Wanderer Returns

By C.T. Remchin

Many centuries ago, war and destruction had devastated the Earth. Most remaining people were closed in great overcrowded cities and life was getting worse. Finally a decision was made to combine every resource into building and launching a vast escape craft named Wanderer.

When Wanderer went, not everyone went with it. Small Earth-bound groups remained. Some stubborn, fearful, hiding in deep shelters made with the tools that built Wanderer itself; some just forgotten, scattered in the remotest, least ruined parts of the world.

For all of them, life went on – and slowly, children of children of children created new worlds in the ashes of the old. The sheltered ones began dependent on their sanctuaries, but over ages they learned how to survive outside their caves. New civilizations grew and filled with food, art, music, fashion, laws, hierarchies. Wealth accumulated, passed down generations, and families once more grew powerful.

Elsewhere, others became new kinds of people who found a new energy growing in them, that they called aenimus.

In time, the wars of the past and the deserting of the Earth became myths, stories of a time before time, prehistory and legend. The perpetrators of ancient horrors became gods and goddesses in the cultures and memories of the descendants of those who never left. And the vast spacecraft Wanderer became merely a symbol, a promise that such barbarity would never occur again; the ancient gods had left and would never return.

Astronomers see it first, from their remote mountaintop - but a new star crossing the sky night after night can remain no secret. Fear spreads among citizens of the ex-empirial Commonwealth; among Shapechangers from the Lands Beyond; and among the people of the Marathy Heart Lands.

Most believe the Old Gods are now returning to bring back their war and destruction. A few Undying have an inkling of the true nature of the star - but they have no idea what will happen when it arrives.

Nobody does, and everybody is afraid.

Wanderer Returns' themes are fear, revenge, and war. The consequences of thoughtless reactions and a lack of humility.

It's about finity, infinity, and perspectives; only we can save us from ourselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.T. Remchin
• Release date: Apr 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370196418

C.T. Remchin

CT Remchin grew up and lives by the sea, and writes to distract from everyday life wiping real and metaphorical bottoms. After half a lifetime of watching the world turn upside down, CT decided it was time to turn it the right way up again, in writing. CT used to write mainly songs and poems but during one particularly stressful period, the escapism of a fantasy world became overwhelmingly appealing. Nowadays this self-indulgent fiction is a kind of compensation for days and nights spent caring for others at home and at work. It is also an interesting way to use characters created over many years for role-playing games.CT Remchin believes in magic, and uses it daily.

Book preview

Wanderer Returns

By CT Remchin

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2017 CT Remchin

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

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آفة العِلْم النسيان

Beginning

[1] Observation

[2] Heart Counsel

[3] Escapture

[4] Thanksgiving

[5] Revelation

[6] Heart to Heart

[7] Misadventure

[8] Preparation

[9] Incoming

[10] Conjuncture

[11] Vexation

[12] Heart Failure

[13] Positing

[14] Desolation

[15] Overture

[16] Confrontation

Ending

Beginning

It started in dust and fire.

The war had been going on for as long as anybody could remember, for as long as any book could tell; for as long as there had been books. War over land, over food, over water, over an idea, over what rules to follow. Sometimes even over something as simple as clothing; the reason was unimportant, it only mattered that the war continued.

And continue it did, escalating and attenuating from age to age but never really ending. Sometimes people cut each other to pieces with sharp glass, metal or the bones of other things they killed. Sometimes they would pound at each other with rocks, or pieces of trees they tore off in their rage. Sometimes they used fire or lightning; as time went on learning to exploit every element of nature, to corrode, ruin and cause ever more refined agony and efficient destruction.

Sticks, stones, fire and water were only the start. Later they discovered how to separate and recombine the building blocks of matter itself, and harness the energy that holds the cosmos together. And still, they used it to kill – to flatten the cities they had built, to vaporise millions of lives, to poison whole landscapes so that nothing would grow, and deserts would bloom in the midst of lush greenery.

