Falias, Finias Chapter Eight
Suggested Theme:
Main Theme- Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen
For his second trip to the OverWorld, Kazdan chose one of his dad's classier outfits. This outfit consists of a black dress coat and black vest over a white button-down shirt with black slacks and scuffed dress shoes. He adjusts his white tie as he walks by the girl with red eyes and a brown ponytail.
Her maroon lips smirk as he walks by.
The best way to start my day! He smiles with rosy cheeks. He goes downstairs and takes a seat in a table shadowed by the upstairs balcony.
He raises his hand to get the attention of a bot.
"Shouldn't you be figuring out how to get water to your home planet?" How do I keep getting him? Does he wait for me?
"I would if my friends hadn't trapped me in this man suit." The bot offers a huff in lieu of an eye roll. "I have more questions for you to answer."
"I suspect as much, but do be quick. The PortCourt will be full of newbies soon."
"Am I allowed to bring a CD player to Perim with CDs?"
"No."
"I can't even rent one?" The bot nods. "But I've seen players rent tents, backpacks, and jackets here. Why is a CD player prohibited?"
"It would interfere with Perim's culture." Kazdan stares incredulously at him. "If you want Creatures to listen to your music, then use the Scanner and make sure your headphones aren't plugged in."
"…Okay." He pauses to recall more questions. "What is a solon? At what rate do Creatures age? And can Creatures be immortal?"
"A solon is approximately six months. The rate of aging differs between Tribes. And immortality is defined as the ability to live forever, and my records have indicated that forever has yet to arrive."
"What do you mean aging differs between Tribes?"
"Some Tribes have environments that inspire rapid aging because maturity contributes to survival. And considering the diversity of environments in particular Tribes, aging differs even between Tribesmates."
"So would you say that UnderWorlders age faster than OverWorlders?"
"Not all UnderWorlders age faster than OverWorlders; some have enough discipline and wisdom to control their aging." Kazdan opens his mouth. "I'm not saying that those Creatures are immortals, but they seem to have longer lives than their average Tribesmates."
"Like Ch—" His question is cut off by a girlish scream, which causes the bot to sigh.
"Duty calls."
"Thank you for answering my questions."
"You're welcome, KidChaor."
The bot whirls away, and Kazdan decides to port to the OverWorld.
The OverWorld is not as kind to him as it was the last time. The sun in the plaza is bearing down on his full suit like an ant at the mercy of a magnifying glass.
Not as many players out here today. He notices only three players walking around the plaza, most wiping their foreheads with the back of their hands or fanning themselves with their Scanners. None of the players were the blonde with green eyes.
His lips curl up.
He quickly moves through the plaza to get to the bar where he last saw Accato. He has to deliver bad news to the budding rock star, but he hopes that he can get a scan beforehand.
Maybe I can just ask Accato for a scan since he was so chummy with me the last time. Or I could lie to him and say that my Scanner can make music for him if he gave me his scan. But I bet Accato has been trained by Maxxor to spot a liar. Or would they just be called UnderWorlders here? He thinks as he makes his way to the bar with the blue juniper sign.
He walks into the bar.
The bartender is there with his back to him, arranging cleaned glasses onto shelves. He looks around and sees no sign of Maxxor's cousin anywhere.
"E-Excuse me, where's Accato?"
"Accato is at the Sacred Temple, human." The bartender replies without turning around; he's far too busy arranging his glasses into horizontal rows.
"And where is that?"
"Go all the way down the alley, then take a left and keep going straight until it ends, and then take another left." Kazdan waits a minute for him to say more, but he only hears glasses clink together as the bartender arranges them on the shelf.
Will I ever be on friendly terms with this guy? Probably not. He leaves to find Accato and the Sacred Temple.
His cheeks and nose are red and burning like he'd been hit by a Flame Orb. Two hours, he walked without any trees to shield his sun-attracting suit to reach the Sacred Temple as per the bartender's instructions.
Next time, I'm renting two canteens filled with cold water and a sun hat! He swears as he pants under the shadow of a Grecian column.
The Sacred Temple is composed of seven columns with flowery vines twisting around the columns like snakes. The flowers on the vine remind him of red roses with dandelion puffs blooming in the heart of them.
I see the columns and the stone steps, but where is the building? He wonders as he walks up the steps. When he reaches the top, he is greeted by a set of stairs going down into a pitch-black hole.
Okay, are all OverWorlder temples underground? That seems more like a Danian thing. He eyes the hole, looking for some kind of movement from a monster in the darkness.
After five minutes, he takes a step down.
And then another.
And another.
Another.
The darkness never relents.
It clings to his eyes like a sunburn.
