Chasms: Relapse

By Jacob Seykans

Vince Tripp and his friends remain on Pernith where they have enrolled at the safina to learn more about their new home. Vince begins to discover the secrets of the past as his friends test the limits of their powers. Meanwhile, an old nemesis returns to terrorize Chandeli. Teluks-Carn has resurrected the Wrath and has taken Vince’s brother, Tony, as his prisoner. New alliances are formed and sacrifices are made as Vince and the others battle an enemy force that is both stronger and deadlier than before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jacob Seykans
• Release date: May 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310133206

Jacob Seykans

Jacob Seykans continues to work in the traumatic brain injury/polytrauma/stroke rehabilitation unit of a large hospital where he has learned that the human mind and body are capable of amazing feats. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Jacob hopes to reach out to other readers who also believe that everyone has a story to share.

Book preview

Chasms

Relapse

Book Two of the Chasms Series

Jacob Seykans

Viccara Press 2015

Copyright © 2015 by Jacob Seykans

Published by Viccara Press at Smashwords

Cover design © 2015 by Vila Design

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Prologue

A Different Time

In a time long gone, turbulent mountain winds carry a flock of birds over the cliffs and trenches stretched out over the ground below. The squawking mass sails effortlessly across the desolate landscape. Blacker than night, they hover above the canyons in search of the dead and the dying. The Pernithians refer to these birds as anulets, named after Anule, the reaper of souls—a mythical being steeped in Pernithian lore; the stories are told to superstitious children by parents who wish to instill in them the fear of the night. Fables aside, the appearance of anulets signify that death is certainly lurking somewhere near. The flock moves as one large swarm. Like the pointed tip of an arrow, they descend in concert upon the floors of the rockbound cliffs. They squawk and squabble for the meager scraps of flesh, shorn from their latest victim. Amid the chaos, they rip away at the carcasses until nothing soft is left, before fluttering back to the skies in their endless quest to feed an insatiable hunger.

Abandoned on the dusty ground, amidst torn feathers and blood-stained pebbles, are the remains of their latest victim: a scattered collection of small, hollow bones and a chipped beak. In the absence of other prey, the anulets become cannibals. They’ve committed a gruesome betrayal against a member of their own, making a sacrifice that would temporarily sustain the rest of the flock in these harsh lands. As is common in the wild, the strong must prey on the weak to thrive. The scent of death and treachery made it unmistakably clear that these ominous mountains reside within Kovana.

Deeper within Kovana’s lands, a gaping crack divides the mountains into a set of twin peaks whose tips are frosted with white snow. The grand divide is the largest canyon found in the region and appropriately named Lan Sepris, or Great Chasm, by the few Pernithians who have been brave enough to penetrate deep into the heart of Kovana and traverse its steep slopes. At a depth beneath the surface where the sunlight is dimmed to a hazy glow, two young men, both scientists, precariously creep along a narrow ledge. They speak to each other in Pernithian.

I can’t believe I let you talk me into this, Kalen, grunts the darker-haired scientist at the forefront. He presses his backpack flat against the canyon wall, staring down at the black abyss that waits to swallow him, should he lose his footing. The darkness even devours the swirling winds as they howl in protest of their fate. Ta Nirios is going to kill me if something happens to you.

You need to relax, Teluks. We’ve been searching these mountains together for how many seasons now? And nothing bad has happened to us yet, responded Kalen as he watched the rock beneath his feet crumble like pieces of telba, a type of Pernithian bread, into the dark pit below. Besides…my father thinks we’ve gone away to practice our survival training. He is always telling me I should be more of a soldier and less of a scientist. But I keep reminding him that Pernithians don’t need any more soldiers. We need new scientific discoveries that can benefit our people.

Yeah, well, one day you’ll become Ta Nirios, and then you can do whatever you want, responds Teluks. I should probably be more concerned about what Tatira will do to me if anything bad happens to you. I’m sure your wife’s fury would be far worse than anything Ta Nirios could do.

Well let’s hope I don’t become Ta Nirios anytime soon. Otherwise the entire science lab will be left in your hands, Teluks. And without me there, you’ll mostly likely blow it into a million pieces. He pauses for a minute, in thought. "And how exactly did you ever manage to convince your own wife to let you go with me anyways? asked Kalen, releasing his right hand from the rocky outcrops to fumble inside his pack for the small device that guided their path. I’d never thought in a million years Evina would have let you go."

I told her that Tatira had given you permission, and that I had to come with you…to keep you out of trouble. You are about to become a father, after all. Teluks chuckles. And by the way, you’re not even half the scientist I am, Teluks adds defensively.

I’m not the only one who is about to become a father, responds Kalen. "I’m glad to know that after everything we’ve been through together, our children will have a chance to grow up alongside one another. Oh, and I’m fairly certain I’m at least half the scientist you are. Kalen smirks. I know because I copied half your answers from every geophysics test we ever took at the safina."

I wouldn’t blame you if you did cheat off of me. Not everybody learns as fast as I do, boasts Teluks.

Speaking of learning, says Kalen. Who’s teaching your linguistics class at the safina while you’re out here on these cryptic expeditions in the middle of nowhere with me?

The students are in good hands, replies Teluks. My assistant, Hetepen, has taken over the teaching duties in my absence. I’m glad of it too. As perilous as it is here, I’d much rather be trekking through these mountains than stuck in a classroom teaching those asinine students all day.

I’m sure they’re not so bad, responds Kalen, edging onto a narrow section of trail. Remember, it wasn’t so long ago that we were just like—

He places his foot in front of him and the jagged ledge supporting Kalen’s weight crumbles beneath him. In mid-sentence, he begins to fall towards the pitch-black void below. Like an octopus, he flails his arms, grasping at the serrated rocks protruding from the wall to slow his descent. His scraped fingertips finally find a grip on a piece of solid ledge underneath Teluks’s feet. His hands are soaked in blood and a crimson trail stains the cavern wall where his hands touched. He dangles precariously by his fingers, above the deep trench.

