Izikiel (3 page)

The
endless blackness of space unfolded before him in every direction. Punctuated by stars and planets it was a living, evolving creation. He travelled at the speed of thought, propelled along invisible solar currents. Time seemed to stand still as planets paused in their orbits. The light from a million stars remained steady. Nothing moved. Then he felt it, a growing sense of heat. Twisting around, he tried to locate its source. But no matter how hard he tried he was unable to look directly at it. The heat reached a scalding temperature and continued to rise. Finally, he managed to turn around. He found himself staring directly at the now familiar plasma tendril. The heat was making his eyes water. He could feel the sheer power emanating from it.

T
here was something else there too. Something he had not felt before, a sense of understanding. That surprised him. He slowly reached out with his right hand. Pain exploded within him as a distant image of a red spiked beast forced its way into his mind. Opening his eyes, he instinctively brought his right arm up to his chest.

‘
Your wounds have been healed,’ Te’Anne’s voice reassured him.

Izikiel inspected his arm
, noting the faintest of scars.

‘
What happened?’ he asked.

‘
Da’Amo and his people came to our aid. They healed us and brought us here.’

Izikiel looked around
. They were inside an enormous cavern. Grey rock walls, glowing faintly, stretched up as far as he could see. Gigantic stalactites reached down towards them, while equally sizeable stalagmites clawed their way upwards. Several people, dressed in simple white robes, strolled along the thick green grass. Izikiel marvelled at the vegetation while at the same time wondering how it could survive underground.

Then he heard it
; the sound of running water. Standing up, he took several steps until he found himself at the edge of a fast running stream. Staring at the water, a pair of steel grey eyes framed by a youthful face looked back at him. His hair was light brown in colour. Prominent cheekbones accentuated his long, narrow nose. Looking at his own reflection, Izikiel found a stranger staring back at him. Bending down, he scooped up a handful of water. It was icy cold, making him flinch. Splashing the water across his face, he looked over at Te’Anne.

‘
Where are we?’ he asked.

‘
This is an underground cavern, far below the surface of the desert. I have heard of such places but I’ve never actually seen one until now,’ Te’Anne replied.

‘
What about Xavier?’

‘
He’s here, somewhere. I’m sure that he’s fine,’ Te’Anne said, her voice betraying her concern. Before Izikiel could say anything else they were interrupted by the arrival of a white robed man. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with a flawlessly youthful face and flowing white hair. A pair of green eyes looked directly at them as he spoke.

‘
Forgive the intrusion. Da’Amo is waiting for you in the audience chamber. Please follow me.’

Turning around
, the white robed man walked along the banks of the stream deeper into the cavern. Izikiel and Te’Anne walked closely behind him. They passed through a doorway of sorts where several stalagmites had interwoven together to form an archway. Inside, they found themselves in a chamber filled with dozens of white robed people. All waited silently. Izikiel and Te’Anne walked up to the stone dais in the centre. As they reached the foot of the dais, their guide left them to join the others.

Izikiel’s gaze followed him
as he looked closely at those in the chamber. Each wore the same white robes and had very similar features. No, not similar, he realised. They all looked exactly the
same
. All were male and had green eyes, white hair and looked to be in their early twenties. Puzzled, Izikiel was about to share his observation with Te’Anne when a slight motion swept through those assembled.

Looking up at the
stone dais, Izikiel was just able to make out a figure cloaked in black moving towards them. Their face was hidden. He was unable to tell whether it was a man or a woman.

‘
Welcome, Izikiel,’ a deep voice resonated throughout the chamber.

‘
How do you know who I am?’ Izikiel asked, surprised.

‘
I have been expecting you for a long time now,’ the voice continued as the figure moved closer. Izikiel was still unable to see their face but a strange feeling was beginning to build within him. Thoughts of the flaming plasma began to encroach on his mind as he struggled to hold them at bay.

‘
What do you mean? Who are you?’ he asked.

The black robed figure finally stepped into the light cast by the glowing rocks. Izikiel sucked in his breath as he beheld a face which had been burned nearly beyond recognition. The man’s skin had
healed but it was difficult to recognise him as human. Folds of new skin had grown over scarred tissue, creating a deeply marred texture. A pair of milky white eyes stared directly at Izikiel from the disfigured face. Lifting an equally scarred left arm, the man gestured around the chamber.

‘
I am Da’Amo. Welcome to my home.’

The white robes assembled within the audience chamber slowly bowed their heads one by one. Watching them, Izikiel’s mind produced a distant memory of worshipers showing respect to their messiah. Looking at the black robed figure standing atop the
stone dais, he suspected that he wasn’t far from the truth.

‘
Leave us,’ Da’Amo commanded.

The white robed men
raised their heads and filed out of the audience chamber. Only Izikiel and Te’Anne remained. Stepping down from the dais, Da’Amo reached up and pulled back his hood. Te’Anne gasped as the man’s head was revealed.

Da’Amo’s scalp was in even worse condition that his face. No hair
remained and his ears had been reduced to small ridges of flesh. Folds of new skin had sealed over much of his head. Izikiel marvelled at how the man had survived such a burning.

As if sensing his discomfort, Da’Amo said,
‘Do not be ashamed. All those who see me for the first time are surprised by my appearance.’

‘
What happened to you?’ Izikiel asked, lowering his gaze in embarrassment.

‘
This is the price one pays to become a true believer,’ Da’Amo replied calmly, his vapid eyes continuing to look directly at Izikiel. Flinching slightly under Da’Amo’s unwavering gaze, Izikiel absently wondered if he could actually see him.

