Chapter 18: Tether Transit

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - The Blightbane Guild

“Caim, you should wake up,” a soft voice beckoned.

“Vera?” Caim asked, his mind lingering in a dream.

The gaps in his memory had been temporarily filled by the nonsensical contents of this dream. The cluttered cognition of his waking world rearranged to give the illusion of stability.

“Was Vera a kind of mother figure for you?” the voice asked.

Was she?

After pondering, Caim dismissed the suggestion. Vera knew everything about him, but she was most definitely not Caim’s mother or anything like it.

The foggy thoughts began clearing away. Caim felt refreshed and even retained a semblance of that dreamworld stability.

“I apologize for falling asleep like that,” he mumbled to the one he now recognized as Mille. “I must have been tired. How long was I out?”

“You took a light nap,” she answered.

That didn’t feel like a nap. I’m completely refreshed.

“I needed to wake you because we should be on our way. One of our destinations will close soon, but we have time if we leave now.”

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Tether Transit (Gate District)

The golden metal platform descended down the dark vertical shaft with a loud rumble. Caim kept his feet planted firmly on the ground, but that didn’t make him feel any safer. Six dark grey walls closed them into this cramped space.

Six. It’s always six with Shroud.

Small light fixtures embedded in wall alcoves every few meters shone with dull violet light. Too faint to force back the claustrophobic atmosphere.

If something went wrong, there didn’t appear to be any way to ascend back up to the streets of Maliscade. To distract himself from this thought, he tried to make conversation with his only companion, Mille.

“Alice told me I’d be amazed by the way people in the city get around,” he began, awkwardly staring at the wall instead of who he was talking to. He didn’t continue.

“Oh?” she answered, equally unable to make small talk during the slow descent.

This is awkward.

There was a long pause before Caim thought of something to ask.

“Shroud really has such incredible magical technology. But you must be used to it, right?” Caim laughed nervously.

“The ‘loader’? Mechanical, not magic,” Mille corrected in likely the most monotone voice a faron was capable of producing. She forced herself to go on. “If it were magitech, people wouldn’t be so comfortable making the trip.”

Her conduits were devoid of emotive light.

“I didn’t mean any offense by that. It’s just that magitech can sometimes be temperamental, and… Well, you’ll get to experience some magetech pretty soon. The transportation rail uses enchanted machinery to accelerate and decelerate. There are mundane emergency systems for deceleration, as well.”

“Oh, really?” Caim answered absentmindedly, still staring at the same wall.

“I feel bad,” Mille offered.

“Huh? Why?” He asked, refocusing on her words.

“Magic appears to be all you know. I insulted what is essentially your culture when you are doing your best to understand ours,” she explained.

If anything, saying that magic appears to be all I know is more insulting.

Caim thought carefully before responding.

“I didn’t see it that way. Anyway, you say this ‘Tether Transit’ thing is safe?”

Mille performed the seeker salute to hastily and effectively communicate that he was correct.

“I prom-” she began, but she was interrupted when the loader stopped descending, and a loud clang reverberated up the shaft.

Mille pointed behind Caim, and he twisted around to discover that one of the walls was slowly opening to reveal a tunnel passage. Mille walked through the doorway with Caim close behind.

“It is safe,” she assured him. “We are insulated from the darksprawl.”

That word sounded like an important thing to know, but Caim was too distracted. He took Mille at her word that they were safe enough.

Mille’s dress shoes echoed cleanly throughout the tunnel. Her stride was even, and she walked at just the right pace. Caim found it much easier to trust the assurances of Mille than her wild friend Alice. It was the way she walked.

“This artwork is incredible,” he exclaimed, gesturing to the colorful murals lining the tunnel.

Shroud-purple chains extended from the theocracy’s six-pointed, fractured star symbol. One strand for each point. Many stars decorated the expanse of a brilliant rainbow cosmos. The chains from each one linked to its neighbors.

“Yes,” Mille mouthed. “Shroud offers Tether Transit to citizens of good standing, free of charge.”

It doesn’t sound like she likes or dislikes the art. Unconflicted. I can’t read her.

An open door bathed the end of the tunnel in golden light. Caim couldn’t see beyond the glow, but Mille confidently passed through the small entrance.

Without looking back, she beckoned with a four-fingered hand.

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Tether Transit (Gate District)

“Please sit down, and I’ll adjust the restraints,” Mille requested, pointing to a row of metal seats cushioned with black leather.

Caim looked back at the door. It remained open, as did another on the opposite side of the chamber. The walls of the narrow room were painted Shroud purple, bearing a gentle luster.

Mille’s conduits projected a gentle blue to strip away Caim’s reservations. He sat down and stared into the faron’s silver irises, allowing her to pull black belts of cloth across his chest. She locked them in place with purple metal clasps. Sitting down in a seat opposite Caim’s row, Mille fastened her own harness.

Without warning, the restraints constricted Caim’s body automatically. He tugged at them, and they slackened. Some kind of enchantment was responding to his movements.

“Don’t do that,” Mille advised. “The tighter they are, the safer you’ll be. Once we start moving, they will behave differently, for your own safety.”

