Ghosts of Lyarra (13 page)

“
I believe your actions were the correct course
,” the AI spoke, “
But I hope he is not angry with us when he
wakes
.”

“Our friend dreams of the one his heart desires, it would be hard for him to wake any more than happy.” She exclaimed. “For now he is at peace and we will let him stay that way until he is
needed.”

“
And what of you, Highness? Being free of the hounds at your heels and the shackles of leadership must be an unusual mindset for
you
.”

“It is oddly liberating, yet I am puzzled at how Aen intends to hide the most recognized being in the Empire out here. Even humanity knows my face, and in a second all he has done to save me, can be for
naught.”

“
Ah yes
,” Caretaker agreed. “
But this is where I may be of service,
Empress
.”

This caused her to stir from her relaxed seated position in the pilot’s chair. Up until now, Iana had been sure that the entire plan was in Aen’s head alone and that he’d been making it up as they went along! It occurred to her that there was actually something laid out to rely on and adapt as things changed now, and that the AI - however annoying it was - not only knew what direction things were going but certain measures that needed to be taken as well. She was
impressed.

“And what do you mean by that?” she asked
coyly.

“
I hope you would notice that we have acquired a state of the art vessel that was previously used by the Forgotten clan which is known for stealth and subterfuge
.” It began to
gloat.

“I
have.”

“
Good. And quite unknown to both of you this vessel contains many of the tools needed for such stealth and subterfuge to be carried out; not only for the ship’s systems, but for its intended occupants to carry out their missions without being truly recognized or even seen. As I am now plugged into the ship’s operating system, I have done in depth research on how to best disguise the both of you upon
arrival
.”

“Go
on.”

“
In the armory, there are a few devices unlike any I have come across before. Being away from the Empire for so long, then shut down for some years afterwards, I made sure to do a full diagnosis of all systems and equipment along with a readout on their functions and capabilities and then I found the answer. If the Forgotten are the enemy, then what better way to use this ill begotten vessel, than to hide from them using some of their secrets
.” It
continued.

“You are losing me now; get to the point.” Iana
quipped.

“
DNA remapping and
reconstruction
!”

“What?”

“
Disguises, Empress
!” Caretaker was now excited. “
It is mindboggling that the Guild has held this technology for so long without being discovered. The machines will change your appearances; mind you I am unsure if it will work on Aen as he is unlike anything ever recorded and has no readable DNA profile; but it will make you look not like
you
.”

“How?” it had her curious
now.

“
We would first scan your body for current features and store your profile in my memory matrix before starting, so once this was over we could restore you to your unblemished excellence. Then, I would probably start by erasing the markings on the left side of your face. The machine could also remap your DNA by changing the color of both your eyes and your hair as well as facial features to make you indistinguishable from the mob, so to
speak
.”

There wasn’t a time she could remember not looking in the mirror and not seeing the tattoos that lined her left brow all the way down the side of her face and down to her neck. The leaves and flower petals of the tree of life were more than just markings; they were a part of her soul. In reaction, Iana’s hand drew up and her fingers traced the markings by memory down her face. She then looked at her hand and saw the flaw in this
plan.

“I have five fingers.” She said with a hint of fear. “Paxyn and other species have four; how will that work? And my skin; how will we hide the golden tone it
has?”

“
While I agree the fingers are a bit of a stumbling block, the skin tone is not
.” Caretaker replied reassuringly. “
For your entire lifetime, you have been bathed in water laced with gold dust and it has coated your epidermis well; adding to the effect of royalty and elegance. But I have reconfigured the showers to penetrate this layer of mineral and wash it away to reveal what should be a more orange hue not unlike the Paxyn people. While the files are thin on the Mori race, the last of them encountered had the skin color of a tanned
human
.”

She had been liberated, now she was about to be reinvented. So much of Iana’s identity had been wrapped up in the life of the Empress that she was not sure where she truly was in terms of self-image. It was one thing to wear a helmet and some armor to hide within, but to change who she was seemed to be a task that scared her more than the unknown evil that had stalked her. But these times were different than those she had come from, and to hide in plain sight meant not being the Empress any longer. Aen had told her to free her he would have to kill the Empress and save Iana; until now she didn’t quite get what he had
meant.

“How long until you can ready this machine?” she
sighed.

“
The showers are programmed now
.” Caretaker replied proudly. “
And by the time you finish with that, the DNA mapper will be configured and
ready
.”

“Then let’s get started before I change my
mind!”

—
Sol System; Between Saturn and Jupiter

Aen was at peace here, even though he knew full well that here didn’t exist. But here in the arms of his blue eyed angel, he was free of the never ending questions of who he was and why he couldn’t remember; here he was free of the responsibility of his endless power. Yet no matter how much he yearned to remain with her in his dreams, Aen knew that the real world beckoned for him to return. There was no hiding from the task at hand, even in his dreams it haunted him and with a sigh he held his lover close and buried his face into her flowing blue locks as she slept. He closed his eyes and drank in her sweet perfume before it was gone
again.

