Chapter Fifteen
Kieran stared back at Aliessye, the stone she held in her hands forgotten. “Everything?” he echoed. “What do you mean everything?”
“I will start from the beginning. From the very beginning.” She tore her eyes away from Kieran’s and looked back up at the stars. “I will start with the creation of the worlds.”
Kieran’s heart sank. “Is this going to be another religious story? About God?”
Aliessye frowned. “God?” Then the confusion cleared from her face. “Oh, I suppose you are referring to Authority.”
“Authority? He sounds pretty hardcore.”
Kieran saw her frown again and immediately felt like cursing. Who was he to take the piss out of their beliefs? As strange as they were, these people had taken him in, had healed him when their pests got to him. He could at least go along with what they were saying.
“Authority is a title. It is given to a creature of pure Consciousness,” Aliessye explained slowly, like she was finding it hard to put the story into words Kieran could understand. “Authority evolved from the air, from the energy crackling within it. It took time, but his understanding grew until he was a being who was aware of what he was and how he could manipulate the elements that created him. He threw energy together, creating explosions so vast that solid objects emerged from the blast. The realisation of what he could do struck him and he began to create the very rocks that formed the worlds.”
It was compelling, Kieran had to admit. He found himself staring at Aliessye like a kid with his first crush, oblivious to anything except her.
“That was how Authority came about,” Aliessye said, looking down from the stars. “Using the energy which he had evolved from, Authority experimented with the worlds. One experiment changed everything: life. It was completely unintentional, but forms he had created began to grow without his instruction to do so. Authority watched, fascinated as life blossomed in the worlds, changing into varying shapes and sizes until it was unbelievable that they had evolved from the same thing. As he observed them, his own knowledge expanded, and he realised he too must have started out the same way as these animals.
“Like Authority, they soon started to develop a consciousness about themselves and their surroundings. Charmed by them, Authority began to watch over each individual race. However, when the web of the worlds grew beyond the point Authority could sustain the way in which he cared for them; he divided himself to create others like himself who would help.
“He drew from himself Jerhal, master of voice. Jerhal furthered the way in which others communicated, bringing curiosity and an impatient need to know more. To care for the dead, Authority created Zao, a beautiful goddess who would soothe the souls passing into the Light. Morhar and Glim of harvest and nourishment cared for Authority’s creatures, bringing some from the brink of starvation. Authority created several more until he realised a messenger to connect the minor gods and himself was needed. So a messenger who was able to jump from one world to another and talk with the other gods and goddesses was created.
“Time passed and something began to go wrong, with each journey the messenger undertook, he became more and more ill at ease. People in one world were dying from a disease easily cured by a plant that was abundant in another. Some starved as Morhar failed to produce food from barren lands, while others grew fat on the harvest they collected each day. Some planets became uninhabitable, and even the messenger could not stay for long. He appealed to Authority, but was sent away, told any interference would lead to anarchy, as Authority had already witnessed similar occurrences happening among the creatures. Yet the messenger could not continue as he had, watching while others suffered. So he approached the leaders of each world and told them of others, of different worlds and how they could save their people. One by one, he took them and their guards to meet the other leaders.”
Kieran was unable to tear his eyes away from her as she talked. This was a pretty interesting creation story. Hell, he almost believed it. By the way the sadness clouded Aliessye’s eyes, it was clear she definitely believed it.
“The first Council was held,” she continued. “Much was discussed: how each race lived, how their world functioned, and how their beliefs affected their everyday lives. A bond began to grow between the leaders and they made a vow to help one another through tough times. It was clear even then that the messenger would not be there to help at their beck and call. He still went from god to god with Authority’s orders, who observed the messenger and his actions with a watchful eye, cautious after the chaos of the minor gods that had risen against him. When told of this, the messenger proposed an idea-”
“Wait,” Kieran said. “What happened between him and the other gods? You didn’t say anything about that.”
Aliessye looked surprised. “Oh, forgive me. It is just I am unused to conversing with someone who does not know of these tales.”
“Well, what happened?”
“May I finish telling you of this tale before I begin another?”
