by Moonstone 04
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Author's Notes: Hello! This is my first public posting of a new fanfiction series I've been working on for a while now. It's my own personal attempt to fill in the blanks left in Xenosaga's past and future. All fics within this particular fanon continuity will be labeled "The Y-Data". The entire series potentially contains SPOILERS for all Xenosaga games and related media.
Lost Genesis is set in ancient Lost Jerusalem (Earth), thousands of years before the days of the Messiah. Anima and Animus have not yet taken physical form, and Zarathustra has yet to be constructed. It's a fantastical version of prehistory based on hints dropped in the series, so don't come down on me too much when I start taking some crazy liberties with natural history, etc. This is based on Xenosaga, after all. XD
This story focuses on Wilhelm's beginnings in the real world, and his relationship with a girl who would one day be reincarnated as Kevin's mother (to give you a better idea of what she looks like). However, this isn't simply a romance story, for anyone who is afraid this will be nothing but mush. Wilhelm is Wilhelm, after all.
Huge thank you to Jinx (my personal Wilhelm expert X3 ) for helping me beta, and especially in conceptualizing the scene towards the end of this chapter. To everyone else, thanks for reading:)
All things Xenosaga © Namco Bandai and Monolithsoft. I don't own it, I just fangirl endlessly over it. XD
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"Those whom the gods love grow young." - Oscar Wilde
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It all began with a low humming sound. Gradually the sound washed across existence like a wave, reaching a crescendo in an ethereal melody that resembled the voices of a man and woman singing in clear harmony. It was a vibration, a word, and a song. A silent song that only echoed in the deepest reaches of the universe. Within the song was everything that ever was and ever would be. It was all powerful.
Across the world, there was light. Suddenly, homes of all shapes and sizes, be they marble, stone, or mud brick, all glowed in the darkness. This was the achievement of the brilliant engineers of the era: an ancient and secretive Order. They alone knew the secrets of the crystals, or so they believed. Through their knowledge, strange new crystal-powered torches illuminated society. And that was merely the beginning. The crystals sang, and the power flowed throughout the world, ushering in an age of paradise. Yet as humankind watched in awe and wonder, there was also an uncertainty, a quiet, unspoken fear of the mysterious power they now wielded.
So for the first time, a God opened his eyes.
Chapter I
In the beginning, he never said anything. He simply sat lounging in the window like a pale cat, staring at her. His eyes bothered her, because they were red like pomegranate seeds in the sun. Glorya had never seen eyes like that before in her four short years of life. His eyes, like everything else about him, were beautiful, but unnatural.
Back then, she assumed he was one of the many Temple priests. There was an air of authority about him that told her he belonged there. Much like the ones who had trained Glorya in her earliest memories, he wore a tunic and a robe with long, flowing sleeves, all woven of glossy silk. But unlike those violet-hued holy men, his clothes were pure white, the hems and cuffs delicately embroidered with silver. The intricate designs of the shining, silver thread resembled written script, but it was no language she recognized.
One day, she would realize he looked much too youthful for a priest. If youthful was even the right term for it...maybe it was better to say he looked too different... Smooth skinned and beardless, he would have appeared strange among the priesthood. But as a small child, she knew no better.
At that age, it was also easy for her to associate his snowy white hair with the aged priests. His hair was wavy, the rumpled locks curling loosely about him in an elegantly untamed fashion. It was long enough to cover the back of his neck, and often fell into his face. If left unchecked, it would float in front of his face like two curtains, however it was his habit to push one side behind his ear, giving his hair a ruggedly swept back look on that side.
From the very first day, he was there in the Tower, and then he was always there. Always watching in silence.
Although she saw him, she did not acknowledge him.
Glorya had learned from a very young age that she was never to question the holy men. This wouldn't be easy to begin with, as she couldn't speak to them or anyone else. Like all girls chosen to be Phoenix Maidens, she was born mute. Each morning, the priests would lead her from the Temple to the Tower, where she would climb to the Singing Chamber. And every day she would sit there in quiet meditation, except for the appointed hour, when she clapped the singing stones. Then the Phoenix Tower would glow its warm purple light, gradually fading until the next day, when Glorya would take up the stones again. This was the duty she had been groomed for since birth, a simple, yet important task. Then every afternoon, she would descend the Tower, and be escorted back to the Temple by the priests. She had never known anything other than the Temple and the Phoenix Tower.
