The Index -|-

The huge door to the Predominant’s chamber was perfectly silent as it rotated, and colored light glinted on its intricately patterned surface. Zara stepped into the chamber behind her Da, and the weight of three, solemn gazes settled on her skin like physical pressure.

The Predominant sat on a raised, marble platform that was lined in gold and purple, and she saw them clearly for the first time, not as legends, but as living creatures. One was dressed in armor that resembled that which she had seen in the murals on Yefrtil, and they looked almost identical. Same gray skin, same elongated features, same piercing blue eyes that caught the light like polished stone. Their heights definitely gave them away. The one on the left wore the armor and stood a full head taller than the others, shoulders squared, spine straight. It commanded the space without even trying. The one in the center was taller than Zara and wore an unadorned gray-blue robe. Its limbs were lithe and purposeful, nothing wasted in their posture. The one on the right was slightly shorter and carried a softness that was almost intangible. It’s robe was soft and flowing.

The chamber was round and bathed in a pastel hue. A sky was portrayed in stunning detail on the domed ceiling, and there Zara could see the sun beginning to set. The triad of thrones, for demonstrating the hubris of emperors, were the furniture of pure arrogance,. They were set on varicolored foundations inlaid with a multitude of precious stones. Pure white cushions with gold embroidered trim and tassels adorned them, and in front, ornate wooden footstools invisibly hovered at just the right height.

Everyone stared at the others for a long moment until finally, the tall one moved first. A single gesture, finger flicking toward Tiirw, and Zara’s Xi shipmate collapsed mid-step as if a switch had been flipped. No words. No hesitation. The authority of the motion made Zara’s breath catch.

Viinox saw it and ran.

[Smart,] Zara thought, watching Viinox vanish down the corridor from whence they had come. Tiirw’s body quickly turned into a pile of riiat.

The Ganix warriors were smart too, and they were adept at group tactics. All twelve of them silently spread out, lightning spears peppering the Predominant with crackling bolts of electricity. The bolts died against the Predominant’s shields without so much as a flicker of strain. The warriors, to their credit did not hesitate, and they died before they had finished two strides toward the center. The Predominant hadn’t even risen from their seats.

“We welcome you home, child.” Three voices spoke, perfectly synchronized. The tall one’s mouth moved a fraction before the others, setting the pace. The center one’s hands stayed folded, practical and still. The third smiled widest, teeth sharp and white, something almost maternal in the expression that made Zara’s stomach turn.

She caressed her Qon shield instinctively. Invisible golden Qon flared around her and her Da. Threads of aji wrapped everything in this place. She’d never seen so much, never felt the air itself thrumming with invisible power. The Predominant’s shields dwarfed hers, thick bands of golden energy that moved when they moved, breathing with them. It was awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time.

Watching the aji play over the Predominant sent a cold shiver through her psyche. For the first time, she realized that she was outmatched. “Da,” she whispered. “They’re so strong!” Kpleeb stepped forward anyway, placing himself between her and the Predominant. She wanted to pull him back. She wanted to tell him that the tall one decided who lived and the soft one looked at her like she was property. But the words stuck in her throat.

“Is this the great Predominant then?” Kpleeb said, voice steady despite the clear danger. He looped his thumbs under his multi-layered, kerflk vest and pushed his chest out. “Which one of you is the Ka, the leader who will speak for your galactic band of kidnappers and murderers? Huh?! You have taken me from my home. You killed my wife and kidnapped my daughter. My name is Kpleeb of the canyon river tribe. I’ve come here for vengeance!”

The center one leaned backward nonchalantly, displaying a serious lack of concern. “We did none of these things. We only exist here on Nidix, and we will never leave.” Its hands gestured towards its mates. “We serve the Xi and support them with our strength and commitment. We do not capture or kill unless attacked.” It tilted its head in question. “Are you attacking us, Builder?”

The soft one turned to the others, hand still resting on their stomach. Its bioluminescence shifted, spiraling faster, patterns of anxiety or excitement playing across their skin. “Is this really the Builder? It seems so small and weak.”

