Like many weeds, Imperata cylindrica has occasionally been of service to humankind. It can be used to thatch huts, woven into baskets, or made into paper. It can also prevent erosion along beaches and waterways. The plant is fairly harmless in a stable natural environment. However, when the environment is disrupted, the grass can multiply rapidly, destroying biodiversity. The plant burns readily, even when green, and at high temperatures, but its rhizomes are relatively heat-resistant. Thus it both contributes to fires and profits from the devastation left in their wake. In this fashion, Imperata cylindrica is notorious for its ability to transform forested areas into grasslands in a matter of years. On some of the IndWorlds, the grass has become as large of a problem as it was originally on Earth. This has not yet happened on Dolparessa, as the Cu’endhari consider the weed to be “rude” and “pushy” and will not allow it to establish a foothold.
Cogon, pen and ink by Driscoll Garrett.
I and I arrived in time to keep the fire from spreading to the human residences to the south. It was a natural fire – at least, it burned naturally however it started – and so the proper application of wind and water did much to keep it under control. Still, it took three days until the last of it was gone.
Images of the burnt-out forest were all over the media push. An unnatural stillness descended upon the planet. Streets were silent as the sun pulled back its last rays through the fragile air.
Briscoe retreated to the swan boat and locked himself into his cabin, weeping more or less continually. He felt as though he’d failed completely, failed to stop Mac’kellr and Merhna from attacking the Cu’ensali, failed to stop Puce from escaping, failed to expose the real plot to burn the forest. Despite his distaste for the Cu’ensali, he was sickened by the wanton destruction.
When I and I emanated into a human form, I was the one chosen to deal with the damage. By then, Tara had taken up residence in a Chalkolo penthouse suite. “I’m getting to hate this place,” she said. “Every time we come here, it means trouble.”
I stared out the window, my eyes stinging. Even a human could’ve scented the ash on the wind. “Isn’t it strange,” I said. “Burning wood and roasting flesh smell good.”
“That should tell you something about humans,” said Tara.
“Humans didn’t do this,” I replied. “Mac’kellr isn’t innocent, but he was used.”
Mac’kellr and his wife had an undisputed alibi during the time the forest was being ignited. The Cu’ensali they’d tormented were unregistered; there was no evidence that anyone had been killed, and it was unlikely that the Cu’ensali witnesses would ever come forward. It would be my word against theirs. By rights, I’d win, but the politics would get ugly. It was best to let it go.
Now I could feel the first stirrings of life in the smoldering ruins of the forest, and I knew that Mac’kellr would soon lobby to turn that burnt-out area into family groves. But he had a surprise coming: the first stirrings of life were green, not blue. Cogon grass.
Let the humans fight the weeds if they wished. I’d see to it that no nau’gsh ever grew there again.
*****
When we returned to Court Emmere, I was contacted by the Cantor. “We’re at war, Ailann,” she said. “We did what needed to be done.”
It was rare to hear my name used by anyone but Tara – I was always “The Archon,” or “Your Holiness.” The Cantor had called Daniel, her old student, by name. The rest of us – even Whirljack – she usually called Ashtara. Now she was trying to appeal to some presumed friendship between us in order to garner my support. Had it ever been that? Daniel was in awe of her. I had felt respect, admiration, perhaps even affection of the sort between old comrades. Then again, she had exiled I and I for what she called hubris, what we called n’aashet n’aaverti.
It was an empty play for sympathy. I couldn’t forgive her for the destruction of the Last Range Forest. “War doesn’t excuse atrocities.”
Suddenly, she was furious. “Hellborne says that if you loved Owen enough, you would’ve destroyed Earth and Tasea to avenge what they did to him.”
I was stunned, considering for a minute if there was any truth in the accusation.
« The thought of killing innocents to avenge me is beyond disgusting, » said Owen.
« Even I wouldn’t have dreamt that one up, » said Cillian. « It’s pointless. The only justification for killing is to stop more killing in the future. »
« When Heavensent’s branch was lost, Elma’ashra grew Hellborne, » said Owen. « When my branch was lost, we grew Lugh. I think that says it all. »
There was a moment of bitter silence in which, for the first time, I hated her, hated this stony, judgmental woman who had towered over the life of every Cu’endhari, who had made them suffer under the Great Silence because, ultimately, she didn’t have the courage, the strength, the n’aashet n’aaverti to take on the system that oppressed us. She and Elma had colluded, waiting, until the prophecy was fulfilled, until Tara saved them all. That she would have the nerve to judge us…
But my voice was calm, calmer than I think it had ever been. “Tasea was Cillian’s gift to my wife. To destroy it would be to detract from her empire – as to destroy Earth would be to detract from her future empire. If petty vengeance can so swiftly divert your n’aashet n’aaverti, it’s no wonder you go to Elma with empty hands.”
