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Authors: Damian Shishkin

Tags: #Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #Science Fiction, #Adventure

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BOOK: Ghosts of Lyarra
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Stretching more than a mile into the clear blue sky, the rock staircase rose high and unobstructed before him as the sound of flapping prayer flags lining the entire way up brought him out of his trance. When his foot touched the first stair, his mind began to flood with images he couldn’t place. Quickly, he removed his foot from the stone stair and stood once more at the base of the temple wondering what the hell just happened! He tried again; and once more he saw images of a woman and little girl running through a grassy field with the wind in their hair. There was a feeling of peace and belonging connecting him to this vision, but he could not place them in his fractured memory. Instead of backing down, Aen decided to continue the long climb and take what this place threw at
him.

Step by step, the climb triggered a different vision with each footfall; each different and still alien to him. One was of a child frolicking in the shore waters of an ocean; the next holding a new born infant; another kissing a beautiful woman and swooning with lust. One by one the visions struck him in a barrage he was unable to deflect, but Aen persevered through the assault on his mind and quickened his pace. Over and over, strange memories tore him emotionally apart and as he neared the apex of his journey he found himself with tears rolling from his burning
eyes.

Standing but two steps from the summit, Aen toiled with the thoughts of leaping up the last stairs or simply teleporting himself up to avoid any more of the visions. But before he could do either, his body reacted itself and took the last two stairs as two new and familiar images struck him. First was the face of the woman with blue eyes that had haunted his dreams for the past few years as she stood on the opposite end of the Council chamber staring back at him. Then there was the same creature with her amazing eyes just locked on him as the two had a conversation through a holo-link that he couldn’t make out. Once he made it to the top of the stairs, the visions stopped and he was once again alone on this world as he stood before an open doorway. Inside, he could make out a grand chamber with six figures kneeling in prayer on either side of the room with a seventh at the center; he had found the Prophets at long
last!


Lyarran Throne World Havyiin

Iana felt a cold chill over her skin as she lay in bed; a chill that she had not felt in ages. It wasn’t caused by the wind or a change in temperature; it was a reaction to something her body was telling her was happening. Quickly, she sat up and rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and legs; the touch of her fingers on her naked skin was soothing and helped ease the almost creepy sensation she struggled to
understand.

Most times, the Empress would have visions that told her the future course of things, but lately they had been quiet. Aen had been the cause of that; ripples across the ocean of the universe had muddled the reflections of what was yet to come for her to see. Without these visions, she felt exposed and helpless; unable to regain control of an Empire spinning so rapidly out of her reaches. But this, this was a feeling she had felt
before.

Her mind raced to remember; ten thousand years of memories began to sort rapidly in her mind’s eye. Then she locked into it; the last time she felt this chill was when Bryx - a refugee from his young life in slavery - had stumbled upon the shores of the world of endless oceans and found by those who had raised her. They had delivered him to her a short time later; first as a protector and then later as a confidant and a friend. It was the last time someone had ever set foot on the lost planet of the
Prophets!

She searched out with her mind and heart; trying to connect with the one who now stood on the forbidden shores. Even she didn’t know how to find the planet, but her fears were that someone had landed there with evil intentions. The Prophets had no way of defending themselves; no weapons to fight off whatever would mean to harm them. It took a few moments, but she felt herself guided in her search as a feeling of helping hands brought her down on the blue pearl of a planet and landed her at the top of a stairwell looking down at a being dressed in the armor of a
Forgotten.

Iana’s heart sank; the Prophets were no match for a warrior of the assassin’s capabilities! Then she watched as the creature began the climb and as it closed in on where she stood and noted that the faceless helmet that left the Guild killer anonymous was not being worn. The being was not one of the Forgotten, but was dressed as one for some reason. Time sped up once more and the man stood just two steps down from her. Iana recognized him almost immediately and her fear faded
quickly!

Before her stood Aen, but he did not see her as he usually did when she visited him as such. Instead, he seemed to be wrestling emotionally with something internal she could not see. His mind was blocked from her, the Prophets chose to keep his thoughts from her. As he started to climb the last two stairs, Iana felt herself whisked away and gently placed back in her body. Once more she was in her bed back on Havyiin and alone in the dark of her chamber; more puzzled than alarmed now. Just as she was about to reach out to Aen once more to learn why he was there, a voice spoke in her mind as she did to
others.


Darkness grows in the light of Lyarra; the Gods watch but do not intervene
.” It whispered to her. “
The Harbinger comes to us to mend what is broken, but will not find the salvation from his struggle. It is only after all you know has ended, that you both will find what is lost together. You will watch your death from afar as you sift through the ashes of a dark past to conquer the storm that rages across Lyarra’s
grace
.”

A tear fell from her eye; the Prophets had spoken to her and showed her what she could no longer see. She remembered one of the visions she had of him ending her reign as Empress and saw the symmetry with what had been just told to her. All she knew was about to change forever, but like Aen she would be able to be freed from the pain by a death that wasn’t. Maybe together, the two of them would find peace and an adventure unlike anything she could
foresee.


Nammaran; the Lost Planet of the Prophets

Aen could feel them aware of his presence, but they did nothing to acknowledge him as he entered the temple. Slowly and quietly, he moved towards the motionless and meditating robed figures. There were no recognizable features on these creatures he could use to identify what race they were; they were draped from head to toe with long, hooded robes with not an ounce of flesh revealed. No light penetrated the opening of the hood and no reflections of eyes shone back at him; for all Aen knew they were nothing but
ghosts!


