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Note: I won't post the whole description of Nikalanta again - therefore I ask you to use the link below or directly jump to the Azum guild to get the basic information about Nikalanta's structure/design. Danke^^




Part IV - Nikalanta I


And before Lucind went on showing Maximos her memories of the arrival in Nikalanta, she gave him a summary of the wonderous city's design and structure, taking the atlas that was still lying between them to flip open a page which showed a construction map.

"Nikalanta's main station is quite a sight. Though I got the impression that it would be difficult to find a calm spot in this city. Well, I found out it is possible, but during our stay we mainly frequented those quarters with the highest population.

The station is on the same level as the entertainment floors of the living areas - and as you can see you can choose between normal stairs, escalators and elevators to get up onto the main floor.

But the Aishwarya and the rest of us separated for the time being, 'cause Kemecha, Tagis and Kaled had come up with the plan to bring Sun, Vahn, Owle and me to a secret place that the others, including Tagis, didn't know of. So, on the main floor, the Aishwarya, Tagis and we choose a different way: Tagis wanted to meet someone at the local station where we had ended up - there, you see...that's what I've just told you: all parts of the city aren't only connected by passages you can walk along or drive along with anything that doesn't produce exhaust fumes, but also by a smaller and slower working train net...or well, the vehicles for the oldest part of Nikalanta seem to be more old school, but that's just for the look."

The water screen displayed the group around Kemecha entering such a small, old looking train, whose interior was but almost as comfortable as the express had been. It was, however, crowded here as well. But it got visibly better once they entered Section d. It was like...

"...stepping into a big hall...well, huge, to say the least." Especially at this point it became handy that the view changed between the members of the group so that Maximos could get the best sight on the section. Far in the distance he would notice the opposite wall, separating this section from the Core, the oldest part of Nikalanta; not that far away were left and right the walls with its two arc shaped passages, dividing Section a - f from each other.
"And there you have this 'tower', in the middle.* The renovation works for this one had been finished half a year ago, the apartments' rents and the hotel prices are expensive compared to other accommodations in Area 1...likely not in comparison to the...house where we were going to stay, though, hehe. I visited the tower once, will show you later on, had a coffee in one of the cafes there.

We walked to the address Kemecha had organized for us, using a cell phone like device. Everybody was fine with having walk after the train ride, and in this way we also directly got to see a bit of Jitro's capital city."

Maximos could now see himself that the inner parts of Nikalanta were a patchwork of architectural styles, be it along the walls, where the buildings were stapled on each other, growing up the wall because after a while people weren't allowed to erect new houses, temples or whatever in front of the old - one of two main roads, leading through all Sections and through the passages of the walls, was the border for any further building sites. Those roads also sported tracks for the 'oldschool' trains, that were only flanked by waist high barriers, if any at all. And so, the building terrace along the walls were like a vast burrow - the area between them and the tower in the center didn't look much different from Semyon. Still, with many information boards, some even run electronically, it was easier to get from a to b than in the seaport.

Also, another distinct difference between Nikalanta and Semyon was that all those foreign influences that reached the port got to bloom in the melting pot that Nikalanta was: there was a variety of nations and languages. Even though Azumerians were still in the majority, you came to see faces from Gaia and the other continents, many being employed in one of a local stores.
"The sense of fashion has also shifted in this city, Eastern and Western designs are combinated or fused into a new style. There were groups of youths following the latest 'in' movement called 'desert punk'....there, those guys, for example." She pointed at the screen. "It's a pity I didn't have the time for a good shopping tour," Lucind sighed.



The group stopped at a street vendor to buy some kind of dumplings - before the recollection jumped forward to the point where everybody walked into a narrow side street, directly leading into the sections 'burrow' quarter.
"First, it looked just as jumbled and topsy-turvy as I'd expected. But after turning left and right and left again - you wonder how people get along with this maze - and finally came to a high wall, which had the 'Whoa' effect on everybody...also because of those two bulky men there."
Wearing cotton pants, wrapping skirts and barely nothing on their torso, their impressive muscles made you think twice about going through the double swinging door behind them. Kemecha however just greeted the grim looking guys, whereupon one of them nodded and said something, waving them through. Behind this wall, everything looked much cleaner - not that the rest of the section was messy, but not a single leave lied on the light, patterned stone floor. They had stepped into a large inner courtyard, the buildings left, right and ahead kind of melting into one, especially since a gallery lead around the second floor of half of them. And to a stair leading up to said gallery, Kemecha led the group. As Maximos would probably notice, it wasn't nearly as crowded in there than it had been on the open streets, but all persons being in this secluded corner looked wealthy, neatly clad - and many of them extremely handsome. On the screen, Vahn and Owle exchanged confused looks.

A bit down the gallery, a girl looked out of a low window, her elbows leaning on the sill, her face in her hands. She looked nothing short to a doll with her white skin that showed a shimmer effect like silk, the silvery white, extremely thin hair and the tiny, really tiny mouth with cherry red lipgloss; her face was heart shaped and the eyes were extremely huge....and dark purple. She didn't look older than fourteen, her voice was that of a teenager - but behaved like a 'grande dame', without being bossy or bitchy, but with an aura of wisdom and mischief. On a second look it became apparent how thin she was....actually, her arms and fingers were longer than normal.

She greeted Kemecha with the sweetest smile and curiously peeked at the others. The window in which she lay had three curtains which folded around the girl, veiling everything below her flat chest.

"A good day, dear. A nice bunch of fellows you're bringing this time. And they're guests only? No clients?" As it turned out, her Gaian was fairly good.

"Only guests. No special treatment." Kemecha grinned broadly before turning around. Through her eyes, you could see Lucind downing a grin, a similar expression was marking Sun's face, whereas Owle and Vahn had started looking a tad uneasy. "This is Sugi. She'll be your hostess as long as you're staying in Nikalanta....unless something urges to relocate you."

"Welcome to my Garden," Sugi said, still smiling, her huge eyes nearly closed. "Make yourself at home. One of my servants will show you your rooms. I'll join in later."


On the right side of the window, there was a wooden gate in the form of a skillfully worked lattice - behind, a small world of luxury, pleasant smells, fine food and relaxation began. The interior, they would soon find out, was simply magnificent, though not too overloaded. Just as they had all shuffled into a short corridor - the door on the left could only lead into the room where Sugi was - a young man in pompous robes came walking through the main hall in which the corridor ended. He obviously was from the West, since his fine features had nothing Azumerian. His long honey blond hair fell over his shoulders when her welcomed them with a bow - and his smile resembled Sugi's.



"Welcome. My name is Orendel. I will show you around and you can always come to me if you have a question," he started, his pronunciation being much clumsier than that of his mistress.

Lucind delivered the synchro for this scene.

"I've got a question." That was Vahn.

"Yes?" Orendel smiled broadly.

"Is this here a brothel or something,"he asked bluntly. He was obviously not too fond of the idea of staying in Sugi's 'garden'.

"Yes," Orendel answered, still smiling in the same sweet way. "You can say this it is, but we also have normal guests who...uhm...just want to have a room and maybe a bit company, but no close contact. Of course, I make sure you don't get into a...unpleasant situation. But my colleagues know that you are no clients."

Vahn just stared at the man, discomfort and irritation written all over his face, then he looked at Kemecha who had turned into a Cheshire cat. "You brought us to a brothel...??"

Owle, who was standing half behind Vahn, was obviously more than embarrassed of the whole situation and glanced at Sunstrike as if searching for help - he, however, was peeking around, curiosity twinkling in his eyes.

"How many men and women are working here, Orendel?" Lucind asked, just as relaxed as Sun.

"Twenty eight. Including two cooks. And we only have male employees."

Did Sun's ears just wiggle?

Well, Vahn's vein was throbbing menacingly. Owle looking from one to the other.

"I see," Lucind said on the screen and right next to Maximos, chuckling under her breath. "But you're clients are male and female?" Owle's already pink cheeks turned just a shade darker.

"That is right." Orendel nodded - did he have another expression in his repertoire than this cute smile?

"You'll like it!" Kemecha nudged Vahn, who mumbled something inarticulate. "And you're safe here."

"I already love it!" That was Sun. When he noticed Owle's face, he wrapped an arm around her, and whispered something like, "No worries, dear. It'll be alright. And I'd never cheat on you, haha.."

"Not that Owle felt at ease then," Lucind explained Maximos," but I think she preferred searching cover with Sunstrike more than behind Vahn."


"Anyway, we got two rooms, not the largest, but still....would've liked to take all furniture, carpets and accessories with me, hehe. And we had no problems with whatsoever, Orendel made sure we had our privacy, we got a wonderful breakfast every morning we were there - and we were indeed safe there, 'cause as soon as we had brought our stuff in the rooms and made a short trip through the neighborhood, we noticed that there weren't only the guards in front of the gate, but also more security staff within, for those who visit this...special corner normally are wealthy and the owners of the 'hotels', restaurants and gambling clubs want to keep the exclusiveness of their business alliance."