‘
You mean the Eternal Flame?’ Izikiel asked.

‘
Yes’

‘
But how could you allow anyone to do this to you?’ Te’Anne asked.

Turning his sig
htless eyes towards her, Da’Amo’s face contorted into something which Izikiel identified as a smile.

‘
I did this willingly. Becoming one with the Eternal Flame is the final step in demonstrating ones faith.’

‘
But...why? Why would anyone do this to themselves?’ Te’Anne exclaimed, falling back a step in apprehension.

‘
True faith and joining with the Eternal Flame allows you to move into a different state of awareness. It also grants you power.’

‘
What kind of power?’ Izikiel asked.

‘
The power to affect the Universe around you, much the same as the Eternal Flame does. In the old days, before the colonisation of space, mankind existed on a single planet called Earth. It was there that an ancient language was first uttered, the language of the Eternal Flame. That language holds incredible power.’

‘Wait! I heard a voice speak a word that I couldn’t understand just after we were attacked,’ Izikiel said, recalling the encounter with the desert wolves. ‘That was you?’

Da’Amo attempted a smile again as his mouth
opened and he spoke a single word.

‘
Aduro
’

The palm of his right hand erupted in blue flame. Te’Anne and Izikiel
sucked in their breath, suitably impressed.

‘
Incredible! Da’Amo, I had always thought you to be a simple trader. But this...’ Te’Anne’s voice trailed off as she groped for the right word.

‘
My disguise was necessary to hide what I am and to protect those who live here. I fear that by rescuing you I may have attracted the attention of the Void Lords. But I knew that I had to act. To save you,’ Da’Amo said, pausing only to turn his sightless eyes towards Izikiel. ‘To save Izikiel.’

‘
But how do you know who I am?’ Izikiel asked, a strange sense of discomfort rising up within him as he felt another memory stirring in the depths of his mind.

‘
I know because I am one with the Eternal Flame. And you are Izikiel, the first true disciple in almost a thousand years.’

Izikiel’s
mind raced as he struggled to comprehend what he had just been told. He attempted to find something within him that would indicate that it was true. But there were only vague, incomplete memories. Miniscule fragments of names and places. Nothing solid or complete that would help him to make sense of this latest revelation.

‘
But I have no memory of whom or what I am. How is this possible?’ he asked.

Da’Amo
looked at him for a moment before turning and walking across the chamber towards the other side. He stopped in front of a large doorway sculpted into the cavern wall.

‘
You were brought here by the Eternal Flame. It is your destiny to challenge the Void Lords,’ Da’Amo said, before he disappeared through the doorway.

Izikiel
closed his eyes as he attempted to remember how he had arrived on the planet. A series of dormant memories rose up from within as his mind conjured up vivid images of a flaming solar trail leading to a devastated planet with twin suns. Izikiel found himself looking at it from space. He could clearly make out a cluster of lights and a single domed structure denoting civilisation on the night side of the planet. He wiled himself towards it but instead found that he was accelerating into the northern polar cap. As his speed increased, he pushed against it with every fibre of his being. But he was powerless, unable to affect his trajectory. The ground loomed up before him. Dazzling white sand exploded in his eyes and he blacked out.

O
pening his eyes, Izikiel looked at Te’Anne. Her green eyes registered concern.

‘
I remember,’ Izikiel said. ‘I remember coming to this planet, being swept along on a solar trail and landing on the northern polar cap. Try as hard as I could I was unable to steer myself towards the settlement on the other side of the planet.’

‘
New Babylon,’ Te’Anne said. Her eyes clouded over for a moment as she seemed lost in thought. ‘The settlement you speak of is the New Babylon trade outpost. It is the only functioning star port on the planet.’

‘
Then we must go there. I don’t know why but I know I must go there.’

Te’Anne nodded her head
as the two of them stepped through the doorway into the side chamber. Inside, the walls were sheathed in a shimmering metal with black conduits running through them. There were several glowing images projected into the air which Izikiel recognised as holographic displays. The centre of the small chamber was occupied by an array of what appeared to be surgical equipment. Probes, scanners and other devices hung suspended from various flexible metallic appendages. In the centre was a single steel slab. Xavier lay on the slab, his body half covered by white gauze. A dozen robotic arms swivelled frantically across parts of his body, splaying green beams of light into his tissue.

‘
No!’ Te’Anne cried out as she ran towards Xavier.

Izikiel
experienced a sense of nausea as he noticed that most of the man’s right arm had been ripped off. Dozens of deep gashes marred his chest, while one of his eyes was covered with a thick green fluid. His stomach turned as bile rose up into his throat. Turning away, he found himself looking directly at Da’Amo.

‘
I am sorry. I barely got there in time to save your friend,’ the true believer apologised in a solemn tone.

‘
Will he...be alright?’ Izikiel asked, taking a few deep breaths.

‘
I was able to stabilise him. The medical robots will do the rest. It will take some time to rebuild his arm and chest. Much longer for his eye.’

Nodding,
Izikiel looked around the room. The equipment was truly astounding given the desolate landscape above.

‘
Where did all of this come from?’ he asked.

‘
This is one of the last surviving pieces of advanced technology from the Great City. It has remained here for centuries, protected from the elements and the passage of time.’

‘
You mean this chamber is…?’

Da’Amo looked around before returning his sightless gaze to Izikiel. When he replied, it was as if a heavy b
urden were weighing on him.

‘
Yes. Like the rest of the cavern you have seen this was all part of the Great City. It was once a place of learning and knowledge, filled with thousands of people. Now, I’m afraid, this is all that remains of the stronghold of the Eternal Flame.’