The Index -|-

Kpleeb limped out of the trees when everything went quiet in the street. There was an odd haze at ankle level that was slowly sinking into the ground. Several white-faced warriors lay in haphazard pools and splatters of blood, bones clearly shattered. Ahead lay Thoka on her back.

The bile rose in Kpleeb’s throat. She has to be alive. He began to run as best he could, but with his wounds, his ankle gave way, and he fell on his face with a muffled ooomph. He choked on the poof of dust and clambered to his knees and feet again to walk (hobble) slower this time.

When he arrived, he looked down and Thoka looked up at him. Her eyes opened and the corners crinkled. It was followed by a slight smile.

“Make sure he’s dead, Kpleeb.” Her head turned toward Uuiit.

Kpleeb turned and saw the trail of gray blood coming from beneath the body of Uuiit. The corpse was motionless. No breathing visible. No odd twitching or suspect movements. He nudged the body with his foot. It was solid at least. He bent and rolled it over. Uuiit’s face stared up at him with bright blue, open eyes. The mouth was slightly smaller than normal and open.

The teeth were sharp. On each side of Uuiit’s neck there were three parallel lines near the collar bones that were angled toward the rear shoulder. Kpleeb bent and looked closer. The lines were more than just markings, they were openings.

“Mmm,” grunted Kpleeb. Encircling the thin neck was a shiny cord that was very thin and almost dainty. Kpleeb wrapped his fingers around it and tugged, but it would not break. However, the remainder of the cord did pull itself out of Uuiit’s cloak. Attached to the end was an oddly shaped amulet. Kpleeb turned the shape over and looked at it from all angles. It was in fact, just like the angle that they had found resting in the nearby forest, but smaller. On one of the less angular sides, there was a blue crystal that was as perfect as anything that Kpleeb had ever seen. The deep blue was mesmerizing, and he blinked slowly once, twice… Kpleeb shook his head gently. Wha?

“Kpleeb?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder and twitched with surprise. Thoka stood next to him. She was a bit disheveled, but appeared to be otherwise okay. “You have to see this angle,” he said moving his head so she could see the amulet on the cord.

“We need to search Uuiit’s home as soon as we can,” said Thoka with a grimace. “If we have killed a death white, or whatever they call themselves, I am sure the Xinti will be unhappy.”

Kpleeb stood. “The center of the village is nearby. Are there any Ganix warriors left to help us? I will try to carry Uuiit’s body.” He reached down and grasped the arms. Uuiit’s body was surprisingly thin and light under the cloak, so Kpleeb grunted and heaved it over his shoulder and carefully tested his weak-legged balance. “You walk ahead and find his house.”

Kpleeb painstakingly followed Thoka through the grid of buildings, forward two and then right three, before he saw the stone porch that he had remembered seeing from the ridge. He paused occasionally to shrug the lightweight body inan attempt to achieve a more comfortable position and carried on. They arrived at the house in another few moments, and Thoka pushed on the door.

“It won’t open,” she said holding up one of her rings. “The door is entirely surrounded by the invisible forces.” She turned. “Let me see that blue crystal.” When she fished it out of Uuiit’s cloak, the crystal itself was slowly pulsating with an inner light.

Kpleeb set the body down and noticed that it weighed even less than it had before. “Something is going on, Thoka. Uuiit has become very light.”

Thoka ignored him and murmured something under her breath as she palmed the blue crystal. After a moment, she held it against the door, and then nodded as it swung open.

The space inside was musty, and Kpleeb saw the air swirl away from the door as it opened. The air was pale, but had a brownish tinge to it. There was a thin odor, sharp and nostril tickling. Kpleeb coughed slightly, and in response, Thoka waved her palm downward as if to shush him. The room ahead of them began to glow. Everything was oddly angular and light colored. There were shelves on the wall at a height that would prevent any cavechildren from accessing items stored on them. In the corner was a strangely tiered structure. It was the only part of the room that was not some shade of white, off-white, or yellow-white. It was a deep and brilliant red and covered with small protrusions.

