Heryn didn't let Skyla get out of bed for a whole day, no matter how much the Lombax protested. But the Enyd kept her patient well treated and made sure she always had something to do or someone to talk to. True to her word, during the first evening of Skyla's stay with the Enyd, Heryn brought in the two young males the Lombax recognised as the ones who had shot her. They apologised profusely for their actions and with much embarrassment, Heryn and Heryniel acting as translators. Skyla noticed the relationship between the blue skinned female and one of the males called Lhach seemed very close from the secret caressing and shy looks, and she wondered if they were together in any way.
Heryniel spent a lot of time with Skyla and seemed eager to learn more about life off the planet's surface. There was only so much Skyla could tell her, having only been on two worlds, but she did her best, drawing on what Maia and Jaymz had told her over the years. She'd never be as good a story teller as the Rilgarian, but the young Enyd seemed satisfied with her narrative.
There were a few language barriers that needed to be overcome. Heryniel, although reasonably fluent in Skyla's tongue, stumbled every now and again and often asked for her mother's help. Heryn, however, was not always present to translate so the drawing of images to communicate became a way of the Lombax and Enyd understanding each other. Skyla did her best to help the girl, but it seemed the Enyd language was a lot different to the galactic tongue. At her request, Heryniel taught Skyla a few words in the Enyd language which the Lombax did her best to remember. But the tongue was complex and alien to Skyla. It revolved around literal sense and the names of things reflected what they were or what they did. Heryn Naneth was the title given to the matriarchal leader of the Enyd and literally translated as 'Lady Mother'. As the daughter of the Heryn Naneth, Heryniel's name meant 'Lady's Daughter'. The girl's father, who had died several years ago was called Ohtar Ada which meant 'Warrior Father', and it turned out Heryniel had a twin brother called Ohtariond or 'Warrior's Son'. Although the language itself was relatively simple, how you strung your words together and where you enunciated your vowels made all the difference. Skyla quickly came to the conclusion that she did not have a head for languages, and only remembered the simplest phrases.
When Heryn finally allowed Skyla to get out of bed, she insisted on the Lombax using crutches to get about. Having already decided it was pointless to argue with the elder, Skyla grudgingly agreed; anything to get her out of bed. Outside the dome dwelling she was surprise to find herself in what appeared to be a small village. Similar dome buildings were dotted everywhere and there was a round clearing outside the front of Heryn's home where many Enyd were to be found, socialising and going about their daily activities. To Skyla's surprise, there were not only Enyd on the ground, but also in the air, flying on wings like dragonflies. When she wondered aloud about this to Heryniel the girl revealed that she too had wings. Fascinated, Skyla began to ask questions about the Enyd which Heryniel answered happily. She took Skyla on a tour around the village, something which the young Enyd had never done. She seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, telling Skyla all about her people and their way of life. Skyla listened in silence, taking it all in quiet awe.
Females, it seemed were the dominant gender and a family line passed down through a daughter, not a son. All females had wings and their skin colour varied, but was always light, unlike the males who were wingless and every one of them a leafy green colour. Collectively, females were known as Heryn but never called Heryn individually, unless they were meant to hold that title. Males were the Ohtar but again, not known as that individually unless they were the mate of a Heryn Naneth. Every creature wore clothes made out of natural materials, and all their utensils were natural too. Not a single piece of metal or synthetic material could be found in the entire village.
The village itself consisted mainly of family homes, each a single dome roughly the same size as each other, with one opening. A vast tree canopy covered the whole village from above, like some great roof. This was reinforced by trees scattered here and there, each stretching right up to the top and contributing to the canopy. Light still manage to get through, though, trickling down through the leaves and making the surrounding area light up with a bright yellow/green glow.
Enyd sat around the central clearing that seemed to double as the village square, chatting and engaging in activities that looked like sewing and cooking. And there were children. Everywhere Skyla went there were children running about of all ages, laughing and playing. The Lombax rapidly became the centre of attention when she emerged for the first time as the Enyd had never seen her kind before and the children had never met a creature with fur and large ears.
Heryniel did her best to keep them away, but she was a little overwhelmed as the little Enyd flocked around Skyla to feel her fur and ears. Skyla simply stood patiently as they did, smiling at their noises of exclamation and wonder. At one point, there was a gentle tug on one of her ears from above and she looked up to see two young Enyd girls staring at her with open curiosity. The adults watched quietly from where they sat, a mixture of expressions on their faces. Some looked on warily, as if unsure how Skyla would react, where others smiled softly at the antics of their young.
