"Quest for the Atrium: Ch. 3" by Beth ´Fork Master´ Lewis

Chapter 3: Xenzati - The Plane of All Knowledge

The world whipped by in a flourish of colour so fast that no mortal eye could determine shape. Swirling and spinning, the colours blended and unblended periodically, creating a hypnotizing effect. Whites, blacks, crimsons, and different hues of blue all collided and sent different spirals of colour hurtling away. Forest greens, silvery greys, and golden yellows added to them, sending away their own waves in fascinating patterns.

Wind grazed and whistled by his hair as Arven stood in the midst of the colour, fingers reaching out tentatively to brush the smooth swirls. Fascinated by the colours, he thought that maybe if he touched them, just once, he could get his mind off of them. His dream-like state was broken as Sayinti’s voice shot through his misted mind, sharp, and defined.

“Do not touch the colours!” she warned him, but didn’t attempt to prevent his fingers from reaching out. “They are deadly.... they are trying to make you give in to them. That is what the colours are made of. People, beings, even inanimate objects that have touched the swirls. They will suck you into their black hole, and you will become like them! Swirls of colour with no defined state or solid body.”

With a definitely forced jerk, Arven withdrew his hand, but he continued gazing at the colours with longing.

“We are here,” said Sayinti, and grasped his arm, forcing him to follow her in stepping out of the fountain.

They emerged from the fountain soaked and spluttering, the chill of the water fully awakening Arven’s senses. The nymph fluttered her wings to shake off the water, but Arven could only wring out his clothes in the hope that they would dry soon.

When Arven finally looked up from desperately wringing out his clothes, he gasped in shock. For as far as his eyes could see, the place was blank, devoid of any colours or objects, except for the thick white fog that covered it all. He glanced behind him, but the fountain was nowhere in sight. “Sayinti?” he called into the mist. Where had she gone? But the nymph had mysteriously disappeared as well, and Arven cursed himself for trusting in her. It must be a trap. She must have tricked him into following her here, to a place he didn’t know, to a place where he would die alone, and in rage.....

Actually, it wasn’t that bad, he admitted to himself. And she probably hadn’t tricked him, and she probably wasn’t false........ but she could have left directions.

Somewhat annoyed at both himself and the nymph, Arven turned blindly, and started off in a random direction, despite the pain from the burns he still had. But before long, he ran straight into something, or somebody, and found that he wasn’t alone after all. He felt the something, and soon discovered that it was Sayinti. Blushing furiously, he stuttered apologies, but she dismissed him and the fog with a wave of her hand.

“Have no fear, Arven,” she said laughingly, coming into view as the mist cleared. “I forgive you. But you really should have stayed where you were. You were safe there.”

“What do you mean, safe there?” Arven demanded. His apology accepted, he was now annoyed that she had gone off without him. “Hardly safe. I didn’t and still don’t know where I am.”

“I have already told you, we have come to Xenzati, another plane of existence.”

Arven glanced around. The fog was gone, and Sayinti was standing there, but the fountain was still nowhere in sight. He snorted. “Some plane. It’s empty. Somebody has no decorating skills.”

Sayinti’s eyes grew cold, and her expression grim. “Do not dare taunt Zalrega like that! Simply for that remark, he would burn you to ashes a hundred times faster than Kariscus burned your grappling hook.” She looked away from him, her face troubled. “Zalrega knows all. He has been here since the beginning of time, recording everything about everyone. He knows everything you have said from the time you were born to the present. He knows every thought you have ever made.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He knows what will happen to the world if certain people do not find their destinies. And he does not care. Do you hear me, Arven? He does not care whether those people discover who they are. He does not care if the world explodes, and all the people die. Because he is here. He is here in this everlasting plane of existence. The only thing that has ever worried him....... is a threat to take over Xenzati and access his book of all records.

“But you see Arven, Zalrega is both immortal and invincible. You cannot ever hope to harm him. So do not bother to get yourself killed by him for the sake of a silly little comment. For although Zalrega does not care for the survival of the world, I do. And I know that you are needed for our survival, Arven. Please, I beg you, stay alive!”

Arven nodded, finally completely comprehending the situation, his face serious. “I apologize, Sayinti, for threatening the world. And I apologize to you, Zalrega, wherever you are. I know you’re recording everything I say, so I’m sorry. You have fantastic decorating skills.”

“Don’t I?” said a lazy voice from somewhere out there. “I’m so very proud of myself, you know.”

Arven whirled around, searching for the source of the voice. “Where are you?”

The voice laughed. “I am here. I am everywhere. I am.”

Arven frowned. “You’re not making sense, that’s what you are.” Sayinti glared at him in warning, but Zalrega simply laughed.