“I think the light is triggered by movement,” said Thoka adjusting her bracelet. She had the faraway look in her eye, and Kpleeb knew she was using the invisible forces in some way.

He shrugged and pushed past her pulling Uuiit’s corpse. “We need to defend ourselves.” He closed the door behind them and dropped Uuiit’s ankle. “Are you okay?”

Thoka blinked and nodded. “This room is full of invisible forces. Absolutely full, Kpleeb. I have to study all of this, and Zara too. She will understand more of this than I will.”

“Do you think we’re safe here?” Kpleeb grabbed a piece of lak from the top shelf. It was hard and the edges were very sharp.

Just then, there was a loud banging on the door. Kpleeb placed his hands on the door panel and hissed at Thoka. “What do we do now?” The banging continued for a long moment and then stopped.

“Pale One? Pale One?” The voice was that of Xer, the Ganix warrior in charge of the larger company of attackers.

“Xer?” Kpleeb tapped on the door with his fingertips.

“Kpleeb. It safe. Many Ganix alive. Xinti dead.”

Kpleeb eyed Thoka and when she nodded at him, he opened the door slowly. Xer was there facing the door, and behind him stood a handful of Ganix warriors with faces stern and eyes darting toward in all directions.

“I’m glad you are here, Xer. We have Uuiit.” Kpleeb gestured behind him. He turned and approached the corpse on the floor.

Xer bowed slightly to Thoka and knelt next to Uuiit’s body. When he lifted the cloak, a fine, pale dust trickled out from the seams.

Kpleeb hissed, “Thoka, Uuiit’s body is gone.:”

Thoka quickly examined the cloak, the dust, and the whole surrounding area while Xer held the cloak up. “Hmm. There is nothing significantly different about this dust compared to the dirt outside. It has more silica in it, but… It is just dust. Xer, please bring the cloak, and some of this lak.”

“Pale One,” Xer said nodding.

Kpleeb noticed that the dust was not enough to account for Uuiit’s original size or weight.

“We need to get back to the village,” Thoka said to Kpleeb. “There is much to do, and this place is dangerous until I can understand it. I must return with Zara.”

Xer and a few Ganix warriors collected each item that Thoka pointed out, and they exited Uuiit’s house. The door latched behind them with a muted click.

Kpleeb and Xer walked together and talked about Kpleeb’s capture, the battle, and what might be the aftermath of killing Uuiit. Trailing them, Thoka walked in silence for many hours. Kpleeb could see that she was deep in thought, so he left her in peace to analyze the day’s many discoveries.

The Index -|-

Thoka raged when she heard the news.

Kpleeb is gone, stolen from me by the filthy Xinti. And… the attack was probably instigated by Uuiit. Thoka’s blood boiled as she paced to and fro inside the hut. I will pay them back.

Thoka raised her chin and screamed angrily in a long and piercing cry that ended with a guttural growl deep in her throat.

Zara covered her ears with her tiny hands, and when Thoka finished, she looked up with wide and teary eyes.” Mama, is Dada alive?”

Thoka nodded her head. “He is alive, Zara, and we will find him and bring him back.”

“What can I do to help, Mama?” Zara tottered over to Thoka and raised her arms in request.

Thoka picked Zara up and cuddled her against her side. “You must learn to use the invisible forces. You must learn to protect yourself and Dada.”

Zara nodded solemnly. She waved her hand at one of the Ganix spears that leaned against the inner hut wall. The spear jumped and flew toward her outstretched hand.

Thoka flinched as it happened and thrust the spear away with a backhand motion. The spear clattered against the wall and ricocheted onto the floor. What shocked her most was that Zara did not have any of the devices made of yellow stone. Thoka herself could not use the invisible forces without a device to channel that power. “Where did you learn to do that, Zara?”

Zara shrugged slightly. “I use the golden thread, Mama.”

“You know I cannot see the invisible forces, Zara. What golden thread?”

Zara pointed at the air next to her. “There is a golden thread. I call it Qon. When I move it, the spear moves too.”

