Secret of the Sunstones, Part 1: The Wanton Kingdom

Chapter LIV : Uriel

Midday of Tertius, Eleventh Day of Autumnmoon

Precipitation from the previous week established a firm white base on Mount Abakai’s western slopes, but a bright and sunny midday turned it into slush. Rosa and the others on their exodus to Koba strained on their way up the mountain, just as the mighty evergreens strained under the weight of the icy slurry.

The beautiful sorceress had been on this route once before. Kitezh and Koba built it during The War to share surplus supplies, which for years gave them an advantage over Angkor. Wizards carved the byway, blasting large pathways through wooded slopes, so that wagons could travel. For a while, it served both nations well. Koba’s rice harvests were bountiful enough to feed both armies, while Kitezh’s iron mines supplied plenty of weapons and armor.

The northern alliance sent decoys to fool King Richard into targeting the route to the south. For more than a year, Angkor sent troops along the plains to intercept caravans. Meanwhile, larger, more valuable shipments were sent along the mountain path. When Richard finally caught on, he sent three of his Gnostics to sabotage the route, along with their sorceress companions. Rosa and Bram were among them. They travelled light, using magic to compensate for sparse food and warmth over a six month period.

Rosa and Bram had met only a few months earlier. She had no wilderness training, and at times struggled to keep up, but Bram compensated with his skills and experience. Kitezh and Koba went through extraordinary efforts to defend the caravan, but they were no match for a Gnostic and his sorceress. In the end, the subterfuge weakened the northern alliance, and King Richard used the exploit to advance his troops. Rosa found it ironic that she traveled the very same route, now that she was committed to aiding Angkor’s enemies.

The cold, wet pathway soaked through her boots, and others’ as well. It made the uphill climb all the more unbearable. Bram marched in front, in stride with the neophyte king, while Rosa strayed to the rear, so she could speak with the mysterious Gaian child. Yuri had a tough time verbalizing, but it was clear they still had a lot to say. Fortunately, Rosa knew how to communicate telepathically. She required direct contact, so she held the child’s hand as they hiked. The results were astonishing.

For Yuri, telepathy was more like a first language. Their thoughts raced into Rosa’s mind faster than she could comprehend. With all the patience she could muster, she coaxed the child to slow down. Over the course of several hours, she gathered vast insights. It was exhausting, both mentally and in terms of depleted manna. By the time she was dizzy with fatigue, she wanted eagerly to share her results with Bram.

She caught up to her Knight on foot and suggested it might be time to set up camp and allow the Kitezhians to eat and rest. The group had made good progress, but there was already signs of frostbite. Fortunately, the farmers from the valley provided plenty of food and extra clothes. Józef’s sorcerers used their healing powers, while the soldiers prepared a supper of lamb and vegetable stew.

Rosa made sure Yuri was safe by the campfire before taking Bram aside to look for a private place to speak. They found an alcove a short distance away, along the cliffside.

“I couldn’t help but notice how you care for her.” Bram smiled, with a certain twinkle in his eye. Rosa missed that look, which he used to show a lot when they first fell in love. He also couldn’t seem to tear his gaze from Yuri, who still sat by the campfire. “She’s special, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Rosa agreed. “About that. I had a chance to speak with Yuri, you know.”

Bram raised his brows. “Oh, really? How’d that go?”

Rosa realized he was being sarcastic. “I suppose you know that Yuri is mostly non-verbal. However, I succeeded in starting some dialogue through magic. And, first of all, I want to point out that Yuri is not a ‘she’.”

Bram’s expression changed, as if he had just witnessed Rosa sprout a new head. “What are you talking about?”

Rosa chuckled and gestured for him to calm down. “Listen, Bram. I know it won’t make sense to you at first, but hear me out. Yuri is not like other children. Their sex is fluid, and they might present as a girl or boy, depending on the circumstances.”

