VALKYRIE I

Haleth never tended to remember many of his dreams. They would usually just pass by as a moment of nothing before waking up. The few that he could remember when he woke up were never anything special either. Most of them would just be completely abstract, with seemingly no purpose to them.

There was, however, one dream that would sometimes reoccur. He would be sitting in a dark room, infinitely large, and alone. Suddenly, an amorphous blob appeared, floating strangely in front of him. It had no sort of appendages or face, yet it gave off the feeling that it was beckoning him to draw closer. Due to dream logic, he would take a step forward. As he did, the blob melted to the ground and took on a new form; one that resembled him. He could tell that it wasn’t a perfect copy, but the exact details of why were lost to him. It was completely uncanny.

He would then take another step forward, before feeling a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he would see more figures that resembled him in much the same way the blob’s new form did, although the emotion he felt looking at them was the opposite. While the one in front of him filled him with dread, those behind him gave off a comforting aura. That was where the dream would typically end.

Haleth was not one to typically associate meaning to dreams. For how often his dreams would just be abstract messes, he didn’t think highly of the concept of them having any bearing on his consciousness. Despite that, this one dream kept perplexing him. The repeatedness of it, the ominous void he found himself in, the jarring sense of contentedness when he saw the figures behind him. The meaning eluded him, and he wanted to figure it out, but had no means to. All he could do was ignore it and assume that it was nothing but vapid information like his usual dreams.

As he slept in the tree, he had that same dream again.

The first night on the planet was quiet and peaceful. Ambient noise from the nature resonated throughout the forest. The stream played a symphony of droplets accompanied by the performance of insects vibrating their wings together and local fauna howling in the moonlight. It was beautiful.

Of course, Haleth was unable to hear any of that, as he was fast asleep in the tree.

The dream ended where it usually would, waking him up in a cold sweat. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sleeping, but one look out of the hollow immediately told him it was still night. He sat up, unsure if he would be able to fall asleep again. Thoughts of the dream overtook his mind.

What does it mean? Why do I keep having it? No - it doesn’t mean anything. I need to forget about-

A snarling howl thundered through the forest, shaking leaves off their hexagonal branches in the boom, a stark contrast to the pleasant music before. This kicked Haleth right out of his thoughts. On high alert, he began looking around for any danger. He went to grab his dagger, but only to find it was no longer beside the tree, raising his nervousness further

“What was that noise?” he asked Ocypet in a panic, getting out of his hole to look for her. She gracefully jumped off her branch and landed right in front of him.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen anything.” She was holding something wooden in her wing.

“What is that?”

“While you were sleeping I made a bow and a couple of arrows. They should probably be useful. Had to use your knife to make ‘em though.” She stretched out her other wing and handed the black weapon back to him, which he immediately took.

Just seeing his weapon in the hands of another person irritated him. That dagger had been a part of his life since he was a child.

“Do not take it again.” Anger emanated from his voice.

“Sorry…” she replied sheepishly. He immediately felt a bit of remorse for raising his voice like that.

Haleth got a good look at what she had crafted. He had never seen a bow in person before. In his field of work, the types of weapons utilized were not standardized, leading to a huge amount of weapon diversity. Despite that, bows were never used as far as he was aware. Guns and blasters tended to be the preferred choice for ranged combat. Perhaps they were just obsolete compared to everything else available.

Her weapon was nothing special; it was as basic as a bow could get. Despite that, it was clear it was expertly crafted. What struck him as the most interesting were the arrows. The feathers on their ends were the same silver colors as hers.

She must’ve plucked them from herself. Wouldn’t that hurt? Is it like pulling hair?

She held one in her other wing, while the rest of them were poking out of her bag as a makeshift quiver.

“How’d you know how to make those?”

“Archery is really big back home. Everyone’s expected to at least know how to use a bow properly. I took that passion and decided to learn how to fletch.” Enthusiasm beamed from her eyes as she gave her explanation. It was clear that there was a deep love for it. “All things considered, given the circumstances, I think I did pretty well. Not like I had the same resources that I would back home.”

“What about the feathers?”