Thoka shook her head and set Zara down. Zara was growing so quickly, and Thoka knew that she would have to closely examine Zara’s abilities. But for now, it was time to assemble the warriors. “Zara, keep learning to use your Qon. Grow strong in that practice. I think you will need to rely on it in the future. Just remember, you are such a special girl, and I’m proud of you.”

Zara nodded again in a small way as if she was uncertain about the reasons for her Mama’s words. Thoka left the hut.

Soon the Ganix warriors were gathered and a plan was formed. The Ganix had never been aware of another Xinti village anywhere, and so they agreed that all of the Xinti were at Uuiit’s village. It was the logical place to hold prisoners. They moved to the village in two groups. One large group of warriors approached the village from the southeast, and Thoka’s group with a few warriors to watch her back approached from the northwest where the angle was located.

As they passed the angle, Thoka dropped off her improved seers and attached an invisible anchor to the angle itself. She wanted it to be halted should Uuiit attempt to move the device to another location.

When they approached the village, Thoka heard a distant clamor and knew that the Ganix warriors had entered into combat. The huts closest to her blocked the view of Uuiit’s larger building that rested in the center of the village, and she hoped that the main attack would give her time to stay out of sight and find Kpleeb. Thoka paused to scan the village for Kpleeb. In reality, she had no direct means of locating him. Instead, she focused on locating the yellow stone that made all of the devices he had carried with him.

The devices would have certainly been taken… Possibly taken to another hut. But… it has only been half a day since the Xinti took him and slaughtered Kilow’s villagers.

Her scan returned nothing. Thoka sighed with exasperation. There were so many complications. She turned to one of the Ganix warriors that stood nearby watching for incoming attacks.

“Xug, I cannot see where Kpleeb might be. Where do you think the Xinti would take him?”

Xug grunted. “Lak hut.” He pointed with his knuckle toward the left side of the village.

Thoka nodded at him. “Okay, lead the way.”

Xug trotted warily around the edges of the perimeter. Square huts were spaced out in a straight line about three paces apart. Thoka and two more warriors followed quietly. Finally, after skirting the entire side of the village, they came upon a new building that was larger and built of stone and thick logs. Not only were the walls sturdier, it had a unique roof made from long poles that angled from one high wall to the other shorter wall. At the center of one of the long sides stood a stout and wide door that was guarded by two Xinti warriors.

It was fortunate for Thoka that these warriors were not as disciplined as would normally be expected. They stood together and talked in low voices as they stared toward the noise of battle that came from the other side of the village.

Xug and the other warriors attacked immediately, and the two guards fell dead in a moment without more than a couple of muted grunts of pain. Their bodies were dragged behind the building before Thoka was ready to open the door.

She whispered. “There may be more guards inside. We must enter quickly. Xug lifted his chin in agreement, and the other warriors tensed in readiness.

Xug flung his shoulder against the door, and bounced back with a grunt. He braced himself and tried again. This time there was a noticeable cracking sound. On the third try, he was joined by another warrior, and the door caved in with a loud crash. Beyond the door in the dim light lay a large room inhabited by stacks upon stacks of crates in long rows. Each crate held lak. Thoka stepped inside and reached into one of the crates.

The lak was flaky, dull, and heavy. It was clearly metallic in nature. The structure was layered and Thoka’s fingers could easily pry a layer away from the chunk she held.

“Interesting stone…or whatever it is,” she said under her breath. Thoka analyzed what she held through the lens of the invisible power. This material was different, though she was not sure how. The invisible power curled around it in an unusual way, and at differing points, it appeared to spark and jump.

Just then, she heard a muffled knocking to her left and cocked her head. Xug took a step in that direction and Thoka followed after thrusting the lak she held into her front pocket. The group continued along the front wall of the lak house, at least twenty or thirty paces before they reached the end wall and turned right. The knocking was now a banging straight ahead that grew much louder as they approached. When they turned the corner, Kpleeb was there gagged and kicking at one of the lak crates.

“Oh, Kpleeb!” cried Thoka rushing to his side. She sliced the ropes that bound him with a silent flick of her fingers and then wrapped her arms around his neck. His face and torso were covered with caked blood from numerous slices as well as dirt.

“We must go,” Kpleeb muttered quietly shaking the feeling back into his hands. “There are always guards nearby.”

