Lorv has traveled so much of the universe that she is probably the sentient being that knows it best. She piloted the largest ship of the known universe that was devised on Endla by the greatest scientists of the Aerphim Empire, including the Lead Scientist of the planet Druont. The ship was the size of a planet and Lorv christened it Top before the first voyage almost two thousand years ago. It was capable of light speed and housed a crew that numbered into the millions made up of recruits to the Empire’s volunteer military service research branch. Lorv insisted that there be minimal Aerphim on the high-level crew responsible for overseeing the function of Top for the stated reason that she wanted to give others in the Empire the chance to see first hand what the Aerphim would possess as the commissioners of Lorv’s expeditions into deep space, though in actuality she despised the Aerphim and would have barred them from her ship if she had been given the authority.
After nearly two thousand years, Top headed back toward the Soulaxar galaxy where the Aerphim Empire was located for routine maintenance before another planned deep dive into an unexplored region of space. When it finally arrived to Soulaxar, it rested in orbit in the solar system that contained Endla and a team was dispatched to Top to ensure its upkeep. Before it settled in orbit, though, the captain had a talk with her first mate.
“Are you still reading those transmissions?” Wielar asked and sat next to Lorv in her captain’s chair. His seat was slightly behind hers, but the way she relaxed in her chair, with one of her legs crossed on the other and leaning on a fist supported by her elbow on the armrest, she faced Wielar. “I traveled all the way to the other side of Top to bring you back those deep fried jara skins you like so much, fifteen hours my Eminence, and you are in the same spot as you were when I left you. Have you even enjoyed the skins?”
“There is a lot to catch up on before we arrive to Soulaxar. Things have changed considerably in our time away, I don’t want to return completely oblivious.”
“So you’re going to sit there until you’ve digested almost two thousand years of history?”
“It’s the last five hundred or so,” Lorv said, never taking her eyes from the flat screen that shined a faint glow on her face. “I’m at the part when Pultine went to cacoon. She was probably furious when she found out Tracia was alive this whole time…”
“Maybe we should save this discussion for when we leave the navigation tower, your Eminence,” Wielar said and when Lorv looked at him, he tipped his head to the right to indicate the aerphim engineers also in the main control room monitoring dials and computers.
“Can we have the room please,” Lorv said to the Aerphim who nodded at her, gave her a slight bow, then left. “I didn’t even realize they were here, but they are nothing to worry about. I realized a long time ago that the aerphim chosen to accompany us on this mission were a nuisance to someone and were volunteered without their knowledge.”
“Sounds like someone wanted you to underestimate potential spies on Top,” Wielar said.
“For certain,” Lorv said with a devious smile. “But two thousand years is a long time for most beings of this realm and the aerphim assumed their lifespans longer than they’ve proven to be. The only aerphim still working are the children of those who started the voyage.”
“And we are ancient now,” Wielar joked.
“Age is a privilege, and to be ancient in this world is a luxury afforded to Fonlanders and ones such as you. I know you are grateful to Yana now for the agony she put you through before we left.”
“That I am,” Wielar said with a proud smile. “It has been a true honor to serve your Eminence for as long as I have. The things that we have seen, the beings we have met and documented, it is an unmitigated honor and I am forever in your debt.”
Lorv nodded. Her black hair was intricately braided on her head and Wielar was momentarily transfixed by the design that their daughter, Leilar, had done, probably while Lorv sat transfixed on her screen. Leilar was the spitting image of her mother, the two have dark brown skin and dark black hair that shines purple. Leilar does not have a beak like her father, and the feathers on her body are minimal. Only the coloring of their wings differed; where the mother’s are dark black, the daughter’s are orange. Wielar has auburn red wings that are rare for the jeris of Wiis, though very common in his family; he was surprised that his daughter did not have the auburn wings of her family, but then her mother is Lorv and of course her Eminence would be more pronounced in their offspring.
“When we arrive to Soulaxar, I must find my sisters right away. Ahdis has provided a rendezvous point, and directions to bring Pultine’s cocoon.”
“Rusa is probably in shambles,” Wielar said, his voice full of pity. “How long has he been without the Pristine?”
“A couple hundred years. He has sat by her cocoon, never moving in all that time. When we enter Soulaxar, I will take a ship to Wiis to find them deep in the rainforest.”
“We will take a ship,” Wielar corrects. “I was born in the rainforests of Wiis, or have you forgotten? We should take Leilar as well, she has never stepped foot on Wiis.”
Lorv thought quietly for a moment. She looked down at her screen, thumbing through digital documents. After a while she seemed to just be reading, then she looked up and nodded at Wielar.
“I should trust the two of you and Rusa to bring Pultine to the rendezvous. Tracia is on Bromeran and I would have words with her. I don’t have to tell you how important it is that Pultine be carefully guarded on your journey to the rendezvous, but I am telling you that. Guard my sister as though it were me defenseless and undergoing deep rejuvenation and metamorphosis, when an aboatia is at her most vulnerable.”
“Is Tracia with the rebels on Bromeran?” Wielar asked.
“Yes. And she has news that I can only retrieve in person. If we are convening, then something must be brewing, and we have arrived just in time.”
“Why would you direct Lorv to speak with Hysteria when I travel to Endla often?” Ahdis asked. She was stressed and fussing with her hair in a full-length mirror. The shimmering bust of Tracia floated next to her made up of Ahdis’s prismatic aspect. “Why are you directing anything all of a sudden?”