Kpleeb scoffed and waved a dismissal with his hand. “You pathetic three, the Ja, Na, and the Ka, the embodiment of your murderous diety, Janaka. It all seems a bit redundant, no?!”

The tall one laughed expansively, and the sound carried authority even in mockery. “You must have studied us and if you did, you know that we are impervious, especially to you. Maybe you should stick to your rocks and caves. Oh Builder, build something for us now, please. Maybe a toy house! Yes, do it now!”

The center one, Ja, raised a finger to point at Kpleeb, and the others fell silent. “You will not discover vengeance here, Builder. Only your demise.” A sharp whistle came from its mouth. Zara felt it in her teeth, in her bones, in the golden energy that had lived with her since before she had known its name.

Qon quivered and fled. Zara screamed. The golden light seemingly tearing itself from her soul, flowing toward the triad like water rushing to find the sea. For one heartbeat, she was able to resist, but Qon was strong. It twisted, fighting to leave, a caught animal desperate to escape its lifelong bond. In a moment it was subsumed into the golden shield surrounding the Predominant.

Zara’s muscles hitched and she fell. The spongy floor absorbed her impact, and she lay there gasping, empty, hollowed out. A lifetime of Qon’s constant presence, gone. The silence in her skull was deafening. “Da,” she choked out. “It’s gone. They took Qon away from me.”

Her Da didn’t hesitate. She heard the lightning spear activate, the whine of her own creation powering up, the cracking thunder of discharged energy. She saw the golden shield absorb it without effort or interest as it did with those of the Ganix that were now scattered on the floor. “Get up,” Kpleeb said. “Get up and fight!”

Zara tried. She pushed herself to her knees, but her body felt wrong. Heavy and slow. She’d never thrown a punch without Qon guiding her fist, never dodged dipped, ducked, dived, or dodged without the beautiful energy whispering where the blow would land. She was blind. She was helpless. “I can’t,” she breathed.

“You are more than Qon.” Her father’s voice, steady despite the fact that Ka, the tall one, was rising to meet him. “You are strong. You are smart. You know how to fight. Your reflexes are amazing even without the power. You are my amazing daughter, and you are not helpless!” He leveled his spear and swung with all his strength.

Ka moved to intercept with a physical blow.

“Fight!” Kpleeb shouted, dodging a second crushing blow.

Zara pushed herself up. She watched the soft one, the Na. She remembered it as the one who carried life, it circled toward her father’s blind side. The center one stayed still, unconcerned and unassuming, its calculating gaze tracking every motion. The tall one pressed the attack, commanding the space, forcing Kpleeb back as he desperately dodged the attacks.

Zara moved. No Qon to guide her, just muscle memory and desperation. She rolled under a sweep of Na’s arm, came up inside the perimeter, drove her fist into the soft belly. Something cracked. The Na shrieked, stumbling back, hands clutching their stomach. But there were three of them. The center one gestured, efficient and precise, and Qon threads wrapped Zara’s limbs. The tall one struck her Da with the back of its hand and sent him sprawling. The Na recovered, bioluminescence shifting toward the red, wounds already healing.

Zara struggled against the threads. She could feel them now, golden lines burning where they touched. Though the power that had always been with her was gone, she could finally see what it had hidden.

“You will submit, Ixant.” The center one’s voice addressed her, practical and cold. “Submit or we will destroy your father. You are a great success, one of our own creation, and you will fulfill your destiny.”

The tall one raised their hand, and the threads tightened. Zara felt herself lifted, her father beside her, both of them hanging in golden chains.

The ceiling wheeled overhead, moon shifting, stars pointing toward mountains she would never see. The threads bit deeper. Her Da’s scream tore through the chamber, raw and broken. Zara hung beside him, fingers twitching, unable to reach, unable to help, the absence of Qon a hollow void inside her skull.

“Da,” she whispered, voice cracking. “I can’t… hold on.” The triad’s bioluminescence flared in unison: utilitarian, commanding, nurturing, three aspects of a greater whole, something she didn’t understand. The threads drew tighter, and the night sky spun on, indifferent to their struggle.”