He winced with pain as Thoka helped him to his feet and waved toward the Ganix warriors. The group moved through the empty space, and toward the door. As it opened, there were ferocious cries from a handful of Xinti warriors. The Ganix stepped forward and met them with swirling spears and high kicks.

Thoka turned Kpleeb away from the fighting. She knew that he would need to reach the safety and cover of the nearby jungle in order to escape. As they reached the far corner of the lak house, Thoka looked back and saw that the Ganix were being beaten. Their skill matched the Xinti, as they were in fact Xinti previously, but the Ganix were far outnumbered.

“Can you make it to the trees?” Thoka asked, pointing. The tree line was but a handful of paces from the lak house. “I need to help the Ganix.”

Kpleeb nodded, and began to shuffle toward the trees.

Thoka jogged toward the three fighting Ganix and began picking off the Xinti warriors that were closest to the them. Her invisible bolts of power struck each warrior with a crackling whine. The warriors who were hit with a solid blow, mid-torso were hurled backward violently and never rose. The few who were not struck down immediately lay stunned.

Thoka mentally noted the surprisingly small amount of blood that appeared when she struck the warriors.

After a few seconds of fighting, a great boom sounded from behind the Xinti that remained standing. A cloud of grey fog roiled along the surface of the dirt pathways to a depth just about knee level. Thoka watched as it seemed to emanate from the center of the village. After another long moment, a figure appeared.

Uuiit strode into the pathway. His long, fine cloak flowed around him. To his cloak were attached many pieces of lak that fluttered in the wind and flickered glints of pale light. His eyes were a deep blue and they bore down on Thoka with curiosity and disdain. He smiled broadly, his teeth taunting her with their perfection.

“What are you?” He said calmly. Thought he was distant, his voice sounded as if it came from directly ahead of her. It was a plain voice, clear and without accent.

Odd, Thoka smiled back at Uuiit coldly and spoke. “I am the Pale One.” She pointed at Uuiit. “Kpleeb is mine. The Ganix are mine.”

Uuiit tilted its head back and laughed loudly. It was a mechanical laugh that appeared to Thoka to be designed only to mock her. “You had peace until you attacked the Xinti at the village by the river.”

“Chief Killow is my friend.”

“She was your friend.” Uuiit smiled mirthlessly. “They are all dead now.”

Thoka crouched and stared at Uuiit while she struggled to control her anger.

Uuiit waved nonchalantly and flipped his hand as he turned to leave. “You are nothing.”

Thoka blinked in fury at its dismissal of her. She stood, extended her arm and cast a dart of power at his back, but was surprised that there was a flash of light when it encountered his robe. Any other being would have been thrown down by that strike.

Uuiit laughed again and turned to face her.

Thoka struck again, this time with a slight change in the power’s frequency. The lak on Uuiit’s robe fluttered in the breeze and her dart’s demise flashed within the glints of light.

Uuiit raised his hand, and a blinding pain radiated through Thoka’s bones. Her ears were filled with a white noise hissing at the inside of her brain. She screamed hoarsely.

A Ganix warrior began to run and threw a spear directly at Uuiit. Though the spear flew straight and accurate, the wooden shaft burst into splintered wood chips before it ever reached Uuiit. The warrior, close behind the spear, leapt with a pair of short spears in his hand, but just as he was almost in range, Uuiit stepped aside. The warrior landed with a thud and grunted with pain.

Thoka’s pain subsided instantly as Uuiit swept his arm downward toward the fallen warrior. The warrior wailed, and there was a crunch of bones as his leg bent forward slowly until bones, ligaments, and skin broke.

Thoka crawled slowly and then faster as she noticed that Uuiit was distracted.

Uuiit twisted the warrior’s limbs and grinned, appearing to savor the suffering that he caused. But then, as Thoka drew near, he caught sight of her.

“You cave-dwellers are very weak,” Uuiit said with a laugh. He closed the distance to Thoka with two steps and placed his foot on her back. “This is why we conquer you.” He pressed down with his leg. “This is why we enslave you.”

