Wax and Wane

  SABLUNE

  You would think I’d get a break after all the existential crisis I had been tossed into throughout the past few years. But no. All I needed to do was teach my class of soft skulled thinkers about the allegory of a cave and the trolley dilemma. Make a short trip home. Then I would be off to dinner with my wife.

  But because I’m an echo, I get a side of periodic suffering in exchange for being inextricably tied to the fundamental concepts of the universe. So not only do I find myself bound to the Concepts of Darkness and Love, but now the rain was intentionally seeping its way through the cracks in my schedule.

  What a wonderful day to be a scion of Rift.

  Violent, wrathful energy saturated the air—Meaning someone didn’t want me here. Clearly HE was bothered by something I did. I shot an accusatory scowl at the sky as rain fell across my face; the chilled water slid down my skin after soaking the loose blue curls of my hair. A flash of lightning sent a momentary shine across my sepia skin, turning the even brown into gilded copper.

  “ACEDANI!!!” I shouted.

  This isn’t about the economy or some lame junk like that, right?

  I received no response from the Echo of the Sky, except for the wind that caused a piece of newspaper to wrap around my head. Irritated, I rip the stupid thing off my face and look at it. Through the soaked ink, I made out an article about stocks dipping lower than they had in years.

  Safe to say it was the economy or some junk like that.

  Of course. Acedani, the “Self-Appointed Administrator” of Upper Equatia, was watching his entire economy get driven into the dirt and decided it was somehow my fault.

  Why else would he be dropping bolts on me like water balloons?

  “IF THIS IS ABOUT THE MARKET CRASH, IT WASN’T INTENTIONAL!!!,” I yelled once more over the rain and lightning.

  Immediately, the taste of copper filled my mouth, and my hair stood on end. Instinctively, I jump back as a bolt of pure lightning blasts a crater in the earth where I’d been standing.

  Sure, that’s fair. I try and go about my life with the stigma of the Echo of Darkness, while the Acedani gets to toss lightning my way because I… what was is this time, decided to wake up this morning?

  I only got up to teach a few classes and go to dinner with my wife. My plans didn't include getting caught in the monsoon of Elevium’s latest ascension—a self-important prick with a literal raincloud over his head. Didn’t realize that “whining lightning baby” fell into one of the three categories of Concepts celestials represented.

  Sensing another lightning strike, I activate my Shadow Shifting ability, courtesy of Rift, the Celestial of the Moon, Darkness and Love. I jump forward and am enveloped in darkness; shortly thereafter, I reemerge rom the shade across the street as another zigzag of electricity shatters the crust of the earth nearby.

  "My bad for existing I guess.” I muttered impatiently.

  -He is an obstacle. Remove him,- Reezin said to me, its dark form and bright blue eyes peering at the world of endless obstacles from inside my mind. The ruthless part of me that had no time for excuses.

  ~We can do that diplomatically.~ Reminded Riflecks reluctantly. The thrum of the blue silhouette’s voice in my head convinced me that maybe I would hold off on killing Acedani. Though the set of his black eyes reminded me we had a right to be angry.

  As long as we got Acedani out of our way they’d both shut up. Fine by me.

  I run down the slick road, dodging trash and lightning, with the wind stinging my eyes and howling in my ears—more blasts behind me. I whip my head from side to side, attempting to spot Acedani. I look ahead again, and see a dumpster fly towards me at what I think to be a pretty unreasonable speed for a steel container. Dropping down into a slide, I wait until the dumpster soars over me, and I come up running again.

  Always some shit, I thought tiredly.

  I skid to a stop and decide to use my last resort to get his attention. I raise my hand to the sky, all fingers closed in a fist—all but one.

  The rain and lightning ceased all at once and the clouds parted to reveal a boy draped in black and yellow. Sparks danced around his body, focusing on his sulfur-yellow eyes and contrasting his dark skin and hair. His outfit was solid black, with glowing yellow lines spreading around his clothing. Acedani held two short blades fashioned in the shape of lightning bolts. For reasons I cannot fathom, my flipping him off gets him pissed more than anything.

  “Sablune M?rkluna, you have some nerve,” He began, “to flip me off and my entire realm- “

  “Damn, full name and everything. Don’t like that,” I cut in. “I don’t much care about ‘your realm,’ so if you would be so kind as to get out of my face.” This came from me in a cheerful voice while placing my hands on my thighs in a condescending manner.

  He starts again with a dismissive wave, “Okay, whatever. This isn’t about the market crash anyway.”

  “So why the hell are you bothering me?” I inquire, more annoyed.

  “My mother, Fadabiea,” Acedani said, hovering to the ground, “she wants to see you about your last talk.”

