Chapter 55 - Landscape of What Was

The sharp rays of the morning sun cut their way over the edge of the canyon above, sliding along the opposing wall at a low angle. The stark contrast of light and dark almost painful to observe as the shimmer of heat started to rise off the red-hued stone. Kitaraiya’s eyes flashed in the dark of the shade, the reflected light making her sky-blue eyes shimmer and flicker with every blink. She quickly glanced back into the dark recesses of the cavern that opened under the meeting edges of the canyon, a thin trickle of water seeped from the cool stone. It was around this that she had set their camp. A compact and meagre tent, nothing more than a simple shelter, but made of the elusive shadowsilk that blended into the shadows and became one with the surrounds.

Sweeping her tail to the side, she lowered herself and sat near the edge, her eyes on the blue sky, whose richness was growing deeper and more lustrous with every passing moment. She slowly drew her bare legs up and sat cross-legged, running her fingers through her fur absently. Already the long shadows further down the valley were shortening, the blazing sun already separating from the edge of the horizon and starting its climb. The chill of night was evaporating in the morn, the dry air burning off the condensation on the stone. A warm breeze tickled through her fur, making her bare her teeth, the scents toying with her as they rose up the valley and siphoned into and through the canyon.

Closing her eyes against the glare, she let her mind wander as she waited for her brother’s return. She flicked her ear, a twitch of her nose as a faint acrid scent stole by. A smile flittered past, a sensation of a lips pressed to her own. The sharp inhale, the alluring glimmer of amber eyes and the scent of a woman mixed with her own. A deep frown creased her brow, both ears slicked back as a recollection not of her own flooded through her senses. The touch of soft sheets and the loft of a pillow under head. The cascade of copper hair surrounding her and silvered light shining though. The taste of rose petals and azure flame before the damp heat of lips sharing passion, the slip of tongue, the grind of hips. Those amber eyes dominated her mind, the flicker of blue flame in their depths. A gentle chuckle, a whisper of his name. The soft press of her sensual body against his, the burning fire searing into his chest as their seal of destiny flared.

Kitaraiya’s eyes flew open as she gasped, her heart beating wildly, threatening to burst out of her chest as heat flooded her in a hot blush that ran through her.

“Gods…” she said under her shaking breath.

The sensation of fire prickled hotly under the skin above her heart. She frowned as she quickly checked again, almost feverishly parting her fur, searching, expecting to find what she knew was not possible. Amber eyes watched her from the dark recesses of her mind, the flash of those same eyes as her own vision grew dark, watching, looking down at her, judging her while the stinging heat on her cheek chased her from consciousness as she lay as a child on the deck.

“Sialin?!” Kitaraiya exclaimed in a shocked whisper as the memories of those eyes aligned, “But how? Lia?”

She quickly got to her feet, her eyes darting unseeing as her thoughts raced. She ran clawed fingers through her fur until they hooked the back of her neck. Those amber eyes staring at her from memories as her chest burned.

“Fuck…” she exclaimed to the silence.

Rhyker lay low over Hendosphyre’s neck, keeping his face partially shielded from the wind as they flew. He looked down, scanning the valley walls for anything out of what he would consider normal.

“Next valley, Sphyre!” he yelled out, patting the great one’s neck firmly, eliciting an immediate squawk in response.

The gryphon beat his powerful wings heavily, switching angle and increasing his speed as he climbed, allowing Rhyker a clear view of the choices ahead. Rhyker glanced below, his sharp eyes raking the arms of the foothills just before the half-risen sun shone in his eyes, the dawn already progressing and dazzling his sight. Squinting against the afterglow, he squeezed his knees against the gryphon’s sides.

“The left arm, are those structures down there?”

He ducked to the left, leaning in as Hendosphyre banked heavily, dropping altitude at speed and approaching the valley floor fast. The gryphon rode the pocket of air, allowing his hind legs to drop while swooping low, making minor adjustments while flying over the ruined road. Rhyker swept his gaze left to right, the wreckage and rusted remains of buildings. He clicked his tongue and sat up.

