Waterstrider

Canvas Town, Tseludia Station, Pantheonic Territory, Fifthmonth, 1634 PTS

Triezal groaned as he awoke, feeling aches and pains all over his body, as well as the familiar sensation of tiny machines inside his bones shifting and squirming as they stitched his muscles and flesh back into place.

Every Merris received implants and genetic alteration following their birth. It was both to improve the body and part of an ancient rite, one which the race had been practicing since before the fall of Epon Celah, when their ancestors had signed up to be the test subjects of an experimental program. In addition to this, it was also to allow the newborn’s brain to be accessed by Anteky, the ancient Shade which resided in the race’s collective unconscious.

As Triezal’s eyes blearily opened, it became immediately clear to him that he did not recognize this ceiling. His first instinct was to look around and observe the area, and his second was for his right arm to feel the side of his leg, where he kept his most important possession. He felt nothing, a fact which caused him to jerk fully awake in shock. The room had the basic Staiven patchwork stone and metal design, the unfurnished base that the entire city was constructed from. He could be anywhere, though the heavy chain connected to his legs narrowed the options somewhat.

He tried to think back and figure out what had happened to bring him here, but the last he could remember was the falling rubble, and his dive towards the sending stone. It should have taken him to the storage unit where the other stone resided, deep inside Little Celah, but clearly something had gone wrong. Perhaps he had made a mistake when activating it, or perhaps the stone on the other end had been deactivated for some reason. He must have ended up at one of the other stones, and had been captured by whoever held it.

Assessing his situation, Triezal checked the extent of his body, quickly realizing that all of his equipment had been removed, from his boots to his gauntlets. In fact, his clothing was completely different. He was wearing some sort of dark robe. As he inspected the coloration of the garment, his blood ran cold.

“Damn it all,” he sighed.

It was the robe worn by the disciples of the Redwater Sect.

Triezal glanced around, as if he would be able to see signs of someone’s presence in the room, but there was nothing. The empty space was presumably intended to be used as some sort of cell, and there was nothing inside but the manacles, the bed he was laying on, and a hatch on one end of the room.

Assuming someone would come in eventually, Triezal moved to assessing the condition of his body. The machinery inside of him was doing some repairs, so it was clear he was in no mortal danger, at least from his wounds. Still, the sharp pain he felt when he breathed, and as he shifted his left leg, told him that there were still a number of fractures on his bones. There was a limit to the power of his implants- their main purpose was to speed up healing, and allow him to last until he could make it to a hospital.

Of course, there were few hospitals who even had personnel with experience in dealing with Merris. As far as Triezal was aware, there were less than thirty of his people on the station altogether.

Midway through his assessment, Triezal was interrupted by the quiet hiss of a hatch rising into the ceiling, and turned to see a red robed Seiyal step into the room. He glanced around in various directions, his eyes finally settling on Triezal, their gazes locked together for a long moment.

The powerful Seiyal’s stare was rather intense, but Triezal was long past the point where such paltry power dynamics made any impact on him. He raised his right leg, resting it on his left knee, and ignored the sharp pain he felt from the motion.

“It’s been a while, Riverfiend,” he said, greeting the alien man. “It seems you have me in a poor position, this time.”

The martial artist gave him a nod in lieu of a spoken reply, and glanced behind him. In the direction he had turned, a second figure walked in, and the hatch closed behind her. She was an attractive sei, and she left her hair loose and untied in a way that Triezal knew that most Seiyal would see as improper. He recognized her appearance almost as easily as he had her partner’s. Rachel, the sect’s Vice-Leader, and the Shade whose existence was at fault for all of his recent problems. She gave him a smile, clearly emanating a smug aura.

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before, Magister Triezal.”

He met her smile with one of his own, wearing a mask of confidence to disguise his inner anxiety and trepidation.

“The pleasure is mine, Vice-Sect Leader Rachel. I must say, I had not expected you to be in control of one of the stones. Did you pick it up from the Drelistai?”

Rachel giggled, as if something Triezal had said was humorous in some regard. He didn’t quite get the joke, and if the Riverfiend did, he didn’t seem to find it all that funny. His face was not quite a stone mask, but that was only because Triezal was skilled at noticing small details. The man was quite practiced at maintaining an impassive look.

“Not the Drelistai,” said the Riverfiend, not elaborating any further. If he was trying to hint something, Triezal was unable to tell what it was. Could he be suggesting Rachel had developed an alien technology which allowed her to intercept the transportation? Triezal considered the idea for a moment, before discarding it. He simply did not have the requisite information to theorize upon.

“You know,” said Rachel, resting an index finger on her chin, “I never quite found out why you left Janaste. Assisting a vassal gang in a backwater isn’t the sort of job they would usually hand to a man of your talents, regardless of my presence or not. I’d love to hear about that.”

She cocked her head, still giving off a bland-looking smile. Triezal sighed, willing to share such details. He would be able to share the basics without betraying Kalthen and the others. Triezal gave the two of them a wry smile as he shifted his seated position on the bed.

“Not sure if you’d trust me when I say this, but there’s no scheme involved. I was faced with the crime imposed on my people for all these centuries, and since I couldn’t stop it, I felt all I could do was escape. I wanted to go anywhere away from the system, and conveniently they wanted someone to come and keep an eye on this system. I heard the reason related to some sort of exchange with the Seer, but never quite learned the details.”

“The Seer,” muttered Rachel. “Just what is he…”

After a moment she sighed, giving the matter up. Then she glanced back to Triezal again, aglow with a refreshed vigor that caught him off guard.