But the slaughter that defined entire civilisations as they rose and fell, was only a symptom of the war of mind that never ceased. The endless war of must-have against won't-give, the eternal war of age's envy against youth's arrogance, the continuous war of Who Is Right, the constant war over What We Do Next. It was considered honourable to fight, taboo to avoid conflict, and many people worshipped death. They wore emblems of corpses, of skulls and bones, of weapons and devices of torture. People carried real weapons wherever they went, and were quick to use them. Laws were crafted to make allowances for this, and it was considered acceptable for someone acting violently to blame others for provoking their violence.

The war was a way of life, and it grew from individuals into groups, from groups into nations, till finally there was nowhere in the world that some aspect of the war was not being played out. But one day, the people of the world who were still alive, looked around at their devastated planet and asked themselves, ''What have we done?''

Forests were burned and splintered, black and bare, fertile meadows were poisoned wastelands, rivers were green with sludge, and the sea was sour and toxic. The cities originally built as sanctuaries from the horror and starvation, where abundance was created every day using technology, were churning snarls of physical and emotional violence. Every aspect of life there was a competition, and to lose was to die – from hunger, illness, violence, or simply from being sent away into the barren lands outside for some infraction.

Many looked around at the devastation and said, Let's leave this place. There are other, perfectly clean planets out there somewhere, waiting for us to arrive and claim them! Let's do so, and leave this cradle behind. Let's plant our seed in the wider galaxy, let's find out who else we're living with. It's time to go!

And they made, out of their own cities, a vast craft called Wanderer. It was built in orbit, and was so big that the few remaining cities of the world had to finally consume every last resource, in order to construct it. Everything was first built up into a tall, spindly tower; then from the head of the tower was made the vessel. A kilometre deep and several across, it was a perfectly combined concentration of every human city left on Earth. When it was finished, almost all of Earth's surviving people got inside, said goodbye to their planet and what little still lived upon it, and floated away towards unknown destinations and a golden future.

But not everybody left; some saw the Earth as sacred, or feared what they saw as a betrayal of humanity's common parent. Many of these retreated underground, away from the desolation into deep refuges built while Wanderer was being constructed in orbit. Buried in some of the least despoiled locations, they were made from solid pieces of a strong and dense metal alloy, to protect from movements inside the Earth. These refuges became the main home for what remained of humanity on Earth, and their inhabitants stayed inside for many generations, only coming to the surface when necessary.

Then one day, it was noticed that the air outside was clean again, that plants were growing, and that the lands, seas and skies once more contained an abundance of life. Not everywhere – there were expanses perhaps too ruined to recover – but at the margins of the old world, some places had been less affected, and revived more quickly.

It still took many generations for those pockets of humanity to emerge fully from the ancient protection of their refuges, and embrace the natural world once more – but finally they learned again how to grow food in the earth. They learned how to make their own homes from wood and stone – and the plentiful black glass that occurred in vast stretches here and there.

And over time they built cities. New civilizations arose and filled them with art and music and clothes and laws and morals and hierarchies. And children; wealth was accumulated and passed down the generations, and families once again grew powerful.

The wars of the past, the devastation and deserting of the Earth became myths, stories of a time before time, prehistory and legend; the people who had committed the horrors became gods and goddesses in the cultures and memories of the people descended from those who never left. And the vast spacecraft Wanderer became merely a symbol, a promise that such barbarity and horror would not occur again.

The ancient gods had gone, and promised never to return.

[1] Observation

''Do you ever wonder where it is?''

''Where what is?''

A pause, then, ''The edge.''

A longer pause, finally broken by a woman's voice asking, ''The edge of what?''

The man she was speaking to, who had asked the original question, replied, ''The edge of it all. The edge of all that—''

He flung both arms upwards, towards the countless points of light sprayed in vast twinkling disorder across the sky. The sleeves of his indigo robe slid up his arms revealing waxy skin and hands with no nails, as dark as the face gazing skyward in wonder. A complicated network of silver tattoos covered his hands and arms, and evidently continued under the robe itself as his bald head and face were similarly decorated. His eyes, pale and faintly luminescent, were the focus of the head tattoos, while the rest of his smooth brown face was lined asymmetrically in circling and diverging silver lines that defined his long nose, round lips and thin ears better than the features defined themselves.