She knew it was true. For a moment, I thought that she might cast me out of the forest once again. But with what excuse? In the eyes of our people, she was the greater transgressor. As alien as I seemed, I’d never killed my own kind; her hands were covered with the ashes of the dead.
She’d lost more in her victory than I’d lost in my defeat.
*****
Back in our suite, I found Lady Lorma directing a bevy of ladies-in-waiting as they shoved the contents of our wardrobe into packing trunks. “The rabbit hole to Arthvea is almost finished,” she said. “Tubby says that as soon as the last crystal is laid, you should be able to leave.”
Canopus, being a potted tree, was able to move freely, but in order to survive, it required nul-energy as well as food, water and sunlight. It was necessary to create a rabbit hole – a permanent wormhole beginning and ending in the nul-universe – between here and Arthvea to connect it to the power grid. For now, the connection was enough to sustain the mothman, but according to Owen’s calculations, if crystals were properly placed in Arthvea, it would technically be possible for us to hook them into the grid and provide enough power to cover at least a third of the system’s energy needs.
« Actually, that’s inaccurate, » said Ethan. « Owen is considering the current rabbit hole linked to the Domha’vei, which is drawing power from Atlas and Goliath. But if we made a new one from Yggdrasil, we could support the entirety of the IndWorlds. Yggdrasil is more efficiently designed, and the only thing it’s currently supplying is Nightside Station. »
Of course, we didn’t intend to tell them that the rabbit hole existed, and they lacked the technology to detect it, let alone exploit it.
« That information will be useful when we finally decided to annex the system, » said Cillian.
« Um, » said Patrick. « If that’s how it is, we’d better let Tara do the talking. She’ll be sincere when she tells them we have no designs on their world. »
« It’s a long-term plan, » said Mickey. « Their current leadership may well be dead by the time we get around to it, so it isn’t too much of a lie. »
But Tara was speaking to Lady Lorma. “I don’t think we should leave now,” Tara said. “The situation is volatile – quite literally.”
I agreed. “It will happen again,” I said. “Elma’ashra is consumed with bitterness, and I have to stop her.”
Lord Danak entered behind me. “You’ve already made a commitment to your official visit,” he said. “Back down now and you’ll look like cowards. Just remember that I advised against it from the beginning.”
I stood at the door out onto the verandah, resting my head against the lintel. Tara touched me lightly on the shoulder. “I don’t care,” she said. “We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
I could feel her warmth, her light, a beacon in my black world. I knew then that it wasn’t a choice – if it was between advancing her destiny and protecting my people, I had to go. Any Cu’enashti would’ve felt the same, but my heart was broken.
Honestly, how much good had we been doing here anyway?
*****
Wormhole travel between Arthvea and the Domha’vei is remarkably brief: about thirty minutes by wormhole and then another seven hours through conventional space. That’s why their fleet had been able to arrive so unexpectedly. However, it still meant that Tara would be alone for half an hour. She would carry Canopus with her, but we would be unable to emanate until it was positioned at the destination point. This was a great disadvantage compared to traveling to Shambhala or Nightside, where the trees were connected through the rabbit holes at the roots. With the roots connected, we could maintain an emanation on the voyage, drawing power from the closest end. But Canopus was wireless, and would have no power until it reached a hot spot.
« We should really figure out how to beam nul-energy directly through a wormhole, » said Cüinn. « The Quicknodes can transmit messages, so there must be a way to do it. »
Tara had once made an even longer voyage alone – the initial trip to Shambhala. But I had been mercifully unconscious – the presence of I and I transferred to Ashvattha, which was still in the process of connecting back to the grove. This time I felt her disappear completely, dropped into the wormhole and out of this universe, beyond my ability to sense. The last time we’d felt this way was decades ago, when she had travelled to Earth to pursue her studies. I remembered how Evan’s despair had plummeted into an absolute abyss. He stumbled around the forest while the universe unraveled. When he reached the Atlas Tree, at that time, consisting of only three trunks, he had curled up beneath its boughs and howled.
Out of that pain came Whirljack, the game-changer, the emanation who vowed to reorder the universe if it meant bringing her back.
« But now I know it could be much worse, » said Evan. « I don’t know how you held it together for as long as you did in that nul-chamber. I always had Daniel and Sloane to fall back on. I was never alone. »
« I and I never doubted for a moment, » said Whirljack. « That’s because He never swayed from his vision of Tara’s destiny. »
« That knowledge was never shared with Evan, » said Quennel. « It strikes me that we could’ve been saved a lot of pain along the way if we’d had better information. »
« The Mover has reasons for what He chooses to reveal, » said Malachi.
