The Rising Sun: Episode 5
And then, suddenly, another orange orb appeared on the blue sky. It was swallowed in a faint orange glow that paled compared to the sun’s nearby it.
The entity swelled in size steadily, enlargening upon sky like a blotch spreading across a canvas. And then, a giant, flaming halo could be seen darting down from the heavens, lowering towards the snow capped mountains. As it streaked closer, it could be identified as a glowing halo that caged something within it. It slowed as it approached the top of one of the snowy hills, dropping speed rapidly until it came to a gentle stall over it.
As it stopped, the glowing cage faded slowly, melting into thin air. And as the halo disappeared, the group of people standing inside of it could be seen. Mantra, Dantox, Nano and a group of five watchmen, all identical in appearance to their leader, walked forward slowly turning and looking about. Their gazes, tinged with faint curiosity, carried across the unfamiliar new terrain they had arrived in.
The unbearable chill in the air here would have soaked anyone’s flesh in cold: no ordinary man would have been able to stand in this frigid planet devoid of warm clothing. Or in mere black cloaks. But Mantra and Dantox could withstand it for the sole reason that they were mystics. And tapping into their inner powers, they could supply a meagre warmth to their outer skin - though only meagre: Dantox hugged himself closely, his teeth chattering mildly as he stared about with narrowed eyes.
Meanwhile the watchmen, with their outer shells being formed of something greater than flesh and bone, were almost invulnerable to it. Nano stepped forward, his beady orange eyes wandering over the scene from the height they were now in. The rest of the watchmen stood behind them, as stiff as trees, awaiting their leader’s word.
“Well, we have successfully made it.” Nano finally said, looking from Mantra to Dantox, both of whom stood on either side of him.
Controlling the faint shivers spreading through his body, Mantra turned and faced him. “Yes, now for the hard part. Finding the bomb.”
Dantox turned to Mantra, his golden hair made to whip around by the cold wind.
“Where do we even start?” he asked, a note of helplessness in his voice.
Mantra drew in a deep breath, struggling to keep calm: it was hard amidst the urgency building inside. Now that they had crossed the first obstacle and arrived at the planet, a doubled pressure came over on the second and final obstacle of finding the bomb.
They had done this understanding the risk involved, the risk of having to find the bomb amidst a very sleek time factor.
But only now, when fully facing it, did they truly comprehend the enormity of the risk they had undertaken.
“How much more time do we have to find the bomb?” said Mantra, turning to Dantox.
Still shivering slightly, Dantox drew his z-com and produced a small holo screen displaying the time. As he looked into the screen, his brow contracted very slightly in a frown.
“The journey’s apparently taken a little longer than we’d thought.” he said in a blank tone, looking up at Mantra.
“What?” asked Mantra, feeling a flutter of panic.
“We thought the journey to the planet would take forty minutes.” Dantox shifted his gaze to Nano, who was standing rigidly, listening. “It’s taken a little more than forty five. We’re left with less than fifteen minutes to find and destroy the bomb.”
Mantra turned and ran his gaze across the lands sprawling below the mountain they were on. The hilly snow capped region ran on, meandering through a cluster of crests and troughs that were larger than life. He could faintly sense the combined dimming of their spirits as they realised how hard this task they had set foot on was.
“Fifteen minutes.” repeated Dantox, as he thrust the z-com back into his pocket. “How?” He joined Mantra and gazing across the icy lands they were now in. “Where do we even start?”
Mantra could sense the hopeless tone in his voice, a hopelessness he too was fighting down. He heaved a slow breath and replied, “Anywhere we can.”
Nano had his arms folded, looking to silently be processing something. After a short moment, he turned to the two Nyon masters.
“We need to carry ourselves with prudent caution now.” he said gravely. “A mistake from here, within the coming fifteen minutes, could spell a disaster for the entire planet … a disaster already looming.”
Mantra considered his words, and the tone of urgency in them. Something occurred to him, so that his speeding thoughts halted in their tracks.
“We need to find the level of inhabitation in this planet.”
The two others looked at him together.
“Level of inhabitation?” Nano stopped folding his arms and looked straight at Mantra. “You mean to find the number of people inhabiting this planet?”
Mantra nodded.
Dantox swayed his head slightly, a thoughtful frown on his face as well as he received this. Then, nodding, he said, “I’ll run a search in my z-com to find that.”
He pulled out his z-com again, pressing a few digits on the smooth metallic device. A holo screen shimmered to life in the air over the device. Dantox dug through the stored Intel in the z-com, and finally found the information they were looking for - the page that carried all details of planets. He read through it in a downward zip of his eyes. Some of the tension in his face drained, and he looked back up at Mantra.
“The planet’s almost uninhabited.” he replied.
“Almost won’t do it.” said Mantra, shaking his head. “What’s the exact number of the people found here?”
“Far too less.” said Dantox. “The numbers are approximated to a few hundred thousand. Less than a million.”