Bram looked even more bewildered, so Rosa explained. “When you look at Yuri, you see a female child. However, you should know that it’s only temporary. Yuri wants to appear this way, because they feel that it helps you to connect with them better. Yuri can also appear as a boy, anytime they want. In fact, I met Yuri before you left on your mission from King Richard. When I met them, I thought they were a male child.”

Poor Bram looked utterly confused. “Wait, you did what? When? How’s that possible? I don’t understand—”

“Then listen!” It wasn’t the first time Rosa needed to coax Bram into enlightenment. He was stubborn, sometimes. “Just … let me explain, and you’ll understand.”

Bram laughed and shook his head. “Alright, Rosie. You know me. I can be pretty clueless. But I’ll listen.”

He even winked. Rosa rolled her eyes. Bram had this cute, self-deprecating way of making light whenever he had trouble understanding. It used to occur a lot, back when she used to explain magic to him. She didn’t mind too much. She just needed to go slow and keep it simple.

“Like I said, before you left for the mountains of Ur, I met Yuri twice … in Angkor. The first time, one of my father’s servants claimed he had caught a boy sneaking past security. The child nearly ran into me and twisted an ankle. I healed it, and they ran off. Another time, I saw the same boy in the courtyard, just before you returned from Minoa. Unfortunately, the boy ran off again, just as you arrived. I confirmed this with Yuri, by the way. It was definitely them.”

“Them?”

Rosa sighed. “It’s more respectful to avoid using gender specific terms. But, I don’t think Yuri will mind if you use ‘she’ or ‘her’.”

Bram grasped Rosa’s hands. His expression reflected genuine effort.

“ ‘They’ are still just a child. And I will honor my vow to protect them, regardless. I don’t claim to know how they made it all the way to Angkor. Or how a child could change genders at all. But, I would still ask, ‘why’? I wouldn’t care any less if they were a boy.”

Rosa’s heart welled with pride. “I’m glad you think so, but … here’s where it gets weird.”

Bram took a step back and appeared to brace himself.

Rosa wasn’t sure how to put it, but she gave it her best try. “ ‘Yuri’ is more of a nickname they give to their closest friends. Their full name is ‘Uriel’, and … I’m not sure how to put this, but … ‘Uriel’ is also someone that Yuri refers to in the third person. At first I thought it was like an imaginary friend, but … I’m starting to think it’s real. Not just that, but it seems to be some kind of entity that’s guiding them. Something … powerful. It might not even be of this world.”

Bram paused, as if trying to process. “So there are two ‘Uriels’. One of them refers to Yuri’s full name, and the other is an entity that … guides her?”

Rosa was proud of Bram. He understood the basics, at least. Unfortunately, the specifics were far more complex.

“That’s right. According to Yuri, ‘Uriel’ gets passed down through generations of people from her village. Every so often, someone is born as one of these ‘Uriel’ incarnations. This entity that Yuri carries is what gives them their power. What’s more, it specifically guided Yuri to contact you. Before you left Angkor—even before your mission to Minoa—Yuri left their village in search of you. That’s why they ended up in Angkor, which is how I came to meet them.”

Bram looked dumbfounded. “Why me? Does Uriel have some kind of foresight? Did they know I’d be sent on a mission to destroy their village?”

Rosa paused to gather her thoughts. “You’re referring to divination, the power to see glimpses of the future. It’s not clear if Uriel has this power, because they gave me a different reason why they searched for you. Yuri told me that Uriel is looking for someone named ‘Remiel’.”

Bram shrugged and posed the obvious question. “Who’s that?”

Unfortunately, Rosa didn’t have an obvious answer. “This is the part I don’t understand. They claim that you are Remiel.”

Bram’s jaw hung open. “Wait a sec. All this time, Yuri mistook me for someone else?” He sounded hurt. “So they … do they not know that I’m just a soldier who was ordered by Angkor to torch their village? Will they detest me when they know who I truly am?”

