Kartega

The pounding in Sid’s head was loud enough to wake her, she wrestled her eyes open, confusing the knocking in her head for someone banging on a nearby door. The realization that there was not one door in sight hit her shortly after the reality that she was no longer in the pod. She looked around through the unfocused lens of her eyes and tried to make sense of where she might be. The room she found herself in was circular with heavy, mismatched fabrics cascading over the walls and ceiling. It resembled a deliberately chaotic shack with roughly strewn jungle remnants and animal hides on the floors. There were no openings to the outside and the minimal number of furnishings looked to be constructed crudely by hand and arranged without any recognizable pattern.

Sid threw her legs over the edge of the bed, which she quickly recognized to be endless layers of blankets tucked around one another, and rested her feet on the ground. The soft hide beneath her feet tickled her toes and she let them swoop across its hairs for mild relief. Her head was still a mess of tangles and though her eyesight was starting to sharpen, she could still see glimmers of light dancing in her fore vision when she turned her head too fast. With added pressure, Sid breathed in deeply and tried to stand. Her legs shook from having to carry the weight of her body but she managed to straighten out, enough that the edge of her goggles hit one of the fabrics swooning across the ceiling.

She ducked out of the way, swatting at the fabric and sending dust flying in all directions.

It took her a few moments to locate her boots in the midst of rugs and fabrics and tree stumps. The place reminded her of the forts she used to build in the observation deck as a child when she refused to sleep in the lodgings below. Except unlike her own fort that was full of nuts and bolts, this one looked like a strong wind blew in jungle garbage and no one bothered to clean up.

Careful not to make a noise, she managed to make it to the spot where her boots lay with only a few toe stubs. She laced up speedily, making note of the fact that the vinyl exterior was cleaner and in much better shape than it had been before. Someone had even taken the time to mend the scrapes on the soles and heels.

What in the name of the star is happening right now?

Sid felt the wall, trying to locate some crevice that would imply there was an actual exit point in this strange construction. She nearly squealed with excitement when her fingers fell through and a cold breeze rushed over them. Sid was already stepping forward when a hand wrapped around her arm and yanked her out.

Fabrics and leaves whipped around her, scratching her face as she was pulled through to the other side. Sid landed on her feet and looked up at one of the warriors she had seen in her pod before she was knocked unconscious. The man was large enough to eclipse all of Jericho. Sid cringed as her eyes swept over a freshly carved symbol on his forearm, the pale lines swollen against his dark skin. The warrior’s long, dark hair was braided into a delicate pattern that fell over his shoulders and she couldn’t help but smile at the stark contrast of the hairstyle to his otherwise rough appearance. When her eyes traveled past his naked chest and landed on the small strip of hide that covered his manhood, Sid forced herself to look away. How can he just stand there all exposed like that? Cover up for stars sake! Sid looked herself over to make sure her suit was still intact, relieved when she felt the tip of the screwdriver still in her pocket.

“What do you want from me?” She screamed, “And what is this place?”

Her hand twirled behind her, gesturing to the circular hut she woke up in. The exterior of the hut was made entirely from large chunks of tree and vine and when Sid looked around, she noted at least thirty more of the same constructs all around her. Most of them were much smaller than the one she found herself in but their basic shape and design looked to be identical. The same amount of mashed up nonsense that somehow created an upright shape.

“Il keltic cal sen,” the warrior said in a gruff voice, “il sen teck ni sum.”

“What?” Her face scrunched trying to understand.

“Il keltic cal sen,” he repeated and pointed to her eyes.

“My eyes? What about them?”

“He’s saying you are like us, but different,” A voice sounded behind her and Sid turned to see a tall young woman, a few years older than her but twice as confident.

Sid tried not to stare but it was hard to look away from the curves that were so prominently displayed on the woman. Her body, dark and glistening in the light that covered her like a sheet. Most of her glowing skin was exposed with the exception of a few parts covered discretely by dark hides. Her arms and legs were covered entirely in carefully positioned raised skin, markings that Sid had become quite familiar with. The woman walked past her and stood beside the warrior. Long, straight blonde hair flowed down her back, perfectly complementing the yellow glow that swallowed her body. As Sid adjusted her eyes, she realized the warrior was also glowing faintly. Not as brightly as the scantily clad woman in front of her but there was a hint of light on his skin as well. She wondered if they were related perhaps, though their features looked nothing alike. While the woman’s face looked stretched, everything from her brow to her nose elongated and slender; the warrior was compact in his appearance, with stacks of muscle that made up his body pushed their way to his face.

