State of Mind (7)
Tyra makes headway on the mysteries of the Silent Kingdom
aaaaaand we’re back to the main story! If you’ve been enjoying the stand-alones, don’t fear, there’s more coming! Coming up this month in the SoM series, you can expect chapters 8, 9, and a new stand-alone. Thanks as always for tuning in and enjoy chapter 7!
7. Sirens of a Green New Dawn
Year C-91, Quarter 4
“You don’t know the story of the Sunset Prince?” Minghuang asked with little judgement.
“I don’t even know what that is.” Tyra replied.
“The Sunset Prince. Son of the Sunset King.”
“Oh. Sure, got it.”
“The two factions were warring. Those of the Sunset Kingdom against the sworn swords of the Eclipse. Nylon Gray, the Sunset King had a son, Axeon. The Eclipse, Malcolm Jade had a granddaughter, Emma. The two kids fell in love with each other. They took a ship from the reserves and flew away. They knew they’d never be able to return. The Eclipse was so devastated, he surrendered to the Sunset Kingdom and became their prisoner. They say he still is.”
“And the kids? What happened to the lovers?”
“Maybe they lived. Maybe they died. But they were gone forever. And everyone knew it.”
Ray swung his wooden training sword right next to Jace who countered with an attempt on the throat. Ray’s reflexes were quick and he parried Jace’s attack. They traded shots, clashing their swords and jumping back and forth. Ray could feel his shirt sticking to his back. It was completely drenched in sweat. He rushed forward and thrusted his sword clumsily at Jace’s lower torso. Jace spun around the attack and cleanly maneuvered it to the side of Ray’s neck. Ray exhaled loudly and dropped the sword.
“You’re putting too much energy into your initial strikes, Eddy. You need to divide your energy evenly, otherwise you’re allowing your opponent to wait you out.” Sal instructed. Ray rolled his eyes and turned to the door.
“Sore loser!” Jace yelled smugly. Ray ignored him and exited the training room. When he returned to the dorms, he took a shower and hit himself for losing the fight. The hot water on his back relaxed his body and his mind. The pressure was just right, much better than anything he’d ever had on Kyena. When he returned to the sleeping quarters, his sister was sitting, waiting patiently on her bed. It felt like a confrontation off the bat.
“Did Sal tell you?”
“Was it supposed to be a secret?”
“I should learn to fight.”
“Ray-- Eddy, I’m not here to argue. I think it’s a good idea.”
Eddy exhaled and sat on his bed, a wave of relief washing over him.
“Yeah?”
“It’s probably more important than the shit we’re learning in lectures. I mean I don’t think any of us signed up to go to ‘Chosen One’ school.”
“It’s more than a school, Ty. One of us could sit on the council one day, and make important decisions. Ohma says we’re the future of this place.”
Tyra looked longingly with a tinge of pride at her younger brother. He’d grown so much in just a few weeks.
“Are you… Doing okay? With dad and everything…”
“I’m fine. We don’t need to talk about dad.”
“Okay.”
Sal rushed into the dorm room.
“You guys should see this.”
Tyra and Ray followed Sal to the elevators. As the doors opened to level thirty five, Tyra immediately noticed two groups of people, screaming and ready to pounce on each other in a large open space. There was one person in the middle, trying to prevent the unpreventable: Ohma. Eventually, it became impossible, and dozens of people began to beat the shit out of each other. Sal had a massive smile on her face which Tyra found rather creepy. Ray was looking up at his sister, confused.
“What are they fighting over?” He asked innocently.
“It’s the Sunset King. He made a trade with Multi-World.” Minghuang chimed in from behind them. Tyra hadn’t even noticed she was with them.
“A trade? What kind of trade?” Tyra asked, watching people beat each other, and Ohma still trying to stop it. The yelling was so loud and messy that Tyra couldn’t make out anything they were saying.
“Apparently some sort of weapon.” Sal muttered in response.
“Oh, God.” Tyra gasped.
“Yeah. Pretty insane.”
“I want to get out of here.” Ray pulled on Tyra’s shirt and she nodded. She led him away and back to their quarters. On the way out the elevator, he stopped in place and and said something he’d been pondering for some time, that he knew his sister wouldn’t like.
“I miss dad.”
He was right. She hated that he said that. Tyra lingered on it for the rest of the evening.
The five kids sat on their respective beds in the sleeping quarters. Tyra was talking to Minghuang about the protests, while Ray, Jace and Sal were occupied by handheld game devices or books.
“Did you guys know that there used to be another wing of this place called Southall?” Jace asked loudly so everyone could hear.
“Like another mountain?” Ray replied, barely looking up from his gamestation.
“Says here that it was underground. Still is, even, just abandoned now.”
“Sounds pretty cool.” Sal joined the conversation. “Let’s check it out.”
“Are you crazy?” Minghuang jumped off her bed and walked towards Sal. “A place like that is off limits to everyone, especially us.”
“Maybe I’ll go then. You can pray they catch me so you have less competition becoming this structure’s newest wall.”
“Do it.” Tyra egged her on, becoming increasingly frustrated. “Or are you all talk?” Sal snickered and left the room, slamming the door behind her. Tyra waited a beat and then grabbed her brother’s hand. “Come on.” She commanded, “we’re visiting grandma.”
“Is she resting?” Tyra asked the nurse in front of her chambers.
“She’s tired, love, but she’ll see you. Come on, now.”
Ray held his sister’s hand as she walked him into the purple painted room.
“Master Swann?” Tyra watched her grandmother facing away in an armchair slightly tilt her head. “It’s me, Tyra. And Raymond.”
