44 (DSV Nautica) Quaking
Long tense silences. These were getting old. Loki stood slowly, standing before the seer. "These scrolls are old artifacts. Beyond that, I am not able to tell you anything. I can, however, arrange for a visit from someone more....qualified to answer these questions."
The Seer let out a sigh. Eyes meeting hers. "I shall expect to host another of your kind then...Until next time, Ayr'een."
"All your questions. Will be answered, in time."
Loki bowed to the Seer, leaving with a feeling of respect toward the dragons. It should be concluded no other way. She walked casually back the way she came, down the stairs and toward the end of the walkway. It was beautiful here. Peaceful even. Perhaps some of her kind could come here eventually to learn? It was too soon to tell. She sighed, reaching the end of the walkway, reactivating her board and lifting into the air.
The Seer watched as she left, wrapped up in thoughts and discussion with the others. It was well worth seeing what these Icons they spoke of, the 'Eidolon Scrolls', were. And how they related to their own secrets.
The Matriarch met with the Curator in one of the meditation rooms like the one that Aki had taken a rest in. They sat in silence for a bit before a third entered. The Architect joined them. Together they comprised a trinity that surpassed any power they had known. Except for the dragons.
They spoke no words because they didn't need to. They sat in a triangular pattern, all three facing a common center. The Matriarch sat that the head, with the other two facing toward her. They all shared their feelings. They all felt hope. Hope for their future. Hope for the Ayr'ese mission had been thrust into a new chapter. The Eidolon scroll had been read. It was a great day for their history as a race.
"Now there may be a fourth...the Scribe may yet be among us for the first time. A fourth member to read the scroll." The Curator smiled, opening her eyes and looking at the Matriarch expectantly.
"In time, we shall decide on the young ones potential. She will read again before the decision is made. What of finding the other scrolls?" The Architect spoke for the first time since meeting.
"That...will be the first thing that we request of her."
All three began to match their souls and minds, sharing thoughts and feelings all around. Reality bent slightly, shimmering at the changed in power. The three most powerful Ayr'een out shined any single being known. Sure, a few dragons would do the job, but only one of the Seers could contend with the three. But that would never happen. The three were bound to their home, here. In their galaxy.
"Oh...and one more thing."
The Matriarch sent out a command with a single thought, relayed from New Ayr, to the Bifrost, then through to the Mors. They had a little package to pick up.
Aki stretched out, laying on her back, staring at the ceiling. It all made sense now. The scroll was a device designed to help a persons mind adjust to the joining of a persons mind and the alternate dimension shared between all of them. Only problem was these scrolls were overwhelming to the mortal mind. Ironic. The very thing meant to reinforce the mind and help it, destroyed it.
But Aki was different, whether by flaw or by someones design, she could read the scroll. The destructive properties of the scroll were dampened or removed, while her ability to join the knowledge on the other side went unhindered. Usually that wasn't the case. And if she was right in her conclusions, it had nothing to do with power. She was by no means the most powerful captain or most powerful anything.
The second important thing about the scroll was everything was hidden in allegory and metaphors. Nothing was as it truly seemed, which was going to mess with her mind so badly.
Stars had moved in their slow dance around galaxies for eons. Civilizations rose and fell. Tides of change came in and went out. Planets shattered and suns destroyed. They had waited for this moment for a very long time. A VERY long time.
The Ayr'een had a black skin, crouched over the dusty cliff leading to the sand sea. They had been exiled here so long ago, but it was time to act. Their friend in the empire had been right, the Bifrost had been opened as was predicted. Even here, galaxies away, they saw it. Of course when you were one of the most advanced creatures in the universe you could see almost anything anywhere.
He extended a hand out, palm flat down. A small glowing red orb rose from his palm, hovering mere inches. He slowly, deliberately tilted his hand to the side. The orb began to roll, as if it was resting on an invisible flat surface that had abruptly tilted. It fell to the ground with a soft thump, making a small indentation in the sand.