Thoka lay with her face in the dirt and felt the air being squeezed out of her lungs. She turned her head and looked up. Uuiit’s legs were white and extended into an odd kind of black legging that she had never seen. The metallic lak shards fluttered and she moaned at the pain of Uuiit’s heel on her back. She laid her face back down into the dirt and exhaled loudly.

Uuiit lifted his head and laughed again.

This is it. Thoka flung her hand upward, the hilt of her knife gripped firmly.

A key point had come to her as she watched Uuiit fight in the last few moments. He excelled at winning from a distance. Everything thrown at him was sidestepped or exploded or handled by the lak cloak. She saw that his weakness, if one existed, would be at a close range.

The knife easily pierced the lak cloak. It was not hindered by the odd leggings. The tip of the stone penetrated skin, sinew, and stuck into bone. Uuiit shrieked in a way that Thoka had never heard. There was a dual-pitched screech, that started at the mid-range and escalated into a feverish howl that could shatter thin stone. His heel eased off of her back as his knees buckled.

Thoka rotated her torso, yanked the knife out and around. It entered near Uuiit’s neck. Again and again. Soon the cried diminished into a wheezing breath that slowed, gurgled and stopped. By the time Thoka rolled over onto her back in the pathway, she was breathing heavily.

The Index -|-

Two moon-cycles passed quickly as Thoka and Kpleeb dug into Uuiit’s technology. At first, Jial had pressured Thoka to have Kora watch over Zara while they worked, but Thoka wanted Zara to learn. It seemed obvious to her that Zara could be of some help with a little training. Thoka also intended to work with Kpleeb and the invisible forces.

Thoka began to methodically teach Zara and Kpleeb everything she knew. Kpleeb could not feel or see the forces, but Zara could see them in what Thoka thought must be multiple wavelengths of energy. Zara’s descriptions were limited by her language at first, but her vocabulary and ability to describe detail and nuance grew quickly. As a result, Thoka was able to understand the flows better. Zara was a genuine help.

Kpleeb did not fare as well. He struggled to understand what he could not interact with, and so Thoka made for him a pair of gloves that translated the flow of the invisible forces into vibrations that he would feel through his hands. With only the gloves, Kpleeb was able to detect the forces, but he would never obtain the same sense of connection and ability to manipulate as Thoka and Zara. To his credit, Kpleeb did not complain. He tried the gloves and listened to Thoka’s instruction.

“We have improved seers here,” said Thoka, pointing. “Also, your darts, moccasins, and stone thrower.”

Kpleeb nodded as he looked up from the project he was working on. “We need many more of these for all the Ganix warriors.” He leaned back and stretched. “I am surprised that no motion has been detected at Uuiit’s angle.”

“Maybe the new seers will give us more.” Thoka was surprised as well. Her sensors had detected nothing. She knew they worked because she had tested them and tuned them to ignore the small movements of birds and leaves fluttering in a breeze.

“Have we ever seen the angle in the sky? Maybe it is simply forgotten or unused.” Kpleeb placed the thin, semi-circular ring aside and stood.

“Maybe,” Thoka said doubtfully. “I saw it fly in my dream, then we found it. Perhaps it is used only rarely.”

“How can you dream about true things you don’t know, anyway? Did it happen because you dreamed it or did you dream it because it happened?” Kpleeb grinned.

Thoka shook her head. “I have no idea, nor do I have the time to be concerned about it. It is interesting like the Xinti prophesy, but at lest the prophesy gives us some clues.”

“If we assume it’s not just made up!” Kpleeb shrugged.

“We must take it for what it is, a myth. But, a myth that may have some root in reality. Even if it appears to be inexplicable.” Thoka looked at Kpleeb. “It changes nothing. Our future does not depend on some ancient writing. We are here for our children and our future. No other tribe can do what we can do.”

“Okay. I will get Xit to drop the new seers off at the angle in a few days.” Kpleeb did not look happy. “We are the smartest cavepeople around, and we are slaving over these devices. How can we make enough for all of the warriors?”

“I have some ideas about that, but for now, we must do the work ourselves. Zara is a big help!” Thoka patted Zara’s head.

