The Seer
The tunnel inside the asteroid was unbearably narrow as the three Afavi made their way through it. Chaer swore under her breath as she tripped on another rough patch of ground. At least the tunnel was short enough so she wouldn’t float away.
“Be quiet!” admonished Leilen, the leader of the group. “Do you want her to know where we are so she can kill us?” He studied the directions they had been given on his tablet.
“Is there even a seer down here?” Chaer sighed. “We’ve been looking for someone like this for years, and every lead we’ve followed has been a waste of time.”
“Don’t worry,” came a voice from behind the two. “I helped extract this information personally.” Dagon, the last in line, seemed to be trying to comb the feathers on her head. Too bad the helmet of the pressure suit was blocking her attempts. “It’s really quite amazing how willing that farmer was to tell us his secrets once we involved his daughter’s life.” Dagon sighed through her nostrils and shook her head. “He must love her so. I’m a bit envious.”
Chaer suppressed a shudder. Dagon was famous throughout the force for her ability to manipulate people, especially using blackmail. It was said that her psychic specialty wasn’t electrokinesis as she claimed, but instead telepathy.
Of course Chaer knew that couldn’t be true. After all, she had looked at Dagon’s files herself. Would the higher-ups actually have changed that? It wasn’t like many people got to look at the files anyway...
“This is it!” hissed Leilen suddenly.
Chaer looked up and gasped. While she had been lost in thought, the group had come out into an enormous chamber. The ceiling was so high that it almost got lost in the darkness. Surrounding them were crumbling skyscrapers that looked like they had been hewn out of the asteroid rock itself. The windows were dark, and vines wove up the walls and around the perches. Yes, this place had been abandoned for a long time.
Leilen swiped on his tablet a few times, then nodded. “We can take off the pressure suits now,” he confirmed. “It’ll be easier to move around that way.”
Dagon sighed as the three unzipped their padded coveralls. “Can I keep the helmet on, at least?”
“Why?” asked Chaer. “You can’t see anything through it.”
“No, but it’s more intimidating if you can’t see my face.”
Chaer rolled her eyes as Leilen the suits away in a bag. “Do what you want. Don’t expect us to help if you fall down a hole and break your head, though.”
Leilen snapped the bag closed and stood up, staring at the two other Afavi. “Now listen up you two. The Empress has placed her confidence in us for this mission. If the New Leheli Empire is to regain its former strength, we need more allies and more resources!” He turned to Dagon. “I hope you’re right about this seer being able to help us. The Empress will be most displeased if this turns into another failure.”
Dagon nodded, suddenly serious. “According to the farmer, Senela will help just about anyone for the right price.”
“Money?”
“Among other things. From what I understand, what she usually wants are Infused Artifacts.”
Chaer’s eyes widened. “But...those are so rare! I suppose that’s why she wants them but...”
“It will be worth it, it has to be.”
Despite the serious situation, Chaer couldn’t help but marvel at the architecture as the group walked through the city. “This is from the Old Empire, right?” She ran a hand along the smooth stone. Dagon nodded. “Ninht used to be a mining hub back in the day. I think there was loads of platinum around here. Of course, it started to fall apart after the metal ran out, but I think they were still doing pretty well until the Calamity.” Chaer shivered and crossed her hands over her chest reflexively as Dagon finished speaking. “You know you’re only supposed to whisper about that, right?” Dagon snorted. “Whisper about what? A historical event that’s over and done with?” “It was a major disaster! It’s bad luck to talk so casually about it!” “Bad luck? I never would have taken you to be the superstitious type, Chaer.” Dagon let out a trill of amusement and walked ahead to talk with Leilen. “I just think it’s better to be on the safe side...” Especially since the Calamity’s what caused the Old Empire to fall in the first place...
