Chariots of Heaven
Kira opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar place. She looked around the dimly lit room she was in and decided she must be dreaming. The room was so peculiar, but something about it seemed real. She pinched herself but nothing changed. Where was she?
She was laying on what she assumed was a bed, although it looked nothing like the one she was used to. In fact it felt much more comfortable than what she was used to. It was made of a white fabric and was soft and fluffy to the touch. She bounced her weight up and down on it and felt it spring back under her. She laughed a little. If this was a dream then she was okay with staying here for a while.
She examined her surroundings again. The bed sat in the center of a large room made out of gleaming white stone. Swinging her feet over the side, Kira hopped on to the cold floor before remembering her injured ankle. To her amazement the ankle felt as good as new, and was no longer swollen or purple. She bounced on the pads of her feet, testing its strength and was pleasantly surprised at the results. Remembering her journey, she quickly looked at her arm. The gashes from her fight with the sabercat were also gone. She rubbed her fingers across her forearm and the hair stood on end as if nothing had happened. Something didn’t make sense. How could she be healed if this wasn’t a dream? Everything seemed so real.
Even the white stone beneath her bare feet felt real as she wiggled her toes on the smooth, cold surface. She bent down to run her fingers across the floor. It was unlike anything she’d felt before, hard and strong, yet smooth and beautiful. Standing back up, she noticed a strange object protruding from one of the walls.
Walking over to the protrusion, she noticed that she felt lighter than normal, like she was made out of feathers. She smiled at the sensation. Whatever this place was, it was certainly different than home.
As she approached the object hanging from the wall, a most peculiar thing happened. Water began to flow out of a tube sticking out of the wall, falling into a stone basin below. Seeing the water made her realize that she was incredibly thirsty, so she cupped her hands to catch some and slurped it down. It tasted divine. It was cold and clean; cleaner than any water she’d tasted before.
After several handfuls, Kira wiped the water from her face and turned to look around again. The room was lit, but there didn’t seem to be a source to the light. She searched for an opening where the sun might be shining in, but found none. There was no fire or any torches either. Something didn’t seem right to her. There were no doors or windows that she could see, so how had she gotten there?
Starting to feel panicked, Kira ran her fingers along the walls as she walked around the room. Making a full circle, she was troubled to find no doors and no windows at all. The smooth rock hadn’t even had so much as a crack in it except for where the stone walls sat flush against each other. She was trapped in the strange room, with nothing but a bed and a bizarre fixture that water came out of.
“Hello?!” she called out, wondering if anyone would hear her. She doubted anyone could. She was entombed in stone, with no apparent way out. “Can anyone hear me?! Hello!!!” she yelled, but there was no reply; only the echo of her own voice bouncing off of the gleaming stone walls.
Frowning, she went back to the bed and sat on it. She tried to remember how she’d gotten there, but couldn’t recall anything. The last thing she remembered was telling the village elders about the cylinder they found and the strange woman in the woods, but that didn’t explain anything. It didn’t make sense at all, really; she should have been feverish from her wounds and laid up in bed, but here she was.
A dark thought passed through her mind, making her feel uneasy. Was she dead? Had the wounds killed her after all? Yamara had been convinced her arm was infected, so it was possible. Was this where a person went after they died? She shook her head in confusion. That didn’t make sense either. She felt alive enough, and she had been thirsty, hadn’t she? How could a dead person be thirsty? There had to be an explanation; she just needed to think.
Her thoughts were interrupted when, without warning, the wall to her right started to move. The large stone wall began to slide sideways, revealing a dark opening where the corner had been. She got up to make her way out of the room but was halted by a figure emerging from the darkness.
Kira couldn’t believe her eyes as she stumbled back, landing softly on the bed again. It was the blonde woman from the forest, but she wasn’t alone. Another, smaller figure was following her and Kira’s heart skipped a beat when she saw who it was.
Kaya entered the room and with a wide grin spreading across her face, she bolted over to Kira and tackled her in a hug. “You’re awake!!” she exclaimed, hugging Kira hard enough to squeeze the breath from her.
“How…” was the only word Kira could manage.
Realizing she must be crushing her sister, Kaya let go and stood back, beaming at Kira like she’d been brought back from the dead.
“What’s going on? How are you here? And what are you doing with her?” Kira blurted, feeling more confused by the minute.
“I’ll let her explain,” the blonde woman nodded towards Kaya. “I’ll have someone bring you some food, I’m sure you’re both hungry,” she said as she turned and left the room, the wall sliding shut behind her.
