Silent Soil and Sacred Sounds

Hardened ground sat resistant and still beneath Anahita’s tiny palm. Brownish-purple grains of once-thriving topsoil now felt dead and flat to the touch. Other Akna flew around the arid plain, searching and feeling for hints of life. Winds pushed dryness in sheets, covering the realm in haze so that the colossal pillars of the nearby imperial factory rose like ghostly obelisks before disappearing into nothingness. The only sound to be heard was the breeze and the fluttering of dozens of small wings.

This was the ninth region they’d visited, and every one told the same story. No matter what the sky was doing, no matter what the crystals were doing, no matter what the people were doing, the soil was still silenced.

Hours passed with Anahita and the other small beings pressing hands and lips to soil, whispering nurturing words of support and sending buzzes of strength from their bodies. But nothing changed. After they had exhausted all of their possible options, Anahita sighed and rose, dusting her hands on her thighs.

The nearby voice carrier illuminated.

“I heard a dejected sigh. No luck?” Sayane’s voice asked.

“No. It is the same as the rest of the surface. Whatever The Silence did, it has made the ground resistant to us,” Anahita admitted in partial defeat.

Far away, Sayane, Azag, and Attis were sitting in Attis’s chambers. The trio looked to one another in concern. Anahita was the most knowledgeable of her kind, and had lived for centuries. For her to be stumped by an issue was not what any of them, including her, wished to hear.

“If the soil is dead, how did The Silence have food?” Sayane asked.

“They would seize the better harvests and hide them in some secret warehouse, leaving us to scrap up what we could,” Attis sighed.

“Saxum, darling, do your histories and records tell of anything similar for the ground?” Anahita asked as she watched the dust billow overhead.

“I fear not. But I can inspect our records more thoroughly,” Saxum’s voice replied.

Another Akna flew to Anahita, and she placed her hand on its stomach, feeling the connection flow into her hand.

“When you say the ground is resistant, how do you mean?” Sayane asked.

Anahita breathed slowly and felt the signs of life moving from the other to her.

“Are you near a crystal that has Ether shining within?” she asked.

Azag and Sayane glanced over their shoulders to see that everything had Ether’s otherworldly glow resonating from within.

“Yes,” Azag replied.

“Go and touch it. Listen to what you feel. Every surface and natural thing has a voice. If you pay attention, you can feel it.”

Sayane rose and approached a wall, even though she already knew what Anahita was referring to. All throughout her time in Illarios, she had felt the subtle hums that emanated from crystals and beings. It was the glow of the stones in The Underworld. It was Attis’s laugh. It was the splendor of the Great Harmony Shards. It was Azag’s touch. That wonder was everywhere. As her fingertips met the cooled rock of the wall, she once again felt something incredibly faint but very much alive.

“Once, the soil had that same voice. Anyone could feel it, but my people were very in tune with its voice. We would tend to it with the songstresses. I thought your song and the liberation of the Great Harmony Shards would fix this, but it seems something is still broken,” Anahita said.

The words caught Sayane’s attention.

“Songstresses helped with this?”

“Yes. Your song nurtured the souls of nature just like the souls of beings. Mountains resonated in slow, ancient voices while rivers hummed in neverending scales, and the soil whispered in shifting tones as the seasons changed. .”

“Did you ever work directly with songstresses to see what they did?” Azag asked.

“No, unfortunately they were not like beautiful Sayane. For all my life, they mostly stayed hidden in their resonance tower, far away from the people of the realm.”

“Resonance tower?” Sayane repeated as she glanced at Attis, who merely shrugged.

“It was a great structure, built ages ago. It was almost like a massive instrument. From within its great halls, songstresses could project song that would cover the entirety of the world. But few beyond songstresses and mages ever saw it. Even I have not,” Saxum explained.

Sayane flinched ever so slightly. The songstresses had seemingly done a great bit of good in the world, and had seemed to be its stewards in some ways. But they were mysteries and reclusive beings who had operated under a system that kept them separated from the daily life of regular people. That meant it was impossible to know what they did now that they were all dead. It seemed the soil’s wellbeing was another aspect of this world that needed song for support. She was honored to carry such a burden, but the burden was still crushing her.

“So should I sing to the ground?” Sayane asked in earnest.

