When the walls of Primera finally fell, Ariana found herself alone. She was crouched, shivering in the chill of the night, unsure of what to do next. She had grown up knowing this day would come, for she had been born long after the DNA plague. She had no other memory than the countryside as barren and dry, and no other expectation than that one day she would be forced to face the dangers of life outside the walls.
The end came quickly. The hordes breached the inner barricades by sheer force, shattering the disheveled integrity of the first colony base. In the attack most everyone Ariana knew died, and died quickly. Afterwards Ariana was not sure how she escaped, but escape she did. As if in a nightmare, she found herself fleeing into the night, a meager pack of supplies jarring against her back as she ran. She didn’t know where to go, but fled blindly into the hostile darkness.
Later, Ariana realized that she felt little grief. The few descendants of the colony scientists had not been close. Each had remained solitary, perhaps realizing that to form friendships would only mean to suffer more later.
Ariana spent her first day wandering in the endless desert. The recon drones had been lost for years, and the colony’s link to their satellites had deteriorated, so she had little or no knowledge of the countryside through which she moved. She spent the first night huddled in a ball, too tired to continue, too scared to sleep. In despair, Ariana decided to head to the only landmark that she knew; a great mountain of stone the north that was visible from the only home she had known. Ariana had no idea what it might offer, but it was the only goal that presented itself.
Ariana’s progress was slow. A young woman of medium build, she had always tried to maintain good physical fitness and exercise regularly. The base’s dwindling supplies, however, and the limited space inside the encircling walls had hampered her efforts to remain strong and lean. She now suffered under the harsh sun and the oppressive heat. Only a fierce determination to survive, perhaps the legacy of her colonist forebears, kept her moving.
After what seemed weeks of walking, Ariana raised her head one morning to see that the monolith had grown close. Bursting from the earth like a surfacing whale, the rock stood, surveying the surroundings with a palpable air of disdain. The surface was smooth, reddish and convoluted with waves of rock rippling between sunlight and shadow on its flanks. Ariana stopped and stared. In the midst of a landscape as flat as it was lifeless, the mountain stood, projecting power. Eventually, Ariana’s shoulders drooped again, and she continued toward the rock.
As she approached, Ariana dreamed that the monolith might offer some comfort. After days of terrified flight, the strong walls ahead of her seemed solidly encouraging. Her spirits lifted. Just then, she heard faint noises behind her. Turning, she saw dust in the distance. A gang approached, in force. Ariana broke into a dead run.
As the screeches and war whistles grew terrifyingly near, Ariana reached the rock. Clambering wildly, she began to scale the beast. When she finally turned to look back, however, she saw that the horde behind her had turned, perhaps never having seen her at all, and looked to engage a rival gang, weapons and ragged uniforms burning in the sun. Ariana looked around her. She had scaled the rock up to a height of about fifty feet, but her grip was precarious. Below her, she could see and inviting spot of shade, a hollow in the rock just large enough for her to curl up in, protected enough to shield her from both the sun and from outside view. Ariana dropped down to take advantage of the protection offered, and was soon fast asleep.
When Ariana woke, she panicked quickly. It was dark, but there were no stars. She could feel the rock under her, but had a certain, and sinking feeling that she was now inside. She fumbled in her pack for her light. The torch revealed a cave, a dark corridor leading in two directions from where she sat. Ariana’s head spun. What had happened to her niche in the monolith? How had the arrogant stone sucked her inside?
She was not left to contemplate these mysteries for long. Sound approached. Ariana fled down the corridor.
Her footsteps soon led her to a wider cavern. As she approached, Ariana could hear the sounds of voices and feel humidity in the air that could only mean one thing: water. Caught between fear of others and the desperate thirst she had suffered since exhausting her canteen, Ariana finally pushed forward. At the mouth of her corridor, she paused. Looking into a huge cavern, she saw a river of water, lined on both sides by men and women working, pulling weed from the current, dipping nets to catch sea creatures, and hauling buckets full of liquid to unknown destinations. Ariana couldn’t help herself. She rushed forward and, like an animal, stuck her entire face into the water, inhaling the stream.
She had no sooner taken the edge off her thirst, however, than a rough hand hauled her up by her hair. "What’re ya doin!" A harsh voice demanded "y’arent of us, and have no right!" Ariana protested, head spinning, and was thrown to the ground. "Stealin’ the water!" the man shouted, and Ariana heard a muttered threat rise in the people around her.