  Fadabiea. Like her domains were Death and Verdancy, her words were worth less than dirt. The soil of an infested garden and the ashen earth of a decrepit grave. Unreliable. The thought of her put my head in a cold, empty state.

  “The plant chick?” I laughed, emptying the humor from my posture. “She find a cliff to lead me off? Or my bad… A hole filled with comical spikes?”

  He lolled his head, a tired sigh escaping his lips. “We aren’t on Charomenift, Sablune.”

  True. We were no longer on the Island that the Silent Civilization Experiment happened on. But the people I dealt with there… They were still in my life. Still liabilities.

  “That vegan, plant-loving, organic food-eating, grubby handed gardener can find someone else to have a barbeque with,” I spat. “Why would I trust her again?”

  “That is my mother you’re talking about,” Acedani said testily.

  “I know; I suppose that would make you a son of a bitch?” I tossed out in a bored tone. He scowled at me, sheathing his blades.

  “I should have you tried for mass murder and stood before a firing squad,” he replied contemptibly.

  “I’ll kill them."

  “I hate you,” Acedani relented, shaking his head. “I assume you're going to see her now.”

  “You could say that; want to come with?”

  “You don't even know where she lives.”

  Smirking, I turn to him while beginning to tear a rift to jump through by pushing my hands forward and pulling outwards. Shadow shifting with several people is a little bit different than just transporting myself. “I've known where Bitha lives for so long now, nearly eight months, now,” I say with an air of superiority. "You can't keep secrets from someone who spends their life in the darkest corners of the universe."

  "Cringe," Acedani mumbled.

  "I know, how can I live with myself," I toss back. "Anyway, let's go now. You aren't worth the energy to keep this rift open, and I am not walking from Sector Five."

  Acedani tentatively steps into the rift as I follow closely behind. The tear behind me closes, and I step in front of Acedani, splaying my hands out in opposite directions. Concentrating heavily, a cold feeling crawled up my fingers, like dipping my hands into pool water.

  "Can you speed it up a little? It's freezing in here," Acedani complained.

  "If you don't shut up so I can focus, I'll leave you here and siphon Concept Energy from your soul until you turn into a raisin." Focusing on the coldness of my hands, I bring my arms together, close my fists, and begin to pull outward.

  "I'm tearing through her defense wards because I don't feel like making the walk to the house; that's why it's taking longer," I explain. "…Also why you're responsible for killing whatever is through there. I’m sure there are sentry crops and other Plants Versus Zombies type shit on her land."

  "Screw that. I didn't agree to all this."

  Ahead of me, a new rift begins to open. "Good thing I wasn't asking, hm?" I say happily. "I could just kill you myself, twice as slow."

  "Fine, I'll keep them at bay, but I will not kill my mother’s plants if I can avoid it," he growled, drawing his blades. Light begins to spill into the void as he advances.

  "I'm gonna be significantly weaker due to the strength it takes to break through the wards. After a bit, I can handle the rest,” I said. The rift opened farther, pushing back the darkness. “What the hell are you gonna do? You don’t have a weapon?” Acedani said frantically. My grip tightened on the rift aura, and with one final pull, it started to give way.

  “You see the markings running up and down my hoodie?” I asked sharply, displaying the bonus of not only my superior color scheme, but also the offensive capability of the semi sentient cloak.

  My grip tightened on the rift aura, and with one final pull, it started to give way. The instant my hands were free, the black plus signs along my hoodie lifted from the sleeves. In the same instant, they flowed to where my hands were, expanding, folding, and interlocking like seamless stitching around both hands into pristine black blades.

  "You forgot about Sifyx. Now, please pay attention because if you die, I will laugh.”

  When the darkness receded, I fell to my knees, and my vision went dark as fatigue consumed me. Sometime later, a jolt of electricity ripped me from my coma, and Acedani hauled me to my feet. “How long was I out?” I asked him.

  “About five minutes, stop being dramatic. We’re getting surrounded by her whole ass greenhouse.” He stopped himself. “They’re mostly targeting you; I’ve just stopped most of them from growing closer.”

  “Was that a pun?!” I hissed, regaining my footing on the marshy ground and surveying my surroundings. A speckle of trees was strewn across the land, tangled roots blossoming with flowers of all assortments of colors. Mushrooms sprouted along a cobblestone path to a small cottage covered in vibrant greens and reds. Potted plants, the majority of which, had green stems topped with yellow orbs were scattered along the front yard.

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  “Dammit. Sunflowers,” I swore.

  “What, the yellow ball-things?”