Her Da hung beside her, and the sound he made was the worst thing she had ever heard. Not a cry of pain now, he’d endured plenty of that, but a grunting, animal sound that came from somewhere beneath his ribs. His fists were clenched so tight the knuckles had gone white, tendons standing out along his forearms like cords. Qon threads had wrapped his wrists and were slowly working their way up, tightening with each labored breath.

“Stop,” she whispered, but the word had no air behind it.

The throne room spread beneath them, a perfect circle of polished marble veined with threads of gold and purple. The floor caught the pastel light and threw it back in soft, rippling patterns. Vaulted arches soared overhead, and beneath everything, a hum, not mechanical, but something older. The enchantments, Viinox had called them once. The ancient aji woven into the foundation of this place, quietly humming like a hive of sleeping bees.

The Predominant formed a triangle around them. Ka, the tallest, stood closest to Kpleeb, armor glinting with that strange bronze sheen she’d seen in the murals. Intricate etchings swirled across the breastplate, clouds and storms captured in metal. Its blue eyes were flat and amused.

“The great Builder,” Ka said, and its voice bold and confident. “Look at him struggle like an insect caught in honey. What a pointless specimen.”

Ja spoke. “The child is far more interesting. She held Qon longer than any Ixant before her. ”

“A wonder she exists at all,” said Na, the soft one. Its glow had shifted to a warmer hue, almost affectionate, which made the words hit harder. It circled toward Zara’s blind side, movements fluid and predatory. “We gave you life, little one. We gave you purpose. And this is how you repay us? With betrayal?”

“My purpose,” Zara said through gritted teeth, “was never yours to give.”

Na’s smile widened, teeth sharp and white. Its eyes were still cold. “Everything is ours to give, or to take.”

Kpleeb thrashed against the threads. Zara heard the creak of his bones, the pop of a joint straining. He was trying to reach her, his fingers splayed, stretching toward her hanging form. The golden web gave a little with each of his movements, then snapped back tighter, burning fresh lines into his skin.

“Your woman died well,” Ka said conversationally. “She fought. I admire that in a primitive. Most of them just scream.”

Kpleeb’s roar filled the chamber. He lunged against the threads, and for a moment Zara thought he might break free, but then the web cinched. Blood welled along the lines where they’d bitten into his flesh.

Zara dug her boots into the Qon web. The threads were slick, almost fluid, but she managed to hook her heel into a knot of energy and push. It gave a fraction of an inch, not enough to free her, but enough to shift her weight, to take some of the pressure off her wrenched shoulders. The threads tightened with her next struggling breath. She felt them working between her ribs, compressing her lungs, and for a terrifying moment she couldn’t draw air at all. The world grayed at the edges.

“Your daughter is strong,” Ja observed. Its voice was measured and analytical. “Stronger than the others. We should keep her. Study her. The next iteration could be—“

“No,” said Ka. “They die together. Poetic, don’t you think? Father and traitor child, united in failure.”

Na’s bioluminescence pulsed faster, spiraling toward something that looked like excitement. “Wait. I should have the girl even if just for a little while. A dissection would be educational.”

The three flared in unison, and the Qon threads responded, humming in resonance, and Zara felt them dig deeper. Her Da had gone quiet, his head hanging, blood dripping from his nose to spatter on the marble below. Each drop made a sound like distant water; drip, drip, drip.

Above, on the dome she saw purple mist and cobalt stars as the sun rose. [Just like the poem.] The dome was a masterpiece of artistry, a beautiful lie suspended over a chamber where gods murdered children.

The threads drew tighter. Zara’s vision narrowed to a tunnel. She could see her Da’s face, slack with pain, and near him the three Predominant watching with the casual interest of scholars observing a caged animal. Ka’s hand was raised, fingers splayed, controlling the web. Ja’s gaze was calculating, already moving past this moment to whatever came next. Na’s smile had softened into something almost tender.

Zara hung in the golden web and waited for the end.

The Index -|-

“We should take out the sensors around Nidix.” Kpleeb stated emphatically. “Creating a blind spot will keep them guessing.”

