HTG - Chapter 188

Kalon

Chapter One-Hundred-Eighty-Eight: Ulatar - Part One

Planet: Etheria

“By Hekate’s taint, you’re grinning,” Kotina says, folding her arms with a chuckle, “Was starting to think your face reverted back to only making a brooding expression.”

My body is sore still, but I am starting to feel and understand the rhythm of Sha better. The once violent pulses of power have become subtle throbs in the back of my focus.

“You going to show me the dust thing you were talking about?” she asks, kicking over a small shard of Etherium toward me.

“Are you going to answer my questions more fully?” I ask.

“Weird that you don’t have any runes that light up when you touch it,” she says, inspecting my bare arms, “I noticed earlier when you touched some. I could feel the Etherium resonating with your body like a normal person. Yet there’s no runic reaction like a normal person.”

“Solara told me that Sparkbearers do not carry runes unless they shape them onto their bodies themselves.”

Kotina’s eyes widen a little, “She told you that you’re a Sparkbearer?”

I nod.

“Did she say what spark you carry?”

I shake my head.

“Do you know?”

I pause, weighing my words for a moment, “They say that my mother was Kuwathi, but I do not know if this is truth or more deceptions. There is much I wished to ask Amara, but she did not answer when I prayed, Korra said it was because she was weakened.”

Kotina shifts, mulling my words, “Kuwathi, as in the prime goddess of your people’s pantheon?”

I nod again.

“Strange, I didn’t think she had a child. Though in truth, I don’t know much about your people’s gods. Have a hard enough time keeping up with the rest of the galaxy.”

“There are no stories among my people that speak of her having one. Which is part of why I have doubts.”

Kotina shrugs, “Not unheard of though, gods typically don’t advertise they have children until they ascend.”

“Why?”

“Puts a target on their back. I’ve only met one Sparkbearer… probably shouldn’t have said that either. Anyway, they bounded really fast, but not as fast as you. And they went the Etheric route, obviously, otherwise I’d know more about the Netheric.”

“There is much I don’t know,” I admit.

“Why else do you have doubts about her being your mother?”

It takes me a few moments to muster my thoughts, “Because it would mean that my entire life was a lie, that everything she taught me was rooted in falsehood.”

“Didn’t think about it like that. Well, what’s the evidence you are her son?”

“The legends tell that the twin sisters of the dawn and dusk, life and death share the same face.”

“And?”

My eyes trace into hers, “Amara bore my mother’s face when I saw it. Even her voice was similar.”

“What happened to your mother anyway?” she asks softly.

“She died, protecting me.”

Kotina’s eyes lower, “Guess we have that in common.”

“What happened to your mother?”

“She died with my father, and my siblings during the first Krothaspawn outbreak on Korvak seven.”

“How old were you?”

“Twelve during the first outbreak, twenty during the last.”

“I am sorry.”

“Why, you didn’t kill them, a corrupt government did. Fucking merchant federations never properly run their outer systems. All of it is a shithole.”

This must be why she didn’t like Adonius and house Helenius. She is like Arrum and me, an Ulima, an orphan.

“Are outbreaks common?” I ask.

“For a time, about a hundred years or so, before the fall of the rebel syndicates and the cult of Erona.”

“I have never heard of such a cult.”

“That’s because they don’t teach about it, they don’t want the same thing happening again.”

“How did they get rid of them?”

She shrugs, “I don’t know, wish I did, they just suddenly stopped attacking colonies. One day they just disappeared and after two hundred years people stopped talking about it entirely.” She throws a pebble, “Like it never happened. Time is funny like that, it has a way of washing away the past.”

“How old are you?”

“Older than you,” she smiles, throwing another pebble, “Let’s stop talking about depressing stuff.”

“Can we talk about the Sage?”

“If you call him Artemius, sure, though I’m not an expert on him. As I said, he gave me pointers, but he wasn’t like some mentor to me as he was to you.”

“You said that you saw Artemius stand in Raven Prime’s gravity?”

“Oh yeah, spritely for an old man too.”

“You said that he must have been at least the fifth bound?”

“Logic dictates that, yes, otherwise he’d have been dust, if Inara was in fact his daughter, I had my doubts about that to be honest.”

Amon rises from the shadows again, silently peering at her.

“Why do you doubt it?”

“I… well, maybe Kuwathi are weird, but she always treated him more like a master rather than a father. Even heard her call him that once in passing. Which is weird, considering she was in the sixth before she died. I don’t know, something doesn’t add up with him. Everything about him was strange. Never really wanted to bring it up though, especially after Inara…”

She pauses for a time, there is regret in her memories, something that weighs on her.

“What happened to her?”

She turns to look at me, “Did Luna not say?”

“No.”

“Might not be my place to say then, you should ask her.”

Amon disappears again without a word. Something tells me the name Inara is familiar to him. When I speak with him later I will ask.

“So, were your parents nobles among the Arasha?”

Kotina blinks at me, then laughs heartily, “Gods no, they were laborers. Barely got paid enough to keep us fed. Outer colonies are like that. Especially when they’re owned by merchants. The Imperium gives them special licenses to operate using indentured servants since autonomous machines are banned.”

“Why are they banned?”

“Well, for one, in order to reduce the likelihood of them being compromised, they’d have to be compartmentalized. Which means each one would need to be able to act independently. Dangerous thing that.”

“Why?”

“A machine with a straightforward amount of programming will move a rock when you tell it to, the same machine when edited by a pissed off colonist will tell the machine that a noble’s head is a rock that needs to be split. Not to mention the potential for corruption near Ancient artifacts. Those things scramble machine minds faster than eggs on a hot pan. Then they all start acting funny and doing things they’re not supposed to. What do they teach you Kuwathi anyway?”