“Sphyre, not this one. We can check one more before we have to return to Kit.” he said, glancing about, searching for the trail of the smashed road, “Follow the road, if anything looks suspicious we will chase it down this evening.”

Hendosphyre screeched in return, tossing his head and immediately used his momentum from the dive to regain altitude before levelling off and chasing the ancient remnants of the road. Beating his wings heavily, he picked up his speed, hooking out of the valley and into the next. His passage leaving a cloud of dust, his wingtips grazed the road as it crested a saddle, the junction of two arms in their wake.

“No slowing! We sweep through and return, the heat is already increasing.” Rhyker yelled against the wind.

Hendosphyre let out an agreeable shriek that echoed off the valley walls. The lonely call echoing back to them over the wash of the wind. Rhyker watched the remains as they flickered past below, Hendosphyre already climbing again as something caught his eye. Twisting, he looked back and let out a sharp whistle. Immediately Hendosphyre slowed, gliding, banking back into the shadow of the hill. Rhyker leaned in and pointed, patting the gryphon’s neck as he aimed for the small detail that caught Rhyker’s eye. Flying closer, Rhyker quickly checked the angle of the sun and the length of the shadows cast on the valley below.

“Land, Sphyre. Even if it is not what we are looking for, it will give us a better idea of what to expect.” he said, glancing about, “When the sun hits that ridge over there, we have to leave.”

Catching Hendosphyre’s nod, he braced as the gryphon swept in to land, shedding speed with paws and claws outstretched before touching down at a run. The gryphon kept up the pace, weaving through the smashed stone and cracked paths. Rhyker’s eyes remained on what he had seen from the air, a wreckage strewn paved area and the corner of a structure that appeared to sink into the hillside.

“There, that way.” he said, pointing.

Hensdosphyre increased his pace further, loping along until they reached the remnants of a wall crumbled to dust. Heaps of rubble obscuring the view momentarily. Rhyker patted the gryphon’s neck as he wove between two boulders, suddenly in the clear, the opening exposed. Hendosphyre came to a halt before it, glancing at Rhyker as he dismounted.

“That ridge, get me the moment the sun hits it.” Rhyker said, nodding as Hendosphyre bunted his chest.

He turned, looking up at the heavy stone construction. The closed and sealed door that stood in the way. Stone that was not stone, ancient, accurate, yet neither the craft of dwarves or the elves. He walked up to its expanse as it spread out before him to either side and above reaching out a hand and feeling it, the texture porous and course-grained. Following it to the right, there was wreckage piled against the wall beside its frame, the edge of smaller doorway exposed. He gave a quick glance in the direction of the ridge, fire smouldering in his eyes as shadows started to trickle toward him, gathering in the cracks of the smashed stone paths like water after the rain.

Backing away, he gave the massive stone door a glance before giving the pile of rubble beside it his attention. Shaking his head, he brought the tip of his thumb and middle finger together, slowly increasing the tension before snapping, fire exploding from his hand as a concussive boom rocked the surrounds. Lowering his arm, dust and fine rubble showered the area while he closed on his target. He stepped over the remains of the wreckage, the door behind now exposed was twisted and hanging askew in its frame.

Grabbing at its edge, he tore it free, the inky black tendrils snaking along his arms as he widened the space. Pushing at the crumpled steel until it gave way and fell in with a crash to the floor. Flames sparked and flared in his eyes as the stale air surrounded him, the dry scent of the desert strong while he stood at the door frame. Stepping through, he waited momentarily as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Beyond was a cavernous expanse, lined with the same stone, yet not stone of the main door. Dust and sand was deep on the smooth floor.

He strode out into the chamber. His footfall muffled as the shadows clung to him in a seductive embrace, his eyes glowering with flames in readiness. He turned slowly, his sight penetrating into the dark, meeting the back wall unobscured. A slow frown creased his brow. This was too new, an underground store prepared just before the fall of the world. Prepared for an eventuality that arose before it could be put to use. Two hulks, nothing much more than shapeless piles of rust, too dilapidated to even be identified, sat sparsely along the side. Some type of machinery from an unwanted age.

