As material existence returned to the Doctor, he found himself standing upon a broad circular platform that appeared to be built around a glowing blue spire framed elegantly in curves that towered perhaps a hundred feet into the air. The brilliant vortex at its base glowed white.
Beyond it, the spire was dwarfed by a broad ramp that ascended towards a massive circular fortress of intricate grey stone topped with an equally impressive and sprawling pink cherry blossom tree.
The Doctor craned his neck straight up to gaze at the hundred floating isles high in the blue and pink expanse above. Were those what he had seen from the ground below that had looked like Gallifreyan writing?
"Oh, Doctor!" Rose said, and he glanced to the side to find her next to him. She was staring off behind him, her mouth agape, and he turned. The fortress was facing a familiar teleportation platform with its twin winged statues, and just past it was the edge of the platform with open space beyond.
It was as if they were standing atop a viewing platform in orbit around a sun. The proximity momentarily shocked the Doctor, because if had been a star, they would have instantly been incinerated. The enormous orange burning sphere was positioned so that they seemed to be below it. They could see the lower curve, but its higher pole stretched up towards the islands above.
"Doctor...what is that?" Rose asked in awe.
The Doctor stared a moment more before glancing about in an attempt to get his bearings. The concentration of Aether that allowed flight was strong here as it was at Eltnen Fortress, Verteron and Heiron Citadels, and Eracus Temple. They seemed to be on an island, with other islands disappearing into the hazy ether far into the distance to either side. The one on the far left was actually a tower of rock that extended upwards. The rock gave way to a column of blue crystal or energy, the Doctor couldn't tell which. There was more rock above it, level with the islands high above. Was that the Tower of Eternity? No, it couldn't be. The Tower was no more.
"Oh..." the Doctor looked back to the large ball of flame before them. "That's the Tower of Eternity, there, isn't it? Or rather, what's left of it. That's what Siel gave her life to stop from destroying the rest of Atreia."
"You mean...that's the center of the planet?"
"The core, although it looks like a sun, doesn't it? But it's not, it's far smaller. Atreia is all around us. We're in the Abyss."
He felt Rose grasp his right hand. He squeezed it back.
"I guess...I assumed we'd just appear in space. Still flying. How are we breathing? Or are we? I mean, it feels like we're breathing air, but we're immortal and all."
"Apparently even Daevas drown." He pointed with his tome in his left hand to the tree behind them, above the fortress. "I don't think trees grown in a vacuum. Not that type of tree, anyway. And I don't know that flight would work without air." The Doctor lowered his head to look at the teleporter standing on his platform. He wore the same tan robe Onesimus and Polyidus did. "They've established a base of operations on the other side of their Gates, it seems." The teleporter opened a brief portal for a Daeva as they watched, and the Doctor and Rose stepped forward. "Hello, new Daevas to Reshanta. I'm the Doctor, this is Rose."
The teleporter nodded his head to the Doctor. "Tellus. Welcome to Teminon Landing. Can I send you to another fortress?"
"Um..." the Doctor shared a glance with Rose before turning back to Tellus. "We're actually looking for a place called Tigraki Island."
Tellus frowned and shook his head. "I'm not familiar with such a place, sorry."
The Doctor sighed and nodded in disappointment. "Right, thanks." He turned away from the teleporter as another Daeva walked up to Tellus and glanced around for ideas.
"What now?" Rose asked.
"Dunno. Didn't think about it being so secretive not even a teleporter would know about it." He indicated the fortress with a nod. "We could ask around in there, I suppose."
"I've got an idea," Rose said suddenly. She stepped forward, and her white expansive wings appeared and stretched out in front of him. It was almost an automatic response for the Doctor to follow suit, and he launched into the air after her.
As they rose above the platform, the Doctor could see the two platforms flanking theirs to either side. He could also see islands just below theirs in the distance, some so small that nothing was built atop them but simply floating chunks of rock, some covered in grass. From the side platforms, each had a series of four flight rings angling down towards the larger of the islands to either side.
Rose had been hovering in the air, but she now began to move somewhat towards the fortress. As she began to glide into a descent, the Doctor saw the figure below and grinned. "Clever girl." She flared and landed gracefully on the walk outside the fortress, and the Doctor set down nearby. The Shugo standing there looked up at Rose expectantly.