  “Uhuh, they shoot beams of Last Prism Light. The highest concentration of UV energy ever known.”

  “So basically, you’re screwed,” Acedani said, blasting a vine crawling towards us to ash.

  “You would think that, although the plants themselves don’t give off much light,” I begin, forming blades that surround my hands so they look like my arms are one long toothpick. These are the standard weapons I conjure Sifyx into because I can slash and stab with more fluid motions since the blades are like an extension of my arm.

  “Meaning, I can get close to them if I avoid the beams.” Darkness flashes around me, and as I reappear, I slash my blades in a horizontal arc; three orbs drop to the ground, the light dimming from each of them. The other flowers lock on to me, and I roll under two more beams of light. I come to my knees and pierce another orb. It explodes into golden dust and settles gently on the ground. I spit on it for good measure and look up at Acedani, leaning against a tree.

  “I don’t suppose you want to help,” I call him out as I dodge another beam of light.

  “I’d rather not get on my mother’s bad side; besides, I am helping,” Acedani responded sharply. “Notice the clouds I have stationed above you. Try getting physical matter through the wards; it isn't easy.”

  "WE. Are physical matter, dumbshit," I say tiredly.

  "Screw you," Acedani got out.

  Despite the arrogant snarl, beads of sweat appeared above his eyebrows, and sunlight began to slice through the clouds.

  I felt my strength begin to wane as my arms grow heavy. I turned to the cottage, only a couple of meters away; I can make that in time. I dart back onto the pathway, making a beeline for the door. Beams of light flash behind me as I roll and dodge past them, my feet slamming into the stone pathway. I form a circular shield at the end of my arm and block the light rays and a multitude of other seed-based projectiles. Rolling, slashing, and blocking as each impact rattles my body, I finally make it to the steps of the cottage and clamber up the oak stairs.

  My hand just touched the doorknob as something smacks across my chest, propelling me backward. I crash to the ground, skidding across the dewy grass. I heard angry shouting all around me in a single voice, booming with emboldened fury.

  What the hell was that? I thought.

  Spitting clods of mud and grass out of my mouth, I return my weapons to the threads of Sifyx. I look up defiantly at the figure before me, into the eyes of The Echo of Verdancy and Death, Fadabiea. I look behind me, where Acedani chuckles, somewhat amused. I lazily flipped him off and turned back to my assailant. Fadabiea's voice shakes the ground again as the vines coalesce around her, raising her above the ground.

  I shout at Fadabiea, "What's with the earth-shaking voice? Turn off your lame-ass voice changer, you pretentious prick."

  She repeats something in a language I don't understand.

  "Oh my goodness! Every time I come back, you're on some different shit. What is that? Ekoshi? You do realize we don’t have a reason to speak that anymore right?"

  Anger flashed in her eyes. She flicked her hand, and vines broke through the ground and pointed toward me. The Echo of Verdancy held her arms up, and the earth swirled around her legs and formed a shield of greenery. Crouched down, poised to attack, I watched them closely. The vines went taut, then lurched forward with blinding speed.

  I Shift backward and appear at the treeline surrounding the house; the vines pierce the dirt and wrap around clumps of earth and rocks. I thrust out my hands, willing my blades to form around my arms once more. The fabric pieces fly from my sides before wrapping around my flattened hands. I gun it toward the echo, vines fling debris at me, and the ground shifts under my feet. Which demands more of my focus as the earth is torn up on stone plates. Thankful for my agility, I leap from platform to platform, which are now fully anchored in midair by Fadabiea's roots. Thorny plants reach for my legs, and I Shift to the next platform.

  Bitha shouted more curses at me, to which I swiftly retaliated. "I told you already, I don't speak dumb-bitch!"

  Acedani snickers again, to which Fadabiea gives him a pointed look, vegetation erupts around him and disappears with him, not leaving a trace. I caught "go to your room" in English from Fadabiea.

  Huffing in exasperation, she flicks her hand my way, and vine-tangled boulders are tossed my way. The first of which, I jump over, spinning as I bring my blades down on the second, smashing it to pieces. The third boulder flung toward me at an alarming speed, forcing me to shield myself with Sifyx’s impervious surface. I formed a wedged ramp around my body as I dropped down on the platform. The stone broke across Sifyx's material, and deadly shrapnel peppered the ground behind me, tearing gashes into the dirt. Smoke rises in the air, tainting it with the scent of ash and char.

  I Shadow Shift again, popping in front of the echo, blades appearing once more around my hands before slashing one across Fadabiea's face. The left blade swings from the left and stops abruptly. Blood pours down Fadabiea’s cheek, trickling down her chin. Gray eyes filled with fury, her hand guiding a pillar of bones that stood between my blade and her throat.