Rosa scoffed at the fact that Bram took it so personally. “Don’t be dense. Yuri knows who you are, and they care about you, because you’ve shown them nothing but kindness and dedication. Although … at first, it might have been true that Yuri trusted you because they believed—and still do—that you are Remiel.”

The Knight relaxed, but he still seemed apprehensive. “What did you tell them?”

Rosa answered honestly. “I told Yuri that you’re ‘Bram’, a man I’ve known for eight years. But, here’s the thing: Yuri told me that I’m wrong.”

Bram laughed. And he couldn’t stop for several seconds. He wiped away the tears. “Alright, that settles it. I stand corrected. I’m not Bram, after all.”

Rosa groaned. “You shouldn’t treat it like it’s a joke.”

Bram sobered up, but he held his hands out, pleadingly. “What do you want me to say, Rosie? You don’t think I know who I am?”

Rosa understood where he was coming from, but she wanted to treat each piece of information as potentially meaningful. At least until it could be proven otherwise.

“That’s not what I meant. Yuri’s claims might seem unintuitive. Ridiculous, even. But they could also contain important truths.”

Bram sighed. “I know. I don’t mean to discredit their perspective, but just look at what they’ve been through. No matter what supernatural entities might be lurking inside of them, they’re still just a child, who has experienced unspeakable horrors ….”

Bram trailed off, and his eyes went distant. As if he, too, were reliving terrible traumas.

Rosa felt for him. She reached out and took him by the hands. “So did you.”

His face hardened. “I’m a Knight, Rosa. I’ve seen my share of death and suffering. But for a child … the scene that day was especially brutal. I can’t banish the visions of blood-soaked pathways, mangled corpses, charred bones … and that’s me. Can you imagine what that does to a child?”

Rosa teared up, just thinking of it. “You think some of what Yuri tells me is borne from that trauma?”

Bram shook his head. He seemed too choked up to speak. “I don’t know. And I certainly wouldn’t want you to stop searching for answers. All I’m saying is that it’s easy to jump to the wrong conclusions.”

Rosa knew Bram well enough to know there was something else weighing heavily on his mind. “What else is bothering you, Bram? Please. Talk to me.”

He seemed to realize right away that she saw right through him. He took a deep breath and composed himself. “I was thinking about Kane. He knew what he was doing when he murdered the people of Yuri’s village. When he released those orbs … the ones enchanted with the sunstone’s … I mean, the Ahriman’s power. He did it, knowing what would happen.”

Rosa’s heart sunk. She knew how much their friendship meant to him. Bram had even reminded her before leaving Angkor how much he trusted Kane to have his back. Later, aboard the sandskipper, he revealed the story of what happened, and it broke her heart. But he hadn’t gone into the details.

“You don’t know what Kane was truly thinking. He could have been under compulsion—"

Bram shook his head decisively. “You weren’t there to hear what he told me. He was … zealous … demented. He completely bought into Richard’s promises of conquest and power, and he wanted me to join him. He was sincere. I saw it in his eyes, and I’ll never forget it. He obviously didn’t know me at all. And, I guess … I never knew him, either.”

Rosa couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like to know someone for so many years, only to see a completely different side of them. One that was darker and more sinister than Bram could have imagined. It must have been eating him up inside.

“Do you think he survived the destruction of the valley?”

Bram nodded, lips pressed tightly together. “Yes. I know he did. I’ll have to face him again someday. And I dread it.”

Rosa did, too. But she didn’t want to dwell on it too long. There were other hardships ahead. “Listen, Bram, we don’t know what things are like back home. The Ahriman’s corruption might have spread beyond Richard and his closest allies. Judging by what Angkor has already done, he must have the backing of the kingdom. We might need to face more friends and allies before this is over, and we can’t lose hope. There must be a way to break the Ahriman’s spell. The more we learn, the better our chances.”

Bram’s expression became resolute. “I know. And we will. I promise you, Rosa. We will make it to Emperor Zhao Peng in time.”

Rosa felt encouraged. The path forward was fraught with peril, but at least the objective seemed clear. The sweet aroma of lamb stew wafted through the air, reminding her that supper had been served. She needed to eat to keep her strength.