« It’s also possible that He literally couldn’t reveal it, » said Dermot. « It seems that the more entities added to the collective, and the more emanations we make, the greater His capacity. We know that direct communication has been an issue. With only three emanations, it might have been impossible. »
« Increased self-knowledge also helps, » said Tarlach. « It seems to me that we have two internal priorities: filling out the pleroma and exploring it. I think we should assemble survey teams as soon as possible. »
Not a survey, said Jamey. A quest.
« A quest? »
We’re knights, he said. It’s coming.
We emerged from the wormhole with twenty minutes to spare. The mothman hovered for a moment, scenting the stars to get his bearings. Then He flew, heading towards the location where the evocation drive would punch the entry hole for Tara’s flagship.
We had some time to kill, and not being able to sense Tara was grating on our nerves. « Let’s go fishing, » Whirljack suggested.
« That’s a great suggestion, » said Cüinn. « We picked up the Ashvattha emanations around Eden and the Canopus ones at Nightside. A change of venue definitely seems to broaden the candidate pool. »
« All right. let’s have Whirljack, Cüinn, Rand, Cillian, Ari, Malachi, Lens, Driscoll, Dermot, Davy, Suibhne, Hurley, Ethan, Barnabas, Owen, Lugh, Briscoe and Aran join me at the reflecting pond. »
I’d asked Briscoe specifically because he was so depressed. My sense of him was that he was the kind who could be bolstered by the company of his fellows. Honestly, I was a little hesitant about asking Aran. It felt awkward, but I needed his expertise.
Ellery sidled up beside me. « Of course you can come, » I said hastily.
Ellery rested his head upon my shoulder, his breath hot in my ear. He was a much more delightful piece of candy than even Manasseh. « You don’t get it, » he whispered, « how you attract people to you. You’re going to be in worse trouble than I am. »
« What about me? » asked Tannon.
For a moment, I was stunned; instinctively, I sized up Tannon’s qualities. Yes, he was attractive, in a very exotic way.
« This team has been assembled for their skills, » said Aran.
Of course – Tannon had been talking about recruitment. What was wrong with me?
Ellery giggled.
« I’m not sure I see how you can help, » Aran continued.
« I’m a conifer, » he said.
There was a moment of awkward silence. « You’re not a conifer, » said Rand, finally. « You’re a person with coniferous tendencies. »
« I’m a fucking conifer, » said Tannon.
« If he wants to reappropriate the term, he can, » said Tarlach. « But nobody else should use it. »
« Yes, well, what do your coniferous tendencies have to do with this? » pressed Aran.
« I like mycorrhizae. »
There was a moment of awkward silence.
« He’s the biggest pervert since Lugh, » Tommy whispered.
« Since you, » Lugh shot back.
I turned to Tannon and said, « Our mycorrhizae have become a fact of life. Nevertheless, it’s generally not a topic for polite conversation, especially with other nau’gsh. »
Tannon looked exasperated, running his fingers restlessly through his hair. « Malachi adapted the mycorrhizae to gather all sorts of data from trans-universal space, » he said. « But you don’t exploit its potential because you’re squeamish. »
« Are you saying that the mycorrhizae might be better at sniffing out nul-entities? » asked Cillian.
In reply, Tannon grasped Cillian’s jaw and placed the other hand upon his forehead. There was a moment of shocked silence before Cillian wormed out of his reach, yelling, « Holy compost! If you ever do that again, I’ll break your arm. »
« What happened? » asked Tarlach.
« Fuck all, » said Cillian. « That made my roots real sensitive. I hate to say it, but Tannon is right about the mycorrhizae. »
And so, Tannon joined us. Lens and Cüinn had already gone on ahead, and were waiting for us at the pool. « I tried making one, » Cüinn said. « What do you think of it? See that greenish one over there? »
« It’s very close to number 20, Greengrain, » said Driscoll. « Not exact, but we can tweak it. »
I can see the one they’re talking about. Compared to Driscoll’s drawings, it’s a little disappointing. Generic. « I was hoping for something with more character. I really think that recruitment is the better option. »
« But I’m not sure that proto-consciousness can have character, » said Dermot.
« Vassali did. »
« Maybe it’s not big enough yet, » said Aran. « Is there a critical mass? Maybe we need to get one of the engineers up here to consult. »
« It’s nul-energy, » said Davy. « It doesn’t have mass. »
« Energy does have mass, » I reminded them. « Just not very much. »
« Not nul-energy, » said Davy.
« But the mothman does weigh something. Tara can feel it when He, well, you know…»
« What do you call it when the mothman’s on top of Tara? » asked Davy.