The woman standing with him was dressed in the same kind of dark blue robe, with the same loose arms and legs that could be tied, but around her middle she also wore a thick blue canvas sash covered in pockets and pouches. She too was dark skinned and hairless, with complex golden threads delineating her full, round features and spiralling fractally around her head. She was shorter than the man and looked younger, but her eyes held the same pale glimmer and her waxy, doll-like face had the same glossy sheen. She looked up as he did, but gave a dismissive shrug. ''All that – Jaakeli, honestly! You expect to have a serious discussion in such vague terms?'' She shook her head and a fresh breeze gusted across the bare, rocky ground.

The heavens spread above and around, filled as always with the immense collumination of the cosmos, and not a single wisp of cloud troubled the view. On a night so clear, from such a high peak, the sense of floating in space was palpable and intense. The Earth was a mere shadow, fleeting briefly away beneath the feet, while the skies opened majestically and completely in every direction but down. Just above the dark edge of the encircling ground hung a low gibbous moon, freshly risen and throwing the stars beyond into stark perspective.

''What does it even mean?'' She went on scornfully, ''Stars? Of course. The moon over there? Definitely. The sun and the Children – obviously. And what else? What exactly do you mean to include in all that?''

Her mockery was clear, but not the only point – she listened sincerely as he answered, ''Alright Luissa – there are the wanderers, the ones that arrive, pass and disappear. We don't know where they come from, or where they go – but it's definitely far. Then there are the bright clouds—'' He moved his arm to point, ''—and the dark clouds, where there seems to be nothing but we know there's something, because it blocks light from further away. So all the light, and all the dust – as well as this place we're standing – plus the sun, the moon and all the other things up there we have names for, or don't. I mean all that! However much it is, it must come to an end somewhere – right? It must have an edge!''

Luissa shrugged and another gust whipped across the wide, rocky plateau where they stood. At this altitude the air was thin and clear, and though at night it was usually calm, sudden strong gusts weren't uncommon. Luissa turned to plant her feet more firmly as she answered, ''I'm not really sure if it must. I mean, there's so much we simply don't know – and if there is an edge, then why do we not see it? Look – between the stars is just blackness, nothing – no edge, no end in sight anywhere—''

Jaakeli lowered his pale eyes to regard her sceptically, ''What? Are you serious? It probably just looks black because it's too far away to see, is all!''

Luissa shook her head, still peering skyward, and answered with a smile, ''Too far away? How big do you actually think all that is? Look – there we can see all those stars, and the clouds of light and they're – well, they're obviously very far away. Thousands of leagues, at least. So, how far can't we see? Unless someone's conveniently coloured the edge black so it looks invisible—'' She raised one immaculate brow sardonically.

Jaakeli just regarded her for a few moments before dropping his gaze and making a doubtful grunt in his throat. Eventually he looked up into the sky once more and replied quietly but with distinct pride, ''I think they're further than that. A lot further.''

Luissa noted the scepticism in his voice and she glanced at him with an amused jerk of her dark, gold-lined head. But he didn't look back at her as she asked, ''You sound very sure, Jaak. Why do you say it like that – a lot further?''

He answered slowly, continuing to gaze up and turning his head as if following something moving across the sky. ''Have you ever read Raniki's Perspectives?''

Luissa looked with him, trying to see whatever it was he was watching, but didn't notice anything in particular. She continued staring skyward as she replied, ''I've – I've heard of it but no, never read it. Why?''

Jaakeli now looked around at her with a surprised expression on his smooth face. ''Really? And you a starwatcher for so long!'' He shrugged and added, ''It's a classic, no question. I'll lend you my copy. It makes some—'' he looked thoughtful a moment, ''—some bold claims – or proposals – about the nature of the world, the moon and the Sun—'' he waved a hand overhead again, ''—and the stars.''

Luissa glanced down at him at last, her interest pricked, and prompted, ''Such as?''

Jaakeli looked back into the sky and gestured that way once more, ''Well, among other things, it claims that the stars are huge, blinding, blazing things more or less like the Sun—''

Luissa shrugged and interrupted, ''Well, that's not such an unorthodox view. It's clear that's what they are – at least something like the sun, even if many are different colours.''