All of the children had questions about Skyla's appearance which the Lombax did her best to answer, with Heryniel's help. She even told them what she knew about male Lombaxes and how they had tails, which seemed to cause the most excitement among the children.
As Skyla moved on around the village, some of the children followed despite Heryniel's efforts to chase them off. The Lombax noticed that most of the children seemed to come in pairs and she mentioned this to Heryniel. To her surprise, she found out that every Enyd was a twin. When a female Enyd mated, she always gave birth to twins - one girl, one boy. And they could only ever have one set of twins, so choosing the right mate was very important to the Enyd. Heryniel told Skyla that females could mate once they'd reach the age of 14, or they could wait until they felt they were ready. Males were not allowed to mate until they were 18 and if they did not have a mate by the age of 22, they were never allowed to have children (though apparently, this was incredibly rare and had something to do with bad luck and superstition). Age was not an obstacle in their culture. Lhach, the male Heryniel wanted to mate with, was three years her junior and not yet 18. But he would be, in a few months, Heryniel told Skyla with a small blush.
All the talk of finding a mate and being surrounded by so many children made Skyla think. She would never have a mate, never have her own children, not of her own species anyway. It was cruelly ironic that she was the last of her kind...and female. If there was but one other male, their race would survive for that much longer. But there wasn't, and never would be.
The day wore on and Heryniel kept Skyla occupied all the time. The Lombax asked many questions about the Enyd to keep herself from dwelling on her lonely existence, but other thoughts found ways of wriggling into her mind. Like when one of the children asked her where her parents were, she didn't know how to reply. She had no parents, at least, not any more. She didn't even know if she'd known her parents at all, as her earliest memories were of Hoven and its icy coldness. She didn't know anything about her mother or father, and never would. After that, the question seemed to take ahold of her mind and she started seeing parents everywhere. Males and females together, looking after their young, sharing secretive looks of love and affection. Taking care of their children with a tenderness Skyla had never experienced. As time passed, it became harder and harder for Skyla to concentrate on what Heryniel was saying. The young Enyd noticed something was wrong and tried to help by asking about her own life, but this only drove Skyla deeper into thought and the Enyd soon abandoned her quest.
That night, Skyla lay in bed thinking. She'd never really thought of having children, it had never occurred to her as a slave. But if everything worked out and she gained her freedom...who knows what would happen? It was a big galaxy out there, surely she could find a special someone to help her integrate back into a relatively normal life involving a real home, a job, bills to pay, and children. Would she even make a good mother? She didn't know the first thing about childcare, and had no parents of her own to help her. Maia could easily have passed for Skyla's older sister and had been the central mother figure of the Lombax's life. But she was gone and couldn't help. If Skyla had children...what would she do with them? Did she even have motherly instincts? She was sure she'd be a hopeless mother...but at the same time, Skyla felt a twinge in her heart as she sensed the beginning of a yearning to be a parent. She began to want her own children running around and laughing, free and careless and innocent. She wanted to have children so they could have the childhood she never had.
Her own childhood was a blur, and she could remember very little detail. She hadn't been born on Hoven, that much she knew. But how she got there, she didn't know. How she wished with all her heart she did. Maybe if she knew who her parents were, she'd find out more about herself too. Who were they? Where had they lived? Were there others? Were they alone? Did they look after her? Did they love her? Did they try and stop her being enslaved...?
Sighing, Skyla shoved thoughts of family from her mind. Both the families she might have had were dead, and nothing could bring them back. It was time to move on...
Fate seemed to have a different opinion as that night, Skyla had a dream. In it, she was back at the facility, but it was completely deserted. She walked down corridor after corridor, not once finding any sign of life. Every room she came across was empty and the whole place felt desolate and lifeless. Then a shadow moved down the hall and she ran to find its source. When she turned the corner, she was suddenly confronted with a wall of outer space, as if taking one more step would send her into a vacuum. Without warning, Maia's face appeared before her, looking so very sad.
"Why did you let me die, Skyla?" the Cazar asked sorrowfully, "you said we would make it...you promised I wouldn't die." Skyla opened her mouth to tell her friend how sorry she was and that she would trade her own life for Maia's, if she could. But she couldn't speak. Jaymz's face appeared next to Maia's and he was frowning.
"You lied to us, Sky. You said we'd make it...but we didn't. Only you did. Why did you let us die?" his voice sounded so severe and unlike him that Skyla felt her heart wrench at the ridiculing tone. She tried to say sorry again, but then Cornelius and Xavier's faces appeared.
"You thought it would be an adventure, didn't you, Sky?" the smaller scientist said, "you thought it would be fun to escape."
