A Peak through Time
“The Aether churned madly as We watched. Abominations and incomprehensible horrors were birthed and slain constantly amidst the oceans of flowing blood. We have observed countless battles, but never have I seen such brutality…. With every blow of the Seven delivered in a silence that still haunts me.” - Astalatrea, Watcher and Consort
A light dusting of snow dazzled Aether enhanced eyes as the slender woman peered out over the stony landscape. Her blonde hair caught the light with flashes of amber peeking through her locks whenever the wind whipped across the mountaintop in just the right way. Dressed in little more than a thin blue dress more at home on a young village girl than someone out in the wilderness, she nevertheless ignored both the biting cold and battering winds to watch the empty landscape with unblinking eyes.
“My lady, another breach has opened up on the eastern face.”
She sighed at the interruption of her vigil, and the nervousness in the young man’s voice. He was likely several cycles older than her, and had stood by her constantly over the last two days, but she couldn’t help thinking of him as little more than a boy when she turned her gaze on him to find him fidgeting and focusing on staring at the stone beneath her feet. Make no mistake, he had served her well over the last few weeks. He had stood tall when many of the older soldiers had balked at what was necessary to survive the threat facing them. He also never questioned her instructions, no matter how strange, and in that, his youth might have led to a trust in her that was invaluable considering her Path.
Turning fully away from her role as sentry of the barren landscape, the lady’s flashing eyes glanced up to the monolith in the sky above them only once before giving her instructions. She watched as he gathered the Aether into himself and dashed away to deliver them to the necessary personnel. She allowed a small smile to grace her face as she watched the promising youth race away, hopefully to salvation.
There’s little they can do at this point anyway. I’m sure the general will understand why I sent him away. No reason for Kai to lose his life so early.
All she could do now was wait. And hope. Now that she was no longer being watched she allowed the worry and fear eating away at her heart to make its presence known on her face, full lips slimming and elegant brow scrunching at the thought of what came next. Everything she was doing was theoretical at best, and nonsense born of desperation at worst. They weren’t ready for what was coming for them, not really. The entire human race had been running, starved of Aether for millenia, and now they were facing the monsters that had forced them from their homes in the first place.
I’ve never even seen one before….
A wry grin wiped away the marks of worry at the thought. She hated these monsters with every fiber of her being for what they had done and were threatening to do, without ever having met them. She knew they were sentient. That much was clear in the histories, even with all the obfuscation of the ancient scholars. They weren’t going to be fighting mindless A’run, born of the chaotic Aether between worlds. This wasn’t a defense against dangerous animals. These alien creatures supposedly had a culture and civilization all their own. The thought made her mind recoil slightly. Her deep seated hatred was clashing with years of her master telling her to reserve judgement, to avoid generalizations, and to truly avoid leaping to conclusions about someone or some people until you had all the information.
If Teacher was here…..
But that was a foolish thought when extermination hovered so closely above their heads, ready to reap their pitiful lives the moment the barrier came down. They would be facing an enemy that had chased them to the end of the universe. Crossing realms and worlds with abandon to hunt down even the remnants of humanity. She still didn’t know the real reason for their ancient enemies’ hatred of them. Too many cycles had passed during the chase, with humanity too broken and scattered to retain their ancestral knowledge. There were actually some reliable texts that spoke of a time when they had been trading partners if not allies, but if that time had ever existed it was long past now.
Now they faced an interplanar superpower that had pushed humanity to the brink. She would gladly embrace her tribal tendencies, no matter how racist or illogical, if it meant she could save even a few more lives.
Turning back to look out over the snow laden landscape once more, she reached into a hidden pocket of her dress. She withdrew her pen. It was a strange utensil to any unfamiliar with her. Nearly the length of her forearm, The oddly dark metal was covered in incomprehensible carvings and came to a point sharp enough to draw blood from the toughest of Artists or A’run. Its slender form carried a certain threat in its mystery and size, despite its use as a writing implement. It was her greatest achievement, and her most trusted weapon. She had no doubt she would be getting full use out of all her additions to the odd tool.
