The Outsiders: Year Three (pt. VII)

Startled, Hara whipped around, his helmet dropping on the sands, his blade out and ready to strike.

The woman in front of him stood still, watching him.  She was as tall as he was, willowy, with bronze, weathered skin, and silver, waist-length hair blowing in the gentle breeze.  She wore no clothing, but was adorned with various bracelets, anklets, and tattoos that Hara noted looked quite ancient.  Her most striking feature, however, were her eyes, which were a solid golden hue, matching that of the pendant that rested upon her chest.  She spoke with a familiar voice, encapsulating and enchanting.

"It has been a long time since the Children of Corangar have even set foot upon this world, let alone dared to breath its sweet air without protection."

Hara stared, not knowing what to say.  She started forward, and, reflexively, he raised his blade.  She smiled reassuringly.

"I mean you no harm, Thestian."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" he asked, taking a step back.  He needed to make sure he kept a safe distance from her, he thought, as he tried to analyze her offensive capabilities.  Thunder continued to rumble behind him.

She cocked her head to the side.  "Have you forgotten your roots, Child?  I suppose it has been quite a long time to your kind..." she trailed off, seemingly lost in memory.  Hara waited a moment before pressing the question.

"When did you come here? When did you leave Nykna?"

She looked at him then, her eyes gently narrowed in curiosity.  "Whatever do you speak of, Child?"

"You are a Daughter of Nykna, right? When did you arrive on this planet?"

She seemed amused at the inquiry.  "I know not of what you speak, Hara, Son of Thestus."

"How did you -"

She paid no mind to his question, speaking over him.  "I have always been here.  My father was here, he was the beginning.  Your kind came next, but were nothing before me, and my siblings.  I had older brothers and sisters, and younger ones too.  And we have been tied to the fate of this world since its inception.  Time has been cruel.  We strayed from our purpose, fought and bickered.  Shepherds, turned wolves.  In the end, you all left, but we remained...and are not long for this world, I'm afraid," she sighed.  Hara realized that she had moved closer to him as he had stood, transfixed by her ethereal figure and her divine voice.  He hesitated a moment and sheathed his blade.  She nodded her approval.

"So you are not an alien?"

"I am of Agraea, forever and always."

"Agraea?  That's what this place is called?"

"This land," she gestured, opening her arms to indicate their surrounding.  "Shaped by my father, at first.  And then by us, in an age of old."

"Shaped?"

"We made the land as it is, Hara.  My brothers and sisters and I.  The desert is my domain, and has certain bounds.  The mountains to the north do as well.  As does the influence of that volcano you find yourself so drawn to," she said, walking past him.  He turned to find her staring at the rainclouds showering the lone mountain and the surrounding plains.

"You made this land?"

"Yes."  They were silent for a moment, watching the rains fall on the plains.  He felt a strange comfort in her presence.  A contentment.  Now that she was closer, he could see how thin she was and could sense her age.  He would have been happy to sit in silence for a while, but he had one other question on his mind.

"You keep mentioning that I'm a 'Son of Thestus.'  What do you mean?  My father was a scientist on a far away planet."

"But he is of a lineage," she replied, finally turning to look him in the eyes.  "The mountain," she said, raising a gaunt arm to point.  "It calls to you because you and your blood are of it, of The Great Wyvern.  This is why you are here, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your kind fled this world.  Why you left...does not matter now.  Where you disappeared to, we did not know.  Those of us left, we tended to this world as best we could, but without you, we are lost.  Left to decay.  We thought ourselves eternal, but now we find ourselves ephemeral.

"But you have returned now.  And within you I feel the Gift, and my brother's touch upon your very fiber."  She placed a hand on the chestplate of his suit.  "You have returned to take up the mantle left behind by those who took to the skies.  For that I am grateful, to know that we are not forgotten."  Hara kept silent, not knowing what to say, not wanting to ruin, what he sensed, was her last shred of comfort.  "Be warned though, Child.  In old age, Thestus has gotten quite ornery."

She started to move away, back towards the desert.  He called after her, and she paused.

"Won't you come with me?  I...I don't even know your name," he admitted, sheepishly.

The woman turned, with a sad smile on her face.  "I cannot leave this land, Hara.  This desert and I are bound.  Safe travels, Child."  Before he realized, she had disappeared, and before him was the gaunt lioness.  Turning tail, it disappeared over a sand dune, leaving Hara to his thoughts.