Help me, Teluks! he cried.

Hang on, Kalen! shouts Teluks. The ledge is far too narrow for Teluks to bend over and offer him his hand. Teluks’s balance is already unsteady; he knows he could easily slip and cause both of them to tumble downwards, toward certain death. Instead, Teluks removes the pack that is strapped to his upper back. It was purposely constructed to endure the harsh elements, and he knows it is sturdy enough to bear the weight of another man.

Here, grab onto my pack. I’ll pull you up, instructs Teluks, intentionally keeping his voice calm. Kalen reaches for the bag, firmly clutching one of its straps with his free hand. The blood from his shredded palm trickles down his arm towards his elbows. His brow is damp with beads of sweat.

Thankfully for Kalen, Teluks is strong, and his arms are thick and muscular. Teluks bends his forearm close to his chest as veins bulge outward from beneath the skin—like rivers carving their way through a valley. As the backpack rises towards Teluks’s shoulder, Kalen is slowly hoisted upwards. He regains a firm foothold on the brittle ledge. Safe for the moment, he breathes heavily, trembling as he flattens himself tightly against the wall.

You’re a lot heavier than you look. You need to take it easy on all that bracca that you’ve been eating, pants Teluks.

Thanks, Teluks. That was way too close, huffs Kalen. He reaches into his backpack, fearing that the small metallic device that guides them had fallen out while he clung for his life.

It’s still here, he sighs in relief as he pulls it from his pack and activates it. The small handheld device beeps wildly, the signal stronger than he’s ever seen before.

It says we’re almost there. Our destination is just a little further down this way, he says, staring at the blinking instrument he’s clutching in his bloodied palm. They continue to shuffle sideways across the ledge—carefully inching along to avoid plummeting to their demise. Kalen is silent; his carelessness nearly cost him his life, and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. The light blinking on the small device steadily grows brighter and more frequent.

A few strides further in, each step taken with the utmost caution, they finally find themselves in front of a small opening carved into the canyon wall. A cavern. No, more of a deep crater, formed after some ancient celestial impact. Thankfully, the crater is large enough to accommodate both their bodies as the ledge had become precariously narrow. As Kalen and Teluks creep inside the ancient hollow, they are greeted by an opulent light, radiating forth from a collection of gems that are embedded in the rock walls surrounding them.

I’ve never seen crystals like these before, exclaims Teluks as he chips at them with a sharp tool he retrieved from his pocket. He uses it to carefully dislodge the gleaming jewels from the rock face. He stuffs as many gems as he can carry into his backpack. Kalen ignores the encrusted jewels that are glistening around him. He stares intently at the small device in his hand, recalling how it had taken Teluks and himself years to construct it. It started out as a simple science project, but now they hope that the small device they’ve invented together has led them to the greatest scientific discovery in all of Pernith’s history. They’ve both had their doubts about whether it would even work, if they were chasing an impossible goal. But their current excitement now overshadows any feelings of uncertainty. The pulsing light on the small console is indicating to Kalen that what they’d spent years searching for was now resting only a few feet directly in front of them.

Teluks, come over here, and bring your chisel. Teluks carefully digs through his pack. The blood from Kalen’s hands is still evident on the straps. Teluks removes an extendable chisel, and together, they both hammer away at the crust of discolored rock that covers the rear wall of the crater. It is clearly a newer layer, younger and softer than the rock surrounding it. Kalen can tell that not so long ago, at least by geological standards, it was simply a thin sheet of dirt and gravel that had become solidified under the pressure of the mountain’s weight. A bright luminescence peeks through the small cracks formed by the tips of their chisels. They continue to shatter the rock, digging deeper to find the source of the light.

I can’t believe it, Teluks exclaims. He leans on his chisel, wiping away the sweat from his temples—his eyes growing wider with excitement. To think I’d almost given up. I was beginning to believe it was just a story—ancient relics found only in the fables that my father once read to me.

It’s not just a story. They’re real, declares Kalen. He holds up two gems that radiate with the entire spectrum of visible light; a red cloudy mass twirls at their center. Teluks, do you realize what we’ve just found?

Teluks stares at Kalen, speechless.

These stones…these beautiful and wonderful stones…they will change the lives of our people forever.

Chapter 1

Late Bloom

Ten months had passed since Vince and his friends had defeated The Wrath and halted Teluks-Carn’s assault on Chandeli. With a few exceptions, the city had been restored to its previous glory. The plaza and villages leveled by The Wrath less than a year ago were now vibrant and buzzing with life again. Almost every trace of havoc and misery had been washed away by both the passage of time and the will to return Pernith to a state of harmony and happiness. In fact, the only sign of Teluks-Carn’s campaign to overthrow Chandeli was the broken remnants of the old walls on the northern side of the palace. Their resurrection had taken longer than anticipated—Horros had been thorough in his destruction of the crystalline foundation, and it was necessary to mine for new minerals to rebuild the shattered exterior, a process that took some time to complete.

Pernith had recently completed a cycle of seasons. The past few months had been soaked by rain. For Vince and his friends, who were accustomed to colorless showers, emerald green raindrops were a strange sight to behold. Pernith had been doused in green precipitation; as rain formed into puddles, puddles diverged into streams, streams trickled into rivers, and rivers emptied into shimmering mint-colored lakes.

Each of our Suns emits a different type of light. When the light hits the water together, the reflection of composite light makes it appear that the water is green, Meline had explained to Vince’s friends after they’d expressed concern over the greenish droplets pelting their clothes. They had been relieved to discover that since it was only a refractory trick