The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (24 page)

‘I’ve been thinking about your prophecy.’ Shayne looked across at his superior in mild surprise. ‘Don’t give me that look Starborn!’ he said with a level of authority, but he turned away from Shayne’s gaze.

‘You believe in God?’ Shayne studied him for a moment.

‘I guess so,’ Hanniver said uncertainly. ‘I don’t believe in a Christian god or any other type of god for that.’ The merchants were now beginning to pass them. The wolf had now woken and it sat up and watched as they passed each other. The old man gently whipped the great beasts, driving them on. Three hounds jumped from one of the wagons as it passed and they weaved around caravans and horses in their excitement, upsetting Red Rocket who now turned to Thyman for protection.

‘Then whose god do you believe in?’ Shayne had never engaged with an Earthmen this way, actually he had never heard any of them talk about faith. Hanniver leaned back on his horse for a moment as he thought about the question. He then realised Shayne had deliberately deflected the conversation and with a slight chuckle and a shake of his head he brought the topic back to what he wanted.

‘I had 73B transfer the prophecy to written form and loaded it onto my console.’ He patted his chest where he had his computer. He did not like the
wristcoms
; preferring the freedom of the portable device instead.

‘And why do you have a transcript?’ Shayne glared at the Brigadier, he already knew the answer and was not amused. The last of the caravans passed them by and the three dogs reluctantly returned to their wagon. 

‘I thought it might come in handy,’ Hanniver said noticing Shayne’s disapproval. He then pulled the computer out, scrolling through the screen to the text in question. ‘It’s very insightful; it shows many realities of science in here.’

‘They’re a people of science,’ Shayne reminded. ‘They may be technologically primitive, but they knew of these things before the prophecy, it even states that within the story,’ Shayne pointed out.

‘Yes, but I was looking more to this,’ and Hanniver highlighted a bit of text then read it to Shayne. “The Lords of the Great Power come from another world, that the stars are not stars but are suns like our own, suns that reach further than a wizard’s mind, the next DragonLord, just like the first
Lord of Time
will come from one of those stars.” He gazed all too friendly at Shayne, ‘Do you wish to speculate?’

Shayne sighed; he was not enjoying the path this conversation was taking. ‘Other than the possible oral history of this planet being colonised by an ancient advanced civilisation?’ He glanced sideways at Hanniver, who nodded. ‘You wish a more contemporary evaluation?’

‘Yes,’ Hanniver responded. He fixed his eyes ahead, but they were dancing with excitement.

‘You think I am this dragon lord?’ Shayne asked him in earnest.

‘I think that is what they believe,’ the Brigadier corrected. ‘Listen to this; “One day an outsider will come to the land of Endaran, for it has been foreseen, he will come in chains and leave boundless.” Even with us dressing you up,’ he gestured Shayne with his modified Special Ops uniform, ‘and effectively putting you in charge, they know we treat you differently.’

‘That can hardly suggest that —’

‘— and another quote,’ Hanniver interrupted. ‘“The saviour will come from the heavens he will emerge from the mouth of a dragon, that flies swifter than any dragon with flames of blue fire coming from its belly and a tail that burns brightly and stretches far beyond the length of its body.” Sounds like a spaceship to me.’

‘Sounds like speculation to me.’

‘You cannot deny the possibility; see it from their point of view: the description sounds just like a ship breaking the atmosphere, the man sounds just like you. I’m not saying it is, you’re a man of science and probability, you can at least see that there’s a chance that some event can describe a prediction, by pure random circumstance.’

‘Yes, that’s what I think; a vague story has that power.’

‘Then why don’t we use it; why don’t we make this come true?’ Hanniver spoke with enthusiasm. 

‘Because,’ Shayne sighed deeply, ‘you should know better, it’s a very dangerous path. I haven’t learnt much about religion, but the little I have been told shows that it’s unpredictable and fickle, when looking into this with General Hendingson he made it clear that pushing religious power as a single individual person almost always ends in disaster, and I agree with him.’

