Triberias: Mark of the Called

A Meeting of Sorts

V.

A Meeting of Sorts.

THE EASTERN SCAFFOLD,

420AA, After the Great Ascension.

Time in the city always moved much slower than anywhere else in the land below or so the children had been taught. Of course there was evidence to the fact from Havillah's own wanderings and she had come to deduce as well that time moved much much slower in the city than anywhere else in the world below. And so, by the time she had gathered enough courage to wade back to the viewpoint, she found that it was morning already, but the specific day she could not tell, nor could she tell if it had been week, or just several days later from the evening of that incidence.

From the position of the sun, Havillah could tell that it was dawn, that much was obvious and the scene at the viewpoint was also the same. The same patch of dark ocean with the rocky island spotting the jutting cliffs and a small beach on the western side. It was definitely the same view that they had watched as they sat on the clouds several Triveria hours before. Meaning, no one else had been here apart from her. Not Moriella not even the ever inquisitive Cjaira who always found a way to escape her training to come down there.

Havillah took a seat upon the white fluffy cloud and took to watching the sunrise, her mind deeply buried in the myriad of problems that were now besetting her. She had heard of the new decree from her mother and her mother's moods had been foul because of it. In fact, it was because of her mother's need to be alone that she had been able to come down to this viewpoint. There were not many in the city. The viewpoints that is and it was a lucky thing that few people felt the need to use them. Either that or this one was yet to be acknowledged and therefore she was able to furnish herself with that same solitude that her mother had been seeking.

As she watched on, admiring the crimsons and corals, the peach and the dark violets, the shades of blue and the swirling oranges on the canvas of an almost bare horizon, Havillah's mind drifted back to that day nine years ago and the culmination of all her troubles.

"Humans are weak. They are brash, rebellious and forgetful!" Those were the words that had been repeated every single day for those nine years at the beginning of all her lessons. Words have power or so she had been brought to believe and declaring them had led to her own undoing. The girl could not get the sentiments out of her mind and try as she may, she had failed to convince herself of the weakness of this species that continued to live periliously in that dangerous yet beautiful land below.

And now, if she didn't try hard enough, she knew, she would soon find out what it meant to be in that same situation.

Was it truly that bad? Havillah found that she could not decide. However, she was sure that she did not want to be parted from her family and definitely not in the manner of a banishment. If only the gates to the realm were fully open, then, she could have always go down on a adventure and returned, but as she had also learnt at a tender age, that too was also forbidden. Those had been her master's words, something that she was also sure that her mother would echo if the question was to pop up.

Either way I will probably end up there. Who couldn't see it? With the way that things were panning out, that would be her only conclusion.

Suddenly a shadow caught her gaze and she broke out of het self induced solemn reverie, her silver eyes squinting as they struggled hard to make out the figure that had just appeared beneath the shadows of the clouds. However, she could not make out anything. The figure had disappeared just as soon as it had appeared leaving behind it, a wisp of dark vapour that even now was quickly evaporating with the coming of the sunrise.

Havillah looked away.

It must be my eyes playing tricks on me. Evaporating shadows? She scoffed, but then her eyes zeroed on another dark form, one that was much smaller than the original shadow and that was now moving. It was moving, falling down as all around it deep swirls of the darkness that had engulfed it quickly dissipated like the dark vapour from the first shadow.

After a moment of contemplation, she realised that it was a humanoid form and that the figure was falling, falling fast into the depths of the dark cold ocean that was waiting below.

In a spur of the moment, Havillah found herself shooting down, descending the skies as she followed the figure. She sped up and like a bolt of lightening reached out a hand and grabbed the figure before it could touch the water's surface. She breathed out a sigh of relief having managed to stop it from sinking into the dark cold waters in just a nick of time. It was heavy, she groaned even as hefted it up, setting her feet precariously upon the water's surface in order to support it.

I will have to walk on it, she acknowledged, even as she dragged it, pulling the dark form across the water's surface towsrds the small beach that was on the nearby rocky island's western shore.

Havillah dropped the still humanoid form on a soft parch of sand that was further away from the tides reach and stopped to study it.

