned. Cosmic energy flowed through me. Timat said, >>Strike into the heart. Much like that time within your Earth’s Dreaming.<<
A phalanx of Defenders swarmed around us. My aunt was among them.
The head Bardiaxian Defender, a poodle, circled me. <
Timat curled around my arm. Tight enough to make me wince.
<
I nodded. Cracked my knuckles. “Let’s do this!”
I shot forward. Dexter was at my side. I plowed through the first layer of the Living Stone phalanx. Bits of dust and Black Scrawl swirled within the gaps. White-hot fire poured from my right hand. Timat’s cleansing howls reverberated in the deep dark. Several ghostly eyes locked onto us. Voices rose from the walls, fingers clawing at our clothing, red liquid floated from every orifice.
It reminded me of our trip to Unity’s tower.
Dexter shouted, >>Dive!<<
I dodged. Razor-sharp teeth clamped down in the space above me.
I attempted to summon Matarn’s spear.
My hand remained empty.
The energy outline of tiger claws manifested instead.
We tore through the behemoth. Glimpses of its corroded heart reflected off the obsidian walls. Unity’s baleful gaze. Pure malevolence.
“I have everything I need. You will not stop me.”
The entire structure vibrated. The Fleet was on the offensive.
*****
Thomas Murphy joined the Defender Corps. Summoning the magic of Ra, Ta’mathon, and Isis. Great swaths of fire lanced out. Swirling around him like a second coat. He raised his Khopesh. The metal biting deep into the sensory net of the Living Stone. The Collective ships weaved their remaining energies into the Javelin strike forces. It was difficult to hold back. Unity must not know Earth’s real strength.
Above him, Matarn hurled his spear repeatedly into the corrupted skin of the Living Stone. Each hit reverberated through space. A scholar war song on his lips. Bright white sigils protected him as his wife imbued the fighters with added protections. Di’axi formed bolts of Light, which burrowed deeply into the enemy’s flank. The ships around them howled. Unity’s forces had consumed everything.
What remained of that universe was huddled aboard the Collective’s last fleet. Thomas shouted, <
*****
Eddie cheered, “Another one down!” They had been tasked with protecting the Gemini alongside the Bardaxian fleet. Instead of spilling fighters out into the void, the Living Stone had birthed the familiar shapes of gargoyles. Unlike the pale reflections they had fought within Eden, these were deadlier. Their eyes glowed with magma.
J’ino banked sharply. Lining up a nice spread for Arthon. 10 beams of light arced outward. Turning the gargoyles into dust. A few pings on the hull indicated a few had latched onto the surface of the ship. Jupiter Rising said, <
J’ino’s savage grin widened.
“By all means!” she replied.
Electric currents pulsated on the outer hull.
The stone creatures keened and fell off.
Smashed to bits as Jupiter went into a whirlwind dive.
J’ino cackled, “How I’ve missed this.”
*****
Mom’s jubilance hit the family line. At least someone was having a blast. The green malaise shooting from the heart of the Living Stone leviathan made my eyes water. Unity screamed vile profanities. Equating us to amebas on the rear end of a giraffe? A glint of metal exploded into the membrane cavern. Matarn’s Spear! The scholar himself howled, “I see you fiend!”
Dad piled in after. Alongside many Defenders. They kept the main bulk of the enemy off of us. A white shaft bisected the top stringy flesh. Dexter’s face remained composed. I still couldn’t sense White but Black’s feline form rose from my brother to gnaw on the outer plates protecting the heart. Timat exploded from my arm. Her neck extended to sink her fangs into the putrid mass of muscle.
Unity’s rage spilled over us. C’alain’s words poured forth from my mouth, “You haven’t won yet!” Magic spilled forth from. From the necklace of Noah. It was laced with nanomachines. Magic and tech working in harmony.
Unity snarled, “Arcane fleas! Your power is nothing!”
The heart quivered. Beat rapidly then stilled. The cavern quaked.
Dad said, “Evac. Dexter, pull the shard.” Timat whipped her silver scaled head around and latched onto the walls to propel me out of the carcass.
Everything clicked into place.
My body felt fine yet everyone was acting like I needed tremendous help.
Hi’ulk said, <
*****
Bel clutched her head as waves of pain caused her to slump forward. The last vestiges of Noah. That was the Highest bastion? Those pathetic humans? It had been worth it to remain within the Orb of the decaying heart. White’s power was exhausted from attacking Tarkanan. Black was a shadow of its former power.
She landed the ship in a vast desert. The Earth here was a far cry from the one within Bel’s memories. Eden’s dawn would end. Black pyramids rose in the distance.
Ren sighed, “Home.”
The sand behind them stained. Their bloody footprints marked the path.
Overhead the bloated red gibbous moon watched.
Awaiting its master’s birth.