Carmine

Five dispensed the pills into my palm. I cocked my head back, and threw the pills into the swirl of my tongue. The wind passed around us, unsettling the leaves in their frightened whimpers along the dry earth. I swallowed the pills, and the relief overtook my body.

My eyes closed on Dagon's residence as I inhaled in hopeful relief that never came.

What was instant, now took longer, yet eliciting the pained patience I lacked. The headache still ruled my forehead. Should I take more pills?

“Five, Dagon is calling you,” Janilla said. I turned to her approaching from beside a narrow evergreen tree.

Five nodded, and was about to leave. I said, “Leave the container.” He gave it to me, and twirled around. “Hold.”

He spun back to look at me. I said, “Five, I want you to act more independently.” He blinked. “If you can, look out for my best interest whenever you can. Do you understand?”

Five's eyes shifted downward as he hesitated. "I—I'll try, Mother."

I scowled. "Never, do you ever tell me you'll try. I only want to hear the grit in your voice, no weakness."

He regained his composure with a firm nod. “Without fail, I will Mother." Five left my presence.

Valor leaned on the tree on the outskirts of the residence, staring at me. I knew Sandream scoped out the forest as Five lost his abilities, so his empath ability could not be used to help with early warnings.

I went to Valor. “Does it cost two rings to craft a glyph?”

“It is cheaper than that,” Valor said.

“I knew it.”My fist balled up.

Valor giggled. “Settle down, considering the short notice and the lack of availability, that is fine. Not like you can use them.”

A throb traversed across my ear. "Is it true Elam was destroyed by Queen Riana of Ascus?"

Valor chuckled. "It would be more accurate to say she destroyed their facade."

"Facade?"

"The first person to take an army of farmers, and boys with pitchforks, and arrows, defeating the powerful race of Elamnites in battle after battle. It was embarrassing."

"The Elams have a weakness?"

He crossed his arms across his chest. "Yes, their pride. She was just a smarter commander. Riana outsmarted, outmaneuvered them on every level, she made them bleed, for the first time in a long time. Elam in their complacency, died in many people's minds on that day." Valor smirked at me. "Why ask about her, lassie?"

This headache was not getting better. "I heard she was a singularity."

Valor rolled his eyes. "Maybe, but some don't want to believe it, because singularities are not supposed to die! She might be, Riana was different." That grin that warmed my heart returned. "Like you."

"Stop it. I have not a crown to cradle my head, much less an army."

"Don't need any. We have each other." His hand took over the whole of my shoulder in its unlikely embrace, and as much as begged for the warmth of his body sliding closer to mine, a more incessant burn razed in my body.

I grunted with a shake of my head, and opened the container. "Don't get too soft on me, I need a warrior, not a lover."

His hand gripped my arm, and with tender care pulled my open palm from the container. “Valor let go of my hand,” I ordered.

“You know why Exodine is so effective?” Valor's voice seemed far away when he spoke low.

Janilla stepped forward, her hands hovering over ours afraid to interfere with this struggle. “Please guys, be peaceful now.”

Valor's raspy sigh made me shake. He shrugged like it was another day in our disputes as he leaned off the tree, leaving my hand devoid of his warmth. “You took enough, for the day.”

My feet crushed into a bush of light blue round flowers in my chase of him. "That's today," I replied.

Valor's arms drooped then he turned. Clenched lips, the frown on his face disapproved of me. “I been there.”

He continued, “You feel focused, yes? But that is how it worked. It feels like you are walking smoothly. Like everything is easy. The more I watch you, the more I realize, this Exodine is turning you into a fearless zounderkite.”

“Do I look like an idiot to you?” I asked in breathless gasps.

“You could become one. You are too prominent for such an event to occur. The shame—this can cure fear, anxiety, and pain. It feels good, right? To feel no pain, no shred of fear to halt your stride.”

“Yes Valor, it feels good. Maybe that was all I need,” I said.

Valor opened his lips, closed it, then nodded as his lips twisted into an ugly scowl. “Come on, let us watch the ceremony.”

“Ceremony?”

Valor grinned now. “Drafting a glyph is an important event. Is that not right, Mother Carmine?”

I frowned at the humor, but followed regardless, for I knew his concern rested in the right place.

We reached a wooden hut that had a large wall of pots stacked on each other in each corner of it, while the center held Five and Dagon sitting on a red and brown carpet, several open pots notched next to them.

Sandream, and I sat next to Five who had his wrist out. Janilla came in last to sit beside Valor. Dagon had a metal tool, at one end laid a thick needle. With the deep whirring sound and the rotating needle, it pieced Five’s skin lining it with dark metallic color. The pots carried various liquids.

One of those liquids was dark gray like a muddy soap. Henceforth, it looked creepy, alive almost, while the others froze in time. Valor caught me looking at it. “Olongoy is in that pot, deadly virus, pray you never get it.”

I frowned at him. “And yet it is going right into Five’s skin?”

“Shells like ours are immune. Modified to withstand it—as long as it does not enter the bloodstream.”

“What happens then?”

“There is a day or so of unbearable pain, then you lose all feeling, and can't move, then you die,” He said that with a straight face.

It took a long time which prompted Janilla, and the others to talk about different half-animal breed shells such as half-wolves and half-goats. Most of them were obsolete, naturally because they were very unstable.

The bodies that mixed in poly-metal, and liquid metal skin within their structures survived the best, while being the most useful.

Before I died, I wanted to see Elam for myself. To saw the wonders the world had to offer. The wonders of discovery, nature, the dreams I never would have thought possible.

There was so much beauty and all of it was channeled into war, petty power struggles, and madness.

What a waste…

“There we go,” Dagon said. I looked down and marveled at the intricate swirls and curves of this glyph. “Now, the coding.” He looked at me.

I tilted my head. “Ah—”

“As you are his owner, you must decide what power is encoded within this glyph,” Sandream said.

I got that privilege? “How many can he get?” I asked.

Dagon said with a wag of his finger. “Only one and it must be within my abilities.”

Valor snorted. “Old man, you better not give him any boring powers.”

Which reminded me, “Valor you said your body has an ability right?”

Valor groaned and looked away. “It kept me alive from Five, and Excular.”

Five said, “Yes, transmatal.”

“I can feel any objects entering my pressure aura within a certain distance. It allowed me to dodge this freak of nature since I can feel the sword coming at me.”

“So you can dodge anything?” I asked.

“Nope, works best, the bigger the object. I cannot detect really small objects.”

Sandream cut in, “Like that needle Corona threw.”

Valor looked down and rubbed the back of his head. “Yes, unfortunately.”

“What about his spatial warp?”

Janilla touched my hand. “That will accelerate his death.”

Sandream spoke, “The encodings allow the Olongoy to tap into various planes of nature accurately. All of them will accelerate his death.”

“What about his ability as an empath?” I asked.

Dagon said, “That is a trait of his shell, the glyph empowers it. So no encoding needed.”

“Fine, give him no encoding. Just the basics.”

Dagom nodded. “Yes.”

Five cuts in, “Mother, I will be weaker. Are you sure?”

Yes, I am.

A living weakling was better than a dead powerful weapon. I had to get a new shell for him, but right now preserving him to the best of my ability was paramount. Besides, his mind was all I needed.

“Five, you are important to me. As such, we have no time to beg Gods, we have to become stronger with what we got. Rejects like us have no other choice, but that.”

Everyone nodded with acknowledgment of my words. Five's lips curved upward. “Yes, Mother.”