“Eddy.” Ray ripped his hand away as he corrected her.
“Sorry.” She didn’t even try to pretend she meant it.
“Now two tired, tested suns… fight for bright of day…” The old Master sang quietly to herself without acknowledging the kids. Tyra sighed and stepped forward, leaving Ray uncomfortably following in her shadow.
“Master Swann— Grandmother… may I ask you some questions?” Tyra took a seat across from her. Ray watched with his arms crossed.
“I told him: never true my son, the boy he ran away.” Servia Swann continued singing the lyrics to the strange song that sounded like an old sea shanty. Suddenly, any semblance of melody dissipated from Servia’s body and she locked eyes with her granddaughter. “Knoles be good!” She exclaimed in horror. “Get him away. Get him far away!”
“Who, Master Swann? Who is hurting you?” The question lingered in the thick, artificial air entered the old woman’s small ears and went ignored as she continued singing her song.
“Sirens of a green new dawn… echo’n these halls…”
“What’s she saying?” Raymond asked more out of boredom than curiosity. Servia’s silver eyes shifted to stare deeply at her standing grandson.
“You have to go.” She said to him sternly. “LEAVE!” Her shout filled the entire chamber. Tyra saw tears building up in her brother’s eyes as she rushed him out.
“Sorry loves. It’s been a hard day.” The nurse assured them as they left. Neither of the kids had anything to say to the nurse or to each other. They walked back to Westhall in drowning silence. Tyra placed her hand on her little brother’s shoulder but he shook it off.
Tyra lay in her bed, lost in thought. She sat up and noticed some sort of light pattern appearing blinking on the ceiling. As she got out of bed completely, she examined Minghuang on the top bunk holding a yellowlight which projected a lotus up above. Tyra’s demeanor shifted from slight annoyance to pity as she knew what it meant.
“May I ask who it’s for?” Tyra said after a few moments of conflicting feelings. Minghuang looked around, confused for a second, and then looked down at the yellow, cylindrical crystal device she was holding tightly in her hands.
“Oh. His name was Seb. Sebastian.”
“Who was he?”
“He… was the best friend I ever had. I never got to tell him that I loved him.”
“I’m so sorry, Minghuang.”
“Do you believe in God, Tyra?” Minghuang asked softly. Tyra stretched out on her bed and lay flat.
“Uh, well, I used to, I guess I used to. I would tell everybody around me and even myself that I didn’t. Thought it made me stronger, you know? Trying to believe that I’ve always been in control. But every night when I was alone, I’d pray. Not to anyone in particular, but a part of me was sure that there must be something out there, listening, and maybe just maybe, they could help me through the difficult times. My father was… Well you know. So I guess I believed in some sort of God, or higher power. Something.”
“But you don’t anymore?”
“I… I’ve started to come around to the idea that no supernatural being created this place, this vast and empty universe. I think somehow… We materialized ourselves, and always were and will be alone. It’s what we deserve.”
“I see.” Minghuang’s voice was deflated.
“Oh, fuck, sorry, I… didn’t mean to…”
“It’s okay, Tyra. I was asking for your opinion. Not to be validated in my own.”
“Well, tell me about Seb. If you’d like.” Tyra offered, changing the subject slightly. Minghuang blushed and smiled.
“He was a goof. Naive to a fault but in the kindest way. He was the sort of person who would give money to a homeless guy while being on the verge of his own eviction. He lived exclusively in the present, and I always admired that about him. And he sang, he loved to sing. He wasn’t amazing, but it was pleasant to listen to, especially in retrospect. Sometimes he’d be a bit of a mess, or have lazy weeks, but he’d always come through. Even then, he was always more concerned about my happiness than his own. But that’s just who he was. One of the lucky few that looked for the light.”
“He sounds really special.” Tyra acknowledged. “I would have liked to meet him.”
Minghuang released a tear and grinned from ear to ear. Then, for a moment it felt like lightning struck Tyra’s skeleton and petrified her from the core. She saw an image of a young man begging for his life from the eyes of her father, Edrick Swann slowly walking toward him with a sword. Minghuang didn’t even notice, and within seconds, Tyra returned to reality, the images and memories were fleeting as if they were a dream just woken from. She focused on Ming’s words, trying to pass the whole thing off as a blip.
“I wouldn’t worry about your brother. He’s a smart and crafty kid. He’ll be fine, whatever trouble he winds up in.”
“Honestly, I’m worried about Sal. Something’s going on with her. She’s being more impulsive. More hostile.”
“She’s just dealing with some cabin fever. When do you think was the last time she breathed organic air?”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. You holding up okay? I mean generally, in this place?”
“I like it here. There’s something so mesmerizing about it all. It feels like I’m in a dream.”
“Trust me, any dream involving this place is a nightmare.”
“This might seem random and be a shot in the dark, but do you think there really is a Sunset King? I mean, wouldn’t we have seen the guy, or heard about him in the vicinity?”
“He’s real, alright. My father hates his guts, and I assume those guts exist.”
“And his power?”
“I don’t know. People say a lot of things. I have to assume some of it is exaggerated.”
As if to personally respond to their conversation, at that exact moment the bells of Ozan rang loud enough to wake the whole compound. The Sunset King had returned to the twin mountains and called an emergency assembly of the Ozanian public. Tyra gulped and closed her eyes only to see images of her father appear like seeing a light on one’s eyelid. There was a sense of tension permeating throughout the entire kingdom. As if the balloon everyone had relied on finally popped.
Sirens of a green new dawn
echo’n these halls,
Pour for generations gone
buried in these walls
I told him: never true, my son
the boy, he ran away
Now two tested, tired suns
fight for bright of day.