A Paradox in Retrograde (14 page)

Since Ananda's time though the general shape of the island had
changed little, there was much however that was different. So
much so in fact that if it were not for the existence of a peculiar
anomaly held safe within the citadel, this knowledge may have
remained undiscovered. As he peered out from the high overlooks he tried to see with his mind's eye that what had once been.
Here had been the emplacements for the massive field generators.
There a battery of rockets had once stood. Now being a mere
ghost of its previous glory, only the distant tower of Breideblic
still stands as a testament to its antiquity. There in those places
about the island were the remnants of an ancient Stone Age culture that somehow came into being after the destruction of his
society. It was to this anomaly then that that primitive culture had
looked to as an inspiration to their coming renaissance. It was as
they would discover no mere curiosity, for its effects were potent
and far reaching. Though the workings of this mysterious anomaly were little understood it was believed to be artificial in nature,
the product of yet another long lost civilization. Though he knew
the builders of these technologies, these forerunners must be his
own people; he could not wholly comprehend by what means
they had met their own end.

At his side Xora with mixed emotion moved forward as they
came upon a place that held a special significance in the mythos
of her people. She would for the moment keep this fact to herself.
Upon arrival there she began to conjure in her head fearful images instilled from stories told around the campfires of her childhood. Despite these long suppressed fears she would choose to
ignore her natural inclinations to avoid them and instead stay by
his side. She was not alone in her sense of trepidation, for with
each step that they made Ananda's mind seemed to conjure there
some new powerful yet fragmented recognition.

Eventually their wanderings brought them to a place where
Ananda would have a moment of clarity. They had arrived then
upon the high plateau where mighty airships had once sat at anchorage. There in its place was the remains of an enormous crater
from which radiated a vast dead zone. For miles inall directions,
this bleak landscape weathered by the winds of time could support little more than a few blades of withered grass. This expanse was so lifeless that even the birds would not dare to violate the airspace above. Kicking up as he strode the glass impregnated dust; Ananda glanced out upon the desiccated landscape. He asked of his companion. "What has happened in this
place?" Xora could see the raw emotion roiling within him despite his best efforts to subdue it. She chose her words carefully
as she responded. "To this place there is an ancient taboo that
exists even into our modern times. No one knows for sure. It is
said however in the ancient texts that it is here that in a great
battle Hector delivered his final defeat onto their eternal enemies. It is said that the blood of his enemies has forever tainted
this place and it is why nothing has since grown here. However
we now know that the lifeless nature of this place is due to high
levels of both toxic chemicals and radiation. That is why life
does not and cannot exist here." He turned toward her, and as he
did another stream of partial memories flooded his mind. In one
stark and horrifying vision he could see himself as plain as daylight there upon the field of battle. He could see himself there,
engaged in a desperate fight eyes full with anger, roving through
their masses like a scythe. His gleaming battle armor was
stained, wet with the colors of earth and gore, as his slashing
weapon found again and again its mark in the hearts of his enemies. His body shuttered as he then recalled a blinding flash and
a thunderous crash. The sky was ablaze. A pyroclastic shock of
super-heated gas and dust rolled from the epicenter at tremendous speed. The massive wave rolled outward over the hills and
valleys to a circumference greater than all of Baldur. Then there
as all was settled there was darkness.

This visceral experience of this memory was as fresh to his
mind as that long ago day. It had left him breathless and shaken. Xora who had been closely observing him sensed intuitively
that something was wrong. She moved toward him in time to
catch him as the emotional weight of the memory forced him to
collapse. He lay there staring as if to some distant place with an
expression tinted by both rage and agony. She looked down on
him unable to fathom the depths to which he had fallen. She observed for the first time the deep lines that timehad worn into
the features of his face. She observed there in his pale expression a look of utter exhaustion. It was a weakness within his
strength, one she had not before imagined. Moments later, from
the fog he awoke to see Xora's face smiling down on him. A tear
welled in her eyes then rolled along her cheek onto the lifeless
ground below them. She looked into his eyes soulfully and said,
"Hector, you've returned to me."

