The Queen of the Elemental Pole
The floating pagoda flew them farther east, following a twisting path of endless forests, seeking out the ways that were true to Creation. They had penetrated deep enough that Ivory had to activate the Reality Engine to protect the pagoda from the energies that permeated the area.
The engine drew power from the generator and slowed their progress somewhat.
Ivory did not recognise the point at which she flew the Pagoda into the area of the Elemental Pole. It was just she realised that all around were trunks of huge trees, with a vast canopy of green above them and no sign of the ground beneath.
It was trees all the way down and all the way up.
She brought the pagoda to a stop and then ran down from the pilothouse, into the covered garden. Looking out around her she saw a world of growth and plants.
The light was green, filtered through the canopy, and all around tree trunks, and branches, and various other plants growing on them. Close by a huge serpent of woven vines slithered among the branches and turned black eyes onto the pagoda. Stretching out from the branches, its head swung towards the Pagoda but stopped some distance away.
Ivory thought it had detected the edge of the Reality's Engine's field.
Curious as to what might happen if it crossed into the protected area she watched. However, the serpent seemed to think better of approaching closer, for it pulled away, back into the trees, and slithered away.
The Elemental Pole was, she thought, very quiet. The soft whisper of leaves was all she heard.
Watching, she saw more creatures moving among the trees and branches. Flocks of birds, made from wood and leaves flew beneath the canopy and around the trunks, and she saw monkeys of woven branches some distance away, swinging among the vines.
It entranced her, and she watched for almost an hour before the darkening around her told her that the day was almost over.
Wanting to take advantage of the light while it was still there Ivory returned to the pilothouse and directed the pagoda forward again.
There were dangers within the Elemental Pole, but the Reality Engine protected the pagoda and its inhabitants from the majority of them. Some of the creatures of woven wood and plants even came apart when they entered the area encompassed by the field, unable to exist under the rules of Creation.
Ivory, Darken Gray and Hu travelled safely, comfortably, closing on the centre of the Pole of Wood.
At times they passed what appeared to be cities in the trees. Those places were populated by elementals or strange beings made of wood and other plant materials.
"Why do they have cities?" she asked Darken Gray.
"Some elementals see things in Creation that they wish to recreate, and in the past powerful Exalts have come here and created sanctuaries in a manner they found comfortable. And some, perhaps they are just an echo of something from Creation."
"An echo?"
"The poles are part of Creation. What happens in one can affect the other."
"What would I have to do in Creation to see it echoed here?"
"I am afraid I honestly do not know Ivory. It is something that I have heard the Solars of the First Age experimented with. Those who understand the nature of that research and the results, indeed if any still exist, do not talk about it."
"Well, that doesn't help."
Darken Gray only smiled at Ivory's tone and seemed uninterested in explaining it further.
As she flew close to one of the cities, curious if she could find signs of the 'echo', Ivory looked inwards to some of what Ligier had shown her. She stopped when she started getting a headache having found nothing that explained echoes, even assuming they were an actual thing.
Along the way, they saw elementals beings of all types. One kind that stuck in Ivory's mind was a group of green-skinned maidens, leaping from branch to branch, following them for a time. They shouted out in sweet voices, calling for Ivory to come and play with them.
"May I?" Ivory asked.
"No," Darken Gray told her, looking across at the nude forms. "They do not seem wholesome."
Once the pagoda flew by a giant, three hundred feet tall at least, shaped like a woman. Ivory had mistaken it for a tree, for they had seen many trees that grew upon the infinite trunks. Only as she flew by it and it turned its head, watching the pagoda as it passed by did Ivory recognise it for what it was.
"Is she a behemoth?" Ivory asked Hu.
Hu had put his front paws up on the pilothouse window and was looking out at the giant. "If she is she seems small, compared to the Juggernaut."
"That behemoth was too big, it was hard to see it as something more than just a feature of the land. She looks like a real giant."
The giant continued to watch them for a time, then its head turned, and its gaze left them.
"Maybe it is guarding something," Ivory thought, and for a moment considered going back. Then she shook her head and focused her gaze forward again.
Everything they saw was not so benign. Sometimes the Pagoda was actively attacked, though the Reality Engine stopped most attacks cold.
At one point a large group of men shaped creatures, made up of twisty vines, fired arrows at that pagoda. The simple wooden shafts were prosaic enough that they were not turned away by the field of the Reality Engine and actually presented some danger.
Darken Gray took up position on the roof of the pilothouse, returning fire.
Once her shots had shredded the several of the attackers, the strange creatures fled.
Of those things that were actively antagonistic none really concerned Ivory except for the flying ship that paced them for a time.
It looked a little like the Halsanti League airships that Sparrow had been building, and little like a huge dandelion seed.
It came close enough that Ivory could see its crew, They looked like men and women, though ones who had been almost completely overgrown by vegetation. Were they mortals? Were they even living? They could be some sort of vegetable zombie, given motion by the plants that grew in them.
Ivory did not like it.
"I am going to shoot it out of the air," Ivory said. "I'll hit it with the Brilliant Raptor."
"You will not," Darken Gray told her. "Not until they show themselves to be a threat."
"They will, you'll see," Ivory said.
However, it was not long after that that the strange ship suddenly lifted high above them, and sped away.
"I bet they heard me," Ivory said.
"Or we just left their territory."
Ivory made a rude sound.
A few times along their way Ivory did stop the pagoda and landed it on one of the tree branches or some other convenient spot. At those times she would collect something of interest. Valuable reagents, rare flowers, strange fungus, pollen, and even large chunks of amber.
It was about four days after they had entered the infinite and endless woods of the Pole when an elemental came seeking them.
They saw a pattern of flashing lights far ahead of them. It was not directly in front of them, but Ivory did not have to alter course very much to approach it.