In time, she realized that she never saw him among the other holy men. She never saw him descend or ascend the Tower. She never saw him outside the Tower at all. He was just there. This was made more unusual by the fact that no other priest ever entered the Tower. Her escorts always left her at the stone steps of the crystal Tower. She alone made the long climb to her chamber in the heights of the Phoenix Tower.
His presence was strange, but nothing happened until she was seven years old.
One morning, she entered the Singing Chamber, and instead of finding his steady gaze, she found him turned away from her. This was so unexpected, that she stopped and looked straight at him. The way he lay in the window, he reminded her of a cat playing with a captured insect. She could almost imagine the tip of his tail twitching. As she stepped closer, she could see something in his cupped hands, shining, like a tiny star. She only saw it for an instant, and then it was gone.
What was that, Watcher? Is that what you do when you're not watching me? You watch something else?
Since she didn't know his name, she always thought of him as "Watcher". There had been times when she had thought of him as "Pretty", but she tried not to anymore, as his face would take a more stern expression whenever she did. She supposed it was coincidence, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable. Usually, his face held very little emotion, the occasional turn of expression being a subtle thing.
So she was surprised at the noticeable frustration on his face as he turned from the window to sit up. He didn't even look at her, instead, he seemed very preoccupied. He was slowly drumming a finger against the window ledge. His eyes closed, again reminding her greatly of a cat, lost in whatever mysterious thoughts a cat has.
As always, she went to sit cross-legged before the central pillar of the Tower, to meditate until the time came to clap the singing stones. Watcher was at the corner of her vision, as always, before she closed her eyes. When the hour came, she noticed he had calmed once more, and once again, watching her...
Three more years would pass before something else happened.
Glorya was ten years old.
The singing stones hummed and shook, the way they always did when she clapped them together. Even before she placed them on the floor, the crystal structure of the Tower around her began to hum and glow as it did everyday. When she was done, the chamber was awash in purple light. Within the pillar, the light was so thick it moved like water, and glimmering motes would leave trails of radiance as they traveled throughout the Phoenix Tower.
"Why do you accept this prison?"
Badly startled, she went half sprawling across the floor as she spun around without standing. As always, Watcher was watching her, but she still couldn't believe her ears. She looked around, but she saw no one else in view.
Surely the priests that guarded the Tower below would never allow an intruder, would they? Before she could get up and search the chamber circle, the silky male voice spoke again.
"The people who live beyond the Tower, beyond the Temple walls, they live in luxury and do as they please. Why do you suffer this lonely task each day? Why do you not leave this place?"
It was Watcher.
She stared at him. How could he say such things, when he was a priest?
Watcher slowly unfolded his arms. "I suppose if I want an answer, I'll have to teach you to communicate. For as noisy as humans are, you have an extremely difficult time learning that skill."
Glorya was even more confused than before. For as long as he had been there, he had to know she couldn't speak. She patted her throat and shook her head.
"They've isolated you, for the sake of cultivating your resonance with the crystal, but you are perfectly capable of responding to me." Watcher's tone was even, but his expression gave away his annoyance. She would learn in time how much reading his emotions depended on watching his face, rather than listening to his voice. He wasn't very different from herself that way.
Sitting on her knees, Glorya just stared back at him. For the first time, she began to consider that her Watcher didn't belong there. He was not behaving the way a priest was supposed to behave.
Dropping his feet to the floor, Watcher leaned over from where he sat and held out his hand. "Reach out to me."
She was feeling uncertain, but crawled closer. She had never attempted to approach him before, and seeing him so close was a little intimidating. She took his hand, and lifted her eyes to look at him.
Hoping to see some approval in those strangely luminous red eyes, she was disappointed to see his expression had not changed. His slender fingers curled around around her small hand. His hand was cool to the touch, even though it was a warm day. Cool and soft.