“How did we get here?” Kira asked, still disoriented. The question seemed to dampen Kaya’s spirits, as she stopped smiling and hung her head, lowering her eyes to the floor.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do and you were asleep, so I couldn’t ask you,” Kaya said, her voice wavering a little. She looked back up at Kira, and with a troubled look, she whispered, “Please don’t be mad at me.”
“Mad at you? Why would I be mad at you? Just tell me what’s happened! Where are we, Kaya?” Kira insisted.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Kaya whispered.
Feeling exasperated, Kira pulled Kaya over to the bed and forced her to sit. Trying to remain calm, she said, “Just start from the beginning. The last thing I remember was lying in my bed and telling the elders about what happened in the Black Wood. What happened after that?”
Kaya frowned, and with an uncomfortable look she said, “They came back for the thing we found in the woods, or at least that’s what I thought at first.”
“Who is 'they’? That blonde woman?” Kira asked, confused again.
“Yes, but she wasn’t alone. She had two others with her,” Kaya replied as she started to relay the story to Kira. She explained how Velion had asked to see Kira and how he made a deal to heal her and their father, if they came with him.
“Wait, he healed Dad? Did he get better?” Kira interrupted.
Shrugging, Kaya replied, “I don’t know. Velion said that he did as much as he could, but I didn’t get to stay long enough to see if Dad was really better.”
Kira frowned and thought to herself for a moment. “You said the deal meant we had to go with them. Where are they taking us?”
“Well, after Aeria carried you back to their ship…”
“Aeria? Who is that?” Kira interrupted again.
“Oh, the blonde woman’s name is Aeria.” Kaya replied. Kira nodded in understanding and gestured for her to go on. “After she carried you to the ship, we got inside and flew to some other place far away, where there were a lot of other people like them. They wouldn’t let me out to see anything, but when I asked what the place was, they said it was their first settlement on the planet.”
“Their first settlement? So they weren’t from there?” Kira asked, starting to feel apprehensive about what was to come.
“No. Velion said that their home was ‘across a vast ocean of stars’ when we made the agreement.”
“What does that mean?” Kira asked.
Kaya shrugged again, “I don’t know, but we didn’t stay at that place for very long; probably only a few hours.”
“Where did we go after that?” Kira asked, the feeling in her stomach getting worse.
“I’m not sure how to explain this… the
ship we were in started to fly again, but not like before. This time we flew upwards, into the sky, until… there was no more sky,” Kaya said with a perturbed look on her face.
“What do you mean until there was no more sky? How is that possible?” Things were starting to feel like a dream again.
“I don’t know! We were going up until there was no more sky and everything started to look like it was night time; until all I could see were the stars. Then everything got weird and cold,” Kaya shuddered.
“What do you mean weird and cold?”
“Well… it felt like I was lighter than normal and all the warmth seemed to disappear.”
“I think I know what you mean; at least about feeling lighter. I feel that way right now, actually,” Kira replied, standing up again. “What happened after that?”
“That’s when they put me in a room like this one and gave me something to make me fall asleep. When I woke up, Aeria was standing over me and asked if I wanted to come see you, so I followed her here,” Kaya finished, grinning again.
Kira wasn’t sure what to make of the story. It seemed too farfetched to be real, yet here she was, locked in this strange room with her sister. “Did they tell you why they wanted to bring us with them?” Kira pressed.
Kaya frowned, “No, but they’ve been really nice so far. It’s almost like they’ve been treating me like an honored guest or something.”
Kira gave Kaya a concerned look. She wanted to ask more questions but before she could, the wall started to move again and Aeria walked in. She was followed by someone holding a tray that was covered with bowls, each filled with the strangest food Kira had ever seen.
Aeria and her armored companion came to a stop and to the sisters’ astonishment, the floor started to move. It started to grow and morph its shape as if it were suddenly alive. After a few seconds it began to blossom like a mushroom might and the top started to flatten out into a rectangular shape. What once was just a part of the floor had now become a gleaming white table. On either end of the new table, the floor started to shift and morph also, until there were two rounded seats with high arching backs.
Without even flinching, Aeria commanded the armored stranger to set the tray on the table and announced, “I wasn’t sure what kind of food you would like, so I brought a variety. You’ll have to get used to it if you are going to be living on Tython.”
Who was this woman? Kira wondered to herself, still staring at the new table and seats. How was she able to mold hard stone without even touching it? She looked up at Aeria in amazement. She seemed so normal to Kira; nothing about her appeared very remarkable aside from her strange armor.