It took two solid hours of walking for the three Afavi to reach the city center. “Why can’t we just fly there?” Dagon had asked. “Because we’re inside an asteroid, so the wind speed is nowhere near fast enough,” Leilen explained. “Then why have the perches in the first place?” “Decoration, I suppose. Also, I’m pretty sure they were able to make some artificial thermals, but those are all cold now.” Chaer rolled her eyes. Perches for decoration? What a stupid thought. “But no need to gripe anymore. This is our stop.” Their stop was a large, geometric building that seemed very old fashioned and out of place in the gothic-style city. Leilen looked up at the tall, rusted iron doors that marked the front of the building, then turned to Dagon. “It’s your time, Nertljas Dagon.” Upon being addressed by rank, Dagon straightened up and nodded. Purposefully, she walked up to the door, then rapped on it several times. There was a moment of silence, then the door creaked open. Behind it was the small, elderly figure of a Lejon hunched over a cane. The Lejon adjusted her glasses and squinted at the group. “Who are you?” Dagon crossed her arms. “We have been sent by Her Eminence the Empress of the New Leheli Empire. We’re here to consult the Seer.” The Lejon snorted and waved her hand dismissively. “No need to tell me why you’re here. There’s only one reason anyone comes to this spirits-forsaken place any more.” She turned her back and started slowly down the hall. “I will guide you to her. Shut the door behind you.” Dagon looked back at the others and shrugged, then followed the old woman. The other two followed close behind.
The inside of the building was just as empty and desolate as the city surrounding it. Once, it must have been a government center, complete with a plush lobby and offices. Now there were cobwebs and ivy covering most of the furniture. The Lejon led the group up a flight of stairs that creaked worryingly as they climbed. Chaer barely suppressed a shriek as a large beetle scurried past her foot. The second floor of the building seemed to have had most of the cobwebs cleared, though there was still plenty of misplaced greenery. The group was lead down a long hallway, until they got to the door at the very end. When they reached it, the elderly Lejon reached up and gave two knocks with a shaking hand. “Senela, child. You have visitors.” There was silence. Then the door opened seemingly by itself. Inside seemed to have once been an office, judging from the desk and bookshelves. These had, however, all been pushed to the side in favor of the large cauldron taking up the center of the room. Standing over the cauldron was another Lejon, this one younger. Her fur was dirty and matted, but Chaer could make out the faint light blue that must have been her coat’s original color. Dagon stepped inside, and the two others followed, while the old Lejon closed the door behind them. Senela seemed too engrossed in whatever she was stirring in the cauldron to pay any notice to them. Dagon cleared her throat. Selena paused in her stirring, then bent down to grab a beetle that was scurrying by. She dropped it into the pot, still wiggling, and continued stirring. After a few more seconds, she lifted the spoon to her lips to taste the broth. She licked her lips, then nodded and set the spoon down. Finally, she turned to the group and held out her hand. “You know the deal.” Dagon sighed, but nodded and gestured for Leilen to come forward. He did so, setting the bag with the pressure suits down by Dagon’s feet. Bending down, Dagon unclasped the bag and reached inside. After searching around for a bit, she pulled out a silver wrapping that looked about three feet on both sides. ”That’s what was making the bag so heavy? I call fishshit,” muttered Leilen. Dagon shushed him and handed the bundle to Senela. Senela cocked an ear, obviously skeptical, then unrolled it into a long, thin sheet of fabric. “It’s an upgraded version of the Cape of Protection. The method of making them has been lost since the Old Empires fell, but this can withstand nuclear blasts, and from my understanding even supernovas have no power over it.” Senela studied the cape, then sniffed it. “What about physical attacks?” “It’s not as strong against those, but no blade I’ve heard of can pierce it.” The seer studied the cape a bit more, then, apparently deeming it an acceptable offering, rolled it back up and placed it on a shelf behind her. She walked back over to the cauldron end gestured for the group to follow her. Hesitantly, they did so. Reaching into the cauldron with her bare hands, Senela pulled out several bones of varying sizes and shapes. All of them had strange markings carved into them. “You’re looking for a Key Location, yes?” “That’s correct,” said Dagon, nodding. Walking over to another shelf, Senela grabbed a large roll of paper and unfurled it to reveal a large map of the galaxy. Once it was all spread out on the floor, Senela pulled