'That's it. Open yourself to me, and speak.' Watcher's voice was crisp and clear, but Glorya had not seen his mouth move.
Her eyes widened in amazement and her mouth fell open slightly.
'Now you're beginning to understand,' Watcher's voice said in her head once more.
'How do I...?' She was surprised when she heard her own inner voice echo faintly in her mind, as if bouncing back from somewhere deep and distant. Never had she heard her voice before, and it was just as strange as hearing Watcher for the first time.
At this, a pleased smile spread over Watcher's features. 'Well done...'
'Who are you?' It was the question she had wanted to ask more than any other.
His red eyes became unfocused and troubled.
'Is that not something I should-'
'No, it's fine.' Watcher's eyes found her again. 'I don't know my name.'
'I thought everyone had a name. My name is Glorya. That's what my mother called me, before she went away.'
Watcher casually leaned back against his braced arms. He was studying her with a pensive look. 'If we must be defined by the one who brought us into the world, directly or indirectly, then I have no way of knowing my true name. I came from the aether.'
Glorya didn't understand, so she only tilted her head, feeling confused.
'Call me what whatever you wish.' He closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them with a smile. 'Whatever name you choose for me shall be nearly as accurate as whatever my true name may be. You are, after all, the one who gave me this form.'
Glorya stared down at the shimmering crystal beneath them, thinking hard about what he had said. Then she looked up at him from beneath the black hair that was falling into her eyes. 'Give you a name... Like the priests name the Temple dogs? Spearleaper... Grimfang...' She looked up at his hair. 'Or Fuzz...'
"No...!" Watcher said aloud. He looked mortified. Then with a deep breath, he repeated, "No. I'm not a pet. I need a proper name."
'Then can I have time to think about it?'
'Take all the time you like.'
'Until then, is it okay if just call you Watcher?'
'I suppose that would be acceptable.'
From that time on, Glorya was no longer intimidated by him. He was always with her now, even when she left the tower, because she could speak to him no matter where she was. She looked forward to each day and the long talks between them. Although she had never seen him leave the Phoenix Tower, he told her in great detail of the world beyond the Tower and the Temple. The more he spoke, the more she was filled with the longing to see his words for herself. Despite this growing need that had never been there before, she was happier than she had ever been. The years fell away.
Glorya was sixteen years old.
The deep thrumming of the Tower echoed as Glorya placed the stones on the floor. She closed her eyes and bowed her head in meditation as the purple glow danced around her. Shimmering trails of light mingled within the glow, as it normally would within the crystal Tower itself.
She would have stayed longer in meditation, but Watcher was very restless that day. He once again asked his favorite question, the one she had answered many times, but never to his true satisfaction. She knew it was coming before he asked, because of that strange little rumble unique to his voice whenever he asked it. The sound was like a distant roar of wind, and it seemed to push the words with a strange urgency. Usually, his voice was clear, unlike her own voice which echoed, as if bouncing back from a great distance.
'Why don't you leave this place? Why accept this limited existence?'
Glorya lifted her head and turned to look at him. 'This is what I was born for. I've told you before.'
'What about your own choice? You have a right to decide your own fate.' Watcher was frowning at her.
To this, Glorya simply shook her head with a smile. She stood up, and went to sit across from him on the window ledge. She turned to look over the majestic cityscape of stone and glass that seemed to stretch out forever in the north and south. In the far distance of the east and west, there were flashes of glimmering light that reached from horizon to horizon; this was the great lake that surrounded the entire island city of Basso Narok. Behind the waters were craggy jungle mountains capped with swirling mists. Even from the height of the Phoenix Tower, the highest point in the city, it was impossible for her to see what lie beyond the mists.
Only in Watcher's stories did she ever dream of what lay beyond. Likewise only in the visions Watcher gave her did she see that even the mountains that surrounded the valley seemed insignificant in comparison to the Phoenix Tower. The Tower, although an incredible height, was not taller than a mountain, but its placement and striking appearance gave it that illusion. The placement was due to its location atop a lone, stone mountain in the very center of the city. Within the Temple courtyard, the six-sided Phoenix Tower appeared to have grown like a tree from its stepped stone foundation. Set behind the Temple, the stone walled courtyard was completely isolated on top of the mountain. The only way to access the courtyard, and therefore the Tower, was through the Temple itself.