Zara looked up from where she sat cross-legged on the floor. “Mama, I’m done” She held one of the moccasins.”

“Thank you, Zara. Good job!” Thoka picked up the moccasin and looked at it through her eyepiece. “This is great work.” She looked at Kpleeb. “We need to give Zara all of the moccasins.”

Kpleeb nodded, but then scrambled to his feet as he heard shouting outside. When he reached the door, he saw one of the older children from Kilow’s village running toward the village center. The cavegirl’s torso was covered in blood and dirt.

“What happened?” said Kpleeb as he approached the child. Xit and a number of other warriors appeared almost immediately to surround them.

“Xinti!” said the child breathlessly. “Many.”

Thoka approached and spoke to the child. “Is Chief Kilow okay?”

The cavegirl shook her head wordlessly and began to sob.

“Ganix warriors!” Kpleeb shouted. “Time to fight!” He looked around the village and felt pleased that the wall had been completed, but the gates, they would come in time.

In short order, the warriors had gathered. There were dozens of them with spears and painted faces. Kpleeb nodded to Thoka. He knew what to do. “We will be back.”

Kpleeb trotted out of the main gate followed by the Ganix warriors. They angled toward the pillar of smoke in the distance. It was only due to practice and the moccasins that Kpleeb could even begin to keep up with the pale warriors. The group darted through the trees and brush at what would be a flat out run for most people. Where Kpleeb ran with all his might, the warriors bounded off of boulders and fallen trees. An hour passed and a little more before the group crested the final rise.

Kpleeb paused to take deep,heaving breaths and saw that Kilow’s village lay burning across the river. Smoke billowed from the hut roofs. None were spared. The dead lay haphazardly in pools of blood, and there were cries of anger from the far side of the village. There, Kpleeb saw Molk swinging a large club in a frenzied defense against a handful of Xinti warriors.

Kpleeb took a deep breath and ran again. Xit and the other Ganix warriors were further ahead now and already entering the village center. When he reached the village, he saw the pole in the center and was reminded of how Molk had beat him there. It seemed like long ago, and the sting of the memory had faded. He jogged to where the noise of battle clamored under the trees beyond the huts.

The Ganix had bolted into the fray and blended right in with the Xinti warriors. If not for the yellow armband that Thoka had made them wear, no one could have known who was on which side. A white-faced Xinti spotted Kpleeb and leapt toward him with teeth bared. Kpleeb pressed the trigger in his right palm with his thumb and swatted. The warrior was violently flung aside and crashed into the trunk of a nearby tree. Kpleeb’s wrist tingled with the impact of the invisible forces. He grinned savagely and stepped forward to kick at the fallen warrior.

In a split second the warrior he had flung swept his legs around and Kpleeb felt himself falling. He fell hard and gasped for breath. The only thing that saved him was his upraised left arm. Still, a terrible pain struck him like lightning as the knife entered his forearm.

“Aooow!” Kpleeb yelled. The eyes of the warrior stared down at him coldly, but the face remained absolutely rigid. Kpleeb gritted his teeth and struck with his right hand. The knife dislodged from Kpleeb’s arm and remained in the pale warrior’s hand as the body was tossed aside. Kpleeb did not wait for a second attack. He jumped up and bashed the warrior repeatedly against the ground where he had fallen. In just a few seconds, the warrior stopped moving, and Kpleeb could see blood seeping into the dried fronds that covered the ground.

Though warriors were drawn away from Molk, the battle raged and the Ganix were outnumbered by the ferocious Xinti. More of them seemed to appear every moment. The reach of Kpleeb’s fist was about four or five paces, and he could not strike anything closer. As a result, he hung back and batted at any Xinti target that offered itself. After a few moments, he had drawn too much attention to himself. A dozen Xinti warriors appeared from the edge of a nearby hut. They were on Kpleeb quickly, and though he crushed a few, they overran his defenses without fear and pierced his legs, arms, and torso with many shallow wounds.

Darkness overtook him as he heard an echoing bellow of pain from Molk. Kpleeb fell, bleeding profusely.