She had a feeling that something was odd, almost as if someone had taken a cube of ice and ran it up her spine. It was only a moment, and she put it from her mind for what she was flying towards captured her attention.
She saw strung between the trees what looked like a vast spiderweb on which fluorescent flowers had been set. It was, in fact, just that, and its builder was a wood spider, but a much larger species than any that might be found in creation: its central body was nearly the size of a pony and its legs were about twenty feet long.
Ivory stopped the pagoda, bringing it to a hover.
She, Hu and Darken Gray watched it move among the trees and its web, its long legs anchoring before another leg sought out a point of purchase. It moved fast, a little like something out of a nightmare.
"You cannot trust wood spiders, they are liars and malicious," Darken Gray told her.
Ivory nodded. She already knew that wood spiders were dangerous with their well-crafted lies and their hatred, but she did not mind behind reminded, not with such a creature approaching them.
The spider reached them, passing through the field of the reality engine, shuddering slightly, but not coming apart.
It did not lay any part of its body upon the pagoda; instead anchoring itself to the trees around them.
"Welcome travellers, I have been sent to bring you welcome," it spoke with a voice like trees scraping in the wind.
Darken Gray opened one of the large windows of the pilothouse and then called out, "And who has sent you?"
"Kotomaro the Hidden Lightning rules here as the most enlightened of the elementals."
Ivory started on hearing that name, for Shoat of the Mire had told it to her recently.
Darken Gray leaned out the window, seemingly unconcerned she was putting her face close to the sharp fangs of splintered wood. "But did the Hidden Lightning send you?"
"Who else would?" The spider's tone seemed guileless.
"You tell me."
"What do you…"
"That was an order," Darken Gray said.
The huge spider appeared to grow uncomfortable. "Who are you to order me?"
Darken Gray looked back at Ivory. "Do you wish to destroy it?"
"Destroy me?" the spider sounded shocked.
Ivory thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "No, but I do not want to speak to it anymore."
Darken Gray nodded then looked back at the spirit. "Go away."
Her voice held an edge that Ivory had only heard an echo of before.
The spider moved quickly, climbing up the trees, away from the pagoda, back towards its web.
Darken Gray closed the windows. "We should continue on."
Ivory nodded and returned to the controls. She checked her instruments and then pulled the throttle back. The Pagoda moved off at speed, sailing between the tree trunks.
The spider remained where it was, and did not try to hinder them.
Ivory looked back at where she had last seen the elemental, wondering if it was following. It had come to them, and now it was only watching as they flew away?
That seemed unlikely to Ivory.
And yet, as she travelled further into the trees she did not see any sign that the spider was following.
Darken Gray came up into the pilothouse, perhaps an hour later.
"I believe the wood spider was sent by Kotomaro," Darken Gray told Ivory.
Ivory was focusing on the path ahead, slipping between the trees, looking ahead for threats. "I thought it was lying."
"It was lying through the truth. Kotomaro sent it, but does not wish for anyone to know."
"Why?"
"Kotomaro the Hidden Lightning is currently under audit by Heaven and the Sidereals."
"For taking bribes?"
"Among other things. It seems she is hiding out here. Not surprising."
"I don't quite understand," Ivory admitted.
"If we had admitted to being a threat to Kotomaro I think that spider might have made an attempt to kill us. There is a level of deniability there. Wood Spiders are known to be liars, and it was vague as one would expect. Kotomaro wants to see those who come here unless they are specifically looking for her then she wants them to disappear."
Ivory nodded.
"That is supposition on my part of course, but it fits."
"So it is not following us because it does not think we are a threat?"
"It does not seem likely does it. A guard placed by Kotomaro should be more observant."
"So it might attack us yet?" Ivory suspected she knew the answer.
"We have to assume so. Wood Spiders are known for laying traps. Be observant for them."
Ivory nodded.
The day around them grew dark. Ivory wanted to fly through the night, trusting to the instruments where her eyes might fail. Darken Gray would not let her. "If that spider attacks us it will not live for long. We will eat and have our evening classes and then you will go to bed."
Darken Gray was adamant, as she usually was. Ivory did not bother arguing. It was true enough. If that spider were foolish enough to attack them directly, it would die.
They ate, and then Ivory had her lessons for the evening, calligraphy and dance. Then she went to her bed.
A few times she woke up, thinking she heard some sound, but the pole of wood was silent around her.
The next day passed the same as the last. No evidence of the spider, no sign of anything but the trees. The strange life she had seen before; animals of vegetation, giants, strange plant zombies, all of it was missing.
Her thought was that in the spider's hunting ground nothing else lived.
She shook that thought aside and looked at the instruments. Ivory wanted to be certain that she was continuing straight, not being led in circles. The compass and altimeter and inertial locator all indicated that she was making forward progress, and around her, with every mile travelled, the landscape was different, she saw nothing that led her to think she had been tricked back onto her own trail.
The third day since they had met the spider, at about the middle of the day, Ivory brought the pagoda to a halt. She walked down the stairs, left the pilot tower and for a time stood in the garden, looking out at the endless trees around her.
She recalled the feeling she had had when approaching the web three days prior. A feeling she had then discounted, attention instead fixed on the spider when it had appeared.
When no one came to ask her why she had stopped Ivory went into the house. She found Darken Gray, seated in the front room, reading a book.
"We are trapped," she announced.
"Oh?" Darken Gray looked up from the book. "How did you come to that conclusion?"
Ivory had expected a different reaction. She said, "It's all different."
"What is all different?"
"Everything. Not once have I felt I might have gone in a circle, gotten lost, seen something that seemed familiar."
"And why does that make you think we are trapped?"
"It's just trees. Trees and trees and more trees. They should look all the same to me, but they don't. There is something in this space, something that is trying to make me think that everything is fine, and I don't believe it."