Rhyker walked silently past them, giving one a long, curious stare. Its thick steel plates delaminated and puffed, eaten by time. Once strong, now fragile, a caricature of its purpose and a chilling reminder of human motivation and desire for power. This man-made cavern was a single level, cut into the hillside. A place to store machines, or a temporary shelter for those that never needed it. His curiosity slowly shifted to anger, familiarity between the worlds, where he and his sister had came from. Those places his parents had researched in the desert at the behest of the bastards of the Enclave. Those they gave their life for, lost to the whims of the Chancellor. Lost to the desert sands, the broken allure of lost knowledge and the decayed tech of humanity’s greatest mistake, the mistake of greed that cost the world. Greed that cost the children their parents.

He gritted his teeth, his newfound shade wrapping him and comforting him in its dark embrace as he swept his gaze once more from one side to the other. Resisting the urge to turn everything, even the manufactured stone to a molten mess before him. The faint call, a shriek sounded, a rustle of thoughts in his mind, Hendosphyre was signalling the sun on the ridge. It was time to leave. Rhyker stalked from the chamber. Shielding his eyes as he emerged from the ruin, the glare of the sun greater than he would have liked.

“Hendosphyre!” he called, catching sight of the gryphon through the sharp bite of the sun’s rays.

Rhyker walked over to the shade and waited as Hendosphyre wove through the ruins. Dipping a wing and allowing him to mount quickly, the great one took off at a run as he hooked his legs in. The gryphon leapt up onto the upper wall in one smooth motion before bounding off again and into the air, Rhyker pulling himself tight to Hendosphyre’s neck as his wings unfurled and clawed at the air, pulling them higher with every rapid sweep. He looked back as they ascended into the light, the next valley over catching his attention as they crested the next ridge. He quickly glanced at the rising sun, its edge giving a final lingering kiss to the horizon.

“Sphyre!” he shouted over the wind, “Last one, circle back to the right, low and fast sweep up the valley then we return.”

Feeling the great beast shift, he leaned in as Hendosphyre banked and lowered his head, tapering his wings and dove. Gliding in hard and fast along the spine of the ridge, dropping into the shade and descending hard into the valley. A sharp grin came to Rhyker’s lips as he realised what Hendosphyre was going to do as they picked up more speed. He looked down, scanning the valley, letting his eyes flow over the smashed remains of the past as they shot past. He tucked himself in tighter, feeling the gryphon’s tension grow. His wings flaring slightly.

Suddenly Hendosphyre swept to the side and banked into a sweeping left-hand arc, the force pressing against Rhyker, making him thankful he hadn’t eaten since the evening before. Tensing, he swallowed drily as Hendosphyre did not slow, instead committing to the heavy and fast bank. Rhyker looked down, the unobstructed view this manoeuvre offered was not to be ignored. He squinted and gave a slow nod, looking back as Hendosphyre levelled out and took to the thermals rising off the foot-hills, rising up the valley at increasing speed.

“We return here tonight!” he yelled, noting Hendosphyre’s quick nod, “Did you see it?”

Again the gryphon nodded as he rode the low currents, sweeping around the crown of the hill and angling back toward the canyon where Kitaraiya waited. Dipping and being buffeted by the rising heat off the slopes. They made their way in the full view of the sun, its rays already scorching hot, despite it only just having released its grasp on the horizon. The rush of air against them was not a cool relief, but a hot gale that sucked the moisture from the air and evaporated sweat before it could be wicked away by clothing. As Hendosphyre swept around another low peak, the canyon came into view. The gryphon immediately dropped into a rapidly descending glide, riding the heat low over the slopes until he entered the arms of the adjoining hills that vied for the same territory, the canyon the break in the dispute.

Dropping into the relative shade, they glided up between the arms, the walls rising around them, until the ledge and deep-set cavern that undercut the union came into view. Hendosphyre slowed on approach, adjusting his flight, accommodating the need for an awkward landing until he pulled his wings in and touched down at a short canter, ruffling his feathers before he brought his wings in right and tucked them to his body. Rhyker patted Hendosphyre’s thick neck, the feeling of relief coming to him from the gryphon as they both saw Kitaraiya walking to meet them in the cool of the shade.