“You highly misunderstand me, my dear Sayinti.” The voice shrank suddenly, and with a small ‘pop’, a middle-aged man, appeared in front of them. He was fairly small, with dark hair and a long, curving moustache that reached nearly down to his belt. A long navy jacket hung around his shoulders, reaching down to his ankles, and he wore a cream coloured tunic and dark trousers. The wide belt around his waist was black, inlaid with gold, and several pouches hung on it. His shoes were of the funniest make, they were pointed at the toes, and reddish. All in all, his appearance was quite amusing, and Arven couldn’t help but grin.

But as for Sayinti, she immediately dropped to the ground and groveled before him. “Forgive me, sir,” she said hastily, and bowed her head to the ground. “I will try harder.”

Zalrega simply laughed, and bent down to raise her. “My dear, don’t you think I’ve gotten a bit tired of all that head-in-the-dirt stuff?”

“But sir - ”

The man waved a hand dismissively. “Don’t you know? People grovel before me all the time. ‘Oh, do this, do that, do everything, oh you’re so powerful, mighty lord! Please help me, oh I beg you to help me, this and that happened and then this, and guess what, WE’RE DYING AGAIN!’”

Arven nodded understandingly. “Well, I can certainly see why you tire of groveling. But....” He gave Zalrega a quizzical glance. “how do all these people get here anyhow? I thought the gateway was kind of..... sort of.... closed? Well, you know......”

Zalrega shook his head in an annoyed fashion. “Oh no, it’s closed all right, these people just stumble in here by accident, then expect me to perform miracles for them or something.” He snorted. “I may be everlasting, but I’m not a wizard, you know.”

“You aren’t?”

Sighing exasperatedly, Zalrega turned away and headed out into the blankness. “Follow me,” he said half-heartedly, and promptly disappeared.

Arven glanced around quickly, then looked at Sayinti where she sat back on her heels. “Sayinti?”

“What?” she snapped back, seemingly annoyed by Zalrega’s attitude.

“What’s with you?” Arven asked, taken aback by her sudden outburst. Until then, the nymph had always been extremely quiet and good-natured.

“Nothing,” she replied curtly, and getting up, she stalked off in the direction that Zalrega had gone.

Shrugging, Arven followed, not knowing where he was going, and surprisingly, not caring.

But as soon as Sayinti reached the spot where Zalrega had disappeared, she waved her hand and vanished in the same manner.

Letting out a yell, Arven limped towards the empty spot, his burns paining him more than they had before. Waving his hands extravagantly, he attempted to disappear like those who had gone before him.

“Oh, come on....” he groaned, collapsing onto the blank ground.

It moved.

Startled, Arven scrambled to his feet again, ignoring his pains. He stared down at the ground, as unmoving and unimaginable as ever. Wary of this strange place, he stomped down on the blankness, but nothing happened. “I didn’t just imagine that, did I?” he said aloud.

Gingerly, he eased himself down onto the ground again, and suddenly found himself sitting on a squishy orange couch. An ugly orange couch. Squishy. In the middle of this blank plane. He looked around. Sure enough, the scenery looked as lifeless as it had before, except for this one couch in the middle of it, which he sat on. Grinning, he reached down to touch the fabric. It was a comfortable piece of furniture. But has he touched it, the couch disappeared, and he fell to the ground with a soft ‘thump’. As soon as landed on the ground, a large trampoline appeared beneath him, and he bounced back up again.

“What the heck IS this?” he spluttered, carelessly letting himself bounce around, until he had to put his hand on the mesh to prevent himself from bouncing off. The trampoline disappeared with a flash, and not knowing what to expect, Arven didn’t bother to try landing on his feet.

But instead of something soft, he landed on the hard, cream-coloured tiles of a temple floor. “Not fair,” he groaned, and rolled onto his stomach, and clambering to his feet in much pain. “That was the start of a pattern.”

With another small ‘pop’, Zalrega and Sayinti appeared before him. Sayinti looked clearly perturbed, but Zalrega looked just as jovial as before.

He stared pointedly down at Arven, then said, “What happened to you?”

Arven simply groaned, and muttered something about Sayinti abandoning him in the middle of nowhere.

Sayinti hissed at him in annoyance. “I did not abandon you,” she said in cool tones. “I simply left, expecting that you would follow.”

“You didn’t leave any way for me to follow!”

“That’s quite enough,” Zalrega interjected smoothly. “Quite enough, I’d say. Although I dearly love company, I usually love it more when they aren’t bickering the entire time.”