She got up to flee, and was again thrown to the ground by the crowd that encircled her. She rolled, dodging the kicking feet, searching for an opening in the sea of legs. A foot caught her under the ribs. She gasped, unable to breathe, and scrabbled forward. As a small opening presented itself she lunged for it, only to glimpse overhead a bar of metal hissing through the air, aimed at her head. She flinched, felt a dull ache on her back, and rolled away. She leapt to her feet, and through a burning reddish haze that had formed around the crowd, sprinted toward the next exit that presented itself: a stairway cut into the rock, spiraling upward.
As the stairway gave to a new, wide corridor, Ariana darted to a dark corner to catch her breath and assess her injuries. She ached both in the side and the back, and her ribs complained with every breath. She had been lucky to avoid the blow from the metal staff. She had every confidence that it would have killed her. As she began to wonder why she had not been pursued, approaching sounds drew her attention.
Hearing the rhythm of heavy footsteps and the clank of metal, Ariana drew further into her hiding place. A group of men trooped by. They were heavily armed and wearing > uniforms that identified them as much better organized than the war parties > of the wastes. Ariana heard screaming in the distance. She quickly fled in the opposite direction.
The hall through which Ariana crept became wider, and she saw ahead what could only be a market. Bright colors danced over small caves lined with goods and the tantalizing odor of food drew her forward like a siren song. Directionless light warmed the area, bouncing off the ceiling of the cavern, forty feet up. Ariana approached cautiously. As she moved through the aisles, she was surprised to see not only food and wares woven from the river weeds, but items that had also obviously come from other colony bases like the last that had been her home.
Eventually, however, the smell of cooking became too much to ignore. Ariana’s stomach protested its emptiness, and she approached a woman with colorless skin cooking some sort of cake. The woman looked up. "What’re got?" she demanded belligerently. Understanding that some sort of trade was in order, Ariana unslung her pack. She looked through the meager contents. A compass on a chain caught the eye of the toothless woman’s husband. He stood, towering possesively over her; "Give’r five fer that!" he announced, eyeing the shiny metal. Unwilling to part with the compass, Ariana bargained to trade only the chain for three of the cakes. They were delicious, and she devoured them quickly as she moved through the market, three shadows now close behind her.
Observing Ariana’s transaction, the men had seen the contents of her bag, and moved quickly to surround her as soon as she left the market. Lulled by the satisfaction of a full belly, Ariana had not noticed their approach and was soon trembling, back against a rock wall.
"Got good stuff in’r bag" one observed to the other, "should just take it."
Another disagreed: "Look at’r hair!" he growled, "Gold like’t fetch a price in t’quarter." He leered at Ariana "Should take’r whole and sell’r there!"
Unfortunately, the others seemed to agree with this plan, they moved forward. Ariana swung blindly with her pack. She felt the heavy light connect, and heard a grunt of pain from one of the men. She darted forward, only to have her feet swept from under her. She fell heavily, and the men fell upon her. Pack now gone, she was carried away quickly by their heavy hands.
As she struggled, Ariana noticed the lights grow dimmer and the walls grow closer. Eerie green bioluminescent plants began to appear. She could hear music in the distance. Ariana hung exhausted from the mens’ arms. Eventually they stopped. Ariana was thrown unceremoniously to the ground in front of a small cave within a large cavern. A huge woman with brilliant clothing and piercing eyes looked down at her. "What have we here?" she asked quietly. The men spoke all at once.
Ariana could hear that she was being offered at a "bargain price" to the madam. She lay quietly, heart pounding, head spinning with choices of action. Before she could decide she was yanked to her feet. "She’s too dark" the woman drawled. "Couldn’t give you much for her". The men protested, touting her exotic beauty, the contrast of her sun-browned skin against her fair hair. The woman inclined her head malevolently, and the men quieted. The bargaining began.
Ariana crouched fearfully in the grasp of one of her abductors, looking for escape. At first she saw nothing. Then her eye was inexorably drawn to a small flame peeking from a lantern just within her reach. Before she could think clearly, she grabbed the lantern and smashed its glass. She thrust the flame into the face of the man who held her, then threw the whole thing forward to the giantess, catching her elaborate robes on fire. She ran, leaving the screaming, the cursing and the stench of burned flesh behind.
