The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) (14 page)

CHAPTER
25

AMBROSIAL SOUP

“Tonight we shall partake of a rare delicacy.” The Empress grinned at Torin, as if she were about to reveal a great secret. “We shall dine on ambrosial soup, a dish that my chef and I have been working to perfect for many years.” She paused, her face suddenly growing serious. “What troubles you, Torin? There is a question nagging at your mind, isn’t there?”

Torin nodded, his gaze drifting over to the golden daggers that each of the nearby hooded guards were holding. “I would ask, but I would not want to offend my Empress.”

“Come now, Torin! This is
your
time. It’s only us, and the royal guards, of course. A necessary evil, but unfortunately there are many people who would go to great lengths to learn some of the royal secrets. Some might even kill.” She chuckled to herself. “Of course, their efforts would be in vain. So ask me, Torin. Ask me what you want to know. This is your moment, after all.”

Once again he admired her delicate features and the waves of red-orange hair that tumbled down her shoulders, like a river of fire. “How potent is the soup? How much ambrosial energy?”

“Good question!” The Empress raised a finger, a new light sparking behind her eyes.

“So, how much?”

She leaned inward, her words taking on a new weight. “Torin, do you know why you were invited here?”

“Because I did the impossible,” he said without hesitation. “I renegotiated with our shipping channels. Under my direction, we increased supply by 17 percent, despite the fact that every other ambrosia market outside of the city is facing drastic shortages.”

“And, you have a reputation for delivering results.” The Empress paused, her bronze eyes regarding him carefully. “Torin, I’ve been watching you, watching your career bloom into what it has become today. Remember the tests you used to take every year during your training?”

“Of course. They measured abstract thinking ability, as well as efficiency and logistical intelligence. I always wondered how I did, but I never heard back from any of them.”

“It’s quite simple. They are intended to help us place the right people into the right positions. The results are of no concern to the individual, only to the top directors who assign the positions.” The Empress stirred her soup, still untouched. “Of course, you are partially right. You are here because you’ve demonstrated that you can act effectively in a crisis, but you are also here because you received the highest score we’ve ever seen in the logistics and logic portions of those tests. We’ve been looking forward to this day for some time.”

Torin’s expression darkened. “Wait, so you’ve been preparing me for this position the whole time?”

“You were one of our top candidates, but we did have to ensure that you continued to express the traits that we desired. Loyalty, honesty, efficiency, and so forth. But you are basically correct.” The Empress spun her fingers in little circles as she listed off the traits. “Torin, I need people who I can trust implicitly, without question. Are you that kind of person?”

“Yes, Empress. I believe my values are evident in my work.”

Empress Amaraloka pursed her lips, seeming much younger than he’d ever seen her before, as if the glow of youth had suddenly washed over her like a summer rain.

“Through the apprentice program, you have learned everything you need to know for your new position as Chief Ambrosia Director. Everything except one piece of information.” She stared back at him in silence for a moment. “You know what it is I speak of.”

Torin’s eyes lit up. This was it. After so many years of waiting, would he finally learn where the ambrosia came from? What it was
really
made of?

“Dear Empress, will you tell me? Will you tell me the secret of ambrosia? Where does it come from? What is it?”

The Empress grinned. “It is life, Torin.”

“Yes, but exactly what
is
it?”

“If I tell you, you must pledge to never tell another soul as long as you live. Otherwise, you will most certainly find the Dagger of Kirin plunging deep into your spine, and be banished from the Mirage forever.” Her eyes narrowed on him. “Do you understand clearly?”

Torin looked down to his soup, swirling with power. “Yes.”

“Swear!” she fired back.

“I swear on my mother’s life. And my own, dear Empress.”

“I shall never forget your words, Torin, and I suggest you never forget mine.” She closed her eyes again. “Ask me again. Ask me what you want to know.”

“What is ambrosia?”

