Sky Way. An endless stone road created thousands of years ago for Chryslans to spread the Divine Light to the rest of the world. At least that's the bullshit they spread in the texts. Grays have another term for it: the Road to Nowhere. Sky Way is said to stretch for miles, looping and winding through clouds, mountains, and far reaching trees. In several chambers there are elevators and portals which transport Chryslans to the lower realms. But these chambers are located in the higher districts which are guarded by sentinels and forbidden to Grays unless summoned by Chief Omux.
So most Grays spend their lives on the road pacing back and forth between the temples, the training fields and mess hall. Yet, for those with venturous spirits, there is a path in our district where the road turns into a ramp that reaches down to touch earth. Grays have access to venture off this path almost any time they choose. The reason most don't is because this is where they take us when we are banished for good. It is when they decide we will never get our colors so we are no longer Chryslans.
The end of the road leads to the Wastelands, a vast region of rocky craggs and barren desert. There is little incentive for anyone to want to traverse to this realm but occasionally I mustered the courage to venture off to escape the monotany of our day to day schedule. At the edge of where Nowhere connected to the rest of the world I stood scanning the dark, jagged horizon of barren land. A pair of sentinels stood guard at the ramp's edge, neither speaking as I stepped off and into the Wastelands, for they cared not whether we left by force or by choice. It was just one less worthless soul to keep watch over.
It took some time and delicate footing to be able to maneuver safely through the terrain. Lack of focus or treading with too much haste could lead one to lose his footing on the rock or plunge through the giant fistures and into an abyss. But once this was passed pockets of grass emerged to form emerald speckled fields. Herds of hooved horned mammals grazed upon these, led by dwarf sized shepherds draped in woolen cloaks that obscured most their features. One such shepherd looked over his shoulder as I passed. His bulbous yellow eyes peered from beneath the hood of his maroon shawl while his long bearded muzzle bared into a crooked smile. If you removed their clothing and their ability to stand upright then an Ingrim would not look out of place if it stooped over and started grazing alongside their flocks.
These fields became more numerous the further I went. One such was distinct because it had a larger number of Ingrims and their flocks conjested in one spot. Two figures stood watch over them in the distance. They appeared like the shepherds but were much larger and more robust. Their peaked caps, beige uniforms and black visors gave them a peculiar look compared to that which the Ingrims wore, which seemed more fitting for the desert. Two long, jagged rifles rested upon their shoulders. Their eyes were veiled beneath the visors but I felt their gaze as their heads turned on a slow swivel until I passed.
My walk led me to a place where the land elevated into a border of mountains which surrounded a deep pass.
The Burrows.
Even from down here I could see the black holes carved into the mountainside peering down upon me. Sitting outside the entrance to these, and scattered all about the rocky pass, was a large community of Grays. But they were frailer, older and, if it was possible, they seemed even grayer than those of us on Sky Way. These were the Forbiddens. The ones who could no longer be trained to acquire their true colors, and thus they were forever shunned from Chryslor.
None spoke but their eyes latched upon me like shadows. There was not a friendly face among them. I walked up to one tunnel that had a broken wooden door covering it. I gave it a gentle tap for fear that it would fall over completely. From out of one of the cracks in the wood I saw a smoke colored pupil peering back at me. The door opened to reveal a short, plump Gray in tattered mud colored rags.
"Well I'll be damned," he said as he looked me over. "They're feeding you quite good up there ain't they?"
"They're feeding you good down here too it seems," I said as I eyed the potbelly sticking out from under his shirt.
He gave a hearty laugh as he stepped forward to embrace me. "Good to see you Blu."
"Good to see you too Plotus."
That last sentence would have been true had I not seen how much Plotus had changed since the last time I had seen him. He was too young to have the tired sacks that now drooped beneath his eyelids. Wrinkles ran down his dry, leathery skin like rivers on a map. And his signia had faded completely. A Chryslan without his signia looked naked. And while Plotus had always been a portly fella there used to be a solidity to him that gave him a sturdy frame. Now his skin sagged off his fat which sagged off his bones. My eyes inadvertently shifted away.
"You thirsty?" he asked.
We went to a hill on the outskirts of the town and sat there beneath the starry sky. Plotus leaned back as he took a swig from his keg. "So you got a shining coming," he said.
"How did you know?"
"Cuz you only visit here when you're anxious... or feeling hopeless about something." He gave a grim chuckle as he took another sip and passed the keg to me. "Not sure why you would come here to cure that though. I suppose seeing us reminds you that life's not so bad back home."
"Naw. This Is why I come here." I dipped my head back to take a big swallow from the keg, shivering as a warm tingle flowed through my mind and body. "Damn that's that shit."
"Awww. That's it huh? You don't like spending time with the only friend you got eh?"
"I have other friends," I replied glumly. "But your company ain't so bad."
"You scared?" Plotus asked.
"Of what?"
"The shining fool."
"Nope."
"Of course not," he chuckled.
An uncomfortable heat began to rise in my chest. I put the keg to my lips and took a long drawn chug to put it out. "This will be my fourth one."
"Ah! So you'll be joining me down here soon," he jested.