Again, Ariana fled, mysteriously unpursued. After scaling another flight of stone stairs, she huddled behind a structure built of boulders and gravel, unsure of what to do next. The preceding events had happened so quickly, Ariana had not had time to ponder the unusual circumstances of her appearance in this place. Panting now, she lay her head against the rock and tried to put it all together. Where was she? She seemed to somehow have entered inside the monolith, but how? Who were these people? They were obviously descendants of the first colonies on this world, but how had they come to live here? Ariana’s mind whirled in confusion. Distracted by her thoughts, she did not see the boy approach until he was only a few feet from her.
Ariana started when she noticed the pale youth, sitting quietly, observing her with wide, dark eyes. Ariana drew herself up in a defensive position, but sensed no danger from the boy. Finally, the boy spoke. "Ar’ya spirit?" he asked. When Ariana, in confusion, did not answer, the boy continued. "Y’look like the tales of t’Fire Queen." Assuming this to be a reference to her bright hair and tan skin, Ariana responded kindly that she was not the "Fire Queen."
Assured by the boy’s seeming friendliness and lack of weapons, Ariana ventured a question of her own.
"What is this place?"
The boy smiled and spoke condescendingly, as if to a child. "This be Dala. Kingdom o’ King Dal"
"And who are you?"
"I’m Jed" the boy replied. "M’dad’s in t’guard" he continued, chest puffing out with childish pride in his father.
"The guard?" Ariana asked.
"If yer not t’Fire Queen, who’re ya then, to know so little?" the boy asked, suspicion creeping into his face.
Just then another small person approached, her simple dress revealing a little girl. She tugged at her brother’s hand, looking warily at Ariana.
"Pa says ter come" she ordered.
"M’talking to this strange one" the boy protested.
"I’ll tell’m then that yer too busy to mind, shall I?" the girl asked sweetly.
The boy scowled and moved away. The girl began to leave too, but looked back with strangely wise eyes and softly spoke: "Remember tisn’t always safe in t’Kingdom." "Step lightly an’ follow t’fire." Having offered this enigmatic advice, the girl scampered away.
Ariana, now more confused than ever, was left to ponder her situation. She was trapped in a massive monolith of rock. She was bruised and sore from her encounters with those who lived here, and she had no idea how to escape. Despite the welcome food and water she had found, she felt weak and unable to move forward. Even if she had energy, she reasoned, where should she go? She had seen no entrances or exits from the "Kingdom" when she was outside. Thinking this through, she drifted off into a fitful sleep.
Awaking with a start after only a few minutes, Ariana saw an orange glow off to her right. Remembering the girl’s advice, and seeing no better option, Ariana moved toward the source of the light.
The corridor turned out to be another set of stairs winding upward. Ariana could not see any obvious source for the glow that surrounded her, but it continued to light her way as she advanced upward. As she climbed, Ariana felt exhaustion creep into her bones. Her muscles protested every step, and her back and side throbbed in dull pain. Her brief naps outside the rock and behind the stones seemed too little and too long ago. Ariana concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, moving upward into the heavy darkness.
Unlike the other stairways that Ariana had used, this one did not end quickly. She climbed and climbed, but saw no openings leading to new levels or other corridors. Ariana made herself keep moving, afraid that stopping to rest might mean never getting up again.
After some time, Ariana spotted an opening in the rock. Creeping forward cautiously, she peeked through. From her spot she could see a crowd of people in a wide cavern. There were men and women carrying wide sacks full of unidentifiable objects, their skin the darkest that Ariana had seen inside. There were also men and women in chains looking apprehensive and defiant. All these people were all looking expectantly toward a door in the wall on the other side of the hall. This was the first door Ariana had seen in the massive boulder that Jed called "Dala." Men wearing the same uniform as those she had seen earlier, lower in the kingdom guarded the door on either side.
One of the soldiers suddenly spoke, with an air of ceremony.
"We open now the door. Beware to he who exits, for welcome is not given to all who return." He indicated the door. "Beware to he who enters, for not all who enter will be allowed to stay." With this last, he opened the door. Through the door shone sunlight.
"Sunlight!" thought Ariana. "A chance to escape!" she moved forward cautiously. As she stepped into the hall, she saw the chained prisoners being moved toward the door. The crowd around her began to surge. The men and women pushed forward with their burdens, vying to reach the front of the crowd. Ariana heard mutters: "Gotta git out first" and "hordes’ll be busy with them, an’ we can slip away." She could feel the anxiety of those around her as they fought for position near the doorway. The frenzy increased as the first of the prisoners was unshackled and shoved through the doorway.