"Aurunerk sell something Daevas need? Hard to find item, perhaps?"
"We're looking for a secret Shugo island," Rose said readily. "You know the one I'm talking about."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows at her approach, but he said nothing and darted his eyes to the Shugo.
"Nyerk," Aurunerk began, then looked nervously to the side. "Daeva have business with the Black Cloud Traders? Aurunerk would be happy to provide."
When Rose hesitated and bit her lip towards him, the Doctor spoke up. "Do you know Jarumonerk?"
Aurunerk looked between them. "Jarumonerk is not a Black Cloud Trader. If Daevas have business with Jarumonerk, Aurunerk cannot help you."
So, the Doctor mused, there appeared to be another faction involved. This Shugo clearly knew of Jarumonerk, though. Rose seemed to pick up on this as well.
"Well of course he isn't," Rose said. "That's not the point. We're expected to meet with him, and we were told a Black Cloud Trader was hanging around here that would tell us where he was. You're that Shugo, aren't you?"
The Shugo visibly flinched. "Who...who told you that? Aurunerk says nothing of Tigraki. Knows nothing!"
Oh, bad move. The Doctor took a step towards Rose, but she stayed him with a hand and braced her herself on her knees, leaning towards the Shugo and narrowing her eyes. "You know perfectly well who," she accused in that unnerving way that only Rose Tyler could. "Jarumonerk has the information we need, and when we said how important our mission from Sanctum was, we were assured you would help us."
He began to fidget and bounce up and down on his rodent toes. "Nyerk...but why did Javirunerk not say instead? Aurunerk will be in trouble if telling you where!"
"Javirunerk told us you were in a better position to tell us." Rose shrugged dismissively. "I don't know what that means. But you'll be in trouble if you don't tell us. Something about a new contract with Jarumonerk that changes everything."
The Doctor suppressed a smirk as he looked to the Shugo, who had stopped fidgeting and appeared completely shocked as he stared at Rose with wide black eyes.
"Nyerk...Daeva...speaks truth? Contract with Tigraki?" Aurunerk scrubbed his hands and looked to either side. "Aurunerk not understand why being told to share secret, but will do Aurunerk's part." He pointed to the stone tower in the distance. Tigraki Island in Upper Abyss. Daevas take Western Shard of Latesran, yes? From there, keep Eye of Reshanta on right. This is how Javirunerk finds island in airship. If Daevas see big sword, Daevas have gone too far! Tigraki far away from everything else, hard to see until close!"
Rose straightened and looked to the Doctor expectantly. The Doctor smiled warmly. "Thank you, Aurunerk. You've been an invaluable service to Sanctum, the Black Cloud Traders, and Tigraki."
Aurunerk shook his head, musing to himself. "Aurunerk not understand how Sanctum involved with Black Cloud and Tigraki contract. Aurunerk been away too long, must check in. Why does it have to be so far? Aurunerk needs wings like Daeva!"
Before the Shugo could work out the truth, the Doctor spread his wings, hinting to Rose that they should leave. She took the cue and followed him, towards the Shard of Latesran. They soared over the side platform, and the Doctor took the lead through the flight rings that led away from Teminon Landing.
Rose caught up to him as they exited the rings and winged their way over an island of bare rock towards another set of rings leading up to the Tower's island. "You doubted me, didn't you?" Rose asked.
"You clearly proved me wrong. Well done." The Doctor glanced at Rose, who smiled proudly.
"To be honest, I'm surprised my voice didn't wobble and give away that I had no idea what I was talking about! Was terrified I'd get that Shugo name wrong."
"Could've fooled me. That Shugo may be in a load of trouble, though."
"Elysea was at stake, wasn't it? I did what I had to. You don't approve?"
"Oh, I do." The Doctor bobbed his eyebrows at Rose before preparing to fly ahead into the next ring. "Remind me to show you just how much later!"
After passing through the rings, they found themselves over the large island's base. The Doctor was happy to have the ground under him, even though his wings were still going strong with the help of the flight rings. Clusters of large blue crystals sprouted here and there below. Just as he was passing one on the edge of the island to the right, he could swear a smaller one moved before it was behind him.