Kieran tried to keep a pout off his face, feeling like he was three years old and being read a bed-time story. “Sure. Fine. Whatever. Tell away.” For something to do, he tore at a clump of grass, tearing the blades into pieces. When Aliessye didn’t say anything, he sneaked a glance at her and saw her studying the stone again.
“The messenger proposed an idea that set all in motion,” she murmured, twirling the stone between her long fingers. “He would do as Authority had done and would break off parts of himself for the leaders to use.” She lifted the stone again.
“And thus the stones were created.”
Kieran stopped mutilating the grass, his eyes locked on orange jewel glimmering in the light from the stars. Goddamn, that thing was amazing. The way it seemed to glow…
“The leaders, however, could not leave their land for long, so soldiers were chosen to jump from world to world for them, carrying messages from leader to leader. The messenger met with those chosen and took from himself small orbs of energy, which hardened and tinted almost immediately after being separated from him. Soon the messenger gave the chosen what appeared to be jewels. Once the noise of the guards’ confusion died down, the messenger began to explain about the stones. The different colours of the stones corresponded to a certain world. To get to that world, they had to hold the stone tight and wish with all their heart to be there. He then explained how the stones would care for them. They would take them to a safe place if the one who used them did not wish to be in a certain place at a certain time-”
“But I was dropped off in the middle of a forest!” Kieran protested, shivering at the memories of those mutated trees with their branches snapping together and Sven peering down at him.
“The forest was the safest place to be. The Harpies were coming, so it was not safe out in the open or in the city. Besides, the forest isn’t dangerous.”
“Not dangerous? Are you kidding? The trees moved, made pictures…”
Aliessye sighed. “That is an aspect of our world. Brunelle is the world of dreams, so it is to be accepted that your dreams will be revealed to you. When you touch the tree, stones or any other natural feature of this world, your hopes will be drawn from you and into the tree, or rock. The only danger in this process is discovering the true nature of your heart.”
Kieran sat for a moment, thinking about his experience in the forest. He had put his hand against the tree trunk, hadn’t he? When he’d been running, too. He’d gripped the other trees to keep himself from falling flat on his face. So why had he seen Sven looking down at him and not himself as a billionaire?
He cleared his throat. “When I, ah, I didn’t see me in my dreams… I just saw a … friend. So…”
Aliessye turned to gaze at Kieran, her eyes soft with sadness. “Your friend – do they no longer live?”
“Yes.” Kieran swallowed and fixed his eyes on the distant wall, which was all but swallowed by the creeping darkness.
“Was their death…recent?”
“Yes.”
“You grieve for them; that is why you see them. I suppose you saw them as you hoped they had lived?”
Kieran nodded, feeling his eyes stinging. Yeah, that was what he hoped Sven would have. Sven had told him he wanted a wife and children while Rick paced around, talking on the phone to the master.
“What else do the stones do?” Kieran asked, his voice hardening. “Can they be used as weapons, too?” Because I sure as hell want to go back and teach the master the meaning of-
“No.” Aliessye interrupted his thoughts of vengeance right away. “The messenger didn’t want that. Besides, Authority was still suspicious of the messenger’s actions. However,” Aliessye’s voice darkened as she continued, “he was unaware of a group of people who found a way to misuse the stones.”
“Who were they?”
“The stone eaters.”
Her eyes were narrowed slits of hate as she stared at the stone, holding it tightly in her hand. “The stones are small objects of energy,” she explained, forcing her grip on the stone to relax. “This minute jewel is a piece of a god, a piece of the first true being of Consciousness. They can take anything anywhere, are aware enough to safeguard their owner. For this, they must be very powerful. Very powerful.
“Greed corrupted small groups of World Jumpers. It was discovered that if ingested or inhaled, their energy – their power – could be absorbed into the one who had swallowed them.”
Kieran stared at the small rock Aliessye held in her hands, wondering how anyone could have eaten it in the first place. It wasn’t exactly huge, but it didn’t look the nicest thing to swallow.
“However,” Aliessye continued, forever the voice of doom. “They may give power to those who ate them, but when the boost of energy faded, the person was left with a intolerable craving, a desire to feel that rush of power again.”
“Like drugs,” Kieran interrupted. “Er, sort of.”