Jaakeli nodded and answered, ''Indeed, but it also claims that fact means our sun isn't the centre of everything. If there are so many, how can ours be the main one?''

Luissa turned away again and answered, ''Right – but plenty of people agree with that too, don't they? I mean, look – the Eternal River!'' She swept an arm over her head at the pale mass crossing the sky, ''We know that's all very far away, but it's where most of the stars and clouds are, isn't it? So if there's a centre, surely it's in there somewhere!''

Jaakeli looked around at Luissa and nodded approvingly, chuckling, ''Eh, you say surely, but very few will ever say it out loud – and actually quite a few people don't agree. Or at least, they're not interested.'' He sneered.

Luissa shrugged with a smile back to him, answering ''Well – it is all a bit – abstract, isn't it? It's not like we can prove or disprove such things.''

Jaakeli stared back up, frowning and making no reply. Silence fell, the night wind blustered again, and wisps of cloud came and went beneath the twinkling array. Finally with a toss of his head Jaakeli said, ''Perspectives also talks about the moon, though. And that's not far away at all.''

Luissa glanced at it, then over to him again, surprised and curious. ''The moon? What does Raniki say about that?''

Jaakeli nodded slowly as he answered, ''She claims the lines and shapes on the moon – as well as the great crater in its bottom side – were made by inhabitants of Earth, many ages ago.''

Luissa looked up again at the fat two-thirds moon and squinted, examining the marks there as she had many times before. She made a low, thoughtful noise but said nothing, shrugged and went on gazing intently.

Jaakeli nodded and looked up with her at the moon, adding, ''It's her theory, anyway – Perspectives is definitely a flight of imagination, and there's not much actual proof to back up the claims she makes. That's why a lot of people scorn it, especially people who aren't starwatchers – but I've found it inspirational. I definitely recommend having a look.''

Luissa shrugged and shook her head. ''It doesn't seem like a very informative book, though. Just – well, guesswork, is what it sounds like.''

Jaakeli waved his head indecisively and grunted, adding ''She does insist at one point that her ideas all support each other, and that's enough to justify it all—'' Luissa smiled knowingly as he went on, ''—for instance, the reason we don't feel heat from the stars like we feel heat from the sun is the same as the reason they look so small – they're years, maybe hundreds of years' travel away, not just a few hours or days. She says that our sun might even be more than just a few days' away – and if it is then the others are a lot further than we think.''

Luissa gave a thoughtful nod and replied, ''I'll have to have a read, it sounds – radical.'' She chuckled at the word, and added, ''I have to admit, I like the idea that people might really have stood on the moon once. I—''

She stopped suddenly and Jaakeli turned towards her, frowning. She was pointing at something that wasn't the moon, and she asked sharply, ''What's that?''

Jaakeli followed her finger and came closer to her so as to find the angle better. ''There, right over the Companions—'' he shook his head and she added, ''Look, one, two hands across from the moon, on the shoulder of – there.''

Jaakeli grunted and asked, ''The blue star?''

Luissa shook her head and turned to face him, snapping ''But there's not a blue star there! That's what I mean. There's never been a blue star there – or any star there!''

Jaakeli squinted and turned to her. ''Find it again?''

Luissa peered for a second and said, ''There – follow the Companions around to their tail star, then a couple of fingers up from there – see?'' She looked at him again and added, ''I'm going inside to get a proper look. Coming?''

She turned and strode away across the stony ground towards the only structure, a low wide dome from which a huge glass tube protruded. At one side of the dome – which was made entirely of triangular glass panes arranged in a slim wooden framework – a set of steps ran down to a double door. Luissa hummed a short abstract melody at the centre of the door and the lock clicked inside. She pushed both open at once, and the pair of them stepped through into the crystal-lit hallway inside.

* * *

''Yes – look! It's definitely something new! Can I name it?'' Luissa laughed in exaggerated glee, and rubbed her smooth hands together noiselessly.

Charts were spread over every table and a lightbox was projecting the view from the skyglass onto a screen to one side. Luissa moved away from the eyepiece and gestured that one of the others should take a look, adding, ''Mesarye? Care to see?''