In front of him to the right, more islands that ringed the core of the Abyss came into view. Before the Doctor could pay them much attention, the arch that led under the tower to the left opened up. A few Daevas stood upon a platform, and within the heart of the Tower of Latesran glowed an impressive column of Aetheric energy the Doctor recognised from a distance higher in the Tower. It apparently ran all the way up through the hollow rock, its pattern resembling sunlight glinting off shallow moving water. They landed on the platform in front of a blonde woman in an attractive but not overly revealing dress the Doctor had come to associate with female Mages.
"Teleporting up?" she asked.
"Yes, please," the Doctor replied.
She quoted a price of over a thousand kinah. The Doctor looked to Rose who shook her head. He frowned at the teleporter. "Can we just fly up, then?"
The woman smiled. "Of course. It's a long way, but doable. You may wish to rest partway up, where the rock penetrates the stream of Aether."
The Doctor shared a smile with Rose before nodding to the woman. "Thank you." He looked to Rose. "Ready?" She nodded to him, and together they flew up towards the stream.
-^^-W-^^-
The Doctor wasn't sure what he would feel as they passed into the stream of Aether that ran up the length of the Tower of Latesran, and he was surprised that he perceived no change at all. As he concentrated on lift and checking on Rose's progress, he reached out with his senses. He could feel the Aether was strong and all around, but it did little to affect him.
The Doctor looked up into the stream as he flew upwards and was chilled at the resemblance to travel through the Time Vortex. It was also very apparent that they had a long climb ahead of them, as he couldn't even see the end of it.
Overnight, the Doctor's protective mental cocoon Rose had created for him in Eracus had slowly worked itself apart as his mind recovered, and by morning he had felt normal enough to experience Rose's vision with her. As he felt for her now, her presence was clearly nearby, and he took comfort in her touch on his psyche as he led the way above.
They ascended for several minutes before the Doctor began to tire, and he felt the same from Rose. He noted the rock coming through the stream all around, and as they rose above it, the Doctor could see the upper islands and the core of the Abyss through the green glow of the stream. They had reached the top of the stone tube where there was a place to land, and he alighted on its inner edge.
Rose let out a weary breath and set down next to him. "That's one hell of a climb. A lot further than Eracus."
"Indeed." The Doctor peered over the edge down the stream and could see the base. He then looked up and could now see the stream disappear into a smaller rock island. "Looks like we're about halfway up." He smiled at Rose. "We can do it." She grinned back at him and stepped into his embrace, where she stayed for several minutes until they felt rested enough to continue.
It was several more minutes of climbing straight up. The Doctor could somewhat make out the orange fiery core and the islands above it, but it was difficult through the light of the stream. They ascended into a rock tunnel partway up, and once they finally cleared it, the Doctor and Rose wearily landed next to the teleporter on the platform at the top and looked around.
They were now level with the top of the core, although it was partly obscured by a floating island of rock. Through the stream, the Doctor could make out an elaborate set of ruins upon another island. There was simply emptiness of distant nebulous gases of pink and blue in most other directions.
"I don't want to do that again anytime soon," Rose said as she caught her breath.
The Doctor thought over what Aurunerk had told them. He turned to the robed teleporter. "Excuse me, where's the Eye of Reshanta?" The man cocked an eyebrow and pointed at the core. "Oh...right, of course. Makes sense."
"Doctor, look." Rose pointed past the platform onto an outer part of the small island they were standing on. A disfigured form, ghostly in nature, prowled across the rocky flat ground. "What is it?" she asked quietly.
He eyed it warily. "Don't know. We best avoid it."
"Unless you're up to dispatching it, I would agree," the teleporter said, having overheard them. "We think they were once residents of the Ruins of Roah. They will attack if you get too close."
"What do you mean, once?" the Doctor asked. "What are they now?"
"Shadows. Restless spirits of ancient Daevas that can't return to Aether. They're all over the place."
Rose drew close. "I think he means ghosts," she said quietly.
"I know what he means," the Doctor bit out. "What caused it? I thought Daevas were immortal."
The teleporter shrugged. "The Cataclysm, I suspect. A violent enough death, no Obelisk? We can only speculate."
The Doctor watched it sadly for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking to Rose. "You rested enough?" Rose looked up at him with wide, soulful eyes and simply nodded. He nodded back and took to the air, towards the broken ring of stone that floated above the Eye, keeping the glowing sphere to his right.