"It was planned that we would meet Kaled at six at the so called Mosrin Gate, one of the gates between area R1 and R2. So until then, we had several hours off - but I wanted to relax before we'd meet the Aishwarya council, therefore I went with the others to do take a short walk around the surrounding blocks, but then returned to Sugi's Garden, with Kemecha for company, she didn't want to leave me alone. After that, she had to leave to report to the CoD headquarter...err..Clan of Dorya, I mean.

And while I napped in our wonderful room," - Maximos would see it on the water screen -," Sun had a special encounter that was going to change a lot for him in the course of events... Hmm, even though I count him a good friend, I don't actually know much about him. But what I learned a while ago - and you probably saw it, too, during the Heaven or Hell tournament - is that one part of Sunstrike is resided by a lizard. In what way his visible self and the lizard are connected, I can't tell. Suppose it's about buried memories of another life. Or the man we see is a product of the lizard character and...something else. Anyway. Since the whole story was something really private for Sunstrike, I didn't ask him to show me what he'd experienced in the two days and nights he suddenly vanished during our mission.

But it all started with a little thief..."

Lucind told Max in a few sentences that, while the rest of the group went on shopping, a boy of probably twelve years pilfered a pendant Sunstrike had bought from a vendor - and that the redhead had followed him, not so much because of the jewelry, but because the boy was a lizard Chimera, looking different from "Sun's" people, but definitely a small humanoid reptile that directly captured Sunstrike's attention and interest completely.

As it turned out, Sunstrike managed to keep up with the thief and thus finally entered The Circus, a cabaret in the basement floor of Nikalanta, which was the place for entertainment and fun in most areas or sections, the right place to spent your leisure, be it in a club, or a gambling hall, even movie theater could be found there; but also some fairly shady corners.

"Sun said the lizard boy's parents were members of The Circus, and that the artists there were a bunch of crazy, yet friendly folks. He got his pendant back plus free tickets for the evening show - but the latter really wasn't necessary for you could see it written all over Sunstrike's face that he wanted to meet those Chimera again anyway.

The meeting with the heads of the Aishwarya came first, however."







The soul mirror showed how the complete group was guided by Kemecha, winding through the narrow streets, taking the cable car to the newer area R1, where also the city's leading heads were residing: the whole atmosphere this section gave off was more noble, quieter, offering more space between all facilities...probably less exciting for adventurous people but better for the faint hearted and those with a good filled wallet. What caught the spectator's eye furthermore was the ceiling being higher than in the Sections a - f, equipped with an end-to-end artificial sky.

"Our destination was Nikalanta's Zin Hasin. Basically...this is what most people over there associate with Sirens - and what I learned that day is that my kind has its own place in the Azumerian culture...not a respected one at all places, but especially in Jitro Sirens are seen and frequented for their knowledge about body and soul." At this point, a certain softness and admiration mingled with Lucind's voice.

"Those Zin Hasins can be found all over Azum, even a few in the less populated, simple life areas in the West. The easiest way to translate it is 'bath house'. 'Zin', however - a Seireneian word - stands for the healing effects of water. 'Hasin' is Azumeric, once used in the meaning of 'temple' or 'holy place', today it usually describes a public building.

But it's more than a bathing house, as a matter of fact.

Well, the main area is for wellness: several pools with different water temparatures, some designed like a cave, filled with sea water or supplied by subterrnean lakes. You've got steam and mud baths, saunas, resting corners...a cave with hot stones which was a favorite place for reptilian Chimera...a hammam right next to the changing room."

Picture after picture ran over the watery screen, revealing the wonderful interior of the Zin Hasin: even though it showed many adornments or ornamentations typical for Azum, the design of each room was quite plain and calming, an interaction of wood, dark grey stone and light marble. There were candles, indirect electrical light, honey coloured lamps or windows, very few sculptures or decorations, but placed in a very subtle way so that you weren't distracted but could just focus on yourself...and relax.

"The architecture reminded me a lot of ours, I mean, that of the Gaian Sirens. And we, too, have such bath houses, but not in this extent...and mainly for ourselves... Which is a pity indeed."

A second area, Lucind went, was visited by those who felt sick in any way, for there they could find traditional healers and massagers - and not all of them were Sirens. "Also those whose minds were troubled, who were mentally disturbed went there. What I found impressive is that this area was nearly opened twenty four hours a day, giving people the chance to find someone there whenever they needed help.

I was...taken aback...to say the least...even had bitter feelings stuck in my throat. I thought, 'Why are you asking for our help? You've got the life I always wished for us: as a part of society, doing what was once supposed to be our task - to aid other souls, in whatever way.' And yet, right when we were given a tour through the Zin Hasin, my speculations as to why the Aishwarya called out for us Western Sirens became much clearer...'cause their life, no matter how harmonic it seemed to be, was in danger. A danger barely noticable, but steadily growing. One very similar to the Chimera sorrows."

The third part consisted of private rooms and namely was the place where Lucind and the other should meet the Aishwarya council.


The group finally walked into a large, rectangular room, showing the same design like the rest of the bath house. Two lines of ottomans moved into a dark brown soft fabric were arranged opposite of each other, describing a slight bow so that they all ottomans together nearly built a circle. In the end, there were five seats facing fourteen. On the latter, the council was already assembled: seven female Sirens - fullbloods and halfs -, in the middle, as Lucind explained, Shankar's sister Bedular, a handsome woman, too, but with a pair of sharp looking eyes that went well with her neatly combed back greenish blue hair.

"Directly thought it was obvious why they've made her their spokeswoman. Bedular isn't only the council's representative, so, something like the final judge when it comes to matters within the clan, but is also a member of Nikalanta's senate and thus negotiates with other politicians and representatives. Got the impression she has quite the right connections...and thus some influence."

Maximos would see how Lucind and the other four - Kemecha had stayed behind at some point - were guided to their seats, providing that Lucind sat opposite of Bedular. And behind Lucind's group, in the background, there were Kaled, Shankar, Yaranahe, Eshnared and a few other Sirens.

Bedular, a fullblood Siren, by the way, first greeted the guests in the typical manner of her race: index and middle finger touching forehead, lips and chest, introduced both parties to each other, then sat down and went on talking, a soft, somewhat wise smile on her face.

"Basically, she came down to business without any unnecessary chitchat. What I noticed was that Bedular obviously spoke in a way it wasn't planned before with the other members, for she got several confused looks as you will see.

'I know there's a lot of mistrust and doubt on both sides, West and East.' That's how she started.

'But I think, I believe it's about time to overcome all misunderstandings, all animosity.

No matter whether or not you find a way to reconnect us to the collective, the Lhor aven, I am determined to do everything in my power to initiate a reunification of our culture and that of the remaining Siren world. Thinking back of the few attempts of approach, which have all failed, makes it clear that this time it can't be accomplished just like that, too. It takes time, but I hope we will find tolerant and understanding partner in each other.'

At that point, it was me to be confused though I did my best not to show it - but I didn't know there'd been - who knows how serious - efforts to mediate between both sides.

Anyways. Bedular's speech appeared to be professional, a bit daring maybe, but rather target-oriented and considerate in the right measure. But what I also noticed was she was hardly able to suppress an urgency, insecurity close to anxiety even, which told me she was sincere with her words.

She then admitted that, aside from the general wish to see the Azumerian Sirens integrated into the global Siren society, the reason for their call was their need of help - and yes, they were hoping to obtain more power and thus wished for the reconnection to work this time, to express it in a very simplified way.

Bedular made a step back, so to say, and explained what the Aishwarya were and gave us a few examples of the differences between their way of living and ours - and that of the other 'normal' clans on Azum. During the nearly five hundred years of the continent's 'second' history, the Aishwarya clan had turned from a group of outcasts to a new attitude of living a Siren's life, which has been joined by many members of those clans who had lived in Azum before.

Over the time after The Rain they had established their own...you can say, rank, in society. They helped a great deal to overcome the tragedy, even though all of them must've been traumatized themselves. They did what we're supposed to do, trying to cure mind and also the body. The Aishwarya are reknowned healers and diplomats. Whereas the other clans have developed in a way similar to ours on Gaia: for various reasons, they retreated to live alone, usually along the coast, not interferring with anyone else's business.

So...there wasn't...or isn't just the gap between East and West, but there's also lot of coldness being exchanged between the Azumerian Sirens as it is. Back at that meeting, Bedular was cautious with her words at least when it came to their relationship to the other clans on that continent. But..."

Lucind lightly shook her head as though she had decided to first go on with her summary of the meeting at the Zin Hasin. The tea mug in her hands was only luke warm.

She then recapitulated the recent history of Azum, just like Bedular had done, pointing out the growing conflicts between humans and Chimera, humans and humans, Chimera and Chimera. The current problem was that the local troups of the Clan of Dorya, especially those stationed at Nikalanta's overground outskirts to which also Kaled Onroy belonged, had been under regular attack of a group of Meohar Chimera. It had first started with minor skirmishes and mockery, just like it was the problem everywhere on Azum: there were many of the "free" living Meohar accusing the CoD members or other Chimera who worked for governmental establishments to be traitors, fawning cowards, slaves of the human population.