"That sounds somewhat unbalanced."
"Do you mean crazy?"
"Yes."
"I'm not crazy. I've looked at it, looked at it carefully. The essence weaves are all wrong." She shook her head. "We are trapped."
"Yes, I suppose that is true."
"Did you know?"
Darken Gray smiled. "I have seen much more than you. Next time you will not be fooled for so long." She turned her attention back to the book.
"What are we going to do?"
"Not we, you."
"Oh," Ivory said after a moment. "But…"
"You are capable of handling this on your own, aren't you, like a big girl?"
Ivory did not say anything for several seconds, a little surprised by the question, the tone of it, what she knew that Darken Gray was insinuating. "Fine," she said, then turned and walked back towards the pilothouse.
She would need to think about it a little. She was certainly capable of handling it herself.
As she flew towards an illusion of the centre of the Pole, she considered what she knew of this place.
A closed space, possibly infinite. A paradox that did not concern Ivory for she had been in Malfeas. The prison was an enclosed infinite space. It was not that infinity which kept the Yozi trapped, but that they had sworn on their own names, their very natures, to remain trapped within Malfeas.
In the sights that Lieger had shown her were possibilities that the Yozis might break their prison. None of those plans were complete, which meant that the Green Sun had hidden things from her. That seeing through his eye had only shown her parts of hidden wholes did not surprise her. Nor did the lack of complete information impede her.
The Spider's trap was simpler than the Yozis' prison. It could only exist in the already unlikely space that was an elemental pole.
That was her answer.
The Reality Engine would allow her to shred the web she had been trapped in.
The trick would be to not destroy the engine in the process.
Ivory did not sleep that night. She worked on the Reality Engine, building out an amplifier, putting in as many redundant breakers as she could to ensure the device would be protected.
Darken Gray watched, handed Ivory the occasional tool when it was asked for.
"How long will you be able to power this for?" she asked.
Ivory, tongue poking out the side of her mouth, slowly twisted a length of Moon Silver wire around one of the grounding breakers, did not look away from her work. "Seconds, if that," she replied a moment later.
Flames of sunlight surrounded her from the essence she had spent.
"But I don't need that long," she continued as she reached for a wrench. "It will be just like popping a soap bubble. A little disturbance and it will collapse. I bet that spider is gonna be surprised." She smiled.
"After we escape I'll want a short essay on the theory behind this. Make it easy to understand."
"It's almost like you don't want me to escape," Ivory mumbled as she began to tune the amplifier.
Four days since they had met the spider and Ivory flew the pagoda onwards as she had all the days before.
What might have happened if neither she nor Darken Gray had realised the trap for what it was? Travelling the endless closed space until they grew so weak as to be easy prey for the spider probably.
Well, she was going to surprise that spider.
A few hours into the day Ivory activated the amplifier. The pagoda slowed and fell for the seconds the artefact worked, all the power directed to the Reality Engine.
Around her, the trees twisted in on themselves, as if reflections in a disturbed pool of water. The ever-present quiet became pure silence. Ivory felt a pressure building in her ears like she had dived deep under water.
Then the pressure was gone, like a pop, and the trees returned to normal. The noises she had become familiar with came back.
Looking out through the pilothouse windows she saw something falling through the air, twisting as it tried to right itself.
The spider, now that she had destroyed its web.
The Pagoda leapt forward, accelerating up to its top speed as Ivory closed on the spider.
A moment before collision she pulled the pagoda up, hitting the spider with the reinforced keel block.
There was the sound of breaking wood and a strange scream.
Ivory throttled back and stopped the pagoda.
Then she was running down the stairs, out of the tower, through the garden, into the house.
Near the door, set in an umbrella stand, rested her two Orichalcum swords.
She pushed the door open, grabbed the swords, then leapt from the house.
The spider, bounced hard off the pagoda's bottom, had crashed among the looping branches and vines of a tree.
Ivory dropped right on top of it, feet further cracking the wood of its damaged body as she hit.
It cried out in pain.
Ivory brought her swords around, cutting its two foremost legs off and then putting the points of her swords over each of its largest eyes. "I don't like your games."
"Mercy," it cried out.
"No," Ivory answered it.
"Please hold," a loud voice called out.
Sword points almost touching the spider's eyes Ivory looked up towards the sound.
Two figures, man-sized, spiralled down towards the Ivory and the Pagoda, maintaining a polite distance.
One looked like a man, and one like a woman, they were dark, like the inhabitants of the south-west, but their skin was, in fact, dark wood, like polished walnut. They had wings and were clothed in simple robes. As they got closer Ivory could see the clothing was really leaves, as were the feathers of their wings.
Each carried a round, wooden shield and had a sheathed blade.
"Why should I stop?" Ivory demanded.
The female shaped one spoke. "While it has done you harm, the Wood Spider is a favoured servant of Kotomaro. If you destroy it, then you earn her ill will."
Ivory held her blades in place. "And her servant trying to trap us is an example of her good will?"
"The spider has overstepped its bounds," the female shaped one told her. "Kotomaro will deal with it."
That did not necessarily mean anything. Ivory looked down at the spider, held motionless by the weapons held at its eyes.
"All right," Ivory said, then with a slash of the sword in her right hand she took one of the spider's fangs off.
The spider let out a pained cry as a toxic looking sap dripped from the wound.
"Go," she ordered the spider, stepping off and away from it.
It flipped onto its remaining six legs and jumped away, disappearing into the trees.
Ivory stepped back into the house and pulled the door closed.
Leaving her swords by the door, she crossed through the pagoda, out into the garden.
"Why don't you come down here and talk?" Ivory called out to the two newcomers.
"Of course," the female shaped one said, and descended with her companion towards the pagoda.