It was one thing to fly with something below, even if distant. It was quite another to look down and see absolutely nothing in the void below. As the Doctor flew on from the top of the Tower of Latesran, they became further from anything solid, and he had to suppress a feeling of fear at falling. Everything became distant and seemed to barely move as they did until they approached the ring of rock ahead.
They touched down, winded once again. The ring appeared narrow from afar, but now that they were on it, it seemed quite broad. It was tilted away from the Eye, so they could no longer see it unless they went to the inner edge of the ring.
"Quite the wing workout," the Doctor commented between pants.
"It's like flying through space, just like I imagined, only bigger!" Rose laughed.
They began to walk on down the length of the ring as they rested their wings. There was nothing to their left, not even distant islands, just pink gaseous clouds as far as they could see. To their right above the Eye, great horns of rock rose up from the islands that loomed close by.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, the Doctor squinted into the distance ahead and pointed. "What's that look like to you?"
Rose stopped to get a steady look at the island with the structure seeming to stab down into it at an angle. "Don't tell me that's a giant sword," she moaned.
"That's what it looks like to me." The Doctor swiveled about, looking into the empty void.
"That's what the Shugo said meant we went too far?"
"Yes, but he was speaking from a perspective of flight." He nodded. "Out there, I think, as if from an airship, or in our case, on the wing."
"An island out all by itself."
"Mm hmm. Further than we can see, apparently, unless we're close."
"Leap of faith, yeah?"
The Doctor grinned and peered down over his shoulder at his blonde, beautiful Rose, his sole companion in the vastness of the Abyss. Her white armour shone in the light of the star that bathed Elysea far below. "Ready for this?"
She beamed up at him. "I'll follow you anywhere, Doctor."
With their grins still on their faces, the Doctor leapt off the solid safety of the stone ring into the space beyond.
-^^-W-^^-
Without the islands to his right, the Doctor would lose all sense of reference in the sea of space as he looked onwards. He beat his wings purposefully, trusting that the familiar motions were moving him forward. He and Rose were like a ship in the deep ocean, or the TARDIS in temporal suspension drifting across a blanket of stars, in the middle of nowhere.
Behind them, the Eye of Reshanta blazed in its entirety, the orange sphere further than ever. The Doctor occasionally looked back to make sure he was flying straight out from it.
Even through the thrill of adventure, the Doctor was terrified they would tire and fall before they reached land. At what point did they turn around?
The Doctor turned his head left as something distant caught his eye, a shadow against the pink sky.
"Doctor, look!"
"I see it!" he shouted back and immediately turned towards it. Within moments, he could make out the outline of a tiny island. Relief washed through him, but they hadn't made it yet.
"You all right, Rose?"
"Yeah! Although...can we make that?"
"Yes we can," the Doctor assured her immediately, although with how slowly the island appeared to be getting closer, he couldn't be certain. There was no other choice, no turning back now. They were going to have to.
He gripped his tome tighter in his left hand and concentrated on keeping his wing beats steady, making out what he could of their goal as they came closer. There seemed to be a wooden structure on the right side of the island. Of course, he thought, it was a dock for their airships. He wondered if Shugo airships were anything like the one he saw in the Sky Canal in Sanctum. They had been able to see it from the window of their Inn room. Oh, that night seemed like such a long time ago. And look at them now, flying high above that sky through the center of the world on their own wings, just outside what had once been the Tower of Eternity that he had read about that night in the Library of the Sages!
The Doctor began to feel the strain on his wings. The island was just there, but it was still so far! He had never flown for this long, even for his reckless and impassioned flight with Rose around Eracus Cavern.
"I can't, Doctor!" Rose called out to him, and he glanced down, alarmed at how far below him she was now.
"Yes you can, Rose! Come on!" The Doctor tried to encourage her, but he could see her beats were sluggish, and they finally stopped altogether.
"I think...I can't...Doctor, I can feel them pulling away!" Rose cried in panic. "They're going to disappear!"
The Doctor dove after her, drawing near. He didn't know how his own exhausted wings were going to carry her up towards the island, but he was going to try if hers failed her completely.
They were too far away, but so close. All they needed was a bit of a boost! Certainly there had to be something, some sort of magic...oh, the wind serum!
