The dry breeze was warm, of course, but the sun had set behind Aralim and the evening chill was beginning. Each peak of the Amirella Mountains gleamed white and gold from the twilight rays, while the creeping blue of the night spread behind them. From the top of the Tenth Tower, the Walker could see clear across the flatlands, up the foothills, and into the distinct ridge of jutting, spike-like peaks. It resembled a single mountain that had been eroded into the head of a rake, perhaps, or someone’s stretched-straight fingers.
“‘…There was only one people on the face of Gethra, before the gods appeared,’” Nill read, standing with her side to Aralim and her dress pressed between herself and the dusty stone rampart she leaned against. “‘Ebireen did never speak of who this people was, or whether their faces resembled the Slithers, the humans, or that strange group I once glimpsed north of the desert.’”
Ebireen, Aralim had learned, was the name of the deity to whom King Prathar had once spoken. Apparently the word ‘Queb’ drew its root from the same word.
Nilless continued, turning the page of ‘The Races of Gethra, Understood from the Pratharian Conversations,’ as she went on. “‘When I spoke of the belief of my brothers and cousins, that humans would come to dominate this world, I heard, therein, a god laugh. I felt his mirth more deeply than any I had felt before. It was not a cruel laugh, nor a belittling one. It reminded me of the delight I felt, seeing a child stand proud and accomplished atop a dune after an arduous climb.’”
Aralim had learned a lot from Nill in the last few days. As he pondered this discussion, between King Prathar and the god, he connected it to the other things he now knew. The Asha believed in the existence of gods in an almost casual, matter-of-factual way; to them, the gods were forces of nature. They believed in ten, based on the conversations with Ebireen, who lived somewhat passively ever since arriving on a nearly blank world, thousands of years earlier. Intriguingly, Aralim could draw a few connections between his own religion and the beliefs of the Asha, though the Asha found King Prathar credential primarily because of his other sound findings in the areas of science, geography, and climate.
“I wonder if humans are still in their infancy then,” Aralim murmured, “and if we’re meant to become something more. Much like a child becoming an adult. The Path talks about individuals transcending their limits, but I’ve never considered the species as a whole.”
Nill looked up from the tome. “But we are ascending, as a species, are we not? This game of building towers is rather primitive, but the discovery of iron by your own patron, or the ever increasing number of glassblowers…. We can do more now than we ever could.”
“Hmm…” Aralim could not dismiss what he knew about the greater spirits. The more power one accumulated, the less interested one should be in the matters of others. “I like the thought of that, but I don’t think our new skills have truly given us power. Society only grows greedier with time. When one gains true power, they become less interested in the woes of the world, not more. Imagine if the wind felt the need to defend its position as we do…”
“So you think the technological progress of our species is a distraction?” Nill asked, sinking into one of the three chairs on the narrow roof of the tower.
Aralim leaned forward in his own chair. “Maybe it’s more of an independent process.”
“Interesting,” Nill said and looked out at the Amirella Mountains. “They say those are some of the most beautiful peaks in the world. What’s the most incredible thing you have seen, in your travels?”
Aralim pursed his lips as he considered it. “That’s a difficult question. The Amirella Mountains definitely stand out against the desert beautifully. The couple barges of the Numa were also a wonder, but the most incredible things are almost always people…”
“Oh, I’m usually in a state of wonder at just what might be out there,” she said, stretching out her arm toward the spiky horizon.
Aralim blinked. “You haven’t been? You appear to have the resources for plenty a voyage.”
Nill grinned. “I’m sorry,” she said, laughing. “I have been into the Amirella Mountains. I meant, I often wonder what might be out there, beyond the furthest anyone has ever been.”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Aralim said, smiling.
For a moment, they sat in silence, looking out at the mountains. A green and yellow flag shifted quietly in the breeze, occasionally clapping at them.
“I’ve thought of that way often,” Nill murmured. “But how can I shed the responsibility of my heritage? I cannot rightly refuse the gifts my father worked hard to give to me.”
The Walker leaned forward in his chair. “I suppose the decision to begin Walking was made easy for me. But if you’re living for other people, are you truly living? It comes down to what you want more. Perhaps you can find a middle ground.”
“Perhaps…” she said, trailing off. “How was the decision to Walk made easy for you?”
“Well… my village was lost to a bandit raid,” Aralim explained. He noticed abruptly how many times this story had come up since he met Miresh. South of Lantern Town, no one asked why he had begun Walking, because there were many others like him, each with their own personal tale.
“Nothing about that sounds easy.”
Aralim scoffed, but nodded. “Though, the decision had less consequences than yours, I suppose.”
“I suppose.” Nill stood up and looked down at the book again. “I’m sorry to hear something so unfortunate befell you, nonetheless.” She flipped open the book to the page they had been reading, but before she started, she looked out at the mountains again. Then she paused, stiffened and pointed. A group of people were hiking down the Highway, at that moment, rushing toward Tal’lashar from the south-east. Aralim stood up with his lantern staff, to get a better look. Nill recognized them first: “Those are my father’s soldiers!”
Aralim felt an uneasy squirming inside of himself at her blurt. There was no way this could be good. “Best leave this page until next time, then,” he said, and opened the paneled door from the floor into the room beneath them.