‘But these guys aren’t human,’ Hanniver argued. ‘You said it yourself, you can trust them.’

‘Two problems there: One; you can only push a rational mind so far before they realise you are tricking them and lionmen are not partial to being conned and two; you’ve pointed out that there are also humans around; many more of them. We can’t risk a war, either with them, or them against each other. The
Gateway
always takes priority.’

‘A single man taking advantage of the situation couldn’t cause global war!’

‘One man can, and has done throughout all of history. Someone in your position knows this.’ Shayne glared darkly at Hanniver, his anger clear enough for the human guards and Pan’arden to turn their heads in their direction. Hanniver was unsettled by the piercing gaze and he looked away.

As he sat upon his mare, thinking, he finally but reluctantly admitted, ‘You’re right and I know it. It’s just I hate negotiations yet it’s me who always gets stuck with it.’

Shayne watched the expression of despair on his face and replied, ‘As we stand we have the advantage without adding to it. You’re just tired of travelling. Once we’ve returned you’ll be back to your usual self. It does have its merits, and could be called upon in desperate times but at this point we should continue on as we always have.’

‘Have you always been this wise?’ the Brigadier asked. A careful and deliberate smile upon his face, but he never expected an answer.

‘I respond to what I see,’ was Shayne’s predicted response.

The highway slowly veered southwards, as they made their way beyond the north-easternmost tip of the Wayel-Éaa forest. The two men continued to ride side-by-side all the while. Shayne’s opinion of the Brigadier did not change, he was a man who was fair and did what was right. The Brigadier’s opinion of Shayne on the other hand was steadily evolving and now he keenly observed the Starborn beyond the request of duty. He realised that he had stopped thinking of him as a Starborn days ago, and now saw him more as an odd and eccentric individual; frightening without a doubt; his insight was far deeper than most, but now he seemed more like an Astronaut than a Planetsider, possibly that was what he was now. He certainly carried himself like one, and the manner in which he spoke was similar to them. His Australian accent was thick, but he still had that Astronaut tone. His nature could have been influenced by his early training on the colonyships. Reports indicated Astronaut-like behaviour before the journey and degeneration so maybe he never underwent any changes. Whatever he was it most certainly was not traditional Starborn.

The city of Karmoníth rose before them, clear from any obstacle. They could now see that it was built upon an Island within a great lake. The body of water stretched beyond sight along its north-south axis. The lake’s width was much less but even so it was still impressive. They say that the only way to see the entire lake was to stand upon the top of the tower. From their location Septimus’ Tower was the only distinguishing building at their distance and it stood proud upon the highest point of the island, its great height sending a shadow over the water. looking beyond the lake fortress they could just make out the peaks of three great mountains that defined the beginning of the Southern Kingdoms. To the east was nothing but endless plains with some parts rising to reveal windswept hills and in the west was the great Wayel-Éaa forest.

Kíe leant forward on his horse and made a rumbling noise, his tail, which was still loosely wrapped around his waist, was twitching with excitement.

‘Good to be home, no?’ Pan’arden grinned with amusement.

‘One always cherishes their childhood home after being gone for so long.’

‘You should try a campaign,’ she continued to smile but at the same time her face was thoughtful and sad. ‘Nothing is sweeter than seeing your loved ones after a long and fierce war.’

‘I did not know Daleflan was much of a war?’

‘I was thinking of the disputed lands when I was still very young.’

They marched steadily towards the city. Kíe at times grew excited and brought his horse to a trot, before bringing himself under control again and waiting for the others. After a while he began to sing a song in the
Language of Kings
. He swung his guitar from his back and strummed with his hands, while he guided his horse with gentle taps of his knees and feet, she obeyed his commands without hesitation. The Karmoníth guards also joined in the song. The tune sounded merry to the Earthmen ears; but none understood the words; the few that Shayne did catch were enough for him to know it was about the city and tower.

