Edul awakens lying on his back on a broad glass table in a tiny circular shaped room.
A light mounted on an armature above his body automatically dims as the boy
comes to. A small round window on the
wall to his left depicts a scene of a cloud
free night sky with the peach moon,
Feryok, in her full unadulterated glory. Edul blinks a few times and shakes his head
slightly trying to focus on his
surroundings. The boy sits up and rubs his eyelids hard to clear the haze from his
eyes. Something doesn't feel right. Edul
opens his eyes to the horror of a metal
hand attached to his arm where his left
hand used to sit.
"Ah, what the...", Edul cries but is
interrupted by a raspy male voice.
"I do apologize, Edul, but we couldn't save your hand after what Ya-Elii did to it. We
have put in an order for a new flesh and
blood hand but the stem tanks will take
about a week to complete a new one", the
voice said. Edul turns his head to the
source of the voice and finds a short
statured and wrinkled, orange skinned
alien with a half crown of small blunt
horns circumnavigating the back of his
head clothed in the same style robes the girl from his fight with the Dvenin was in.
"This robotic hand must suffice until next week", the old man's grotesque bulbous
brow that shaded his squinted oval eyes
shook slightly every time his narrow jaws closed, as if it were filled with a gelatinous substance. Edul had seen many different
alien species from parts local and far
away but he had never seen an alien like
this one. Edul pushed his hips upward
from the table face swung them from the
edge of the table and landed his bare feet
on the cold ceramic floor tiles.
"How do you know my name and where
am I?" Edul hastily inquired after his
dynamic landing.
"Your Eidenstone told us your name. And
you are in a holding room on my starship,
The Justice of Sorendal", the short, fragile
looking orange alien responded. "My apologies. I forgot to introduce myself. I
am Zoba and I am The Stone Master of Sorendal", the old man said observing the
puzzled look on the boy's pale face grow
more intense. "Your green crystal is
actually an ancient stone of immense
power called an Eidenstone. The first
universal language referred to these as Eidenstones and the people that were able to harness the stones power were called
Eidens. The first Eidens were tormentors
and kings of the galaxy ruling by sheer
power and the fear induced by their reputations. After many wars and many
more deaths the Eiden Order was formed
and Eidens became the protectors of the habitable worlds between the stars
stopping the voracious appetites of civilizations that wished to consume said worlds", Zoba explained with childlike
wonderment in his milky eyes.
"How did my Eidenstone tell you my
name?" Edul queried still confused.
"An Eiden and their stone are what
scientists call an 'entangled pair'. The
stone vibrates at a certain frequency and
the Eiden does as well. Thus the stone is another limb of the Eiden. It knows
everything you know. When we examined
your stone it 'told' us your name, your
past, your present and it even is able to give hints as to your future." Zoba replied.
A strangely clothed blonde haired teenage
girl walked through a doorway that slinked away into the floor after she stepped
toward to Zoba. "You are an Eiden, Edul.
So are we and we can help you to master
your power and control of yourself. Now, would you like to see your injured friend?"
Zoba's squinted eyes became wider momentarily, so wide in fact that Edul
could finally see the color of the old alien's irises. They were like an enclosed cave
heavily filled with choking smoke, darker toward the edges and lighter closer to his abyssal pearl pupils. Edul's knees
weakened and his heart seemed to skip a
beat when Zoba spoke those last words.
Edul had thought that Darrius didn't
survive the ordeal of their escape but Edul knew not to doubt Darrius's tenacity.
"You mean Darrius is alive?" Edul's voiced cracked as he fought back tears.
"He's alive", Zoba repeated. "But he's still
recovering. He won't be able to talk and he might not be awake but our doctors were
able to keep him alive", the short orange
man continued explaining as he nodded
his oddly shaped head slightly and giving
a reassuring smile.
"Stone Master, I have Edul's new clothes",
the blonde girl finally spoke. Edul had
already fallen in love when the
words from her supple pink lips caressed
his ears.
"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, my dear, I didn't hear
you enter", Zoba said as he spun around to face the girl. Zoba's tiny three fingered
hands delicately grabbed the stack of
folded clothes from the young girl's outstretched arms. He turned again to
face Edul and handed him the clothes.
"If you'd do us the honor of attending our academy of young Eidens, Edul. We would
be glad to help you and Darrius and make
sure that the slavers never find you", Zoba
said as Edul hastily handled the clothing.
"This is Samantha Rowton", Zoba
explained pointing to the blonde girl who
had stolen Edul's heart. "She will be your personal security officer while you are on
my ship", Zoba continued. A hissing male
voice echoed from a small black bracelet
on Zoba's narrow wrist, "Stone Master, you
are needed on the bridge at your earliest convenience."
"Acknowledged. On my way", Zoba
repeated while holding his wrist
accessory next to his lipless mouth.
"Make sure he's dressed and filled in
about The Academy before you bring him
to the bridge, Sam", the tiny orange alien
softly commanded the blonde teen before turning to the rounded wall and pressing
his hand to it.
"Yes sir", Samantha responded immediately. The same hole that
Samantha had walked through opened
again rapidly with a whooshing sound and
Zoba exited.
© Macabre Entendre