« A pollination orgy, » replied Cillian.
« Well, yeah, but that’s obvious, » Davy stammered. « I mean…»
« Clout, » said Cüinn. « We call it clout. It’s not a characteristic limited to the nul-universe; gravity will act on clout, and pudge will act on mass. Actually, pudge doesn’t act as well on mass, but gravity has more sway over clout, so that the mothman seems to have more clout here than in the nul-universe. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he flies better when he gets a distance away from Dolparessa. Actually, most mothmen wouldn’t notice because when they get too far away from their energy source, they come crashing back to the ground, but that isn’t because of either pudge or gravity. They crash due to a lack of, um, pizzazz. Besides having a lot of clout, the Archon also has a lot of pizzazz. »
« Is this a treatise on physics or a record review? » asked Whirljack.
« So you’re saying that we get more pudgy when we’re sitting around in the nul-universe not doing anything? » said Barnabas. « That makes sense. »
« Cutting through the compost, these little goobers of energy have got to accumulate enough clout to develop proto-consciousness? » asked Cillian.
« That’s one theory, » Cüinn answered. « But we honestly don’t know. All of this is ground-breaking. It’s entirely possible that in the vast areas of the nul-universe we haven’t explored, there are enormous lakes of nul-energy. It’s also possible that proto-consciousness only becomes possible in close proximity to nau’gsh roots. »
« Look at that, » said Tannon.
« At what? » asked Aran.
« That tiny one. »
« Oh, that’s really small, » said Rand. « It will probably just get sucked into the roots. »
« It has vertices, » Tannon pointed out.
Lens leaned forward, squinting. « It does. It looks like some kind of geometric solid. Like a box with the corners cut off. »
« It’s a truncated cube, » said Cüinn.
« Wait! » Malachi exclaimed. « Look at the correspondence charts. We need a truncated cube. »
« It doesn’t look like Vassali did. It’s not at all like the ones in my vision or Driscoll’s paintings. Are you sure it’s the same thing? »
The tiny figure rapidly approached the roots, and for a moment, it seemed as though it was going to be indiscriminately absorbed. But it halted abruptly near the greenish spark of energy which Cüinn had been nurturing. The cube hovered there for a second, then plunged in. There was a blue-white radiance which pulsed several times in succession, then exploded outward, followed by an immediate collapse, reminiscent of a star going nova.
When the brightness faded, the truncated cube was clearly visible, smaller than the greenish spark, but considerably larger than it had been originally.
« Whoa, » said Cillian. « It ate the energy we collected. »
« That was a deliberate action, » said Rand.
« It’s just sitting there, » Lens said.
« It’s waiting, » said Tannon.
« You’re anthropomorphizing, » said Cüinn. « Or treeopomorphizing. I mean you’re attributing an agency to it that might not exist. »
« It’s not a proto-consciousness, » said Rand. « At least not like anything we’ve seen, and certainly not like Vassali. Vassali had a kind of presence. I don’t feel anything from this. »
« That’s because you’re not using your mycorrhizae, » said Tannon. « It’s waiting. »
« We could try to communicate with it, » I suggested.
« Why? » said Cillian. « We obviously can’t use it. I disagree with Cüinn. It’s predatory – that absorption was volitional. I think it’s already conscious, which means using it could be a big pain in our asses. We shouldn’t waste our time. »
« The Ashvattha entities already had consciousness before we merged with the Ashtara grove, » said Rand.
« If it’s going to eat all the energy we collect, it’s going to piss me off, » said Cillian. « If it keeps fucking with us, I’ll have to deal with it. »
« Dude! » said Cüinn. « What about science? This is amazing. »
« If we can’t decide what to do with it, we should show it to Tara, » said Dermot.
« Um, guys, » said Tommy, « there’s something else I think you ought to see. »
Tommy directed our attention to the scene as perceived by the mothman. A fleet of Alliance battleships was heading towards the area where Tara’s flagship was sure to emerge.
For just a flicker of a second, I saw Ethan and Owen freeze, their eyes flickering with the slightest flare of opalescent blue.
Cüinn saw it too. « Distributed processing, » he gasped.
Ethan nodded. « The Mover wanted an estimate of the energy available to Him weighted against the amount it would take to cripple the fleet, factoring in His speed of arrival. »
« It’s not good, » said Owen. « We’re on a tether here. If we move fast enough to intercept before Tara arrives, we might not be able to incapacitate the ships. »
« If we wait until the instant she emerges, we should get a power boost when Canopus hooks up with the rabbit hole, » said Barnabas. « It would be even better if Canopus could emanate an Archon. »
« For long-term strategy, I think we’ll have to emanate Archons from both Canopus and Ophion, » added Ethan.