A woman with a heart-shaped face tattooed and shaded in white and grey smiled gratefully and slid across to bend over the eyepiece, as Luissa moved back to peer at the view on the screen. She pointed again at the tiny blue dot and shook her head, ''Definitely not on the charts – not even the out of date ones.''

Jaakeli, also standing there, nodded and answered, ''Well, congratulations on the find, Luissa – what will you call it?''

Luissa chuckled and answered quickly, ''No idea yet. I think I want to know more about it before I give it a name. See what it does over the next few weeks, then something appropriate may come to me.''

The other figure gazing at the glass now turned, a look of surprise on his square, even face whose features were highlighted in gold whorls and rays. ''It may be a star normally too dim to see that's suddenly started blooming. It's happened enough times before, certainly – though they're not usually blue—''

Luissa nodded with him in agreement and replied, ''I agree, Numesh – but if it's that, then by tomorrow we'll know for sure.''

''Actually – I don't think it is a star blooming,'' came the voice of Mesarye, still bent over the eyepiece.

The other three pairs of eyes whipped around to glare at her and Luissa demanded, ''What?''

Mesarye didn't move but simply answered, ''I said, I don't think it's a star blooming. Whatever it is, I think it's moving.''

* * *

''So – we can say it's definitely moving, can we?''

One day later and the same group were gathered in the same place, under the same brilliant night sky. Numesh was looking through the skyglass eye piece while the others were gathered around the projection screen. Near the screen now stood a wide table, upon which a couple of light crystals glowed softly. Several books lay open, and a chart showed the main details of the sky near the new bright object.

Luissa was bent over the chart, adding a new mark. Mesarye had asked the question, and Luissa answered with a curt nod, ''We can. Moving, and possibly growing too—'' She stood up and added with a shrug, ''—which can mean only one thing – it's coming towards us, or nearly. So –what is it?''

Nobody spoke for a moment, till Jaakeli asked tentatively, ''Could it be a new wanderer? Nothing else moves so far so fast – it's not one of the Children, that's sure. They're all accounted for.''

Numesh lifted his head and shook it as he glanced over and countered, ''Unlikely to be a wanderer. They always have an aura, they’re diffuse, not a bright point – and this thing is extremely bright, whatever it is.'' He frowned and shook his head, adding quietly ''I don't think it's really blue, though – but that's just a guess.''

Mesarye looked over from the screen and asked, ''Can I have another see in the eyepiece?''

Numesh gestured and nodded, ''Of course,'' and stepped back over to the table where the papers were. He stood next to Luissa, who was now flicking through one of the books – a thick, heavy tome full of ancient, faded writing and diagrams. He muttered curiously, ''Perspectives eh? And in the old script, too. How are you finding that?''

She glanced to him and answered, ''I'm trying to get into it but it's – I mean, the writing is fine, I learned this at school – but the narrative has some really strange notions!''

Jaakeli was standing near to the screen, gazing at it intently. He said quietly and without turning, ''Luissa, open it to the part called Anybody There. It's towards the end.''

Luissa found the page and moved one of the light crystals closer, calling a few short notes into it to make it glow more brightly. She read out loud, pausing as she assimilated archaic expressions into something more natural, ''Before I conclude, there is one fascinating – corollary – of much of what I claim in this work. If the distance from here to the – nearest stars – is as far as I have shown it must be, and if they are as far from each other as they are from us; and if the amount of – space they take up – is as big as I believe it must be, then something quite extraordinary becomes possible, perhaps even – inevitable.''

Jaakeli was listening as he gazed longingly at the screen with its projected starscape. Numesh had wandered across to another bench and was setting up a second telescope near a removable lower section of the glass dome. Mesarye was still looking at stars through the main tube.

Luissa went on reading aloud, ''What I mean, is that this place where we live might not be the only place where might be found – creatures like us, or even creatures – not at all like us. If the cosmos is as small as most believe, this is anyway possible – but if what we see around us is as vast as I suspect, it becomes much more than just possible. For how could this be the only, single, unique speck of life in such an – immense space? The chances against it are as great as the number of – stars in the sky!''