Realizing that gaping at the woman might be considered rude, Kira shook off the confusion and asked, “What’s Tython?”
Aeria smiled knowingly and replied, “You will see soon enough. For now, eat. Someone will be back in a while to fetch you. My father wishes to speak to the two of you.” Bowing ever so slightly she turned on her heel and left the room again, followed by her silent companion.
Kira looked to Kaya for some explanation, but all she got was a shrug followed by a grumble in her own stomach. She hadn’t realized it until then, but she was terribly hungry. She walked over to one of the seats and sat in it. To her amazement, it began to morph to her body and became very comfortable; much more comfortable than she would have expected from hard stone. She watched as Kaya went to sit in the other chair, and giggled when her sister jumped in surprise.
The two girls surveyed the food before them and, shrugging at each other, started to dig in. To Kira’s surprise, most of the strange food tasted quite good; in fact much of it was better than what she normally ate. There were several types of meat, some deliciously sweet fruit, a couple varieties of bread and some steaming vegetables that she didn’t recognize. Everything, even a strange yellow paste, was seasoned and cooked to perfection.
Along with the assortment of meats, fruits and vegetables there were six cups filled with three different kinds of drinks. The first one Kira tried was an orange colored liquid that had a sweet but also bitter taste. She guessed that it was juice from some sort of fruit, although she didn’t know what kind of fruit would produce orange liquid.
The second drink was a bitter and strong purple-colored liquid. As she drank it down, there was a warm feeling that started to fill her throat and cheeks. After a few minutes the room started to feel more relaxed and she started to giggle as she shoved food in her mouth. She smiled as her sister tried the same drink. Making a face, Kaya shook her head and refused to finish it. Gladly, Kira took the rest of the drink and gulped it down as well.
She wasn’t sure why, but she felt happy and relaxed. Everything about this new place, wherever it was, was nice. She’d never known anything outside of her village but everything about the room seemed like an improvement over her home. There was no dirt, except for what was on her clothing, and the air was fresh and cool. Everything seemed so clean and beautiful compared to the mud-brick hut she had grown up in. “You know… I think I could get used to this, hic,” she announced with a hiccup.
“Muh huh… meh tow,” Kaya replied with a mouthful of food.
Hiccupping again, Kira clumsily grabbed for the third type of liquid and started to gulp it down. It was a dark brown, fizzing liquid that tickled her nose as she drank it. It was sweet and the bubbles in it felt incredible on her tongue. She had no idea how a person could make such a drink, but she liked it.
Leaning back in her seat, Kira let out a long and loud belch that made Kaya giggle from across the table. Biting off one last piece of meat, Kira decided that she’d had her fill. Gently rubbing her tummy, she cheerfully asked, “What do you, hic! Think Velion wantsh, hic! from ush?” Kaya, whose mouth was so full of food that her cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel’s, shrugged and muttered something unintelligible.
What would he want? Kira wondered to herself. What was the point of all of this? They come across some inhuman woman in the woods, only to have her and her father collect them and take them to their home? To what end? It really didn’t make sense at all. She still wasn’t convinced that she hadn’t died and this wasn’t some strange afterlife experience.
The wall began to move again and Kira’s thoughts drifted away. Expecting to see Aeria again, both girls were surprised to see a man with long, silver hair enter instead.
“Who are you?!” Kira blurted, feeling unnaturally bold.
Taken aback by the demanding question, the silver-haired man actually chuckled. “My, my, Aeria was right after all. You really are a bold one, aren’t you? I suppose that’s to be expected considering your heritage.”
“My heritage? What would you know about my heritage?!” Kira barked with the warm feeling returning to her face. This time, however, even Kaya was surprised by her sister’s tone.
The man, to Kira’s surprise, was quite jovial about the conversation, and laughing again, replied, “More than you might expect, Mistress Kira. If you are done eating, will the two of you please join me? I’m to escort you to your meeting with King Velion.” Bowing lower than Aeria had, the man extended his arm, indicating that he wanted them to leave the room.
Happy to explore more of her strange surroundings, Kira hopped to her feet and exited the chamber. She was followed closely by Kaya, who grabbed another piece of bread from the table before running to catch up. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours,” Kira said matter-of-factly, as she walked past the silver-haired man.
“With pleasure, Mistress Kira. My name is Thanatos and I am one of King Velion’s generals,” he replied in a diplomatic tone.