It was said that the mountain had once been much taller, but it had been mined away to expose the massive Phoenix Crystal that was carefully converted into the Temple and Tower. The crystal Temple was surrounded, actually encased, by the stone of the mountain; except for one side where most of the mountain face had been exposed to present the crystal Temple. The crystal itself composed most of the inside of the mountain, and supposedly extended far into the Earth, but how far, no one knew. The crystal that composed the visible Temple and Tower was believed to merely be the tip of the iceberg. For it was the heart of the world, from where all life had flowed forth in a forgotten time. She had heard some of this from the Temple maidens, but most of it from Watcher. Did he know that for as much as he encouraged her to leave, all that he shared with her only strengthened her determination to stay?
Glorya turned her eyes down to the crowds who always gathered each day near the imposing stone steps at the Temple entrance. 'I'm happy to serve such an important purpose to the people. I wish you could understand that, Watcher. I could never leave here, this place is everything to me. And without someone caring for the Tower, if no one was here to Sing the stones, the city would cease to function. Our very society depends on me to perform my duty.'
'What have they ever done for you?' Watcher had one hand in his hair, while glaring out at the city below. 'All you sacrifice for their sake, and what do they care for you? None of them even knows who you are. What do you owe them?'
The sun was high in the sky, and the crystal Tower gleamed brightly around them. Glorya let her leg drift over the side of the glossy surface as she stared at the courtyard far below. The drop was terrifying, but she might as well have been sitting on a street corner. Colorful birds sailed past, soaring off towards the mountains.
'Watcher... You've said that I have something to do with why you came to be here, but there's nothing keeping you. I don't want you to go, but you shouldn't stay if you'd rather leave.'
With a deeply dissatisfied sigh, Watcher shook his head. 'There's still too much I need to verify...'
'Like what?'
Watcher looked up at her with narrowed eyes. 'Like why you won't leave this place. Your answer doesn't satisfy me. This Tower, you don't even understand what it really is, and yet you...'
'Yes? What is it then?' Glorya knew he wouldn't answer, he was always like that. He would say something strange and nonsensical, then become irritated when she couldn't figure out what he was talking about. She didn't know why he expected her to know what he was going on about when he would never explain anything. She thought it must really bother him, because under normal circumstances, he absolutely loved to talk and talk and talk.
For a moment, Watcher would only hold eye contact. Finally, with an exhale, he closed his eyes and fell back against the side of the window. He still looked annoyed, but his voice was as velvet calm as always. "Listen to me. Tonight, at midnight, I'm going to come to your room in the Temple."
Glorya's eyes widened and she fell forward onto both hands. 'You can't do that! The priests will catch you! And the Temple dogs will-'
"They won't catch me. I can be like a shadow, no one will see me. Just be ready. Tonight we'll visit the city for ourselves."
'No,' Glorya protested, moving from the window to stand away from him. 'I told you, I'm not leaving!'
Slowly turning his head, he opened his ruby eyes to regard her with a suffering grimace. 'So you've told me many times now. I assure you, I have no intentions of kidnapping you like some villain. We're only going to visit the city for the night. Then I'll return you to the Temple and no one will know you were ever gone.'
Glorya felt uneasy, trying to decide whether leaving the Temple grounds for a single night was the same as abandoning her responsibilities. And how could she leave the Temple grounds, when it was all she all she had known, for as long as she could remember? She had never been allowed to leave the Temple grounds... It wasn't a law, but it was for her safety. She did trust Watcher, he was her closest friend, and she felt safe with him. But was this right?
'You don't need me to go with you.' It wasn't a refusal, but it wasn't an agreement either.
'You don't know what I need.' The words were smooth, but his eyes were angry, and turned away to look out the window.
Glorya turned away and stared up at the purple crystal of the Tower pillar. After a moment, she went to kneel before it once more and sank into her meditations.