He clings to the railing, heart racing for every moan the wooden railing utters. He does not know how much time has passed, but his dress shoes, eventually, touch solid ground. His fingers let go of the railing with a groan.
I am still in utter darkness, but I can use my Scanner for a light now since I don't need both hands on the railing. He sticks his hand into his pocket and pulls out his Scanner; he feels his way to the touch pad and the Scanner brightens. He toggles until he finds the flashlight function and watches as the Chaotic logo in the back turns into a floodlight.
Now, I see dirt. Ordinary, brown dirt. He walks with his eyes on the light. Eventually, he reaches a door on the floor with a painted symbol of the flowers on the columns. The door has a golden hoop that he immediately pulls open.
Bright, natural light floods from the door, causing him to cry out and fumbles his Scanner.
"When you open a door, you're supposed to go through it." A feminine voice teases from beyond the door. Once his eyes adjust, he approaches the door and looks down to see a wooden ladder with a Creature holding it. The Creature is a goat humanoid with black fur and ivory horns in the shape of a screw; he is also wearing a white toga with a laurel crown.
"….Okay." Considering how Creatures can speak English, I wonder if their Ancient Tongue is derived from Latin. He holds his tongue from asking, not wanting to try this supposedly kind Creature's patience. He climbs down the ladder and finds out that the Creature is only a couple inches taller than him.
"Thank you, uh…." He waits for the Creature to give him his name. But the Creature only looks him over with his yellow eyes.
"Your hair is exact color of Lady Etheno's scales. You even have her golden streaks!" The Creature reaches with his blacken cloven-hoof-hand to touch a yellow highlight, but Kazdan jumps back and winces when he feels the ladder's rung dig into his back.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" The Creature sheepishly apologizes to him. "It's just…you're the first human I've ever seen down here." And I must be the first human you ever interacted with! He bites down on his tongue from retorting.
"….Okay." I've been saying "okay" a lot. I don't do that on Earth.
"Ah, I have forgotten my manners!" The Creature slightly bows before him like a servant before an honored guest. "I'm Novice Jeschi, and you are?"
"Kazdan Kalinkas."
"Kazdan is your forename? Not a title?" Kazdan nods. "I would call you 'Mister Kalinkas,' but I don't know if that's appropriate for your kind."
"It would be for my father. Just call me Kazdan, Novice Jeschi." The Novice laughs.
"Novice suffices for our current acquaintanceship." His small lips titter into a heart. "Jeschi only when communing with the Cothica."
"The Cothica? I thought it was lost."
"It is, but that does not mean It cannot hear all." The Novice waves his hooves in the air like he's conjuring stars.
"…..I see. Is Accato here?"
"Oh, yes, he's been here since this morning with Lady Etheno." The heart splits into a toothy leer.
"Can I see him?"
"If Lady Etheno wishes so." The Novice walks away from him. "Follow me, Kazdan."
As Kazdan follows the Novice, he takes as much mental notes about the environment. The walls, ceiling, and parts of the floor are embedded with white, tear-shaped rocks. The white tears are brimming with light so bright that it causes him to focus on the Novice's back. The Novice must have felt his intense stare because he cranes his head back. Brown circles meet with gold bars.
"The gems that you see all around us were a gift from High Muge Najarin to the temple over 400 solons ago." The Novice narrates like a tour guide. "He said that he found the gems at the bottom of Lake Ken-I-Po."
400 solons would be about 200 years ago, so Najarin must be over 200 years old. But what if he's older than that? He then opens his mouth for a question.
"So how did he—" The Novice stops before a green door with the red flower painted on it.
"I'll be back in a moment." The Novice slips in before Kazdan can say anything else. For a few minutes, he's left to his own devices. He looks around for something that isn't trying to burn his eyes. He sees a blur of colorful doors yards away from where he is. Some are blue, others are purple, and one is as white as the light of the gems.
"Lady Etheno will see you now." He jumps back when he hears the Novice speaks.
"I…..thanks." He mutters with red cheeks and slips inside before he becomes more like a fool.
His face turns as red as his hair.
"Do your kind not have bedrooms?" Her bedroom is easily thrice the size of his, but twice as cluttered by shelves of leather-bound tomes. She has a canopy bed with lavender curtains hiding it from further perusal by him, but he swears that he hears someone snoring in there. He walks carefully, not wanting to scuff the nighttime-colored floor, past the bed and to her line of sight.
"Not as grand as these, my Lady." He swallows roughly. Lady Etheno is lounging on a purple chaise, wearing a purple peplos, a loose dress held back by golden medallions. She has bronze scales and gray eyes like a snake. Her hair are scaly tentacles that writhe like a nest of snakes atop her round head. Two of the tentacles close to the sides of her temples have golden scales.