“Like you?” Sid asked.

“El selten kun niten,” the warrior answered.

She furrowed her brow and tilted an arched eyebrow in his direction, “I don’t know what that means. I’m sorry.”

“We are the escaped,” the woman spoke softly, “the ones free of the domes.”

Sid’s thoughts raced. The escaped? Here in the jungle? That could only make them one thing. “You’re Al’iil,” she whispered as the realization hit her.

“Yes, we are the Al’iil. And you are something very different, aren’t you?”

“I’m just a Domer, no one special. You should probably just let me go, no point keeping a useless thing like me around,” she chuckled but the fear seeped off her like wet sewage.

“You are not a Domer,” the woman said, her voice louder and less lenient now. As she spoke, Sid heard rustling from the nearby huts and when she turned to face the sound, she had to shield her eyes from the brightness that encircled her. Dozens of the Al’iil gathered near them, each with questioning eyes and radiating skin. Sid spotted two children hiding behind Al’iil that must have been their parents; their young skin fresh of markings and glowing only in a light white hue.

“Of course I am. I got lost and-”

The woman raised a hand to shush Sid and she obliged. “Domers do not have magic. You are no Domer. But you are not Al’iil. So what are you?”

There was no point lying now. They’d either kill her or cut her arms off and send her back.

“My name is Sid. And you’re right, I don’t belong here, not anymore at least. I was born in the domes but my parents saved me from the chipping. They had the queen’s general put me on a ship that orbited Neostar for years that I sort of crashed in the jungle looking for him. And to answer your question, I don’t have a clue what I am.”

Her eyes met the woman’s gaze and it felt good to say the truth for once. Even if that truth was about to get her killed, or worse.

“So you are the Stardaughter,” the woman said tentatively and the crowd took a step inward, closing in the space between them.

“Stardaughter? Like the curse word?”

The woman looked confused.

“Why did you call me that?” Sid quickly added.

“There have been whisperings about you on the star. A girl of magic that has not been chipped; the true daughter of the star.”

“Ha! Well, I’m not anyone’s daughter. Trust me. At least not anyone I actually know or remember. You might as well kill me now and get it over with,” she straightened her back to look prideful and brave but the sweat running down her neck betrayed her. Sid didn’t want to die, but she more importantly didn’t want to die a coward.

Do your best!

“Kill you? Why would we kill you?” The woman laughed.

“Because you’re the Al’iil and that’s what you do.”

“Kes tek sum toomkan!” The warrior beside the woman roared, knife raised in the air.

Good job, Sid, now he’s angry.

The woman squeezed the warrior’s shoulder and he lowered his weapon. “We do not kill without reason. And there is no reason to kill you. We’ve been waiting for you for a very long time, Stardaughter.”

She was never going to get used to being cursed at as a positive sentiment.

“Waiting for me? For what?”

“Come with me,” the woman outstretched a hand and Sid took it instinctively. “We have many things to discuss.”

The crowd parted and Sid spotted familiar eyes in the distance. Her lips widened into a smile as the beast ran toward her, barreling through the parted sea of Al’iil and stopping short just in front of her.

“You!” She yelled out and reached over to pat the beasts massive head. “I’ve missed you!”

The beast jogged a circle around Sid, tail wagging with excitement. Behind it, she could see a few more of its kind approach her slowly, each one with large, curious eyes that were eager to inspect every part of her. She patted them one by one and they ran in circles around her in return. “I see you brought some friends,” she nodded.

“Good, you are already familiar with the Tecken. You’d make an excellent Al’iil, Stardaughter.”

“Tecken?”

“The animals. Trustworthy creatures that have proven to be an asset in hunts and battles. We found only the most skilled of warriors are able to form a bond with them. They must sense your magic.”

“Or they just like me.”

The woman smiled, “Or that.” She patted one of the beast’s large snouts and nodded to the hut Sid came out of. At her command, the beasts ran, tumbling over one another and piling into the hut.

Are they serious? They put me in the creature hut? Ew!

She felt a tug and the woman’s eyes met hers, beckoning her to follow. Sid started to walk but stopped in her tracks. “So who are you?” She asked, wondering why she didn’t bother finding out earlier.

The woman dropped Sid’s hand and brought the back of her palm to her neck. The markings on her skin pulsed as the pent-up magic flowed beneath them, making the markings look like they were slithering over her skin. The glow around her intensified, casting a yellow shade over their surroundings and illuminating the huts in its brightness.

“I am Tazmin,” she said and lowered her palm, “High Priestess of the Al’iil.”