Ivory could see them shudder as they passed through the reality engine's field, but they appeared to take no harm. They did not land but hovered above them.
The female shaped one spoke again. "Let me properly welcome travellers from Creation to the Elemental Court of Wood in the name of its absent ruler Sextes Jylis." Her voice was high and soft. Up close Ivory could see she appeared very much a beautiful woman from Creation.
Her companion, while male shaped, was all sharp planes and angles, an abstract form of a large man. His voice was higher than his partner, softer as well, almost inaudible. "In Sextes Jylis' absence, we bring welcome from Kotomaro the Hidden Lightning and a request from Kotomaro that you attend her in her palace."
Darken Gray answered them first. "Why should we trust you more than the envoy from Kotomaro we have already met?"
The female spoke. "As I said, the spider is an," a slight pause, "overenthusiastic servant of the wisest Kotomaro. The spider chose to anticipate Kotomaro's desires and has acted without official sanction. It will no longer impede you and will be appropriately punished. Please do not take further insult and it is my hope you feel properly avenged upon it."
"Of course," Darken Gray said.
Ivory did not say anything.
"I am called Ashen Leaf," the female one announced.
The male one spoke again in its incongruous voice. "I am Dagger Thorn. We would ask your names."
Darken Gray took a step back so that Ivory stood at the fore.
For a few seconds, Ivory was not certain what to say. She took a deep breath and curtsied respectfully (though not as though to a superior or even an equal). "I am Ivory Peleps, Twilight of the Unconquered Sun."
"Of the Unconquered Sun?" Dagger Thorn said.
"A Solar? Do not play false to us child," Ashen Leaf warned.
Ivory straightened, uncertainty fled. Her caste mark lit up. "I am Ivory Peleps, Twilight of the Unconquered Sun. Do not question it again or learn as the spider did the cost of offering me insult."
The two elementals looked to one another, then back to Ivory. "Our apologies," Dagger Thorn said. "Long has it been since a Solar last came here. Beyond the memory of most who dwell here."
Ivory looked at them both, enjoying the postures of uncertainty she saw in them. She held her silence until she heard the soft intake of breath from Darken Gray. Before she might cough Ivory said, "I accept the apologies of the emissaries of Sextes Jylis."
Then, trying to make it seem as if there had not been an interruption in the introduction she said, "I travel with my teacher Darken Gray, goddess of Loving Correction in service to the Lady Aisha Ex, goddess of all Children in Creation."
"A pleasure to meet you," Darken Gray said.
Ivory did not look, but she was sure that Darken Gray had not bowed to the elementals.
"Also my companion Hu, the god of Things in Shadow."
Hu moved up and took a seat beside Ivory.
The male elemental's face, being so abstract gave nothing away, but the female was surprised.
Or maybe, Ivory told herself, just acting it.
"We are honoured to have such august guests travel so far. Were Sextes Jylis to know of your presence he would certainly have endeavoured to be here."
Ivory wondered if that was a veiled threat.
She decided to ignore it and said, "If you will alight, I would offer you welcome into our home and method of travel."
The two elementals landed upon the pagoda, and then pulled their wings in tight around their bodies so that they could enter the structure.
Ivory showed them to the lounge, a decent sized room on the first floor, furnished with comfortable chairs and small tables.
Ashen Leaf sat, and Dagger Thorn remained standing.
Both turned down offers of refreshments.
All of them in the room and the polite openings out of the way Ashen Leaf said, "Kotomaro has requested that all visitors be brought into her presence. Will you allow us to escort you to her palace?"
"If we do not wish to go?" Ivory asked.
"Kotomaro the Hidden Lightning would never make demands of a Solar," Ashen Leaf spoke immediately.
Probably true.
"I am willing to meet with her," Ivory said.
Ashen Leaf and Dagger Thorn looked towards each other for a moment, then Ashen Leaf said, "I am certain Kotomaro will be honoured to meet with you."
"Why does she wish to meet all visitors?" Ivory asked.
"Kotomaro rules all elementals and this Pole, as there is no one else as spiritually enlightened as she. She cares about the Pole and its inhabitants and wishes to see to their safety."
"We are fortunate to have such a Dragon watching over us," Dagger Thorn said.
Ivory looked between them. She was almost certain that there were hidden meanings in their words.
Heron would have known.
"Then I am sure I will be pleased to meet her," Ivory said, watching the two.
"I can only hope," Ashen Leaf said with a smile.
The two elementals left the pagoda soon after, flying ahead as an escort as Ivory followed after them.
She sat in the wheelhouse, Darken Gray behind her.
"I am not certain what to make of that," Ivory said.
"Consider what I told you of Kotomaro," Darken Gray told her, lecturing.
"She took bribes."
"Yes."
Ivory thought about that for a few seconds. "Is taking bribes uncommon."
"I wish I could say it was, but things do not function as well as they should."
"So," Ivory thought about for a moment, "it is not really that she took the bribes, but the size of them and who she took them from."
"True."
"She puts herself first."
"Yes."
Ivory did not say anything as she considered the implications. Finally, she said, "She's made enemies here, enemies who would like her gone. Enemies who might see a powerful Exalt as a way to do so."
"Very good. That seems quite likely."
Ivory was careful not to smile. She did not want Darken Gray thinking that she desired her praise, though it was nice.
"I won't be able to trust anyone, and Kotomaro won't be able to trust me."
"It is an awkward position to be in. When we leave, you can write an essay on what you learned about dealing with the spirt court here."
Ivory almost admired Darken Gray's focus.
After almost a day of travel, they arrived at the palace of Kotomaro.
The structure was suspended in the middle of a ring of alternating copper wood and flame trees. Branches from the trees grew into the centre, wove together, forming a vast wooden palace of highly polished wood that glowed almost as if it were buffed stone.
