“It might be. Our spell bubble is slowing down,” Riza replied.
Once I was done with Herakles’s torn suit, I got up and looked at what lay ahead. The closer we got, the more wonderful it all seemed.
“That’s odd,” Amelia murmured, staring at the solar system just as we were about to enter it. “Look at the third planet from this sun.”
“Oh, wow, you’re right,” Varga replied, his widening. “It looks—”
Amelia cut him off. “A lot like Earth. A lot. Emphasis on a lot.”
I’d only seen pictures of Earth from space, but even I had to agree that the third planet looked like a faithful copy of it. Blue oceans stretching far and wide. Vast continents with land masses and wide oceans. Frosty white poles. And streaks of white clouds glazing this titanic marble, making it look like nature’s most precious jewel.
“It’s amazing,” Riza breathed.
“It’s Cerix,” Taeral replied. “The bubble is changing its trajectory.”
Indeed, I felt the nudge as the interplanetary spell made a soft turn to the left, descending upon this Earth-like planet. The shorter the distance, the clearer I could see everything. The continents had slightly different shapes, but they were, more or less, placed at similar distances from one another. Long rivers cut through them, blue and snaking toward the glistening seas and oceans.
I felt my breath escape from my chest as I took it all in. Fourteen hours later, and we’d made it to what seemed like a most beautiful cradle of civilization, blessed by nature and cosmos.
“I’m telling you, the resemblance is uncanny,” Amelia said.
I wondered who lived there. What kind of people called this place home? Were they like the humans—full of potential but subject to nature’s whims? Like the Eritopians—aided by magic and supernatural Daughters that protected their lands? Or were they like the daemons, turbulent and prone to endless wars for food and other resources? Maybe they were spiritual, like the Imen of Neraka, or ethereal, like the fae. Or, perhaps, more science-oriented, like the Draenir…
The In-Between was home to many species. It stood to reason that we would think about what kinds of creatures inhabited Cerix. The only thing we knew about them came from Aya: up until a few centuries ago, they’d worshiped the Hermessi, and they kept good records about them.
Inalia
I’d waited my whole life for this moment.
And I’d been this close to sleeping through it.
We already knew that there was life beyond Cerix. The universe was an enormous place, and it had never made sense for us to be the only ones. Of course, it had taken centuries for our scientific advances to get us to the point where we could at least observe nearby galaxies and understand what lay beyond our atmosphere.
A few centuries back, we’d even had a visit. Strangers from another world had landed on Cerix. Peaceful creatures with powerful magic and thoughts of peace, progress, and kindness. I’d grown up reading about that extraordinary moment, and how it had changed our society forever. It was, in fact, one of the primary motivators that got me into the Foreign Outreach of Cerix. I was determined to meet such people again, some day.
According to the sharp siren ringing throughout the city, it seemed as though that day had finally come. I recognized the alarm sound—it was reserved for objects coming in from outer space. I didn’t even remember how I’d jumped out of bed and into my Foreign Outreach uniform, but I did. It was way too early in the morning, but the first rays of sunlight had done a decent job to fully awaken me.
Minutes later, I was rushing down the main boulevard leading up to what we lovingly referred to as the Landing Bed. Our predecessors had built it shortly after the first visit, hoping others would follow. No one did, however, and the Landing Bed became just another monument to dust off and polish once in a while, like all the shiny statues of Silvergate.
My city was beautiful. I only hoped that future visitors would love it, too. How could they not, with its myriad of stone and silver towers reaching for the sky? With its square miles of parks and natural reservations that kept the city’s air clean and fresh? With its elegant buildings, cream and reddish facades, and majestic rooftops? With its cobblestoned alleys and dark gray stone-block boulevards, each of them lined with blossoming trees? How could they not?
We Cerixians were good people, I thought, as I turned my rush into running up the steps leading to the Landing Bed. We’d put the worship of natural elements behind centuries ago, and we’d focused on scientific pursuits, instead. We’d turned our temples into schools and cultural centers. Most importantly, we’d united all the kingdoms of Cerix into one, supreme empire. The lands that had once belonged to warring kings were declared domains of the Cerixian Empire, and their rulers—or most of them, anyway—pledged their allegiance to Emperor Tulla, of the Frey dynasty, and his high chancellor, Dellon Figgen, the second most powerful Cerixian. The wars and the bloodshed had finally stopped, though there were still plenty of rebel factions trying to ruin our attempt at building a peaceful and progressive nation.