"After a while, though, it became apparent that this was more than the usualy, stupid quarrels - and you see, the Dorya guys aren't completely innocent, either. That is, what I always bear in mind and also noticed after a few days in Azum: only a very few are without guild. It doesn't mean that everybody else is bad and to be damned. But..." She took the last sip of her tea and put the mug back on the table. "I don't have to tell you that we're living in shades of grey. You've got the extreme cases on both sides, yet the predominant part of our world isn't that easy to read." Leaning back against the wall, Lucind turned her head, grinning ever so slightly. "It's like in those freaky children stories and fairytales: a maggot might hide in the most delicous praline." Soft laughter. "Someone once said that enough sugar coats everything evil. On the other hand, way too often beauty and good will is overseen when wrapped in ugliness or gentle darkness.

...Sugi is a good example."

For a moment, Lucind's memories switched back to the Garden: Lucind and the others were sitting in some common room, talking to Orendel, having tea, when, out of the corridor's shadow, Sugi came to them. Vahn and Sun nearly jumped into action, Owle didn't look less alarmed. Lucind, though, despite looking highly confused, just took another sip from her tiny cup.

"I had heard Sugi's voice, her laughter when she'd addressed some other customer, but the sounds she made were...wrong...it wasn't sounding as if a human was approaching: I heard the steps of more than two feet."

And out of the dark a pair of long, snowy grey insectoid legs teetered into the soft light of the room - right afterwards, the rest of Sugi's body followed: down to the ribcage, everything was more or less 'normal', aside from the already mentioned long, thin arms and fingers; then, however, a wasp-waist followed...literally. Below, the body elongated into a rice corn shaped back part. On the whole, Sugi looked like a humanoid wasp...only that her six legs were longer and stronger than those of a wasp or a bee, proportionally to their bodies. And somehow...aside from the fact that the sight of an insect Chimera was grotesque enough - Sugi was really tall if she only used those legs to lift her body -, something else was a bit off. She wore a corsett, and a vest, and a shawl around shoulders - but the 'cape' loosely fastened to her back revealed small bumps along...was that a spine?

"Sugi belongs to the recessive Chimera, those who either can't procreate or lose the animal features bit by bit - the latter applies to insect Chimera. But in all generations, the humanoid and non-human genes never seemed fully compatible. Thus, nearly every Chimera of this kind showed or shows minor or heavy deformations. As you can see here, Sugi's rear section isn't perfectly shaped like you see it with a wasp, for example but shows a shift to the right, when you stand in front of her, thanks to malformed spinal remnants...see the vertebrae sticking out there?
Also, she told me that after she hatched she still had a second pair of human arms, but they were completely underdeveloped and of no use. That is why their parents had them amputated after a while.

And believe it or not, that girl's older than I am...!" Lucind laughed. "But an amazing woman. You get this granma feeling when being with her, she knows so much, uncovers simple but deep truths of life...

- But enough of that for now.

What I was going to say was that the attacks on the Dorya only seemed to be random - but first secret investigations indicated that there was system behind the apparent arbitrariness: the rumor spread that this was nothing short to an attempt to have the Clan members appear in a bad light by luring them into charging...and likely into a trap which would make them the bad guys. And, depending on how serious the outcome of this conflict might be, it was going to have harsh consequences not only for the CoD, but also for Chimera in general, Jitro's government, Nikalanta's council...which, by the way, is mainly under the influence of an old family of cat Chimera.

This is also where Tagis comes into play: as I mentioned earlier, she's also part of the Clan of Dorya, and, as a matter of fact, she's leading the investigations, together with her own little department. On the ship she already told us about the smoldering aggression on both sides, that many Dorya members demanded to finally do something against the 'Meohar scum'...even threated to do something on their own.

Therefore, finding out what was going on behind the scenes, means, who stood behind the attacks of those Chimera living in the Meohar Mountains, had top priority. 'Cause with the tensed atmosphere in the East of Azum, any crisis could have been the straw that breaks the camel's back... Tagis said that both Jitro and Lahadam wouldn't be happy to start a war, though, despite the restricting laws King Amralkais of Lahadam enacted to restrict the Chimera's life. Means...what both governments were fearing most when we arrived, what the Clan of Dorya and the Aishwarya and seemingly many citizens of both countries were fearing most was...well, something like a civil war.

That was, too, what Bedular told us, and then asked me if I had already taked to Tagis concerning the latest results of the investigation, for this was something not even the rest of the Aishwarya council, nor the rest of the attendees were allowed to know - though back then I doubted that especially Kaled was completely clueless, since one of the strong suspicions Tagis and her department had was that a traitor lived among the Dorya members. The two other options were that the wirepuller, if not more than one, was to be found among the Meohar or the Lahadamean government...or that these possible cases were even connected with each other.

'And that is why', Bedular went on,' that is the other reason why we officially asked for help. These days, we have to meet nearly the same mistrust that is shown the Chimera, although it's not obvious here in this region - not yet. We Aishwarya helped bringing this country back to life. Therefore, we need...we could do so much more if our abilities would be completed.'"

While Lucind recited Bedular, Maximos could see how the council's spokeswoman was gesturing more agitated than before.

"'We can't just watch how our life, everything around us slowly breaks apart - we are in the position to ease the conflicts, to help understanding each other. We, the Aishwarya want to understand our fellow citizens in a better way. It is our duty to make this here a better world for family...for everybody.'"

At this point, Lucind would glance at Max.

"Finally she added that, even if it still wasn't possible to lead their souls back to the lhor aven, that they nevertheless wished for nothing more than an exchange between West and East, and, yes, they also humbly asked for help should things get worse there. Of course, in this situation, they wouldn't demand too much and that the Aishwarya understood it was going to be a long, slow process, probably with a few setbacks - until both Siren cultures would find together. Therefore, they wouldn't want to push for anything."


The next comment coming from Bedular perceivably made the rest of the council feel uneasy. The soul mirror showed how Lucind stood up, walked over to the fullblood Siren and knelt down in front of her. With the view changing, one could see Larhien narrowing his eyes, and also Sun, Vahn and Owle tensing up ever so slightly.

"She asked me to check her mind. Heh, I found that a bit overdramatic, but on the other hand, it's nothing unusual among Sirens. Though I felt that the other council members were a tad scandalized that she insisted and I did it in the end. She was 'clean'. I mean, I didn't want to intrude too deeply, and also did the scan very carefully, more like I would do it with someone who's not of our kind. 'Told' her that she wouldn't necessarily have to go this far, but she just 'answered' that she did what was necessary to help her people, her land and all Sirens in general."

When Lucind stood up after closing the connection to Bedular, you could see a girl running over who must've slipped into the room and wriggled through the others standing behind Larhien and the others. So, right when Lucind turned around, she found herself being hugtackled by said girl: she didn't appear to be older than ten, though with the fact she obviously was a Siren, too - that pair of prominent ears peeked through her extremely long, silken hair - her real age was to settle somewhere else. With large eyes of a dark brownish amber, she beamed up at the Half Siren.


Sitting next to Maximos, Lucind smiled softly. "This is Fhezi. She is...well, back then I learned that she was a half like me, even though her skin is just as pale as mine. Still, I didn't wonder about her dark blue hair, with some streaks of brown and green - you know, fullbloods have fair hair when they're still young, but it darkens bit by bit until, at the end of their life, it's nearly black.

Fhezi was quite the known little girl among the Aishwarya, also in that area of Nikalanta. She doesn't speak. No matter what they tried, no matter to which healer she was brought, nobody could tell what was wrong - or more like, that nothing seemed to be wrong with her, and that it simply must be something mental. But as you can see, Fhezi laughs. Every once in a while, she also chuckles or cries. Most of the time, though, she just seemed to be happy or in a wonderous calm state nothing can shatter...despite her mother being sick and weak ever since she gave life to her daughter. Never learned something 'bout the father, by the way.

Well, as it turned out, from that moment on, the girl barely left my side, even if it meant escaping her nanny or her relatives or whoever was in charge of looking after her. I really didn't mind for I liked her a lot immediately and assumed she thought me to be cool for I came from far a way.

So...there you see that the meeting was more or less over then. Bedular informed us about the next steps, which was what Kaled had told us earlier: we were going to travel to the coast to do the examination, to see if the Azumerian Sirens were in any way compatible to the lhor aven. Political duties only allowed her to leave the town in three days. But maybe, so she said, we would like to use the time to learn more about the Aishwarya lifestyle and the current situation in Azum's East by ourselves.

As she said goodbye and we stood up, I turned around just in time to see Kaled's expression before he left: on the first look he looked as grim as always, but I could also make out a faint trace of bitterness and disappointment I couldn't fully interpret at this time."

All this, Maximos would be able to see on the water screen, before it turned blank.







"And indeed, I used the few days to gather as much information as possible, be it via talking to people, browsing through newspapers or using the internet, which is almost on the same level of development and speed as the one we have here, but can only be accessed in the newest areas of Nikalanta.

