BOOK OF REEVES 6
Slowly Reeves opened his eyes. Everything was faint and blurry and his memory was scrambled. He was in an over decorated room, and he could feel a faint breeze in the room. Outside he could hear the faint noise of crickets, and night creatures, and somewhere in the distance there was soft music playing.
"mmm mmm feeling beterm?" He heard a voice ask. Suddenly all the sounds merged in to one, then cleared up again.
"Ung" Reeves managed to say, before spitting something up. He couldn't see what it was, but as soon as he did his vision cleared up a little.
In the dim light he could see that he was in an even more decorated room then he had previously thought. There was a window on two walls, to his left and in front of him. Outside he could see it was very dark and there were many stars in the sky. He was laying in a bed of very light materials, that somehow seemed to cool him down rather than warm him up.
Against the back wall were a few people dressed in a sort of dark cyan colored material. For a moment he didn't realize it, but they were all looking directly at him.
"You had us very scared!" He heard a feminine voice say. It was the voice that had previously spoken. Reeves looked around for the source of the voice, and then realized that it was in front of him.
Sitting on the edge of his bed was a woman, perhaps in her early 20's, she had very dark black hair, and her eyes looked almost like that of cats. Her skin was so very pale that she seemed to blend in with the very white clothes that she was wearing. Which is why Reeves didn't see her at first.
"I didn't see you at first." Reeves said in a somewhat slurred manner. He could taste that horrible new taste of blood that he had in his mouth. He was also a bit embarrassed at the fact that he sounded more drunk then he did hurt.
"You collapsed right on the tree twitching, you also seemed to fade a little. We were very worried. Are you okay?" She asked with a smile, masking her fear.
"I think so. Are you the one that helped me?" He asked.
"Oh no! Of course not, I am simply an initiate." She blushed. "These are the palace Healers, they helped stop the bleeding, and tended to your wounds." She gestured to those along the wall, each one placed their hand on their shoulder and bowed deeply.
"Thank you all very much. I hope I wasn't of any trouble." Reeves laughed.
The Healers said nothing but a few smiled. Others simply shifted uncomfortably and looked around the room.
"Was I of any trouble?" Reeves asked, now quite serious.
"Well, you did show symptoms of a seizure, and you did lose an alarming amount of blood." The girl replied.
"I'm very sorry, I hope I didn't leave a stain." Reeves said with a light nervous smile.
"That's the least of our worries. You better not do anything to strenuous, if you do this again, you may not survive." She said with a very serious look.
"I understand, I won't try anything strenuous. How long was I unconscious?"
"A few hours. If you want, the feast is still going on. I will escort you if you are hungry." She said with a smile.
"I would be honored."
…
It took awhile for Reeves to get dressed and ready. He checked all over his body for signs of holes but couldn't find any signs of where he had bled. The only clothes offered were the same style of clothes that Gorn and his son wore, except Reeves' had a gold bird sewn into the shoulders.
He stepped out of the room to meet with the girl, whom he still hadn't discovered her name, and they left for the dining room. They traveled through many corridors and stairways until they finally came to the room with the tree on the floor.
Reeves stared at it as they passed by, feeling a strange twisted gut feeling as he walked by it. He feared the same thing might happen again if he focused on it too hard so he turned away from it and continued following the girl.
She stopped at a pair of giant double doors, knocked several times, and it opened, revealing a massive room filled with tables of food, many people were standing around leisurely eating and chatting away. It seemed more like a formal party than a feast but Reeves did not complain.
As soon as they both entered the room many people stopped what they were doing, touched their shoulder, and bowed deeply. Reeves figured he should do the same and tried to imitate it.
A few people laughed including the girl, who was bowing towards him.
"What did I do wrong?" he asked in a whisper.
"You bowed, and you used your left hand instead of your right." She replied in an equally quiet voice.
Silently Reeves shifted hands and the people laughed even harder, the girl was suddenly giggling.
Embarrassed, Reeves turned to the girl again and asked what he was doing wrong. She didn't reply for the apparent greeting time was over. Gorn stepped out from the crowd followed by a few important people dressed in the white clothes, and one man in a dark green uniform.
"Reeves, you honor us, but you weren't supposed to bow! Especially with your left arm!" Gorn said heartily.
"I don't understand, why shouldn't I have bowed?" Reeves asked.
"You are the one we were bowing to, you were not supposed to bow back." The girl replied.