“You’re a Merris. You would know a lot about the Celan Shades, wouldn’t you?”

The remark caught Triezal off guard, because he immediately caught on to what she was getting at.

“Was I kidnapped just so you could mock me?” asked Triezal, his annoyance finally bleeding through his facade. “You might as well just be clear with me. We can all waste a lot less time that way.”

“I’m in agreement,” said the Riverfiend, glancing at Rachel with that same impassive look. She sighed theatrically, and Triezal idly wondered how the man dealt with his partner’s grating personality. The fact that she was an incredibly powerful alien machine likely had something to do with it, he wagered. Just a moment later, Rachel’s expression hardened, her eyes slightly narrowing as if in focus.

“What do you know about the Celan Shade which calls itself Janottka?” she asked, her expression telling him that she had actually grown serious.

Upon hearing this, Triezal’s blood ran cold, and a bead of sweat slowly formed on his forehead. A profound sense of foreboding filled his body.

“Why do you ask?” he said, choosing his words extremely carefully.

Rachel gave him a grim smile.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

His throat began to dry, words escaping him. It was possible that this was just a fear tactic, but if so, it was effective. He had to consider the possibility that they were in fact telling the truth, and if so, it would be extremely bad for him and the others. All Shades were dangerous, and Janottka was one of the worst.

“...You’re not suggesting that she’s here, are you? She couldn’t have known that we would betray the organization, so far in advance…”

“We don’t know why she’s here,” said the Riverfiend. “We were hoping you could help us figure it out.”

Triezal laughed madly, his trepidation for his current situation, anxiety about the future, and utter fear for the Sorceress all combining to break his self control.

“If she really is here, we’re all fucked. She’s insane, you know. Not even the other council members can control her when she gets some mad plan in her head.” He chuckled again. “What sort of luck is this? Have I angered an ascendant or something?”

The Seiyal and the machine posing as one both wore matching frowns at his response, clearly unsatisfied by it.

“But you should at least know her purpose, shouldn’t you?” asked Rachel. “You’re both members of the same organization, and you’re even from the Janaste system.”

Triezal sighed.

“The Sorceress was once some sort of scenario writing machine designed for entertainment, or so the rumors went. The being she is now still shares that desire.” He glanced at Rachel. “I’m sure you would know all about how Shades tend to forever operate by the initial directives. Their purpose.”

As he explained, both of his listeners remained quiet, paying close attention to each of his words.

“For Janottka,” he continued, “everything is a story. Or, more accurately, she wishes to turn it into one. I suppose this whole war was her doing? Or at least she accelerated it, I would wager. Probably to create a backdrop for whatever personal conflict she wishes to ‘explore.’ I couldn’t tell you any more than that, unfortunately.”

Triezal leaned back on the bed with a groan, quickly rubbing his face and scalp.

“Where would she be housed, if the Heirs aren’t keeping her?” asked the Riverfiend, ever practical.

Triezal shrugged.

“I know that she has a physical body, but I have no idea whether she managed to bring it with her or not. The port authority certainly would have noticed her if she just tried to walk in.”

Rachel frowned again, and Triezal knew she didn’t see that as a very useful answer. Still, there was nothing he could do about that, no matter how much he might wish to. Information on the council members was not something that was widely disseminated within the rank and file of the Epon, or even for the Magisters.

The somber mood in the room, and the seriousness with which they were asking the questions had quickly convinced Triezal that they were not lying to him about her presence. He knew that a Shade like Rachel would probably be an expert liar, but the Riverfiend had no such reputation. For someone as observant as Triezal, the man’s body language and microexpressions betrayed his every emotion. He was concerned about the matter of Janottka, but trusted Rachel to handle it.

Triezal wished he had the other man’s confidence in the matter.

“By the way,” said Triezal, offering the two a congenial smile. “Would you mind if I warned some people about her? The way I see it, we have a shared enemy. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Rachel snorted at his words, and Triezal’s hopes were dashed.

“We’re not so certain about that last part,” she said. “Did you really betray the Epon? Or are you hoping to return to them?”

Triezal’s smile turned awkward and forced.

“I’m not… sure how I might prove it to you, but trust me, they wouldn’t let me back even if I wanted it. Not unless I was willing to go back to Janaste, and…” He shuddered. “I would rather die.”

The last sentence was spoken confidently, and Triezal tried to fully display his inner conviction on the topic. He was not a man who could accept his mind being meddled with. Not in such a direct way, at least.

“We’ll consider it,” said the Riverfiend, and Triezal gave him a thankful look. If the Sorceress Janottka really was here, then he felt that allying with another Shade was possibly his only hope for survival. He idly wondered, if she were truly treating the current Tseludia as the setting of a story, who did Janottka consider to be the protagonist?

Triezal could only hope that it wasn’t him.

The Seer: [It is said that once, a young man stumbled upon a hole in the ground. He entered, his adventurous spirit driving him to explore. Inside, he encountered the legacy of the old, dead gods of Staive, the original creators of the Staiven race. While the details are shrouded in mystery, what is known is that he acquired machines known as the Calculation Engines, enormous machines from prehistory. They are said to be capable of absorbing all the information in the universe, and using it to compile accurate predictions of the future. The young man holed up inside of that domain, and a force under his name was built up in the surrounding area, as he could use his knowledge to influence the world to his liking. Despite being a mortal, the Seer’s influence has spread to rival that of the Pantheon itself, in part due to the fact that only he can tear new voidgates. Despite being a mortal, the Seer is said to remain alive though it has been over a millennium since his birth.]