“People began to become addicted. The messenger had sacrificed a vast amount of his power only for it to be consumed by the greed of the very people he had tried to help.” Disgust flickered across her face. “As corruption tore through the worlds, the leaders no longer trusted to send their World Jumpers to the other worlds, most were robbed and murdered. Civilisations began to crumble as backs were turned. The Council either became secret or was abandoned in some worlds.
“Witch hunts for the stone eaters ensured, leading to the deaths of many innocents. The stone eaters had a leader, it was rumoured. One who had been the first to eat the stones. One high in power of one of the leading worlds. One who preyed on the World Jumpers, seducing them and slitting their throats while they slept, ransacking their pouches for the stones.
“A group of World Jumpers were sent to find the stone eater. It was not long before they found her.” Aliessye paused, lips parted like she was nauseated. She forced the words out, each syllable looking as though it hurt her. “She was the daughter of Brunelle’s noble leader. She was my mother.”
For what felt like ages, Kieran could only stare at her, struggling to find something good enough to say. He thought his family had been bad? Try living with a psychopathic, god-addicted woman who had ruined the lives of everyone. Just for her next fix.
Then something else hit him. “How long ago was this? If she was your mother… It had to be pretty recent. I don’t remember anything like this happening back in my world.”
Aliessye smiled bitterly. “It was around a hundred and fifty years ago.”
Once again, Kieran was lost for words. This time, however, he didn’t catch himself making a smart retort quite in time.
“You look good for your age.”
While he winced, Aliessye went on to explain, “My mother slipped me a stone when I was barely a baby. She forced it down my throat. The stone slowed the process of aging for me. For those who had taken a considerable amount, it appeared as though they stopped growing older. They were frozen in place as those they loved grew old and died around them.
“I was punished for my mother’s sins,” Aliessye continued. “For two generations I was locked away, hidden from my people. It most likely saved my life, for not long after the messenger god was killed, the harpies began to-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” interrupted Kieran. “You’re doing it again. What happened to the messenger god?”
“When the news of my mother’s death reached him, he travelled to Brunelle to express his regret to her father. While he waited by the wall enclosing Junella, Authority reached down and punished him for what he had done. He had got involved, Authority told him, and as a consequence of that, anarchy had ensured, just like Authority had warned him. He was to be disciplined for disturbing the balance of life, and was shattered into a million pieces, destroying the wall while Authority destroyed him. When the people of Junella went to investigate, all that remained were the bricks of the wall, scattered across the plains. Of the messenger god they found no trace.”
Kieran nodded to himself, thinking of Rhogan and Lilac-Eyes looking sad as they passed the huge hole in the wall. That was why, then. They were thinking of the god that had been taken out of existence for helping them. That was how the wall had been broken; no nuclear bomb after all. He tried to peer through the dark at the wall, but it was useless: it had become black since he and Aliessye had sat down.
“So, um, what were you saying about the harpies?”
“Not long after the messenger god’s death, they began to plague our world. We have had them ever since.” Aliessye gazed into the black night, stroking the surface of the orange stone. “And no one knows why.”
“So, you didn’t do something to provoke them?”
“No, all that was known about them before hand was that they were servants of Zao, goddess of the dead. They are not even supposed to be here. Our myths have it that they remain on the world the gods use as their meeting place, but somehow they have found a way to our world.” Aliessye heaved a soft, sad sigh. “They are destroying us. One by one, they are destroying us.”
The silence that had settled over them both was broken by Kieran’s sudden yawn. He didn’t mean to be rude; it was just now that he’d had his bed-time story, he felt shattered. Which was silly; he’d been dead to the world for three whole days.
“Forgive me, you are tired,” Aliessye apologised, getting to her feet. “The healing effect of the water can be rather draining.” She held her hand out to Kieran. “Let me show you to where the World Jumpers of old used to sleep.”
Kieran rubbed at his face. His brain hurt from trying to figure out everything Aliessye had told him, but he found himself wanting to know more. What she had told him seemed to fit, somehow. “Are you going to tell me that other story tomorrow?” he asked through another yawn.
“Yes, if you wish.”
Kieran took her hand and paused, staring up into her face. The pale light from the stars softened her, making her look as vulnerable as Emily. “Yes," he said. "I want to hear everything."
...and Tanya took care of me 