Zara shook hear head, and her brown curls quivered gently. She lifted a finger. “A missing sensor is a warning.” She raised another. “We don’t know if these sensors operate the same way as Xih sensors on the Hsstak. If they are the same technology, taking one out will not hide our ships from whoever is watching. Remember, I can see out to at least five kitrond. We have to assume the worst, that our ships will be visible all the way from Biortl. Our only chance is to approach Nidix as any other Xih ship would.”

“What if there is a schedule and we are a surprise? They may attack us.”

Viinox raised its voice. “Based on what we have observed, there is no pattern to the the vessels approaching Nidix. There may be a system that we cannot see, or they could simple trust that any Xih marked ship is safe.” It paused and mimicked Zara’s most common hand gesture. “We simply do not know, and therefore the safest assumption is to avoid drawing attention to ourselves.”

“Yes, I agree.” Zara looked at her Da. “We must appear as normal traffic.”

Kpleeb shrugged dejectedly. “Sometimes, I just want to destroy something of the Xi’s, but perhaps you’re right.”

Zara nodded. “You’ll have your chance, Da. Now, I have to rest. Hopefully Oiitr will be finished with the Greki soon.”

“Fine,” said Kpleeb with a scowl. “I am going to prepare.” The connection dropped.

###

Zara blinked as Qon twitched violently in her hand. She clamped down on it with all of her strength, willing it to obey, and finally, it twitched weakly and stopped struggling.

[What is wrong with you?]

In that moment, she remembered what her Mama used to say: “You cannot hold what desires to be released.”

[Does Qon desire its freedom?] She shook her head. [Preposterous.]

Just then, Viinox’s voice called to her. “Zara, the alterations to the Hsstak’s beacon have been completed and verified. We are ready to begin our journey at your command.”

Zara nodded to herself with satisfaction. The Greki had already made the necessary changes so that they would be invisible to the Xi navigation sensors With a few rapid taps on the console in front of her, she took a breath and addressed both the Hsstak and the Greki. “We are ready to launch.” She steadied her nerves and sighed quietly. [The Predominant, finally… I wonder if they’re as meek as I imagine.]

###

“Magnify,” said Zara.

The view from the Hsstak’s command center change almost imperceptibly. “The shield is just ahead,” said Kanta quietly. Suddenly, a very faint flickering appeared ahead and morphed into a circular section of stars with a glowing start at its center.

“Did anyone do anything to cause the shield to open?” Zara asked quickly.

A chorus of denials echoed. “This is not the same as when we used the magnetic field to push our way through,” said Tiirw. “This is far more precise and invisible. This was likely designed to allow vessels through while minimizing the possibility of an outside viewer from seeing Nidix.”

Viinox looked at Zara. “The Hsstak and Greki are both operating as Xih vessels. Perhaps this triggers the opening.”

“You may be correct, Viinox. Continue through to orbit. Kanta, please magnify Nidix. We’ll need to find the Predominant. Perhaps there is a city there.”

The view increased in size and magnification. Nidix was a strong, teal hue, and there were no apparent structures. As they drew closer and the orb spun, a purply-blue gap appeared in the green. “There is water.” The lake was perfectly round as if engraved on the surface of the orb. “Ah, and look, this mountain structure appears to be the only one on Nidix,” said Kanta, bubbles rising within her airowalking helmet. “I wouldn’t call it a city though.”

“Honestly, I expected Nidix to be like the other Xi orbs. One enormous city in shining lak.” Zara shrugged. “If Nidix is this way, maybe the Predominant are also more unique than we expect.”

Viinox quietly gazed at the view as it zoomed in on the structure. The gap in the foliage was a perfect octagon and the color of its surface shifted slightly as the viewing angle changed.

“It looks like a hologram,” Kpleeb’s voice said. “Might be a trap.”

When the Hsstak and Greki had been inserted into the orbit of Nidix, Zara sighed in relief. “No Xi ships, nothing in orbit. How strange.”

“Nothing to prevent us from bombing the Predominant from orbit,” said Kpleeb. “Why don’t we just do that and be done with it?”

Zara grimaced. She knew that her Da needed revenge like he needed air. He had been bitter even back to her earliest memories, but when her Mama had been killed by the Xi, he became absolutely dogged in his pursuit. They had made a deal that would not only ease her conscience, but also provide the closure she knew he needed. She sighed. “Da, what if the Predominant is not here? We must be certain, which means we need to go down and see with our own eyes just like we discussed.”