“Yeah, they’re mine.” She raised the fletching up to give a better look. “I’m not sure how well these will fly though. Producing quality feathers is a tradition that takes years of dedication and proper self care. Crafting arrows is more of a side hobby for me so I don’t have the ability to commit to it fully.” She extended a wing to give an inspection of her feathers. “I take care of myself enough for these to be decent, but some people - ooohh I could gush about the quality of their plumage for hours.”

Haleth was amazed by her enthusiasm. He seldom saw anyone talk about an interest of theirs in the same manner as her. On occasion he would catch Arrugl describing the literature of his home planet with much the same dedication, although in his own unique way of speaking. He couldn’t even remember the last time he thought of something like this. His work, maybe, but was that something worthy of being praised like this?

“Do you not have guns where you’re from?”

“Of course we do. You mainly see them with the military though. My dad has a few stored away at home, but we don’t have the need to bring them out often.”

“Why not use them instead? A bullet would be more powerful than an arrow, not to mention you could shoot much faster.”

“Well, why get rid of them? Yeah, everything you said is more or less true, but archery is such a part of our culture. There’s really no reason to change it.”

Haleth was surprised by this, as that concept was very different from what he was used to back on Haskel. Infin-7, and by extension, the planet’s government, constantly pushed people to use new products in their day-to-day lives. As soon as something gained even the slightest bit of obsolescence, and there was something to replace it, they would ensure that their customer base would immediately move in hoards towards what was new and forget what came before that.

He never really minded this. If it’s new, it must be better, right? Seeing her ecstaticness over something that by all accounts should be forgotten by a space-faring society made him reconsider this part of himself.

However, before he could dive much further into introspection, the harsh growl from earlier recurred. He felt the volume and might reverberate in his chest. It was even louder now.

“So you have no idea what that is?” he asked.

“Not a clue, unfortunately. However, I think it is in our best interest to be on the move. If we stay here it might attack us while we’re not prepared.”

He nodded in agreement. “Good thinking. Let’s go.”

Haleth rushed back to the tree to gather his equipment. He unfolded his jacket and hastily donned it once more; its purple fibers now extremely wrinkled. He placed all of the supplies taken out prior back in the bag and placed it once again on his shoulder. Fully prepared, he turned back around to face Ocypet and they both nodded at each other. They were ready.

“Do you have any idea where it might have come from?” he asked, approaching her.

“I believe it came from down over there,” she answered pointing upstream. “If we just follow the creak we should be good.”

“Got it.”

They began to walk, but suddenly, Ocypet stopped.

“Actually, I have a better idea.”

With that, she forcefully yet sharply flapped her wings and flew above the trees. Amazingly, as she hovered above him she tossed the bow in the air and caught it with her talons, providing her with better use of her wings. Her dexterity and limb independence impressed him greatly.

“You continue following the stream down there. I’ll follow it from up here,” she shouted from above. “I’ll let you know if I see anything.”

Haleth nodded up at her and resumed walking.

The dark brooding of the night time forest reminded him of much of the gloomy city he inhabited. With the constant cover of the branches, it felt like he was back sneaking through the labyrinthian alleyways of Nuplymth. He knew there were untamed beasts lurking in the trees and he tried to reason whether or not they would be more wild and unpredictable than the aggressive vagrants who roamed the city streets at night. The pale moonlight did little to illuminate his trek, much like the neon signs he had grown familiar with. At least this moon wasn’t trying to sell him anything. His flashlight provided just enough visibility to make the journey possible. He decided against cranking it up to the maximum brightness in an effort to conserve battery.

Looking up, he wondered just how good Ocypet’s night visibility was. Can she even see me through the branches? I can’t even see her. He paused briefly. How can I even know if she’s still with me?

He immediately shook the thought and resumed. He had been through much worse situations in the past - he couldn’t waste time worrying about something like that. In his head, he reasoned that if he was becoming too worried about something like that, then he was becoming too dependant on her. If there was one thing he learned from his trade, it was to never put too much faith in someone, especially if they lack the monetary incentive to keep them in line.

