At first it was just a glimpse of twisted spires, the brilliant white stone reflecting the sunlight like mother-of-pearl, and reminding Silus of the shells he used to find scattered across the beaches of Nurn. As they approached the centre of the settlement, the sand structures began to dwindle in number and soon they could see through to the astonishing heart of this place.
“What is that?” Katya said. “A palace?”
And it was regal and magnificent, but it was like no palace Silus had ever seen, easily rivalling anything even the celebrated architects of Miramas could have dreamed into being. It was impossibly delicate, looking as though a strong wind would shatter the edifice in a moment, but there was an inner strength there; a sense of great power contained. The sun, pouring through the fine webs and arches of the structure, splintered into a thousand rainbows, throwing a beautiful prismatic spray towards them. The sand beneath their feet gave way to glass as they neared the structure, blackened and blistered, as though whatever force had placed this wondrous building here had produced a ferocious heat. Silus thought that he could detect a low rumbling sensation through the soles of his boots, yet the structure before them emitted no sound. Indeed, he considered, for the hub of such a substantial settlement, it was curiously quiet.
There appeared to be no obvious entrance to the structure — no doorway marred the perfection of the stone, no archways led within — yet, as they approached, the silver-eyed man did not falter in his step and passed right through the wall before them.
The crew were brought up short and Silus was just reaching out to touch the stone when the man reappeared.
“My apologies. Please, it is perfectly safe to follow.”
As they passed through the wall, they experienced a curious sensation, as though the grime of the desert had been removed from their bodies and they now wore freshly laundered clothes.
“It is necessary that we keep the environment onboard sterile,” said their guide. “If you will please follow me, I shall introduce you to the head of the council.”
From the outside, the structure had appeared to be the epitome of silent, graceful beauty. By contrast, the interior was a scene of controlled chaos.
The corridor in which they stood was thronged with people, all hurriedly going about their business. Most of them were similar in appearance to those who had crowded around them earlier, but some shared similar features with the man with the silver eyes. No, Silus realised, not just similar; they were identical.
The rumble that Silus had felt outside was here a deep, bass roar. He could barely hear himself think. He lost count of the number of steps they climbed, the number of echoing chasms they crossed by delicate crystalline bridges, before they came at last to what he could safely say was an actual door. The first they seen since entering the strange edifice.
The door was opened by another silver-eyed man, who nodded at his fellow, before receiving the staff from him and ushering the visitors within.
Here, finally, was quiet. Silus’s ears buzzed with the battering they had received on their journey, and it took him a few moments to realise that the silver-eyed man was addressing them.
“-having trouble with our engines, hence the noise. Master Illiun will be with us shortly. Here he is now.”
The man who entered the room was dark-haired and short. Unlike the other members of his tribe, his skin was marred by lines and creases, and there was a look of intense worry in his eyes. He took the staff from the silver-eyed man before dismissing him, and gestured to the chairs that surrounded the table in the centre of the room.
“Please sit,” he said, seating himself. “We had thought this planet uninhabited. I’m only sorry that you have encountered us at such an inopportune time. A few days ago, while preparing the ship for departure, we experienced massive engine failure, hence the chaos you have witnessed.”
“This, this… is a ship?” Dunsany said.
“Of course, I forget, our level of technology may seem to you somewhat confounding. Had we known of your presence we would have revealed ourselves more gradually. I’m only grateful that our translation device” — he gestured to the staff- “enables us to communicate. Clearly your language is not dissimilar to that of other cultures we have encountered.”
“Sorry, but I think that you have misunderstood the situation,” Katya said. “We’re not actually from here, wherever here is. We were brought to this place by sorcery and, in the process, our ship was destroyed.”
“I wonder,” Kelos said, “is it possible that whatever magic powers your ship is responsible for the Llothriall being brought to this place? After all, the failure of your… engine does seem to somewhat coincide with our arrival.”
“Magic?” Master Illiun said. “I’m sorry, but that word is unfamiliar to me.”
“You know, magic? Sorcery?”
Illiun shook his head.
“Perhaps I can demonstrate?” Kelos held out his hand, gesturing for the translation staff. Illiun handed it over and the mage placed it on the table before him. “Just something simple, to help you understand.”
Kelos held his hands out above the staff and closed his eyes. Soon, a look of pained concentration creased his brow. His hands formed into claws, trembling as he willed the staff into them. Finally, letting out an explosive breath, he opened his eyes.
“I… I don’t understand. It is the most base sorcery, it should be simple. I must be more tired than I realised.”
He handed the staff back to Illiun.
“There’s no need to apologise, I assure you,” he said. “The situation you find yourselves in must be very distressing. Where exactly do you call home?”
“Twilight,” Dunsany said. “And what is this place called?”
“We haven’t yet given the planet a designation,” Illiun said.
“I’m sorry, let’s just slow down for a moment,” Katya said. “I’m finding this hard to grasp. You, Illiun… your people are from another world?”
“Ah, yes, sorry. I sometimes take for granted a certain level of knowledge. At night, when you look up, what do you see?”
Katya couldn’t help but feel that she was being patronised, but she went along with it. “Stars.”
“Right, and some of those stars support habitable planets, just as the sun of your own world supports life. We have been travelling from world to world for many, many years.”
“I had heard that there were other worlds, out in the void,” Kelos said, “but I hadn’t really believed.”
“Oh, believe, my friend. There are many wonders, out there.” Illiun said. “Alas, we cannot stay on this planet for much longer. The entity is still in pursuit and it’s vital that we repair our engines.”
“Entity?” Bestion said. “What is that?”
“A determined enemy, one we have been fleeing for generations. Yet no matter how far we travel, it still finds us. Coming here, we hoped that we had finally escaped it. However, in the last few days our sensors detected the entity’s approach once again. We prepared the ship for departure, only for our engines to fail. There are minerals on this planet that can help us repair them, but we’re going to have to recover them quickly.”
“We’ll help you,” Silus said. He turned to his companions, who were looking at him in stunned silence. “What? What else are we going to do? The Llothriall is no more, we’re far from home, and something big and angry is heading our way. I say that leaves us with little choice; as far as I can see, Illiun and his people offer us the best hope of survival and of finding our way back to Twilight.”
“As we are new to this planet ourselves, we are still unsure as to the nature of the risks that may lie between us and retrieval of the mineral,” Illiun said.