The other agreed to help me. Sunstrike, I knew, wanted to find out more about the lizard Chimera, but that was fine for me, also since he gathered some information just like Owle and Vahn did: I wanted to know what kind of life and what sort of reputation the Aishwarya and the other Siren clans really had on this continent. Not just with view on my mission - but also to start paying pack Tagis. Because Bedular had only asked me if I had already received certain data from Tagis for she knew Larhien and me had agreed to help the 'captain' with finding the person or persons who organized the assaults on the Dorya. That this was our compensation for more than bringing us to Azum, the Aishwarya leader didn't know..."

The Half Siren stopped for a moment, obviously putting her thoughts in order, before she went on.

"On the night before we left for the Siren village at the coast, we finally wanted to visit The Circus, the cabaret where Sunstrike had made first contact with the lizards. I was on my way, together with Owle, to meet the guys at the entrance and had made a short stop to jump into a crowded tea store. When I walked out..." Here, the soul mirror started sending Lucind's memories again.

"I saw how two guys were just about to leave Owle alone, wearing stupid grins. She looked extremely pissed and told me that she couldn't really tell what those sleazy men had wanted from her - they only spoke some Azumeric dialect - but that they had been extremely pushy and brash. Apprently they had tried to make her come with them, and their efforts only ceased when Owle's initial embarrassment and polite rejection had turned into open anger...

The rest of the evening was really pleasant. We met all those freaky, interesting guys from The Circus, starting with Soi'so, the cabaret's leader and manager, who regularily drove his team crazy with his childishness and carefree behaviour, had his hair dyed in three different lurid colours, but otherwise only wore black clothes, sometimes pieces who gave him an effeminate air.

After Vahn and Suntrike had briefed me on their latest inquiries concerning the Aishwarya, we did nothing else but enjoying the artists' program, for example this cat dance."

The memory forwarded a bit, until a group of male and female cat Chimera entered the round stage around which the audience was positioned: their performance bristled with energy and a nearly aggressive vitality.
In between, Fhezi showed up and scrambled up onto Lucind's lap.

"Back then I already sensed that here, too, thing's weren't painted in black and white...and I nearly feared the outcome of the reconnection test..."




*I've got no idea if all this works out in means of the architecture, if one fat tower and the walls are enough to support a hall/cave of about 5 times 10 kilometer...I'm not even still fully sure bout the structure, in what (dis)order the buildings are placed and so on, but I think in this case it's better to have everybody of you fill in the gaps yourself.

"The following day we started the reconnection test in the late morning."

In Lucind's memories, the spectator entered a square room of a about thirty feet with a plain interior: aside from a rectangular hatch, or pool in the middle, several cushions around and a large oil lamp on each wall, there was nothing else in this room. Bright sun light fell through wide open blends.

"Was surprised to find that they've got a room that looks just like the council halls here."

The recollection movie skipped a few scenes. When it stopped, Maximos would realize Lucind was sitting at the pool which was the size of a grown man. Now, however, a wooden board covered with a thin white towel was placed parallel to the Lucind's side of the pool. Opposite of her, he could see Bedular, to Lucind's right Shankar was sitting next to another female Siren, at the left side of the pool also two other Aishwarya.

"Those four are the deputies for the different areas the Aishwarya are living in...very few families are settled along the coast of South and North Azum, by the way. - There in the background...maybe you recognize a few members of the Aishwarya council we met in Nikalanta. Three of them were there as witnesses.

So...were the deputies are spokeswoman for their respective areas, the council is something like the highest Aishwarya tribunal...only that it also takes part in political affairs concerning Nikalanta itself. And maybe that is why it's less weird to see a member of the city's department of inner security, a member of the Clan of Dorya and - especially to Sunstrike's highest astonishment - a lizard shaman being present, too.

Furthermore..."

On the screen, Lucind turned her head in all directions.

"There're guards, male Sirens and a few Chimera from Kaled's division.

Owle, Vahn and Sun were right behind me."

The faces of the other three showed the faintest trace of tension and uneasiness.

"Suppose we all had a bad feeling, with variations of the same worst case scenario in our heads: we could be attacked during or after the test. Despite the fact we couldn't believe any longer of a trap, we awaited trouble in case something went wrong during the examination. What if the woman's soul who had volunteered wasn't able to withstand the psionic pressure it was inevitably going to experience?

I was extremely nervous. Because I didn't know what I'd to expect. What my people would do.

And all the time, I heard Duruin saying, 'The result of the test isn't what matters.'"



On the screen, a young looking Siren walked onto the plank: her shoulder long middle blue hair with many green streaks was neatly tied in her neck, she wore plain robes, no shoes. She first knelt down and spoke, then stood up again and turned around to lie down on her back.

A few more words and nods were exchanged, the blends were shut and light curtains pulled in front.

Lucind could be seen changing from a cross-legged to a kneeling position, staring onto the woman. And just like when the woman had activated the soul mirror, the water in the pool reacted to her outstretched hands - and her singing, as Lucind let Max know. Single pearls, then thin streams rose to wrap themselves around fingers and wrists, fell back after a moment. Only to rise again, but much more of them, all around and under the board, creeping up and higher and over the woman's body, gently covering her, even parts of her face, until the water film retreated a bit, but stayed around her arms and legs.

The soul mirror went black, then blank.

"I first connected to her mind, putting her into a light sleep, then used the water shield to tie her closer to me. After guiding her into the lhor aven I installed a second anchor to prevent her soul from drowning.

I'm sorry I can't directly show you those scenes - we're forbidden give outsiders detailed ideas of the design and function of the lhor aven...though describing it is okay, heh...



Basically, imagine the surface of an endless sea, completely calm - in fact, it looks more like a high polished marble ground. Though sometimes you see different shades of blue and black beneath and soft ripples are caused by our steps.

Even though this sea appears to be endless, you have the feeling to be in a vast, yet defined room...you never feel lost...at least when you learned working with our psionic plane. There's no real sky, just something like a low hanging, closed layer of greyish blue clouds or fog.

On this level, the top most one of the lhor aven, you can contact other Sirens. If the one you're looking for is injured or not of Siren blood, you have to go for a swim right beneath the surface...or even deeper.

When I entered and activated the second protection for the Aishwarya woman - Palneech was her name, by the way - I was alone and so I called for Hetel, my clan leader. But nothing happened. Palneech next to me was also sleeping in her psionic form and her body turned transparent here and there as a sign that the lhor aven accepted the woman, but couldn't communicate with her.

I called again.

No answer.

Started worrying that maybe the presence of the Aishwarya had caused a minor error which complicated the transfer between my mind and soul and that of my clan leader.

Then however, something changed. As if the air in there got thicker...not that you need air in there, but you know what I mean. I could directly tell that a lot of other Sirens were assembling around me. Not just ten or twenty.

It felt like hundreds of them. Most of them strangers to me.

I felt...hmm...threatened isn't the right word, but within one second the situation became incredibly tensed, because I had no clue what was going on - I had only expected Hetel and about fifteen or twenty other representatives from this continent.

Whenever you meet another Siren in the lhor aven, you first see a softly glowing water pillar, twisting and winding..bit like a broad watery ribbon, then the mental image of that Siren appears. And in this way, six women turned up around, building a circle and leaving some distance between them and me.
Behind each of them, I could make out many, many of such water pillars - few of which also turned into their respective psionic image so that each of the six Sirens in the front had three to six more women sitting behind them. Only one of those visible Sirens I knew: it was a Gaian representative I had met at my clan's village when Larhien and I were applied the Azum mission.

I tried to stay calm...despite the grave faces everybody was showing.

Finally, one of the six spoke, a Siren with extemely long hair, dressed in uncountable braids and ringlets. Only her first sentence was enough to have me realize the extent of this situation.

We are the voices.



Back then, the knees of my mental self went wobbly for a second.

You see, the hierarchy of the Siren society goes as follows:

Every clan has a leader and a council.

Every continent on this planet is divided up into five to ten areas, each of which has a tennin bhora, a consortium of all clan leaders including a deputy or spokeswoman.

And...there's a voice for every continent, one Siren who's synchronisation with the lhor aven is extremely high. So high that they actually spend most of their time in it. They're trained to receive much more connections at the same time like other Sirens. See them as a medium for a conference call. Usually, they simply speak for the areas' deputies, but during such a hearing - and it was nothing else but that - they could quickly filter the opinions of all clan leaders sitting behind them and if necessary ask a Siren to speak up herself.

You can say I...faced the whole Siren society of this planet which was...indeed a bit scary."



Lucind tried to grin and folded her hands in her lap.



"'Lucind Varhetel. We are here to carry out the official decision concerning your leadership of this mission.

Furthermore you are granted insight into the knowledge only the grand circle has and therefore are offered a special seat among us even though you are neither a clan leader, nor a representative or a fullblood.'

Another of the voices went on speaking. 'After you have heard what we want you to hear, and seen what we want you to see, we expect you to finish the mission on Azum according the statues of preservation the grand circle has been following ever since the lhor aven was born.'