With closed eyes, she spoke. “When this city was founded over a thousand years ago, our ancestors scoured this planet for sources of etheric energy. They had to find a creature that was physically large enough to concentrate etheric energy yet was also abundant enough to harvest easily at scale. Both of these traits were critical, and over years of experimentation with different species, one creature proved itself to be optimal.”

With a wave of her hand, the image of a small sea creature hovered over the table. And after a few moments, the name occurred to Torin.

“The Suvarnak crab? That’s it?”

“You are familiar? Well, then! It seems you’ve learned a few nuggets from Jyana, after all. Yes.” The Empress nodded. “Also known as the Golden Crab, they are profoundly efficient in their etheric energy generation and storage.” She smiled. “Remarkable creatures, aren’t they? And without them, without the ambrosia, our city would cease to grow and our economy would collapse, throwing our entire world into chaos. Have you ever imagined such a scenario, Torin?”

“No,” he said, his gaze drifting over to a window to his left. “It’s not worth thinking about. We’re resourceful. We won’t let that happen.”

“Except it already has,” she spat back. “Unfortunately, our greatest fears seem to be coming true. Recently, the local population has been on the decline. We have tried new harvesting techniques and expanding our reach, but we estimate that we have less than ten mirage years left before complete collapse, unless we can find a solution in time.”

Torin didn’t know what to say. He finally knew the secret, but with it came a heaviness in his chest. “Is that why the sea is suffering? Is that why Jyana is so worried about the seafloor?”

“Careful, Torin. This is a sovereign secret. Your oath is binding, and you know the penalty for treason. Besides, if the public were to learn about this, we could only expect panic.”

Torin shook his head. “Forgive me Empress, but why didn’t you inform me of this problem sooner? Until we find another supply, we’ll need to keep harvesting the local crabs, but Jyana told me that these creatures are
crucial
to the health of the local reef. If the local population goes extinct, we’ll have a lot more problems than our economy.”

Her expression darkened. “That is not my concern, Torin. This is how it has been done for over a millennia. Your job is to secure a new supply. I will be sending you to direct a team to survey the far coasts for more crab populations.”

Torin looked down to the golden soup, still swirling in glittering patterns. “So, that’s all this is? The etheric energy of a golden crab?” He looked back up to her. “All right. I’ll survey for other populations, but I must know more. Could we harvest ambrosia from somewhere else? I mean, is ambrosia unique to our planet? And if it isn’t, why didn’t the early survey teams find any etheric cities on other worlds? I’ve been reading the histories, Empress, and they raise many questions. Is this power genetic? Or is it due to some unique property of our planet? Is that why there’s no civilization like ours?”

The Empress leaned back, raising her eyebrows. “My, my, I have underestimated you. But such insightful questions have ancient answers, answers that are even more dangerous than what I’ve already told you.” She tilted her head up to the curved ceiling, before settling her gaze back down to him. “Still, you now hold a seat at my table and are sworn to secrecy.” The Empress paused to study him once more. “But if I told you, would you be
ready
to know?”

“Yes, dear Empress. And I would sooner shatter my body than my oath.”

“Or else I would shatter it for you,” she said flatly. “Still, you might as well know, considering it is the other half of the equation that creates our world.” She turned to the guards, and with a wave of her hand, she formed white bubbles around both of their heads. “There we are. Not even they are permitted to know this secret. You see, there is an ancient stone that glows golden, not unlike the crab, and anyone who holds it can see anywhere in the galaxy they desire. It is carefully protected deep underground, although technically, it is also far above. My scientists believe it is the source of our planet’s strange power. You are wise to read the histories, rewritten as they may be. Our civilization was once spacefaring, but after the scourge left, something changed. The ancient stone became active, and our ancestors began to find themselves outside of their physical bodies. It was the stone that started all of this, even before ambrosia was developed.”

Torin was speechless for a few moments.

“Surprised? Yet this is the hidden history you shall never find in a library archive: the history that actually happened.”

“So,” he spoke slowly as the words formed in his mind, “what we were taught was a lie? The first Empress didn’t teach the people how to leave their physical bodies. It just happened?”

