The Starlight Lancer

Chapter 101: The Enclave's Salvation

"Wicked heart and wicked mind

Did set their schemes upon the land

Where heretic is free from time

And severance of bonds is planned..."

—Famed poet Ozmolie Gambon, in his book, Reconciliations of Imperial Life, a book of poems about surviving captivity in the Marked Empire

The dig site never stopped moving, a loosely organized chaos in motion. Sivanya navigated the narrow, bustling throughways with ease while Zaina struggled, having to dash aside to avoid bumping into hurrying strangers.

"The unmarked live in the nearby city of Deonago," Sivanya began. "I should have known things would come to this—their leader seemed a good man; one of the ones who tried. But his son is different. Dirzo. He's been leading forays into this forest—which is legally our land, by the way—for the past five years now. Nothing too intense—we lose one every once in a while, they lose a few every once in a while. Skirmishes. We weren't trying to hurt them, though I doubt they shared that conviction."

"It's a noble one," Zaina said.

"And one that's cost us too much already. I'm well past putting their lives above those of my own people. Now any unmarked in our forest perishes."

Zaina winced—she hated the idea of being so callous and casual about death, even if she logically understood why Sivanya felt that way. "I guess in war you have to do what you have to do."

"That's the unfortunate truth," Sivanya said. "We're dealing with people who would see us exterminated to the last and happily dance on our graves. Living in opposition to such hatred doesn't allow room for compassion or kindness. Would that I could walk the moral high ground, but not at the cost of my people's survival."

"Hence the temple," Zaina said.

A smile crept over Sivanya's face. "Yes. The temple."

"How exactly is it going to protect us?"

"All we have to do is get inside," Sivanya replied. "The rest has already been taken care of. There's a reason the Alliance of Worlds, in eons of old, imported billions of tons of stone and dirt to bury this place for what they hoped was forever. To them, it was the most dangerous thing imaginable."

"So it is a superweapon?"

"No," Sivanya said with a smirk, "it's a sanctuary. A place where only the marked are permitted to enter; ancient magick keeps all others out. A place where we can be safe—where you could be safe, even from the Eldritch's influence."

Zaina could hardly believe her ears. "It can block out the Eldritch?"

Sivanya stared at the uncovered bit of temple with an expression of worshipful hope. "It can block out anything. That magick is the reason the temple's still standing, after all; why it's kept its shape after all this time, even after being bombed and buried and forgotten. The marked who stood within its walls spoke of a serene peace within themselves—every voice stilled, no matter its origin."

That had to be too good to be true. "But—if that's true—what makes that so dangerous?"

"Think about it from their point of view," Sivanya answered. "Their greatest fear is a group of marked beyond their reach—beyond their ability to slaughter when they decide to. But if we get inside that temple, there's nothing they can do to hurt us ever again—the idea that we'd be truly safe from them would be unacceptable in their eyes. No more threats from Dirzo, or from any lancer—or anyone. For us, such a thing is salvation. But think about it from their point of view: the idea of us existing beyond their cruelty is the ultimate reprieve for an ancient enemy."