As the pagoda drifted closer branches rolled out from the structure, twining about each other, forming an extension at which the pagoda could dock.
Ivory sat in the pilot's house, pushing the throttle forward, the speed dropping off until the pagoda came to a full stop, the front door lined up with the dock that had been extended to them. She locked down the controls and then left the pilothouse, returning to the central structure.
Darken Gray was waiting for her, to help her dress.
"We should not keep Kotomaro waiting too long," she explained, holding up a pale, pink dress with full skirts, "but a little waiting will be useful. It sets the tone."
Ivory began to undress, nodding at what Darken Gray said. "I understand."
Darken Gray was efficient, and soon she had Ivory dressed, finishing it off by wrapping a wide, obi-like sash around Ivory's stomach and trying it into a large bow. She combed out Ivory's red hair, bangs even with her eyebrows and the golden hairband put in place. She finished off preparing Ivory with a tiny bit of makeup.
She stepped back and look at Ivory for a long moment, then nodded. "Bring your swords, let them know you don't consider them allies."
Ivory went and got her swords, the paired short daiklaives in their ornate sheaths.
Darken Gray, as always, wore her suit with her heels, impeccably dressed, and Hu looked as if he had been brushed, his fur almost shining.
Ivory took the lead, stepping from the pagoda, Darken Gray and Hu behind her.
Standing on either side of the extension were what Ivory could only assume were soldiers. They were squat, and broad, every part of the elementals unfinished wood, yet all fitting perfectly together in an organic manner.
As Ivory stepped beyond the reality engine's protective shield, she called upon a charm that would protect her from the elemental energies all around. She walked along the extension, between the soldiers, protected by the laws of Creation which centred on her like a corridor.
When none of the soldiers attacked, she relaxed enough to look about.
The palace was a grand affair, nothing that could have been built in Creation she was certain. The ways that the wood grew together, each and every branch still separate, and yet growing so close and perfectly together they formed flat planes and perfect angles, like the work of the finest carpenters.
Tall towers rose up around the central structure, a domed keep, easily three hundred feet tall.
She wondered at Kotomaro, as to why her palace, while fantastic in its construction, seemed so much like something that one could find in Creation.
They passed between two watchtowers and came to a set of stairs that climbed up and curved along the side of the central keep.
The wooden soldiers had fallen in behind Ivory, Hu and Darken Gray, following in their wake.
Ivory paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking up them, and at the height of each stair.
With her knee-length dress, she would not have to worry about lifting the hem as she climbed, but the step height would be a problem. Stepping up each stair would not be an elegant affair for her.
She looked to Darken Gray, who apparently had recognised the issue as well. Her gaze shifted from Ivory to Hu.
Ivory frowned as she looked at Hu.
She had ridden on Hu's back before when desperation called for it, but doing so out of vanity seemed wrong.
However Hu was obviously aware of the issue as well for he growled softly, "It is all right."
So Ivory went to Hu, and Hu lowered himself so that Ivory could take a seat on his broad shoulders, sitting side saddle as it were.
That settled they started up the stairs.
Hu took the stairs smoothly, almost as if he flowed up them, and Ivory maintained her position with ease. Darken Gray's legs were long enough, and the heels gave her extra height, so she was not hindered at all in her climb.
Looking behind her Ivory saw the soldiers were following. Short as they were it looked like they were waddling up the stairs. Ivory suspected were she climbing them herself she might have been forced into a similar gait.
She did note that the march of the wooden soldiers, while not elegant, was surprisingly rapid and they did not fall behind.
The stairs circled up, almost making a complete circuit of the keep's circumference before they ended at a large platform and a set of grand doors.
Guards stood by the doors, tall and mighty, nearly twice the height of the tallest man Ivory had ever seen in Creation.
With those guards were Ashen Leaf and Dagger Thorn.
The two elementals bowed to Ivory and the others as Ivory slipped down from Hu's back. She paused and whispered a soft, "Thank you," into Hu's ear before she turned to her escorts.
The large guards stepped aside as the grand doors of the keep swung open.
"Please, this way," Ashen Leaf said.
Ivory stepped forward, between the guards and through the doors.
The wooden soldiers did not follow, and the doors swung slowly, softly closed once Ivory and the others had passed through them.
Within was a gently curving corridor that went off in both directions. Ashen Leaf indicated that they should take the right passage. Ivory started down the hall. To her left was the outside wall. In Creation, there would be windows, set with glass in such a palace. In Kotomaro's palace the branches formed perfectly square openings in the wall, and within grew a curtain of lace-like leaves. The effect was a little as if the windows had been set with green glass and it was quite beautiful.
To her right, she passed by doors, as well as open arches, through which she saw a ballroom, a library and even a large pool. She wondered if the books in the library were real. If they were real what sort of books would an elemental might collect?
Would she have time to get an invitation to wander the palace as she would?
Did she even want to seek such an invitation from Kotomaro?
After they had circled about a third of the way around the outer circumference they stopped at a large set of doors. Standing to either side were more of the large guards, armed with long pole arms of wood.
Dagger Thorn stepped forward. "Visitors to see Kotomaro the Hidden Lightning."
The guards did not react, but the doors swung slowly open.
Dagger Thorn and Ashen Leaf stood aside so that Ivory, Hu and Darken Gray could enter first.
Ivory passed through the doors, taking a moment to look about the room.
There were many elementals, perhaps forty or fifty. Many were human shaped, of different woods, almost looking like people of creation. Of the others Ivory took note of a few: wolves of timber, an eagle the size of an ox, made of flowers, and three tall figures, like the guards by the doors, though better shaped than those.
Had etiquette allowed it she might have examined the court of Kotomaro for a longer time, for she found the wood elementals interesting. However that was not an option, and after a quick glance, she shifted her full attention to the one who ruled in this place.