Nano, who had been standing with his hands folded, threw a glance past the hilly terrain spreading beyond them again. A terrain engulfed by snow and ice.
“A million man beings, you mean to say?” he asked, turning back to Dantox, who nodded. “And what about non man beings, and other life forms?”
Dantox raised the device in his hand again, and the screen hanging atop it. His eyes stalled on the page for a second, before he gave a shake of his head.
“There are no non man being species prevalent here, as far as Intel knows.” he said. “And other life forms are negligible.”
“Of course they are.” said Mantra, who had guessed this. “This is a frigid ice land! The only beings smart enough to live here and survive would be the ones with enough intelligence- the man beings.”
“And a million of them are facing an imminent threat of oblivion.” said Nano. “Unless we find that bomb within the next few minutes.”
“Less than a million.” impressed Dantox.
Mantra looked at him with frown. “What are you saying?”
“We’re here, trying to save less than a million people when outside this planet, billions are at stake!” Dantox gave a slight pause, a calculating look on his face. “We’ve got a very slim chance of finding the bomb within the couple of minutes left for it to go off. If our efforts were to go futile, it would be a very great waste. Because right now, every minute counts: there are seven more bombs out there, and these seven planets are definitely carrying a far, far greater number of people in them. We would be wise to devote our focus to them instead. And if the bomb on this planet goes off with us in it, it would be too big a loss: we’re the last two members of the Nyon. This is the one time when we’re needed.”
“Do you mean to imply that we should abandon this planet?” asked Nano, who seemed to have been thinking along the same lines.
“I think we should.” answered Dantox, looking between Nano and Mantra. “If there’s no chance of saving it, we’re wasting our time … and possibly our lives too if the bomb goes off soon while we’re still searching for it. And we can’t allow such a risk when there are seven more planets marked for destruction, which are in real need of our help.”
“We’re already here.” said Mantra. “That’s the problem. Leaving now to save ten minutes
would be rather foolish. We had made up our mind, and had trudged a long voyage to get here. I don’t think we should turn back now. And whatever be the case, we cannot condone a single death. Let alone one million.” He gave a firm nod at the two of them. “Gentlemen, now that we’re here, and now that we’ve been given the chance to help, I wouldn’t turn back.”
Nano and Dantox exchanged a glance, both of them carrying the same, thoughtful expressions.
“I would agree.” said Nano.
Dantox nodded. “Very well, then.” The new resolve in his voice dimmed very mildly as anxiety entered it. “But how?”
“How do we find the bomb?” Nano completed, sounding equally anxious. “It would seem that is indeed the question. Because we now have fifteen minutes to save this planet. And the clock is ticking.”
As a short gap of silence fell between them, Mantra closed his eyes and drew in a long, deep breath. He relinquished all fears, all mental strains, and allowed his mind to take on the calmest disposition. Then, gathering everything he had, he analysed the situation from as wholesome a view as possible…
Finally, he turned to Nano and Dantox, and gave a sharp nod. His eyes roamed then to the five watchmen standing behind them, awaiting orders.
“I think there might be a way after all.”
18
Velrox, Outer spectrum
Flamebird skimmed down the cloud gorged sky, its metallic skin shimmering in the blaze of the sun. Far beneath them, a cluster of village houses, appearing like toy houses, ran past over the unlevelled terrain. Its speed dropped rapidly as it exited space and it flowed down gently from the clouded region.
Inside, the three of them stood behind the four holo screens upfront.
And the air around them was sparked with a new energy and fervour.
The journey was over. They had made it.
Ion could feel all of the tense weight instantly drain within him, leaving a wide, blissful relief to stretch across his being.
As Flamebird streaked down the cloudy skies, Ion mentally ran through everything Mantra had told him before he had left for the mission. He was to arrive here, and wait at the edge of the village. The priest would arrive shortly. Then, he would take him to the nearing planet of Garnor, to the tablet Mantra knew there.
“This tablet is a rather special one … and I knew it might come in handy in the future.” Mantra’s words played back in his head.
Well, you were right. conceded Ion.
Some of the joy and relief ebbed very mildly as an earlier anxiety drew his attention. One that revolved around the focus of this entire plan. The priest.
The plan that Mantra had recited had been rather awry: he had claimed that this man, Nalzes, would simply sense his arrival, and would reach him after he landed. Mantra had based this entire task on a blind faith in this strange man. He had stated that Ion simply needed to arrive at this specific location and wait, and that Nalzes would find him…
But all along, Ion had borne a silent fear regarding this strange aspect of the plan: what if they had braved this dangerous journey and triumphed … only to find that the priest was not arriving to meet them as they had expected and trusted him to?
Ion pushed the thought away, along with the nasty prickle of fear it aroused in him. Heaving a deep breath to cool his nerves, he turned to the other two, who were standing by his right, looking into the screens ahead.