''Furthermore, if there—''

Jaakeli turned and held up a hand, interrupting with a sardonic smile, ''No, that’ll do – I just wanted not to have to say it myself!'' Luissa glanced over to him, but the others didn't. He went on anyway, ''I wanted us all to hear that bit of Perspectives before I tell what's been in my mind for a few hours now.'' He paused as if reluctant to go on, but at an insistent glare from Luissa, he added, ''Alright – what if this is an object from another world?''

Now, Numesh and Mesarye raised their heads and turned to look curiously at him, as Luissa laughed softly. ''It's a bit early to start talking about that, surely? All we know is that it's bright and blue – maybe – and that it's moving – probably. We don't know how far away it is, or how big, or yet exactly what direction it's going—''

Numesh and Mesarye both nodded in agreement, but Jaakeli, leaning dynamically back towards the screen, broke in straight away, ''Come on, stop being so cautious! What have we ever seen like this? This is – unique, surely? It definitely deserves unique consideration. I think, till we know better, why not all guess as much as we please? After all, it's not a star or it wouldn't be moving so – and it's not a wanderer because it hasn't got an aura! And it's not one of the Children of the Sun, because we already know where they all are, and none of them are here—'' He pointed at the gleaming point on the projection, and grinned as he added with accusatory glee, ''—so let's guess! Let's ask ourselves whatever we dare! What could it be, really?''

Mesarye made a dismissive gesture and turned back to the eyepiece with a shake of her head, muttering, ''Well I'm going to wait, not jump to any conclusion—''

But Numesh peered at Jaakeli with a wide-eyed look of curiosity on his waxy face. He waved at the glass projection screen and asked, ''Very well then – let's ask for a while. What could it be?''

* * *

But as it turned out, nobody had any truly convincing ideas.

For the following few days they had to be content with just watching the object and plotting its course on the sky chart. As it grew, it gradually slid in a northwest direction – and it became less blue and more yellow as it crossed the northern sky. It still had no tail or aura, but twinkled enigmatically as it hung there, not quite visibly moving. All theories except for Jaakeli's were slowly abandoned, and there came eventual agreement on one matter – the object was passing by. It gradually drew down to the south west, and appeared to be moving a greater distance each day. They were all certain too, that away from their isolation on a high plateau of the Goldcap mountains, people everywhere must be in frenzies of speculation about this thing.

One evening, Luissa and Numesh were talking to the main Connective through the small round speaking glass mounted on one of the wide benches that lined the dome's walls. The speaker at the other side said with a chuckle, ''Eh, and listen to this – in Marathy, in the Heart City somewhere, I hear they're actually worshipping this thing. Can you believe it?''

Luissa frowned scornfully and shook her head, but Numesh appeared fascinated and asked, ''Sifayu – why? I know they're simple people but they're not superstitious. They tell stories about the stars the same as everybody does, sure, but I've never heard of people in Marathy worshipping them – or anything except each other!'' He chuckled at his own wit.

Sifayu gave a withering look and replied drily, ''What I hear, is that some believe it's old gods returning. Maybe more than some – but it's such an absurd thing to say I'm not surprised most wouldn't admit to it!''

Luissa squinted at Numesh as she asked both him and Sifayu, ''Old gods? What gods? Marathy people don't believe in such things – do they? I mean, I'm no expert, but—''

Numesh shook his head with a frown and broke in, ''No, they don't. Nobody anywhere believes in gods, at least as far as I'm aware – but I may understand the reference.''

Sifayu and Luissa both regarded him with fascination and Sifayu urged, ''Go on then, don't stop there!''

Numesh grimaced and gestured significantly with his empty hands, saying ''No, it's just – I mean it must be superstition, that's all. Of course there are no gods, there never were!'' He frowned, shook his head and went on, ''But still, there's a story I once heard – I don't even recall where, now I come to think of it – but the story was about what happened to the so-called old gods. They were terrible and ruinous and brought horror and destruction all over, but the main point was that one day they went away. And when they went, they took – yes—'' He smiled with the pleasure of the unexpected memory, ''—they took every evil thing with them. That's a phrase I remember – every evil thing.''