We are not ghosts, Aen of Terra
Sol
.”

He heard the whispers of their collective voices coming from all directions. The sound of their voices surrounded him entirely and triggered an immediate defensive
stature.


Your might and power is useless here. Only peace and understanding have sway in the temple lands
.” The voices spoke in unison. “
Come forward and ask your questions, for you have travelled long to ask them. The only thing that can harm you here is the truth and that will guide you to where you are needed
next
.”

“Where am I needed next?” he asked in response to the cryptic message spoken
before.


That is not what you came to ask,
Harbinger
.”

Aen paused; this was an awkward situation. They obviously knew his questions, but yet waited for him to ask them before answering. He carefully began to choose his words before speaking once
more.

“What am
I?”


You are what you were born to
be
.”

It wasn’t the answer he
wanted.

“I was born a man, yet that is not what I am
now.”


Fate has chosen you to be much more than what you remember of yourself. As the fires cleanse the Empire, it is you who will show it how to go on in the face of
tragedy
.”

“Fate didn’t make me what I am, so what am
I?”


You are the end of what is, and the light to show what will
be
.”

This was going nowhere fast; the answers were cryptic and anything but clear. Aen decided to move on to the next
question.

“Why can’t I remember anything?” he tried
next.


Because you cannot open your eyes to see
it
.”

None of this was making sense and it was beginning to frustrate
him.


Every step to find your answers opened your eyes to what you cannot see. The journey held the answers you so sorely search for yet you cannot see past your eyes to see the
truth
.”

More hidden messages; more puzzles to solve that would give him headaches later. Aen was not impressed with what he was finding
here.


The past lies in the dust under your feet; it cannot help you now, yet it shaped what you are and guides you to what you must do next. In the ashes of your past you find only pain and loss; but in the here and now you can reach out to the falling star of kindness. There is one that needs you to help her more than you need your
answers
.”

“Iana.” He answered. “How can I help the great Empress of the Lyarran
Empire?”


By killing her before those in the shadows do. By setting her free so she too can find
herself
.”

“You want me to kill Iana; the Empress?” Aen
hollered.


You must kill one to save the other. It is the only way to face the growing darkness
.
The God’s chose
you for a reason
;
once you are whole again you will have all your answers
.
Before, you were struggling with your gifts and fighting your broken soul. Now you have forgotten that soul which made you formidable enough to defeat the impossible. Find what you left behind on Terra Sol and there you can show her what it means to live once
more
.”


There is treachery in the house we built, but the darkness holds its secrets even from us. Only when you are whole can you raze the house to the ground and purge the evil from its shadowy corners. Rebuild what has been lost; cleanse what has been tainted, and light the way for those to follow. This is why you were born
Harbinger
.”

Before Aen could respond, he felt the wind pick up and swirl inside the temple; picking up the dust off the floor and making it impossible to see. The dust storm quickly rose, intensified to a near gale force, then faded away to nothingness in mere moments. When he was able to see again, he was all alone inside the temple that looked exactly the same as it did before the storm. The Prophets were gone and he was left with more questions than answers, with the exception of one thing he hadn’t noticed when he first entered; a portable holo-link device! His borrowed ship wasn’t equipped with one, and he remembered reading that the Prophets would watch the Council sessions from time to time and this was how they did so. It couldn’t be a coincidence this was left here to find; coupled with the upcoming session in two weeks, he was positive they wanted him to observe it. So he scooped up the device and made his way to leave with his frustration over the lack of help still high. As he was out on the top step and preparing to teleport to his ship, he heard a whisper in his ear that almost made him fall down the mile high staircase in
surprise.


To find an answer, you must know the
beginning.

Aen’s head hurt, and he hoped that all these cryptic answers weren’t helping. All he knew is that he needed to watch the upcoming meeting, and that there he would get an answer of some kind. He was just hoping it would be one that he
wanted.


Lyarran Flag Ship, Lyarra’s Fire

He disliked being in the Empress’ chamber without her, but Bryx had to investigate the malfunctioning sensor alarm. It had roused him from his slumber in the palace below and now irritated for losing what little sleep he did get, his irritation slowly became frustration as his search was turning up nothing. It wasn’t like something could hide in a room lit as brightly as this, so he was beginning to think it was an electronic failure. The chambers were completely sealed off from the rest of the ship and under constant guard, so an intruder was ludicrous to say the least; or so he thought. He looked about the suite, starting with the bed chambers. Nothing was out of place in the massive bed that would swallow him whole and still have room for more to join him. The silken sheets of gold and silver remained untouched as the bed was made perfectly. The walk-in closet was full of clothes and darkness; nothing dangerous in there. The lounge area was searched next and once more, nothing was out of the norm. Last, he walked through the command and control room; the place where Iana spent the majority of her time aboard the Lyarra’s Fire. In the center of the room was a throne; sitting high upon a pedestal that stood above the rest of the room that was rarely ever sat in. It was the one seat in here that she hated, and only sat there for official business by the holo-net. The walls were blank; the display system that showed the different star maps and the display of the galaxy were powered down in her absence. There was nothing here! Bryx was about to leave the chamber when a voice behind him made him freeze in his
tracks.

BOOK: Ghosts of Lyarra
4.75Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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