Xellous couldn't wait any longer. Two years of rebuilding, raising Gerard, caring for Kora in her second pregnancy, helping rebuild their homeland Khouria, training... all while look at it. The motherload. The arrow that the angel Raphael had left him. Xellous had been told that he would know when to use the arrow. And for the last two years Xellous had stared at it on his mantle, hoping the day would come when he would know.
So he brought Ikuinen Lampo, the star whose sponsorship made him a Celestial Knight and capable of the manipulating aura, the life energy of each and every creature. Kora came along as well, swaddled baby in her arms. "I want to use the Angel Arrow to power up this" Xellous told them, taking out the khen-zai pistol he'd lifted off one of their footsoldiers over two years ago. "With the Angel Arrow I can make this pistol capable of hurting gods. Gods. We would have the firepower to destroy anything that attacked us. The khen-zai are still out there and we have to fight back. And the pistol is only the beginning!"
Xellous was going to say more, bu the look on Lampo's face made him stop. "That's... that's blasphemous"she said, face screwed up in disgust.
Xellous was taken aback. "What do you mean? I'm trying to protect us! I want us to be safe."
"But this wasn't... this isn't just any object" Lampo stammered. "This is a gift from Heaven itself. It's not an object in the way you think of it. The Angel Arrow is a sign, a gift. Look at all the myths of Pyheeta about tampering with Heaven."
Xellhous thought through all the stories he'd heard about during his stay at Ikuinen Lampo's Observatory. All those people who had messed with Heaven, for whatever reason, wound up cursed. But this was different. Right? "You may have a point. What do you think, Kora?"
Kora shrugged and shifted her weight, holding the sleeping infant. "I'm definitely with Lampo. This isn't just anything, it's a gift. I understand what you're saying, where you're coming from, about wanting to protect us. It is warranted, given what's out there. The Angel's Arrow would certainly accomplish that goal."
Xellous nodded. "That's all I care about. But I don't want to be cursed either. Telos would know what to do with this."
"But honey, how would you do that? It's been two years. Telos is on another planet. It's not like we can walk to the next farm or anything!" quipped Kora.
"Ikuinen Lampo, you're always connected to your metal, regardless of where it is, right?" asked Xellous. Lampo nodded. "Well, Telos has a suit of armor made from your metal. And I can shift to where he is, courtesy of some modifications I made to my wedding band, courtesy of that khen-zai corpse we've been keeping around," Xellous said, brandishing the ring on his left hand. "I just need to know where he is." Lampo nodded. She focused for a few seconds, and then touched Xellous on the shoulder. "I'll be back as soon as I can" Xellous promised.
A few seconds later and Xellous was standing in a bright field. Before him loomed a palace of solid gold. The energy of the field was completely malleable and could respond to his thoughts, even without the aura bending. But the palace was completely immovable: a fixed aura in... whatever this place was. The golden gates swung open at the slightest of touch. The silence was only broken by Xellous's footfalls.
All of a sudden a man in plain robes appeared next to him. "Well hello there!"
Xellous turned to face him. "Hello!"
The stranger fell in beside Xellous and they began walking down a hallway of reflective gold. "I'm looking for Telos, how about you?" asked the man.
"I'm here to see Telos as well. What's your name?"
"Xalmantra. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Xellous, Celestial Knight."
Xalmantra. It had been a very long time since Xellous had heard that name. Years ago Ernzen, the man who had sent flammeous lads against Xellous's family, had identified himself as the last of "The Cursed of Xalmantra". Xellous had never found a lead after that and was more concerned about looking for Kora, who had been kidnapped by the khen-zai. But Xellous had never forgotten. "How're the flammeous lads treating you, Xalmantra?" he asked coolly.
"Oh, I've questions for you too," chuckled Xalmantra "But first: Telos."
"Right here, Xalmantra". Xellous and Xalmantra turned around. Telos could barely be made out in his reflective golden robes. His retinue were clothed the same way. Xellous finally noticed that all the surfaces were totally refective: they all were standing in an ever-reflecting series of golden surfaces. He could finally feel the intended effect: floating in an eternal sea of gold. All of them, together, were in an ocean of light. And telos was the anchor point.
Xalmantra bowed to Telos. "It is wonderful to see you again, Autarch of Heranyt! It has been some time since you were last here and available to visitors."
Telos returned the bow. "Always a pleasure, Autarch of Pyheeta. Xellous here is one of your patrons."
"Ah, yes the intrepid young Xellous, Celestial Knight! Hero of Khouria, twice over! Friend of Angels, destroyer of Nameless! Enemy of the godless khen-zai" crowed Xalmantra. He turned to Xellous. "It's such a shame. Normally I can locate all life on my planet... but I couldn't find you, to lend you aid, while all these things were happening to you." While he was talking Xalmantra began to prod Xellous's aura...
Xalmantra was an aura bender.
That was supposed to be unique to Xellous.
"Like what you're seeing?" Xellous asked Xalmantra.
"Oh yes," Xalmantra said, a surprised delight on his face. "A fellow aura bender! I've never met another. That must mean you've made quite the impression on a star. I'm most impressed." Xellous suppressed a shudder. Xalmantra was many times more powerful than Xellous and could crush him like a grape. So he let Xalmantra poke around as he wished.