A lesser elemental dragon, she was still quite large. Her scales were shaped like leaves and made of a dark hardwood. Her eyes were the colour of green grass, set in a large head. Her claws, which rested on the wooden floor, looked like they were the roots of oaks, made sharp.
O the Flying Wood had approached that level of power, but Ivory was confident that Kotomaro was stronger.
Eyes towards her host Ivory crossed the room as those bright green eyes regarded her.
Curious Ivory supposed.
Of course, she would be.
A little girl, a woman, a tiger.
Likely the elemental had never seen such a thing.
Ivory stopped, perhaps twenty feet from the dragon, then she curtsied, dipping her head low, low enough to be polite, but in no way to appear subservient.
Darken Gray had been working with ivory on her Etiquette lessons, and with a touch of Ivory's essence to add a sense of perfection she blurred the line between politeness and rudeness to the point where it was impossible to tell which was which.
The body language of the Dragon, as much as she might read it, seemed to change. A hint of discomfort, of uncertainty.
Ivory straightened and spoke loudly. "I am Ivory of House Peleps, of the Blessed Isle, Twilight of the Unconquered Sun."
Obvious surprise from Kotomaro and her gaze seemed to search out others.
Ashen Leaf and Dagger Thorn, Ivory supposed.
So they had not told her who her guests were.
Kotomaro looked back towards Ivory, and Ivory believed that the dragon was about to ask her to prove such a claim, but at that moment, unasked, Ivory made her caste mark glow upon her forehead, and she was certain Kotomaro swallowed her words.
Around her whispers of other elementals, too soft for Ivory to make out, but she guessed at them. Surprise, perhaps some uncertainty.
Darken Gray spoke next. "I am Darken Gray, goddess of Loving Punishment, in service to Lady Aisha Ex."
Hu growled.
It seemed to get the point across.
Kotomaro took a moment before speaking.
"Welcome to the Elemental Pole of Wood and to my palace. I am honoured to be graced by such august personages."
"I thank you for your welcome Kotomaro the Hidden Lightning. I have never been to an Elemental Pole. Your gracious invitation was appreciated."
"Had I known I would have ensured an even grander welcome."
Ivory smiled and nodded. "You are most kind."
Seeming to have put her surprise aside she said, "Long has it been since the last time a Solar came to this Pole. Surely I must offer thanks to the Unconquered Sun."
"And we to the Dragon of Wood whose presence is most missed," Darken Gray spoke.
Ivory supposed it was a loaded statement.
Again it seemed as if Kotomaro was somewhat put off balance, perhaps trying to guess the real meaning of the declaration.
"Yes," Kotomaro said, with little pause. "Were Sextes Jylis here I believe the nature of this meeting would be most different."
It was, Ivory thought, probably a threat.
"Are you only here to see this Pole?" Kotomaro asked, apparently wanting to know why they were there.
Ivory smiled as she reached into the small purse she carried and removed the heart she had made. "I am building an essence reactor, it will one day soon power an automaton I will also build."
Kotomaro stretched her neck out, perhaps to get a better look. "Fascinating I am certain."
Ivory nodded. "To charge it I needed to visit perhaps four of the five Poles. All five would be best, but I can make it work with four. Wood first, for the productive life energy."
Kotomaro nodded, seeming to accept Ivory's explanation for her presence, and the unspoken compliment offered. "It sounds like a great work."
"I will need to travel to the very centre of the Pole, I would, of course, appreciate your permission to do so."
Ivory was not really asking for permission.
"Of course," the dragon said as it returned to its previous position no longer interested in what Ivory held. "You have my permission."
Ivory nodded.
"Perhaps this day we will celebrate your visit?"
"I would be honoured," Ivory replied. "The enlivening of this reactor will wait."
"Excellent," Kotomaro said. "When the sun sets we shall meet in the grand ballroom where you will enjoy the hospitality of my court."
Later, after they had returned to the pagoda and the privacy it offered, Darken Gray reviewed their meeting with the dragon, asking Ivory questions about what had happened and the significance of it all.
Another test.
When Darken Gray had received the answers she was looking for Ivory asked, "What if Sextes Jylis had been present?"
"It is hard to say. Kotomaro meant that as a threat, but it was not directed at you."
Ivory nodded after a moment. "It was directed at her court. Reminding them that it could be worse."
"Yes, I believe so. But to answer your question, I do not think you would necessarily be welcomed by Sextes Jylis. The Elemental Dragons will remember the Solars of old and their relationship with them was complex?"
"Complex?"
"Solars of old were powerful enough to deal with the Elemental Dragons as near equals. I do not think the Dragons appreciated it. I think you would best be received coolly. What happened after that," and she smiled, "would depend much on your behaviour."
Ivory supposed that was true.
"Have you met any of the Elemental Dragons?"
"Not formally. I have seen two of the Dragons, but there were no introductions. It was heavenly business, and I was just there to represent Lady Aisha Ex."
"I would like to meet them," Ivory stated. "Not now, but when I can deal with them as an equal."
"Centuries away."
"Maybe not that long," Ivory said, feeling that she knew far more than Darken Gray suspected. "Maybe just one century."
Darken Gray's expression was, Ivory thought, strange, but she was not certain why.
"When did you think to use the reactor as an excuse to be here?"
"A few days ago, I thought if I were asked why I was here I would show them the heart."
"It was quite wise and showed admirable forethought."
Ivory smiled.
"You should get some rest now. You want to be ready for this evening's event. I do not think Kotomaro means you any harm, but I would not completely trust it.
Ivory did not feel that tired but chose not to fight Darken Gray on it.
There would be other battles that would be more important.
When the sun was setting, and darkness growing beneath the endless canopy of the forest, Ivory once again made her way up the stairs, seated upon Hu's back. She was dressed in blue, a dress a little less formal than the one she had worn earlier.
