The Right To Rule

Chapter 12

Asandria stood on the roof of de’Mist manor feeling the heat of white-light embedded on the face of the hill washing over her. They were dim, just enough light to keep Spiral Pulser on the top of the hill, but cloaked in black she felt its heat swelling inside her. Night had fallen quickly at Betelgeuse.

The wind brushed her face filled with salt, the smell of the ocean, and people’s perfumes. High at the top of Crown’s Hill, the city was wide to both sides with numerous lights beaming about one could mistake it for a sky.

The sky itself still looked the same. Adored with stars of different shades of lights with Naamah making her presence, she was like a rebel sister to Orion while he move from east to west, Naamah move from west to east and she mostly do it during resting hours, and since Orion was greedy with his Celestial on living things, Naamah was generous to a fault. And with Naamah, there was a beauty, light blue with crystal blue markings that blink every thirty minutes with a shape like an egg.

Although James was a constant source of Celestial, Asandria often used Celestial she had channeled from the Naamah and had it with her for the whole month, mostly because she rarely find use to Celestial. To touch Celestial was exotic but after touching it since the age of fourteen, after a century you can miss the simple thing like walking. Ah, but threading was still divine, and that’s why I am here tonight. On the top of the manor.

It has been five days since Daylight and so far there was still nothing regarding anything about blacksteel nor was the Banker been forthcoming about his intelligence. He can burn out for all she cared. Asandria had a luxury Kepnes Rodfold didn’t have. Time. She had lived lifetimes he can only envy if he knew.

Asandria walked to the edge of the roof and smiled to herself. She felt joy creep to her, stalking her like her shadow, shy like Ceres. She had two Moonstone daggers on her both hands, threaded to her palms, and Celestial cold inside her. But she was warm, there was burning happiness inside her. The happiness of threading, the basic art of Celestial. It was like she was learning threading for the first time. The actual memory of it was lost to her, yet she was certain she felt how she was feeling. She had no actual thread herself around the city in half a decade. No, she did thread and move a block to the city below. It was a light one, just to get where she wanted faster, like the time she went to the Sanctuary, she needed to get there fast, so she flew. But today it was for fun with no destination in mind. Just to feel free in the wind.

The first art of Celestial was anchoring. It was like having a home, a place you will always find yourself at. It was to be centered, to have control, and most importantly, to define gravity. The control of Celestial energy was control of gravity.

Asandria canceled all her threads on her Moonstone daggers. She touch Celestial, lightly like she was brushing it, and she willed it to her arms. In her mind, she was floating in space surrounded by countless blue orbs not big as her fists. She was connected with the orbs, she felt them on her mind, alive with energy. She was in a place she was able to access Celestial, to draw it to her body and use it as she see it fit. The place was called the Universe, Watchers have dubbed it ‘The Land of Dreams’; the Universe was more like dreaming and dreaming dreams that came true, but here was the catch, there were restrictions and limits, and all placed by Celestial.

Maybe I should have said the Universe is the first art of Celestial, Asandria mused. Nonetheless, she understood why she didn’t name it the first art. The Universe was the control center of Celestial but it helped none in the physical use of it. I know it doesn’t make sense but you have to be in and out of the Universe in a second, five seconds at worst. Therefore mastering the Universe help none in the battle, understanding did thus the Universe not part of the art of Celestial.

Asandria threw her Moonstone dagger to the building next to her. With her enhanced ears, she heard it penetrate the wall and held its ground. The first thing to understand about anchoring was range. Fifty-one feet from the anchor was not a good thing, the anchor hold but it was not solid. It was like making dreams come true, yet dreams are not coming true. The second thing was the source. Asandria’s training at Timeless Halls had taught her the different types of sources used as an anchor. At this moment she will concern herself with Moonstone, two grades of Moonstone: pure or coated. Like anything first grade, pure Moonstone, expensive as it was, provided first-class anchoring.

The dagger Asandria had thrown was only twenty feet away. Perfect. She touched Celestial, more than she was before. Her body became chilly only for the briefest moment, and tense and light at the same time. She felt as if she weigh nothing as if the strong winds from the sea might blow her sideways.

In the Universe, she connected herself with the Moonstone dagger; it was an almost a conscious decision, done with no thought at all. Five central threads shoot from her body to connect with the dagger. Two threads came from her legs, two from her arms, and the last one from her neck. Asandria felt a slight tug from the Moonstone as her anchor made a connection.

She Pushed herself lightly to the sky. She felt a force picking her up with invisible hands. Asandria smiled as she was only five feet from the floor of the roof midair with nothing solid balancing her feet. That’s the beauty of anchoring, for a brief moment, it makes you fly.

Anchoring offered two things: Push and Pull. It was simple physics, a Push was centered towards gravity, a Pull towards the anchor. It was not always as simple as that but it was fundamental.

Asandria Pulled herself to the Moonstone dagger. The threads which her to the dagger blinked brightly once and she was pulled to the source of the anchor. It was not a violent pull that left her disoriented, it was controlled; it was perfected.