Meanwhile, above him, Ocypet was scouting the air, looking for what could have caused the noise. As a Lyrey, the air was her element. With graceful flaps of her wings, she swiftly navigated the alien skies. The winds were unfamiliar to her, yet this did not impede her one bit. Any incoming gusts of wind needed only slight adjustments in her patterns. She was just as much a bird in skills as she was appearance.

In addition to her prowess in flight, her vision in the dark was similarly remarkable. While Haleth down below struggled without his light, everything was clear as day to her. Although the branches did obscure her sight of him at times, she trusted his judgement not to stray too far from the stream. As long as she could see the water, she knew he wouldn’t be too far. Her beaming yellow eyes attentively observed the surface in much the same way predator observes its prey.

Despite the uncertain situation she found herself in, this was the most at peace she had been in weeks. The cool night air flicked past her ears with every wave of her wings. Although the trees were so oddly shaped, the forest reminded her of her home back on Dro’Furb. After being confined to the streets of Haskel for the past week, this was the reprise she needed. A Lyrey unable to fly is like an artist unable to create. Although, it was not like she was planning to go anywhere near that planet again

Back on the ground, Haleth found himself surrounded by those same small flying bugs from the basin. Their illuminating tails were like guide lights for his trail. He kept an alert mind, ready to react against anything that he came across. Focusing on his breathing helped him to remain calm.

Is this what most non-assassination jobs are like?

It never really crossed his mind why tended to take these assassination jobs. Maybe the algorithm just saw he was better at “dealing” with people so it chose to primarily hand him those requests. The inner workings of the system were understood by very few, if any. When working with his colleagues, the type of job varied quite a bit. A couple of months ago he had joined his friend Arrugl as backup on a protection job. As a Jo’herc, he proudly towered over Haleth and donned strength any other species could only dream of having. Even after his right arm got amputated, he still managed to be the powerhouse of the team when they went on group assignments. His advice echoed through his thoughts whenever he found himself stressed while working; charming broken language and all.

“Remember little man… true strength comes from ability to think. Think rationally; observe what is around you. Most importantly: remain calm. That get you places, little man.”

He missed the people he worked with. In the city full of despair and occupation full of cruelty, he felt comfort in his small group of friends. The last he had seen them was right after he spoke with the secretary. They probably had no idea what was going on, unaware that their coworker was stranded on some seemingly uncharted planet. Had they known, they would drop everything to come help rescue him. Kaiser especially would not rest until she knew he was safe.

He would do the same if it were one of them in his situation.

Despite all of this, however, he continued to possess a nagging feeling in the back of his head that they did not care for him at all. He had no reason for this - they had never shown any signs of hostility towards him. He simply had been raised to be untrusting and that carried through into adulthood. He hated those thoughts. It was hard enough to feel accepted in a society that had all but forgotten his species' existence, the thought of losing the ones who truly cared terrified him. Still, though, a lingering sense of paranoia existed in his mind, living rent-free.

The best he could do to avoid those thoughts was to just keep walking forward, into the dark abyss of spiraling branches.

This progress was soon halted, however. A flash of white darted right into the ground in front of him. Having been alone with his thoughts the past couple of minutes, the sudden impact startled Haleth, but he was quick to react. Immediately, he grabbed his dagger and prepared an offensive stance, ready to strike.

Then he saw what it was.

“Hey, there’s something up ahead,” Ocypet informed him.

He lowered his weapon, realizing there was no danger present. His heart was still racing from the surprise, though.

“What is it?” he asked, trying not to be mad at her for startling him.

“I’m not sure what it is. Some sort of large furred creature laying in the grass. However, I think it’s injured.”

“Injured?”

“Yeah. I didn’t get too close to it, but from up above it seemed to be in pain. It might have made the sound.”

“Got it. Which way was it?”

“It’s just up ahead. Here, I’ll take you.”

“What?” He had no idea what she meant by that.

She kneeled down away from him and looked back over her shoulder, beckoning him. Haleth was confused as to what she was implying.

“Get on. I said I’ll take you there.”