several candles out of...somewhere, and placed them at each corner of the map, lighting each as she set them down. After that, she moved to the middle of the map and appeared to concentrate for a minute, then abruptly threw all the bones she was carrying into the air. They bounced as they hit the floor and went off in seemingly random directions. Chaer rubbed her eyes. Was the smoke from the candles getting to her, or were those bones bouncing around more than they should? And they weren’t going outside the boundary of the map either. Chaer snapped out of her thoughts as Senela made a thoughtful humming sound, studying the map. “Well, well, well, well, well...” “Well what?” asked Leilen, peeking over her shoulder. Chaer did the same, and saw that, somehow, the bones had formed a nearly perfect circle on one area of the map. They also looked to be glowing slightly. Or maybe that was just the light? Dagon came over as well and looked at the map. “Is that...?” Leilen facepalmed. “The Uncharted Stars? Of course! Of course it couldn’t be that easy!” “Calm down,” Senela reassured the group. “Let me see if I can get a more precise location.” She unrolled another map, this one only of the uncharted region. She repeated what she had done before, throwing the bones and letting them bounce around until they were still. She knelt down and pointed to a point on the map. “180 degrees, about a five hundred jumps out. That’s your area.” Leilen rubbed his temples. “That’s such a large area...and there aren’t even any sapients out there!” Senela shrugged. “No known sapients. You wanted my help, this is it. If you don’t like it, go find another seer.” Dagon looked thoughtful. “A thousand jumps...that’s a long way out. It would make sense that there’s someone out there we haven’t found yet.” She pulled out her tablet, took a picture, and typed on notes on it. She nodded towards Senela. “You’ve been very helpful. Thank you.” Senela shrugged. “No need for thanks. You paid me, I do a job. It’s only fair.” Their job done, the group left the room and made their way out of the building, and out of the city.
It was a week later that the group stood before the Colonization Council, a group of nobles who were in charge of acquiring new lands for the Empire. The spokeswoman tapped her stylus on the table for a while before speaking. “You’re in luck,” she said finally, letting the group relax a bit. “The drones actually managed to find something useful at the coordinates you gave us.” She tapped the desk, and a screen at the side of the room lit up, displaying a slowly rotating planet, as well as some of its specifications. New Planet 180-500-3A Atmosphere Composition: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other Land Composition: 47% oxygen, 28% silicon, 8% aluminium, 5% iron, 4% calcium, 3% sodium, 3% potassium, 2% magnesium Solvent: Dihydrogen monoxide The spokeswoman gave them some time to read the screen, then turned back to the group. “There’s only one problem.” She swiped the screen, and another picture came up. A wide-eyed, nearly hairless creature was staring up at the camera, and appeared to be reaching for something. A weapon, perhaps? “There’s already someone living there,” sighed Dagon. “Indeed.” The spokeswoman turned back. “However, they do not appear to be much of a threat. Due to the low amount of ether in the area, they have not gained the ability to use Warps. They do not appear to have made contact with any other species, and they honestly haven’t even left the system yet.” She turned off the screen. “Nertljas Dagon.” “Yes, Madam Chancellor?” “The Empress has been informed of these findings, and has charged us to select a worthy candidate for colonization preparations. Given your success with the destabilization of the Hrerelin Region, the council has decided to appoint you as our Initial Ambassador.” Dagon’s eyes widened, then she bowed. “It would be an honor, Madam Chancellor.”
Despite the serious situation, Chaer couldn’t help but marvel at the architecture as the group walked through the city. “This is from the Old Empire, right?” She ran a hand along the smooth stone. Dagon nodded. “Ninht used to be a mining hub back in the day. I think there was loads of platinum around here. Of course, it started to fall apart after the metal ran out, but I think they were still doing pretty well until the Calamity.” Chaer shivered and crossed her hands over her chest reflexively as Dagon finished speaking. “You know you’re only supposed to whisper about that, right?” Dagon snorted. “Whisper about what? A historical event that’s over and done with?” “It was a major disaster! It’s bad luck to talk so casually about it!” “Bad luck? I never would have taken you to be the superstitious type, Chaer.” Dagon let out a trill of amusement and walked ahead to talk with Leilen. “I just think it’s better to be on the safe side...” Especially since the Calamity’s what caused the Old Empire to fall in the first place...