It must have been six feet tall or more. A height that was a whole lot taller than her barely there five feet and three inches. No wonder it had been so hard to carry it. With the height difference and the heavy weight it carried, any one in her shoes would have found it challenging that is, with all the factors considered.

From the first glance, she could not tell if the form was male or female as there were no visible bumps on the chest or its groin areas that she could go by. Instead, it was just plain. A plain, asexual humanoid form that made her wonder if such things truly existed. However, after a moment of studying it, Havillah surmised that it had to be a human. A human being wearing some sort of armoured suit and since everyone knew that aliens from outer planets did not actually exist that had to be her closest guess.

But why would a human being be wearing such a thing? Their latest fashion maybe? Truly this had to be uncomfortable. With their faces hidden, how could they even tell each other apart?

Slowly, Havillah traced the edge of what she now knew to be a helmet and pulled at it to no avail. Taking in a deep breath, she stood up and took another step backwards and began studying the suit again. It was obviously made to be sturdy, may be indestructible, but even as she thought on this, she noticed the different colours on the lower mid section where there were scratch marks and a puncture hole with a red fluid that was dripping around it.

Most of it had dried. No, clotted was a better word and Havillah assumed that the liquid must have been blood from a fresh wound deduced from the level of clotting that she had found there. Probably from the impact of hitting the water falling down from that elevated distance? No, she had saved it in the nick of time and she was sure that she was not responsible for those scratch marks either.

"Then, it must be not indestructible." she muttered softly to herself. "And it must be a human too. Definitely human." she agreed her eyes regarding the red fluid that had just stopped flowing from the punctured hole on the side with a thoughtful expression on her face.

A suit? She thought to hunch over. To stare at the humanoid form from a closer and even as she studied it, she wondered, What is this suit's secret? This time, she took to studying it intently and was more thorough when she took in the intricate design and mechanisms that made the suit work and then, finally she realised it!

Yes, the helmet has been made separate from the rest of the suit. She remarked even as she reached down to press a small black button that she had discovered just a few inches just below the chin.

A beep and then the suit's visor retracted into the helmet revealing the very human face of the man that was unconscious behind it.

"I knew it!" she remarked again even as she bent over to study the face of the young man.

He was of a fair complexion much unlike her own light caramel, one that had over time managed to get a permanent tan which had resulted in the evenly bronzed out colour that she was now seeing. Despite this, his skin appeared crammy and pastey, with a hint of paleness that made her believe that he was not feeling quite well. Despite this as well, his features were quite outstanding with long dark rashes, probably, the longest that she had ever seen in a man and dark moist strands that matted his forehead, peeking out from beneath his armour where the helmet had not covered his face.

The girl took in his angular face, the high aristocratic cheek bones, the strong jaw and Havillah had to admit that despite all the paleness that came from the bleeding, the man still exuded the sort of 'masculine' charm that a only a man of his stature could easily afford.

And what is that stature? She wondered to herself. She looked him over one more time and sat back to think.

"What shall I do with you?" she muttered again and reached out a hand to wipe away the wet strands that had matted his dampened forehead. As her fingers grazed his moist skin, green eyes fluttered open and she fell back even as she uttered out a cry of surprise.

***

Killion's eyes flattered open to stare into a set of large silver orbs, eyes that had been gazing down at him with a look filled with concern. He watched as the set red full lips opened up in surprise and just like that, they disappeared away from his sight. Soon he found himself wondering if he had actually seen them or his oxygen deprived brain was just playing tricks on him.

Something hit the ground beside him followed by a sharp cry of pain and instantly he knew that it had all real and that he had not imagined any of it.

There was someone next to him. Someone who had managed to open his visor and had touched his face.

The young captain struggled to turn and search for her. For the owner of the cry but a sharp pain gripped hid abdomen and he was forced to stop trying to move his injured body.

A crunch of feet on loose sand and the silver eyes were now back on him. This time, he also noticed the long black hair as well. Long black hair that hang from the sides of her head like dark curtains and the red shiny robes that covered the entirety of her body. Red and gold, he noted to himself and a skin so brown it had to be caramel, just a few shades lighter.