"Your attire suggests otherwise since it looks richer than most of the humans I see in the plaza." The way she says "humans" isn't with annoyance like most Creatures; it's clinical like a doctor studying a patient. Or a snake observing a rat.
"The clothes are…heirlooms from my father."
"And you got your gold from him?" Her eyes flick to his highlights.
"Mostly."
"What brings you to the temple? Surely not for communion with the Cothica. You look far too young for that." His thick eyebrows furrow, while his mouth frowns.
"What exactly is communion with the Cothica?"
"It is a sacred act requiring at least two willing participants, but one must be a Volupica." She pauses and smiles. "Do you know what a Volupica is?"
"No."
"A Volupica acts as a vessel for communion with the Cothica, and the best way to commune with the Cothica is through sex."
He gapes like a ruby red mackerel.
"I'm not a prostitute. Prostitution is illegal in the OverWorld."
"T-Then how can you afford this room!?"
"I receive a stipend, like everyone else in the holy works of the Cothica, derived from the small fee that those needing communion pay."
BUT THAT'S THE DEFINITION OF PROSTITUTION! He bites down hard enough on his tongue to taste metallic blood.
"…..The Novice told me that Accato was here." His eyes drift towards the curtained-off bed and then back to Lady Etheno.
She nods.
"W-Well, I….better go. Please, tell him I'll be at the bar next week."
"You are very quick to leave. I presume that humans do not have anything like Volupicas."
Historically, there have been cults that had sex as part of the worships to the Greco-Roman Pantheon. The cult of Dionysus was devoted to sexual pursuits, and snakes in the sect that Alexander the Great's mother was part of. He reminds himself and feels the redness dissipate from his face.
"We did back in ancient times. Now, it's wholly up to individuals in how they want to worship." For those that actually believe in a higher power and aren't dissuaded by people using religion as a tool to commit atrocities.
"You are summarizing. I would love to hear the full history."
"It's a very long history."
"Volupicas, too, have a long history. Perhaps, we can share some other time."
"Perhaps." He runs a hand through his hair, not sure what else to say.
"You may go." She dismisses him with a wave of her hand, and she opens her book up to read. He nods and slips outside. He half expects the Novice to be there like bad gossip.
But there's no one there.
Author's Comments- Here is the link:
The outfit that Thomas Jerome Newton aka David Bowie's character in The Man Who Fell to Earth at 2 minutes and 43 seconds is the outfit that Kazdan is wearing in this chapter. Considering the musical references in the show such as MajorTom aka Tom Majors, LU2 aka Lulu + U2, and Klay bearing some resemblance to Bano, I theorize that Kaz or at least his hair color came from Bowie's Newton since he has red hair with gold streaks in the movie. Perhaps, the creators were fans of David Bowie or that particular movie: a href=" /qPNa9KD4Y_k?t=2m43s"Link/a
With Kiru City, I always got this Classical Greco-Roman mixed with some "modern" Greek architecture in the design. While the UnderWorld City got the medieval with a tiny splash of Ancient East thrown into their architecture. Considering how the Dark Ages, aka the "fall" of the Roman Empire, were mainly know for the medieval designs, it's fitting how Kiru City would be designed in contrast to that. Or, perhaps, foreshadowing!
The flowers on the Sacred Temple's vines are inspired by myrtles and roses since both are the symbols for Venus/Aphrodite. Volupica actually comes from the Latin word volupia which means willingness and that in turn came from an alleged Roman Goddess known as Volupia. However, I was also inspired by Voluptas or Volupta who was the Roman equivalent to Hedone, aka the daughter of Psyche and Cupid/Eros, and she was the Goddess of Sensual Pleasures.
Next chapter, I plan a little action in the UnderWorld because Kazdan's time there cannot be all fine arts and eateries, especially in UnderWorld City.
By the way anyone who was a fan of "Forces," I'm not going to continue it because I would rather focus on this since I'm actually thinking about all the changes of a universe where Tom and Kaz aren't friends. I'm not going to delete it like my original version of "Forces," but I just won't write anymore for it. And if any of you are going to request to continue the story for me, my answer is no because I think someone else should make their own original work. Personally, I think if "Chaotic Crisis" actually happened then the Earth would nuke itself and wipe out all life there because I doubt Creatures are radiation-proof and I have a fairly dim view on human governments at the moment.
Minor note as of July 20th, 2018: I have recently re-watched season 1, episode 30 "The Curse of Kor-bek" where it turns out that solons gets defined. Because Sarah told the guys that 1000 solons is about 500 years, so that means a solon is about six months. So I will be updating the chapters dealing with solons and making some other minor edits to previous chapters.