“What’s a general?” Kira inquired as she walked through the passage into a long, dimly lit corridor.
“A good question. I am the commander of Velion’s first military battalion. I lead his army into battle, when required,” Thanatos replied, indicating to the girls which direction to walk.
“So… like a warrior? You are a fighter?” Kaya in
terjected as they made their way down the long corridor.
“Simply put, but accurate none the less. I am a warrior,” Thanatos compromised.
“Kira’s a fighter too! She took on a sabercat one on one and almost won,” Kaya bragged, making Kira’s rosy cheeks blush even more.
“Then perhaps one day I will be fortunate enough to see her fight,” Thanatos smiled. “This way,” he said, turning down an adjacent hallway. “You said she almost won… what does that mean?”
“It means that I almost died. I was saved by Aeria, or whatever her name is, before the sabercat could finish the job,” Kira said with a frown.
Thanatos stopped short and turned to look at Kira. Coolly he said, “Her name is Aeria, but while I have you here, alone, there is something I must tell you.” He looked around, checking for onlookers. Finding none he continued, “Be very careful around Mistress Aeria, she can be quite cruel to those she sees as being below her. Right now, I think she is amused by you and won’t harm you, but if you offend her, it may very well be the last thing you do.”
Kira and Kaya exchanged worried glances. Wary of pressing the issue Kira asked, “Who are you people and why are we here?”
Thanatos grinned, “I cannot speak for my people or family, but I am a friend. Why you are here, I cannot say because I am as confused about it as you are. I suggest you ask Velion the same question when you meet him. Come, we are almost there.” Turning away, he began to walk again. The girls followed.
As they made their way down the dimly lit corridor, Kira noticed something at the end of the hall. There were two massive, white doors with a strange green orb in the center. The doors were exceedingly bright compared to the dim corridor and as they approached them, Kira had to squint her eyes in the bright light.
Something about the doors seemed to radiate a power that could be felt in the air. She didn’t know what to make of the feeling, but as the giant doors slid silently apart, she couldn’t help but feel empowered. Something about this place was intoxicating but also… natural, like her entire body was absorbing power and becoming stronger. She looked over at Kaya, who had a puzzled look on her face. Was she feeling the same thing? Kira wondered. She wanted to ask, but as they passed beyond the doors the room they entered stole her breath away.
There were no words to describe her wonder as she looked around the cavernous room. Giant pillars, wider than she was, extended high above her. They supported a magnificently crafted dome ceiling with elliptical rafters that curved upwards. At the center of the dome was an oculus, peering out into a dark landscape filled with small white lights. Kira understood then, what Kaya meant about it looking like night outside.
Below the oculus, floating high in the air, was a strange rotating monstrosity. It was composed of spinning metal hoops rotating inside of larger spinning metal hoops. The image was mind bending and Kira began to feel queasy as she watched them spin. Looking away, she noticed that at the center of the room, there was a platform with two levels. On the higher of the two levels she saw an enormous, white haired man, sitting on a large chair that was magnificent to behold.
The chair was massive, and was made of some strange, blue, glassy material. Kira had seen stones like this in Felmar’s hut back in the village, but nothing this magnificent. It looked like the chair had been carved directly from a colossal growth of sparkling stone. The long, flat facets of countless curving stones formed the back of the chair and the edges around the top looked sharp enough to slice through flesh. To either side of the man sitting in the chair was an armrest, also composed of the shimmering stone.
The spectacle was awesome to behold and Kira had to pinch herself again to be sure she wasn’t dreaming. What had they gotten themselves into? She looked over at her sister and realized just how alone they were; isolated in a strange place, surrounded by strange and magnificent beings whose motives were still a mystery. The warning that Thanatos had given them in the corridor didn’t bode well and she knew they needed to be careful.
As they made their way up the steps to the first platform, the enormous man on the seat opened his eyes and looked down at them. With a smile he boomed, “At last! I finally get to meet the infamous Kira in person! I trust you’re both feeling better now that you’ve had some time to rest?”
The two girls, still in awe from the astonishing spectacle, could only manage to nod.
“Good! And I trust that you’ve had time to eat? What did you think of the food?” he inquired.
“It was really good!” Kaya cheerfully replied, breaking the spell the room had put on them.
“Excellent! I wouldn’t want you to go hungry. You’re far too important for that,” he boomed again with a chuckle, his long curly beard bouncing as he laughed.
Still feeling bold from dinner, Kira interrupted his laughter and demanded, “Who are you and what do you want with me and my sister?!”