Caim nodded silently, sinking back into his seat while the straps closed in on him again.

The two sat in mildly uncomfortable silence for a short while. Caim realized that a simplified form of the chain pattern was painted on the walls and floor of the room.

“What do these chains represent?” he dared to ask.

“Tether Transit is named after the concept of the ‘soul tether’,” Mille explained. “These immortal bindings connect an individual’s being to the Hexaline. Soul tethers flourish and wither in response to a person’s actions.”

Shroud had effectively linked public transportation to the divine with art and architecture. The benevolent gesture of a free service came with a message.

“The point being that Shroud is reminding us to be pure with this art,” Caim reasoned. “And because the government benefits from pure actions and decides precisely where our steps cross over into heresy…” Caim trailed off.

“... works of art like these are warnings,” she completed his sentence.

“That is a pragmatism I can understand. Beautiful reminders or no, I wasn’t planning on stepping out of line.”

“Good. Interestingly, that mural doesn’t depict our tethers to The Strangers. Not even in a way that conveys their profaned nature.”

“Tethered to The Strangers…” Caim mumbled.

Before Mille could respond, footsteps clanked across the threshold.

“I couldn’t help but catch the topic of your conversation,” a man greeted, entering the small cabin.

He crossed into view, outstretched hand first, tossing a friendly wave in the pair’s general direction. The human newcomer flashed a charming smile full of rows of pristine white teeth. This unflinching smile and his squinting eyes seemed to look through them.

The stranger wore tight black cloth bands with exquisite Shroud-purple embroidery. Separate pieces wrapped around different sections of his body. It didn’t even look like a proper outfit.

So immaculate was the fabric, the man could probably walk through a dingy alley without collecting a speck of dust.

“We were,” Mille answered, projecting a steady blue for a while before allowing it fade away.

The man looked to be in his early-to-mid thirties. Medium-length wavy brown hair was short on the sides and brushed up atop his head, meticulously held in place with a touch of oil.

Caim didn’t know what it was about the exchange that gave him this reaction, but he sensed overwhelming danger. Not the kind that required a swift response, but a variety that might just pass by if only he could just remain perfectly still.

The stranger strode forward and gripped the metal rail beside Caim’s seat. He was lightly armored, white metal, and purple padding showed through gaps in his peculiar clothing.

Caim could now see delicate black stitching decorating the stranger’s back, extending out along his arms. The pattern reminded him of a network of roads on a map. The purple embroidery on his cloth bands were main streets, and the other pattern resembled side roads and alleyways.

The man’s entire body was decked out like a map.

“What is your name, young man?” the stranger asked softly.

Caim’s eyes darted to Mille, who nodded for him to answer. Caim saw her conduits pulse a faint blue before he looked back in the stranger’s direction.

“I am Caim. And you?” he answered, as politely as he could.

Though it was almost imperceptible in his peripheral, Caim saw Mille’s hand twitch. The stranger didn’t seem to notice. He chuckled.

“You won’t persuade me to relinquish the name of my birth if that’s what you’re after, but nowadays I transmit under the name ‘Gillis’,” he declared, swiftly taking a seat beside Caim.

Gillis was particularly enthused when Caim respectfully nodded in response to being told who he was speaking to.

“Usually, I get the same boring reactions whenever someone recognizes me. If I need to give my name to a citizen, I can be sure they’ll bore me to tears with their apologetic groveling.”

Gillis leaned closer, and Caim’s heart thumped until he heard ringing in his ears. He forced his body to remain still. Discreetly, he slowed his breathing and his heart.

“And what is your name, Caim’s Guild companion?” Gillis turned to ask Mille.

Mille answered with not only her name but her Guild title as well.

Gillis smiled before turning his attention back to Caim. He reached out and put a hand on Caim’s chest. Somehow, Caim had managed to calm himself by this point.

Caim went from feeling like prey encountering a new breed of predator to a confused calm as a result of the unexpected touch. His tension eased up, just slightly.

“Young man, it seems like you were thinking about inquiring as to why a person shouldn’t try to break free of The Strangers’ tethers. Am I correct? After all, why should a link to a contaminant be a good thing?”

“I don’t want to question what it means to be Shaden,” Caim hastily explained, trying to mask his ignorance and avoid further scrutiny.

The mysterious Gillis had silently begun to strap himself in, but he paused. He looked closer at Caim’s face, showing mild disappointment. Glacial blue eyes glazed over.

What did I do? Is there some custom I broke? Caim wondered, growing anxious.

Unexpectedly, Gillis saw something and backed off with a triumphant grin.

“I have something to share if you’ll listen, Caim,” Gillis announced.

“What is it?”

Gillis opened his mouth, but he turned when he heard footsteps. A woman opened the door to their cabin and strode down the aisle. The doors to the room closed.

This Tether Transit employee was quickly identifiable by the Shroud symbol on her purple jumpsuit.

The woman moved in a pre-planned order. She checked Mille’s restraints first, moving on to Caim, and finally noticing Gillis hadn’t completely fastened his own.

“Please fasten your restraints, sir,” she began in an annoyed tone. “Even though this cabin is barren, we do not want to keep our other passengers waiting.”