Promising to subdue, demanding servitude, the master comes.
Ashen face, blue of eye, the master rescues
and grateful Xinti follow.
Relentless, their deadly hands prosper.
Blooded lands and burned terrain in their midst.
Xinti warriors together protect those who serve.
Joyful small ones await her return.
From the mouth she comes,
with child and with vengeance.
Pale and terrible, she will gut the Xinti.
Her beloved will serve penance,
that day a terror among them.
Ruin from above brings eternal affection.
Those who perish survive. The forsakers expire.
The fearful master replies and brother comes with wrath.
Conflicts arise. Fires burn the heavens.
A mortal wound is struck. The seed is stolen.
The builder’s revenge echoes.
Foundations of the empire crumble.

Xinti Forthtelling

The Index -|-

After much discussion, Kpleeb and Thoka agreed that Uuiit was something different, not a caveman. Thoka decided to assign an around the clock watch of Uuiit’s village. It was entirely possible that could be very, very dangerous, and it was imperative that they knew when he was present at the Xinti village. Of course, practically speaking, it was not as simple as it seemed. In the dark there could be no way to watch, and Thoka was concerned about how Uuiit had apparently taken notice of Kpleeb before. She felt certain that somehow Uuiit had used his device to detect the invisible forces that Kpleeb had been using to magnify his view.

When Kpleeb returned from searching the far side of Uuiit’s village, he described something that made no sense to Thoka. A large angular device of unknown color resting on a single, bottom-most point. They had talked through it over and over, and finally, Thoka had decided that she needed to see it for herself. She had taken a couple of days to design and build some new devices that she thought would be useful for experiencing a genuinely new thing. Sensors she called them.

Now they were close to the angle’s area and traveling slowly. Thoka had created a small-ish, floating enclosure for Zara, and had decided to walk on her own two feet. The Ganix warriors had been surprised. They expected her to ride like a queen, but she was tired of being coddled and felt as if she needed the exercise.

Thoka sighed. She would never admit it, but she silently acknowledged that it would be nice to sit and ride for a while.

Xit pointed to their right and grunted softly.

Thoka nodded and moved forward carefully. Zara’s carriage hovered a few paces behind her. With a second thought, she paused and turned back toward Zara with her finger on her lips. “Time to be quiet, okay, Zara? We need to be sneaky.”

Zara put her tiny, chubby finger up to her lips to pantomime what Thoka had done. “Sneaky,” she said in a whisper.

The group moved forward until Xit held up his hand and pointed. Several Ganix warriors slipped into the clearing, and returned after a moment. “Nobody, Pale One.”

“Good,” Thoka said. She stepped into the clearing. The angle was just what Kpleeb had described, down to the dimensions. He had apparently been quite accurate, and she confirmed each specific thing he stated.

Kpleeb put his hand on the angle’s side. “Just like I said, huh?” What do you think about it?”

“I wouldn’t touch it until we know what it does,” Thoka said with a small smile.

“Urh, yeah right.” Kpleeb quickly took his hand away. “It feels fairly normal though. Just like stone, but very smooth.”

Thoka tapped into her plethora of sensors. “Did anything feel strange?” She began to slowly scan the area that he had touched. To her enhanced eye, it appeared that he had left a hand-smudge on it, but the smudge did not exist to her naked eye.

“Nothing.” Kpleeb looked suspiciously at the edge where the top angle met the bottom. “This looks fuzzy here, but it should be sharp, at least logically.” He made an angled point with his hands.

Thoka stood up and slowly moved a bank of hand-sensors near the edge. “it is a sharp angle.” She squinted. “It doesn’t look sharp though. I would not touch that part until we know for sure that it won’t harm you.”

“What do you think it does?” Kpleeb walked to the furthest point and looked down the edge.

“I don’t know. Let me obtain my scans.” Thoka turned and walked to the strange vertically angled side with the bumps. After a few moments, she called out. “Kpleeb, come here.”

“Yes?” He came jogging around the corner of the angle followed closely by Xit.

“This is the flying angle that I dreamed of.”

“How can you be sure?