« Worry about that later, » said Cillian. « For now we need to focus – a speed burst the instant Tara emerges from the wormhole. »
« What happens if they fire immediately? » asked Rand. « They could destroy the ship before it could establish shielding. »
« Tara will return to the pleroma, » said Whirljack. « We’ll take her home. »
« And the rest of the crew will die, and the SongLuminants will destroy Arthvea, » added Mickey.
I really, really needed a drink.
Cillian rested his hand on my shoulder. « They’re not gonna do that, » he said. « That would provoke an open war, and they can’t afford it. »
« If they think we’re paper tigers, that we’re powerless outside of the Domha’vei…» said Mickey.
« You forget that the Alliance is a puppet of CenGov, » said Cillian. « They’ll be fighting a war on two fronts, and they already ran away from Earth with their tails between their legs. It doesn’t make sense, especially considering that the Arthvean fleet just got its nose bloodied by us. »
« Then what are they trying to do? » asked Balin.
« I got a hunch, » said Cillian.
The Alliance ships took position. As Tara’s ship emerged from the wormhole, she was surrounded. In that instant, the mothman plunged forward.
« Do you hear it? » asked Tannon.
Instantly, we crowded into his branch. Apparently, his popularity problems were solved. He was picking up transmissions between the fleets.
“This is Admiral Maaken of the Alliance ship Interstellation to the Skarsian ship Victorious Tara. Stand down. You will not be harmed if you take no hostile action.”
“If this is the welcoming committee, I’d be more convinced if your weapon systems weren’t active,” said Tara.
“We intend to escort you to a holding station,” said Maaken. “You will be treated with respect during the negotiations. The escort is for your protection, and to assure your cooperation over the course of the next several weeks.”
“Weeks?” asked Tara. “The plan was for a five-day visit.”
“We are afraid that we must extend that visit to assure the non-interference of the Domha’vei with other Alliance activities.”
“You could’ve asked nicely,” she said to Maaken.
Before Maaken could answer, we were in range. We didn’t have much power, but it really doesn’t take much to mess up something as finely calibrated as a space vessel. In this case, I and I alchemically transformed the data crystals used by the hostile ships’ targeting systems into table salt. If they tried to fire, they’d be most likely to fire aimlessly into space, and more likely to hit each other than the flagship. No commander in his right mind would attack under those circumstances.
I and I was being nice. If he had disabled their drive systems, they’d need a tow back home.
« He could have disabled life-support, » said Lorcan.
« We weren’t even considering that, » replied Lugh.
« Why not? » said Lorcan. « Look, I really don’t think it would hurt to hurt these assholes every now and then. We’re gentle with them, and then they don’t respect us. »
« We won’t kill unless we have to, » I said firmly.
« But Lorcan has a point, » said Aran. « There should be punishment. »
Apparently, I and I agreed, for when the mothman landed on the deck of Tara’s ship, He stepped into Aran. “Is the communications channel still open?” he asked.
Tara nodded. “I want this broadcast not just to the fleet, but to the media push serving the IndWorlds. Can you do that?”
“Affirmative, Your Holiness,” said the communications officer.
On his signal, Aran began to speak with his customary drama. None of us had any idea of what he intended. “Citizens of the Alliance of Humankind,” he began. “We came on a mission of peace, and were betrayed. You will now face the wrath of the Living God of Skarsia.”
Aran signaled for communications to be cut. “Ailann could never pull off a line like that,” said Tara. “What are you going to do?”
“Although it’s tempting, I’m afraid turning their leadership into lar gibbons is out of the question,” he said. “Canopus isn’t powerful enough. I’m in agreement that it really could use an Archon for these situations. I’ll have to think of something which will cost little energy, yet is nevertheless impressive.” He closed his eyes, extending his consciousness past Tara into the Arthvean system, gathering data. Then he smiled. “Increase the level of solar radiation shielding on this ship,” he commanded. “Just as a precaution.”
« He’s asking my opinion on sunspot activity, » said Rain.
« I get it, » said Ethan. « If he tweaks the solar arcades in just the right places, and rapidly enough, we can create a Z-prime class solar flare without much effort at all. »
“Your Eminence,” said Captain Zosim in alarm. “Alarm systems are triggered due to a massive sudden increase in solar activity.”
“Don’t worry,” said Aran. “It will take a while to reach us.”
“A coronal mass ejection of that size,” murmured Zosim. “When it hits the Arthvean magnetosphere, it will create a geomagnetic storm larger than they’ve ever experienced, enough to throw their communications and power relays into complete disarray.”
