The End of Time Chapter Three (Part C)

With this part, the monster of a chapter is finally over. There won't be another chapter like this until sixteen, so breathe easy, everyone! Again, this picks up directly after the last part (no scene break).

I'll happily return reviews.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Tey’s first foolish thought was that she’d been bleached of all color. She certainly looked it—her skin was not just pale but white, and her floor-length hair, spilling like ripples of water around her, was even whiter than her skin. Yet she wasn’t an old woman: she couldn’t be older than forty, and there was some sort of elegant poise in the way she was sitting, straight upright, her hands folded demurely in her lap.

“Hi, Aiday,” said Jyuna, sounding unenthusiastic.

So this was Aiday—not a monster, but a woman. She looked up, slowly, turning to face Jyuna and Tey, but her eyes didn’t focus on them. They were, Tey saw with a sick jolt, the milky white of a blind woman’s.

“You have returned, Jyuna,” she said, her voice a soft whisper. “It has taken you some time. And you have someone with you. As I predicted.”

“Oh, shut up,” growled Jyuna, seizing Tey by the wrist. Tey automatically tried pulling away, startled by the contact, but Jyuna just tightened his grip.

“Idach is waiting to see you,” said Aiday.

“I assume you informed him of our arrival,” said Jyuna. Tey dimly registered that Jyuna had said our, that he was referring to the both of them.

“Yes. He is in his chambers.” Tey didn’t quite like the distant, formal tone Aiday was taking—as if she wasn’t really there, but in a world of her own. “He is most displeased with you, by the way. You were only to spend two days in Theratolia, yet you have returned after a full seven.”'

“I just—I got caught up in random syka,” said Jyuna darkly. “You can’t blame me. Come on, Tey, let’s go.”

“Wait—” said Tey, supremely confused and wanting to know more about this strange, pale, Aiday woman.

Jyuna, however, marched Tey out of the room with undue strength, securely drawing shut the beaded curtain behind him. He let out a deep sigh, as if recovering from an ordeal, after they exited the room.

“What? Who was she?” said Tey, his head spinning. “And who’s Idach?”

“Idach is the boss,” said Jyuna, glowering at the beaded curtain before heading down the walkway the archway had opened into. “The Leader of Presulis. Aiday is his wife.”

“That woman—she’s someone’s wife?” Tey struggled to wrap his mind around the concept. In his experience, wives were loud, sturdy women who yelled at their husbands and boxed the ears of street boys who fought with their own children. That blind, washed-out woman seemed more a creature of magic than anyone’s wife.

“Yeah. She’s barren is what I’ve heard, though,” said Jyuna. “He married her for her skill with divination magic, not for heirs. She sees anything and everything, or so says the boss.”

Divination magic. Tey didn’t know much about it, except that even among magicians it was regarded as a disreputable branch at best. “But she’s blind,” he said. “How can she see?”

Jyuna laughed and, to Tey’s surprise, patted him twice on the head. Tey buckled under the strength of the pats. “She senses magic, and listens to the ripples in her pool or whatever. But who cares. It doesn’t do getting mixed up in those kinds of things.”

A third, harder, pat. Tey was surprised he didn’t just buckle over from the force of the gesture—and it annoyed him that Jyuna was patting him in the first place, like he was a child or a pet.

“All right, we’re going to see the boss himself,” said Jyuna, and without preamble snatched Tey’s wrist again and began leading Tey down the walkway. Once more, Tey felt a stab of annoyance. Why did Jyuna insist on treating him like a helpless child? He was already sixteen, and had spent most of his life on the street. He was no sniveling, pampered brat.

Jyuna paused before an archway larger and grander than the others, this one edged with tiles of jet and a dull ocher-red stone, forming intricate patterns. It, too, had a curtain hanging over it, one of sumptuous dark red cloth. Tey almost wanted to reach out and rub the cloth between its fingers, to feel its softness, but suppressed the urge. It wouldn’t be right.