He had seen his world destroyed and somehow he had blocked
this fact from his conscious mind. There threads that filled this
tapestry though brilliant in their clarity had long moldered and
were worn bear. Though he recognized himself there he could not
help to think that himself as an actor in some epic play. He knew
better. As he lay there in her arms he began to retell his tale so as
to bring it once again into the light of day. "It was here in this
place, where the tide had turned. We had for months as our nemesis drew nearer been burdened by the onslaught of our enemies.
There ships would appear from the sky like ravenous birds. There
we would meet them as best we could on the field of battle. These
attacks were often swift and brutal. Though we fought on we incurred heavy losses. Eventually our willingness to resist them
paid off as it bought us enough time to understand an emerging
pattern to their attacks. This as it turned was part of the plan.
With each raid they tested our resolve and our capacity to fight
back. With each raid they would learn more of our weaknesses.
You see they are not like you and I. They would not risk that
which they could not win easily for they are cunning exploiters.
They revel in the slaughter of innocence and avoid anything that
requires any real courage. We my generals and I, began then to
formulate a plan to which we could exploit this lust they held for
our wanton destruction. With the promise of our complete destruction we hoped to draw them from their comfort zones into a
trap of our own making. In secret we had developed weapons of
devastating power. It was here where the first of these weapons
was deployed."

She helped him to his feet, and then they walked with him leaning heavily on her, leaving the great scar in the earth behind
them. They made their way then back toward the beach as the
intensity of the mid-day sun relented. The sky now painted in
tones of orange and muted silver shown like a great curtain. As
they roved the gleaming ribbon of beach, their silhouettes were
followed closely by long shadows. Periodically they would come
upon the scattered remains of fortifications cast about like random stones. Ananda had come to realize that he had truly
crossed a great gulf of time. He was now and forever separated
from the home of his birth. Upon this realization he allowed
himself only a moment of self-pity, for there would be much
work to be done.

After several moments his equilibrium improved. He wished
now to visit the sites about the island where he could examine
first hand, the remnants of the ancient redoubts. Xora having
come along for the journey had agreed to act then as his chaperon. Though she did this firstly out of courtesy, as the day had
grown into evening she would begin to discover more selfish
reasons to stay. Together they spent the greater part of the afternoon walking the breadth and width of the island. There was
much to see, to the trained eye. However Xora's mind was left to
wander as the subtleties of the defensive arts were lost on her.
She feared she was becoming enamored with Ananda. Try as
she might to stay on the task at hand, her mind instead focused
more and more on how pleasing an image Ananda made in her
eyes. His voice too, struck a chord on whose music she was
mesmerized. Xora, long ago had decided that such things were
below her calling and so had never married. She there to fore
would find meaning to her life, in the worlds of words and ideas.
In the course of these short hours she had discovered that she
had been missing something she had before never known to exist. Ananda was the first man in some time to arouse such feelings within her. She had for a long time suppressed such emotions. She had believed those to be a thing of youth. So she was
not prepared for it. Though she imagined she had hidden well
these emotions Ananda read them easily.

Across the lonely centuries he had lain unconscious beneath the
wide sea. Though this ordeal had hardened his heart, he found
that he was in no way immune to the influences of love. There
had been a desire he had long denied. This he saw as vulnerability that he could not allow himself. Despite this his eyes were
drawn toward her. Among the dunes Xora's white silhouette
shimmered against the backdrop of gleaming sand. Beneath the
folds of cloth that held tight against her alabaster skin he imagined there revealed her soft and delicate features.He found himself suddenly in the throes of a most visceral attraction. To this he
would try to resist.