The world faded away except for the purple glow and the hovering presence at the back of her mind that she had long come to recognize as her connection to Watcher. She knew his anger wasn't directed at her, but she wasn't going to try to argue with him when he was like that. For now, she would just think it over.
That evening as she descended the stone steps at the Tower's foundation, she paused to look back. The Phoenix Tower was staggering in height, a single, massive, crystal spire that appeared to touch the heavens. Her gaze drifted up to the top of the Tower, where the Singing Chamber was located.
Although it was too high up to see, she knew Watcher was waiting at the chamber windows. He was always waiting. It took Glorya several hours each day to climb and descend the spiral steps within the Tower itself. The ordeal had been far more difficult as a child, but now it was nothing to her, although no less time consuming. Every day for most of her life, Watcher had been watching her from above, waiting for her to come to him. Now for the first time, he was waiting to go to her. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the sudden change.
Against the orange sky of twilight, the Phoenix Tower appeared nearly black rather than its usual purple. Only its inner glow betrayed its true hue, which mixed with the reflected light of the setting sun to give the Tower's front a reddish gleam. Turning away from the Tower, she continued her descent. The waiting priests flanked her as she came to stand among them.
"Maiden, is there something the matter?" The High Priest's voice was concerned, but gruff; the tone of a man that was used to being obeyed. His name was Kritias, and he had been in service to the Temple since long before Glorya was born. His purple robes were identical to those of the other priests, but he bore peculiar physical features that marked his rank. His eyes were the color of molten gold, and across his face was a large purple tattoo shaped like an "X".
Glorya only smiled at him and shook her head. Kritias bowed and gestured for her to move forward. As they proceeded through the courtyard towards the Temple's anterior gates, large orange clouds billowed across a reddening sky.
That evening at dinner, she wasn't hungry, and ate little. She had made her decision. No, it wasn't the prospect of leaving or staying that was bothering her. It was the thought that Watcher might actually come to her room that night. The vision in the lonely Tower; the sweet voice in her head... It made no sense for him to deviate from what she knew of him. He was Watcher, nothing more. Although the Temple maidens fussed over her, she retired to bed earlier than usual.
When the appointed hour came, Glorya was asleep in bed.
She heard his voice whispering in her mind, but in her sleep, she didn't acknowledge it anymore than a dream. The voice continued to prod at her, but she only rolled over in her fur blankets. Even in her sleep, she could almost shut him out, just enough to make him quieter. Watcher's exasperation rumbled from far away.
A hand grasped her shoulder and gave her a little shake. 'Glorya, wake up. I'm here.'
Glorya opened her eyes to the pitch darkness of her room. At first, she thought she might have imagined it. Then she rolled over. She was met by two glowing red eyes looking down at her.
If she could, she would have screamed in fright.
'Don't do that. It's me.' Watcher's voice said. The red eyes turned away, and disappeared. She felt him sit on the edge of her bed. 'Are you ready?'
Feeling foolish, and her heart still hammering in her chest, Glorya pulled herself from her blankets and reached over to her table lamp. It hummed to life with a faint purple glow that faded into a wash of white light. Her room filled with the soft light, revealing the round, stone chamber. It was neatly furnished with objects carved in detail: a chair and desk, a dresser, and a nightstand. Books stood in stacks upon the desk, and a cloth covered a pitcher of water and a bowl on the dresser. There were no windows, only one open archway into her private bathing room and the double doors to the hall. It was her room as it always was. And then there was Watcher.
There was something very surreal about facing him there in the dark. Although he was the same, somehow he wasn't quite the Watcher she had known. She was glimpsing another dimension of him that she had tried to deny for the sake of her own peace of mind. She had never seen him beyond the halo of his Tower window. The light and open air had become associated with him in that remaining corner of her mind that had still believed him to be as some imaginary creature; someone she had invented to endure the isolation of her calling. Here in the enclosed darkness, she truly realized for the first time that he was very real, and there was nothing light and airy about him.
'Watcher.' She calmed as he smiled at her, but she remained wary. 'How did you get in here?'
'I told you, I can be like a shadow.' Watcher lifted himself from the bed. 'I would rather not take you from this place the same way I came in. This may sound like a silly request, but you'll have to be very quiet.'