'Now see and listen.' The next one addressed me and right behind her, another Siren I didn't know materialized and I felt how she took over the control I'd been having over Palneech: she didn't touch the security anchors but now held the Aishwarya's hand, so to speak. Upon the command of one of the voices, all of us sank one level deeper...literally. It looks like we slowly break through the surface - beneath, everything is just as bright, even though it always looks dark blue and black from above. We're 'standing' in the 'water', our hair and clothes occasionally waving.

Down there, right beneath the surface, Palneech was levitating in front of me in a horizontal position. I noticed this other Siren had intensified the protections - but also put the Azumerian woman into a deeper sleep, which is the normal way of conduct when you have to examine someone for whatever reason.

At this point, my bad feeling had turned into foreboding. All the time I hadn't said anything because...there was no need to. Or so I thought.

I just watched.

Watched how that Siren was assisted by several others who didn't show their mental image and simply erected another shield around Palneech - not to preserve her from damage in an additional way, but to prevent anything what was going to happen inside from effecting us.

I watched how they made Palneech psionic structures visible for everybody, to show how her mind and soul worked together, to see her abilities and...this is really hard to explain, because even the lhor aven can't fully transpose such mental, or spiritual data into images that are made for our eyes to understand. We can see people's memories or get a visualisation of their mind - but the essential structure of a soul and its communication with the mind and their connection to the lhor aven...it's nearly impossible to convert this into simple images.

Well...I watched them testing the Aishwarya's psionic structure in a harmless way, just to get an idea of her capability and potential. Bit by bit, they went deeper and deeper until they came to make the ressonance check...means the reconnection test. When you're in the lhor aven, you give a bit of your power and get some in return, sometimes more sometimes less, depending on what you want to do - but it can only work out if the Siren's energy and that of our plane manage to synchronize, which affords much more work from the Siren than the other way round. But Half Sirens usually are unable to connect because there's only rejection on both sides.

And finally I saw...I saw that...

Imagine you have an accident and can't walk any longer. Or you're born with this disability. And one day, after years, a solution is found, the damage repared. Technically, you can walk. But it will take you much time until you're able to make the first step. You need to build up muscle mass, you need all kind of help. But theoretically you can walk.

With Palneech it was the same. Everything was there, if only in rudimentary form. But with help, stimulations, bridges, training...

Everything was there and ready to be connected.

And with one Siren adapting Palneech's energy rate, its flow, the lhor aven accepted the Aishwarya. The synchro worked.


...


After a moment, however, something...interesting happened. It was as if Palneech's soul instinctively exchanged more energy with the lhor aven and started to construct a protective layer of it's own, called cocoon - a normal reaction when a Siren connects for the first time. But very soon it started to work against the others. Still, the lhor aven didn't stop feeding Palneech. She didn't repulse the other Sirens but tried to slip away, and it really looked as if she was pulled up...and then I saw something from the corner of my eye: above us, on the other side...for a moment I thought to see Fhezi. But when I fully looked up there, it was gone.

The examination was quit, so that the synchronization between Palneech and lhor aven was cut and the resistance against the eximaners stopped. We returned to the surface where everything was normal, I mean, no trace of Fhezi or something unusual.

I still didn't feel like saying something, but the voices kept on leading the discussion anyway. All other womean had retreated into their water pillar visualization.

'I'm sure you esteem the gesture of letting you in on this secret. It goes without saying that we expect you to act adequately from now on.'

The sixth voice, who hadn't yet had her say, added, 'This means, your first priority is to protect the lhor aven and with that the well-being of all of us.'



A moment of silence followed. Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice and turned around.

'Lucind. You have to understand...'

It was Remda, usually a member of my clan's council - but since she was there, something must've happened at home. I asked her where Hetel was, why Remda was here and not our head, but...she didn't answer. Her eyes told me she would've liked to talk to me in private, but she was bound to the grand circle's code.

'All Aishwarya who were ever tested showed the erratic response you've just seen. There's just no way we could risk a complete reconnection. You know this was just a test, a simulation. Nobody can tell what would happen if we allowed them a constant access.'

'Allowed..?'

I stared at her...think I looked as if I was undergoing a shock. Which I probably was...

'You're telling me that, all the time, all of you knew the Aishwarya were able to connect...? I mean, when exactly did you find out?'

'The Rain indeed caused an alteration of all Azumerian Siren's psionic structures - they were literally kicked out of our system and henceforth couldn't come back, nor could we locate them - and as you know we're still unable to find them via the lhor aven just like we can contact everybody else of us, no matter if half or fullblood.

Once Azum's supernatural barriers had vanished, an expedition troop was sent out. We discovered that, unlike our assumptions, many Sirens had survived and that the alteration, or call it mutilation was so extreme that without help they'd never be able to reenter.

Furthermore...the first test already revealed the strange misbehaviour between soul and lhor aven you've seen now.

We've been observing the Azumerian Sirens and conducted further examinations every five to ten years - with the result that the build-up of negative energy became stronger every time. During the last try it nearly got out of control. This is why you sure understand the importance of keeping the truth a secret - to protect the lhor aven, the most important gift our kind got from Gaia and our mothers.'

I...could've said or done so many things. A part of me wanted to snort and laugh at Remda, at all of them, say something disrepectful, how pathetic it was, their attempt to justify keeping several hundred Sirens from knowing what lied really within them. Even if it was too dangerous, helping them to get access...I found it nothing but arrogant and ridiculous, not even talking to the Azumerian Sirens but shouldering the stress of making it a top secret. And in the same way, I understood...perfectly understood. That was when the before mentioned contempt and bitterness started to make themselves at home in my stomach. I wanted nothing more than to leave, right then and there...

But right then, I only heard another woman speaking up behind me. And I knew this voice, too.

'I told you she's not the person to understand the gravity of this situation. I don't have to remind you how many times she's already acted recklessly, either risking her own mental health without giving it a second thought, or bringing the lhor aven in contact with alien energy.

She's not the person to grasp the meaning of this gathering.'



This was Bahi, the former clan leader before Hetel took over from her a while after my brother and I were born. I was surprised to see her there, didn't know she'd become a representative...didn't even know she'd left this continent - but only because I couldn't care less what had happened to her.
Already back then, before I met her during the grand circle's meeting, she was one of the very few persons I'd been holding a grudge against. Right at this moment, I didn't know all details yet, but in her I saw the reason why my mom had to leave the clan with her newborns, her unworthy fruits...after having a huge fight with Bahi.

And in this moment, already feeling sick, I loathed her for every single word - especially for mentioning my parents.

'Too much like her mother, she is. Although I have to say she always had a quite reasonable attitude with view on the Azum problem. The rest however... Well, maybe there's just too much of a human in you, Lucind.'

Remda shot a displeased look at Bahi, then looked back at me.
'Lucind...many other Sirens know of the Azumerians' dangerous potential, so did your mother. She was aware of the urgency not to have anybody make this knowledge public.'

Bahi replied something like this info wasn't enough to stop me from acting like a child in a toy store, testing and trying out everything without being worried something might break.

The voice in front of Bahi demanded silence, then informed me, with the same neutral expression on her face, that I should follow the 'strong advice' in joining their ranks by making sure no Azumerian Siren would ever find out the truth. Else I had to face the consequences.



Nobody explicated those consequences...but it wasn't necessary at all. I had a good idea of what penalties I might face should I choose to rebel. I understood a lot of things. And yet, I didn't care.



As you wish.

That was all I answered.

As you wish.



I bowed lightly, took Palneech's hand and left the lhor aven. But I was so...dazed...so inattentive that I didn't prepare a clean exit for the woman. Didn't do any damages to her, but it was a rude awakening and also caused some dizziness for myself."

The soul mirror started running again, showing Lucind from behind who was still kneeling and lightly swaying.

"People around us jumped, some took the board to set Palneech down on solid ground, the shaman had a look at her together with Bedular. Vahn and Sun were staring at the guards who considered drawing their weapons, while Owle helped me standing up. She looked worried...suppose because it was obvious that with my thoughts, I was anywhere but in that room. I didn't answer anybody's questions...just made some unsure steps without knowing it, until the lizard shaman calmed down the other Sirens, telling that Palneech was really okay - I knew she was perfectly fine...and that she would only remember what the grand circle wanted her to: that some great power tried to embrace her, get into contact with her, but that there was a mutual repelling.

Only then, I looked at Bedular and mumbled something like, 'I'm sorry.'"

On the screen, Lucind shrugged off Sunstrike's hand on her shoulder and left the room.

"I wanted to get out but couldn't remember which way was the shortest. So I turned right, just to get going...realized I was wrong, chose another corridor, heard voices behind me and walked faster. After picking the wrong direction three times, I was relieved to recognize a certain flight of stairs and the carpet it was covered with...fell into a jog and finally found one of the exits."

Maximos would see Lucind vigorously pushing open a double door and coming to a halt after a few meters. It took her a moment to recover her breath, or to calm down a bit, but then she went on, to the backside of the main house and past all other smaller buildings behind until she was on the beach. Turning right, she walked on and on under the bright midday sun which was reflected by the sand.