The comm was silent for a long moment. “Yes,” Kpleeb muttered grumpily. “I know you’re right. We should descend now.”

“We are ready as well. Bring the ship down to the designated landing area. Kanta will stay on the ship with Viinox.”

“Miss Zara, please do not make me stay here. I must stay by your side and help you. Kanta is fully capable of taking care of the Hsstak.” Viinox raised its hands in a plea.

“Thank you for your confidence, Viinox,” burbled Kanta with a fishy smile.

Zara smiled. “I do appreciate your desire to help me, Viinox. I am bringing Tiirw this time.”

“I wish to see the Predominant in person,” said Viinox. “This will be the only opportunity that I will have.”

Zara paused for a long moment and looked at both Viinox and Tiirw. Finally, she nodded. “I understand.”

In a short period of time, the Hsstak landed gently next to the Greki after a low, stealthy transition up the slope of the mountain. When the larger external door opened, Zara could see that her Da’s band of Ganix had fanned out in a semicircle. They were immediately joined by her own Ganix warriors, and then Tiirw, Viinox, and Zara descended and joined Kpleeb.

The clearing was so small that it could not be rightly described as a clearing. The trees were close, several even stood between the Greki and Hsstak. Every tree was the same. The trunks were thick and squat ending in a bushy tuft of perfectly triangle leave which were a striking blue-green color. The grass beneath their feet was as normal as anything Zara had seen; soft, thick, and knee-high.

She turned to Viinox and noticed that it was gazing at the horizon in apparent wonder. Its neck slits fluttered rapidly.

“In the skies of purple mist…” it murmured quietly.

Zara looked around and nodded. “They are kind of purple, aren’t they? Did you expect that?”

Viinox tilted its chin downward slightly. “No, but I should have. There is an old children’s poem that I remember.

“In the skies of purple mist, Where starlight songs and comets twist, Lives the Predominant, brave and bright, With crowns that glow in moonbeam light.

They rule with wisdom, age, and fear, Their power increasing every year. They duel with gods and heal disease, And live far above beyond the distant seas.

Janaka blessed forevermore, On Nidix in the gleaming core. The stars cobalt, the moons of blue, The flowers sigh with drops of dew.

Now every Xi child forever sings, of Predominant’s might and stardust wings. They wear the colors, purple and green, And dream of Nidix where they are seen.”

Zara grinned at Viinox and saw that Tiirw’s face was as blank as usual. “That is a good sign, right? We must be close!”

“I never thought I would see Nidix for myself.”

Kpleeb grunted, his face expressing concern and nervous energy. He waved at Zara and pointed. “The compound is this way, perhaps a ten minute walk. We will be careful to stay out of any traps.” He strode away without waiting for a response.

Zara followed, and found that he was right. They wove through the trees whose canopy blanketed the expanse above them and soon the trees ended where there was a low rise encircled by low, dense shrubbery. “Careful,” said Zara. “These bushes are laced with a web of aji. It is a barrier of some sort.”

She approached the shrubs and peeked over. There was a pavement made up of multi-colored octagonal stones each about a pace in diameter. In the distance a squat, triangular structure rested in the center of the pavement, and light glinted off a figure that stood facing away to her left. Shifting her gaze, Zara saw that tiny threads of Qon began at the bush barrier and radiated directly into the structure like spokes on an enormous wheel.

Zara turned to the Ganix. “Check the other side and make sure there are no other guards.”

A group of Ganix warriors melted into the trees while the others crouched warily on the slope like tundra cats stalking their prey. “What’s up with these circles?” Kpleeb grunted quietly. “I’m so used to seeing the Xi triangles, and this feels totally foreign.”

“I have never seen anything like this,” Viinox whispered. “There is no known significance for these patterns.”

Tiirw remained silent and stared at the distant guard.

“That guard is dressed like the painted figures we saw in the Grand Yefrtil Administrative Center, armor and everything.” The hair on Zara’s neck rose as she caught a chill. [None of this matches what I expected, yet all of the clues are present.]