'Hold on, I never agreed to leave.' Glorya sat up and glared up at him.
'Glorya-'
'No.' She said firmly. 'You don't understand. I risk too much by leaving here, even for a night. What if we can't return before dawn? What about all the people that depend on me to Sing the stones? All the power in our world, everything that makes our society possible, depends on the energy released from the Phoenix Towers each day. Not just anyone can be allowed to Sing the stones, the Tower is very sensitive. I can't go... This is my calling, my responsibility...'
'Don't you want to know who these people are, these people you're responsible for?' Watcher said, his voice filled with that distant wind. 'These people for whom you are sacrificing everything for?'
Although she intended to refuse once more, there was an odd sense of desperation about Watcher. There was nothing in his face or voice, but she could feel it somewhere in the back of her mind. She stared back at him for a long moment, struggling with herself. At last, she made her decision.
'Alright. Just this once.'
Watcher responded with a pleased smile, that almost made her change her mind. Instead she climbed out of bed, and pushed him into her bathing room. There was a screen just inside the archway, and she pulled that across his surprised face as he turned around. 'Stay in there until I finish getting ready.' She told him.
When they left her room, she closed the doors behind them as quietly as she could. The hallways were dark, except for softly glowing glyphs engraved on the walls. Unlike the main body of the Temple, which was composed of a massive crystal, the living areas were carved from the stone caverns of the mountainside. There was always an echo, so she carried her sandals. She noticed Watcher's sandals never echoed as walked down the hall.
'How do you plan on getting out? There are always priests stationed at the great doors.'
Watcher grinned at her. 'You'll see.'
They made their way out of the living quarters and into the main body of the Temple. It was as bright as daylight. Everything glimmered with the opalescent spectrum of lights given off by the purple crystal structures. The narrow corridor brought them to an angular, sealed portal. As they neared, there was a crystalline, electric hum as light flooded certain glyphs on the door, then streaked out through the doorframe into the linear grooves surrounding them. Almost instantly, the portal opened in a flash of light, the door disappearing in a spray of particles. Glorya took Watcher's hand as they stepped into the brilliant light within the portal.
For a moment, she felt the usual invisible energy hold them in place. Glorya held her breath. Then there was the rush of air over her as the programmed crystal passageway identified her. It was quick, as always.
The white energy became blinding and hummed even more loudly. She closed her eyes as it picked them up and zipped them across the passage, depositing them on the other side. She opened her eyes to see the last glowing particles flying away from them. 'That's a relief,' she said with a mental sigh. 'I wasn't sure if it would accept you.'
Watcher just smiled and continued on, keeping hold of her hand as he led the way.
Directly ahead of them was a translucent crystal wall set diagonally in their path. They stepped onto a circular engraving on the floor, and the blocks of the wall rearranged themselves, chiming as they moved. The path was opened to them.
'The labyrinth is programmed to allow the Temple dogs free access, so we should be careful; they don't know you.' Glorya glanced behind her. 'The labyrinth walls will open for me, but not all of the portals will. So which way are we going?'
'Don't worry about the dogs. You can reach the living quarters on the other side of the Temple, right?'
She gave him a confused look. 'Yes, but there's no way to get out from-'
'Perfect, because that's where we're going.'
After a few minutes, Glorya realized that Watcher seemed to know the Temple labyrinth as well as anyone who lived there. There was an ordered structure to opening pathways, so unless one knew how to correctly manipulate the walls, they would be lost in there for ages. Or as long as it took for the Temple dogs to stumble across the poor intruder. Despite Watcher's repeated assurances, she was surprised when the Temple dogs paid no mind to him.
Some of the dogs wagged their tails at him, but other than that, he might as well have been another of the Temple priests. The dogs crossed their paths several times. Sometimes there was only one dog or two, other times they crossed in packs. Only one white dog stopped to bark him, but hurried away with its tail between its legs when Watcher gave it a look.
Hoping no one had heard that, she was looking around when she realized that Watcher had stopped.