"It was ******** hot. Had nothing with me to cover my head, yet I didn't want to stop or go back. Wished to be far away, back here at Feimurgan. I refused to care about either the grand circle or the Azumerian Sirens.

Contempt and self-contempt...those two were fighting inside of me.

Bahi's words appeared to be so true - and for that I hated her even more.

Nothing. You know nothing, I thought.

In my eyes I'd become a traitor, as if something had slapped me, was now pointing at me: and you think you're following the promise you gave your mother? To find your middle, strive for perfection in handling both sides of your heritage...

Suddenly it seemed so ridiculous I'd phantasized of being in the know what could be a better way of life for my race, for the Siren society.

I'm not even part of it, I thought. Not really. Not really...



The sun in my back burned like mad. And when I passed these building there where they store salt and dried sea weed, I realized someone was following me."

Lucind turned around - it was Fhezi, standing several feet away and staring at the Half Siren. Her form was diffuse due to the glistening light.

"I remembered that I had thought to see her in the lhor aven, and just like then, she wasn't smiling as I was used to whenever I'd met the girl. Upon asking what she was doing here, if she was okay, I got no gesture, no quick message with her own interesting sign language.

The longer I stared back at her, and the more my eyes hurt from squinting, the more I felt...threatened. Yes, I...I felt threatened by the girl, as if something else was lurking right in front of me. You see, I made a few steps back."

The girl remained where it was, but her silhouette got even more blurred - a smoky aura grew around her, shadows shuddered all over her features. And then the transparent, dark veil formed different faces, only for a split second, changing back and forth between them and Fhezi's face so that you were just about to consider it was nothing short to a halluzination.

However, if Maximos managed to count silently, he would come to result that five strange faces appeared in front of the girl's, all looking extremely alike, all with a female touch - all reminding of untamed creatures...



Lucind's head jerked around: Owle stood in front of the small storage houses.

"She informed me that some Sirens of the before mentioned Odenai clan had arrived and demanded to be informed about the reason we were here, if the rumors of a third official test were true - of course, the Azumerian Sirens had been left in the dark about ninetynine percent of those other tests my people had done.

I wanted to say that it wasn't of my concern but held it back. Instead...well, you see it yourself."

The water orb displayed how Lucind's head turned back around, but Fhezi wasn't standing there anymore. Another hasty turn showed the girl picking something up from the wet sand. When she came running back, she was her usual self, smiling as broadly as ever and proudly showing Lucind a white stone with blue spots.

"On the way back, Owle and I were silent, even though I could tell she wished I'd explain what had happened. Only when we could already see a group of Aishwarya and Odenai Sirens standing in front of the main building, apparently arguing, I said I was going to fill in the three of them once we were back at Nikalanta.

I really didn't care much 'bout the harsh discussions Bedular was having with those clan members...though they wanted to drag me in... I saw Kaled watching the scene with the same disdain which was burning my bowels. Maybe someone else wouldn't have seen much difference from his usual expression, but when our eyes met, he looked as if I'd just caught him.

I told Bedular she was going to get my report including recommendations in a few days and left."

Lucind took Fhezi's hand and walked towards the desert ray docks in the distance. The memory was stopped.




By then, the ceiling lamp had difficulties fighting the darkness of late autumn. Lucind got up, produced a matchbox out of a drawer and lit some candles standing on the cupboard opposite of the bed and on the windowsill.

2/3


The scene changed again. An endless plain, sturdy brownish grass all around, wherever you looked, bowing and dancing with a gently breeze. Something was different with the visual quality of this recollection. Every now and then, the whole picture or parts of it lost focus or jittered ever so slightly. That, Lucind explained, was because she was now showing images from inside her mind. "Remember when I said it's nearly impossible to receive visual information when you're in contact with the lhor aven? When you're mind or soul diving, you don't notice right then, but on occasions like this you realize that your brain's partially lacking the ability to transfer bits and pieces to the full extent. The effect increases if you don't attend to a certain memory. There're techniques to sorta conserve mental information right in your own mind, but only storing them in the lhor aven keeps memories fresh forever, so to speak."

Lucind's mental self walked ahead, wading through the high grass, a calm ocean in the background, until she reached a dune. She slid down the sand and only stopped when shallow water pooled around her shoes.

"I spent what seemed to be hours and hours like this. Sometimes it would rain. Sometimes fog crept on land. I just...gazed out. It was a place I'd created in my mind, a refugee.

At some point, I felt someone 'knocking' at my mind, asking for entrance and directly recognized it was Hetel. During the meeting with the grand circle I would've given anything to be able to talk to her to fully understand what was going on, but then I was reluctant to let her in. Truth to be told, a mixture of indifference and animosity - I didn't know where it came from - made me giving her permission to only enter the first level of my psionic structures. It enabled us to talk without any interference and, yeah, you can see she was also visible." Next to Lucind on the beach Hetel appeared, though her image remained slightly transparent. The clan leader was a tall woman, seemingly in her early forties - her real ages was about two hundred and ninety - with ankle long dark blue hair that was carefully wrapped in thin fabric and pearl chains. Her light yellow eyes were full of sorrow, but it was as though she couldn't come closer than around ten feet.

"She apologized she hadn't told me 'bout the real purpose of this mission. I remembered the advice she had given me, to find me some allies on Azum - and the look in her eyes and that I had realized right away she knew more. Of course, Hetel was aware of my status from the moment she entered my mind. When I didn't react she went on that no matter what was going to happen she'd be on my side and try to help me in any way possible - but that she was also forced to partly remain true to the Siren society, and that she could provide most help from within her position, with the power she still had." Only then, Lucind responded but didn't turn her head. "Does our clan still run by the name Varhetel at all, I asked. You weren’t there, Remda spoke instead." On the screen, Hetel pressed her lips together. "Some things have...changed indeed, she admitted. And I feel that soon...everything will change. I'm sorry I can't give any advice. This is new territory for all of us. I mean...there're not only your aunt and me. Many believe in you, believe that only an evolution of our race can lead to a new future."

Empty amber eyes stared back at the old Siren and next to Max, the woman went on synchronizing her memory, her own answer this time. "What do you mean? What...are you talking about? Why do you think I'm going to do anything? I only learned what you've known all along: there's no way for the Aishwarya to be led back into our network.

But maybe...maybe you can conduct further tests. We'd help you. Protect you.

You're kidding, Hetel. Right now, I'd probably be killed instantly if I tried to do anything suspicious within the lhor aven for all I know. Plus, why are you so keen on holding on to this straw? If... if I engaged in some sort of new tests, it could all go horribly wrong. It could mean a serious damage, if not the destruction of the lhor aven. You want me to risk that? And, believe me, you wouldn't call this group of Sirens your future. Actually, you're all pretty much the same, willing to do anything to remain part of this planet. Only that they're the outgoing, extrovert type, sticking their nose into public affairs, greedy to be involved in shaping the world around them, anchoring at all spots possible. It's sickening...just in the way when I watch other clans calling back ancient customs, refusing to acknowledge or use anything not originating in their own culture or not being made by their hands...banning bastards...probably letting them vanish, like they used to do in the old days...
I do understand the Aishwarya want to have more power. I was stronger, more skilled even when I was an ordinary half. But then again, they've constituted their very own position within Azum's society. And who knows what they'd do if they were able to perform stronger songs, melodies and vocal attacks and do real dives instead of shallow mind scans? For your and their sake, I'm sure they're better of that way.

Lucind, please. I know this must be a shock for you. Especially hearing that your mother kept the secret, too. But...just let me tell you that it's never been easy. And yes, for too long we went the easy path by ignoring the Azum subject, putting it aside. Yet, I do think we-

I think I figured why mom decided not to reveal your...collective little secret in front of her daughter: because she knew it wasn't worth it, giving me something to worry or feel guilty about. She must've had a far seeing mind, grasping that one day, in one way or another, I would realize following her steps doesn't mean discovering new paths for Half Sirens, but finding my very own way." On the screen, Lucind fully turned around towards Hetel. "My mother knew I'd never really be one of you due to my mixed heritage. But I had to learn it myself. So now, I am free to become who I'm really destined to be." Even while Lucind dubbed her own words, sarcasm played into the last sentence. "I'll be as strong as she was, doing it my style. - Besides. Has one of you ever considered the Siren race might not be meant to reside in this world for much longer? What if...you're no longer needed?"

Lucind didn't need to lip synch the other Siren's next reaction for Maximos could see that it was a shocked, No... But in the next second, Hetel's despair obviously was doubled: she first jerked her head around, facing the open sea, then back at Lucind. "Someone else had come, and I felt like being grabbed by the neck and pulled backwards." And the memory movie would suggest that exactly that had happened. But only a split second after Lucind was yanked back, the film stopped.