“They’ll have 1.789 local days to prepare for it,” said Aran. “That should be enough time to put some emergency failsafes in place. If there are incidental deaths, it will be their own fault.”
“Aran, you are a very intimidating individual, you know that?” said Tara.
“I intend to be,” Aran replied to Tara. “The sun is a powerful unconscious archetype. On some level, every living creature in this universe recognizes its absolute dependence upon some type of solar object. A threat to the stability of the sun will be perceived as apocalyptic. In truth, I wouldn’t have the strength to destroy a sun on my best day, let alone tapped into this pathetic power source, but they don’t know that. In short, they aren’t likely to fuck with us in the near future.”
“But what were they trying to accomplish with that stupid stunt?” asked Tara.
« We’re gonna get some answers now, » said Cillian.
As if in reply, Zosim barked, “Your eminence! We’ve got five ships emerging from a nearby wormhole. I can’t identify the ships – never seen anything like them.”
« Captain Zosim is going to get an ulcer if this keeps up, » Lugh noted. « Ailann, you’d better emanate soon and look after his digestive tract. »
“Incoming transmission,” said Zosim. “Identified as Eradicator 9.” The look on Zosim’s face was rather amusing. Admittedly, a surprise appearance by an entity of that name was bound to be unsettling, but he didn’t know what we knew.
“Those are Quicknode ships,” Aran informed him. “Eradicator 9 was part of the team assembled to deal with the Denolin Turym. He – well, actually, the correct pronoun is fmee – is an old friend of Axel’s.”
Zosim signaled the communications officer to open a channel, then flopped limply into his command chair. “Thoughtful 45 was a little concerned,” said Eradicator apologetically. “This diplomatic visit seemed too much like a set up, so he asked me to follow and observe from the wormhole. I was happy to do it – there’s little work for a military strategist back home. As it turned out, he was absolutely correct. We’ve been monitoring wormhole activity, and noticed something interesting.”
“Wormhole activity monitoring,” said Tara. “I’d really like to know how you manage that.”
“We’ll have to run it past the Technoshare Commission,” said Eradicator. “Anyway, we thought you’d like to know that the bulk of the Alliance fleet is en route to Terra.”
« I knew it, » said Cillian. « And if they attack Earth, then what Clive said is gonna happen – we’ll get asked to intervene. »
Tara had reached the same conclusion. “They intended to hold Archon and Matriarch hostage to keep us from entering the war on the side of the revolutionary government,” she said.
“That’s imbecilic,” Aran scowled. “At this point, we’re practically forced to join the conflict on the side of Earth.”
“I know,” said Tara glumly. “Clive will be up to his ears in champagne when he finds out.”
“They probably did it to demoralize the rebels as much as anything,” said Eradicator. “Ashtara is a legend, which is close to saying that he’s a fantasy. They wanted to call your bluff.”
“We’d better inform Lord Danak,” Tara decided. “We need to convene the Privy Council as soon as possible. How much time do we have?”
“The shortest wormhole route has the Alliance fleet arriving at Terra in about 17.6 standard hours,” said Zosim. “We have plenty of time to return home.”
“There’s another issue,” Tara replied. “After all this hostility, I’m a little afraid to leave our ambassador and the Floatfish delegation behind.”
“Too much time,” said Zosim. “It would take almost four hours for Juliet to meet us halfway.”
“We might as well engage a donkey,” said Aran.
“I can retrieve them,” volunteered Eradicator. “In case the Arthveans don’t cooperate, I’ll research intimidation tactics. It sounds like fun.”
“Ash, you go on ahead and brief Lord Danak,” said Tara. “I’ll see you in half an hour.”
*****
Danak was rather surprised to see me. “Back so soon?”
Indeed, I was back. Apparently, I was deemed more appropriate than Aran for the domestic situation. I was starting to feel a strange sort of fatigue – it isn’t usual for one branch to be jerked in and out of emanation as frequently as I had been in the past few weeks. I could really use a little stability, whether it was inside or out.
“We ran into a spot of trouble,” I explained. “The Matriarch is on her way. Convene a meeting of the Privy Council – and you’d better invite Ambassador Rivers. He’ll need to hear this.”
“Actually,” said Lord Danak, clearing his throat, “we have another issue…”
“Ashtara!” shouted Claris. “They told me you’d gone to Arthvea.”
“I did…”
“Well, it’s good you’re back. We need you at an emergency meeting of the Convocation.”
“Can it wait? The Alliance of Mankind is staging an attack on Earth.”
“What?” said Danak. “Are you certain?”
“Is that more important than Elma’ashra on her way to torch another forest?”
I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. “Where?” I gasped. “What happened?”