"But now look what you've done," Xavier said, "your two best friends are dead and you're stuck on a primitive planet." Skyla wanted so desperately to tell them how awful she felt about everything, and that she was only still alive to help Xavier and Cornelius.
"Skyla..." a new voice spoke from behind her and the Lombax turned to see two shadows before her. Both were blurred, but their shapes looked similar to that of two Lombaxes.
"Why did you abandon your friends, Skyla?" the voice asked and the Lombax recognised it to be distinctly feminine, and so very familiar sounding...
"No daughter of mine would have abandoned her friends like that," said another voice, a male one. It clicked in Skyla's mind.
"Mother? Father?" she said, finally finding her voice, though it cracked with emotion, even in her dream.
"We were...once. But now...what happened to us, Skyla?" the female voice asked. Skyla tried to reply that she didn't know, but found she couldn't.
"Maybe it's a good thing we're gone..." the male went on, "then we would not have to face the shame of a coward for a daughter." Skyla stood where she was, completely stunned and utterly heartbroken by their words. Her mouth opened a closed in shock, too frozen to cry.
"Why are you saying such things?" she whispered hoarsely.
"We are only saying what is in your head...and you know that it cannot last," the male said, but his voice began morphing toward the end and turned into a voice she knew all too well. She gasped and made to step back but just stopped herself from falling into the nothing. She shook her head.
"No," she murmured, shaking her head. The shadows before her merged into one and moved forward. Baen stood before her, a maniacal grin on his face.
"Yes, my dear," he said, "and now...it is time for you to return to me." Skyla's eyes widened but before she could react he suddenly lunged towards her, pushing her back. Unable to stop herself, Skyla fell backwards into the space, and the darkness enveloped her.
Skyla sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and fighting the urge to yell, scream and cry all at once. Her whole body was shaking and her brow coated with flecks of sweat.
"Skyla?" her head snapped around to see Heryn watching her from the other side of the dome. She was still with the Enyd, she wasn't back at the facility. Skyla's shoulders slumped and part of her wondered if she wanted the whole thing to be a dream. If the whole thing was a dream, Maia and Jaymz would still be alive...but she would still be a slave. She screwed her eyes shut, she couldn't bear to think about it at the moment. Heryn came over to her, bringing with her another beaker of the green/yellow liquid which Skyla glugged down without a second thought.
"How are you feeling?" asked the elder.
"I had a nightmare," Skyla murmured. Heryn nodded,
"Yes, I am sorry for you." The Lombax's mouth twitched into a measly grateful smile, but she said nothing.
All morning, Skyla said very little, completely immersed in thoughts she fought to suppress. Try as she might, she could not help but dwell on her situation, now with added concerns about her parents and children she would never have. If Heryniel noticed her withdrawal, she kept her comments to herself, simply making sure she was always available for the Lombax to contact.
Skyla was sitting around a fire in the open space before Heryn's dome when she was approached by two young Enyd and their mother. It was just after lunch and a group of males had just left to go hunting and there was little other activity about. The Lombax looked up, her thoughts interrupted as she registered the alien creatures standing before her expectantly. She blinked, and then smiled warmly at them in greeting. The girl appeared to be holding something behind her back, and both children looked rather self-conscious. The mother was smiling and gently nudged the girl, murmuring words of encouragement. With a great deal of shyness the girl brought her hand out from behind her back and held something out to Skyla.
It was a flower, with purple petals and a long stem. Its petals curled outwards and the centre was full of stigmas, each tipped with white. It was incredibly pretty and delicate looking and reminded Skyla of the exotic lilies you could find in the facility. The Lombax's eyebrows rose in mild surprise,
"For me?" she said, gesturing to herself. The child nodded bashfully.
"For...you," the mother said hesitantly and with a heavy accent, but Skyla understood. She accepted the flower with a wide smile and admired it openly,
"Thank you," she told them, using her facial expressions and tone of voice to convey her gratitude. The children blushed and fidgeted. The girl pointed at Skyla's arm and it took a moment for the Lombax to understand – she wanted to touch. Holding out her arm, Skyla let the little Enyd feel her fur with quiet awe. The boy murmured something and the mother nodded,
"Soft," she said to Skyla who smiled and nodded her head. Then the children withdrew, muttering words that Skyla took to mean 'thank you', before they turned and ran away. The mother shot Skyla a grateful smiled before running after her young. As they left, Skyla realised the mother looked around her age, and the children were no more than 4 years old. She fell back into deep thought and remained there until a figure came and sat beside her. It was Heryniel.