Xalmantra turned back to Telos. "He certainly couldn't have masked his aura from someone like me, no matter how impressive he is.Only another autarch could ahve hidden his movements so completely. It would have almost destroyed him to do so, but anything's possible. Still. That breaks so many laws of the Sopusoin System it makes my head spin." Xalmantra smiled a thin lipped grimace at Telos. "Know anyone who would fit that bill?"
"If I see any autarchs breaking Sopusoin Law I'll let them know" Telos responded icily.
Xalmantra threw back his head and laughed. "Right you are! What a notion, an autarch interfering with the domain of another! I suppose I'll just have to keep looking. And now I must take my leave." He turned to Xellous. "I'll be seeing you very soon."
Xalmantra vanished.
Telos shook his head. "That was... unpleasant. Unlike seeing you, my friend!" The two men embraced; one was in simple farm clothes, the other in pure ever reflective gold. Neither cared."What can I help you with?" Telos asked warmly.
"I need advice and a drink with an old friend. Maybe a ship to sail the Void. Nothing much."
Telos chuckled. "Oh, is that all? Such simple desires! What advice do you seek? I'll do what I can."
Xellous pulled out the Angel Arrow. A man in Telos's retinue gasped. "I want to use this as an antecedent," Xellous said.
Telos dismissed all of his retinue but the man who gasped. "That is not a conversation to be had in our halls. Let us adjourn elsewhere." They made their way, floating on solid ground. Telos tapped a reflection and it slide aside to a myriad of reflections right next to Telos, Xellous, and the man who came with them. "This is Tyce," Telos said. "He's my chief bodyguard."
Xellous could tell they were in a smaller infinity. A table and chairs radiated in all directions. Telos touched one of the seats so Xellous could sit there. "Now, what you're asking for is very serious. What are your intentions?"
"I'm horribly outgunned. The flammeous lads, the khen-zai, and now Xalmantra... I need to protect my family. I know I've not been attacked in two years, but it's coming. And we need to travel to that junkyard planet we had been told about to get a generator for Ikuinen Lampo. So that way we can bring the fight to the khen-zai and everyone else connected to them. And if I use this arrow as an antecedent... I can do that. And if that's not lawful, good, can you help me find something that does?"
"Did you not see that conversation out there?? I can't directly intervene. Other lives depend on my neutrality, no matter how much of a lie that neutrality is. But... but I can call on an old friend. Stay right here." Telos got up and walked into a newly appeared hallway of infinities.
After a minute of awkward silence Tyce said something. "I've heard a lot about you. Your kindness... nobility... but this?? This is blasphemous. Or, at least I think it is. Please help me. I want to understand."
"I'll try. Imagine if you were a chef. And one day you get an ingredient that could just end hunger, forever. Now, wherever you got that ingredient from, wouldn't you at least think about it? Why wouldn't you use it?"
Tyce's jaw worked. "That's a... terrible analogy! You can't compare an Angel's Arrow to... too..." Tyce sat back, speechless.
Telos came back a few minutes later with a man in a white robe. "My old friend, Raphael the Archangel. Tyce, let's go discuss how on earth he got past the help without a proper greeting!" They were gone.
Raphael radiated calm power. "I was told you had questions about the arrow I'd given you and how you wished to use it as an antecedent. What are your intentions Xellous, Celestial Knight?"
Xellous scratched his head. "The world around me is so much bigger than I thought. And I want my family to be safe I'm about to take them on something strange and unusual and I want them to be safe. They definitely won't be safe without me, but now they have to be safe with me."
"You don't care about the power this thing could give you?"
Xellous looked confused. "Well, of course I do!"
"What would you use that power for?"
"To protect my family!" Xellous was even more confused.
Raphael smiled. He clapped Xellous on the shoulder. "Go in peace. You're the first person to ever take the trouble to find me and ask in person. You have my blessing."
And Raphael was gone.
Telos and Tyce, who looked greatly chastened, re-entered. "Got what you need?" Xellous nodded. "Then we should get you the rest of what you need, like a ship."
"And a drink."
Telos laughed. "Twist my arm why don't you?" He pushed in another wall and they were looking out into a freezing, howling, eternal night. Glowing ebony-skinned figures tended ships with white wood, white sails. Telos walked up to one of the glowing midnight folks and had what was undoubtedly a friendly conversation. He came back to Xellous. "You won't let me pay, will you?" Xellous shook his head. "Well, I told them you were an enchanter. They'd like some items enchanted in the human manner. It will allows them to be more versatile in their eternal war with the Nameless."
"I'd be more than happy to! Now, how about that drink, before I get to work?"
"Have the last two years been that bad, that you have to drink them away?"
Xellous laughed and shook his head. "Well, you weren't there. A lot's changed."
There was a beat where only the wind made any noise.
"I can't go with you, Xellous" said Telos over the wind. "Xalmantra won't stop watching. I can feel his spies, waiting on the edges, to report anything they see. Tyce, however, isn't bound to the laws that I am. With power comes more laws, more rules, more things to restrain it. He'll go with you. Is that acceptable?"
Telos chuckled. "Oh, he's young. He's not seen what you have. Few have. This will be good for him. Besides: if I tell him to he'll go."
"Ah, the power of an autarch," Xellous said with a mocking twinkle.
"Power indeed!" Telos shook his head. "I don't feel particularly powerful, most days. That drink you keep talking about may change that, for just a little bit."
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