“Well, this is it.” he said, hardly noticing the feeble anxiety lurking beneath the anticipation in his own voice.
The two of them nodded as one.
Ion drew a hand into his pocket and pulled out the plague crystal, holding it before him for the three of them to see. The air of darkness and suspense that usually enshrouded when viewing this object was now gone … replaced by a quiet glow of excitement and victory.
“Time to end this.” he said, as all three pairs of eyes lay pinned over the crystal.
They could see the lands beneath them rush backwards in a fierce pace as Flamebird soared on over them.
Within seconds, they were looming over the outskirts of the village, the very area he was supposed to arrive and wait for the priest in.
And heaven knows how long we’ll have to wait…
But as Flamebird spiralled down from the sky, heading for a landing on the ground, Ion realised he had been wrong to doubt:
On one of the four screens displaying the ground below them, they spotted a lone figure standing at the edge of the village, his long brown cloak billowing in the wind.
Ion felt a sharp gasp emit from within as he saw it…
“He’s … already here!” he exclaimed. Suddenly, the tension, anxiety and fear all melted in that very instant. Relief and excitement spread through him. The priest, Nalzes, had already arrived.
He realised how stupid he was being in doubting Mantra and his plans. Nalzes, he remembered, was just as ancient a master as Mantra himself was. Just as old and wise … and that proved how foolish Ion had been in doubting him. He had been expecting to wait for the man, but it turned out the other way around. He was waiting for Ion.
We made it. thought Ion, feeling the weight in his stomach vanish.
Flamebird made a gently halt over the ground right before the man, and through the screen ahead, Ion saw the air currents buffet his robes as the magnificent ship made a landing before him.
He was a tall, thin figure, with a flowing white beard that almost reached down to his waist. His eyes, condensed within his wizened, freckled face, were a rich green colour.
The hull’s floor caved in, landing on the ground as a ramp. And the three Nyon descended the ramp, arriving before the priest.
Nalzes smiled as he watched the three Nyon in front of him. “Well met, young ones.”
“Well met, Master.” echoed the three of them.
Nalzes’s eyes moved down to the crystal held in Ion’s left hand, and Ion sensed something stirring within their rich green depths.
“It was a wise decision.” he said, nodding his head. “Despite the risks along the way. The crystal had to be destroyed. Did the Xeni try and intervene along your journey?”
“No.” said Ion and Qyro together.
Vestra looked at the two of them with a dark look. “Not yet. This journey isn’t over yet. Not until we reach the tablet safely. And have the crystal destroyed for good.”
Nalzes gazed at Vestra, a faint smile over his lips. He nodded slowly. “The youngling is very correct.” He shifted his gaze to the other two. “Now is not the time to let our guards down. We are dealing with the most devious of creatures here. The Xeni are more cunning than you might imagine, and vigilance can never be abandoned in this fight against them. We have a final stage of this journey left, and it may turn out to be the fatal one if we fall to delusionary comforts and abandon our watchful focus.”
Ion couldn’t suppress a feeling that Mantra’s friend, like Mantra himself, could sense things ahead. And that that he wasn’t telling them everything about what he sensed…
“Let us keep our strides soft.” said Nalzes enigmatically, before marching off into the ship’s hull through its ramp, with ion, Vestra and Qyro following.
The ramp sealed itself as the four of them mounted it.
Seconds later, the ground hosted a faint shudder as Flamebird lifted off it. The ship twisted about and shot back into the skies the way it had come.
__________
The deep, multi tunnelled cave was as silent as always. As gloomy…
The man with the hairless red skin and the bead like red eyes, was sitting in the midst of the cold ground of the cave. Redgarn was sitting opposite to four other Xeni, who were also sitting cross legged as he was. With their hoods drawn, their faces were concealed in shadows. Their chests swelled and shrunk in a methodical rhythm as they kept the flow of their breathing controlled.
Redgarn let his eyes rest over them, moving from one to the other slowly. He could sense their calm, unwaver
ed states of mind glow like torches in the darkness. And something very unlikely seemed to have happened, as Redgarn watched them and sniffed the steely glow of their minds:
He was almost impressed.
“Zardin has taught you well.” he said, feeling his lips twist into a smile as he said it. “Not bad at all.”
The four of them dipped their heads in a faint imitation of a bow.
“Thank you, my lord.” said one.
“He truly has, my lord.” said another.
Redgarn felt his mind flash back eight millennia, to the fall of their order, which had driven their fragmented remains into hiding. He felt a shadow of the heavy, crushing pain of the ages as he watched, unable to help, unable to act. But now, the agony had ended. The wait had ended, and after a painful long stretch, they had risen again. But only through the efforts of one sole man. He remembered that day, when he had found Zardin, in the middle of the desert. From there, to what he was now, and the astonishing feats he had accomplished along the way … Redgarn couldn’t help but feel truly impressed at his student.