Karmoníth sayolló ala dayoll, karnparan
íth
koon shawlla:

Da anderû ala Markeeian valhinan kullû arhma pullkartû,

da shyam ala Shingah sornaû ollon da duskû,

da píardock ala Farshian fullartanû to da
ákinû
,

ka da malold ten Ta’Orian shookû takiné da taskó

All rise to the tower; bold and beautiful.

Chapter
06

Karmoníth

“Death is a shadow that always follows the body”

                                                                 – English proverb 

They travelled a couple of hours before they were close enough to distinguish the features of the island city. At one stage they were greeted by a bird-of-prey circling high above them before it glided back to the island, perching somewhere up in the towers heights.

The city had expanded beyond the borders of its island home. On the banks of the lake rose the outer urban life. Built out from the only two bridges connecting the island to the mainland. The outer urban area thinning out as it gave way to irrigated farmland.

Karmoníth was an awe inspiring and intimidating site. Built on the remains of an ancient volcano the great Tower of Septimus; the Citadel, dominated the landscape, now empty: forbidden for millennia. The towers foundations were embedded deep within the mountainside of the island, with the massive rocky walls overshadowing the city. The Tower was at the south-eastern point. Its shadow never fell upon the city; instead it pointed out onto the water, like a great sundial. Built from rock, cement and steel, one half was stabilised with buttresses of dizzying height while the other half was held up by the natural rock formation.

East of the tower stood the white domed palace of Kérith-Árim. The top of the domes glowed pale bronze in the light, which at dawn and dusk turned to a brilliant gold. The palace was dwarfed by the tower but its shape and architecture stood alone on the island; nothing else in the city looked quite like it. To the right of the Palace, and at the base of the Tower were the teaching halls where Kíe grew up; carved into the foundation of the Septimus’ Tower. The Great Halls were dug out of the mountainside over countless generations, constructed as the Halls influence expanded. Between the Halls and the fishing docks rested the military barracks and an arena of some sort. The rest of the city was known as Lower Karmon and was made up of the living districts. The endless rise of sun-baked houses broken only by the two main thoroughfares where order pushed back the chaos that thrived in-between the wide boulevards.

The island itself was a natural defence, an extinct volcano that jutted out of the lake, sharp cliff edges dropped off creating a natural wall all along its parameter, except upon its western shoreline where a harbor rested. Despite its natural rugged defences, the ancient inhabitants also built a great wall around it, only giving way to the towers foundations which could only be scaled by the most skilled of mountaineers. The fishing docks were its only real weakness and this was also rectified by a grand fortified wall that looked like it was designed for a dam. It towered up several stories, meeting the same height as the defensive walls on each side. The “dam-wall” had a gateway at each end. with a road sloping gently down each side of the entrances, almost meeting in the middle.

Shayne and the party were greeted by the provincial citizens as they approached the northern bridge. News had reached the city of their imminent arrival and the natives loosely stretched out towards the guardhouse waiting for a glimpse of those from the stars: men, women and children; lion, human and beast, all gathered silently to watch them pass before following them on foot. The gatehouse was open to the day’s traffic with a few shytarda guards standing at attention. The dragon flags of Kérith-Árim gently swayed in the breeze above them. The commanding guard stomped a foot in attention at their approach, raising a horn to her lips a loud call rang out across the lake, a few moments later it was answered by a deep mournful cry from beyond the city walls. The order in which they crossed the bridge was much the same as when they entered Keemaíth. Shayne rode more confidently now upon Ulossa; he held the reins in one arm and let the other hang at his side as he observed the people and structures. The bridge was wide enough for easy traffic flow either direction, but those who were on it moved to the sides to allow the company plenty of room to pass, many of them then followed behind.