Thoka pointed at the bumps on the longer portion of the indention. “The forces flow here in a similar way they flow there.” She pointed at Zara’s carriage. “It’s what makes it move and float on the air. The structure appears to be different though. It’s new to me, but the pattern is the same.”

“Wow,” Kpleeb muttered. Then louder. “So it moves into the sky.”

“And higher, I think,” said Thoka.

Xit looked up into the sky. “Higher?”

Thoka nodded. “There is more out there than you may suspect.”

Kpleeb smiled at her. They had discussed the structure of their land and had done some minor sleuthing on the subject weeks ago. “We have to assume that this may be a carriage for Uuiit.”

“He… It go above sky?” Xit looked a bit concerned even for a deadpan Ganix.

“You said you saw the angle before, right Xit? Where was that?”

Xit lifted his chin and pointed at his feet. “Here.”

Kpleeb looked fairly disappointed. “I assumed you had seen it fly.”

“No,” said Xit.

Thoka looked at Kpleeb. “It’s time we gain some more knowledge. I will spend time analyzing this device.”

“What if Uuiit comes?” Kpleeb held up his hands. “He may have some great weapons, right Xit? You must have seen him fight?”

“Never fight,” said Xit.

“Well that would make sense if he has the Xinti to fight for him. Anyone who fought him would have done it before the Xinti came to him.” Kpleeb turned to Thoka. “Is Uuiit’s device more advanced than what you have seen?”

Thoka nodded. “Yes. Certainly, but I will obtain its secrets.”

“If that is the case, we have to assume he is strong in all areas. If he comes here while we are here, he may kill us.”

“Xit,” Thoka said.” I need some time to build a few devices. We need lookouts to ensure that we are undetected while I work.” There was a silent flurry of activity while Thoka brought out a portable workbench, Ganix warriors encircled the clearing at a distance and Zara was fed. In a few hours, Thoka was finally ready to leave. It was only shortly past mid-day.

Thoka put out the sensor devices that she had created and attached them to various trees around the clearing. “These detect motion, which inform these other devices. The other ones will send the impression of its viewing area to one of my devices.”

“Even back at our village?”

“Yes. We cannot be nearby when Uuiit comes. Let’s go back home.”

Kpleeb, Thoka, Zara and the handful of Ganix warriors collected their belongings, covered any signs that they had been there, and began the long trek back to the village.

“I want to capture Uuiit,” said Thoka after a few moments.

Kpleeb looked concerned. “How? We don’t know yet how dangerous he can be.”

“I know. Based on the devices he has, he must be very powerful.” In Thoka’s mind, she pictured a being of almost unlimited power and knowledge. But then she thought that he must be one of many. No entity existed in a vacuum. They were born or created from a parent or some higher being. They had a culture passed to them from another.

[Where are the rest of the Uuiits? Is that a name or, a title? What is his name?]

“Xit, have you seen another person like Uuiit? Or have you heard a tale of another like it?”

Xit remained silent for a long moment. “I no see. Prophesy say Uuiit has brother.”

“A brother,” Thoka looked at Kpleeb. “Maybe it’s time we heard this prophesy.”

Kpleeb nodded and walked onward in silence.

Thoka fell into thought.

[If there is a brother or some family, as there is likely to be… it- they must be distant since no Xinti has seen them. Or maybe they are secretive and hide well. Anything is possible, almost. If we harm Uuiit, the other will know and come to its rescue. We are not yet strong enough to defend ourselves against a strong warrior that uses the invisible forces.]

[I must be able to defend, and attack, to protect our family.]

Thoka resolved to build her knowledge using Uuiit’s devices. She looked at Zara floating along next to her and smiled. Zara was incredibly smart for such a young age, and Thoka knew that she could be a key part of her plans.

In her floating carriage, Zara’s legs kicked randomly. She held her hands up and counted her fingers. “100, 110, 120, 130…”

The Ganix warriors padded along at the edges of the group. They were silent and watchful. [The strange warriors do not appear to know anything about Uuiit except that he rules the Xinti and is mentioned in the prophesy. Why aren’t they more curious?] Thoka sighed. There was so much to do and quite a few gaps in her understanding of the situation.