Empyrean Iris Story Collection Vol. 3

On the Mountain

Naktan stood at the pinnacle of the mountain, poised on its very top. Granlakeeanin (The spirit of the mountain) had been his home for many decades, and sometimes, it felt like many centuries. At times he felt as if he was not simply one life, but many lives strung together, like a great chain of renewal and death. In his memory he swore he could remember teaching wisdom to the old saints, teaching them the forms of wind, water, fire, stone, and ice. He felt as old as the world and older but, he also remembered being a child, being told stories.

Perhaps he wasn't as age od as he felt, but a vessel for the memories of the past.

Who could be sure for certain.

Here on the pinnacle of the mountain, he could see everything. It took great poise and strength to get to the top: complete control over mind and body, an intimate understanding of your own form, but it was a climb he had made many times. Below him the land was arrayed in a churning whirl of colors and textures.

Once upon a time Naktan had looked down upon that land and wished he could join it. it had seemed so far away, almost unreal past the slopes of his mountain. But not so many months ago, he had woken to a premonition. For all his life he had been instructed to follow the visions, and despite many hundreds of years of tradition, he had stepped off his mountain, cutting his own way through ash and moss to bring wisdom to someone in need.

Below him, in the near darkness of early morning, Blue sulfur fire licked at the slopes of his mountain.

There were many who thought that the Drev's introduction to science, and the following revelations about the Architect and the origin of spirits would spell the end to the Drev religion. The same had been thought about humans. However, there were a multitude of responses from both species. Of course there were those groups who rejected the idea outright as ludicrous, then there were those who came to accept the knew order, completely discarding there old ways, but then there was a third, the sort of response that Naktan subscribed to.

He did not see his beliefs as being in open contradiction to the truth they had found. What he had before was a simple primitive understanding of how the world worked, but everything he knew and understood about spirits was relatively the same. This was just new doctrine in the knowledge that he could offer his people.

And Naktan did crave knowledge.

Despite his seeming isolation, he wasn't without a few surprises.

IN fact, only yesterday he had read an in-depth medical compilation of Drev anatomy, and theoretical evolutionary changes over the past centuries. The read had been both fascinating and informative. The origins of where he got his information would have to remain a secret for now.

Naktan lifted his head to the sky, watching as a glowing white dot appeared against the dep indigo.

First if was bright, then it dimmed, blinking and slowing as it made its way towards the ground.

Ah. It would not be long now.

Naktan had been told of the current situation, of how Smaug, a great sky beast of ancient origin, had urged them to find the key to unlocking the power of the soul. Which, even naktan had to admit was a tall order. He had spent his entire life as a mountain hermit, and still he wouldn't have considered his attunement particularly successful.

But now they didn't have any choice, and out of everyone in the known galaxy that might be able to figure it out, it was him.

The saint's human mate had offered to ship him to his artificial city in he stars, but unfortunately Naktan had to decline. It was not because he wanted to be difficult, but out of practicality . he wasn't certain if he would be in tune with himself on a strange world. No, best to do it here where he was comfortable and familiar. He was well aware of how convenient the trek to his mountain would be for some.