Because contrary to everything they had told the nobles families, or the soldiers, or even the clans, She did not plan on spending countless lives just to fall. They had no idea what they faced, even less than she did, and those few who did understand simply wanted to flee once more and abandon countless innocents.
Cowards.
She would not turn tail and run. She had made certain fallback plans for the vulnerable and innocent of course, but today, she was not here to survive.
Today, the Forgemasters would wage war once again.
Several hours later a tremble in the Aether around her dragged her gaze upwards for a moment. The mountain beneath her did not move, yet the world itself shook at the impact against the barrier above her. Dropping to her knees at the signal she prayed was sent by her partner, her pen flew across the stone in front of her. She ignored the numbness in her fingers from holding the freezing metal as it became a blur that seemed to drag at the Aether throughout the icy setting. The thin marks it left behind in the stone burned with the notcolor of Aether to her flashing eyes. She used her left hand to sweep away snow, clearing more and more space for her working, her Art. She had forged this strange path, this Art, with her own blood, sweat, and tears. Today she would display its potential.
Her hands danced across the stone before her, her eyes darting back and forth tracking her work. She dared not slow to wipe away the sweat beginning to drip from her brow, despite the cold. She dared not hesitate for a single moment, terrified deep in her heart that she wouldn’t be able to finish in time. They had so little time now that the waiting was done.
Alone at the top of the world, a young girl sat in the snow and carved until her nails fell from her fingers. She drew until her eyes bled. Her tool flowed until her hair froze and her legs simply stopped working, forcing her to drag herself around the flattened mountain top on her elbows, kept functioning with the tiny amount of Aether not devoted to her hands, and her task.
And then it was done.
Collapsed in the snow next to her masterpiece, she grinned, bleeding and broken from the nearly twelve hours of constant channeling and forging. She had done it. She had made it in time.
Struggling to raise her head from her prone position on the now bare stone, her chapped and bloody lips curled into a grin at what she saw. The landscape was no longer a barren snowscape. Hundreds of meters of stone were covered in curling runes and complicated workings, their energy burning away the snow that tried to constantly cover them. She had done her job well. Her shifting eyes were already able to make out the massive ethereal connections forming through the air with the other peaks she had prepared beforehand.
Her moment of triumph was interrupted by a bloody cough, spewing blood and phlegm down her chin. Frowning at her failure to lift her arm and clean her face, the lady finally resigned herself to her current state and let her trembling head drop back to the stone with a sigh and another fit of coughing. Looking beyond the monument above them to the starry sky slowly clearing directly above the powerful working, she allowed a smile to grace her face for a brief moment. She may have driven herself to the very brink, but her job was done. She had absolute trust in the other members of their coterie to finish the job. Glancing down at her ruined dress and destroyed body, she grimaced and spoke,
“Since you’re here, you might as well make yourself helpful. I would rather not be such a mess when our enemies arrive.”
The snow seemed to swirl around a distortion in the air at her words. It quickly resolved itself into a remarkably tall figure. The man’s dark clothes and long hooded cloak did little to hide his muscled form. Every inch of him, from the calloused fingertips to the broad rippling shoulders, spoke of long hours in the training yard with both his fists, and the bow slung across his back. He gave a grunt at her notice of his arrival before stepping forward and gathering her into his arms with a surprising gentleness.
Once he had her in his arms he wasted no time. He turned and strode away from the massive working without a second glance, his eyes focused only on their immediate surroundings and on plotting a course for the two down the mountainside.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
The girl, for that is what she was, hid her face in his elbow as she spoke. He paused for a brief moment, between one stride and the next, at her words. He took a few more steps, leaving behind a crimson trail in the snow, before responding to the statement with a wry tilt to his deep baritone.
“And have to flee to the end of the realms so that your sister doesn’t castrate me for leaving you alone? I’d rather not thank you very much, little smith. Now just shut up and watch us put your work to good use.”
Neither of them mentioned her tears, or the screaming, or the trembling earth behind them. They disappeared into the growing blizzard, determined.
They would make sure that humanity survived, no matter the cost.