The Ashes of Allmau: The Orfolk of Allmau

Chapter 22

Kydd and Dyll were led by Lyndd and the elders into the Apia, while Ahna and the orfolk of Apia entertained one another. All attention had been drawn to the forefront of the pyronaut, leaving the hive itself mostly empty. Stepping in, the core structure, one large twisting misshapen column, coiled through the middle, branching from it were the supports that made up the super structure. The core column was made up of hundreds of papery folds, layered over one another, that seemed to peel away laterally, like the bark of a tree. Lyndd pulled back one of these folds to reveal a tight dark path. The faint mist that was in the air around them poured into the whole as though drawn by a draft, though the air was still. The elders climbed through, leading the way for Kydd and Dyll, who seemed equally surprised.

Once the folds sealed, the path returned to darkness, with only the light of the aetherforms in the air. In such an environment, they cast a burnt umber glow, the last colour one see as a fire cools off. In this dim light they could only see one another's silhouettes, but this change quickly as they felt their way up the narrow path. The mist became more and more dense, and unlike your usual, natural mist, as it became thicker it brought with it a soft light that lit everything within it.

They continued, and as they did the mist became brighter, but also thicker, closing the air around them. At a point, it became so thick that it was hard to move, like walking through honey. So densely packed was the mist that the aetherforms collected as odd fibres in the air, appearing like tufts of fur. Ahead of them, the path was impassable, filled with this odd fur. An elder held out his hand, the fibres reached for him and touched the tips of his claws. It flickered with light before melting back to open a path, the aetherforms themselves layered the walls, and in their masses created a bright, almost blinding light.

Lyndd guided them the rest of the way, up to the point the light subsided and they entered into a chamber at the centre of the core column of Apia. The space itself wasn't a gigantic, grand structure, the sorts Kydd saw in the human city of Higard. It was tight and warm, like a good hug. It stretched upwards with a narrow spiral ledge that continued the path around it, what defined it, was what was in the centre.

Catching Kydd's eye when he stepped in, was a splendid jewel. It was perfectly round with an softening aura around it. It instantly reminded Kydd of the jewel within the necronaut, only it introduced itself with a plethora of different emotions and sensations and these seemed to colour it. It was cosy, warm and friendly. It was cautious yet generous. Charitable but conservative. To Kydd, it was a beautiful amber that put him in the mind of an inviting campfire. Oranges and golds mixed with a deep obsidian in a slow hypnotic, kaleidoscopic swirl. Compared to the jewel of the necronaut, there were constellations of light in a vast network, like a whole galaxy stretched out to fill it.

"Is this a pearl?" Kydd asked, climbing the path ahead of the elders to get a closer look.

Dyll kept further back, seeming particularly uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?"

"You can't hear it?" he asked.

"Hear what?"

"The whispers."

Kydd looked at Lyndd, "Go on," she said to him, standing back to keep Dyll company.

Kydd climbed the structure and joined the elder orfolk near the jewel. As he came closer, he noticed the shadows across the walls, silhouettes of orfolk watching from the audience of life.

"Yes, this is the pearl of Apia." said one of the elders.

Kydd looked into the jewel. Its draw was inescapable. The constant, yet gentle pull of the mist towards it seemed to slow as it created a dense atmosphere around the jewel, giving it the impression of softness. From the surface where he stared came a thread which trained itself on Rune. Stepping back cautiously, the thread unravelled into mist which fell back into the pearl.