"That's an Indil flower," she told Skyla, indicating the plant in her hand. The Lombax twirled the stem in her fingers.
"Mmm," was all she said. There was a moment of quiet, then Heryniel ventured to ask,
"What is on your mind, Skyla? You seem sad." Skyla took a moment to reply,
"I am sad, Heryniel," she said with a sigh, then feeling an explanation was required, added, "because I am all alone."
"What do you mean?" the Enyd asked. There was a pause,
"I am the last of my kind, the last Lombax," Skyla said eventually, "all of my race are...gone."
"Gone?" echoed Heryniel. Skyla nodded,
"Gone, forever."
"They are dead?" Heryniel murmured quietly. Skyla's brow furrowed a little,
"As good as," she muttered.
"How?" the Enyd enquired gently.
"I don't know," Skyla confessed, "I...don't know." Heryniel frowned in confusion,
"Then how do you know you are alone?" Skyla bit her lip in thought.
"I've been told that, all my life. I mean, I know what happened...vaguely. My kind were driven out of this universe...and they can't return. When I die, that will be it. No more Lombaxes, not in this universe," her heart fell as the words left her lips. She hated saying things like that, especially when they were the truth. There was another moment of silence.
"I am not sure I...understand," Heryniel admitted eventually, "you say you are the last of your kind...but you do not know if it is right?" Skyla sighed,
"Yes, no...I don't know. It's just...all my life, I've been told I am the last of my kind by everyone I know. They wouldn't all lie to me, I know that much. So I have to believe them, even if...I don't actually know." Skyla frowned at her words, in the open, they sounded so young and naive and a little unconvincing, but she was being honest as far as she was aware.
"What about your...family?" the Enyd said. A single tear pricked Skyla's eye and she blinked it away furiously,
"Dead. At least...I think they are. Again, I don't know," she finished, her voice beginning to fill with emotion as distress settled in her heart. She took a moment to bring herself under control once again.
"I don't know who my parents were," she began, "I've lived apart from them all my life. I've always assumed they were dead...it's...too painful to think otherwise. But now...everything's changed. It all looks so...bleak. If I...if I...if everything works out and I no longer have to run...I could have my own future. But it would not be a whole existence because I would have none of my own kind to share it with. I'm sorry the last of my kind is such a...mess of a creature. I'm an incomplete puzzle, Heryniel. I have lost my past, and have no future to find." Skyla's speech seemed to weigh her down, dragging her to the bottom of her being as the gravity of her words crashed down on her. She put her head in her hands and dug her fingers into her eyes to stop the waves of furious tears that threatened to break from her. She couldn't cry, wouldn't cry. She had no right to.
"I am sorry for you, Skyla," Heryniel murmured, "but I must ask...you do not know your past...or you cannot remember?" Skyla didn't look up at her, but she frowned once again.
"I...can't remember," she confessed. She knew she had the memories, somewhere deep inside her, but she couldn't reach them. Something locked her from them, a defensive barrier keeping her out. Maia had once told her that it was probably her minds way of protecting itself, suppressing memories that were just too painful to remember. But there were times when Skyla wished so desperately she could recount what her childhood had been like before Hoven, even if it was horrific. She wanted to know. Sighing heavily, her shoulders slumped,
"I can't remember, and I never will. Maybe if I could I'd feel a little more complete but..." she shrugged and trailed off. Nothing was said for a minute and only the murmuring voices of other Enyd about the place could be heard, along with the gently rustling of the tree canopy overhead.
"No..." Heryniel's voice sounded distant, but Skyla forced herself to look up at the Enyd, there was something in her voice that sounded almost like...
"You say you cannot remember," the girl said with a small frown, her wide eyes narrowed slightly as she thought deeply, "but you can." Skyla blinked, had she heard right?
"How?" she blurted. Heryniel glanced at her,
"The Enyd have a...rit-oo-all?"
"Ritual?" Skyla offered.
"Yes, ritual. It is for the end of an Enyd's life, when they know death is near. They drink the juice of a rín plant and...breathe as it burns," Heryniel explained, "they remember all their life, from birth to now. It is called a Rínpadad, a memory walk." Skyla's brow knotted,
"A memory walk?" she echoed. The Enyd nodded,
"Yes...if you want, I can ask Naneth if you can go on one." The Lombax's heart skipped a beat, was Heryniel suggesting what she thought she was?
"Maybe then...you might remember your mother and father," the girl went on. Skyla's stomach flipped over several times in quick succession.