Asandria leaned forward as if she was diving with her body horizontally aligned with the ground. She kept her eyes forwards, her arms by her side, and her dark cloak flipped in the air, rustling like a dry leaf. She was like a human arrow, shooting straight to its target as wind hissed on her ears, her eyes teary and her face beaming with a smile. She felt alive. Free. No blacksteel business. No dying Vulcan on her conscience.

She flipped hundred and eighty when approached the wall where her dagger has lodged. She landed on her feet and stoop upright on the wall. Ah, the wall was my new ground. Here comes the third art of Celestial, I know I have skipped two.

Gravity Manipulation. It connecting the Universe, the source of Celestial who was the wielder, and gravity. Although Universe seemed to be unending orb filled oblivious, it was the will, the stronger the will of a wielder, the more skilled the wielder was at the Universe, thus making dreams come true became easy, if not easier. Asandria knew from the manuscript explanation, Gravity Manipulation seemed easy, it was certainly not. It was easy to stand on the wall, but harder to keep standing. However, when three worlds were connected and stay connected…

Asandria canceled her anchor, removed her dagger, and ran on the wall, and enhanced by Celestial she jumped about ten feet high midair since the roof was tiled and uneven. She embraced by the air, the noises of the city distant to her ears as she spin like a clock in one spin rotation. She threw one of her daggers with her aiming at a wall three blocks away from her, a good hundred feet or more. The dagger left her hand at a lightning speed however she was able to anchor herself with a dagger on few feet away from her.

The moment her feet hit the roof, she Pulled herself. Since her anchor was in motion, she moved as fast as it was moving. She crossed three blocks in a matter of three heartbeats. Her dagger found its mark while she was still in midair, already she was looking for a place to throw her other dagger. She found an open roof and she threw it. However, she first canceled her Pull and remove her anchor to the dagger. She repeated the same process on the other dagger. She only took a second to remove her former dagger, Pulled herself to a flying dagger. An arc of a Pull made her shoot vertically first, and straight like an arrow.

In less than a minute, Asandria was below Crown’s Hill. She landed on the steel pole with a circular white light beaming in all directions. She had her daggers on both hands, she was trying to point her direction, a destination. She didn’t have any in mind, not yet; she wanted air and a clearer mind.

It’s been four weeks since the Banker and his twenty Vulcans came to Betelgeuse hoping to buy a Ring of Fortune to craft a Radiation Artifact, stars above, it was still strange to think of Radiation Artifact, that it exists if Vulcans were to be believed. A blacksteel, ancient steel stronger than Moonstone, but only for Vulcans. She was learning yes, but her question still remained, what happened to the original moon? The lone moon before the Origin.

I think my visit to Wright Residence is overdue, Asandria thought as she jumped high, twist in the air in half rotation, and gravity send her down. She fell downwards in controlled acceleration. She knew she was falling on the busy streets, the air was filled with laughter and animated voices tangled with their elegant perfumes of exotic flowers. A gathering of the rich, ah, first and second citizens to be exact, and right in the streets. How strange.

Asandria threw her dagger with such strength it penetrate cobblestone-like butter. She anchored herself, Pushed, and canceled the anchor in a matter of a second while another dagger was flying in the air, anchoring her the moment her anchor on the other dagger was canceled. She fell to the ground slowly from her Push. She heard a lady gasp in surprise, but she was already Pulling herself she didn’t notice who gasped.

Asandria has been flying for at least five minutes when she sensed a cold, strained, and tight embrace of Celestial behind her. She would have dismissed easily if she was not midair; Betelgeuse was crowded by Watchers and it was uncommon to sense Celestial even a few paces away, regardless, this one was close behind her.

She slow down her Pull while still in midair and felt a slight tug on her that indicate her anchor was secured. She turned around to see who was following without bothering to lower herself ten feet down to the roof of what looked like an inn.

It was Suzanne Hyland, Tous’ adviser. She was wearing a bright pink dress with wide skirts with her hair done in curls. She was patting softly with her hands keeping her skirts from falling victim to wind currents.

Asandria can see her threads, fine blue lines trailing behind her which meant she Pushing. A waste of a Moonstone, but an easy retrieval since this was only an honest chase.

“Lady Asandria what a delight to see you!” Suzanne called through the wind.

“I am not certainly dressed for an occasion, I am afraid but very accommodating given the venue,” Asandria said.

“Certainly. My, you are really fast. I am blaming on the skirts but I know even without skirts I would have a hard time following you,” Suzanne replied catching her breath.

“You do look bright as a lotus.”

Suzanne smiled and look down at herself.

“Well, I was guest of honor to Gerrad Bell ninetieth birthday celebration,” Suzanne explained.

Gerrad Bell was a poet and a music composer, he had even written two or three fictions fifty years ago. He was most love throughout the city and Asandria had attended most of his show in recent years. The lad was talented.

“You will tell Gerrad I deeply apologize if I have startled his guest, and what night’s wrath is he doing his celebration in the middle of the street?” Asandria asked

“He wants societies to interact, he and former Minister de’Mist were dear friends, you know?”

I do, Peter was the one who introduces me to his shows and at times he used to drag me there like a toddler.

“If it’s not Gerrad’s case why are following me?”