Ariana felt herself shoved from behind. She lurched into a massive man in front of her. He turned, knife drawn. "An don’ ya try it!" he swore, waving the weapon in her face. The crowd behind Ariana surged again, and she was thrown into the man and his companion once more.
The man cursed and swung at Ariana, missing her by inches. Ariana ducked, seeking escape. The man’s knife connected with a woman behind her, and the woman swung, both at the man and at Ariana. On the ground, as the battle spread, in front of Ariana appeared a staff of golden wood carved with stylized flames. She grabbed the stick desperately and held it over her head to protect herself.
The crowd was now in full riot, fighting, swinging and lunging at one another. Ariana managed to stand and fended off blows with her staff, surprised when the batons of metal and the sharp knives rebounded from her weapon. Ariana swung desperately with the staff, knocking others aside as she tried to move toward the door, toward the only escape.
She was pushed and shoved. Blows periodically fell on her back and shoulders. Ariana fought unconsciously, unaware of how she was able to fight as she did. She felt her strength drain as the adrenaline in her system faded. Then before she knew it, she was at the door. Two guards blocked the way, their weapons crossed in front of the opening. From the platform in front of the opening Ariana could see a path winding down the side of the monstrous rock, could see the fighting going on at the bottom, where the newly released fought for their lives against the hordes of the plain.
As she stood, poised to flee the rock forever, she heard all activity and noise behind her cease. She turned and found hersef face to face with a person who could only be Dal, King of the rock.
Dal was an imposing figure, blond, like Ariana, but with pale skin that accented his dark eyes. He stood like a warrior, legs spread slightly, hand on the sword holstered at his waist. A voluminous cape flowed from his bare shoulders, and an intricately worked circlet sat atop his head. He was not a huge man, but well muscled, and tall enough to look down at Ariana as she stood hunched against the wall. Two pairs of guards, heavily armed and restless flanked the King. The crowd below stood silent, watching Dal.
"I am Dal." He said heavily, fixing Ariana with a direct gaze.
"So I see." She replied, too exhausted to be polite.
"So you would leave us?" He continued, motioning toward the door.
"Yes I would."
"You must not." he declared.
At this point, Ariana’s patience and self-composure crumbled. She lashed out:
"My lord," she began, her voice slippery with sarcasm "I have no desire to stay. Since my unusual and unexplained arrival in your kingdom, I have been assaulted, robbed, kidnapped, offered for sale as a whore and attacked with various weapons. I see little in your kingdom that convinces me to become a resident."
The guards tensed, and the crowd below held its breath, waiting for Dal’s reaction. He smiled tightly, and asked, with an equal amount of sarcasm "So you do not approve of my work here?"
"I do not."
His eyes burned with anger and passion. He spoke, however, with firm control in his voice.
"Civilization must rebegin somewhere. When I was born, there was total chaos and the cannibals of the wastes rode everywhere, destroying what they touched. The pathetic descendants of the last scientists huddled, scared and powerless in the last remnants of their colony labs. They did not help, they did not even try. My family were warriors, riding the wastes and trading their services for food. We were well respected, but knew that it was no way for men to live.
When my family found this place, they began again. We let others in who seemed willing to try community. We organized fishing in the great river, and found the caves of edible growths that the mountain provides us. We let in some that should have remained outside, and others still now try to ruin what we have built. We must, however, not reject the attempt, but better it and keep us all alive."
He waited for a response. Seeing none, he continued. "You would rather try your chances with the crowd below?" he motioned out the door to the base of the rock, where the fate of those who had left was better unseen and unknown.
He continued. "I don’t know how, but I know you must stay. I was drawn here, to this spot, to prevent you from leaving. You are not a trader or hunter, like the others, wise in the ways of outside and ready to kill. You say you were robbed; you have no supplies. You say you were attacked; your body is not ready to fight the gangs. Stay with us. Help the kingdom. I offer you my protection." He finished. She looked at him, standing tall, the muscles of his arms betraying the tension he felt as he faced her.
Ariana thought sluggishly, leaning against the wall. Her mind seemed as exhausted as her body. She looked outside to the path, to freedom and to an uncertain future in the desert. She looked again at the King, surrounded both by violence and good intentions. She flailed inwardly. What to do? Finally, like a hallucination born of fatigue, Ariana saw the ghost of a flame dance in the doorway to the outside. The flame became a flying creature and darted to hover near the King’s shoulder. The light warmed his face, and made Ariana’s decision: "I will stay."