It took two solid hours of walking for the three Afavi to reach the city center. “Why can’t we just fly there?” Dagon had asked. “Because we’re inside an asteroid, so the wind speed is nowhere near fast enough,” Leilen explained. “Then why have the perches in the first place?” “Decoration, I suppose. Also, I’m pretty sure they were able to make some artificial thermals, but those are all cold now.” Chaer rolled her eyes. Perches for decoration? What a stupid thought. “But no need to gripe anymore. This is our stop.” Their stop was a large, geometric building that seemed very old fashioned and out of place in the gothic-style city. Leilen looked up at the tall, rusted iron doors that marked the front of the building, then turned to Dagon. “It’s your time, Nertljas Dagon.” Upon being addressed by rank, Dagon straightened up and nodded. Purposefully, she walked up to the door, then rapped on it several times. There was a moment of silence, then the door creaked open. Behind it was the small, elderly figure of a Lejon hunched over a cane. The Lejon adjusted her glasses and squinted at the group. “Who are you?” Dagon crossed her arms. “We have been sent by Her Eminence the Empress of the New Leheli Empire. We’re here to consult the Seer.” The Lejon snorted and waved her hand dismissively. “No need to tell me why you’re here. There’s only one reason anyone comes to this spirits-forsaken place any more.” She turned her back and started slowly down the hall. “I will guide you to her. Shut the door behind you.” Dagon looked back at the others and shrugged, then followed the old woman. The other two followed close behind.
The inside of the building was just as empty and desolate as the city surrounding it. Once, it must have been a government center, complete with a plush lobby and offices. Now there were cobwebs and ivy covering most of the furniture. The Lejon led the group up a flight of stairs that creaked worryingly as they climbed. Chaer barely suppressed a shriek as a large beetle scurried past her foot. The second floor of the building seemed to have had most of the cobwebs cleared, though there was still plenty of misplaced greenery. The group was lead down a long hallway, until they got to the door at the very end. When they reached it, the elderly Lejon reached up and gave two knocks with a shaking hand. “Senela, child. You have visitors.” There was silence. Then the door opened seemingly by itself. Inside seemed to have once been an office, judging from the desk and bookshelves. These had, however, all been pushed to the side in favor of the large cauldron taking up the center of the room. Standing over the cauldron was another Lejon, this one younger. Her fur was dirty and matted, but Chaer could make out the faint light blue that must have been her coat’s original color. Dagon stepped inside, and the two others followed, while the old Lejon closed the door behind them. Senela seemed too engrossed in whatever she was stirring in the cauldron to pay any notice to them. Dagon cleared her throat. Selena paused in her stirring, then bent down to grab a beetle that was scurrying by. She dropped it into the pot, still wiggling, and continued stirring. After a few more seconds, she lifted the spoon to her lips to taste the broth. She licked her lips, then nodded and set the spoon down. Finally, she turned to the group and held out her hand. “You know the deal.” Dagon sighed, but nodded and gestured for Leilen to come forward. He did so, setting the bag with the pressure suits down by Dagon’s feet. Bending down, Dagon unclasped the bag and reached inside. After searching around for a bit, she pulled out a silver wrapping that looked about three feet on both sides. ”That’s what was making the bag so heavy? I call fishshit,” muttered Leilen. Dagon shushed him and handed the bundle to Senela. Senela cocked an ear, obviously skeptical, then unrolled it into a long, thin sheet of fabric. “It’s an upgraded version of the Cape of Protection. The method of making them has been lost since the Old Empires fell, but this can withstand nuclear blasts, and from my understanding even supernovas have no power over it.” Senela studied the cape, then sniffed it. “What about physical attacks?” “It’s not as strong against those, but no blade I’ve heard of can pierce it.” The seer studied the cape a bit more, then, apparently deeming it an acceptable offering, rolled it back up and placed it on a shelf behind her. She walked back over to the cauldron end gestured for the group to follow her. Hesitantly, they did so. Reaching into the