Apparently Jyuna felt no such hesitation, for he brushed the curtain aside with a single dispassionate gesture and then led Tey inside. Tey shivered as the soft cloth of the curtain brushed against his back, cool like water.

And then they were inside a room, larger than any Tey had seen before in the palace. Yet it was starkly furnished, its only furniture a bed in the corner, a wardrobe pushed against the far wall, and a simple wooden desk beside the bed. On the wall above the bed was the only truly elaborate aspect of the room: a bas relief carving of the Protector standing tall, his staff aloft, circles of magic surrounding his powerful form.

Sitting on the bed, immersed in a black-covered book, was a man. As Jyuna approached the bed, he suddenly sank to a low bow on one knee, pulling Tey down with him. Tey bit back a yelp as his knees hit the flagstone floor, and he hurried to copy Jyuna’s pose as best he could, his head lowered, hands folded over one bent knee.

Whoever this man was, he was important—important enough for the irreverent Jyuna to bow in obeisance to him. He had to be the “boss”, Idach.

Maybe he’d have answers.

“Rise, Jyuna,” said the man, his voice rich and deep and powerful. Tey suppressed a startled shudder; foolish as it was, he thought that the man sounded exactly like he’d imagine the Protector to sound: proud, self-assured, commanding.

Jyuna immediately stood, dragging Tey up with him. Tey hugged Jyuna’s side, shivering from a sudden chill. Maybe not a chill, but just his own nervousness…

“So you’ve returned,” said the man, rising slowly from the bed. Tey forced down a gasp—he was easily the tallest man Tey had ever seen, towering over even Jyuna. Like Jyuna, he wore his hair long, only his was dark, glossy like volcanic glass, falling almost to the floor. He didn’t let bangs dangle over his eyes like Jyuna did, but pulled his hair back tightly, emphasizing his high forehead and heavy dark eyebrows. His movements were slow, controlled, rife with power, and the physique beneath his simple gray robe was well-built.

Tey felt ready to faint from the man’s sheer presence. He’d never met anyone before with such a strong aura, such confidence burning in such dark eyes. A part of Tey almost wanted to throw himself at the man’s feet, and offer himself to whatever cause the man demanded him to be part of. He managed to suppress this irrational urge and remained upright, trembling.

“It took you quite some time,” the man continued, taking deliberate step after deliberate step towards Jyuna. His skin was the same color’s as Nendo’s, the same shade of burnished copper, Tey noticed with a faint stab of longing. “Seven days, as I recall, is five more than two.”

“I can do math, Leader Idach,” said Jyuna. The words weren’t sarcastic, though, but intoned quietly. Respectfully.

“Of course you can,” said Idach, a hint of sardonic humor entering his voice, never removing his dark eyes from Jyuna’s face. “You have, however, brought me a potential new recruit…?”

“Yes, him,” said Jyuna, and before Tey could protest Jyuna had shoved Tey forward, directly in front of Idach. Tey swayed on the spot, taken aback at becoming the strange charismatic man’s focus. He didn’t dare meet Idach’s eyes, so settled for staring at the hem of Idach’s robe.

“Look up.” The command was sharp, imperious. Tey gulped and quickly obeyed. He was about level with Idach’s chest, but though that Idach meant eye contact, so looked into Idach’s face, even though he felt powerless, almost naked, in the leader’s commanding gaze.

“Your name is…?” said Idach, accentuating each syllable carefully.

“T-Tey, sir” stammered Tey.

“There is no need for the ‘sir’,” said Idach, a note of—not kindness, but something lighter than his usual tone—entering his voice. “You may address me as ‘Leader’ or ‘Leader Idach’.”

“Er—yes, Leader Idach,” said Tey quickly, his face flushing. He’d never been comfortable dealing with authority, as usually all the authorities wanted to do was yell at him and beat him; there was something different about Idach, true, but that didn’t make him any less scary.

