Of course it would be a god. This is going to be complicated. Sammy could feel the madness bleeding out like a cancerous wound. It interlaced and flowed through the incredible concentration of mana, tainting it. That would make the physical area dangerous in itself, and the ghosts were no doubt keen to utilize it against interlopers.

  She was a bit puzzled by the ghosts. Instead of them all being insane, there seemed to be calm points scattered, and a larger concentration deep under the ruins. She had to resist getting too close, as her curiosity was drawing her toward it.

  Suddenly, one of them branched out and up, getting closer.

  Shit! Am I had? I got too close. Sammy quickly faded backward and wrapped herself in a cloak of Limbo, where it would take a true powerhouse to detect her.

  A ghostly figure, mostly white-tinted with a hint of blue, floated near enough to make out details. He was dressed in fine robes with oversized sleeves, all trimmed in a color that once was golden, she thought. He had a chaperon cap on, with long hanging fabric. Prominently, his ear on the more exposed side had a row of glittering stars as earrings, all the way up.

  He was clearly looking around for her, and his eyes passed right over without perceiving where she was. He cast some sort of spell with a flourish she did not recognize, dance-like, and then seemed to puzzle over it as his head was glowing brightly. Aura analysis. But that would not get much from her unless he could compete against her levels.

  He’s one of the salient ones. The madness simply did not touch him. The word that jumped out of the ether to her in respect to him was ‘illuminated.’

  He was confounded enough by his reading that he grimaced and made an elaborate curse. It was so strange that her brain’s language translation wasn’t clear — something involving pies and shit, though.

  “I know you’re existent!” he called in agitation. The language was so different, she could subtly tell that her brain was working harder somehow, like nothing she’d encountered before. “You must far beyond reside against these auspices or know permanent suffering. The Interceptor-Twisters are forgetful this Wicking, but darker moons may fall for you another. In me, danger fails as a simple speaker. Peace.”

  Hrm. I think he’s saying he’s no threat but the crazy ghosts would be if they saw me.

  He paused a few moments, then turned to go back. Sammy couldn’t help herself — she made words resonate in a dislocated way around the ghost. “Thank you for the warning. I have a keen and strong interest in this place.”

  The ghost whipped around, looking in all directions in alarm. He might’ve paused to puzzle over the words. He squinted and muttered to himself. Finally, he replied, “I receive your gratitude but reject any debt. I repeat, you must far beyond go and reside. Forget. Danger. Lose desires under this moon.”

  “I cannot. I must maintain my desire here. I must go and reside here.”

  He looked sad suddenly. “You have become doomed. Danger. Warped ways. Destruction and forgetting. To see and know, I will weep.”

  “Can you help? Against this danger? Mutual benefit?”

  The ghost appeared disturbed. “No. I must be where I resided, or know dark moons under Interceptor-Twisters. Paranoia.” He put two fingers up to his eyes, then pointed back in the direction of the realm, then pointed to himself.

  He can’t be seen being away? Yeesh.

  Sammy took hold of the Limbo energy just beyond them and shaped it into an obscuring cover as she did over herself, making it impossible to see or perceive in any sense of the word through it. But she made it obvious to those behind the screen — i.e. her potential ancient ghosty friend — what it actually was.

  The ghost turned around to watch this, his alarm blatant, but he remained to watch the conjuring, seemingly caught in awe and fascination. “Amazing power demonstrated.”

  “I have control over Pneuma. Do you know this word?”

  The ghost spun back around, his eyes trying to locate her, now with at least some indication of what her trajectory had to be. “Yes. I exist before a Reality Weaver. Danger? Peace?”

  Sammy had to chuckle at that, the meaning clear. Then she formed a vague body to appear, obscuring her features but fashioning a brightly glowing facsimile of herself, simultaneously ‘un-cocooning’ herself from her hidden space. “Peace, yes. I will not harm you. I would like for us to be friends.”

  He was surprised and awed by her appearance. “An Empress of Light beams upon the Construct.”

  Hmm, Construct? Interesting term. Entirely true, of course. “What do I call you?”

  “Stargazer. Names contain danger, oh Empress.”

  “Well, you’re right about that. Why are you Stargazer? What is that?”

  “Under distant moons, we watched the heavens and fashioned their story emblazoned in light. Stars and moons. We judged the coming Wickings, saw the fire of fate burn, and in the flames visions taught and enriched us. Under golden moons, we prospered, and our greatest was crowned a King. North, South, East, and West, we sent the Bishops of Stars, to make other night skies beaconed in gold as ours. From towers, they watched and guided through darkness.”

  Sammy marveled, even as she puzzled over the words. The original wizards, perhaps? “This must’ve been very, very long ago. How can you remember it? You know of the Spell of Forgetfulness?”

  The Stargazer nodded soberly. “Yes. But it does not touch the runes of the reader, writer, and record keeper, which burn bright in thoughtfulness, which lend the decoded Construct Definition. With diligence, runes construct common meaning in thoughtfulness, and then may be exchanged.” He turned slightly to gesture back at the realm below. “Without diligence, self is lost after many shifting moon skies in regression, far beyond meaning and exchange.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “So… you think in special runes and preserve yourselves, though perhaps not perfectly for communication purposes. But the others… the not-so-record-keeping, they turn feral. Don’t they?”