“What took you so long?” she said, stroking Hendosphyre’s beak before pushing his great head aside, “Just after sunrise is not halfway to mid-morning.” she said firmly, looking at Rhyker, watching him dismount.

He stood with his back turned and met Hendosphyre’s eye, giving him a faint nod, “Tonight.” he said softly, feeling the gryphon’s agreement as his feathers started growing insubstantial and a faint white-blue glow stole through the shadows.

“You found something?”

He nodded slowly, giving a final glance at Hendosphyre’s now ghostly form before turning, “I found that tonight we might have a hard time with one set of wings.”

Kitaraiya’s eyes widened, “How so?”

He met her eyes, gesturing her forward, “There is a lot of ground to cover.” he said, dropping into step beside her, “Almost every valley has had construction or meddling from before the fall.”

She glanced at him, her shoulder pressing against his as they walked, “Almost every…” she said, her voice trailing off.

He nodded, “I will summon Cala and have her scout from above, to only search for things that are familiar to her. The way things are built. And to keep an eye out for others.” he said, his eyes narrowing as he thought, “You will be with me and Sphyre. We will start at the last thing I looked at before we returned.”

“What is there?”

He raised a brow, “Suspicion. Potential recent activity. Things that did not match what I had already seen.” he shrugged, looking sidelong at her, “You are better at this than I am, Kit.”

She nudged at his arm, “The map-room, maybe she knew of the Jade’s involvement with something to do out here?”

He shrugged, flashing her a smile, “It can wait until tonight, I am not going to spend all day thinking of ‘might’ and ‘maybe’ while we wait for evening.” he said, coming to a stop near the tent.

She looked at him, her eyes picking out the lines of fatigue, “Rhy, you need to get some rest. I slept most of the way here, you did not.”

Rhyker frowned slightly at her lingering stare, the way she watched his hands, “Kit?”

“It is nothing, Rhy.” she replied quickly.

“Kit, tell me.”

Her ear twitched slightly, “I keep seeing my blood all over your hands, the fear you felt, your pain.” she said, her eyes shifting from his hands to eyes, “Maybe I will finally understand.”

Rhyker nodded slowly, “Anything, Kit. If you want to…”

She shook her head and put a finger to his lips, her ears slicking back as she averted her eyes, a faint glow building in them, “No, you do not need to explain.”

He looked at her as she looked through her long lashes at him, “Let me work out why you fight for me, why you never leave me behind. If I must experience your memories, let me make sense of them.”

“You must rest, Rhy. Come, I will sleep with you. Let me.” Kitaraiya said, taking his hand.

“You need to sleep?”

She chuckled, “Rhy, I can sleep anytime. Remember.”

Kitaraiya slowly opened her eyes in the dim light of the tent. His breathing had become even and deep. His chest rising and falling, the night of flying and the morning chase through the hills hastening his slumber. She lay curled up against his side. Shifting, she rolled and lifted herself onto all fours silently. Staying still for a moment before kneeling beside his sleeping form. In quick, feather-light movements she undid the buttons of his shirt until his chest was exposed. Leaning in, she looked at the intricate design of the seal of destiny, the amalgamation of both his and Lia’s sigils. A flame split into three tips, the mark of his trident and all set within the symbol of the flaming sun and calm moon. She had seen Sialin’s mark behind his ear many times, the rounded flame within a circle. Lia’s would be the same, their joint seal a natural progression. It was her. Younger here, in this world, but it was her without a doubt.

She gently traced out the darkened symbol with a finger before placing her hand over it, the gentle lazy golden glow warming her hand, the memory that assailed her earlier fresh in her mind, those amber eyes toying with her, the heat inside as their bodies mingled. She shook her head slowly and looked at Rhyker.

“Why did you not tell me it was her, brother?” she breathed out, moving back as he rolled onto his side.

Lowering herself, she shifted, tucking herself back against his body, taking care to not disturb him as she tucked her tail to the side. She rolled in, facing him and looked at the seal on his chest, feeling the memory of a burn on her own as she pressed her forehead to it and sighing deeply, pulling his arm up and hooking it over her waist. Not seeing the faint blue gleam as he watched her with half-lidded eyes.