“Ohhh.” Now he understood. “Are you sure that’s okay?” He became internally flustered at the suggestion; the closest his personality mask had come to shattering. Is this allowed? I feel like this is some sort of taboo. I’ve only known her for what - 12 hours? He regained his composure, returning to his stoic demeanor. “I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything is all.”

“No, it’s completely fine. I’ve done it before. Been a while, but yeah, it’s cool.”

“Okay, got it.” Her confidence did not soothe his worries, but it didn’t seem like there was another option for him.

He tried his best to position himself on her back, grabbing onto her shoulders. Even when he did find a somewhat comfortable spot, the whole situation seemed really awkward. He also had no idea if she would be able to carry his weight. She was slightly taller than him and he wasn’t particularly large, but it still seemed improbable to him.

“Uh, are you sure you’re able to do this?” he cautiously asked.

“Just get set; I’ll be fine.”

“I think I’m good, but I’m still really not sure-”

“Great!”

With an intense flap of her wings, they were lifted off the ground and made their way to the sky. Haleth was not ready in the slightest. He linked his arms around her neck to secure himself as they made their ascent. Worried they would run into the branches on their way up, he braced for impact, but miraculously, they didn’t hit a single one. As soon as they surpassed the tree line, the terror quickly subsided and was replaced by pure awe as he saw something he had never seen before: the clear night sky.

Back on Haskel, Haleth would often find himself walking around the city late at night. While the buildings that surrounded him provided plenty of neon illumination, the sky was always a dull sight. Throughout the development of the planet, the night sky had been lost due to a multitude of factors. The bright light from said skyscrapers cast a hazy dome across wherever their light was able to reach, casting a bleak shadow across the entire planet. While you could still make out the two moons the planet had orbiting it, the nights where smog overtook the sky prevented such a sight. Even on a perfect night, no smog, little light pollution, the sky he saw above was still nothing but a façade. Satellites orbiting the planet emitted their own flashing lights, creating corporate, soulless constellations.

More and more pieces of what lay above them were sacrificed in favor of the company’s expansion, and no one seemed to care. Everything they had created tainted the beauty of the night sky. It was impossible for anyone to see it for what it really was. People complained about all of this at first, but the tension died down once it was argued that a clear enough sky to see them would be so rare anyway that it did not matter.

Time after time, matter after matter, everyone just stopped caring, including Haleth.

Now, he sat there on the back of Ocypet, looking up at what was once out of reach to him. He thought back to all of the times he ignored His view of the vast space above was completely unobstructed. Nothing stood in between his eyes and the infinity. It almost brought him to tears.

Galaxies and stars impossibly distant created a portrait of what really existed out there as the stars accented the canvas. The universe was a massive place, filled to the brim with alien species waiting to make connections with. Many looked at this concept and felt insignificant as a result, feeling that all the space was just that: space; separating and making us lonely and disconnected.

Haleth looked at it and felt empowered; like there was an urge to go out and see everything it had to offer; like it was made for him. An audible gasp in admiration came from him as he continued to observe.

Ocypet picked up on that. “Sure is beautiful, huh?”

It took him a second to think of the right words to say. “It - it is beautiful.” His stoic mask finally broke. “ I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“I had missed seeing the sky like this.” Even she was infatuated by it. “This past week, I didn’t realize how bleak everything was for your people before it. No wonder…” She paused. “No wonder my father kept warning me against visiting.”

“I had looked through the windows on ships only a handful of times, but it was never like this. Even yesterday, after the ship was ejected, I looked out for the first time in months - but it didn’t come close to this level of splendor. Have I been missing out?”

“Really? I mean, the internal lights of the ship definitely hamper your vision, and the glass on board probably warps the image as well. That’s probably why it never looks like this. But even still, the stars are visible. You don’t normally look out at them? You said you travel all the time.”

She was right. He commonly was traveling between planets on missions, but he never released how little he paid attention to what was happening outside the vessel. Maybe he just did not see any value in looking out.

“No, I usually don’t. I wish I had though.”

“Well now’s your time to make that up!”

Her radiant positivity was palpable. He intended to do exactly that to his fullest capabilities. Now was clearly the best time.