She turned to see Watcher was staring intently at her...no, he was looking past her. She turned to see what he was looking at. It was another labyrinth wall, and beyond that, a corridor leading to a portal.
'Do you know where that leads?' His voice had that roaring wind again.
'No.' She turned back to him. 'I can't access that portal. No one ever speaks of what lies within the Deep Chamber. It's the most sacred place in the Temple...perhaps the most sacred place in the world.'
For another few seconds, Watcher stared, as though his eyes could see beyond the walls and the doors, into the secrets within the Deep Chamber. His eyes flashed crimson before turning away. He gripped her hand as he led them onward and away from the forbidden portal without asking anything more.
Soon they reached the other side of the Temple. The caverns of the living quarters were even darker after coming out of the brightness, but Watcher did not slow down. His gaze was roaming the cave walls, as if seeking something in the stone.
Glorya was nervous, imagining that at any moment, a priest or a maiden might turn the next corner or open a door. 'Watcher...'
'We're nearly there, everything's fine.' Watcher assured her as he marched them on. He turned them around a corner, where they came to a short corridor and a steep stairway. 'It's down here.'
'That only leads to a small chapel.' She pointed to the glyph shining above the stairway. 'This one is for priests only.'
This didn't seem to bother Watcher, who didn't even look at the glyph. He let go of her hand and went down the stairs, vanishing into the shadows below. 'Come on,' he called. 'Don't just stand around, or someone will see you.' Only his glowing red eyes seemed to look up at her from the blackness.
A chill passed through her at the image, which was too much like something from a nightmare. Looking around herself one last time, she made herself go down the stairs. If she had been flooded with light in the labyrinth, here she was engulfed in darkness. Her free hand went out, and she felt Watcher take it. She followed as he guided her through the small chapel.
'Almost...' There was a hint of triumph to Watcher's voice.
There was a loud scraping that made Glorya recoil in fright. Then a pale light flooded over them. Now she could see that Watcher had moved aside a large bookcase, to reveal a hole in the wall. It was actually a door leading outside. They stepped out into the moonlight, the cool night air whipping furiously at their hair and robes. When she looked to the left, Glorya realized they were standing in a long alcove, carved into the mountainside. Through several soaring archways, she could see the city spread out before them. The great buildings and pyramids were reaching up towards the midnight blue sky with its countless glittering points of light.
'Watcher...' Her eyes were wide with amazement. She rarely saw the night sky, and never from such a view. "It's beautiful... But how did you... How do we...?'
Watcher laughed quietly aloud, and turned and walked away from her a little. 'Just put on your sandals.'
As she knelt there lacing her sandals, she wondered what Watcher had in mind. She couldn't imagine how he meant to get down from there. The cliff was too sheer, and too high up. Then again, Watcher seemed to be able to pull out one trick after another; she half expected him to reveal yet another mysterious doorway from out of nowhere.
Perhaps he had caught that last thought, because he was smiling to himself as he turned and stepped to the edge of the cliff. His hands clasped behind his back, he gazed down briefly, before turning his face towards the shining city. His slender form was like a shadow against the silvery moonlight. Glorya stood and approached him hesitantly. She stopped a few feet away.
Even though she was behind him, she could feel that he was in deep thought. Did he really have no plan for getting them down from there? Or worse, did that plan involve climbing down the cliff? If he intended for them to go down that way, she was ready to refuse. She had already agreed to more risks than she should have for his sake, but she wasn't going to do anything that suicidal.
'Watcher, what now? There's no way down.'
His head turned to the side, and from behind the gentle fall of his hair, she could just see the silvery profile of his face. He grinned. 'There's always a way.' Dropping his hands to his sides, he slowly turned to face her, even the light of his eyes hidden in the shadow. 'As long as you desire it.'
'I don't understand. Listen... I was willing to go with you, but you can't expect me to...' Her words trailed away as her eyes widened.
A shimmering light was spreading out across Watcher's shoulders and his back. Glorya almost thought she was imagining it, when the light suddenly intensified right before pushing away from his body, revealing masses of raven-black feathers as the glow stretched outward. As the light spread, so did a great shadow spread across the alcove. The lower and higher darkness looming from his back extended below and above the alcove, like a black cross. They were wings, six massive wings. The middle pair were the only ones that extended into the alcove itself, curling into the archways on either side of the one where Watcher stood. As they circled Glorya, the glow disappeared in a burst of particles, and she was cast into complete darkness.