She slipped from Hu's back when he reached the top of the stairs.
Darken Gray was with her, dressed much in the manner she always did.
As before Ashen Leaf and Dagger Thorn were waiting for them.
Something about them made Ivory wary, and she recalled Darken Gray's earlier warning.
She was careful to make the action subtle as she shifted her gaze to her governess.
A slight nod indicated that Darken Gray had seen it as well.
Ivory smiled at them, as if she were unaware of the difference, and greeted them.
The two elementals were polite, almost hiding the sense of unease Ivory had detected.
They led Ivory and the others into the palace.
Once more they turned right, but they only walked about a quarter of the way around the keep's circumference. They stopped in front of one of the open arches that Ivory had noticed before. Within was a huge ballroom, with floors that looked like parquet tiles and roses that hung down the walls like velvet curtains.
A band of elementals played strange instruments that Ivory thought might be part of their bodies, and the room was crowded with more elementals than had been in the audience room. She wondered if some of the guests were not elementals. There those that did not share the wood aspect of most of the beings there.
Unfortunately, she could not openly stare and seek that kind out, for her attention had to be directed to her host.
Kotomaro had set herself in the centre of the room, which, Ivory thought, would make dancing hard; assuming, of course, the elementals would dance.
She was watching as Ivory entered.
The draconic features were difficult to read, but Ivory thought she was smiling.
She did not think it was completely in welcome.
"Be on your guard," Darken Gray said in a soft tone for Ivory's ears only.
"Be welcome Ivory Peleps, Darken Gray and Hu," the dragon called out, "this gathering is in your honour after all."
The orchestra began playing a strange music with an odd, discordant chord progression, flats and diminished notes, scattered with major chords. It was not that it was bad, Ivory thought, but it was not to her taste.
She crossed the dance floor, which was empty, and stopped not too far from where Kotomaro rested. "Thank you for your kindness."
"You are most welcome Twilight. I hope you find the arrangements to your liking."
"No one is dancing," Ivory told her.
It was not really polite, but Ivory knew she could get away with it, for she had made the statement seem innocent, more a question than a criticism.
"Yes, that is a custom from Creation, one that we do not follow ourselves. Perhaps you might dance for us? I have heard that you are quite talented."
So Kotomaro had heard about her visit to Far Hold and her meeting with Elder Oak. Perhaps Elder Oak had even passed the details of that visit to Kotomaro.
They might even be allies.
"If you wish I could dance." She was not going to put on false modesty like a cloak and say that her dance would be out of place in such a palace. Perhaps were she not Exalted of the Sun false modesty might be a strategy.
She waited for the request.
Kotomaro seemed to realise that she must either make some excuse or ask Ivory to dance, so she chose the most politic option and said, "I would be pleased if an Exalted of the Unconquered Sun were to honour us with a dance."
"Of course," Ivory said.
"This music, surely not what you are used to from Creation. Ask, and they will play something you are familiar with."
Ivory smiled. "This music is quite acceptable, thank you."
She would ask for no favours.
Hu and Darken Gray stayed close to Kotomaro, as was their right as gods of their classes. That removed them from the corridor of Ivory's protection, but Ivory knew that both were powerful enough to deny the energies of the place.
She took a position near the centre of the room, looked about, towards the guests and the musicians and then back to Kotomaro.
When she had been five, she had learned a dance to the elemental dragons. She and other children had spent months practising under harsh teachers. Ivory could not even remember what event they had been dancing for. Likely in celebration of someone's birthday. She remembered all the punishments for any misstep, and of all the times she had been reduced to tears and impotent, immature rage.
And she remembered each step.
The perfection of the Unconquered Sun made her steps light, allowed her to find the pattern in the music and marry her dance to it.
The dance of the Dragon of Earth, every step placed solidly, every movement slow and precise.
The dance of the Dragon of Water, flowing, always uncertain, every dance step changing with the music.
The dance of the Dragon of Wood, like a growing tree, seemingly controlled, but always a bit of wildness in it.
Those around her watched.
Ivory was certain they were pleased.
She chose to eschew the dance of the Dragon of Fire and Air.
Instead, Ivory improvised, and danced for the Sun, as she imagined it.
Confident steps, bright movements, every gesture or foot placement speaking of more power than any of the previous. The sun was above all.
She finished, a rapid series of leaping steps, a final spin on her toe, hands raised above her head, spread out like the rising sun.
Dropping rapidly to a knee she bowed her head low, but not to the dragon in front of her, but to the Unconquered Sun.
As she straightened, Ivory took in deep breaths through her nose, letting them out through her mouth, careful not to pant. Her hairband's magic had kept her clothing in order, not a hair out of place, not a drop of sweat to mar her appearance.
She was not entirely certain how long she had been dancing, but all eyes were on her.
No one clapped as they might in Creation, but there was a soft murmur of approval or appreciation.
Again, Ivory was not certain of the expressions of the dragon's face. She guessed appreciation mixed with some irritation.
"Perhaps we may learn to dance like that," Kotomaro said.
"Every movement of a tree is a dance in of itself," Ivory answered in reply.
It was a compliment, and Kotomaro took it that way, but Ivory had also meant for it to be a suggestion that the elementals might not dance as well as she.
Perhaps she had been too subtle?
"It is pleasing to have guests visits, but not all who visit are guests," the dragon said, and Ivory was certain that Kotomaro had been waiting for this.
Ivory only nodded.
"We have been sent a messenger from an important personage. My apologies Ivory Peleps for bringing this official business to a celebration of your visit."
"There is no need to apologise. You have your duties."
"You are most kind. Send in the messenger."
Looking around Ivory saw what she took to be confusion in the expressions of the elementals there. Whatever Kotomaro had planned it was meant to be a surprise to her court as well.