Much to her surprise, a certain someone wandered over with a serving just for her. She looked down to find Yuri with a soup bowl, reaching up with both hands. She couldn’t help but fawn.

“Yuri, thank you. How thoughtful.”

The child beamed.

Bram politely excused himself, so he could get a bowl of his own.

Rosa rested on her haunches to bring herself to Yuri’s level. She savored a spoonful, enjoying the mix of tomatoes, herbs, and carrots.

“It’s delicious! Did you make this for me?”

Yuri nodded enthusiastically.

Rosa placed a hand fondly on the child’s head, when she caught sight of something around their neck. Something she hadn’t noticed before.

It was a silver chain that must have been stuffed underneath the child’s clothes. But now it rested over their shirt, exposing a dark stone, the size of a thumbnail. The way it refracted the light was beautiful. Enthralling, even. She certainly hadn’t expected to see something like it on the neck of a tribesperson.

“What’s this?” She reached out, only to see Yuri recoil.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. I was just admiring your pendent.”

Yuri reached out for Rosa’s hand. She recognized the gesture as wanting to communicate. The sorceress set down her soup bowl and gingerly grasped the child’s hands. Words flowed quickly into her mind.

Thestonebelongstourielithasbeenpasseddowninmyfamilythroughgenerationsandmommygaveittomeformylastbirthday.

Rosa tried to concentrate. She still wasn’t used to keeping up with Yuri’s blindingly fast train of thought. “I see. So, it’s Uriel’s stone. May I see it?”

She was now quite curious. If the stone somehow offered a clue about the entity known as Uriel, it would be most valuable to study. Even so, Yuri was hesitant.

Imnotsupposedtoremovethestonenotforanyoneorforanyreason.

“It’s alright,” Rosa promised. “I don’t even need to remove it from your neck. I just want to look at it.”

Yuri still looked apprehensive, but they took a step closer, so that the stone was within reach. Rosa reached out gingerly, moving her fingertips ever closer to the stone.

As soon as she made contact, her mind became one with it. Colors and objects looked more vivid, more defined. The world itself seemed to shine like a beacon. The sun glowed like a fireball in the sky, its rays piercing arrows of light. Each ray, a million particles of energy, buzzing through billions of molecules of air, hitting a world that spun ever faster. So fast. Days blurred into night, back into day, and back again. Sunrises and sunsets by the thousands. Turnings of a globe, a sphere, a marble, a speck, a tiny blue speck in the vast blackness of space. A deep, cold blackness that went on forever, stretched infinitely across space and time, passing by balls of unimaginably hot flame, explosions that outshined galaxies, a universe in its entirety, so large and incomprehensible that a mortal mind had no hope of ….

Rosa screamed. She withdrew from the stone and landed backward on the cold, icy ground. She had touched the divine. And now, the mere mortal realm seemed like a facsimile.

Bram rushed by her side. “Rosa! Rosa … are you alright?”

She heard him speaking, but she was in shock. The world seemed small and insignificant.

“Rosa! Speak to me!”

She blinked, realizing that people had gathered around her, curious and concerned. She took a few breaths and tried to remember how to speak. “Bram?”

He took her in his arms and squeezed. “Thank the Goddess you’re alright.”

She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even remember what she did … at first. But as her mind relearned how to focus, she recalled reaching out and touching the stone. After that, it was all a blur.

“Where’s Yuri?”

“They’re right here, Rosa.” The child was crouched on the ground and crying.

Bram left Rosa’s side to comfort the child. “It’s okay, Yuri. Don’t worry. She’s going to be alright.”

Rosa looked at the crowd of onlookers. King Józef and his crew had come to see the commotion. She had been reckless. Yuri’s powers were no longer a secret.

“We need to get going,” Bram announced. “There’s still a lot of ground to cover before dark.”

He helped Rosa to her feet, and the crowd dispersed.