Stardust Rising

 
The Cave
We glide quickly through the spinning, sparkling tunnel that leads from the Seven Towers to Siksa.
An energy shield surrounds us and protects us from the wild energies of the tunnel, and whatever dangers we may find at tunnel’s end.

“Are you mad at me, Yagrin?” asks Dilasa, as she touches my mind.
She’s afraid of the anger that I showed before, and her mind touch is weak.

“No, Dilasa.”
“I’m not angry any more, but I wish that you had listened to me.”

City of Life

 
Life and Light
“It’s time to show you the city,” says Mayla.

I hear the sound of crashing waves as an image fills the room: a small barren island, surrounded by sharp reefs.

“What do you see?” asks Mayla.

“The island that the city rests on,” answers Berek, “empty, as we saw it from the air.”

“Correct.”
“The wall’s energy distorts the size of the island, and hides the city, until you come within a hundred feet of it.”

“Not long after the war, a few Jiku tried to find the city.”
“When they approached the island, there was … Read more

Messengers of War

 
Mayla
Shilann spoke of a machine that guards the city, but he called it, she.

It appears where Shilann sat, but is it woman, or machine?
What does a machine need with a beautiful smile, clothes that sparkle, and long, shiny, red hair?

She rises and walks toward us with a grace that reminds me of the Bizra.
Is she an image, like Shilann?

She stands near me, and raises her hands in the greeting of palms.
I rise, and find her touch is soft, warm, and solid.
She stares into my eyes, holds the greeting with … Read more

Opening

 
The Call
Balshown and Makish are quiet as we prepare for our journey to the city.
Like me, they are full of their own thoughts.

We are outsiders, powerful energy masters full of a hunger to shape the future.
Our hunger and strength set us apart from other Jiku, even the guilds, and bind us together.

Sometimes they treat me as a friend, and sometimes they treat me as a child.
Each of them is possessive and protective of me, and wary of the other.

My thoughts are broken by the urgency of the moment.
Now is a good … Read more