Dal’s guards escorted Ariana through the crowd, which parted deferentially to let the King pass. They wound through endless corridors, before stopping at an entrance guarded by two of Dal’s soldiers. The King spoke: "my men will escort you to your room. A maid will soon attend you. Ask of her anything you wish."
Strangely sad that she would be leaving his presence, but too tired to argue, Ariana nodded and followed the guards. They led her to a large and comfortable room in the rock, complete with a bed, comfortable chairs and a large basin that burbled in the corner as fresh water appeared from the wall. Ariana sank into one of the chairs. Almost immediately a young girl appeared at her side. "What is yer wish m’lady?" asked the child in a soft voice. "To sleep" replied Ariana, and heard soft footsteps fade away.
Ariana woke, not in the chair, but in the bed. She lay on soft blankets that seemed to be woven of the weeds she had seen below in the river. The blanket rippled in color as the iridescence of the plants caught the light of a lantern by her bed. On the same table as the light sat a tray with food and a pitcher of something to drink. Ariana began to eat hungrily.
Soon the child appeared again.
"What is your name?" asked Ariana.
"Lu, m’lady"
"You needn’t call me ‘m’lady’" Ariana observed.
"All guests of our King deserve such respect" replied Lu, her eyes cast downward.
"You have such love for Dal?"
"Oh yes my lady!" Lu cried, now looking directly at Ariana. "He is our protector and friend. He saved me himself from sure death in the wastes. He is always good and kind!" her eyes shone with devotion.
Ariana smiled at the child while retaining some skepticism about the ideals of a man who traveled armed and heavily guarded.
Lu indicated clothing draped over one of the chairs. "After you have eaten and dressed, m’lady, the King requests your presence" she announced brightly, and asking if Ariana required anything else, took her leave.
Ariana ate her breakfast hungrily and surveyed the offered clothing. The robes were made of a soft weave that revealed the iridescence of the river weeds. Several loose and flowing garments of several colors had been left for her to choose from. She chose a red and orange dress that fell straight to her ankles. The sleeves flared out like wings, and folded back so that she could easily use her hands. She found a golden belt with intricate beadwork to cinch her waist and a clip for her hair. Thankfully shedding the grimy rags that she had worn since her flight from Primera, Ariana went to the basin and climbed in. Lu had left an ingenious pouch that warmed the water, and soaps had been set on the side.
After bathing and dressing, Ariana stepped cautiously through the hangings that served as a door to her room. A guard sprung to attention and stepped to guide her to the cavern where the King awaited her. He stood behind his stone desk as she entered the room.
"Has everything you needed been provided to you?" he asked politely.
"Yes, my lord" she replied, thinking that the King’s generosity deserved respect from her in return, despite her reservations.
"I am glad."
"I wonder now, though, my Lord, what you wish of me? You said that I should help the kingdom, but I have little idea how I could do such a thing."
Dal’s face turned thoughtful. He looked down at his desk.
"The truth is that I am unsure as well. I was drawn to the gate for reasons that I do not understand, and asked you to stay based on a mysterious intuition." He shrugged. "As my instincts have generally served me well as a warrior, I followed them in this instance. My idea, however, of what you are here to do remains uncertain."
"In any event" he continued, "It will not hurt to have an outside opinion. I am sure that you are new to our kingdom. You have been critical, now perhaps you may lend constructive advice. I only ask that you stay awhile."
Ariana had to admit that this proposition sounded reasonable, and her opinion of the King rose.
"I will order my guards to give you a tour of the kingdom. Perhaps afterwards you will make some suggestions." Dal guided her to the door, a friendly hand on her waist. "I will not accompany you, for I wish an uninfluenced opinion." He ushered her out, leaving her skin warm where he had touched her.
Ariana shook off whatever thoughts had surfaced because of that brief touch, and concentrated on the adventure ahead. She admitted to herself that, if escorted by armed guards, she would be interested to see more of the kingdom in the rock. Seeing the staff that she had used the previous day sitting by the door, she took it in hand. The wood was warm and pleasing, and she decided to take it with her. With her staff, she followed along with her escort.
As her tour progressed, Ariana soon became lost amid the twists and turns of the corridors. The huge monolith was apparently honeycombed with passages. These passages led to small caves used for housing or business and to huge caverns that could hold thousands of people. Stairs that were carved into large vertical shafts led from level to level and smaller shafts seemed to be used for garbage and waste disposal.