Their bridge was the shorter of the two at just under a kilometre but by sight it was more spectacular as it curved around to meet the city. The bridges were built in two arched layers, with the lower arches being wide enough for small fishing vessels to pass through and try their luck in the great horseshoe falls. That part of the lake was rough and dangerous; the main inlet being the Whydearfin river, churning the water with deadly currents. Those famous falls were not visible from the road but they could hear the constant sound of falling water, even in the city the sound of the falls could be heard; soft and reassuring in the background. The bridges were not your typical pre-industrial structures. They were still constructed from primitive materials, but it was divided in places between rock and wooden design. From the first guardhouse rose the stone foundations that stretched outwards, but a hundred metres along the top structure made a transition to great wooden support beams which stretched across at least forty metres before returning to stone, this was repeated again near the middle. Both bridges had the two wooden sections dividing the first half of the bridge from the second. At first the Earthmen thought it was repair work, but on closer inspection Shayne saw it was carefully structured. Kíe explained from behind him that it was a siege bridge; if someone attacked they would destroy this part of the bridge to make it harder for invaders to reach the Island Fortress.  Shayne looked at a couple of the beams and saw that they were wedged and that the fall of a heavy hammer would crack a vulnerable position on the bridge; there were several of these wedges running along at different points on either side.

As he contemplated the bridge he could not help but notice the gradual increase of natives following them. Those already on the bridge before them shuffled to the sides, watching them pass. The silence from the locals was daunting. No voices could be heard and the only sound was the horses’ hooves on the stone cobbles and the distant falls. Approaching the main gates and defensive walls the Earthmen were able to comprehend the sheer scale in which everything was built. The gates were staggering in size, dwarfing anything they’d seen in Keemaíth and their defences were in pristine condition, with any crack or damage replaced the moment it was discovered. The walls closest to the mainland were also protected by a complex series of towers and ballistae, whether these extra defences saw action was uncertain, so long ago had Kérith-Árim been successfully invaded or threatened.

The city gatehouse was adorned with vertical flags; the blue and white Kéirth-Árim dragons draped down the stone work and on each corner of the gate stood a dragon statue; their watchful gaze staring into the distance, forever guarding the island from the outside. Once the party passed the threshold a lionman guard above them raised a horn and blew the deep and long call. An honour guard of shytardas snapped to attention, their numbers stretching all the way up to the palace walls. Each stood to attention with their halberds and long decorated shields. Flag bearers stood between them, their banners flickering in the wind as they greeted their guests.

Behind the guards stood a sea of lionmen and humans, with many more flocking in as rumour of the Earthmen’s arrival raced through the city. At first they watched in silence but a murmur began to rise; until eventually their voices started to unify in a single phrase; ‘
Afrada ala Hama,
’ the sound rang out like thunder as thousands of people joined in the chant, his shortened name started to dominate the chanting until all that could be heard was: ‘Afra’hama, Afra’hama, Afra’hama,’ accompanied by countless people raising their right arms in a native salute.

Amongst the great crowd children could be seen pushing between the adults and climbing onto anything high enough to get a glimpse of the strangers. They too called out his name in the excitement. Various kinds of creatures moved among the crowd. Those that could climb joined the children on the rooftops, running along in the excitement but the most obvious were the hounds that were barking fervently beside their masters.

Shayne slowly rode up the road, gazing calmly out at the masses of people. He could not help but feel moved by the reception, but it also troubled him. The others riding with them also felt the power of the unified movement, the Earthmen were all stirred by it and rode with their backs straightened in pride, and even Pan’arden who had never seen such an event was left in awe.

