Page 46 of Daughter of the Dark Sun
The stench of death lingered in the air. Apattar shook her shoulders, rejecting the growing sense of discomfort. A memory, nothing more. Yet, the longer Apattar stared at the dancing woman, the more the world drifted away from her senses.
She stood in a meadow of white flowers, bathed by the soft shadows of night, gossamer threads of moonlight embracing herform. All around, barren trees of silver climbed to greet the stars, leaves of soft greens at their feet. The laughter of children drifted by, followed by a man’s booming laugh. The sounds faded, and the meadow fell into an eerie silence.
Apattar looked down at her hands, skin a silvery purple, sparkling like the night sky above. Darkness took hold.
“Eithranren!” Apattar blurted out.
“Come again, my l—Apattar?” Saiya’s voice was muffled.
A hissing crackle filled the air, followed by a piercing scream. Apattar couldn’t tell if it came from her throat or not. Saiya turned, a gasp slithering out at the sight before her.
Apattar floated in the center of the small room, hands flung back as a dark purple strand of light pulled her chest upwards. Skin stretched taut as shadows bulged and pushed through her body. Black tears streamed down her face, pools of the liquid void forming in the hollow of her neck and collarbones. A disjointed voice, raw and hoarse as if uttering words for the first time, spoke from Apattar’s slackened mouth.
“Yes… yes. I remember. From the beginning, unison and harmony. We each took a name. Seven sisters, seven names. My name… yes, my name. Long ago, so very long ago. But it is not enough, no! The Endless Quiet calls again, no! No! I will not go, I wi—”
The light vanished. Apattar crumpled to the floor. Saiya rushed to her side, brushing the frayed braids out of a face still slick with black tears. Brown eyes looked up in a haze of confusion.
“Where, where am I?” Apattar whimpered, clutching Saiya’s hands to her breast. “Did we get attacked? I can’t remember… I heard you scream.”
“Shh, no, no, I am fine.” Saiya pulled the younger woman close, cradling Apattar’s head as she rocked back and forth. “Weare safe. You are safe, I have you. I have you. I-I think something possessed you.”
“Eithranren,” Apattar whispered. “A name?”
“You—it—spoke of seven sisters. The Seven Sisters. Eithranren, she called herself. Have you heard of such a name?”
The thick fog in Apattar’s brain made it hard to form a response. “M-ma-maybe, I-I’m not s-sure,” she stammered after great effort. She buried her head into Saiya’s arms, too weak to understand anything.
“Are you well enough to walk a few steps, Apattar? Come, there’s a bed not far. You lie down, I will fix your hair while you rest. You will feel better, I promise.”
Some time later, Saiya finished detangling Apattar’s hair. The freedom did indeed feel refreshing. Falling into their old routine, the two friends passed the hours in silence. Saiya had evidently been here before—a small shelf held several glass vials of cream colored liquids and amber gels.
The comforting aroma of vanilla and coconut replaced the stale, fetid air. Each breath brought a deep sense of relaxation to Apattar. Muscles turned to warm pools of liquid as the tension dripped from her weary body. So long spent fleeing certain death, afraid with only hopelessness for companionship. It felt ecstatic to release it all to the world.
Closing her eyes, Apattar focused on Saiya’s long fingers cleaning away weeks of dust and filth. For a moment, she imagined herself back in her chambers, this whole month a nightmare. How odd, to think the life she once sought to flee now seemed a dream in comparison.
The shadows drew ever closer to the Apattar. Hungering, festering, tainting all that was once fair in life.
twenty-three
Stagnation
The blackened stones ofAndeshar seldom saw visitors over their long, quiet centuries of decay. Endless ashen gray skies were their ever-present companion for thousands of years, the sun a mere concept forgotten by the land. The skies wept with the tears of gods long departed from Eás, and their deep sorrow seeped into the rock below. An empty graveyard of the long-sundered gods of the Elder Days. Devoidof life, until two women fleeing the Madhira Desert walked through a shimmering portal.
At first, the island was only a temporary stop, a place to meet Laisha again and learn more about the fate she spoke of. But the pale woman did not appear. The volcanic valley remained empty, while the giant itself slumbered with only the occasional burst of fire and brimstone. Bereft of home and family, the two women took their chances lingering on the rocky ruins. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months. Soon, the godless ruins became more of a home than Av Madhira ever had been.
For four long years now, the black and scorched earth of Andeshar basked in the golden fires of Narán, clouds parted by the new raven-haired mistress of the land. The air thrummed with endless potential.
Time moved with no sense of urgency, the troubles of the world beyond unable to touch the women. Saiya insisted the land still remembered the touch of the gods. That, despite the devastation wrought during the Discordance, part of their divine creators lingered in the once-holy land.
More clever than she appeared, Saiya often snuck away through portals to Av Madhira in search of food and supplies. Never did the woman explain how she paid for the items, though something told Apattar no money exchanged hands.
The woman with burnt arms and scars on every finger led a vastly different life than Apattar ever imagined. A handmaiden and servant to House Isht’iri, yes, but also a thief to feed a dying mother.
On the day Saiya and Apattar became blood-bound, the Blessed Gates closed behind the little girl. She found her mother beaten bloody and left in the streets of the Slums days later. For years, Saiya risked her life to escape past the Wall, offering what little aid she could. But, her mother’s broken body never healed,and in time, death came for the soul who only remembered sorrow and loss.
Saiya did not shy away from her past. Apattar thought it remarkable to hear Saiya recount the horrors of her life with such detail. She laughed at certain parts and cried at others, embracing every emotion to the fullest.
As time passed, friendship blossomed into a deep trust. No secrets remained between the two impossibleevranenith,and for a moment, a normal life seemed possible. Under the loving hands of the two women, the rocky island transformed from ruins to sanctuary. Day by day Saiya wove rock and rubble together until she raised twin black towers overlooking the sea, a courtyard nestled between them. It became a dark and hidden refuge for the Daughters of Shadow and Night.