Gillis smiled up at her without a word. The employee seemed to recognize him, and hastily looked down while apologizing profusely.

“It isn’t my place to tell you what to do. However, it is my duty to make sure all passengers safely arrive at their destination,” she reasoned, in a deeply conflicted tone.

Still smiling, Gillis swiftly clasped his restraints across his chest. He gestured for the woman to check them, and she did.

“You are doing an excellent job. Please don’t apologize. Tether Transit facilitates my own work. Transportation, like communication, allows us all to overcome the barriers of physical distance,” he charmed.

“It is as you say,” she answered meekly. “Thank you.”

The woman brought her left hand up to her eyes and formed a visor with her thumb spread from her other digits, briefly masking her sight. Following this gesture, she quickly retreated the way she had come and disappeared past the door.

That’s quite the salute, Caim observed.

Subject: Caim Location: Maliscade - Tether Transit (Active)

The seats in the room reconfigured themselves. Caim felt his seat rise and lift his feet from the floor. Pairs of seats moved on mechanical arms to position themselves facing forward, before locking into place. Mille was on Caim’s right, Gillis on his left.

Everything shuddered, and there was the sensation of moving forward. Caim suspected that Mille would have warned him about this had they not met their unexpected guest.

This is nothing compared to what Vera put me through, he thought.

“We can talk while the rail takes care of the rest,” Gillis suggested.

Caim nodded as the cabin accelerated. It was impossible to guess how fast they were going, but he could feel his body pressed against the back cushion with greater and greater force.

“What did you want to share?” Caim asked.

“It’s nothing much... just something I’d like to mention about Soul Tethers,” Gillis began, and Caim cautiously listened without turning to face Gillis. “It is believed that a person’s actions and their faith is transferred to the deity they are tethered to, just as divine boons and divine judgments can be received through their link.”

Gillis continued speaking at a higher volume, but naturally, like he had long grown accustomed to this manner of travel.

“That is a part of our faith that I think we don’t explore enough. We do address it, mind you, but there are deeper implications.”

Gillis paused, and Caim expectantly awaited the stranger’s next words.

“Your beliefs affect the Hexaline, and so do those of the seeker comrades you’ll soon make. That means that, if you get enough of them together, your beliefs can shape our faith. You don’t want to commit heresy by questioning our leaders. I respect that. But communication is multifaceted. Actions communicate belief, too.”

Caim nodded hesitantly, unsure what else to do. He doubted Gillis was looking at him, but Caim was busy reasoning that the man must have noticed that he was a prospective seeker from Mille’s uniform. Gillis didn’t seem to know Mille personally.

“What do you think you would do with the power to shape the faith of a nation?” Gillis asked. “What should a person have the right to do?” he pressed on.

Caim did his best to affect what he remembered of Alice’s pious attitude, a mask to hide him from this stranger.

“I don’t think it is my place to change the Hexaline. I would do what I can to follow holy rulings.”

In the silence that followed, Caim felt Gillis frowning. He struggled to turn his head just enough to see his fellow passenger and confirmed a look of disapproval. Somehow, the frown didn’t seem genuine. Maybe it was something about the blue in the pair of eyes staring back, but it was like the stranger wasn’t convinced. It seemed like he had decided to feign disapproval to play along.

“What a remarkably boring response. I thought you’d be better than that,” Gillis chastised.

The train began a slow descent from their incredible speed, all the way down to a stop. The transition took a very long time. Caim, Gillis, and Mille sat in silence the whole way.

“You interested me at the start of our conversation, but you disappoint me. I had also hoped your minder would speak up at some point, but I supposed that can only be expected of faron.”

Gillis complained in a way that seemed like he wasn’t actually insulting Mille by mentioning her race. Before he realized the stranger was provoking him, Caim took the bait.

“You mentioned communication, and I agree. Communication can help close emotional distances, too.

“There is something there,” Gillis beamed. “Something I’d like to explore.”

Gillis unclasped his restraints with a practiced motion and stretched his legs forward before standing up. The doors in the cabin opened automatically, perfectly timed.

“I’m on important business, so it will have to wait. Who knows when we will see each other again, but be well you two,” Gillis waved and then vanished down one of the tunnels.

Caim and Mille sat in silence for a moment. Mille then stood up and quietly motioned for Caim to do the same. He did so and then glanced down the hallway after the vanished stranger. The man was long gone.

What an idiot. I’m such an absolute moron! Why did I have to open my mouth?!

“Who was that?” Caim finally dared to ask.

Before answering, Mille similarly checked to make sure their guest had indeed departed.

“That was Gillis, Hexaline Knight of Progress,” Mille answered without looking back at Caim. “The Hexaline Knights are some of the most powerful figures in Shroud’s government, which also makes them some of the worst people we could have encountered on a random trip.”

“More dangerous than an Enforcer? At least he seemed friendly...”

“Unimaginably so,” Mille flatly replied, projecting a flickering red. “For him to have taken an interest in you, we are both lucky to be alive. Alice was right. You attract danger like no one I’ve ever met.”