Sifayu raised his elegantly tattooed brow with the expression of someone intrigued but not believing a single word. Luissa on the other hand suddenly appeared concerned and thoughtful.

Numesh turned sharply, frowning at the look on her face. ''What is it, Luissa?'' he asked, ''What bothers you about that?''

She shook her head and waved a hand. ''No, nothing. I—'' she hesitated, ''—I'm probably wrong but it rings a bell with me too. Something I heard about, that Hanne and—'' she frowned in concentration for a moment before continuing with a tiny nod of satisfaction, ''—Bingyi, he's called. Nobody sees him any more, he stays underground in the – the thing they found. He generates all the power for Jade City – he was the one that got it working, remember?''

Numesh and Sifayu both nodded in agreement, and Numesh asked, ''What about him? I mean, what about the – what did he call it?''

''Refuge,'' answered Sifayu, ''I saw it – oh, a while back. I installed the first portal there, and I'd never seen anything like it. Like a big square building, but all made of metal, believe it or not. Quite remarkable really – still do go on, Luissa – what about it?''

Luissa shrugged and shook her head. ''Well that's it – I don't know. I do know Hanne found it, because she told me about it not long after she—'' she frowned, ''—did my induction. She said it was extremely old, but more than that she told me a story about old gods making it – apparently as a refuge for the people they left behind, or something. To be honest, it all sounded quite mad and I'm not even sure how seriously she took it herself. Anyway, she never invited me to see it, and she never talked about it again.'' The frown on her smooth face deepened, and her brow creased sharply.

Numesh regarded her carefully for a moment and then exclaimed, ''But did she ever give a view on what old gods means? I can't believe Hanne would take that at face value!''

Luissa shrugged. ''I never asked and she never explained. I wouldn't have cared anyway, at the time. I was angry with her, full of resentment.'' She shook her head and her frown eased a little as she skipped the details and went on, ''I left Jade City almost as soon as I was inducted. The few times I've been back I've only seen her briefly – there's only one thing we have to talk about, and I don't like talking about it.'' She gave a thoughtful nod and added, ''I think a trip there is definitely in order now, though.'' She looked to the speaking portal where Sifayu's face still smiled with the pleasure of an expert gossip witnessing important events first-hand. She asked him, ''Is there still a portal down to the Refuge, Sifayu?''

He answered with a nod, ''There is, but Hanne doesn't like me to let anyone through without talking to her first. I could talk to her, but perhaps you—''

Luissa scowled and interrupted, ''No, I'll talk to her myself. But you can get me back to Jade City, right? Soon?''

Sifayu laughed and nodded proudly, ''Only to about a dozen different locations! Yes, I can get you to Jade City as soon as you like – just decide whereabouts you want to arrive, and we'll sort something out.''

Luissa replied, ''You're like a treausure, Sifayu. One day you'll get your own vault in the Jade Citadel!''

He sneered back and replied, ''Old gods but I do hope not—'' before waving a hand so the speaking scrreen's glow faded and its low, multi-tonal hum dropped to silence.

As the communication ended, Luissa turned to Numesh and nodded more enthusiastically, ''Yes – I haven't seen her in a long time. I think she'll appreciate my visit at a moment like this, it's got a nicely dramatic flavour.''

Numesh chuckled softly and added, ''She's your paragon, then?''

Luissa nodded and glanced briefly to him, answering with a vaguely sullen tone, ''Was – but truthfully, I see you as my paragon now, Numesh—'' he nodded in grateful acknowledgement as she went on, ''—but when I was inducted, she was the one who—'' she sneered, ''—let's say arranged things. She wanted to make sure I went through with it, so she did it herself – but we've never had anything in common beyond that. She can be funny, and she knows a lot about a great many things, but—'' she frowned and shook her head, her tone changing to something less regretful and more resigned ''—how we first encountered each other was awkward.''

Numesh nodded in acceptance and after a moment's hesitation asked, ''Will you be sure to keep us up to date on what you hear, read, whatever?''