"I was forcefully pulled into the lhor aven which was...well, no good idea, to put it mildly. You know, sometimes you're not inclined to follow all rules of caution while using the lhor aven - but even then it's plainly insane to enter when you've taken drugs. The input coming from our psionic plane is too extreme, too overwhelming. I lost all orientation, found nothing to hold on to and felt myself sinking through the ocean’s surface. But then I was steadied by the same someone who had dragged me out of my mindscape. It was Bahi. Her tight grip around my arm made it possible for me to understand what was said. Hetel demanded to bring me back, guide me out of the lhor aven, whereas Bahi countered Hetel no longer had the right to give orders: by contacting me she had violated the official orders of the grand circle and was henceforth under arrest. Upon her word, two other Sirens appeared left and right of Hetel and handcuffed her. Not literally, of course. Then Bahi looked down at me, with a look in her eyes that said, Pathetic. I can only repeat myself, she mumbled while I was kneeling, half hanging by her hand. She's too much like her mother...but better let her get stoned than watch her doing stupid things."

By this time, a soft, sweet scent filled Lucind's room. One of the candles she had lit produced an odour similar to vanilla. The woman untied her hair and put the hair band around her wrist.

"I got...so angry when she mentioned my mother, just like during the reconnection test. But now, my morality was on vacation and I activated my cocoon to get her hand off of me. I've told you bout the cocoon, the Siren's shield before. Actually, it's always on standby whenever you enter a non-physical area, but you only use it in critical situations. The contact with Vahn's black flames - in combination with his sword on the day Latent was attacked by an army of undead - had caused an alteration of my cocoon, like...an upgrade. Hetel and Mildroa, my aunt, had experienced it right after they had fixed the damage I had suffered from the fights back then. Usually, I can control this intensified defence stage of my cocoon: it's what you saw when I shielded my soul from your magic eye. In that moment, though, where I was lacking self-control anyhow, it was a sudden, impulsive wave that hit Bahi and also reached the others...threw them backwards.

You know nothing about my mother, I growled, and at the same time knew I had done something incredible stupid. I broke through the surface and couldn't help sinking deeper, breaking through the first sublevel of the lhor aven. I heard Hetel shouting that Bahi should help me...Bahi shouted back why, why should I do that? In everything she does I only see a child playing with a loaded gun. I don't know why you care so less for the preservation of our world. Have you already given up, Hetel? Have you, now?
Hetel answered she was scared like everyone was these days, that sometimes she felt like she, Bahi, must feel: there was the burning urge to create a vacuum around their people, to fend off any influence from outside. But there was also this thought or hope growing inside that there could be another way...that trying so hard to save what they still had did nothing but making them blind for other possibilities.

There's only hope when we fight, Hetel. We have to fight - this is the only, the right way. I don't get it...what's happened to you?? You've always been a bit more liberal, more willing to experiment than most other Vars, but this...I really don't get it. Or..."

Lucind knit her eyebrows. "And even while I was sinking deeper and deeper, I was surprised to hear a trace of despair coming with her disappointment. No, she went on and I bet she was shaking her head. No, you can't tell me...don't you tell me you've started believing in...old stories?

In this world, Bahi, nothing is impossible. And you've always been a bad actor. - Hetel's voice got lower. You fear them, don't you - those stories?

For a moment, there was absolute silence, before one of the other Sirens reminded Bahi that it was the grand circles wish to protect me as long as I didn't threaten them all concretely. Immediately, I felt my body, or rather my soul was stopped from drowning, and Bahi quickly appeared next to me to bring me back.

We had nearly reached the surface when...when I saw Fhezi on the other side, where I actually was just supposed to see Hetel and the other two. It was exactly the same weird view I had during the reconnection test.

The girl called me. She didn't move her mouth, looked as sweet as always, but I heard her calling me. And I was like okay, okay just give me a minute and I'll be there, I...within a second, I had forgotten about Bahi and Hetel, completely faded them out, even though Bahi was still guiding me upwards. And I'm absolutely clueless as to where I got the strength from for what happened next: I activated my cocoon once more, and Bahi reacted irritated, thinking I've decided to be stubborn. But I didn't try to fight her, like I said, I didn't notice her anymore. Only wanted to go to Fhezi and apologize 'cause on the whole way back from the coast I'd ignored her, even sent her away when she wanted to cheer me up.

So, my cocoon, its flame like tendrils kept Bahi at bay - but I didn't drown again. Like any time before in the lhor aven I swam back myself the last metres to the surface. Around me, however, the shouting resumed. Hetel barked at Bahi not to let go of me. Bahi hissed back she'd like to but that I wouldn't let her…then something in her voice changed, she nearly sounded hysterical. She's like them, she's just like them! Getting out of control like them. I've warned you, Hetel, again and again. Years ago I was willing to use extreme means to preserve our world to-

It wasn't real, you were fooled by your angst, our existential angst, Hetel replied. She freed herself from the other two Sirens and gave her best to reach me, but the closer I got to the surface, the more she was repulsed by my cocoon whose waves were still intensifying. She extended her hand and so did I - only that I reached out for Fhezi who apparently was seen by me alone. I saw her more clearly than Hetel and the two Sirens up on the surface.

I'm pleading you, Bahi, trust her, trust in Lucind.

What is there to trust in? She's just an arbitrary mutation of our race. Threatening our future. What...is there to trust in?

Despair, sadness...but also resolve were hidden in Bahi's answer, the last thing I heard. Cold, so very cold her words... But I think that, if I hadn't been occupied with concentrating on Fhezi, I likely would've agreed with her.


But I was pulled away a second time just when I thought to have taken Fhezi's hand.



The effect was just as unpleasant as when I was forced to enter the lhor aven, though in another way. I was scared. Felt naked. I wandered around helplessly, through mist and shadow, then thought to float in water so dark I couldn't see a hand in front of my eyes. That place wasn't exactly alien, it wasn't aggressive, nor did it harm to my soul. But it was…its power was a tad too raw, too undefined to adjust to it. Maybe if I hadn't been in such a desolate state I might've managed to find solid ground. But like that I only got back some orientation when Fhezi's voice echoed through the fog, shortly followed by her frail form appearing in front of me. It was weird to hear her when you'd always saw her using her hands for communication. But despite the fact she owned a mental voice, the girl still didn't move her lips - I guess simply because she wasn't used to in the real world.

You're safe here, she said and smiled. They want to talk to you.

Who?

You've seen them before.

...

I know they're scary, but they're trying hard to think and act in our measures, adapting to our life speed and mental capacity. But it's exhausting, very exhausting, so they easily loose patience. Especially Odenai. But since they'd like you to help them, I'm sure they'll pull themselves together.

Fhezi, you're not telling...I mean, you're saying they are... - Where are we anyway?

Lhor aven, where else?

Impossible.

But you know it yourself, don't you? It still feels familiar, doesn't it? - Let them explain.

And with that, I witnessed the same phenomenon like on the beach after the reconnection test: In front of Fhezi's face, other faces became visible. Only that this time, those faces grew to full persons, hovering behind or in front of Fhezi, translucent layers whose very being frightened me just like they had done the first time - also because now my first assumption seemed to have been affirmed: this girl was a medium for the First Five...the first five Sirens who came to this world. This explanation was logical. But I...one part of me refused to believe, to even acknowledge the possibility. What if it was a fake, a trap? The half of me that had searched help in drugs was indifferent enough to accept it right away I was facing our mothers.

I really don't get it how Fhezi could live like this for all those years, being the channel for our race's first beings...how she was able to develop a personality of her own.
For me, this contact was immensely exhausting...'cause...you see I can't actually tell you what they told me for the way the Five communicated was on a level the worldly Sirens have left ages ago. One problem was their very rudimental form of Seireneia, or rather, their basic stage of our language. I didn't get more than thirty, forty percent. After a while I might've coped with that. But the main obstacle was the massive input...or call it stream of consciousness I received when they talked to me. Since the lhor aven was their righteous place of living they used it as if it was another part of their body and psionic information were transferred at a much, much higher rate I could barely grasp. Therefore, I rather felt their messages than logically decoded them. And then their character...so wild, chaotic...like untamed beasts. Fhezi was right, they did try to slow down and show consideration for my mental capability. But...imagine a waterfall of extreme height and width. Imagine it has to control itself, regulate those thousand of tons of water gushing down with a force unimaginable. Two or three times, one or more of the First Five went off, like a sudden outburst to call back concentration afterwards. ...freaked me out. Noticed I'd gone down on my knees after I while."

Here, Lucind would make a pause and take a sip from her water bottle. Crossing her legs, she leaned forward to stretch her back in a new angle. Enjoying the semi-darkness, she shot a sideward glance at Maximos that contained thankfulness but was otherwise hard to decipher.
Brushing a strand behind her ear (it wouldn't stay there) she went on, staring down at her hands.

"Around eight hundred years ago the First Five noticed with horror that their own piece of creation had started turning against them: the lhor aven, product of their creationism and at the same time their home, the only plane they could exist in, showed first signs of malfunction. Complex computer programs are known to do the same: their parameters supposedly following strictly logical patterns and formula evoke minute errors here and there which undermine the whole system step by step - and one day you face faults you don't find an explanation for, as if the program had become alive. Some say this was the inevitable result by emotional, irrational beings using and adjusting this merely functional landscape according their needs. The Five only had an explanation as vague as this, but more important was the undeniable fact that their existence was under threat.