A Ganix warrior appeared balancing on the balls of his feet near her elbow. “No other guard,” he stated in a low voice.

Zara nodded and raised her hand slowly. With careful precision, she pierced the distant guard’s brainpan with a palm-sized burst of golden needles. The guard crumpled immediately and then its armor settled as the body was converted into silica dust.

“Approach and check the guard,” she said looking at the warrior.

Without hesitation, the Ganix warrior leapt over the shrubs and sprinted to where the guard had fallen. He knelt and then waved.” The group met him there.

After a quick glance at the pile of shiny armor, Kpleeb turned and looked at the center of the space. “I’m looking for the entrance.” He quickly walked away toward the structure.

Zara ignored him and focused on the guard. The armor was not made from lak, its sheen was different somehow. She tapped on the breastplate and there was a faint metallic sound. Intricate etchings covered the surface with a swirling pattern in a way that made her think of clouds. [It’s very old armor… or at least made to look old.]

Standing, she looked toward the center. Three large circles overlapped, and the squat structure rested directly in their nucleus. The color of the pavement stones deviated as she shifted her gaze to look again at the misty sky. [This place is very strange.]

“Viinox, Tiirw are you seeing anything familiar?”

“Let’s see what’s inside,” said Kpleeb appeared impatiently pointing toward the other side of the building.

Zara shook her head. “Viinox?”

“Everything is new to me,” said Tiirw quietly. “I’ve never seen this. The patterns are all strange, the colors, the sky.”

“I agree,” Viinox whispered. “We should leave.”

“We’re not leaving,” Zara stated firmly. “I just have a feeling… We’ve come a long way to find Nidix and the Predominant, and if they are here, we will confront them.”

Kpleeb grunted his agreement and clenched his fist. “I’ve waited a long time and put up with so much pain and suffering for my revenge. I’m going in right now. The entrance is on the other side.”

Zara and the group followed Kpleeb to a lofty doorway with no visible door. A dark hallway descended away from them, but as he stepped inside, a dim light began to radiate from the grey walls. The floor sloped smoothly downward, and the footsteps were eerily silent. After a few minutes, Zara paused and looked back. The atmosphere was a tiny, bright rectangle in the distance.

“Keep up, Zara,” said Kpleeb quietly. “I see color ahead.”

Zara trotted quickly to her Da’s side. The corridor flattened out, and on each side, gigantic windows looked out into a lush garden.

Kpleeb stepped to the side and tapped cautiously on the smooth wall. A large bird with blue stilt-legs slowly picked its way across wide, green lawn with random tufts of purple-flowered grass toward a small body of water near a line of perfectly manicured bushes. He turned around and looked at the other side where distant mountain peaks sloped down past green and purple trees to the same field that appeared to extend directly to and through the hallway. “Curious,” he said. “I can smell the grass.”

“I suspect this is an expensive trick,” said Viinox quietly. “We are far underground.”

Kpleeb turned and looked at Viinox flatly before continuing to walk down the hallway.

Zara smiled at Viinox and shook her head slightly.

The hallway continued straight ahead for another ten minutes of walking, and then in the distance it gradually grew in width and height. A large, ornate door stood ahead of them. and Zara was amazed at the detail revealed as they approached. There were several Xi illustrated on the door, with one triad of Xi standing together with an apparent cloud surrounding them like an aura. The base layer of every surface behind the Xi was covered in filigree that was etched into the silvery material. The patterns behind the Xi were not random, but nothing stood out to Zara as being depictions of objects or places.

“The Predominant,” whispered Tiirw pointing at the triad. The group stopped quietly at the door.

Zara looked up at the intricate patterns and reached for Qon. The door was outlined in aji, but Qon ran underneath it, bypassing and avoiding the web. Qon wriggled out of her hand and resumed its place, a thick string passing under the door.

Kpleeb looked at Zara in a way she interpreted as being full of anticipation and nerves. “Let’s finish this,” he said under his breath. “We can analyze the door later.” He turned and waved his hand in a circle, and the Ganix silently rushed to stand in a broad line at the door.

Tiirw put its hand on the door and pushed ever so gently. The hinges rotated without a whisper. Light spilled through the opening.