  Tendrils of greenery crawled up her forearm, sprouting jewel-colored flowers. Her glasses sat slightly askew upon her nose, with one of the lenses cracked. A leafy dress flows against her light skin, almost glowing. Atop her head is a crown of bones, interwoven with roots and budding flowers, made to reflect the current season. Black horns above her ears poke through her soil brown hair and up around the crown.

  Fadabiea spoke up, in English. Finally. "I'm not helping you mess with the dead." The bone pillar sinks back into the dirt, and I lower my blades but keep them out to avoid letting my guard down. Fadabiea sits down in a wicker chair recently formed of roots, cushioned by leaves, and begins crushing herbs in a bowl. "I can't do that," she says again.

  "That's bullshit," I retort. "You can kill someone with a touch and reanimate plants."

  "I mean, I can't because I refuse." she began applying the mixture to her face. "I am NOT going to tamper with fate; I serve my purpose by existing; anything else is outside of my bounds."

  "If you won’t let me see my mom, then at the very least, help me get to Erestendum," I request.

  Fadabiea raises an eyebrow, puzzled for a moment.

  I took a breath. "My issue is that I can't pass to the realm of the dead."

  Fadabiea reaches out her hand and closes her eyes, concentrating for moment; I feel her touch on my soul, like a wind in my veins. Her eyes open abruptly, and she lowers her hand. "I see your problem," she spoke softly. "How many times have you tried this, all to see your mother?"

  "A surprising amount," I chuckled.

  Fadabiea took a brief respite to consider the situation, spacing out momentarily.

  "So, can you fix it or not?" I waved my hand in front of her eyes.

  "I can't. I may be an echo of Death, but that's it. Whatever happened to you doesn’t prevent death.”

  “Enlighten me then. I was hoping to fit that in sometime next week,” I snapped sarcastically.

  “You can die. But that’s it."

  “You said that already.”

  “There’s a difference between being dead and truly joining the dead,” she corrected. “You aren’t gone until your soul passes through the barrier—Morvivial—and enters the realm of Erestendum. And whatever’s happening with you is because of the Dead Concept Energy that's blocking you from ever crossing over.”

  “I can’t see my mother then? Alive or dead?” I kicked at the ground.

  Fadabiea’s lips twisted slightly. “Someone must be really pissed off at you to have done this. Shame that doesn’t narrow things down.”

  "It was an Echo of Nightmares, Lust, and the Dead who did this to me."

  “Rumeah?" She glanced up for a moment and then glared at me accusingly. “Does Nova know about this?”

  I said nothing in response.

  Fadabiea spoke in an irritated tone. "Why the hell would you even consider going to Morvivial, especially knowing Rumeah could easily trap you there?"

  "Okay. I didn’t know the bitch was gonna soft ban me from Erestendum right as I want to see my mother. I wouldn't do that without telling Nova.”

  Fadabiea tossed her head back in exasperation. “You have a woman that loves you. She’s alive. You know her.”

  “Yeah, believe it or not, I was at the wedding.”

  “Rumeah could take you away from Nova. You have the audacity to risk that for a mother you never knew."

  Reezin came into view behind Fadabiea and swung his arm around her. -She makes a great point.-

  “Still, she’s my mom.”

  “Still, I’m not doing anything about it.” She reminded me.

  ~Here we go…~ I felt Riflecks sigh.

  The wall of the house creaked as I stood up straight to look Fadabiea in the eyes. “Here’s the difference between then and now.” I thrust my hands downward, summoning my blades. "Initially, I came to talk with you about my mom, that was until your plants attacked me."

  Fadabiea's scythe sprouted into her hand. A wooden shaft and an ivory blade, joined by roots and weeds.

  "This time, however…" I switched my weapon to catch her off guard. Around my left arm, Sifyx changes the blade to a horizontal bar, like the shaft of a bow or the head of a pickaxe. In my right hand, Sifyx summons a short, crystal-like javelin that hovers above my palm; I set it along the sight of my left arm and fire it with a thought.

  "…I’m not asking."

  The Echo of Death spins her blade elegantly, knocking the bolt out of the air. I send three more at her, but it's too slow; they all end up in the dirt. The bolts fly back and hover in place around me. If I wanted to, I could turn my entire cloak into a projectile, but it would need a part of itself to return to. I summon more bolts from the cloak's fabric and send them shooting at her.

  "Can we please not fight? I have a guest arriving soon." Fadabiea plunges the scythe into the ground; a shockwave rips through the grass around it and blasts my projectiles out of the air—a few of them slice across my face and ricochet off my hoodie. I furiously wipe the blood from my cheek, staining the back of my palm a deep shade of red. The blood was nearly black due to my Conceptual alignment.

