Sonatum. The High Capital. Situated in the center of the Rift and the Thirteen Inter-dimensional Capitals. From within Sonatum, Lord Rust, King of the Rift, rules and oversees the happenings within his domain.
The overall structure of the Capital of Capitals is as follows. The terrain is mountainous with a large forested valley in the middle. The city is elegant and beautiful with the white marble accented with gold. The city stretches across the mountains but does not touch the valley. The Manor of Order, Lord Rust's residence was opposite of where we had landed.
The bridge upon which we had landed led directly into the city, but ended where we were with a plaza.
I immediately felt at ease here.
Children laughing and playing off to the side, the idle chatter of merchants and shop workers, and the overall casual business atmosphere just felt comfortable.
No one even batted an eye when we stepped through the portal. As soon as it closed, the General started walking down the road in a slight hurry.
"Why the rush?" I asked, catching up.
"I am aware you lack your identity, Lord Scribe, so to avoid word of that getting out, we will move quickly to get it back while minimizing your exposure to people you may know."
"Why would I know anyone here?"
He sighed. "Case and point," he muttered. "You spent much of your time here. You and Lord Rust both interacted frequently with the citizens of every Inter-dimensional Capital but especially Sonatum."
I didn't say anything.
He led me through the city, down streets full of vendors and neighborhood avenues alike until finally, we reached the gate of the Manor.
The guards in front of it saluted us, the gate opened, and we stepped through. We walked through the courtyard and into the front door of the Manor.
As soon as the front door opened the sound of laughter tickled my ears. I saw Lord Rust, all of his personal guard - the King's Sisters as they were called - Lady Elizabeth - the princess of the Ravendell family who ran away from their corruption - Lord Xorn, Lady Lily, and, Lord Skie of the Tribunal, along with Xorn's adopted daughter Rina. And last but not least, Limbo the messenger.
Elizabeth was tickling Rina, causing the sound.
"Lord Rust," the General announced himself. "I have Lord Scribe here."
Rust looked up at me and I was assaulted by a searing pain behind my eyes again.
-
"Come, my friend," Rust said, leading me through the streets of Sonatum. "There is so much more to this Rift than information of battles."
I followed. "My lord," I said to him. "I have no reason to enjoy such frivolities."
He sighed and turned back around. "Traveler, my friend, just because you were given a task, does not mean that you have to throw aside your humanity in order to carry it out."
I didn't respond.
"You don't care do you?" He asked.
"No, sir, not really."
"Follow me, Traveler."
I followed him down to a theater where we watched a dance routine carried out by some young girls. I analyzed the crowd finding no threats.
"Look there." Rust pointed down at the stage. "She's the reason we're here."
"My lord," I said, exasperated. "She is a little young for you."
He punched me in the back of the head. "Not like that, you nitwit." He regained his composure. "That's Rina, she's Xorn's adopted daughter remember?"
I rubbed the back of my skull and looked down at the stage. "So it is."
"Xorn asked if we would come and watch her. He said that apparently she has started to see us as uncles."
I didn't answer again.
"Traveler, stop looking for threats," he ordered.
"But sir, if there were to be an enemy here-"
"I would handle it," he interrupted. "But there isn't. There is more to life than the next potential threat."
I said nothing.
"Look at them," he said. "They have no fear of the next potential enemy. They are not worried about that at all. And yes, you have more responsibility than they do. You have a responsibility to protect the innocent lives of this Rift, and I have a great deal of respect for that. But you have to learn to live your life too."
"Sir, becoming attached will result in a less efficient worker," I rebutted.
"Is that so?" Rust asked. "So you're completely detached from everything?"
I nodded.
He snorted. "While you may do a good job of acting like it, you are far from it."
I started to argue but he cut me off.
"What about Carmen?" He asked me.
My eye twitched at her name.
"You have a tell, my friend," he said with a laugh. "Your eye twitches when something irks you. The thought of Carmen irks you because she is the one thing material that you have not been able to let go of."
I turned away from him and said nothing.
"Stop trying," he told me. "The moment you let her go, you lose your humanity. You will be a mindless machine, carrying out your tasks without a care. You will eat, drink, and sleep simply for survival and not because you want to or can."
"That will be my prerogative."
He shook his head. "Indeed, but I would hate to see that happen to you my friend."
-
I woke up on a soft bed in the middle of the night. I opened my eyes just to see Rina's golden eyes almost glowing as she watched me. Her ears twitched as she watched.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Dad said that if I watched you and told him when you were awake he would give me a cookie."
That sounded about right.
She leapt off my bed and ran out the door her tail twitching with excitement as she ran to tell Xorn and the others.
I should probably explain. She's a demi-human. She has a pair of cat ears and a cat tail covered with fluffy white fur. And yes, they were quite soft. She loved having her ears rubbed so that's how we spoiled her. She was about six with brown hair and she was adorable and she knew it. She would use that to get her way, and it worked a lot of the time. Especially with Skie.
Rust came into the room followed by Xorn and the General who had Rina on his shoulders who was trying to remove his mask.
"Lord Rust." I tried to sit up but couldn't. "What's going on?" I asked.
"An excellent question," he said. "Silky, why are you sitting on him?"
I heard a "humph" and then felt a weight lift off of my stomach.
Silky materialized beside my bed.
"Is there a reason?" I asked.
"Not really."
My eye twitched.
"Traveler," Rust addressed me. "Can you tell me what you remember?"
"Not much," I admitted. "I remember everything except for things that pertain to me and my life. I only have snippets of memories about that."
"I see." Rust held his chin, thinking.
"This is as bad as I expected," Xorn admitted.
"Do you remember what your main power is, my friend?" Rust asked me. "The one that allows you to be so strong? To train your body beyond limits?"
I shook my head.
"You're immortal, Scribbles," Silky said.
"And immortality comes with a risk," Xorn told me.
"If your head is removed from your body for too long, then you lose your memories. Starting with your memories of yourself," Rust explained. "I'd wager that if your head had been removed for much longer that you would have forgotten even the most basic of details."
The General sat Rina down and pulled a lollipop out of his trench coat pocket. "Of course, it is possible for you to regain your memories," he said, handing Rina the lollipop. "As it happened with Lord Rust, you simply need to come across someone or something or be told something that brings back your memories."
"Something with a deep connection to them and you," Rust agreed.
"Traveler," Xorn called. "Do you remember your calling?"
"My what?" I asked.
"Your calling," Xorn repeated. "It's a path given to you by God. Surely you remember that much. Everybody has one."
"I don't remember," I admitted, shaking my head.
Rust moved his hand from his chin and looked at me. "Come with me."