There was a voice. A man I did not recognize stood before me - Rivenese, though he was wearing D'ni dress. He seemed to be talking to me...
- Catherine
***************************************
"When Gehn shall rule Ages- one million
And I live to see hours- one trillion
Perhaps the chance of Atrus of coming is nil- yet
The Fissure Cage I guard!"
Cho stopped singing to have a sip from his canteen. He had paced back and forth across the Plateau for four years now, and still no sign of Atrus or Katran. Of course, now he couldn't sing about the day when Gehn links into another Age, or the day when he gives up the quest for a thousand worlds, because the latter was impossible and the former was a reality.
He had seen Age 233 a few times, and he was amazed, yet shocked by this Age. The Age seemed even less stable than Riven! The sky looked like it was highly composed of acids, the water looked poisonous, and the "islands" looked like two mountains of the same size stacked one upon the other. Yet those unusual land formations and colors amused him...
Unfortunately, whether Gehn was able to link again or not, this did not affect him directly at all. The entire Guild of Builders, after they had finished creating Fire-marble domes, was summoned to the 233rd Age. However, the other Guilds were left alone. That meant that he was back guarding that accursed Fissure Plateau Cage.
"When Riven sinks below the sea
And my name begins with a 'T'
What will my vocation be?
The Fissure Cage I..."
Clang!
The Cage Bars went up. Cho thought, This must be a trick. Another sick practical joke played by the Moiety. He proceeded towards the cage, but he looked around to see if any Moiety rebels were escaping. And then, he turned around to face the cage.
A woman was standing in the cage. She had long, black hair and tan skin, like most of the Rivenese, but was wearing long D'ni robes. In her hand, she held an unusual looking blue crystal, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that he was looking at one of Gehn's worst enemies; Catherine!
Cho had prepared for this encounter by repeating "Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor," say, one billion times. However, he forgot the Gehn's-worst-enemy and traitor-to-all-of-D'ni side of Catherine, and remembered the old-friend-from-school and the "I-remember-when" side of her.
"Katran?" Cho asked.
"Yes?" the woman replied.
"Why, Katran," exclaimed Cho, "do you remember me, Cho?"
Katran thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, I remember! Whenever you entered the school, everyone would greet you by saying, 'Cho, Cho!'" ("Cho" was a common Rivenese greeting)
"I never thought you would return," exclaimed Cho.
Catherine looked around, and muttered, "No kidding."
"So much has happened since you left," said Cho, as excited as a dog welcoming its owner back from a long trip, "Riven split into five islands, the Great Tree died, Gehn finally succeeded in making a link..." Cho stopped and remembered that he needed to take Katran's linking book.
"Eh, Katran," began Cho, "I'm sorry, but... I need your linking book."
"I apologize," said Katran, "But I do not have."
"WHAT!" yelled Cho. He calmed down, and said, "How can you not have a linking book with you? The last Book out of here fell into the Fissure. No more joking around; hand me the linking book."
"I'm sorry," said Katran, still calm and patient, "But I did not bring. I thought that..."
"I understand that you might feel awkward about this," began Cho. She was wasting his time. He wanted, no, needed to give Gehn a linking book to D'ni. If he did, he would be rewarded by becoming the second-in-command of one thousand worlds, "But Gehn has changed. He is no longer power-hungry and all he wants to do is to apologize to you and your husband. Now hand me the Book!"
Katran said, "I told you, I..."
"LIAR," interrupted Cho, "YOU DO HAVE A LINKING BOOK! GIVE IT TO ME!"
"What happened to your 'I'm so happy to see you' attitude," snapped Catherine, "Was that just a gimmick for me to actually think that Gehn deserves another chance?"
"Lord Gehn needs a Book," yelled Cho, "Hand it over now, or my master will sacrifice you..."
"Your master?" said Katran, folding her arms, "Why Cho, you were so devout in the Rivenese religion. What would they think when they knew that good Cho broke all of his traditions and worshiped a live, horrible excuse for a person?"
"Better than you," yelled Cho, "It is my duty to guard this cage to..."
"Strange," she interrupted, "Last time I remember your duty was to supervise temple offerings and wahrk sacrifices. Did you transgress, or did Gehn give you one of his 'promotions?'"
