10. Allies

> “There’s only one sure thing about stability: it never lasts.” D’varshan joke

Although Athena would still maintain the Aeseri and Engella of the caravan were prisoners within the courtyard, the comfort was far above that of any prison, and above anything she had experienced in the Wastelands so far.

She had a room to herself with a comfortable bed, running hot and cold water, and even a handful of books. They were all written in D’varshan, though, which would not have been a problem on the mortal plane while she had her powers, but it rendered them useless as far as she was concerned.

Regardless, it had the most important trait of a prison: it confined the occupants. Her mind turned to how to escape. She left her cell, as she thought it, and stepped into the courtyard. She had no strength to scale the walls, and the cage above them would stop her in any case. The bars of the gate were too thick to try to bend, and it bore no features that would allow her to attempt to climb over. And even if she were able to, guards stood just the other side.

How do mortals solve any problem at all? she wondered. For so long she’d had powers to bend metal, teleport from one place to another, and to influence the minds of mortals if she needed something from them. A place like this would never have held her, yet here she was defeated by a few metal bars.

There was only one thing for it, she concluded. She would have to tell them to release her. She would have to reveal her identity, that she was Athena, known as Goddess of War by billions, and only she could stop Lucathar from dominating the mortal universe. They would listen. She was sure of it.

She strode up to the gates and the guards on the other side stood ready as if the bars alone were not enough to stop her. Well, she thought, it’s good to see I can still provoke a reaction, even from behind bars.

“Take me to Leonix,” Athena said, giving the name of the one D’varsha she had heard. He might not be in charge but he was more senior than the two guards and was a step in the right direction.

The D’varsha guard stared up at her through the railings. She didn’t think the simple request would work on its own but was sure that once the D’varsha knew who she was she would be granted the status she deserved.

“That’s no way to greet an old comrade, Athena,” one of them said.

“You know me?”

The second D’varsha stood motionless as the first removed his helmet. Athena stared at him, feeling there was something familiar but unable to place him. The D’varsha all looked so similar, as far as most outsiders were concerned: of almost uniform height and thick build, and the same pronounced features and deep-set eyes.

“I’m offended you don’t recognise me,” he continued, “It’s only been… what… half a million years, I think?”

Half a million years, Athena thought to herself… that would put the time back to the first war against Lucathar, as she had met few D’varsha in the millenia that followed. She peered at the D’varsha and dug into the back of her memory.

“Ostri? The Ostri who fought against Lucathar? I thought you fallen in the battle. I heard no word of you after that.”

“I am the same Ostri,” the D’varsha said with a broad smile, “And no, I did not fall, I just disappeared for a while.”

“But… how? How… How are you still alive after all this time? How are you just a guard?”

“I am not just a guard,” Ostri said indignantly, “Or I wasn’t until I saw you come through the gates. This is not my helmet, nor my armour, but one advantage of being a D’varshan is that one size fits almost everyone. I borrowed this from a comrade. Even Leonix has trouble telling us apart when we wear helmets.”

“Yes, but… half a million years? Your people live a long time, for a mortal race, but nowhere that long.”

“After the battle I had something to do… What do you know about the Aetheri?”

“I don’t even know if they really exist.”

“I can tell you: they exist, and time doesn’t mean the same to them as it does to us. I can assure you that I have not been alive for half a million years, although I can’t tell you how long I have been alive for. I lost track of that. I was with the Aetheri at the end of the battle, and after that they asked for help in rebuilding.”

“Rebuilding?”

“The Universe. There were more than just planets crumbling. Whole dimensions were failing. I, along with three others, were tasked with stabilising it. That’s all I can say.”

“So… How long have you been here?” Athena asked. Ostri shrugged.

“A few thousand years, perhaps? I stopped counting them a long time ago. We age slowly here.”

So it doesn’t just affect Aeseri and Engella, Athena thought. Perhaps anyone on the astral plane benefited from slower ageing. It was yet another thing the Aeseri thought made them special but was proving not to be.

Athena turned her attention to the other D’varsha. Ostri read the question in her mind.

“He’ll be no trouble,” Ostri said, “We’ve been together far too long. He trusts me.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Does he trust you enough to get me out of here?”

Ostri scratched his chin.

“Why did I have the feeling you were going to ask me something like this?”

“Why are you here if it isn’t to help me get out?”

“Maybe I just wanted to see you again,” he said, his eyes sparkling.

“Do you think I’d be happy trapped in here?” Athena asked, looking up at the cage above her.

“It’s only for one night,” Ostri said.

“Yes. And I have only one night to find out if the D’varsha can return me to the mortal plane.”

Ostri scratched his chin again.

“So that’s why you’re here. Why can’t you get back there yourself? Last time I saw you, you could move between dimensions in the blink of an eye.”

“I’ve lost my followers,” Athena said gravely.

“But you had… billions… maybe trillions, at a guess?” Athena nodded. “You’ve lost all of them?” She nodded again. “That’s very remiss.”