He stared intently at the moon above, observing the intricacies of its terrain and craters. Supposedly, the twin moons of Haskel, Grand-Rotsac and Grand-Xullop, were named so because their surfaces vaguely resembled animals that were native to the planet. He had never seen said animals, so he just had to assume that was correct.

As captivating as the sky above was, soaring high up allowed him to take in a new view of the planet’s vistas. He was amazed at the scope of the forest he had walked though not too long ago. A few trees jutted out above the foliage with branches that extended to the sky in a hexagonal spiral.

The landmark that caught his attention the most was the massive mountain right in front of him, the same one he had seen while on the cliff. It stood intimidatingly before him, standing taller than any of the towers he had explored back in the city. If he listened closely he could faintly make out the hissing of the waterfall. Scattered around it were plenty of floating rocks, somehow defying gravity. He tried to wrap his head around how that was possible, but could not think of any sort of explanation.

Is it some sort of magnetism? He wanted to see more, but it being night made it impossible.

“It’s right there,” alerted Ocypet.

He paused his observations and focused on where she was signalling towards. A bit down in front of him was an opening in the forest. In the middle of it sat a long, large tree atop a slight hill, its angular branches swaying peacefully in the slight breeze. While it did have its branches spiral towards the sky, it also had one thicker branch lower on its trunk with a strange, almost bulging look to it. When most of the trees in the forest were shaped like hexagons, something as odd looking like that just seemed par for the course. Despite that, nothing really stood out to him.

Does she think a tree made that noise? Granted how little he knew about this planet, the idea of plants making such harsh noises couldn’t be entirely ruled out.

“What is it? I just see a tree.”

“Oh yeah, you can’t see in the dark. I’ll take us down.”

She swooped down and quickly built up speed, straight down into the forest’s opening. Haleth held on tighter, trying to not fall off before landing.

Hope I’m not hurting her.

They were about to make a direct impact with the ground, but she maneuvered herself so that they would not be harmed while landing. Haleth got off, his heart still somewhat racing from being up in the air and began to look around for what she saw.

“Right there,” she said, pointing forward. “This is what I wanted to show you.”

To his surprise, beside the tree lay a large canine-like monster, dormant in the grass. He vaguely remembered seeing a pack of them while he was gazing down on the cliff. Even from up there he thought they looked huge, but now up close he could properly assess the immense size of one. He grabbed his flashlight in order to get a better look. It had an impressive pelt of brown fur with a single gray stripe down the middle.

Stepping around the beast, he noticed a massive gash around its neck. It was dead. It made no movements, not even a hint of it breathing, trying to cling to life. It had fallen after the attack and now its blood spilled out onto the grass below, painting it a dark red.

Haleth turned to Ocypet, hoping she might have input on the situation. “Do you think this made that noise?”

“It might’ve. It could’ve screamed when it was attacked.”

“But what killed it then?” He turned his head around on the look out. “And where is it now?”

He took to investigating the open field in search of the killer while Ocypet took to the skies again, but both of them found nothing. Everything seemed peaceful, like nothing had happened. He looked at the beast once again to examine the wound. Still, it remained motionless as it laid on its back, devoid of any life. It had mostly stopped bleeding by this point.

Crkk…crkkcrrrk…

From behind him, he heard a sickening noise. It was like the sound of cracking knuckles, repeated in erratic rhythms with seemingly no pattern to them. Underlying the cracks was a low growl, like a pedal tone. For once in his career, he feared what had come to kill him. He hesitated to turn around, but eventually came to his senses and faced it.

Right where the strange branch on the tree sat was a pale gray amorphous being. At first, it had the shape of the tree, but as it cracked itself it developed a bipedal form and detached itself, landing on the ground with a mighty thud. A multitude of limbs and organs cycled through its body before developing what could be considered a head. With each shift of its form, it made more of those cricking sounds. Through elegant yet disgusting distortions, a face consisting of a red and black smile placed itself upon its newly formed head. It had no eyes, yet he felt venom coming from its gaze.

Crkk…

The eyeless face quickly turned itself and faced dead on at Haleth, slowly beginning its approach.