Luissa answered with a smile, ''Of course! And if anything unexpected happens with our little wanderer, or if you discover anything new about it – please let me know. I’ll come back as soon as I can. Whatever this is, even if we're all wrong, it's bound to be interesting. In fact if we are all wrong, it's probably going to be even more interesting!''

Numesh nodded and then jerked his head back in surprise. ''You're going now? Right now?''

Luissa nodded and made a demonstrative gesture with both hands, answering, ''Yes, why not? That thing up there isn't waiting, and Hanne won't exactly be asleep! And I'm compulsively curious – so yes, I'm going right now! Do you want me to fetch Mesarye or Jaakeli to take over?''

Numesh shook his head and answered generously, ''No, no – you're right – go! Speak to you soon though, yes?''

Luissa nodded and trotted off across the floor towards a set of steps that led down to the observatory's under chambers, where their travel portal was set up. The door at the bottom of the steps creaked as it opened and closed, and Numesh returned to the eyepiece of the main skyglass, resuming his silent, eager watch.

In the sky above and far to the west, the bright object's steady movement against the darkness beyond was slow but plainly discernible with the unaided eye. Through the skyglass its shape appeared like a long egg, and it looked bright yellow; perhaps well-lit, or extremely shiny – or both. Its coruscating glint was slowly growing in brightness and intensity – but as close as it appeared to have come, it still seemed to be merely passing over.

Numesh was caught uncomfortably between relief and regret, and he began sketching versions of what he was looking at – in case this really was the closest it was going to come.

[2] Heart Counsel

A cool, damp breeze blustered across a garden and brought tumbling leaves, along with light rain that whirled around and saturated everything it touched. It was not yet evening, but heavy clouds were making the day feel darker and later than it really was. Around three sides of the lawn, flickering orange lights twinkled through windows from hundreds of wax candles and oil lamps. The windows filled the enclosing walls of three grand wooden buildings, which together surrounded the wide grassy space four floors high.

Along each of the three higher floors ran continuous balconies. The first floor balconies formed the roofs of broad terraces on the ground floor, that sloped gently into the garden. Wooden columns supported each level, and the only break in the balconies was a high arched doorway in the middle of the central building, that opened into a huge hall. The doors were closed, but the singing of a large crowd could be heard from within. A haze of aenimus glistened through the whole structure, and into the air outside.

Across the central garden from corner to corner, crossing from opposite ends of the two side wings, hung coloured glass lanterns, twinkling with small flames. Despite the rain, a few groups sat around the lawn on large, flat stones placed for that purpose. They were quietly talking and not all were wet; a few individuals here and there had covered themselves with some manifestation of aenimus to deflect or channel the drops. However, not everybody could do this – or even wanted to – and many were soaked to the skin.

Most wore simple clothes of dark-coloured natural fibres, though a few were dressed more elegantly in robes. Many wore headscarves or hats, or hooded cloaks. A rumble of thunder and a flurry of heavier rain made everybody move; three figures till now sitting in the garden, suddenly leapt up and scurried giggling towards the nearest entrance, in a side wing of the hall.

They pushed one of the doors open and helped each other in, as another rumble arrived from the darkening sky and the rain cascaded still harder. As they stood shrieking with laughter in the golden light of the lobby inside, it appeared two of them were completely dry – but the third, a man darker than them and much younger, with a thin beard and long black hair piled under his hood, was drenched and dripping. As he laughed, he added with delight, ''I love the feeling! Actually I've changed my mind – I'm going back outside, to find one of the Hot Rooms and enjoy it a bit longer. I'm not needed here, later on we can catch up, and you can tell me what happened!''

The dry pair – another man and a woman – both nodded but the woman added with a dismissive gesture, ''Whatever, Aeson. Sometimes your irresponsibility bothers me greatly, and I don't think it's all my problem. Go on – go and luxuriate as the end of the world unfolds!''

The man in the wet clothes chuckled darkly and answered, ''As far as I'm concerned it's the only thing to do!'' and pulled the door quickly open, departing with a flashing grin into the squall of wind and water.

The other two glanced to each other and the woman rolled her eyes. The man began