“When they heard the plan about the root-cleansings, the Cu’ensali sued for peace, but Hellborne wouldn’t even talk to them. She found out that Mauve’s people are in the Darkshadey Forest. It wasn’t a big secret. Most of them have registered.”
“They’re citizens,” said Danak. “She can’t attack without provocation.”
“Plus, there are a handful of Cu’enmerengi there,” Claris continued. “She doesn’t seem to care. She’s lost it. Even the MPP have backed out on her, and the Convocation wants to vote no confidence, which is why we need you.”
“I haven’t time for politics,” I said, raising my arms. “I have to stop her.”
“Your Holiness, what about the Privy Council….” Danak began. But it was of no use – the mothman was already in the sky.
*****
I’d never actually been to Darkshadey Forest. It was on the southern tip of the main continent, bordered by tundra in the blue zone. It was hardly a vacation spot, and few humans bothered to live there since no edible produce could grow. It was probably for that reason that there were no Cu’enashti in the area.
From a distance, I and I could make out the form of Elma’ashra, blue against a blue sky. She was enormous, larger than I and I since he had redistributed his volume to be closer to Tara’s size. But she wasn’t as fast, and we caught up with her quickly. Perhaps it was because He had all the power of the grove behind Him – or perhaps because He was simply more practiced at flight. The only time the Cantor left the immediate area of Turquoise Head was when she needed to supervise the grand jeté in remote places.
Elma’ashra landed, folding herself into an unfamiliar form. She had raven hair, deeply-set eyes, a blunt, unforgiving chin. She might have been beautiful if she hadn’t looked perpetually embittered. The air around her was chill.
I stepped out of the mothman. “Hellborne, I presume?”
“Ashtara,” she said. “Don’t cross me.”
“Or you’ll do what? Burn another forest?”
“The Matriarch is only human,” she said without hesitation.
The world around me turned red. There was a roaring in my ears, which I recognized after a second as Cillian screaming in unfettered rage. But when I spoke, my voice was calm. Perhaps it was because I knew that Tara was beyond her ability to harm. Or perhaps it was because my fury was as cold as Cillian’s was hot.
“As you well know, you would accomplish such a thing over the charred remains of my grove,” I replied. “However, you seem to forget that you are speaking of the ruler of the Domha’vei. Attempt hostilities against her, and her secret police will rip your tree out by the roots. The only thing you would accomplish is to incite a war between humans and Cu’endhari.”
“Why should I care?” Hellborne replied. “Maybe the Cantor would, but she hates me. You can’t know what it’s like to be eternally joined with a second self who is horrified by you.”
“Cillian can,” I said. “In a moment of fear and rashness, I was prepared to destroy him. Now I depend on him. The Cantor will come around. Don’t do something which can never be taken back.”
“Tell that to the Cu’ensali,” she snapped. “Because of them, the part of me which was lovely, gentle and clever is lost forever. They started it, but I’ll finish it.”
“You lost a personality and some memories, but you didn’t lose Heavensent. The spirit of Heavensent is still with you; the consciousness that composed her can’t be destroyed by anything originating from this universe.”
“Idiot,” she spat. “I am Heavensent. Heavensent became Hellborne, just as the real Owen became Lugh.”
« Wow, it was really dumb of us not to have figured that one out, » said Cüinn.
“And I hate you for it. I hate that you met your loss with kindness and beauty. And I hate the new Owen, the shadow duplicate, that abomination who should never have existed.”
Lugh said nothing. Incapable of hate himself, he lacked the ability to understand Hellborne’s statement – but he also lacked the ability to respond to it properly. Instead, he put his arm around Owen, as if love could push aside the force of her fury.
It was clear anything I said would only incense her. Nevertheless, I had one last card to play. “What does Elma say about the destruction of all her visions?” I asked. “You should care about what happens to the Cu’endhari, the humans, the entire Domha’vei because she cares.”
“She doesn’t care about me,” said Hellborne, turning from me. As she spun, she dissolved into her mothman form, and launched herself southward.
There was a moment of shock; then Whirljack spoke. « She’s abandoned n’aashet n’aaverti, » he said. « She’s gone completely rogue. »
« She’s crazier than I am, » said Suibhne.
« Based on what I have just witnessed, I am completely redefining my conception of mental illness amongst the Cu’endhari, » said Tarlach. « Suibhne, you have a trauma-induced personality destabilization disorder. Hellborne has a disintegrated homi-suicidal syndrome. Her condition is far more pathological. »
But before Tarlach could admonish us to be gentle with Elma’ashra because she was clearly not in her right mind, I and I was speeding through the air like a hyped-up hovercar. Without hesitation he slammed into her, plunging out of the sky, pinning her to the ground.