Ariana saw springs that burst from the walls, allowing the inhabitants access to water. She saw strange fields of mushroom-like growths that grew from cavern walls and ceilings. She saw men and women working among the crops harvesting and sorting. She even saw small groups of children being taught various jobs and trades. Ariana saw, she had to admit, a nascent civilization trading, feeding itself and educating its young. Her estimation of Dal and his family rose again. If they had come from the savage wastes outside, they had accomplished much in organizing a functioning community.
There was another side, however, to what Ariana saw. She observed families huddled in groups, obviously near starvation. She saw fights break out among young packs of people. She witnessed the suspicious way that all citizens looked at each other, and in the quarter where she herself had been offered for sale as a slave, she saw women being used for unmentionable purposes. Whatever the accomplishments of the King in his kingdom, the people and culture here still needed something. Thinking, as she walked, Ariana could almost put her finger on what was missing, but every time her mind formed an idea, it skittered frustratingly away.
Everywhere she went, she heard people mutter under their breaths and look at her with a combination of fear and awe. She attributed this to her heavily armed escort, which marked her as a friend of the King.
Becoming tired, she asked to rest awhile. The guards were happy to oblige, and the party stopped in another small market to eat. Ariana took the opportunity to question her protectors.
"What has been done to try to relieve some of the suffering we have seen?"
One of the older men spoke. "We’ve bin findin’ new caves ev’ry day. We open ‘em up to the poorest so they can farm, or start a bisness"
Another added, "An’ Dal, he’s real concerned about t’crime. We’re supossed to punish whoever we see stealin’ or beatin’ a child."
Ariana thought this over as she ate.
"Where does the light come from?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Why from t’mosses, m’lady. As they glow" said one of the younger guards.
"Yes, I see that is true of the white light," Ariana said, "but what of the orange glow that I see in the corners and the corridors?"
The soldiers looked at each other in confusion. "An orange glow?" one asked tentatively. The others looked her, perplexed.
"Perhaps I imagined it" she said.
"Yes m’lady." The older guard said supportively.
After their stop, the guards took her to down to the river, where she had first entered the mountain. They explained to her that the reception that she had received was likely due to the fact that the men who "owned" the river guarded their access to it jealously. As a major source of fiber, food and water for the kingdom, they who worked the river had a lucrative business indeed.
This far inside the rock, Ariana began to feel a bit claustrophobic. She could almost feel the weight of the entire mountain pressing on her shoulders. The warm and bright presence of something unseen still seemed to follow her. She asked her guards if they ever wished to leave; to see the open sky. They looked at her, shocked.
"Would’nt never leave!" they cried.
"Its how we punish our criminals" observed one
"Only t’craziest: t’traders, scavengers and hunters try to leave"
"An’ most don’ come back."
"Anyway," the oldest observed, with an air of authority, "The mountain, she give us all we need."
Ariana could see how the inhabitants would come to love their home. The rock protected them, sheltered them and gave them light and food. The walls around them almost exuded a sense of life. She nodded and followed her escort.
The group began the long return up to the King’s quarters. By the time they arrived, Dal was waiting with an elegant meal already served. They dined together in silence. As she ate, she felt the King watching her surreptitiously. She was not offended, for she too felt a growing fascination for her host. He was strikingly attractive, and her experiences began to lead her to trust if not his accomplishments, at least his fine intentions for improving life for his subjects.
After they were through eating, Dal looked at Ariana expectantly.
"So what do you think?" he asked.
"In truth, I do not know" she sighed. "I saw many problems today, but I’m not ready yet to offer answers. I am tired again, and wonder if I might rest and think."
"Of course" Dal agreed. "Let Lu know if you need anything."
In her room, Ariana lay on her bed, mind spinning with questions. How had she come to this place? What was it that was so special about the rock? How could so many live, and breathe in the confined spaces of the mountain? What was that strange light that apparently only she had seen?
And finally, How could she help these people? Ariana drifted off.
After days of sleep that had sucked her in like a whirlpool and dragged her into exhausted black depths, Ariana dreamed.
She lay reclining, in a great cavern on sumptuous pillows of yellow and red. She wore an elaborate gown of black and gold, and the staff she had used to protect herself in the riot lay at her side. The walls were hung with tapestries of burning orange, and the roof of the cave hung with streamers of cloth that suggested a huge tent. Ariana felt warmth and comfort as a physical presence and sighed, wrapped in contentment and security.