"A-are you...sure?" she stammered, "would it even work on me? Would I even be allowed? I'm-I'm not an Enyd." Heryniel shrugged lightly,
"I think so, you are not very different from us and anyone is allowed to go on the Rínpadad. Mostly the elderly do, but sometimes young Enyd go on one. If it can help you, then...there is no harm in trying." Skyla fidgeted where she sat,
"Heryniel," she said seriously, forcing her heart to calm and trying to think practically, like Maia did...had, "I appreciate you trying to help...but if what you're saying...isn't...possible..."
"I will talk to Naneth immediately," the Enyd cut across, "it is her job as Heryn Naneth to take a Rínpadad once every...sun turn so she is in charge of helping Enyd take one. If we tell her of your...situation, I am sure she will let you go through it, just this once." Skyla felt herself grow dizzy from the thought of it all.
"Are...are you sure?" she repeated. The Enyd stood up and held out a hand to the Lombax,
"Come, we will go find her now and ask her." Hesitantly, Skyla took the girls hand and let her help her to her feet.
They found Heryn with a group of other Enyd women, sewing clothes of large leaves and weaving petals through them in intricate patterns. Heryniel politely asked her mother if they could have a moment to talk, and Heryn obligingly set down her work and came with them. Skyla listened intently as the mother and daughter proceeded to have a conversation in their own tongue. Waves of nerves washed over her as she took note of their tones and she felt increasingly light headed with each passing minute. When Heryniel first mentioned the Rínpadad Heryn seemed surprised and firmly reluctant. Skyla's heart began to fall rapidly as the conversation turned into something of an argument, and she began to lose hope. But gradually, as Heryniel's words became more firm and passionate, Skyla saw Heryn begin to listen better to her, as if analysing her speech carefully.
Finally, the elder Enyd murmured something which sounded like her assent and Heryniel beamed in triumph. The two of them turned to Skyla, and Heryn was the first to speak,
"My daughter has argued very strongly for your right to go on a Rínpadad and I have been persuaded to let you try. Has Heryniel told you about the ritual?"
"A little," Skyla told her, her heart beginning to thud rapidly once again.
"Then I will tell you more of it, when would you like it?" Heryn asked.
"Uh...when can I have it?" Skyla enquired nervously and felt a little foolish for asking, for some reason.
"Now, or later," came the reply.
"Now...please," the Lombax added. Heryn nodded,
"Very well, come with me."
Skyla followed Heryn as they made their way back to her dome, Heryniel was distracted by the return of the hunting party and wished Skyla good luck before going to find Lhach. The blue skinned girl shot the Lombax a smile of encouragement before she took off, her wings glittering in the sunlight as she flew towards the activity. Heryn closed the entrance to the dome and they were immediately thrown into semi-darkness with only the green natural lamps (which Skyla had discovered were naturally bioluminescent plants) providing light. The elder went about preparing the ritual, talking to Skyla as she did.
"The Rínpadad is an ancient Enyd ritual which has been carried out for generations. Nearly every Enyd will go through it at least once in their lives. Very few outsiders have taken the ritual and special circumstances are required. Your situation is enough to qualify for this privilege, but you must not take it lightly. The Rínpadad is very powerful and will take you through every moment of your life so far. To you, it will feel like a lifetime will pass before you, though in reality the ritual takes no more than an hour. You will remember all the good, and all the bad of your life with no exceptions, and you have no control over them. Also, your memories only display what you knew at that time, so you will understand relatively little until you reach older years. Are you ready?"
Heryn had taken a black flower from a carved box and a fire had been lit at the centre of the dome, though there was no smoke. The juice of the black flower had been pressed into a beaker that appeared to be made of crystal and Skyla was instructed to sit right by the fire, the cup in hand. Heryn stood, ready to drop the flower into the green flames of the fire. Skyla's mouth was dry at the prospect of what she was about to do and she could not reply with words. So she simply nodded.
Heryn dropped the flower and immediately a thick scent filled the air.
"Close your eyes," the Enyd told her and the Lombax obeyed instantly, "and breathe deeply." Skyla did that and felt her lungs fill with the heavy scent of the burning flower.
"Now, drink from the beaker, keep your eyes closed, relax your body, and keep breathing." The Lombax followed her instructions and the black liquid slipped down her throat. It tasted unbelievably thick and heavy, and she felt like she was drinking tar. She let her body relax completely and she sensed her mind begin to detach itself from her body, taking her far away from everything around her. It was almost as if her memories were rewinding like an ancient holo-vid, readying themselves to play before her. Skyla sighed deeply and, throwing a hopeful prayer this would work to the heavens, dived into the oceanic depths of her consciousness.