And then the horizon glowed with a rainbow of non-lights: Cu’enashti, Cu’enmerengi and Cu’ensali. Sprites and mothmen filled the air, dryads crouched green against the blue grasses.
I and I waited for someone to help restrain Elma’ashra, but nothing happened. The gathered Cu’endhari did nothing. They had apparently come to watch the battle of the century.
Taking advantage of I and I’s momentary distraction, Elma’ashra grabbed His left antennae and yanked hard at a right angle to its natural direction.
OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW
Taking advantage of the fact He had legs, I and I kneed her in the torso. She convulsed, weakening her grip enough for I and I to pull free. As He shook loose His aching antenna, she decided to exploit the fact He had eyes, plunging two fingers towards the glowing orbs behind the masklike feathers on his face. This did not prove to be a good strategy because
- The legs are functional, the eyes mere decoration.
- I and I was faster, slapping her hand aside before she could land the blow.
On second thought, perhaps she was smarter than we anticipated. The move towards the eyes proved to be a feint, allowing her left hand to get in position to grab at I and I’s humanoid reproductive anatomy.
OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW OW
« Fucking bitch! » moaned Cillian. « It’s time to get rough. »
« I didn’t design those penises for a cockfight, » said Davy. « I told you that a carapace would’ve been a good idea, but Tara didn’t like it. »
I and I kicked free of her, and the two mothmen hovered, sizing each other up. He braced for her attack, at the same time ready in case she decided to make another break towards the forest. Instead, she turned the tundra to flame.
Elma’ashra was counting on two factors: first was that it was extremely difficult to do any damage to a mothman’s form. The second was that although I and I had access to far more power than she, it was easier to destroy than to protect. He could stop her 99 times out of a hundred, but if she succeeded once, He’d lost.
The blue grasses were slightly dry in the warm winds; distracted by one disaster after another, I had been remiss in my usual duties as Archon. They ignited easily and instantly, and I, Ailann Tiarnan, found myself on the ground. The air was filled with smoke and flying insects, small reptilian creatures hissed and fled or died horribly in flame. I reached back into the Atlas Tree and grabbed the clouds, all of the clouds, hurling a torrential sheet of rain at the brushfire with incredible speed. I was sloppy from urgency and fatigue, and I knew there would be hell to pay later – I could feel the precipitous drops and rises in air pressure where I had torn holes in the normal weather.
As the sky shook with thunder, I could see Elma’ashra vanishing in the distance. Still, the mothmen hovered in the skies. “Somebody stop her!” I roared.
Streaks of green ran past me: the Cu’enmerengi. There were maybe two dozen of them; it was likely that some lived in Darkshadey. I doubted that they could stand against Elma’ashra, especially in her current state of mind.
Then the sun flew by in a hovercar. It was Tara. Tara and Elma.
They followed in Elma’ashra’s wake, Elma leaning out of the hovercar and shouting, “Stop it! It’s enough!”
Elma’ashra was…ignoring her?
Tension snapped whip sharp through the air; then the mothmen moved. I understood then that they had been reluctant to turn against her, the midwife who had birthed them all, the founder of our culture. But she had done the one thing a Cu’enashti could never do; she had rejected her Chosen.
With the brushfire under control, I and I returned to the skies. But the storm I had summoned was brutal, creating currents difficult for us to navigate, not of air, but of the microbial creatures suspended in wind and water. It was worse for Elma’ashra, the less experienced flier. I and I was able to overtake her again before she reached the outskirts of the forest. He flew into her path, preparing for a second battle. She dropped precipitously, rolling on the ground.
It was the Cantor who rose. “Ashtara!” she screamed. “Burn her! Burn her branch while I still have control.”
I dropped back into my human emanation again, near exhaustion from the rapid switches. I grabbed the Cantor by the shoulders. “You can’t do that,” I said. “You’ll regret it forever, and what grows next will be even worse.”
As the fury of the storm abated, the hovercar pulled up alongside of us. Elma jumped out, jogging over to us. “What is your fucking problem?” she snapped, slapping the Cantor across the face.
I could feel the collective wince of all the mothmen. Every one of us could imagine the horror of being chastised like that. Ari could still feel the time Tara punched him.
“You aren’t helping!” the Cantor retorted. “Maybe if you were here, maybe if you loved me, I’d have more strength to fight this! Maybe if you’d let me have more than one companion…”
“You’re blaming me?” asked Elma.
“You forced me to exist!”
Her words echoed in the silence that followed the storm. Horrified, the mothmen remained motionless, wordless.
Then the quiet was severed by a buzz, a whisper; it was the voice of a sprite, almost inaudible, but distinct in the absence of sound.
“Cu’enashti sure are fucked up,” it said.