Gorn smiled, "This is my daughter, Exia RoGehn, she volunteered to watch over your healing to make sure that nothing went wrong. We're very happy to see that you lived!"
"If anything went wrong?" The uniformed man asked, with an inquisitive look in on his face.
"We shouldn't talk about this here Korek, we'll discuss the matter later." Gorn commanded.
There was an awkward silence amongst them, and the man in the uniform stared at Reeves, not taking his eyes off him. Reeves suddenly noticed why this man stood out so much, besides his choice in clothes.
The man appeared to be about a head taller than everyone else in the room, and had a completely different structure. He was fairly thin compared to most people, and his arms and chest bulged with his muscles.
But what caught Reeves' eye the most was his face. His jaws were covered in a strange bone-like structure, much like a spine, and his ears seemed slightly pointed with strange spikes running along the back. He had tan skin, and fair blonde hair. His eyes were a dark green, and they pierced directly into Reeves' soul.
"I wasn't aware there were any of us on this planet." The man asked Reeves, emphasizing the word "us".
"I wasn't aware either, until just now." Reeves said, trying to sound bolder than he really was.
The man smiled, "I understand, I won't press the matter any further." Though the man attempted to look very calm and happy, Reeves could tell the man was very anxious about something.
Reeves gave him a cautious look, though deep down he was somewhat confused.
Gorn led him further into the room and for the first time Reeves saw how massive the room was. He wasn't sure how everything fit inside the mansion, because it didn't seem as big from the outside. But he reminded himself that he had only seen the mansion in the dark, and it could actually be much bigger.
The walls were of a grayish metal that looked like a shiny smooth layer of cement. The whole room was shaped like a giant egg, and along the back wall were many large windows that overlooked the city. The walls were lined with tables, seats, and plates of food.
Exia suggested that Reeves try some food because he probably hadn't eaten in awhile, and Gorn led him over to one of the tables.
"I'm afraid our food isn't the best. We give the most flavorful food to the Bird Men as a sacrifice. Ours is a little bland. But please, eat!" Gorn said while gesturing to a table with various types of breads and vegetables. There wasn't anything in site that looked like meat.
Reeves picked up a cracker and bit into it. Immediately his mouth erupted in fire. The intense spices used in the cracker were extremely spicy and Reeves could barely swallow.
"I know… these don't have very many spices in them. Would you like something with more flavor?" Exia asked.
Reeves smiled and shook his head. "If it isn't too much trouble, do you have anything without any spices?" Reeves managed to say, though his mouth was burning and his voice was hoarse.
Exia frowned, "Without spices? I suppose there might be something near the guest table that isn't. But you'll have to go near the Bird Men to get to it." She said with a sigh.
"That's not a problem." Reeves smiled, now breaking a sweat, though his voice was still coarse. Exia led him over to the table, where a few men with uniforms on, with the strange facial features. They were laughing and drinking a dark black liquid.
Reeves avoided eye contact with them and looked at the food that was on the table. There were a few clear bowls with the black liquid in it, a few dry rolls, and a large chunk of blackened meat.
As he reached forward to take a roll one of the uniformed men slapped Reeves' wrist.
"Why isn't your hair blonde or black?" The man asked.
Reeves managed a smile, "Because it is red."
"Where is your uniform?" Another man asked.
"Being cleaned." Reeves replied.
"And why, do you let this one of filthy blood lead you?" the first man asked.
"She's not filth. And it is because I did not know where the guest food was." Reeves replied, hoping that he was making a little progress with these men.
"How fast can you drink Saoro?" A third man asked, with a friendly but competitive look on his face.
"What is it?" Reeves asked. Exia pulled at his arm and led him away. The men laughed and pointed, and made a few jokes then went back to their drinks.
When they were out of earshot of the men Exia whispered into his ear. "If you don't know what Saoro is, then don't try it."
"Why?" Reeves asked, slightly impatient and curious, while also finally getting over the potent cracker.
"It isn't the best beverage our people have ever been forced to make." She looked around the room very cautiously to check to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation.
"Walk with me." She said and then quickly walked toward on of the exits. She shoved a few people out of her way, excusing herself. She finally reached a door near one of the windows and waited for Reeves to catch up.
When he did, she quickly crept out the door, pulling Reeves with her.
Once the stepped out the door Reeves began to become very suspicious as to how big the mansion or the city really was. On the other side of the door was a massive garden. Many giant trees stretched straight up, while some stretched straight horizontal. There were many flowers, plants, and fountains.