Ostri was lost in thought for a moment.

“The Universe must really have taken a turn for the worse since I was last there.”

“And it’s going to get worse still. Lucathar has the upper hand again.”

“I had heard rumours. We suffered such losses in the last war that we have avoided getting involved again.”

“Many species suffered losses in the last war.”

“Not the Aeseri.”

“We were… are… immortal. Many lost power, though.”

“It seems less of a sacrifice than losing a life,” Ostri noted, “I think, if there is another war, you will not find allies who are quite as willing.”

“There won’t be another war unless you can get me back to the mortal plane. Lucathar is gaining power unchecked.”

“The prospect of more deaths is no incentive to help you get back, Goddess of War.”

“You think there won’t be more deaths under Lucathar? You think that once he has subjugated all the younger systems he won’t turn his attention to the older species? Even the D’varsha?”

Ostri rubbed his chin again.

“I don’t know if it’s even possible for you to go back. At first we had trouble sending D’varsha through the portal. A few disappeared along the way, no-one knows where. Perhaps if they were lucky they died and knew nothing about it. Even now it is not without risk. It’s not like we go back and forth on a whim; we tend to stay for many years, and if we’re lucky enough to make it back then we think twice about returning here again.”

“So this… portal… is what you use to send things back and forth?”

“Not just anything, no. We have sent D’varshans back and forth, but even then not often. No other living thing has passed through successfully. It is not likely that an Aeseri will pass through.”

“I’ve got to try,” Athena said earnestly. If the caravan left tomorrow it might be years, or decades, before she had another chance. She began to think she would rather die trying to set things right than be condemned to a life of helplessness in the Wastelands. “Unlike everything else you’ve tried, I must be the only one that has passed back and forth multiple times in the past. That must make a difference.”

Ostri looked at his companion guard who said nothing.

“Ostri, I know you owe me nothing, and the Aeseri owe you so much, but if nobody stands in Lucathar’s way then all the losses of the war will be for nothing.”

Ostri raised his hand to stop her.

“Stop trying to persuade me. I’m just thinking about whether it’s even possible. And I have no idea. We will need help.” He looked at his companion again. “Can you provide cover while I’m gone?” The D’varshan nodded. “I don’t think they count the caravan members in and out, so if you just… disappear, I’m not sure anyone will even know about it.”

“Sekardi would know about it. Aguel would know.”

“It would not be in their interest to cause alarm,” Ostri said, “And I can get word to them. At this time of night the streets will be quiet, but do exactly as I say because you’ve no chance of passing for D’varsha if someone sees you.”

“And what about when we get to the, what did you call it?... the portal?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll bluff something about a secret mission. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Ostri pulled a key from his belt and slid it as quietly as he could into the lock. He pushed the gate open just enough for Athena to slip through and then closed it and gave the key to his companion.

Once away from the courtyard Ostri took the first side alley. Athena marvelled at how the D’varsha had created something that looked just like a city by carving a mountain. She also wondered what they had done with all the stone they had excavated. There must be a rubble pile as big as the inside of the mountain somewhere.

“Move quietly,” Ostri whispered to Athena, although needlessly as she was light on her feet, as opposed to Ostri’s armour which emitted the occasional clash of metal against metal.

They climbed down steps, through alleyways, and under arches that Ostri could easily pass beneath at a steady walk but Athena had to crouch for. Soon she had no idea how far they had come, nor how far above or below their initial elevation they were. They passed towers hewn from the stone, staircases that wrapped around giant columns that supported what remained of the mountain above them, and walked beside channels through which water flowed.

“Where does the water come from?” she asked Ostri as quietly as she could.

“Deep below the mountain,” he said, “We have to raise it. That alone took decades.”

She could believe it. The fortress must have taken centuries to carve from the mountain.

Ostri turned and waved his hand and she ducked below a wall, almost lying on the ground to conceal herself. She heard voices, speaking in D’varshan, but they passed by the end of the alleyway, apparently sharing a joke.

“Miners on their way back up,” Ostri said, “Another day without much progress, it seems.”

“Progress towards what?” Athena asked. Ostri stared at her then put his finger to his lips.

“We need to keep quiet in case there are others.”

He set off again, slower than before, taking care to make little noise as they came upon a wide street. It was deserted and although Athena didn’t like the openness and risk of discovery, it appeared they had no choice but to cross it.

“Wait a second,” Ostri told her, crossing the street to a large stone door. He took another key from his belt, inserted it into the lock and pushed the door open a crack before turning and beckoning her over.

She looked up and down the street, then as quietly as she was able she ran for the door and darted inside. Ostri followed quickly and pulled the door shut.

They were in a small hallway with a table and chairs and a painting on the wall. A door appeared to lead to a kitchen and stairs led upwards. It seemed an unlikely building to situate a device that had the power to move beings between dimensions.

“The portal is in here?” Athena asked.

“No,” Ostri said, “But the D’varshan that operates it is. I’ll have to wake her. You wait here.”