“Very good,” said Idach, jerking his head in a fraction of a nod. “Tell me, Tey, why do you want to join Presulis?”

Tey actually took a step back, astonished by the question. Did Idach actually think that Tey wanted to join his little resistance group voluntarily? Tey didn’t even know what the group was for.

“What—well—I don’t know,” he said in one embarrassed rush. “I mean, I was just looking for my friend Nendo; I don’t, I don’t even know what Presulis is—”

He lowered his gaze to the floor, his cheeks burning. For a moment silence hung over the room, then Idach spoke.

“Jyuna, did you not tell the boy why he was joining Presulis?”

“We-e-ell…” said Jyuna, drawing out the word into three syllables. “I was just impressed by what I saw of him. He’s very obstinate, very determined. Especially for a street kid.”

Tey didn’t know why, but the heat in his face magnified when he heard Jyuna’s compliments. Maybe because it’d been years since he’d last heard a compliment…

“Hmm,” said Idach. “Interesting…you tend to be an excellent judge of character, Jyuna, so I’ll take your word for it. However, this boy—Tey—needs to be made aware of just what he will be joining, don’t you agree?”

“Of course, Leader Idach,” said Jyuna rather too quickly.

Tey just remained standing where he was, listening to the two men—Presulis members—decide his fate for him, as if he wasn’t there. As if he didn’t have a choice.

But he didn’t. He’d been dragged all this way; there was no turning back now. He didn’t even know where he was; he might not even be anywhere near Theratolia. All he could do was make the best of his situation, and that started with finding out just what Presulis was.

“Presulis,” said Idach, now addressing him, “is an order that I have created to oppose the degeneration of Aetan society.”

What? Tey had been lost at “degeneration”. He stood politely, though, pretending to listen.

“We are the children of the Protector, and strive to serve his will as best we can,” continued Idach, his voice rising magnificently. Tey chanced a look up: Idach was now facing the carving of the Protector, watching it with something close to reverence. “And that means facing against the forces that would turn Aeta into a joke. A toy, a mere plaything of the Coalition of Worlds.”

Tey’s heart plummeted; this was politics. Had he inadvertently joined a political organization?

“Once we were certain of who we were,” said Idach, oblivious to Tey’s sinking feelings. “Once, we were Aetans—mages, warriors—and we were proud of it. We took pride in our independence, in our heritage, in our reverence for the Protector and the other Founders.”

Idach turned away from the image of the Protector, shaking his head sadly, his long dark hair flowing around him. Tey remained rooted to the spot, watching Idach. Despite himself—despite the dull subject matter Idach was expounding on—Tey was entranced. He wanted to hear more, to hear more of Idach’s rich and powerful voice expound on a cause that obviously meant a great deal to him. And the thing was, Tey was starting to believe him. It felt right, everything Idach was saying. His words rang with the heavy certainty of truth.

“And now, now,” said Idach, lowering his voice into a conspiratorial tone, “what do we have? We have rebels seeking to undermine the foundations of Aetan society. We have a heavy-handed government attempting to assert control over the independent peoples of the planet—our friend Jyuna can attest as to what they’ve done to Ajyad. We no longer have strong warriors for leaders, but weak-bellied politicians whose only thought is to appear acceptable to the outsiders from the Coalition.

“We have given our Normal Quarter Square to the offworlders—just look at that accursed spaceport.” Idach spat the word as if it was something foul. “Our highest ranking citizens dress like offworlders and attempt to imitate them in everything. They forget their own magical heritage. Aeta has sold herself. She is now paying the price.”

The way Idach said the last words—icily, like a threat—sent chills running down Tey’s spine. He still didn’t entirely understand what Idach was saying, yet again it felt right to him. He found himself remembering one afternoon about two years ago, when a group of offworlders in tight-fitting dark clothes had stomped through the streets, kicking at anything that came in their way and making disparaging comments about how run-down everything was…they’d pushed Nendo over, he remembered…

Unbidden, anger rose and clenched at Tey’s insides like a fist. He fought it back, focusing his attention back to Idach’s rich voice.