"You're that red streak." he croaked out with a smile, his voice sounding scratched out even to his own ears. It must have been all the screaming that he had done, he thought as he smiled again. Why do I always do this in the most awkward of situations? It must be a nervous reflex, he decided.

"A Red what?" the girl bent down to ask him, her dark eyebrows furrowed into a deep frown that illicited a chuckle from Killion's dry lips. That expression is just too comical! He thought as he wondered how to begin addressing her.

"I am not dead, which explains that sharp pain in my abdomen and my extremely weakened state." he stated knowing fully well that it was his suit that was preventing him from going under.

"No, I do not think that you are dead." she answered him and he had to restrain himself not to laugh at her thoughtful expression. "I was trying to help you though, but I do not know how remove it." She added even as she attempted to remove his helmet again.

"No! Please don't! Don't do that. " he rasped out in a bid to stop her. "This suit is what is keeping me alive!" he rasped out.

"Not for much longer I am afraid, especially if you continue to remain this adamant." She replied, her silver eyes shooting daggers at him. It was impossible but he was convinced that he had seen them glow. No, that couldn't be right, right?

"I am going to die either way, that is, if I do not make it back to civilisation on time and if the sun sets again who knows what will happen when the terrors come back."

"I can help you." The girl reached out into her robes and retrieved a small crystal bottle. She uncapped it and tipped it over into her hands and a small amount of the golden liquid flowed out into her palms even as the captain looked on curiously.

"What is your name?" she asked him as she capped the bottle and placed it on the ground beside her. She then rubbed the palms of her hands together and spread out the liquid evenly up to the tips of her fingers.

"Killion and what are you up to?" hr asked her. She did not respond. Instead, she closed up her eyes and reached her palms out to touch his forehead. Taken aback, Killion attempted to slink back but of course, he could not. He did not have the energy to do so nor could he do so with the bulk sandy ground that was lying beneath him. Therefore, he had no choice but to remain in one place, watching and studying the girl with her closed eyes and the palms of her hands pressing lightly to the sides of his forehead.

If Calla saw this she would be furious. He thought as he imagined the female sergeant with that persistent frown that she saved for everyone but him. He did not show it, but he knew. He knew how she felt about him, but he had always ignored it. It was easier that way, he told himself. Further more, he was not yet ready to commit to such a relationship despite knowing fully well that she had joined the military all because he was there. He should have been mad but the truth was, he could care less. His calling was to being a soldier and that would always come first or so he had always believed.

As he continued to think back to that particular girl and her openly jealous ways, the other girl's hands began to glimmer, a white light being emitted from the centre of her palms. The light enveloped him, starting from where her hands held him and eventually spread out from his head to his entire body. He could feel the warmth seeping through his moist skin even as it moved down and settled deep into the marrow of his bones. Slowly his flesh began to itch. He could not see it but he could feel it knitting together, the gaping holes that were in his abdomen melting with every passing moment.

As his health was finally restored, the girl's eyes opened just as his strength returned of his bones. He could now move and his skin that had once been pasty became flushed with life as he moved to sit up.

"How were you able to do that?" Killion asked, supporting himself for the very first time in over twelve hours.

"I am a Great and the emollient allows us do that." She replied with a soft smile as she dropped down to sit beside him . In her hands was the crystal bottle she had held and inside it was the remaining golden liquid that she had used to coat her hands before she used them to heal him.

"And that is the emollient?" she nodded. "What exactly is a Great? Scratch that - What is your name?" hr added as he thought better of it.

"I am Havillah, daughter of Jaykob and Tamaar, elder of the Great." She droned out automatically and he guessed that, with the ease that she had said it, that was something that she had been taught to say ever since she had been old enough to speak. You know just like your own name, only that hers was a full blown introduction that one would only expect in a royal court.

"Okay...A Great. " he murmured too lost for words to speak at the weird introduction that brought back even weirder memories. A Great, what was that? A tribe or something? He was tempted to think that the girl was loony, but he had seen and felt her power. He had felt her heal him and also seen her fly!

Hr took in her heavy shimmering robes that were of a fashion that HD had never seen or heard of before and then, there was the gold. As in real gold and not just gold coated thread and Killion felt his mind boggled.