“You have done a very good job in my absence, sister. Your Supreme replacements are just that, and such unpredictable choices. Lolof was a given and I thank you for that, but Coffey was unexpected. For an Earther to survive as long as she has in the Fonlands is a supreme feat unto itself, though having the powers of Pultine probably helped with that.”
“She runs the disc when I am in this realm,” Ahdis said absently. She was pulling her hair up and deciding if the loose tendrils of hair on her shoulders was stately or messy. “She’s practically run it since she arrived there, and she has the purest of intentions. We needed her to stave off the apathy that creeps in to those of us who have lived as long as we have. What do you think of the other choice?”
“When I have a chance to properly meet him, I will give you my assessment, but I trust your judgment. It feels good to support after leading for so long.”
“And yet here you are sending Lorv to Endla. She is not welcomed on the planet, even if she is Supreme Explorer. Today, the aerphim and the archangels only know her as an enemy who frustrated Metatron.”
“I sent her to Hysteria’s moon,” Tracia corrects. “Your daughter is enamored with her father, she will hear nothing from you.”
“That is a very sore spot for me,” Ahdis said and stared at the shimmering bust in the mirror.
“I know and I don’t mean to be callous, but I was doing you a favor. Hysteria will do what she will to have everything fall into place. Pultine will be ecstatic when she emerges…”
“I can’t believe she even went to cocoon. She seemed happy with Rusa for so long. But chasing Seraphiel must have exhausted her. It was so stupid anyway, she knew that you were alive. And I told her what we were doing, but she only saw it as defeat and retreated to this pitiful excuse for a world. If not for the few interesting Earthers I’ve met, I wouldn’t understand at all why she was so obsessed with this place.”
“How have you navigated it for so long?”
“I am the Immaculate, your Excellence, I do as I must even if the must is musty.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, the Earthers in this age are obsessed with celebrity and nice images and catchphrases. The worst part is not using my wings, they’ve been tucked away so long, the bones are probably rusted. But everyone seems to love a statuesque woman with fair skin, there is nothing but admiration here, even for a low level government official such as myself. I don’t think American Earthers have ever known the name of their Secretary of Agriculture before. But this one has websites devoted to her and an exclusive podcasting deal with Spotify. I made a lot more money than that loudmouth spewing disinformation that everyone seems to love.”
“You’ve done well for yourself as an Earther. What of Seraphiel?”
“He took one of Pultine’s daughters to Endla, or let her go with Jophiel.”
The bust of Tracia was shocked and Ahdis let go of her hair. She crossed her arms over the chest of her fancy dress that drapped down to her floor and made her look like a queen.
“You let them take one of Pultine’s daughters?” Tracia asked with shock and anger in voice.
“I have a cover to maintain, Tracia. I can’t go beating up an archangel in South Carolina. It would have been a spectacle and you know it, don’t raise your voice. Ariel, that is the name her mother gave her, can you believe it?”
The bust of Tracia shook its head and rolled its eyes.
“I’m sure Jophiel was filled with angelic pride to learn her name.”
“Bitch was wet,” Ahdis said and they both laughed. “But Ariel is mmoatia. Coffey has shown me that the right Earthers make for amazing Fonlanders. I can’t be certain, but Coffey may have powers to rival Hysteria. Ariel is just opening up. We can let the aerphim show her who they are and we can count her on our second team.”
“I do trust you sister, but I am beginning to worry. If the parameters we want are met, then we may be creating an unpredictable and formidable opponent for ourselves.”
“I have watched you play games since before this world was formed,” Ahdis said with a smirk. “You are the best there ever was, and I learned from you to turn disadvantage into advantage. By the time Jophiel is done ‘training’ Ariel, she will despise them as much as we do. Unless sending Lorv to Endla throws a wrench in my plans. I can’t play my best game if my allies are moving pieces without my knowledge.”
“You have my sincere apologies, but to be fair, I was not sure when Lorv would arrive and I sent her transmissions casually in response to her notification that she was returning to Soulaxar. I didn’t mean to step on your toes, but she took a ship from Top just before it arrived and she made her way to Endla before we had a chance to talk. She doesn’t know about Ariel on Endla so she shouldn’t cause any ruckus, but she is sure to sense a power born of the Pristine.”
“We will let it ride, as they say,” Ahdis said and turned her attention back to her reflection in the mirror. “I’ll be glad when this dinner is over. World leaders are horny and tedious.”
“You look very nice, Gabriel would love to see you in that.”
“If only he wasn’t the oldest child I know, he could enjoy it. Who even knows where he is these days.”
“You will see him soon enough.”
“That is true. How are things going with yours and Pultine’s aerphim children? Is her son giving you a hard time? I bet he’s a little shit.”
“No, not at all,” Tracia said with a sigh. “But my daughter? I have never met one so frustrating. You would swear that she is the Pristine, she is so headstrong. And just like Pultine, I am enamored with her.”
“Can we count them?” Ahdis asked and she turned to stare at the bust.
“Not yet, but soon. I hope.”
“There is no hope,” Ahdis said, “there is only building a second team.”
“I’m on it, fearless leader,” Tracia said and the bust dissipated into nothing.
PRL Serials 