“We were told that machines are not used because Maka… or mana as you know it causes them errors. I have seen as much myself.”

“You’ll need to stop using that word openly, if you’re to pass as an Arasha.”

I stare at her, “Why would I want to pass as an Arasha?”

She shifts uncomfortably, “You do know that most places consider Kuwathi as slaves, right?”

I nod.

“It’s illegal for them to become Knight Commanders, hasn’t been done since the fall of their empire over a thousand years ago. Hells, they need special permits just to be in Imperium space, and a sponsor that is of noble blood, otherwise they just cart them off to the nearest merchant federation and toss them in a mine somewhere. That’s if it’s less expensive to do than a plasma cartridge.”

My eyes narrow, “You’re telling me that I’ll need to pretend I’m not what I am?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Same reason that you’re forsaking the Netheric bounds. You need to fit in, what you are is an extreme anomaly at the moment. Netheric bounder who’s also Kuwathi, you may as well tattoo the words lord of demons on your forehead.” She chuckles, then seeing my reaction, she straightens, “Look, you signed up for it, no pouting now.”

“I am not pouting, I am just surprised is all.”

“Ravena is fair, but she’s not an idiot, her leader, Hekate, would probably be pissed if she found out about you. Honestly I’m surprised they didn’t have me airlock you into space, or feed you to one of the Ethaki. Not to mention they’ve allowed people that know your secrets to live relatively normal lives. They’re taking a shitload of risks making sure you’re happy.”

I had not thought about it in such a way before, so I ask, “Why?”

“I’d wager that Ravena thinks you’re going to be a very powerful bounder, one that will shatter the mortal bounds. Especially since you’re a Sparkbearer. That’s the only reason I think she’d take risks. What did she tell you?”

“Power.”

Kotina raises an eyebrow, “Sounds like I was right then.”

“You said shatter the mortal bounds, what lies beyond them?”

She sighs, “Between us?”

“Of course.”

“I’m sure Dargo will tell you anyway, fucker told Luna all about the first eight. We’d been keeping her on the path Ravena asked us to and he just comes in and tells her everything. Have I mentioned how much of a slaghole he is?”

“You may have mentioned it once or twice.”

“Well, anyway, after the mortal ones, my understanding is that if you pass the ninth, you leave this realm and enter the immortal one. Which would make sense, seeing as the most I’ve seen is eighth bounders in the mortal realm.”

“How many realms are there?” I ask, she has answered a surprising amount of questions.

“Mortal, Immortal, and the last is the Realm of Gods. The ultimate pinnacle.”

“And that is where the gods reside?”

“According to legend. Don’t know much, Ravena isn’t really much of a talker, and Arkon says that in time I’ll know. If you ever wondered where Luna learned to be strict with rules, she got it from him. Before you ask why it even matters, the Imperium’s pantheon likes secrecy. Telling your subjects about the other realms is rather unadvisable under the current regime. I think it’s stupid, keeping people in the dark. Imagine how many bounders you’d have if more people knew about it. Sure, most would never make it far, but if they knew that immortality lied on the edge, talk about motivation for some.”

“Do most not know about the bounds?”

“It’s not taught, but there are plenty of rumors among common folk, I remember hearing them when I was a kid. People who can do extraordinary things, people blessed by the gods themselves. Little less exciting when you understand the work involved in it. Painful process for most that takes most of their lives.”

She looks at me sideways now.

“Pairing your Spark with whatever the hell happened with the Cursed Edict. Your story is insane. Should’ve taken you much longer to hit the fifth. Though in fairness, I don’t know much about the Netheric bounds, maybe they’re faster? Could explain why they purge records of them.”

Her face slackens as she looks me up and down.

“If you’re in the fifth bound now, and four of the bounds you broke in the last two years… fuck me…” her head tilts sideways, “What the fuck are you going to look like in a hundred years.” She swallows, looking back at the edge of the cave, “Why the hell does Ravena want you to abandon the Netheric bounds anyway? Doesn’t make sense if you think about it. Unless it’s illegal in the Immortal Realm too.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Well, consider what they use to take down unruly bounders, Netherium.”

I recall how they tried to subdue Luna with it before.

“It’s the standard of practice in house wars. Netheric weapons are highly effective against Etheric bounders, and it’s the most common way to wipe worlds. Krothaspawn spread rapidly on worlds without Etheric regulators and naturally high Etheric mana.”

“How effective?” I ask.

She looks at me sternly, “You’re a little young to have thoughts of killing an upper bounder, runt.”

“One should be prepared for anything.”

She smirks at this, “For someone like Dargo, it would take a considerable amount to take him down I’d wager. Haven’t seen him wear armor that would counter it, not even sure he could hop around in a suit like that.”

“There is armor that counters it?”

“One very specific kind, yes. But it’s stupidly rare to find the materials for it.”

“What’s it called?”

“Ulatar, it’s a metal, but it doesn’t act like a normal one, not really.”

“Ulatar?”

“Yeah, the name carried on from the Kuwathi reign. So do a lot of names for things. Most have been cycled out though. The slow death of culture from time and oppression doesn’t help.”

“Death’s will… a strange name for a metal.”

“Want to know something stranger?” she asks.

I nod.

“You still haven’t shown me what happens after Netherium disappears.”

I blink, she is not wrong, looking down, I see the small shard she kicked at me earlier, it hums with a deep blue light. Even though it is small, I can tell it is very potent, as are all the shards I have seen on this strange world.