"SHUT UP," he burst, as he unsheathed his dagger, "GIVE ME THE BOOK, AND NOBODY GETS HURT!"
"You've changed, you know," she snapped, "You are a different person than my friend from school, Cho. You're just another plaything of Gehn, now. Tell me, do you actually need another promotion from him?"
"Nooooooooo," said Cho, his eyes rolling, "Wait a minute... OF COURSE, YOU IDIOT! I don't care that you're Catherine, wife of Atrus. I don't care that you are Rivenese. I don't care that you're worshiped by the Black Moiety rebels..."
A voice from behind him called, "You should!"
And then, Cho felt a familiar pinch on the back of his neck, and the familiar feeling of slipping out of consciousness...
**********************************
"Guildsman Cho! Cho, do you hear me? Answer me!"
"Sir, if he was unconscious, would he hear you?"
"Well, you have a point, Guildmaster Rifih. Oh, never mind. He's waking up."
The first thing that Cho saw was his master staring him in the face. Of course, he knew that he was hit by another Moiety dart, and was shoved onto the rock shelf.
"Listen here, servant," hissed Gehn, "This is the 2nd time you've been darted. Any more and you'll be thrown out of the Guild."
"I am sorry, sir," said Cho, "But I have good news."
"Tell me," hissed Gehn.
"Catherine! She has returned!"
*******************************************
86.9.29 I start this latest journal with astounding news ~ Catherine has returned to the Fifth Age! And though it sets my teeth on edge to say it, she has also vanished as quickly as she appeared, stolen from me by the rebels. As my guard tells it, she linked into the Fissure plateau cage - as I'd guessed - when suddenly he was set upon by a band of rebels who darted him & spirited her away. I suspect the truth of the matter was that he was so dumbfounded at actually witnessing someone link in after all this time that he presented an easy target for whichever rebel had happened by at that moment ~ the damnable luck of it! He did get a good enough look at her, though, to verify that it was, indeed Catherine.
*****************************************
To be continued...
Thank you to all who reviewed. Keep more reviews coming... please?
- Catherine
***************************************
"When Gehn shall rule Ages- one million
And I live to see hours- one trillion
Perhaps the chance of Atrus of coming is nil- yet
The Fissure Cage I guard!"
Cho stopped singing to have a sip from his canteen. He had paced back and forth across the Plateau for four years now, and still no sign of Atrus or Katran. Of course, now he couldn't sing about the day when Gehn links into another Age, or the day when he gives up the quest for a thousand worlds, because the latter was impossible and the former was a reality.
He had seen Age 233 a few times, and he was amazed, yet shocked by this Age. The Age seemed even less stable than Riven! The sky looked like it was highly composed of acids, the water looked poisonous, and the "islands" looked like two mountains of the same size stacked one upon the other. Yet those unusual land formations and colors amused him...
Unfortunately, whether Gehn was able to link again or not, this did not affect him directly at all. The entire Guild of Builders, after they had finished creating Fire-marble domes, was summoned to the 233rd Age. However, the other Guilds were left alone. That meant that he was back guarding that accursed Fissure Plateau Cage.
"When Riven sinks below the sea
And my name begins with a 'T'
What will my vocation be?
The Fissure Cage I..."
Clang!
The Cage Bars went up. Cho thought, This must be a trick. Another sick practical joke played by the Moiety. He proceeded towards the cage, but he looked around to see if any Moiety rebels were escaping. And then, he turned around to face the cage.
A woman was standing in the cage. She had long, black hair and tan skin, like most of the Rivenese, but was wearing long D'ni robes. In her hand, she held an unusual looking blue crystal, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that he was looking at one of Gehn's worst enemies; Catherine!
Cho had prepared for this encounter by repeating "Tah-ge-mah b'zoo ah re-kor," say, one billion times. However, he forgot the Gehn's-worst-enemy and traitor-to-all-of-D'ni side of Catherine, and remembered the old-friend-from-school and the "I-remember-when" side of her.
"Katran?" Cho asked.
"Yes?" the woman replied.
"Why, Katran," exclaimed Cho, "do you remember me, Cho?"
