An Early Departure
This morning, with the completion of the Unity of Dreams, I am bound to my circle more tightly than ever before. I have seen their dreams, their visions, and their plans. I have walked with them in their sleep through the fires that drive them. As I draw closer to them, I grow farther from myself; my own dreams lie in chaos and ruins. My stupid plans.
For the week before... that night... I dreamed constantly of a bridge. As the road we are building approaches Nexus, I constantly envisioned the bridge I would build over the Gray River. I think it would have been beautiful, a thing of grace that would have lasted for eons to come. I can still remember pieces of it. A monumental statue of the Emissary shaking hands with Storm of Amber carved from pure white marble, a hundred feet tall, that would have crowned the arch. The repeating motifs that told the story of usurpation and rebirth, the Second Age. The... no, the details are fading now.
This is not the only plan that is slipping from my grasp either. The plans for the new airship fleet. The next generation of folding servants, small enough to be worn as a bracelet. The floating hospitals, capable of following any army into battle and drifting way from danger. All of these visions have turned into paper cutouts in my mind, all spiraling into the fire that refuses to die until a single tear of ice melts.
But the fire is too weak now. If I am to do what I think I must do then I must face the darkness that eats the heart of creation. I must defy fear, fate, evil, betrayal, lies, darkness, cruelty, and death itself. Only the power of the Sun might suffice; I must make its power mine.
-- From the journals of Rivers Between Us, twilight caste sorcerer
Perspective[edit]
Leaf Shakes the Wind looked down from the top of the Plum Blossom Retreat on those gathered below. Marta and Rivers Between Us spoke softly, their expressions flitting from anger to sadness to laughter. Leaf knew that it wasn’t the emotion that mattered; it was the fact that, for each other, they let the emotion show. For a moment, Leaf felt a slight pain in his chest. He understood the scene before him. One could scarcely move undetected in mortal society if one did not understand emotion, kinship, love. But still…
No one had come to see him depart.
“On the other hand,” Leaf whispered to himself as he turned away, “at least I’m not dating a psychotic dead chick.”
Twilight Flees at Dawn[edit]
Rivers Between Us threw another bag onto the back of his owl and began cinching down the straps. Halfway through the first knot, Pei ran up to his side and firmly took the rope from his hands and began again, making quick, simple knots to form a web over the equipment. Rivers stepped back and nodded his head vaguely, then looked to the few that had gathered together to see him off.
It was a busy time at the Plum Blossom Retreat. Most of the people with high enough clearance to learn of his departure were already in the field, spread across the Marukan. Even Lyssa, who was as much of a secretary as he had at the time, was completely preoccupied with orchestrating the deployment of sentries in the Infinite City. Of his close companions, only his sister was present, looking rather stern at the moment.
“You’ll be careful, won’t you?” She tightened the scarf around his neck, which he promptly loosed again.
“Marta, I’m going to try to unlock the secrets of destruction and creation, all so I can fight the most powerful force of darkness in the Confederation. Of course I’ll be careful, as careful as I can be with the time that I have, which is none.”
“Well, I just don’t know if you have any sense at all anymore, after…”
“Ah, that Leaf. I would have told you myself, if they would have let us alone for a second, but know I’m as much a prisoner as… never mind. I could slug him for telling you like that. I still might.”
“Your judgment has been wrecked by this matter. He meant well... I think.”
One of Rivers’ hands raised to his neck, twisting at a light silver chain about his neck. “I still don’t know if I want to save her… or kill her. Or if there’s any difference.” He shook his head and stepped onto the side of the warbird. “Give me a kiss, it’s time to go. The longer I wait, the longer it’ll take to finish this.” He took one last look around the aerie, watching the walls and windows.
“You’re still hoping she’ll show up?” She slumped her shoulders and sighed. “I know what you’ll do. Don't worry, trust in yourself.”
“That’s what I told her…”
As we flew towards Nexus this morning, Rivers kept getting the strangest expressions on his face, like he might try to punch me at any minute. It sort of weirded me out.
-- From the journals of Leaf Shakes the Wind, Night Caste spymaster