I did not laugh. He gave me a few nudges with his elbow as he hooted. "I'm just kidding man. You'll do well."
"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"
He withdrew a sigh. "A lie cannot last that long."
"What do you mean by that?" I asked as I offered him a drink. This time he made no attempt to reach for it, instead fixing his gaze upon the stars. A strange solemnity fell over his features as all playfulness fled from his spirit.
"From the moment we are brought to those temples the Blessed feed us endless tales about how if we work so hard... train so hard then one day we will earn our colors and join their ranks. The delusion that it is possible is what fuels us to do what they say."
I arched an eyebrow. "You know when you started I thought you were going to give me some words of encouragement."
"When they brought me here I questioned why they fed us such garbage," he continued. "I immediately assumed it was to keep us from revolting against them. But that ain't it. If we tried to rise up against them they would crush us. In fact, some of them would invite a rebellion cuz it would give 'em a reason to slaughter us."
That devilish grin of Jiroq flashed before me. "I can see that."
"But the longer I lived here and saw what happens to Grays when they're cut off from the rest I saw the necessary truth behind the lie. Why it's important for us to believe that we can ascend and become Blessed." The light from the stars reflected brightly as his eyes began to glisten.
"And that is?" I asked.
"Without hope there is no life," he said as a deep sigh escaped his lungs. He closed his eyes and for a long moment he lay still. The only thing moving was a tear that slowly trickled through the cracks in his cheek. A wretched feeling seized my gut as I became aware how sickly Plotus had become.
The Burrows had grown silent after I left Plotus back in his hole. The entrances of the tunnels were now black holes gaping at me like the vacant stare of a thousand eyed giant. Yet as haunting as they appeared I felt a strange sense as though they were beckoning me to enter. As if they knew that one day I would be resting in their tombs along with the others.
I shuddered and tugged the hood of my shawl over my scalp. I began the trek down the ramp which stretched to the rocky teeth of the barren world below. The moon was covered by smokey clouds, making it hard to see the deep fissures that split the uneaven earth. I paused for a moment to let my eyes adjust. To my right there was a ledge that overlooked the entire wasteland. Here a glint of reflected light forming a rim around a figure caught my attention.
I would have passed it off for a lean rock, but a breeze pulled at its cloak and its whiskers. My eyes squinted for a cleaner inspection. There was no mistaking that it was an Ingrim; the ancient one who had come earlier bringing the food and water. With his back turned to me I could not see what held his attention, but I got the sense that he was looking inward rather than at anything beyond the ledge. His head turned upward.
"We used to call you the Children of the Stars," he said.
"Used to?" I asked. "According to the temple scrolls we still are."
"You've lost your ways."
"And what would a crooked old Ingrim know about the ways of Chryslor?"
"Not much I suppose, but perhaps more than a Gray seeing as how you are kept out of the know on most things." A row of crooked teeth gleamed as he turned to give me a smile. That remark ruffled me a bit, but I remained silent. "It is unfortunate to see so many gifted put to waste."
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Who else but the poor souls I have come to look after," he said with a nod towards the Burrows.
"They're not gifted. They were condemned to this place because they are not blessed at all."
"Is that so? I remember a time when to see a Gray ascend was not such a rare thing. But that was ages ago. Now they come here in droves. The number increasing with each year."
The thought of all the Grays packed together at mess hall came to mind. Then the image of Plotus flashed before me. A knot formed in my stomach as I struggled to ask, "What is happening to them? They seem..."
The Wise Clev turned to give me a direct and discomforting stare that beamed straight to my heart. "What happens to a flower when it is plucked from the garden?"
I grew silent. He returned to gaze upon the full theatre of the cosmos. "I wonder..."
"What?" I asked.
"What would become of Chryslor if the Divine Light within its people vanished completely?"
"I suppose Chryslor would be no more, and its people extinct."
"That would be unfortunate," he said.
"Would it?" I blurted. Even I was shocked to hear the words come from my mouth.
"Indeed it would, and for more than just Chryslans. I'm sure you have seen the murals in the halls. If Chryslor falls then the Light which holds back the Darkness will vanish. I have seen what terrors come from the shadows," he said grimly.
How do you know of the Hall of Vision? I thought to ask. Instead I said, "I haven't seen anything to suggest that Chryslor is on a path to doom."
"Until the wound of despair festers. Despair is like a disease. When it first sets in it is so subtle it usually goes untended, but given time it spreads to rot an entire community."
"I guess that's why the Blessed make sure it rots here. Far away from home," I said with another look at the Burrows.
"An entire community," he repeated. "Grays are still Chryslans."
"Sure," I said as I turned to leave this conversation. I'd come here to lift my spirits but most of this night echoed with feelings of doom and gloom.
Before I could manage a few steps I heard him say, "It is rare for me to find one of your kind here unless he is banished. I offer guidance in hopes that you will not find yourself here permanently. In the Chryslan archives there is a book called the Art of Light and Darkness. It was written thousands of years ago, and I'm sure many of your scholars have forgotten its significance. Perhaps it will aid you in your quest."
"My quest?" I asked as I turned to look back on the ledge. But there was no one there.
No comments:
Post a Comment