  "Tell your guest you'll be taking a nap," I recall the shards to my hand and conjure a blunt mace around both of my arms. I rush Fadabiea, who narrows her eyes and raises her hand, facing her palm to the sky. I realize too late that her scythe is nowhere to be found. I duck and roll. Not fast enough. The scythe stabs into my thigh, tearing through my black jeans. I Shadow Shift my leg for a split second, and the weapon falls to the ground; I free my left hand of the black fabric that then clasps around the wound. I grin at Fadabiea, her back to the setting sun. Just a little longer…

  "Try that again; you motherfu-" A log plows into my face with the might of a bullet train. A gross CRUNCH registers in my ears, and a warm sensation spreads across my lips from inside my mouth. I lean over and spit in the grass, noticing a hint of white; I picked up the tooth, now covered in soil and blood.

  It’ll grow back, I think, dismissively.

  I laugh sickly, "Want to know something funny about shadows?" staring at the Echo and allowing a silence to pass between us while Fadabiea waits for my response with a bored look on her face.

  "The only thing faster than light is darkness."

  Black smoke erupts around me, and my vision goes dark except for the white silhouette of my target. The restraints were off now.

  I lunge forward with adrenaline fueled speed, Shadow Shifting about halfway between Fadabiea and my starting point to keep my momentum. I phase in just behind her, delivering the most earth-shattering drop kick the Celestials have probably ever seen in their short time of existence.

  At this point, the cottage patio has been destroyed. Still, when Fadabiea goes flying through the tiles, embracing herself in woven grass as a last resort cushion, it ends up partially driven into the ground. A plume of dust rises from the crater. I'm not particularly concerned about Fadabiea's condition; I know she has solid bones due to her nature, so there is little chance I broke anything. I most likely bruised her badly, possibly cut her with my black combat boots.

  I pick up on a slight aberration in the air; my dust-tainted vision looks slightly fractured. The crystalized glare suddenly fractures when a sharp pain erupts in my hands and legs. I looked down at the sharpened diamond blades embedded in my body, and a blast of power knocked me back. A figure rises from the crater, but it doesn't look like Fadabiea; this person is taller and thinner, with sparkling white eyes.

  When the smoke clears, I can adequately see Aerix, the Echo of Caves, Crystals, and Chaos. "Lapis!" Aerix shrieked, raising their gem-tipped fingernails; their voice echoed from the crater.

  Great, we’re back to the rock names.

  Aerix's pale skin seemed to glow as they stalked forward, dragging a crudely shaped claymore that threw multicolored sparks across the ground. The moonlight danced in their dark purple hair—chopped short on one side, falling to their mid-torso on the other. They raised a hand, and bracelets clicked against each other on their arm as they pointed a gem-tipped finger at me. That’s when my eyes caught the glint of the amethyst cluster that grew from their pointed elf ear, where skin and crystal met.

  Fadabiea appears behind Aerix and rests her hand on their shoulder, who then stops moving towards me. Leaning over, she spoke into Aerix's ear something that I couldn't quite make out. As Aerix lowered their hand, their tattered gray robes shifted, revealing a small tablet of stone hanging from a necklace. Even from here, I could see it was nearly full of tally marks.

  In my current mental state, I don’t acknowledge the cease-fire and move to attack both of them, feeling the moonlight empower me.

  Aerix forms a crystal dome around Fadabiea and them; taking out a glowing white rock from their bag, they throw it on the ground, and it smashes into dust. The energy of the stone flows into the dome, which brightens, exuding a repellent force at the exact moment I Shadow Shift.

  As my finger touches the dome, which shouldn’t be possible during a Shadow Shift, I feel as though my entire being is torn apart, and I lose consciousness.

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  First Appearance Concepts:

  Shifting Concept: Shadow Shifting: Allows Sablune to teleport between dark spaces or use shadows as portals. The ability has a significant physical cost when transporting others or travelling long distances. Unlike most Concepts, this one does not require a vocal incantation

  Character pronunciation:

  Sablune M?rkluna — (SAH-BLUE-NEIGH MORK-LOO-NAH) — Scion of Rift

  Acedani Tempestra — (AH-SEH-DAH-NEE TEM-PESS-TRA) — Scion of Elevium

  Fadabiea Rivis — (FAH-DAH-BEE-THA RIH-VIS) — Scion of Primixa

  Aerix Alti-Intento — (AIR-IX ALL-TEE-IN-TEN-TOE) — Scion of Geoxyr