Glorya looked from the rustling of feathers she heard around her, to where Watcher stood. He was still as a shadow, and she was unable to see his face. The wind was moving through his hair and his robes. Even his feathers were dancing on the night air. The only illumination was the intense silver moonlight that bordered his sprawling silhouette.
She was speechless, struggling to comprehend what she was seeing, no longer knowing what to think. This was more than a trick, but she couldn't begin to imagine what it was. She half stepped back, stopping when she backed into silky black wings, cool to the touch.
'I need you to trust me, Glorya.'
Once again that night, even though it was Watcher, she was a little frightened and very confused. Still, she gathered her courage, and with slow, cautious steps, made her way towards him. She stopped close in front of him, and struggled to see into the pitch. Her Watcher was somewhere in that dark abyss, but she still couldn't see his face.
'Closer.' Watcher ordered gently.
Now more confused than frightened, she edged closer. She didn't realize how close until she saw the red glow of his eyes slowly flare to life in front of her. If she moved another step, they would touch.
For a brief moment, his face, and those intensely burning eyes, were a breath away from hers. Before she knew what was happening, he moved forward and put his arms around her, turning his face against her temple. Glorya just stood limply with a frozen look of shock on her face.
At that moment, Glorya felt extremely confused, nervous, and awkward. She could feel his chest moving against her, and his breath, warm and uneven above her ear. Watcher had never done anything like this before, and she didn't know what to think, what to do. Even though the air was a little chill, she now felt almost stifling warm. Her heart was racing and her mind was trying to shut down... 'Watcher... What...?'
"I need you..." He whispered into her hair. "...I need you to hold onto me."
'What...?'
Silently, he pulled her closer to himself.
'Watcher...' She hesitated, then carefully embraced him.
In response, he grinned widely against her temple, and she knew it was perhaps the wildest grin she would never see on his face. She could feel it, along with a strange, unfathomable clutter of emotional noise that echoed through their connection. When he chuckled deeply, sending a strange vibration through her, she was even more confused.
Then they began to rise.
Shocked, Glorya grasped at his robes, but he was holding her so securely that she was in no danger of falling. Like a frightened animal, she looked down to confirm that they were floating off the ground. She could feel Watcher's amusement at her response.
'That's it.' He said. 'Now don't let go.'
'Oh... Oh no!' She cried out, now realizing what he meant to do. She seized him in a death grip. 'Watcherrr!'
They dropped towards the floor again. She felt a momentary relief, but on impact with the ground, Watcher immediately leapt backwards over the cliff. Glorya would have screamed if she could, her world suddenly full of rustling black feathers and blasting winds. They were plummeting so fast, she was sure they would hit the rocks at any moment. After what seemed like an eternity, the huge black wings trailing behind them suddenly opened up with a thunderous sound. She looked up, and she saw the wings were spread above them like a new sky, and she could no longer see the stars. With a single powerful movement, and a whump of air, the wings pushed them up towards the heavens.
Feeling as though she had left her stomach behind them, she held on more tightly to Watcher. As they seemed to slow, almost as if floating, she dared to glance up. They were in the sky. For a moment, she thought she could see beyond the mountains, a land far away...
'We could go there if you wish.' Watcher said quietly.
'N-No. Let's go into the city.' She tried to compose herself, which was difficult. What had she gotten herself into? What was happening? Her breath was coming in deep gulps. It was important that she remain in control. 'Only until dawn, remember? Take me down, please...'
Watcher nodded silently, a sense of calming affirmation in her mind.
They fell back into a dive, before the wings spread wide once more, easing them into a slow, horizontal descent. The sky fell away as they went sailing down from the glittering of the stars above to the glittering of the city below. Glorya buried her face against Watcher's shoulder until they came gently down to the earth. Even then, she didn't release him right away.
Only now, when it was over, did she wish it hadn't ended so soon.