Reeves looked around him and was surprised to see that they actually had not left the mansion at all, but were actually inside a giant greenhouse, and behind him he could still hear the noises of the feast.
"How big is the cavern?" She asked suddenly.
"Pardon?" Reeves coughed, surprised at the sudden question.
"I know where you come from. You come from the new start." She said commandingly.
"I'm… not sure I understand."
"I'm sure it's in your memory somewhere. Thousands of years ago there was a plague, and D'ni was nearly destroyed." She said with small tears in her eyes.
Suddenly Reeves felt overwhelmed and dizzy. Memories of a cavern flew past his mind. And for a brief moment he remembered.
She continued, "There was one day when a man was commanded to ring the bell, and signal that D'ni was in grave danger. Instead of ringing it however, he ran to a writer and explained to him the situation, and the writer wrote a new age.
"A group of D'ni fled to the age, before the maintainers had had a chance to inspect it, and then the book was burned. The Writer stayed behind and swore to protect us and make sure that no one would know of the escape.
"When we arrived here, we discovered that a civilization already existed, and that the trees had long ago died, and the beetles the writer promised were nowhere to be found. The inhabitants provided a place for us to live, and slowly we mingled and our races became one.
Reeves suddenly remembered the plague that she spoke of, but it was thousands of years ago. His great-great-great-great-great-grandfather wasn't even born yet, and it was written that D'ni almost fell during that time.
Exia continued telling the history, "We soon discovered that this age was not just inhabited, but literally filled with races. Most only two of which we have met, the ancients which we mixed with, and the Bird Men, a space-faring race with amazing technology beyond our dreams, that have… enslaved us."
Reeves stared deeply into her eyes; "They have no linking technology?" he asked.
"They don't, but we have something they want that they've been trying to get from us."
"What is that?" Reeves asked.
"You may have noticed that this mansion is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. All of the houses are like this because of a stone that we use. It has fine grains of a crystal in it that can bend and expand space. We discovered it soon after we arrived, but we still do not know what mysteries it holds, only that it is very valuable to the Bird Men."
"How old are you Exia? You speak as if you were there from the beginning."
"To this date I am 624 years old. My father on the other hand is much older. I wasn't here during the beginning but the story has been passed down to us."
"Why are you telling me all of this?"
"You are well known Reeves. You are mentioned in the Korohk Jimah. The one of many bloods. One of the dead cavern. One of the Bird Men. One of Freedom. One of two."
"How do you know it's not talking about multiple people?"
"Because the next line is 'All bound in the body of a prisoner'."
Reeves paused and stared. Suddenly he felt his heart quicken and his blood heating. Again the taste of blood filled his mouth. He grabbed Exia by the arms and held her still. "How did you know I was a prisoner?" He demanded.
"You were wearing prisoner's clothes and your hair was shaved."
Reeves let go, suddenly feeling a bit calm, and not sure what had come over him. He smiled, "What do you want me to do?" he asked.
"Free us. Free us so that we don't have to serve anymore. We remember the days when we were served and we now realize how painful it is to be slaves. Reeves, that man, Korek, he is going to negotiate with my father tonight on the subject of our buildings, and I think my father will give it to him."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"I will stall, you must unlock The Writer's door like it is said in prophecy."
"Where? What?"
"There is a tower on the far side of the city that resembles a pen, the writer built it, and then locked it, saying that in the future one would open it and end our misery. Now go, we don't have much time, the meeting is in four hours, when the moons reach their highest."
She leaned in kissed him on the cheek, and whispered thank you, and then ran back to the feast.
Reeves stood awestruck. He wasn't sure if her kiss meant the same as a D'ni kiss, but that wasn't the only thing going through is mind. One thing was that the only thing he had eaten was a very spicy cracker and it was beginning to reach his stomach, the other thing was that he was just asked to solve some mystery of prophecy and save a civilization.
He then looked at it another way, he was going to save an ahrotahntee civilization. An unclean civilization that fled D'ni when it was in grave danger instead of helping like his ancestors did. He did not want to help them.
But then he thought of Exia, and himself. Exia was a woman who didn't want to see her people die, and truly believed he was there to help them. And in a same sense he wasn't as clean as he once thought he was, now fully realizing that his family must have somehow been here, and mingled also, resulting in his appearance as a "Bird Man."
He looked around the room for the nearest exit to the city.