His grin faded and with a serious look he replied, “A most prudent question indeed. I apologize for the confusion, but it wasn’t until I had some time to reflect on the subject, that I could be sure of the answer.”
The two girls exchanged confused looks.
“You see, Kira and Kaya, the two of you are very unique among your people. There is something that sets you apart from the rest and is of great interest to me and my family...”
“What does that mean? How are we unique?” Kira interrupted again.
Frowning at her rudeness, he said, “Patience, child. I promise to answer all of your questions, but first I must ask one of my own. What have you been taught about the origin of your people? Where do they think they came from?”
Kira’s anger flared. She had no idea what this had to do with anything. She was about to argue with Velion before the scolding look from her sister made her reconsider. Sighing with irritation Kira explained, “We were taught that our people were created by the spirits, who came from high above and molded humans in their image. They taught us how to irrigate, and work the earth to grow food. They showed us how to speak and how to use medicine, but I honestly don’t see what this has to do with us.”
“On the contrary, it has everything to do with you. You see, your ‘spirits’ were really my people. To be exact, it was my father, Kronus, who created humans,” Velion said, watching their reactions closely.
Kira’s mind reeled. Could this be true? She doubted it, but why would he lie?
“I can see that you doubt my words,” Velion continued, seeming to read her thoughts. “I promise you, I am telling the truth. Many centuries ago, my father found your planet while searching for a precious resource. When he searched it, he discovered a primitive race of semi-intelligent beings that had mastered the use of fire and, for reasons unknown to me, he decided to manipulate their genetics,” he explained.
“Planet? Genetics? I don’t understand,” Kira replied, feeling more confused.
“I see… this might be more difficult to explain than I had anticipated. We will discuss astronomy later but for now, just think of genetics as the thing that makes you different from other animals. Your people believe the spirits created humans in their own image, which is actually fairly accurate. My father changed your ancestors by molding them to be more like my people. He made them smarter and taught them how to farm and build,” Velion clarified.
Kira didn’t know what to think and definitely didn’t know what to believe. She’d never really believed in the spirits, but this explanation seemed even more farfetched. She looked over at her sister and shrugged.
Kaya seemed to be in deep thought and had a concerned look on her face. Quietly, she asked, “Does this mean we’re related to you?”
Surprised, Velion replied, “Very perceptive, little one. Humans are distantly related to my people, but the two of you are more precious than that. Do you know why?”
“No, not really,” Kira replied truthfully.
“If I’m correct, when my father was on Earth creating humans, he must have had children with
one, because the two of you share my blood. Do you understand now? The three of us are related. We are family,” Velion concluded.
“Is it true, my lord? They are direct descendants from Kronus?” Thanatos interjected, looking at the two girls in disbelief. Velion nodded but did not speak.
Kira wasn’t convinced and curtly she asked, “If he was around so long ago, how can you know?”
“The holodisk that you found confirmed it,” Velion replied shortly. Seeing that neither girl seemed to understand, he continued, “You weren’t aware of it, but the device you discovered in the woods can only be used by someone who shares my blood. And since both of you are the only humans who seem to be able to use the device, then you must be related to me.”
Thanatos seemed to be taking the news much more seriously than either of the two girls, because he was visibly agitated. With a tone of alarm he said, “There hasn’t been a new heir in the royal family for centuries! If these two truly are descendants of Kronus, then wouldn’t they be entitled to a place among the royal family?”
Velion grinned and replied, “That is for the council to decide. Regardless, the implications are profound, which is why you were the only other person entrusted with this knowledge. I hope you will keep it to yourself until we have made it back to Tython?”
Thanatos stuttered, “Of… of course, my lord, but why the secrecy? Isn’t this glorious news?”
“Because there are spies everywhere, even among my own army. We cannot risk any of them catching wind that there are two new heirs. They must be protected; do you think you can handle that?” Velion asked, eyeing Thanatos closely.
Thanatos bowed and in his typically diplomatic voice replied, “With great pleasure, my lord.”
“Good. By the looks on their faces, I think we’ll conclude our discussion for today. Please take them to one of the empty officer’s chambers, won’t you? I suspect they’ll wish to stay together for the duration of the trip, yes?” Velion asked. Kaya nodded, but Kira did not respond. Her mind was too deep in thought to notice what was going on around her.
“Then it is done. We will meet again in a few days when we return to Tython. Thanatos…” Velion concluded, gesturing for Thanatos to depart.