"Honestly, I don't know what to make of all this, but thank you for helping me out. Now, all I have to do is just figure out a way to get home. Can you fly me there?" he asked as he shot her a sly grin.

"I am sorry I cannot, Killion. I am lacking enough of the First Virtue to attempt such a feat and so it would be very risky." he nodded though he did not really understand a thing that she had just said. First virtue? What in tarnation is that? The young captain thought to himself. Was it what she had used to heal me? Does that mean that it can be depleted? And if there is a first, does that mean that there is a second or even more virtues? What is a Virtue anyway?

"You do not understand any of what I am saying to you. " The girl grinned back at him and the weird expression that was now on his face.

"Absolutely." Killion laughed.

"Well... I have an idea though." She said as she griped his arm and pulled him up. "Don't let go. " she added as the air beneath their feet began to stir and ripple just like a gentle wind would do upon a still water surface. Suddenly she launched them up so high that that Killion found himself grinned with delight. He was flying, why would he not be happy? Despite having rocket thrusters in his soles, this was a speed and a height that he could only dream of achieving even with such an invention.

"For a first timer, you sure don't look that scared." she told him and he nodded his head in agreement.

I am truly bonkers to trust a total stranger to do this to me! He laughed.

"After a whole night of flying with wyverns, this is nothing compared to that."

"Wyverns?" she furrowed her brows at him and Killion nodded his head in agreement.

"Lindworms, dragons... They are reptiles that have wings and can breath fire?"

"Aah... So, that was what they were?" she added much more softly, mostly to herself. As she finished saying this, their feet landed on the clouds and she led him to a patch that overlooked the dark ocean below.

"What is this? I never thought that clouds were actually solid?" he attempted to jump to test that theory, but in the last minute, he changed his mind about it. He had already had one encounter falling and he was not yet ready to go on another sky dive.

"They are not. It is hard to explain, but it something to do with the interaction of the atmospheric pressure and the special properties of the nearby plane." the girl told him offhandedly and he could tell that she was not willing to go much further into explaining things that would probably take weeks to outline. "Anyway, we are here." She said as she sat down at the edge of the cloud. "I will try to get you home from here. If you can close your eyes and try to imagine it that would help. Can you describe it for me?" She said as she urged him to sit down.

Killion curiously raised up an eyebrow at her, but obeyed her nonetheless.

"It's a small town. A seaport town that we call it Bethesda." he said as hr closed my eyes and smiled, smiling at the images that he had began to conjure up in his helmeted forehead. 'It is part of a huge continent called Erydria with a peninsula to the east, west of Ervana sea. " he droned on as he remembered the shape of his country on the continent. As he did so, he felt the girl shift beside him, and he opened an eye to watch her, even as she turned back to the view and started to flick the clouds with her hands, changing their form and subsequently, the view that was apoearing beneath them.

What is this? Killion wondered as he finished describing it, and Havillah turned to face him smiling at what she had just uncovered.

"Is that it?" his eyes widened as his mouth gaped in surprise.

"Yes! How? How did you..." he started to ask, but then, changed his mind and decided to just smile. "Never mind, I wouldn't understand anyway, right?" she nodded.

"Shall we?" she asked him and this time, he let out a loud boisterous laugh at how formal and inviting it had sounded.

Calla would surely hate this, he snickered at his own thoughts and the girl's words that had sounded like an invitation to tango.

"I am sorry though. I'll have to drop you into the ocean." The girl said as they descended from the cloud and he raised an eyebrow in question to her. "As it is, I am not supposed to be seen by a human." she continued to explain.

"Right, because you're a Great?"

"Exactly." the girl nodded before continuing. "And I trust that you will keep this encounter a secret?" It was now his turn to nod his head and as Killion did so, Havillah hovered slightly above the water and dropped him into the ocean just a few metres away from a secluded beach. After seeing him safely into the water, the girl shot up again into the sky, the same little red blur that he had once seen and that had saved him, now disappeared back into the clouds from whence it had first come.

Did that mean then that it was real? That angels and dieties were also real ? He could not tell and that, that was a question that would continue to plague his mind for long, long after the days had passed.