“This isn’t - “

“Oh yes it is.” Zalrega’s voice was very soft and oh so silky smooth. “I really would appreciate it if you would shut up, Arven Hunter. You’re giving me a headache.“

“But - “

Sayinti let out a haughty sniff in distaste, and strode out of the hall with her nose in the air.

Arven watched her go in silence, then turned to Zalrega. “What’s with her? Ever since we got here, she’s been acting all weird. When we were back on earth, she was very soft-spoken and...... nice.”

He waited, expecting a long-winded and explanatory reply, but Zalrega simply shrugged. “Who knows?” he said. “Nymphs are strange creatures.”

Arven sighed and rolled his eyes. He should’ve known. This Zalrega person was very peculiar and bizarre. But wait........ hadn’t Sayinti explained him as one who didn’t care for the existence and inhabitants of the world? As someone cold and ruthless, who would kill him in a matter of milliseconds if he said something wrong?

Stranger still, Sayinti herself seemed to act haughty, or - if he dared to say - snobbish in his presence. Yet she revered and worshipped him as a god. What was up with that? Could it be....... No, it couldn’t........

Zalrega cut through his thoughts swiftly and confirmed his wild guess. “Yes,” he said quietly. “Sayinti does have a split personality problem.” He sighed, and sat down on the ground, which instantly transformed into the squishy orange couch. “Have a seat.”

When Arven did so, he continued. “Sayinti does worship me as a god, as I was always like a god to her. All knowing, all powerful, that sort of nonsense. But,” he said thoughtfully. “she also holds me in contempt.”

“She holds you in contempt? You? What for?”

“Hard to explain. But, if you have the time.....”

Arven nodded eagerly, anxious for any bit of information that would solve this mystery.

Zalrega sighed, and began. “Alright. I’ll tell you.

“Sayinti was born as the Heir of Calthasae, I’m sure you know that much. As the Heir, she was given to me as a child so I could instruct her in her own art, since I myself have gained all knowledge, being here by myself all the time.” He gave Arven a quick glance, and added, “It can be very boring. But anyway.

“I trained Sayinti. I taught her everything she needed to know, answered all her questions and concerns, created a safe, secure world for her, in which she felt powerful. I taught her to be ambitious, strong-willed, and decisive. And she idoled and worshipped me, because of what I knew, what I had to offer, and what I had done for her life. However, I made a fatal mistake.

“Sayinti had a younger brother, a sweet, loving, generous little lad. She loved him much more than anything in the world. He was more important to her than the safety of the universe. She was powerful, and magical, skilled in the art of healing. She could subdue any enemies of theirs, and treat any wounds. And then there was my mistake. The final stage of her training, the time of her ultimate test, Sayinti had to be away testing for three days. I had already set out the test for her, and she knew exactly what she had to do. I was to care for her younger brother in her absence.

“And then it struck. The deadly disease that had killed thousands on earth rooted itself in her little brother. I found that it was a demon plague that would kill hundreds of thousands more if I didn’t destroy it.” Zalrega closed his eyes and shuddered at his memories. “The only way I could destroy it was to kill her little brother. With his death, and the death of the root, the disease would halt in its mindless destruction, and thousands of lives would be unknowingly saved.”

Zalrega looked pleadingly at Arven, and his voice was broken. “What else could I do? I couldn’t not kill him. His life would cause thousands - no, millions of deaths, and throughout his life, he would be haunted with the memories of the deaths he had caused. But if I had waited for Sayinti to return, she might have been able to save him.

“I killed him. I slunk into his room at night, and murdered him in his sleep. I was trying to make it as painless as possible. Sayinti was torn with grief, and furious when she found out. She cried for seven days.” Fresh tears brimmed in Zalrega’s eyes, and he shook with remembrance, and guilt. “On the eighth day she came to find me, and attacked me, trying to take my life for that which I had taken from her brother. Again, I was in a no-win situation. I subdued her...... and she wears that long jagged scar on her back to this day.

“And from that time on, her personality split. One side of her has hated me since, and has sworn to eventually destroy me. She holds me in contempt, and constantly reminds me of what I did, of the mistake I made. For this, she describes me as cruel, cold, and ruthless, one who doesn’t care for any life. But the other side of her knows that it was the right thing to do, that his one life had to be sacrificed for the sake of thousands of others. That side of her still loves and worships me.”

Arven sat for a long while in silence, and Zalrega rocked beside him, his head in his hands, stricken with the guilt that had haunted him for so many years. “Why did you tell me this?” he asked finally.

Zalrega looked up. “Oh, you’ll find out eventually,” he said softly, bitterly. “Don’t take her split personality lightly, Arven, don’t. If not destroyed, that hateful side of her will cause the world to shake with violence and chaos. No,” he repeated. “don’t take it lightly.”