“Presulis aims on rectifying what has gone wrong. Make no mistake—we are not fire-breathing revolutionaries. We merely want to follow the will of the Protector. And that means expelling all the dangerous, foreign influences that have crept into our society and corrupted it from the inside out. The offworlders who have castrated our leadership, who give funds to the rebels. They want us to become like them, decadent, degenerate, corrupt. Presulis refuses to follow them into self-destruction. We will revitalize, and renew, our planet. And we will be carrying out our Protector’s will, every step of the way.”

His voice grew soft, almost admiring, with the last words. Tey chanced to look up and saw that Idach was facing the Protector’s image again, his arms spread before him as if beseeching the Protector for guidance. Something tightened in Tey’s heart, but he didn’t understand why.

“So…you want me to join,” said Tey, his head spinning. He just felt so—overwhelmed. By everything that had happened. The Ajyadi separatist meeting, Jyuna trying to strangle him, accusing him of being a spy. Jyuna then taking him in a burst of red fire to the palace. Meeting Kiri, then Dr. Cadmus, then Aiday. And now this, standing in front of the Leader of Presulis as he declared himself to be carrying out the will of the Protector.

“Yes,” said Idach. “As I said before, I trust Jyuna’s judgment. I believe you’ll make a valuable addition to Presulis, Tey. And we have numbers, money, influence, skill. Not to mention the guidance of the Protector, which is worth more than all the other factors combined. You will not make a mistake, choosing Presulis Palace as your new home.”

Home. The word stung in Tey’s mind. He had never called anywhere home, and for the longest time thought he’d never have a place to call home. Until now.

Another part of Idach’s words leapt out at him: We have numbers, money, influence, skill. If that was true, then they might be able to help him do the one thing he really wanted to do.

They could help him find Nendo.

“I…” Tey spoke hesitantly, struggling to draw the words from the numbness of his mind. “Can you…I mean, I don’t really want anything. Anything except…except my friend. Except Nendo. I want to find him.”

He trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say. Jyuna and Idach stared at him, there expressions unreadable. Tey’s blush darkened; he doubted that these people who concerned themselves with saving the planet and whatnot would care about a street boy’s troubles.

But then, incredibly, Idach jerked his head in a nod. “Yes. We can help you, Tey. We can help you find your friend.”

Tey glanced back and forth between Idach and Jyuna, taking in Idach’s solemn expression, Jyuna’s quietly encouraging in. He had no reason to doubt these men. Maybe one had kidnapped him and the other was overly fond of politics, but already Tey could sense their basic natures were noble. They could, and they would, help him.

So, for the first time in almost ten years, Tey made a decision without Nendo’s approval, without Nendo’s guidance, without Nendo’s encouragement. He straightened his shoulders and said, trying to keep the quaver to his voice at a minimum:

“All right…I’ll join. I’ll join Presulis.”

-------------------------------------------------------

Just FYI, "Idach" is pronounced "EE-dock", with a more guttural "ck" sound, like "achtung".

Anyway...ha, yeah. We meet the story's villain. I'm rather uncertain about writing him; I based him partially off Nathan Price from The Poisonwood Bible, to be honest. A religious fanatic villain, essentially. I just feel that his speech was so stereotypical and unstubtle. >_> Tips on improving Idach's characterization will be greatly welcome.

And again, there's the ducks-in-a-row aspect. How many introductions did I make in this one chapter alone? Gaaah!

You people can take all the time you want to review, since I'll be gone for two weeks (I leave tomorrow...wow, that's scary). I'll be glad to see at least one review after those two weeks are up.

If you'd like, you can take a look at my novel journal, where I've been recording my progress and also have pictures of most of the main characters (drawn by my sister, in anime style...): topic48625.html

Thanks again for slogging through this mess and reviewing.