“Actually, that part of the story
is
true,” the Empress replied. “Fact is often interwoven with fiction. The first Empress
did
establish this city, but she was not the first entity in this realm. On the contrary, some were here when the foundation of this city was laid, and over time she helped to calm those who were fearful of being outside of their physical bodies. She was a good woman. Now please, try some of your soup. The chef and I are quite proud of it.”

Torin looked down at the effervescent liquid, glowing in its power, and picked up the bowl. Carefully, he put the edge of the bowl to his lips and sipped. A warmth flowed into him, and he felt a buzzing in his head, as if a great power were coursing through him.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“Astounding,” he replied, “like I could sculpt an entire civilization with my bare hands.”

“Then make something. Make something come alive.”

“Alive? But Empress, only royalty are allowed such an honor.”

“You have my permission. Forge life, but make it small. Make a shadow sprite, if you wish.”

He took a slow, deep breath. “All right. If your Majesty wishes it.”

“I do.”

Torin cupped his hands into a ball and closed his eyes. His breathing accelerated, and his hands radiated soft light. He hummed a haunting, lilting melody for a moment before he abruptly stopped.

When he opened his cupped hands, he revealed a tiny wispy creature, as if a shadow had been given life and formed into a vaguely humanoid shape. The sprite stood up and flew up out of his cupped hands.

“You’ve done it,” the Empress whispered. “You have given it life. Now, you must understand the balance of life and death.”

With its large dark eyes, the tiny sprite had spotted the bowl of ambrosial soup and zoomed down to it. Torin caught it just before the little sprite dove headfirst into his bowl.

“I forgot how fast these little guys are!” Torin said. “What do you want me to do now?”

“You had the power to create it, and you therefore have the right to destroy it. You are its creator, Torin. It is at your mercy. And,” the Empress squinted at him, “you know quite well the laws governing shadow sprites in our city. They feed on negative thought-forms and are therefore illegal. You know what you must do.”

Torin tightened his closed fist that held the sprite. “So, you want me to—”

“Kill it, Torin.”

“But it’s at my mercy. It didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Sometimes,” the Empress said slowly, “an entity doesn’t
have
to perform an action to be wrong. Sometimes its mere presence is an affront to reason and safety. Kill it. That is an order.”

“Yes, Empress,” he said, almost instinctively. He looked over to his fist, noticing again the double-square symbol that shone on the back of each of his hands, the symbol of his position. “I’m sorry little guy, but she’s right. Your kind aren’t meant to be in this city.”

He shivered and with one swift jolt, squeezed his fingers together in a tight fist, crushing the creature in one swift motion as if he were crushing a bundle of grass. His hand glowed brighter, and then it was over.

The Empress nodded, a smirk growing across her face. “Superb work. The energy that left you to become the creature has now returned to you. Remember Torin, with a source as potent as this sacred soup, your manifestation abilities will last longer than you’ve ever seen them last before. This is one of the major privileges of your new position. Use it wisely.”

This time, the Empress lifted her bowl and took a long draw of the soup. Torin did the same, and a glow of raw power flowed and pulsed through his etheric body like an unstoppable torrent.

…

Asha frowned as she watched.

She was getting the feeling that they wouldn’t return to the subject of the glowing stone. What she was learning was fascinating and useful, but it wasn’t what she had come here for. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked over to Zahn who squeezed her hand reassuringly. His eyes seemed to say that somehow, all was well, and Asha wished that she could feel the same way.

A glowing thought-nugget flew through the wall, over the table, and stopped when the Empress raised her hand. Instead of it merely flying into her head as Asha had seen happen with so many others, the Empress took the nugget in her hand and squeezed it into her palm. It grew smaller until she had absorbed it completely.

Her face darkened as she stood up. “The 5th ambrosia channel just went offline. I am urgently needed, and you are coming with me.”

“What?” Torin’s expression fell. “Khandan assured me—”

“Come, Torin!” The Empress said as she zoomed over to the nearest marked exit. “We must hurry.”