cauldron with her bare hands, Senela pulled out several bones of varying sizes and shapes. All of them had strange markings carved into them. “You’re looking for a Key Location, yes?” “That’s correct,” said Dagon, nodding. Walking over to another shelf, Senela grabbed a large roll of paper and unfurled it to reveal a large map of the galaxy. Once it was all spread out on the floor, Senela pulled several candles out of...somewhere, and placed them at each corner of the map, lighting each as she set them down. After that, she moved to the middle of the map and appeared to concentrate for a minute, then abruptly threw all the bones she was carrying into the air. They bounced as they hit the floor and went off in seemingly random directions. Chaer rubbed her eyes. Was the smoke from the candles getting to her, or were those bones bouncing around more than they should? And they weren’t going outside the boundary of the map either. Chaer snapped out of her thoughts as Senela made a thoughtful humming sound, studying the map. “Well, well, well, well, well...” “Well what?” asked Leilen, peeking over her shoulder. Chaer did the same, and saw that, somehow, the bones had formed a nearly perfect circle on one area of the map. They also looked to be glowing slightly. Or maybe that was just the light? Dagon came over as well and looked at the map. “Is that...?” Leilen facepalmed. “The Uncharted Stars? Of course! Of course it couldn’t be that easy!” “Calm down,” Senela reassured the group. “Let me see if I can get a more precise location.” She unrolled another map, this one only of the uncharted region. She repeated what she had done before, throwing the bones and letting them bounce around until they were still. She knelt down and pointed to a point on the map. “180 degrees, about a five hundred jumps out. That’s your area.” Leilen rubbed his temples. “That’s such a large area...and there aren’t even any sapients out there!” Senela shrugged. “No known sapients. You wanted my help, this is it. If you don’t like it, go find another seer.” Dagon looked thoughtful. “A thousand jumps...that’s a long way out. It would make sense that there’s someone out there we haven’t found yet.” She pulled out her tablet, took a picture, and typed on notes on it. She nodded towards Senela. “You’ve been very helpful. Thank you.” Senela shrugged. “No need for thanks. You paid me, I do a job. It’s only fair.” Their job done, the group left the room and made their way out of the building, and out of the city.
It was a week later that the group stood before the Colonization Council, a group of nobles who were in charge of acquiring new lands for the Empire. The spokeswoman tapped her stylus on the table for a while before speaking. “You’re in luck,” she said finally, letting the group relax a bit. “The drones actually managed to find something useful at the coordinates you gave us.” She tapped the desk, and a screen at the side of the room lit up, displaying a slowly rotating planet, as well as some of its specifications. New Planet 180-500-3A Atmosphere Composition: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% other Land Composition: 47% oxygen, 28% silicon, 8% aluminium, 5% iron, 4% calcium, 3% sodium, 3% potassium, 2% magnesium Solvent: Dihydrogen monoxide The spokeswoman gave them some time to read the screen, then turned back to the group. “There’s only one problem.” She swiped the screen, and another picture came up. A wide-eyed, nearly hairless creature was staring up at the camera, and appeared to be reaching for something. A weapon, perhaps? “There’s already someone living there,” sighed Dagon. “Indeed.” The spokeswoman turned back. “However, they do not appear to be much of a threat. Due to the low amount of ether in the area, they have not gained the ability to use Warps. They do not appear to have made contact with any other species, and they honestly haven’t even left the system yet.” She turned off the screen. “Nertljas Dagon.” “Yes, Madam Chancellor?” “The Empress has been informed of these findings, and has charged us to select a worthy candidate for colonization preparations. Given your success with the destabilization of the Hrerelin Region, the council has decided to appoint you as our Initial Ambassador.” Dagon’s eyes widened, then she bowed. “It would be an honor, Madam Chancellor.”
A "jump", for context, is the average distance between the formation of natural warps, that being about fifty light years. So a hundred jumps is 5,000 light years from the center of the galaxy.
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