As she lay in luxurious repose, she felt a presence in the room. Slowly drawing herself up, she saw a dark form take shape on one bare wall of the cavern. Shadows from the depressions and corners of the rock flew together, eventually forming a demon. The beast approached and stood above Ariana her, crouched on four muscular legs. The creature unfurled huge black wings flecked with red and gold and inclined its head. Over a golden beak, eyes like fire burned as they stared deeply into Ariana. Strangely, she was not afraid.
When the creature spoke, its breath darted like flames from its mouth.
"Seek the others!" It intoned in a deep and commanding voice.
"Seek the others."
When Ariana woke, the dream stayed with her as a clear and sharp memory. She could still feel the softness of the room and the warmth of the monster’s breath. She could hear its voice echoing in her ears, exhorting her to "seek the others."
Ariana lay in her bed, perplexed. Had she had a very vivid dream, or had (as it seemed in her vision) the walls of the mountain come alive to talk to her? The creature had been huge and strong, but she had felt no malevolant intent. Ariana had never seen an animal like it in her life, most fauna of the world falling victim to the virus. The monster in her dream, however, tickled some part of her memory. She had seen something like it in an old reading on the computers; what had it been called? "Oh yes," she thought, "a gryphon."
She remained confused and pensive the next day. Avoiding Dal, Ariana kept to her room, wondering about her nocturnal experience. If it had been more than a dream, what did the gryphon mean when it said "seek the others"? What others? Was the mountain speaking to her? Did all of this bear relation to the light that only she saw? Ariana thought half a day on this subject and was finally forced to admit that she didn’t know. She did feel, however, that her experience had been more than a mere dream, and if that were true, she needed to start seeking. She called to the guards.
The guards assured Ariana that they had standing orders to take her wherever she wanted to go. Ariana, without any conscious destination, set out into the lower regions of the monolith. She walked with the guards, following her instincts until they were in a section that she had not previously visited.
The guards informed Ariana that this was one of the new areas recently opened to the poorer citizens of the kingdom. Ariana saw that there did indeed seem to be more opportunity, but a complete lack of organization. A scuffle was taking place around a source of water in the corner, and two groups of men were arguing about who had "claimed" a wall of mushrooms first. She asked the guards if there were any effort made to regulate the expansion of the kingdom. The guards shrugged, obviously unaware of any steps that could be taken to help. Ariana was still exploring the great cavern when the tussle at the spring escalated.
Enraged at others who were trying to steal "his" water, one of the men began to lash out with a sword-like weapon. Blood spattered the walls of the cavern as the weapon found its mark. Soon, others rushed to defend the fallen and attack the sword-wielding man and his allies. The fighting spread. The two men at the field of mushrooms came to blows, and like a contagion violence erupted on all sides. Ariana was pinned to the wall as her guards protected her from the melee. Others of Dal’s guards appeared in the entrance to the cavern and began to try to calm the throng. Their use of weapons, however, only served to enrage the crowd further, turning the group of people into the most dangerous of animals, a senseless mob.
The people now fought for no other reason than to release the tension and despair that they had felt their whole lives. They struck at anyone near them. The newly arrived guards were quickly overtaken.
Shoved from side to side by the fighting, Ariana glimpsed Dal himself enter the room and begin to bring down all those he could reach. The noise reached nearly intolerable levels. The sound of metal on metal, the screams of the people and the crying of children filled the air. Ariana was thrown to the ground as one of her guards fell.
Lying on the ground, Ariana found herself looking into the eyes of another woman. The woman huddled against the cavern wall, her husband’s bleeding head in her lap, a frightened child held protectively behind her. Fear swam in the woman’s eyes like icy mist, and her pale face, framed by dark hair, showed fear and pain. She clutched a piece of metal before her like a shield, desperately trying to protect her family.
The woman and Ariana stared at each other for a long moment. For Ariana, the crowd quieted. She could no longer hear the fighting going on around and above her. Time seemed to pause and was replaced with a dream-like feeling of slow motion. Ariana was transfixed by the face before her.
Moved by a sense of recognition and a growing warmth inside her, Ariana opened her mouth to speak. She did not know what she intended to say, but in the end it did not matter, for speech was not what came from her throat.
As Ariana opened her mouth, a bright orange flame shot forth and lanced toward the woman at the wall. The flame was met by a pale blue mist that had formed around the woman, swirling like a winter wind, encompassing her and her family.