Picking it up, he examined it. If he didn't know better, he would say it was made out of blood. At least the color was spot on. But it was solid enough. Hard as granite. He peered over his shoulder toward the setting sun on the horizon. His brethren were there now, completing the final staged of the plan. He let out a sigh though his nose, blowing the sand around.
The star was an ordinary star in their galaxy, nothing special. It was, however, being used for an extraordinary purpose. Twelve Ayr'een on boards, all of varying colors, all with the same facial markings: a diamond on each cheek, connected to each other by a single line. They also shared the same body paint, an ash-like substance smeared over their backs and limbs, making them their natural color with ashen grey and black mixed in.
All coordinated, they pushed a large collection of industrial waste toward the corona of the star, a red bubble around the group and waste.
The waste began to melt, and that which could not melt, smoked. Closer. The waste was a chunky molten mix of metal and rock. Closer. Rocks began vaporizing. The Ayr'een had suits to protect them, the heat pounding on them. They began to sweat, smearing the paint. Closer. The waste vaporized.
Two of them, in synchronization, moved, reshaping the vapor still trapped into a long thin block, solid black, and began pouring their will energy into it. The block began to glow with fiery will tendrils, though you couldnt tell this close to the star. It was done. They began moving back the way it came, the two on either side still working, smoothing out the bar, ensuring that it remained a consistent density all the way through. It began to condense and harden. The whole process took some hours for each stage, but they had gone through this many times over. The final product was Auril, as pure as one could get.
A total of 2 days had passed since they set out with the waste from the planet. There was a lot of it too. Once in orbit, the waste heap dwarfed the twelve of them. It was amazing they were able to keep it all in check. The mass of auril was almost a kilometer end to end, 80 meters by 80 meters thick.
They swooped in close to the planet, very tired by now, giving a big push with their minds, sending the block hurling to a predetermined, Ayr'een-made lake. The fiery trail it made through the atmosphere was visible from miles and miles away.
Those stationed on the ground sure saw it. They began to push against it, slowing its descent. It angled for the lake, the Auril unblemished by reentry. Almost two-hundred strong on the ground began using their full will potential to force the block to land in the lake. They succeeded in getting it to approximately terminal velocity, before the impact. The Auril embedded halfway in the ground, the splash sent multi-kilometer high waves in all directions, drenching the shores for kilometers. The water tore away at the land, ripping up any trees and even large rocks. The Ayr'een that guided the block to its landing had already jumped up and began to fly away from the site, until things settled down. The splash was visible from outer space. Almost half the water in the lake previously was gone. The two-hundred hovered over it. The black monolith was just visible. Probably nice and stuck.
All together, they began to tug at it. At first it wouldn't budge, but then it began to shake, before finally, after nearly 30 minutes of pulling, the block dislodged and was movable, to the cheers of the workers. They carried it for a short ways, dropping it with a "WHAM" and shock wave that went for miles. Nor did they drop it in an arbitrary place. This was where they had been constructing ships.
This part of the continent was littered with Ship construction ports. And almost all of them were full. It was a fleet that was almost ready to go.
The nearby mountain was surrounded by the factories. Built into and on top of it, was a massive, shining city, the silver towers many hundreds of stories high.
Most importantly though, there was no electricity. There was will. Massive will power conduits kept the city and planet fueled at all times.
The male twirled the blood-red ball around in his hand, rolling it over his fingers with well practiced precision and skill. Overlooking the city, he sighed and placed the ball down on the table. The doors slid open. A scantily clad female, wearing nothing more than a long knee length, black loincloth with gold trim entered. She had the same paint scheme as anyone else, her wings were tattered. If one looked close, one could tell she was aged, but she aged very well. One could think she was half her actual age.
"It's almost time..." she crooned, picking up the ball that the male bad been playing with her voice was smooth and soothing to the ear. If honey was a sound, it would be a good match.
He smiled, and in his soft spoken tone, replied "Yes...yes it is."
The female hurled the ball at the far end of the hall, where it impacted, and exploded with the force of a hand grenade.