Chapter 4

Discovery

Ariei

We sit still in the vast Chamber of Council, its vast circular form coveting the central podium. On three tiers sits the entire population of Ios, a collection of individuals whose experiences spread and connect in ways that I can hardly contemplate. An entire community, and yet each of us are only close with so few. The entire space is built inside of a massive opening in the cave, tucked away through a large crevice- in case of invasion, to hide as many citizens as possible- to the side as a stopgap between the Emberstrand’s Guild and the main city. The entire space is stone, with ornate copper and gold dressings lining every surface. It is still worked on, year by year, day by day- a truly living art piece.

Waiting below in the central podium is a small group of emberstrand- my father, his assistant Rietus, and the commander of the guild, Liet. She stands tall, her black flowing cape doing little to hide the massive blade slung across her back. Her armor is a shined black steel, connecting in thick plates up to the black hood that shadows her face. She whispers something to my father, and I watch as he scans the crowd to settle his eyes on me. He enthusiastically gives me the emberstrand’s salute, a wide grin beaming at me.

Conveniently, Sekra and Aaro next to me just in time for me to pretend to miss it.

Before I can tell Aaro anything, Sekra immediately gets a few words out. “I’ve set the rigs.”

“Good. How?”

“I stole some timed cable connectors from the medical storage. Within the hour, right?”

I nod. “Exactly. Right after the important announcements, before the generalized statistics. It should time out perfectly.”

Aaro is displaying a sly smirk. “So, are you two planning to cause some havoc? I’d join in, but if you’re planning on doing something entirely illegal, I'd prefer not to be involved. Harms my chances in the government, you know. Although cutting off the lights does add some anonymity to the proceedings.”

I pause, raising an eyebrow. “How did you know we were going to dampen the light?”

She giggles softly. “Because, what else would you rig?” She motions around at the seated crowd, the chairs carved from the thick branches of rootwood. “We’re in a giant room full of people. What other chaos could you cause without getting caught? ”

Sometimes I forgot that we’re still young and idiotic. How much more obvious could we be? The emberstrand will notice that my friends and I are missing first. They are well known because of me. We'll have to move quickly once it happens.

I look around and, ensuring nobody is paying too much attention to us at the moment, lean in. Aaro looks at me with her bright blue eyes, curious. I whisper.

“We’re investigating a rumor, near the sewage treatment facility. Apparently there’s a new structure that appeared.” I don’t want to tell many, but I need more people to know where the escape route is so they can lead others there. My main concern is doing it without revealing too much. “Sekra and I are going to see if it's true."

Her long, blonde braided hair bobs as she laughs. “Then why does it need to be tonight? And don’t you think that if it really existed, SOMEBODY would have found it?”

It’s a small remark, but it makes me think. How would Braham have kept it hidden from the general public? With the space as compact as it is, surely some lost child or worker near the sewage system would have discovered it. How many people are involved in this?

She sees me pause to think and laughs even more. “See. You two are just sneaking off to drink slag or get some privacy." Sekra shifts uncomfortably in his chair. She continues. “Unlike you degenerates, I have more important things to do.”

I squint annoyedly. “Like your standard theorizing about old myths? Do you ever gain anything new from them?”

She sighs. “No, Ariei. I’m reading over old medical records to identify how human musculature works. I’m trying to build a new wearable machine to help us lift heavier objects.”

I laugh. “Leave it to you. How does it work?”

She starts to explain, her hands gesturing wildly to help illustrate its methodology. “It’s worn like a sleeve, going up to the shoulder like a cage. It uses a boiling water mechanism located above the elbow to activate the machinery inside, of which its release is triggered by a gear that rotates and senses movement.”

“...Which?”

“Uses the cage to provide additional force.”

I nod. “...Wouldn’t that just add the weight of the cage to the already heavy object?”

She hits me playfully on the arm. “Hey, it’s a work in progress!”

Sekra locks eyes with me as he chuckles. I give him a reassuring nod, trying to tell him it’s okay that we let her come along. He continues the previous conversation. “Aaro, we’re serious. We want to check this out, and we could use some help. What do you think?”

She considers for a moment. “All right. It’s not too often I get to see new things in the city. I’m in. But if you two start-”

I want to hit her.

Before I can, we see the High Prosper, Marit, walk slowly into the center of the podium. Thunderous applause fills the chamber, the sound of a civilization seeing its material representation of stoicism. He’s in his early sixties, his face growing older, yet still his sharp gaze pierces through the room- even at his lower elevation. He’s clad in a three-piece outfit, the dark gray pants and jacket accentuated by a white undershirt and bright gold buttons. His short gray hair is swept back- clean, orderly.