When the Ariana’s fire met the ice of her sister, there was a deafening thunderclap, and a light as bright as the desert sun shone over the two women. Ariana stood, and found herself now alone, the individual members of the mob now prone, gazing at her with fear and awe. Ariana saw the now familiar orange light surround her, and as she stepped forward, felt two majestic wings open behind her. Holding her staff, Ariana’s fiery hair and robes whipped around her body in the storm that raged in the cavern.
Across from Ariana, next to the wall, the woman stood. Her formally ragged clothing now shone pure white in the light, and the shield she had held now gleamed bright silver at her side. Icy wisps of smoke swirled around her, and her pale blue eyes now seemed to burn with an intensity that suggested great power.
A familiar voice boomed in Ariana’s mind.
"This one wears the protection of the Ice"
"Your heat combats her cold."
"Find the balance."
Ariana stood in wonder as the light began to fade, reducing the scene to that of two more ordinary women, facing each other, surrounded by fallen heaps of people who began to whisper reverently.
"T’Fire Queen!"
"An’ her sister Ice!"
"Come t’save us?"
"Come t’kill us?"
The whispering grew. Ariana turned to her new sister, who she could only assume was one of the mysterious "others," and spoke.
"Perhaps you should come with me."
Ariana’s now shaken guards took her to where Dal waited. A litter was hastily assembled for the woman’s husband and the whole party moved silently back to his quarters, higher in the rock.
When they arrived, Ariana saw them settled comfortably in one of the caves that made up Dal’s quarters. She asked the woman her name.
"Mara," she replied, looking nervous and unsure. "And you? Who are you?"
"I am Ariana," Ariana began. "I am a guest of the king, and for the first time, I
now think I know why."
"Why?"
"Let me first ask you a question, Mara. Do you dream strange dreams of magical
creatures?"
"Y..yes," Mara stammered, "but how did you know that?"
"Because I have them as well. I believe we are chosen to help the people here.
Chosen by the same powers that named us fire and ice"
"But how are we to help?" asked Mara.
"I think the answer lies in my Gryphon’s command" replied Ariana.
After a long and deep discussion with Mara, Ariana left the chamber and went to where Dal was waiting, nervously pacing behind his desk. He stopped when he saw her approach.
"What was that?!" he demanded.
"I think what happened below is the answer to the riddle of why I am here,"
answered Ariana. "Mara and I have both been visited by creatures, who for whatever reason have given us power. They have also instructed us to ‘find the balance’. In our case, the balance is between fire and ice."
Dal looked at Ariana warily, obviously waiting for a fuller explanation.
Ariana paused and considered how to express what she knew to be true. "I think that the mountain itself is trying to help us." she began. "I had a visit from an entity that seemed to flow from the rock. It told me to ‘seek the others.’ That is what I was doing in the cavern below. Mara is one of the others. She too has had communication from this monolith where we live. Dal, it tells us to ‘find the balance’. I now think I know what that means."
Dal continued to look at her expectantly.
"We have to find a balance," she continued, "Not just between fire and ice, but between expansion and control, between violence and peace. I feel that we were given powers to achieve this and to fix the problems that now plague the kingdom, like we ended the riot in the cavern below."
Dal pulled up defensively, hand on his sword. "So you mean to take over as ruler of the kingdom? I’m not deaf. I heard the mob call you the ‘Fire Queen’." Dal stated with barely concealed tension at the thought of losing his kingdom.
"No," replied Ariana quickly "As I said, it is a matter of balance. We must balance our desire to open new areas with a method of controlling that advancement. We must create ways to nourish the structure that does exist before we move forward to new ideas. We must find a balance between the fury and danger of fire and the suspended animation of ice, and we must surely find the balance between the nurturing desire of woman and the adventurous desire of man. I feel we can build the community and make it stronger with the help of our protectors, the Fire Gryphon and the Ice Wraith"
"The kingdom needs all of us Dal" she begged, "Fire and Ice, King and Queen. Shall we not work together?"
Dal smiled, face and body now relaxed. He took her hand. "Indeed we shall."
BIO: "I am a professor of Spanish and Latin American Literature at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. I am a lifelong fan of sf, but a very new author who bows on bended knee to the pantheon of Herbert, Bradbury and Tepper. I have published academically in the field of Latin American poetry and have to my name one story in Aphelion titled By the Pricking of My Thumbs." (No. 30, Vol. 3, November, 1999).
E-mail: enichols@lib.drury.edu
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