Vague was also reason as to why they only reacted nearly five hundred years ago. I thought to hear out that, before a certain chance threw itself at them, they weren't allowed to step into action - just as they weren't allowed to get into contact with their children from the moment on they gave up their physical life.
Then, one of the planet's continents was perished by an acid rain. The Five couldn't tell who or what caused it, but the change it evoked for the Azumerian Sirens was the beginning of a...project, based on those Sirens handicaps...and new potentials.


Fhezi was right. I still was in the lhor aven.

On the other side of it.


During the last five hundred years the First Five - Yel'len, Var, Brine, Ilh and Odenai - had been absorbed with constructing a twin of their home. They've woven a new psionic platform, not quite mirroring the original but representing its upgrade version. There they were now residing, for the old side of the lhor aven had started turning hostile in a way that endangered them. First, there had only been minor problems where the plane didn't react properly anymore. The synch rate got lower and lower over the centuries so that starting one day, any major operation to maintain their psionic environment brought serious effects and changes for its users. This forced the Five to remain quiet unless grave destruction was to be feared. Yet, some things had already happened: full-bloods were born whose interaction with the lhor aven, their bond to it was either extremely heightened to a point it could cause a mental overkill; full-bloods whose synchronization was reduced to a minimum - or who never managed to connect at all. One of the mothers also mentioned worse things had happened. That their interference, with the purpose to fix and mend the lhor aven, activated unexpected waves of psionic energy a few times...that there'd been casualties. This, by the way, was the only time I felt something very close to Siren or humanlike concern...fear even.

Only once, the First Five's action had caused an intriguing side-effect, interesting and useful in their eyes. The lhor aven was threatened by an ancient entity which hadn't yet entered the plane but the frail skills of a Siren encountering it within a split soul risked to be the key for that high spirit. It was the mere shadow of a god but awful enough, and the Five were ordered to take care of it, even if it meant harm for the conducting Siren...Half Siren.
Well, it's obvious what I'm talking about, right? When I called for help from my ancestors while staring at Nocturne, the Five intervened and indeed were about to lend me powers I didn't have back then. However, aside from the fact I was able to withstand his powers that tried to pulled me closer, there was no need for them to do more - for you yourself gave Nocturne a piece of your mind." Here, Lucind smiled lightly.

"But when they retreated they noticed with confusion that the temporary access they had given me stayed where it would usually dissolve thanks to the repulsing reaction of mind and soul. ...gave them the idea I might be helpful for the last phase of installing the new lhor aven. So they kept watching me for a short while - two years are nothing in their world of perception...I figured the way they experience real time is ******** up. I mean, 'time' goes faster inside your head, my meeting with the Five only lasted probably five minutes, but inside it seemed like at least an hour. Due to their perfect harmonization with their plane I thought our physical time must run like honey for them, but it doesn't for some reason. Maybe because of their age. I don't know... Whatever.

The way I developed allegedly was nice for them to see, whereas it gave a big headache to Hetel and the others. The Five especially liked the alteration of my cocoon, the way it assimilated traits of Vahn's flames, how it enabled me to shut off myself within the lhor aven. And actually...the moment I was swimming to reach Fhezi, the way I was drawn towards her reminded me of the moment Hetel and my aunt tried to get me back to the surface after they had fixed the nearly mortal damages I'd suffered during the attack Latent - that was the first time my cocoon reformed and...sorta went hostile towards the others...and, to be honest, not just on its own account. Back then I couldn't see Fhezi on the other side, though from what I understood she was there, too.

Almost sixteen years ago the Five created Fhezi. Well, they said created - means they linked to her soul as soon as it entered the embryo. They made her their eyes and ears in the outside world, to finally get in contact with their children once the time had come. And first they also hoped to have found a disguise giving them back the chance to room the old lhor aven, but hidden in their host their old home would still attack them, less serious, but fierce enough to toss Fhezi into risky situations.

That is why they wanted to have me, use me, as a bridge...cause I was the only one who could walk both sides of the lhor aven without being harmed.

They told me how the implementation of the new side was going to work, what they wanted me to do...but at that point it had all become too much for me. All those extreme and surreal emotions I had gone through during the last couple of days weighed too heavily, the mental pressure of the First Five's presence was strenuous and intimidating and I...I was still hearing what they said...and in the same way I wasn't, cause I didn't want that anymore but be left alone. I think I responded something like I didn’t know if I could do that, or wanted to. They were confused, one of them directly got...not really mad but…they couldn't comprehend my reaction and them discussing, arguing with themselves and rebuking me gave me the rest.

When I realized it was all quiet except for Fhezi's voice softly calling out for me, I found myself curled up on the misty ocean's surface. As soon as I sat up, bathed in cold sweat, she would fling herself around my neck, saying she was so sorry she couldn't silence them quicker. I hugged her close and said sorry in return...mainly because I'd been rude to her ever since the reconnection test, but I think she connected my apology to what had just happened. I should think carefully about what I'd been asked - rather ordered - to do, that it wasn't as dramatic as they liked to picture it. I can tell, she nodded, that they could last for another hundred years in this state. Of course you'd make an ideal candidate but remember: they can never force you. I bring you back now so you can get sleep. And then you can decide. And please (her eyes got all sad), please, Lucind, take care of yourself.
I nodded and felt ashamed.

Only when Fhezi helped me opening a gate to leave that new lhor aven, I noticed someone else was urgently trying to get my attention. It was Owle. Right when I was about to leave, Fhezi whispered something, something that made her look even sadder and gave me the last piece of confusion I really didn't need but which, on the other hand, was essential for the following events."

Xehart made his way into the fancy cafe and library, holding the book under his arm as he moved. He was without his white robe, and thus looked rather out of place in his black sleeveless cloth shirt, and cloth pants. They were high quality clothes, but still were rather messy.

He scanned the place for a few moments, before deciding too move towards a man scanning the book section. He held his leather book so it would be slightly visible, and approached the man.

He cleared his throat as though he was trying to get the man's attention, tapped him on the shoulder, and then addressed him as formally as he could.

"Hello, I'm looking for someone that could perhaps read the contents of this book, do you know of anyone here that might possess that skill?"

Xehart turned the book around, and flipped it open to a random page, his hand running down the strange figures and symbols that filled the page.

Xehart looked at the young man with contempt. It would have given him no end of pleasure to put the young man's skull through the wall at that time, to smash his head open and see just how small the brains that flowed from it were. But he had business to do, and he didn't like the sound of guards at this time anyway.

With a forced nod, Xehart turned around, and looked in the direction the young man pointed in. He couldn't see a scholar immediately, but he did see a fair amount of guards. Closing his book, Xehart made his way over to the guards, and casually tapped one of them on the shoulder, keeping a tight grip on his book with his other hand as he did so.

"Excuse me, that young man over there told me that I could find a scholar close to here. You see, I fled all the way from the edge of war, I did, and I did bring a book to be translated by a scholar man. Twas my pappy's book, but he didn't make it out of the war, he's rather old, it was his dying wish that I take the book to be translated. You couldn't be so kind as to point the scholar man out to me, could you?"

As he spoke, Xehart really laid on the country accent. These people wouldn't know who he was, for all they knew he was a farm boy with a dull mind, and that suited his purpose just fine.

Xehart gingerly held on to the book as he looked at the guards surrounding the man. He then brought his attention back to the scholar who seemed to be reading the book, while still addressing Xehart. Xehart drew in a deep breath, before replying again, this time laying on the accent, and desperation even further.

"Good sir, there isn't a place where we could converse in private, is there, or at least, with a few less guards. I can promise I won't be no trouble, sir, it's just that, my Pa made it well clear to me when he gave me the book, that it contained some secrets that..."

Xehart lent in as much as he'd be allowed, and placing his free hand over his mouth, he said in a quieter voice,

"Some secrets that shouldn't be uttered in public...Sir."

Once again Xehart had his patience tried, but his curiosity had been aroused by this point. The call of potential power made Xehart hold his tongue, as well as his blade. With another deep breath, Xehart looked back towards the scholar, and then placed his book upon the table.

Xehart sensed the guards and the scholar for their life signals as he placed the book upon the table. He would try and remember them, the scholar seemed like a knowledgeable man, perhaps later Xehart would follow the man, and kill him for his knowledge, nothing was better than new skills.

As Xehart flipped the book to the first page, he addressed the scholar once again, this time his foot pivoted on the floor slightly, as though he was a nervous child.

"Please be careful with the book sir, my Pa would want it."

"If you'd start from the first, sir, that'd be very kind of you, my Pa would certainly appreciate it, from up in the Heavens he is now. Oh my Pa, you'd be proud of me, you would"

Xehart was talking to the ceiling for a few moments, before looking back at the scholar. Xehart didn't have time to waste, he needed this read fast, but at the same time, he would need to retain the information.

"You wouldn't mind reading out loud, would you sir? I don't want to miss out on anything important, I sure don't."