There was a small amount of commotion near the main entryway, and then a group of the wooden soldiers came in, escorting some strange creature. It took Ivory a moment to realise the strange creature was a blood ape.
The forces of the Pole of Wood had worked their energies on it. Leaves and small twigs had spouted from its skin, and as it moved there was a soft creaking sound as if branches rubbed together.
She suspected some of the elementals were surprised by the appearance of a demon in the court. Ivory herself had not expected to see one.
"You bring a message for me," Kotomaro said. "Speak demon, while you still might, for this pole consumes you even now."
"I will not be laid down by such forces in Creation," the Blood Ape said in a loud voice. "I will deliver my message as charged. Rakshi, Elder Lunar, sends word to Kotomaro of the death of O the Flying Wood."
Ivory thought she now understood the earlier smile the dragon had worn.
"Death?" Kotomaro asked.
"O the Flying Wood was obliterated."
"How could such a thing happen?" Kotomaro demanded of the demon.
All around them other elementals looked on. Ivory thought that they all looked shocked, and Kotomaro had their full attention.
"Rakshi believes that a Solar Exalt ended O, one who looked like a child."
Ivory watched as Kotomaro shifted her attention to her.
"Yes, I destroyed O," Ivory said before a question could be asked. "It was the correct action and needed to be done." Ivory spoke with complete certainty, not a hint of doubt in her tone. She knew, with absolute clarity, that O had needed to be destroyed.
Perhaps, Ivory thought, Kotomaro thought that she would deny the action, or even apologise. She did not seem to have expected certainty. That apparently left her at a loss for words, for she was silent.
Before she might master her surprise, the blood ape spoke again. "I have been asked by Lady Rakshi to pass on a request. That is that if the one who destroyed O enters your court that you would see her delivered to Rakshi. Rakshi as a friend…"
The blood apes eyes widened.
Darken Gray was at his side, half the length of her double-edged, long straight sword buried in its chest.
Ivory had not seen her move, though she had not been watching.
She had not known that the goddess was armed.
The wooden soldiers around the blood ape appeared shocked, and stood, as if uncertain of what to do.
"I am sending you back to hell," Darken Gray said, voice calm, but filling the room.
Ivory was not sure if Darken Gray was loud or the hall was just quiet.
"When you get back there, make sure you pass this message on to whatever demon Rakshi the Queen of Fangs summons next." She twisted the blade, and the blood ape grunted in obvious pain. "The Lady Aisha Ex has ignored the blasphemous actions of Rakshi out of respect to Luna. If Ivory's name even passes from her lips, I will know, and more importantly, Lady Aisha Ex will know. Many powerful beings, Sidereals, gods of war, Exalts, all owe my lady favours. Rakshi Queen of Fangs should ask herself how long she might live if her actions displease my lady. Do you understand my message."
"I understand," the blood ape grunted.
Darken Gray pulled the blade free, yanking it straight out. Then she lifted it above her head, spun it about, and brought it around for a cut that went right through the blood ape's neck.
As its head fell to the floor, Darken Gray turned and walked away from it, towards Kotomaro. She took a handkerchief from a pocket and wiped the blood from the blade. "My apologies for the mess," she said to the dragon.
Looking back at Kotomaro Ivory thought, for a moment, there was fear in the dragon's countenance, but it was gone before she could be sure. Instead, a sort of wary appraisal seemed to shape the dragon's features. "I understand. A threat was made, the messenger had to be killed."
Darken Gray nodded. "As you say."
"Perhaps," Ivory said, "due to this unfortunate event and the unwelcome news we might end this entertainment early?"
Ivory did not mention that she was the cause of the unwelcome news.
Kotomaro shifted her gaze to Ivory, then to Darken Gray and once more to Ivory. "Yes, you are of course correct."
Ivory performed a curtsy as her caste mark blazed to existence on her forehead.
"That was well done," Darken Gray told her once they had returned to the pagoda.
"What?"
"Ending that farce of a reception. No one wanted to be there, you gave Kotomaro an opportunity to save face. You have not put her in a situation where she owes you a favour, but I think it will be easier to deal with her."
"Who is Rakshi?" Ivory asked.
"Rakshi is not a problem I wish to talk about. It is distasteful."
"But…"
"Ivory, I said I did not wish to speak about Rakshi. You will have nothing to fear from that quarter so do not ask again."
Ivory wondered what would happen were she to ask again.
Playing at baiting her governess did not seem a wise choice at the moment.
"Now, what did you see?" Darken Gray asked her.
"Pardon?"
"What did you see? What have you learned?"
Ivory thought about that for a moment. "Bringing the demon into the hall was not meant as an attack on me, but to make the other elementals mistrustful of me."
"Anything else?"
Ivory shook her head.
"Were you watching Kotomaro?"
"I was looking at you," Ivory said.
"Why?"
"Why? I wanted to see you fight."
Darken Gray looked at her. "That was hardly a fight Ivory, more an execution."
"But I wasn't the only one watching you, they… Oh."
"You understand?"
Ivory nodded. "If everyone was watching you I should've have been watching everyone else."
"Yes. Had you been watching Kotomaro you would have seen that my mention of Sidereals worried her, as to be expected. She is also concerned about the level of beings involved. If Lady Aisha Ex would learn if Rakshi even spoke your name, then she would certainly know if anything happened to you."
"And she might send Sidereals to investigate?"
Darken Gray nodded. "Or at least Kotomaro must be thinking that. That the elementals are mistrustful of you means they are less likely to try to drag you into the politics of this place."
"So all I have to worry about is anyone, like that spider, who might try to please Kotomaro without her knowing."
Darken Gray nodded.
"I want to leave tomorrow."
"You must be polite about it."
Ivory thought for a moment. "Would a letter be polite enough?"
"It is a start."