“I have been meaning to have a word with you, Lady Asandria,” Suzanne said after a moment of hesitation.

“It’s regarding what Minister Oslo has requested during the Call,” Suzanne continued after Asandria after nothing. Asandria knew the request, the records of the 1800s.

“And also I had to cash in my favor from Intelligence to gather any information about Rodfold and what I have learned besides the fact that he is burning out he wants to cure his tearing. I would have laughed if I knew you were not involved, you are not one for jokes, Lady Asandria.

“Moreover, which is why I find it very interesting. The records, on the other hand, are sealed even for me. How odd indeed.”

“What! You are the third-highest ranked Watcher in this city,” Asandria said as she failed to hide her surprise.

Asandria who was keeping a calm face was surprised to learn Suzanne Hylady ranked among twenty of the best in the Order of Imperial cannot unseal the records.

“The sun has mercy on us, don’t tell me that the Justice sitting there bored at the Sanctuary can unseal the records.”

“Yes, Skylady Salene has the ranks,” Suzanne replied quietly.

Asandria Pushed herself down to the roof. She felt defeated, suddenly tired, and old. She sensed Suzanne slowly descending, Pushing herself slowly.

“Lady Asandria, may I ask?” Suzanne said the moment she joined Asandria on the roof, “what are you looking for at those records?”

“To be frank Suzanne, you Imperial hates Vulcans as much as Justice does. I am afraid I can’t trust you, but if Kepnes Rodfold to be believed, it will be the best discovery since the Origin.”

Asandria watched Suzanne smooth her skirts with her face frowning with thoughts. Troubled really.

I wonder how I might look…

“Intelligence has known about Rodfold’s ambitions since Aamon Berdal went mad and butcher those sisters. It’s not really surprising.”

Asandria laughed a little. Not joyous laughter.

“Why should they? It’s a dying last kick and they both knew that.”

Suzanne’s eyes widen as if she has made a discovery.

“But you are not…you don’t care either Rodfold live or die, but if there is a chance, a slight chance to save the future generation, you will grasp it with both hands.”

Asandria sighted. There was no point in denying anything. Suzanne had made her homework with care, the time of hiding was done, and nothing everything was in the open.

“Aren’t tired of being afraid? Of war, oh yes, there is war and it has been going on long before you and I were even born.”

Asandria met Suzanne’s eyes for a long moment. Both didn’t say anything. Asandria can see Suzanne was troubled with thoughts as much as she was.

Suzanne nodded and Pulled herself to her anchor. Asandria jumped and Pulled herself. She had already killed enough Vulcans to save the world, she didn’t the strength to kill anymore. Nor to hide from the memories of Timeless Halls. It was time to come face to face with the past. It was time she sat down with Salene.

***

Asandria sat facing Ruben directly. The grizzled man shook his wine goblet holding up to the lights. The heat artifact warmed the room. Asandria saw a light blinking on the wall, hazed blue easily to dismiss circled by an ashen metal ring. This was the more advanced artifact, on the wall was a node and she was certain there were more nodes around the house and the artifact itself had to be placed in the center for better connection.

Order of Intelligence had their own wonders, Asandria said to herself marveled by the design. She didn’t understand the mechanics of artifacts, she knew how they worked and she can identify most of them.

“It led right to Skylady Salene, well, my dearest friend, I don’t envy to be you at the moment,” Ruben said still focused on his glass goblet.

She had relayed the information she received from Suzanne.

“Did you learn the reason the Orders were called back to Europa?” Asandria asked ignoring him about Salene.

“But why Asandria? Oslo has his own sets of ears and eyes, sometimes better than mine.”

“Please don’t give me that,” Asandria said.

Ruben took a sip from his goblet, smiled, and took another one. He shook his goblet and held on his laps with both hands. He looked at Asandria, finally focused, well, that took a lot.

“This information is costly, everyone at Sky Kingdoms wants to know that. Sadly, I still can’t find the seller,” Ruben said. “But you have to admit, my dearest friend, the strangeness of the meeting and its secrets. I know you are going to say Watchers are full of secrets but all twelve Orders at once.”

Ruben shook his head and went back to his goblet. Asandria had been nursing hers, she was still troubled by the information she received from Suzanne. There was no way under the sky Salene will share the records with her.

“How about Berdal? I heard his Vulcan army continue to grow strong,” Asandria said.

“His army had not much move beyond the walls of his capital city. As long as Aamon Berdal remained at Amalthea, Watchers will let him be,” Ruben replied.

“Some Watcher might have talked sense to them. Not all Vulcans are power-driven. This doesn’t mean he won’t move.”

“You might be correct, but he held the highest rank within the court, if he was to use power, then at least he should have done something within the court,” Ruben said gesturing with his hand.

Asandria sipped her wine.

“Continue to find out about Watchers.”

“Another command, one would think you outrank of all of us Ministers, my dear friend. Isn’t that power?” Ruben raised an eyebrow.

“I have been living at Betelgeuse for a century, if I wanted power wouldn’t have done something?” Asandria said.

Ruben shrugged his shoulders, he beamed inside his goblet. Such a strange man.