He stands, watching over the crowd, waiting for the commotion to die down. He starts to speak, his voice being carried through the echoing stone walls around us.

“I’d like to welcome you all to this quarterly council, each and every one of you. We have had a very grim day, as some of you may be aware. Not just today, but a grim quarter overall.” I can see my father tense up behind him. “Expansion on our exploration has begun to die down. Our food growing operations have begun to slow as we hack away at the same sources we always have, even with the growth of new produce lapsing. Any meat we could have collected has already been claimed by the eidelion, and any eidelion we kill remain poisonous without a breakthrough to solve the issue. Most importantly, I must express to you with a pained heart that we have lost our oldest emberstrand, Braham.”

The chamber is silent, save for a few quiet gasps from those who didn't already know. Soon murmurers carrying waves of conspiracy spread through the air. A normal emberstrand dying is of no importance- that is a risk of the guild, after all. But Braham is different. Braham could kill anything.

I want nothing more than to stand and explain everything. I am the answer. And yet, as I have been, I obey the wish of a dead old man. I bite my tongue. I notice Aaro's fascination with a long-haired woman in the layer below us. I wonder if she's trying to distract herself.

He continues. “Understandably, I am heartbroken. Braham was an integral part of the guild, building it up from its pathetic roots and growing it into its modern form. We would have remained as foolish and unprepared as we were for so many years if he hadn’t been here.” He waits for further discussion to silence itself. “He was killed in combat by a group of eidelion. These were not from a breed we know of.”

As soon as he says it, the muffled chatter from the crowd grows into tense discussion. These people have been given more clues to the fascinatingly morbid puzzle laid at their feet. I hear the crowd's discussion move in waves around me, from the creatures being machine constructs to other cities finally arriving and being eidelion instead of human. If only they knew how much bigger this puzzle is.

"Everyone, please! SILENCE!"

Everybody is shocked, even me. It’s rare to see Marit this way- uncouth, unprepared. He looks to the left, then moves slowly to the right, ensuring everybody meets his glare. He continues in a strained, anxious manner.

“These eidelion are different. Not only are they the largest we’ve seen yet, but… they are intelligent.” He looks at my father. “They were discovered by Braham, Edom, and his daughter-” he turns and stares directly at me- “Ariei. It was her introductory expedition.”

Nobody celebrates. They’re all just focused on the new information. It has been a day of constant stress and pandering for the populace. Now that they have something, I think they may be too stunned to stop speaking at all.

“I cannot hope to express the sheer magnitude of the effect this may have on us as a species. According to Edom, they can strategize, collaborate, outhink us. Our emberstrand are our most prestigious assets, yes; but it may not be enough. We will have to recruit more introductory emberstrand to further our exploration. It is an emergency measure. We cannot keep our current training time if these things are rapidly evolving in such a manner. We cannot remain sitting idly by, waiting for expansion to happen over time. This is no longer a hunt. “ His voice stumbles slightly. “This is a war.”

The crowd stays mostly silent, the majority clearly surprised. The emberstrand have always been seen as the specialized individuals, those chosen to risk their life for the good of the common people. Recruiting more of the populace means that the level of safety most feel will be slowly lost. He clears his throat. “In addition, we have more shocking announcements to make. I am the first outside of the emberstrand to receive such news. According to Commander Liet, one of our waypoints sent out a signal several hours ago. This was no standard case of eidelion wandering into the perimeter- it was plucked from the ground, and is being carried towards us."

My blood runs cold.

They’re coming our way. I knew they would- they already know where to follow us. We led them here. My father locks eyes with me. I now realize that his enthusiasm before was to feign normalcy until this moment. I wish I had returned the enthusiasm back.

"We must prepare for this coming menace. There is an und-"

Suddenly, a small rumble erupts throughout the cave. A high-pitched squeal is coming from above. I hear a jumble of confused exclamation coming from the audience. One, a tall woman from the machinery manufactoria, shouts above all else.

“Prosper, is it them?”

He remains quiet. He doesn’t have an answer. I look to Aaro. She returns my gaze, panicked.

“Something’s digging through the surface."

It can’t be them, then. Their craft was rudimentary, made of scavenged plant material. They can’t possibly have built something this advanced. The three of us start to stand, the others around us beginning to as well. I watch as my father and Liet draw their weapons. Rietus runs to grab Marit.

Aaro screams again. "THEY ARE DIGGING THROUGH THE SURFA-"

The sound gets closer, and closer, until it threatens to drown out everything else.

Suddenly, as quick as an arrow flying through the air, a massive spiraled drill-like object crafted from some sort of bleached white metal pierces through the rock layers above, colliding with Marit and Rietus and immediately reducing them to a thick paste that coats the immediate area a deep crimson.

Within seconds, eight more arrive.