Katran thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, I remember! Whenever you entered the school, everyone would greet you by saying, 'Cho, Cho!'" ("Cho" was a common Rivenese greeting)
"I never thought you would return," exclaimed Cho.
Catherine looked around, and muttered, "No kidding."
"So much has happened since you left," said Cho, as excited as a dog welcoming its owner back from a long trip, "Riven split into five islands, the Great Tree died, Gehn finally succeeded in making a link..." Cho stopped and remembered that he needed to take Katran's linking book.
"Eh, Katran," began Cho, "I'm sorry, but... I need your linking book."
"I apologize," said Katran, "But I do not have."
"WHAT!" yelled Cho. He calmed down, and said, "How can you not have a linking book with you? The last Book out of here fell into the Fissure. No more joking around; hand me the linking book."
"I'm sorry," said Katran, still calm and patient, "But I did not bring. I thought that..."
"I understand that you might feel awkward about this," began Cho. She was wasting his time. He wanted, no, needed to give Gehn a linking book to D'ni. If he did, he would be rewarded by becoming the second-in-command of one thousand worlds, "But Gehn has changed. He is no longer power-hungry and all he wants to do is to apologize to you and your husband. Now hand me the Book!"
Katran said, "I told you, I..."
"LIAR," interrupted Cho, "YOU DO HAVE A LINKING BOOK! GIVE IT TO ME!"
"What happened to your 'I'm so happy to see you' attitude," snapped Catherine, "Was that just a gimmick for me to actually think that Gehn deserves another chance?"
"Lord Gehn needs a Book," yelled Cho, "Hand it over now, or my master will sacrifice you..."
"Your master?" said Katran, folding her arms, "Why Cho, you were so devout in the Rivenese religion. What would they think when they knew that good Cho broke all of his traditions and worshiped a live, horrible excuse for a person?"
"Better than you," yelled Cho, "It is my duty to guard this cage to..."
"Strange," she interrupted, "Last time I remember your duty was to supervise temple offerings and wahrk sacrifices. Did you transgress, or did Gehn give you one of his 'promotions?'"
"SHUT UP," he burst, as he unsheathed his dagger, "GIVE ME THE BOOK, AND NOBODY GETS HURT!"
"You've changed, you know," she snapped, "You are a different person than my friend from school, Cho. You're just another plaything of Gehn, now. Tell me, do you actually need another promotion from him?"
"Nooooooooo," said Cho, his eyes rolling, "Wait a minute... OF COURSE, YOU IDIOT! I don't care that you're Catherine, wife of Atrus. I don't care that you are Rivenese. I don't care that you're worshiped by the Black Moiety rebels..."
A voice from behind him called, "You should!"
And then, Cho felt a familiar pinch on the back of his neck, and the familiar feeling of slipping out of consciousness...
**********************************
"Guildsman Cho! Cho, do you hear me? Answer me!"
"Sir, if he was unconscious, would he hear you?"
"Well, you have a point, Guildmaster Rifih. Oh, never mind. He's waking up."
The first thing that Cho saw was his master staring him in the face. Of course, he knew that he was hit by another Moiety dart, and was shoved onto the rock shelf.
"Listen here, servant," hissed Gehn, "This is the 2nd time you've been darted. Any more and you'll be thrown out of the Guild."
"I am sorry, sir," said Cho, "But I have good news."
"Tell me," hissed Gehn.
"Catherine! She has returned!"
*******************************************
86.9.29 I start this latest journal with astounding news ~ Catherine has returned to the Fifth Age! And though it sets my teeth on edge to say it, she has also vanished as quickly as she appeared, stolen from me by the rebels. As my guard tells it, she linked into the Fissure plateau cage - as I'd guessed - when suddenly he was set upon by a band of rebels who darted him & spirited her away. I suspect the truth of the matter was that he was so dumbfounded at actually witnessing someone link in after all this time that he presented an easy target for whichever rebel had happened by at that moment ~ the damnable luck of it! He did get a good enough look at her, though, to verify that it was, indeed Catherine.
*****************************************
To be continued...
Thank you to all who reviewed. Keep more reviews coming... please?