The sea breeze coming off the ocean filled Ananda's lungs. He
breathed the salted air in deeply and it brought him comfort.
There before them a great host of sea birds circled above. One by
one they dove into the raging surf to pluck from its bounty the
fish that swam there. As the sea wind blew caressing his face, he
contemplated this and all else that he had for so long missed. He
had long forgotten the simple pleasure derived from the feel of
wet sand between his toes and how the afternoon sun hung lazily
in the evening sky. His long sleep had hardened him. Knowing
now his purpose here he questioned the logic in allowing himself
this respite from his hard business. Then there was Xora, He
could see in her bright eyes the same fire that reverberated in nature all around them. There he could see all the reasons he would
ever need. In a moment of weakness he broke the promise he
made with himself not to trifle with her emotions. He found himself lost in her gaze and asked her if she would mind letting down
her hair. She as if lost in a fog of her own, without hesitation undid the comb that held tight her long auburn locks. Her hair fell
and the sun's light dancing there made a most splendid frame to
her face. He had to admit to himself that despite the ice water that
flowed through his veins this longing was powerful, and could
not be long denied. Without realizing it the pair found each other
in a lovers embrace. A long sweet kiss followed during which
time seemed to stand still.

Ananda had in sleep, traveled the empty corridor of time. During which the echo of this long stifled passion within his heart
had sustained him. Between them now this blush of emotion
though sudden, burned brightly. For the moment then he would
forget what had happened and what was about to again happen.
Back lit by the glowing halo of the sun for several moments they
stood there holding tightly onto each other. In this most human of
moments they had shared the same space. However this cathartic
expression of affection would by necessity be short lived. For
they knew the time for such things would soon end and they must
begin to prepare for the coming battle. He pulled back from the
kiss and looked longingly into her hazel eyes. Holding her now at
an arms distance he said, "My dear Xora, you seem to intuitively
know who I am, and what I must do perhaps more than myself.
Do you not?" She cast her gaze downward and nodded her head
knowingly. A set of tears rolled down her cheek onto the sand
below. Trying to maintain her dignity as well as she could, she
gathered her hair together and carefully folded and pinned it
back into a style befitting her station. With hands entwined and
the gray light of dusk upon them they made their way back to
the citadel.

After a restless sleep burdened heavily by dream, Ananda had
again awoken in Xora's guest room. He walked out onto the sun
lit balcony there to find a meal had been prepared for him. Xora
upon finding him awake came to join him there. "Good morning
Ananda. I hope you slept well. As for myself I could not keep
from tossing and turning." She had in fact worried ceaselessly
about this pact of silence to which she had agreed. She felt now
compelled to break the small talk and probe him for the reason
that required such secrecy. "Ananda, what do you think Landaus has in store for us this morning? It would sure be helpful
for me to understand your need to withhold the truth." Ananda
looked up to her from his plate and thought for a moment. Then
he stood up and spoke. "My dear Xora, I have asked you to keep
this secret of my Identity because when the time comes for me
to act, there can be no doubt as this story's validity. To imagine
such horrors is not within the capacity of the human animal. It is
not until they are upon him that they become real. I ask you,
why is it that the coming our eternal enemies from ages past has
been so long forgotten? To forget is at once its folly, and salvation. To relive over and over again these endless cycles would
be unbearable. So it is forgotten. Soon they will confronted by
their enemy. Then they must stand and fight. Until that point I
must be able to complete my preparations."

"Ananda I ask only because I know Landaus. He is very suspicious of you. I would not put anything past him. For that reason
it may be wise to lay your cards upon the table."

"I'm sure your right about Landaus he should be weary of me.
That is his job after all. Let us finish our meal and go straight
down there to meet him and see what he has to say for all I
know he could have already made contact with these creatures.
If that is true they may be ready to hear what I have to say."
Xora had arranged for a fine robe of purple silk to be brought to
his dressing room. She had hoped this would help him to appear
to others as princely as she saw him. He dressed and stood again
before the mirror. He was impressed with the image he saw there
before him. Xora walked in the room and slipped into the image
behind him. She smiled at him and put her hands firmly around
his waist. "You make a fine looking king, Hector. It is a pity we
should not have found you under more peaceful circumstances."
He responded to the image in the mirror. "It is exactly here that I
was meant to be. Then you will see that my presence here is as
much a curse as it is a blessing." She stared into his eyes for a
glimpse of the softness she had seen the day before. It seemed it
was all gone. He had awoken as hardened as the day he had arrived. She let go of his waist and stared at his image studying this
man she hardly knew yet to whose future she would be invariably
tied.