Beyond the chanting crowd Shayne was also captivated by the city itself. The homes all pushed together, built upon each other and forever lost in obscure boundaries. The intermeshed buildings followed the rise of the island. The buildings were a chaotic mess of mudbrick, wood and stone. Despite its muddled structure it was deliberately planned; interlaced and entangled so only the oldest and surest of minds could easily navigate. The poorer homes that were closest to the city walls were an integrated network of conjoined buildings; littered with narrow streets and passageways that children forever roamed and explored. Hidden treasures could be found all over the island in those tiny back streets, secret gardens and hidden resting places, long abandoned tunnels and underground bunkers connected seemingly unrelated regions. Those that were better off had courthouses; some of which were shared by multiple homes as a private common area. The rich houses were their own small fortresses with their own walls and gates; the status symbol of wealth, but even they seemed to become lost amongst their neighbours as they all merged together. The city gave rise to the saying, “only in Karmoníth can one lose his own home.” These back streets all bent and broke off into strange places. Most roads had shade cloth hanging from the roofs; blocking the midday sun, and even the narrowest of streets were filled with smells of cooking and the laughing of children. Outside the unusual event of the Earthmen’s arrival any street wide enough would have an assortment of traders stalls full of any kind of legal (and sometimes not so legal) goods. Traders called out to anyone passing by in the hope to entice them to their wares. Singing and music was always heard, though the singer was not always visible and the elderly played board games to pass the time. There truly was no place quite like the city of Karmon.

As their beasts made their way upwards the island flattened out for the first time in what appeared to be artificial landscaping; broken by two distinct levels. The first level was a cross between a boulevard and open park land separating the palace walls from the Lower district, the second level being that of the Palace itself. The manmade flats were only broken on the East where the great Citadel tower resided on the extinct volcanos peek.

The Upper-Karmon parkland was mostly cultivated grass with more extensive greenery growing in carefully selected gardens. The trees were currently in flower, covered in brilliant purple flowers like a Jacaranda. Several monuments and paved mosaic areas were also scattered throughout the park for casual gatherings. Their road merged into the boulevard where they turned left and followed it along. As they made their way to the gates of the Palace the open parkland vanished under a wave of people; flooding into the boulevard gardens trying to follow the Earthmen. Over the treetops they could make out the roof of the only building constructed along the garden barrier, a temple dedicated to the DragonGod Ominiue, situated further along towards the eastern thoroughfare. Despite the beauty of the gardens the Earthmen could not help but be drawn to the tower which loomed high above them, forcing them to crane their necks to see its top, it was on the scale of a standard skyscraper and would have been a feat of engineering on the scale of the Egyptian Giza Pyramid, no other pre-industrial civilisation they have discovered had built such tall buildings, more indirect evidence that once this culture was on the cusp of technological advancement, or at least the Afradians were.

They came to a halt at the palace gatehouse. The doors were made of steel that rested in a groove. Four lionmen guards stood proudly before them: two males and two females. Their helmets and armour were reminiscent of the Afradian set Shayne was shown in Keemaíth. It was strange to see the style upon the lionmen frame after the Bohanese simplicity. They had navy blue cloaks with white lining; a blue crested plume sat upon their helms like the ancient Greeks. They held long oval shields that were gold gilded with elaborate patterns. All four were accompanied by feline creatures, two of which appeared bigger and fiercer looking than Thyman. After Shayne’s exposure to the Bohaníde lionmens practical and simple nature these guards appeared well out of character. The Kérith-Árim Imperial and Tower Guards were a tradition going back to the days before lionmen dominance and little had changed. These Imperial Shytarda were amongst the most skilled warriors in the land: handpicked from the
guardianships
and armies of the lionmen nations. The Imperial Guards, unlike the city shytarda and the Tower Guards were all lionmen.

Shayne sat upon Ulossa as the guards silently greeted them. Pan’arden and the Brigadier General remained just behind him and Kíe and Lieutenant Rae behind them. One of the shytarda’s stepped forward and called for the Gate Keeper.  The faint sound of running water followed the order and a series of cranking noises broke out as the great steel door steadily glided along the grooves in the ground. The structure revealed a second door on the inner side, opening out like a curtain drawn at a theatre, as both doors pulled into the walls they revealed a set of steps leading to the Palace landing. They were signalled by the Imperial Shytarda to continue once the doors ceased moving; their great bulk coming to rest inside the walls with a loud thud, silencing the cranking. While their mounts road up the isle of stairs the Earthmen and some of the Bohanese warriors looked along the defences to comprehend the mechanism, but nothing was revealed on the other side except for carvings within the wall masonry following them up onto the second landing.