  “Erosion of ego, erosion of will, erosion of self. The King’s Madness takes them, as nothing resides under the dark moon but geas. Obligation and obedience; all light quenched.”

  “What happened to your King?”

  “Envy, betrayal without; rage, grief within.”

  “Right. Which was caused by war? With Geirkos.”

  The Stargazer looked at her quizzically. “Names beyond wane under new moons.”

  “Uh, well… the city-state on the mainland? A rival?”

  He nodded. “The receivers of gifts grow fat without the perfect understanding earned, of sacrifice under many peaceful moons. They hunger and hunger for more, growing to avarice. The untamed under the Construct’s power become thieves. Blackguards.”

  “I will be honest with you. While I don’t want to take treasures, I hope to solve the issues here in Itha Ranon. I want to raise it back up and utilize it. Help those who remain. I don’t care if you’re phantoms. Everyone has something to give to the greater good. The future itself. This place could be a beacon for the world. As you might say, ‘a new golden moon in the darkness.’ It sounds like this place was key to the development of civilization itself. If it stood tall at the beginning, let it stand tall at the end.”

  The Stargazer did not have a strong reaction to this. He stared at her in apparent deep study and contemplation.

  “Stargazer,” Sammy began, “do you still gaze? Do you read fate and the future? What do you see?”

  “No more moons. Darkness. The Construct likely reshapes, but it lies beyond us. The Stargazers, seeing so many skies, wait without fear, yet reside resigned to sadness.”

  “If you could ensure the preservation of what is left of you all, would you?”

  “I am led to agree by the persuasion of an Empress.” A touch of amusement there, easy to miss.

  Sammy let more of her features show so that he could see her smile. “An Empress of Fate, too, Stargazer.”

  He took this very stoically, nodding. “Such a definitive soul heralds a great struggle under dark moons, often an apocalypse.”

  “It’s very impressive that you know that. The Stargazers study past lives, too?”

  “To gaze upon the heavens is to study all, wonder, and whereby seek to understand.” After a pause to look upward and press a phantom hand to his chest, he continued, “It is under uncommon moons that we have sought solutions. I will confer with salient and trustworthy others under this one, if you allow.”

  “Of course. Please do.”

  “Return in one revolution and knowledge will magnify.”

  “Hopefully that can work. If I’m not available, may I send a representative? I can leave this hiding spot here indefinitely.”

  “An Empress conducts her will by many hearts. Yes.”

  “Alright, then. Go with peace, Stargazer.”

  He made an elaborate bow. “Peace is ours, together in all, oh Empress.”

  Sammy watched him fly off back to his realm through the screen she made, pondering what she’d learned amid the persistent mysteries of the island.

  I guess the best of results can’t come easy. The mana of this place… No wonder there was so much interest here. But dealing with a mad god is at the top of my ‘don’t wanna’ list. Been there, done that, have the scars to show it. Hopefully a more reasonable solution presents itself.

  Sammy left to return to Heavenpeak, sharing the information gained with her realm and making it of note to those more involved, like Zephyr.

  “A promising contact, it seems,” Zephyr offered mentally. “And you’re certain this place below it was an Afterlife they’re connected to?”

  “Yes, I’m absolute on it,” Sammy replied. “It would have to be. There is no way these ghosts could retain themselves for so long without that. Granted, most of them don’t seem to retain anything. It seems the god has also persisted somehow, even without Followers.”

  “A mystery indeed. I was wondering, though, what are the protocols for transferring souls between Afterlives?”

  Sammy blinked a few times at that. “Not sure. Must be some way to do it, though. Are you thinking of it as a carrot to dangle?”

  “Perhaps. But not if it requires a mad king’s consent.”

  “Hmm. I doubt that’s absolute. If they want to ditch him, I bet I could facilitate. The only issue is, what do I give up by pissing him off? We don’t know enough yet. I don’t even have a quest yet!”

  “Ah, but perhaps it remains hidden. They do that. Another perhaps: curing the king. Orswyth seems gifted in such matters of mental clarity.”

  “Holy shit, yeah — he just wiped out that venerable dude’s dementia! Alright, let me see if I can conference call his ass into this…” Momentarily, Sammy pinged Orswyth to see if he was free and could join in.

  Momentarily, the Hierophant popped in. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  “Zephyr and I were curious if you could wipe away a god’s madness.”

  “Oh, is that all? Before or after breakfast in the morning?”

  “Heh, well, it's up in the air on the feasibility or relevance, but I appreciate the faux confidence. Speaking entirely hypothetically, could you?”

  “I’d call it a strong hypothetical maybe.”

  “I’ll take it! Anyway, Orswyth, Zephyr, that’s all for now. Old men. Be sure to get some rest. You do know that when it's dark that’s sleep time, right?”

  “Your realm never sleeps, Madam,” Zephyr sent with wry tones. “Fortunately for me, I barely do myself.”

  “Likewise,” Orswyth related. “But I will be sure to get a bit, Madam, just for you.”

  “That’s the spirit,” Sammy sent, then disconnected.

  What next? The perpetual question…

  A wise man once said: sleep is for the weak. Okay, not wise, but it was a person!

  Next Chapter...

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