"Rose! Do you still have your wind serum?" the Doctor fumbled with his right jacket pocket, attempting to keep his nerveless fingers steady so as not to drop anything out of it.
"Oh...oh, yeah!"
As the Doctor glided with Rose, the island now above them, he retrieved the small glass bottle and looked to her. She now had hers as well. He could visibly see her wings begin to tremble as she unstoppered the bottle and tipped it to her lips. Only after she lowered it did the Doctor nip out the cork and take his own draught of milky white liquid.
The effect was immediate. The strain of sustained flight faded away, and the strength to climb was evident in every flap of his quickened wings. Rose was now flying normally again as well, wasting no time in ascending back up towards the island.
The Doctor whooped in victory, and Rose laughed with relief.
Rock horns stuck up randomly around the perimeter. There was a cluster of buildings near the dock and a dozen Shugo scattered across the island. As they finally had ground below them once again, the Doctor could feel that the serum hadn't given him long, and he had never been happier to touch down than he was right now.
"Oh, this had better be Tigraki Island," the Doctor vented loudly to the nearest Shugo. It happened to be a cute furry female in an orange bustier and matching skirt. She nodded readily to him, so the Doctor turned his full attention towards her. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to fly here?" he went on. The Shugo paused a moment and shook her head. The Doctor crossed his arms. "Where's Jarumonerk?" She blinked at him with round black eyes, then tilted to one side and pointed behind him at the larger of the two igloo-shaped houses behind him. He swiveled, but turned back to her to ask one more question. "Are you mute?" To this, her brow furrowed angrily and she shook her head.
"Come on, Doctor," Rose groaned, picking up his hand and dragging him away. "Leave the poor thing alone."
Shugo construction was rudimentary compared to that of the Elyos. The igloos were made of brown clay in two different shades with turquoise and orange horizontal stripes decorating the exterior. They were reinforced with wooden planks, and the larger igloo had a thatch-roofed tower on top.
As they approached, the Doctor was happy to see he wouldn't have to duck into the doorway. Above the entrance, a crafted Shugo head was sat atop a sign that read, "Tigraki Workshop" in alien symbols.
The white-furred Shugo inside worked at a short cluttered table, and the Doctor's eyes were drawn to the red band wrapped just beneath the black tip of his long tail as he flicked it busily behind him. The Doctor knocked on the inside of the doorway, and the Shugo's nearest pointy ear rotated towards them just before he jumped in surprise and stared at him through his dark goggles.
"Ak! What are Daevas doing here?"
"Jarumonerk?"
"Yes. Daeva come long way for cube?"
"Long way is right, and while I'd love a bigger-on-the-inside souvenir, I have a more important question to ask you."
Jarumonerk turned fully towards him. "Oh?"
The Doctor stopped in front of him and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm being rude. Like I said, long journey. I'm the Doctor, and this is Rose. We're looking for an Artifact of Time and Space, and if anyone knows about it, it would be you, am I right?"
"Artifact...of Time and Space? Reshanta has many Artifacts, but not like that."
The Doctor sighed in disappointment, but even as he did so, he thought about what else Jarumonerk said. "There are other Artifacts, where in Reshanta?" They may not be what the Doctor was looking for, but his curiosity was piqued as to what an Artifact of a different sort was like.
"Daevas fly to Eye. There are many there, near Fortresses above Eye, before you get to hole in top. Just fly above and look down. You will see them, sometimes on small islands of their own!"
The Doctor crossed his arms over his chest, letting the edge of his tome rest against his hip. "So we were pretty close to them, then, before we flew out here." He shared a look with Rose.
"We have to fly back anyway, don't we?"
He nodded. "If we rest up, it will be fine. If we fly straight for the Eye, it will be quicker. We didn't fly straight here because we couldn't see it."
"Seems we came out here for nothing," Rose moaned, and the Doctor hung his head.
The Shugo craftsman rubbed his hands together. "Jarumonerk sorry. If Daevas had black wings, Jarumonerk could help, as Asmodae has an Artifact of Time and Space."
The Doctor's head shot up and he squeaked, "What?"
Jarumonerk startled. "Not Jarumonerk's fault! Artifact been there a long time! In place called Beluslan, at Asmodian fortress."