To them, sovereignty and regal bloodlines were more important than the greater good of the people. I didn’t like them very much, but, unfortunately, my duties in the Foreign Outreach included all attempts to mediate domain-related conflicts. It could get tedious and difficult, so, when the alarm sounded this morning, notifying the whole of Silvergate that a foreign object was headed to Cerix, I couldn’t help but feel excited.
I whizzed past the guards at the top of the stairs, then froze. I’d known I wasn’t going to be the first one here, but I sure hadn’t expected to share this wonderful moment with the likes of Nalyon Martell, High Chancellor Figgen’s right-hand man and all-around jerk. Cerix had seen plenty of turmoil for the past hundred years, since the great unification, and I blamed people like Nalyon Martell and those before him for most of it. They didn’t listen to the Cerixians’ concerns. No, they had iron fists and narrow minds, and, if it didn’t go their way, it didn’t go at all!
“What are you doing here?” Nalyon demanded, looking at me as if I were a big insect that he couldn’t wait to squish under his boot.
The Landing Bed was large, at about five hundred yards in diameter, circular, and surrounded by hundreds of steps leading down to the city’s ground level. The bottom was lined with a strip of trees and carefully manicured bushes. The top was clean and empty—but the granite mosaic floor was a masterpiece to behold, from any angle. Only, this morning, it had a stain on it, in the shape of Nalyon Martell.
“The incoming object alarm sounded,” I replied dryly. “I’m on the Foreign Outreach. I’m supposed to be here. What are you doing here?”
Despite being past his prime, Nalyon maintained his good looks and a certain noble dignity—though only in his fashion choices, not in his character. He was a pompous tool who considered himself above anyone who didn’t come from the Rose Domain, to which Silvergate was the capital city. If you didn’t come from the very heart of the empire, you were scum, in his opinion.
“I’m the high chancellor’s assistant,” Nalyon shot back. “He sent me here.”
“Don’t you have his mail to deliver, his shoes to polish or something? You should leave this outer space stuff to me and my department, Mr. Martell, and deal with your administrative work, instead.”
“Don’t get glib with me, little girl,” he barked. “You’re lucky you still have your position in the Foreign Outreach, after your fumble with the Brothers of the Shadow of the Zahar Domain!”
I had the bad habit of losing control whenever Nalyon poked me like this. He loved riling me up, and I was foolish enough to take the bait, every damn time. I pointed an angry finger at him. “Do not blame me for your own shortcomings, Mr. Martell. I specifically requested at least a squadron from the Armed Forces for those negotiations. You sent me in with two guards. Of course the Brothers of the Shadow thought they could bully me into a corner. What was I supposed to do, let them take me hostage? You would’ve left me there to die!”
A shadow fluttered across Nalyon’s face. I’d hit a nerve. Good.
A few minutes passed in the most awkward silence. I couldn’t deliver any more jabs to his address, though—not unless I wanted to lose my job. I’d gone far enough as it was, but I just couldn’t let him think he was right about the Brothers of the Shadow. Those people were fierce and brutal, sure, but they were disenfranchised and systematically discriminated against. The Cerixian Empire had to give them full rights as subjects and citizens, not burn down their settlements and send them away. It wasn’t like they could just throw dissidents off the planet. Though I was pretty sure the empire would try it if they could.
“What do we know about the object?” Nalyon asked, focusing his gaze on the pale blue morning skies. A light glimmered in the distance. Not a star, but the reason for the city alarm.
I’d already collected the information captured by our telescopes before I got to the Landing Bed, knowing I’d need it for the object’s arrival. I opened the folder with handwritten notes from our astronomers and quickly skimmed the text again.
“It’s not an asteroid,” I said. “Otherwise we would’ve had our bombardier ships deployed already. Wait…”
My voice trailed off as I heard a familiar rumble. I looked up once more, and my blood curdled at the sight of the bombardier ships I’d just mentioned. They were enormous, made of metal, with giant, leathery wings that flapped and kept them afloat. Cerixians had a flair for the dramatic when it came to our flying vessels, which were fueled by swamp witch magic—the single most precious gift given by our earlier outer-space visitors. We used the bombardiers for air raids in times of war, and to obliterate any comet or asteroid that might ever breach our atmosphere.
“Wait… Why are they out?” I asked. “We’re not dealing with a threat. Why are the bombardiers out?!”
“I ordered them,” Nalyon replied. “You’re only assuming we’re not dealing with a threat. I have to think of the people, not your childish enthusiasm to meet strangers from outside our solar system.”