As he withdrew, he realized that everything had changed, and his dream had shifted to something new; something familiar yet alien. Aen was home; or the only thing he could remember as being home. He stood on the observation deck of the Brink; and like he always had, that overlooked the dark monster of a black hole in the distance. Clouds of gas swirled around it; the accretion disc spun like a raging river around the event horizon which burned white hot. It was mesmerizing to see the gases and matter which under any other circumstances would bear life to hundreds if not thousands of stars, be swallowed by the gluttonous appetite of the deep dark unknown. Once again, he was reminded that for all the power he held within, none of it could equal that which was on display here. It was a humbling sight; that which had kept him calm and grounded for the years of solitude he spent
here.

Despite his fondness for this place, he didn’t miss it to the point where it would interrupt such a powerful emotional experience like the one he was enjoying with Lyxia. So the question arose in his mind, why was he here? The answer came sooner than he thought it
would.

“
Darkness awaits that which is fueled by the light
.” A deep, growling voice boomed from the depths of the black hole. The voice was so strong it shook the floor he stood upon. “
There are things at work before you that you fail to see; shadows cloud the picture as a
whole
.”

“Is that why you brought me here?” Aen hollered back. “To give me another cryptic message? I’ve had enough of those from the damn
Prophets!”

“
The souls of those that guide you are stained with dark intent
.” It replied. “
They seek to control the uncontrollable; force the light to usher a way into dark
times
.”

“I do not follow them; the Prophets hold no sway on my
actions!”

“
Yet you rushed to save their favorite plaything from being overrun by the inevitable. All light fades over time before succumbing to the inevitable; all light but
yours
.”

“I didn’t save her for them, I did it to save what little of a soul I have left! I did it to draw from the shadows that which wishes to do my friend
harm!”

“
In your attempts to find the puppeteer, you do not see the strings attached to you as well; how unfortunate
.” It growled mockingly. “
You wish to see in the shadows for that which you seek, but you don’t look far enough into the darkness for the answers. Your actions have set into effect a chain reaction which leads to the eventual clash between good and evil; there is war on the black horizon and none of you have looked past your little lives to see the signs. In the absence of light, darkness will reign and the ghosts of Lyarra shall return to haunt the Empire which spurned
them
.”

“War?” Aen was confused
now.

“
You pacify your pain by dreaming of that which you cannot possess; and if you do manage to hold it then it is but for a fraction in the grand scheme of your life
.” The floor shook harder now; rattling his insides as the voice scolded him. “
You have accepted your power and learned to wield it, yet you fail to understand the true scope of what you have been granted. There are very few of us that time cannot touch, but there are more of those that may challenge your power than you can imagine; the longer you wallow in your self-induced misery the less prepared you will be when they come for you. And make no mistake, they will ALL come for
you
.”

“There are more like me?” Aen was in shock; never imagining there could be more like
him.

“
Not like you, but for every being of light there is one of darkness; thus is the balance of the universe. Though you are infinite, you can be broken and beaten into submitting to another’s will unless you grow stronger. Time is not on your side; you have little of it to find what you have lost before it all comes crashing down around
you.”

He was floored, yet still wanted to push past the flood of new emotions to learn more. For so long he hadn’t listened to the monster whispering in his ear; for so long he had paid the mutterings no heed. Now, from unimaginable distance, it had reached out to him with warnings of dire times ahead and the dangers that await him in the future. But for the life of him he couldn’t figure out
why!

“Why help me?” he hollered back as his dream began to fade to nothingness. “Why would the great Dark God help a child of
light?”

“
It will all make sense soon, once the fog of your mind begins to lift
.” The blackness around him clung to his body tightly as if he was in the clutches of gigantic hands. It began to engulf him completely; filling his pores, his eyes, and gagging him as it crept down his
throat.

“
It’s not over yet, so why are you still lying
there
?”

With a scream, Aen awoke from the nightmare and shot upright in the bed. He looked about frantically trying to get his bearings as he made sure that he was truly awake now. His hands rushed about his body instinctively in an attempt to rid himself of the frigid darkness which swallowed him whole; yet as he expected they found nothing. The whole incident had happened in his mind, but he had felt the power of this entity as if it had struck him physically. In the face of such immense power, Aen felt
helpless.

Regaining his composure, he began to reflect on the message and less on how it was delivered. During this whole plan of his, Aen had thought he was the one that knew everything and was in control. Now it was apparent that something was missed; he hadn’t looked hard enough at the clues to see what was really happening. It had taken months for him to see the initial pattern which led him down this path and now he wondered how much longer it would be until he would see the full picture. Pondering the outcomes, Aen decided to continue his current course of actions; the plan would draw out the one responsible for all the dark things that were happening. It was the only real path to any
answers.

Aen sat up straight in the bed; the last words of the entity still echoing relentlessly in his mind. He had heard those words before, but they were spoken by someone else. Iana had used them to rouse him out of his slumber in the ice that entombed him; she had whispered them to him to lift him up when he had no strength left to do it himself. It was her voice that resounded in his skull every time he thought of them; Iana had spoken those words. Or did
she?