“No, I don’t think it’s that easy. Your song has already done plenty to liberate. There is some other form of dissonance that needs to be resolved,” Anahita said.

“Dissonance?” Attis asked.

“Sorry, poor word choice,” Anahita laughed as she ran her hand down the other Akna’s stomach.

“Not that dissonance specifically. Just some form of disharmony. I will go and speak with every living elder I can to see if they have any advice,” Anahita said.

Sayane removed her hand from the wall and returned to her seat. She was now very aware of the gentle pulses of energy that flowed into her bare feet as she walked. Once she was seated, she returned to her update list.

“Thank you, Anahita. I miss you. Keep us updated. Saxum, how about you?” she asked.

Saxum was sitting in darkness, deep within an ancient cavern where rocks were older than words.

“I am well Sayane. My people are humbled that you still wish to help us. And your words have given me inspiration. I was struggling with figuring out a way to identify our remains if we were mixed in with other mortar. But I think there may be a way to track the frequency of our bodies.”

Azag leaned towards the voice carrier as he scratched his neck in thought.

“You may be right, friend. I know Silence surveyors used such things to find ore for their weaponry. It can be done. I can meet with the engineers here to attempt and create something, if you would like.”

Saxum sat with the thought and listened to the soft echoes of water dripping from stone.

“We would like that. I have spoken with my people, and once our remains are identified, we would simply like to vanish, if that is possible.”

“You do not wish to do burial rites?” Attis asked.

“No, we simply want them to fade. Their disintegration will be enough. We will offer remembrances afterwards.”

The prospect of giving closure to a race that had known such suffering was daunting, but Sayane had an idea. Her power was still ambiguous, but she was beginning to understand that if a concept involved harmonizing and sound frequency, it could be possible.

“I might be able to help. When you are ready. I think sound and my voice could vibrate enough to disintegrate things. I’ll be ready as soon as you are,” Sayane said.

“Thank you, Sayane. But you do not need to rush and over exert yourself. We have waited lifetimes. A few more weeks or months even will not hurt.”

He said it as an offering, and Sayane responded before thinking about her words.

“What if I’m not here in a few months?” she asked in earnest fear.

The mood shifted immediately. Azag’s hand found hers without looking. Attis touched her arm in comfort.

“Oh, dear child.”

No one else could speak for several seconds. It was as though they all were secretly holding the same fear that Sayane could vanish at any moment.

“Thank you. All of you. Your names will be remembered by my people for all time,” Saxum somberly replied.

There was a pause, and Azag nudged Sayane.

“Oh? Right!” Sayane blurted as she remembered that she was currently wearing something akin to a diaper.

“Anahita, I have a question. About my body.”

“Ask away, dear,” Anahita replied.

Sayane blushed at the idea of discussing such things in front of Attis and Saxum, but then she remembered there was very little embarrassment left between them.

“I am bleeding. From my womb. It’s something that happened to my kind every few weeks back in my first life. It’s painful and involves lots of blood.”

Anahita and several female Akna paused to listen.

“You are having unseeded pains?” Anahita asked.

Even though the wording was different, Sayane understood the phrase.

“Yes. It happens when we’re not pregnant. Do you have any recommendations? For the pain and… what to wear?”

“She should be exalted in this moment,” one Akna said.

“The songstress should be resting and spoilt as she goes through the unseeded cycle,” said another.

Another nodded in agreement. Anahita chuckled.

“I feel that Sayane does not do well with resting for extended points,” she grinned.

“Hey! I’m being so good. I slept in… twice!” Sayane challenged in jest.

“And I even let Azag bathe me!” she added.

“Oooooooh. Do tell!” the Akna all said in unison.

“Please call me next time and let us listen!” Anahita added.

Azag’s sigh was loud enough to be picked up by the carrier. Mercifully, Anahita moved the conversation along.

“A few races experience this, but it is not overly common. Once, this moment was treated with reverence, and some would pray for fertility if they desired it. There are some herbs and roots I can send to Haven that will help with future bleeds and pains. As far as what to wear, Can-Mo should have something for you as a garment. Or if you wish to insert something, have your attendants find cloudbrush.”

“Cloudbrush?” Sayane repeated.

“Yes. It is a common, safe shrub. Its ends are firm yet spongy. It will be of correct size for your sacred canal. But you could also stop the pains if you were to let Azag-“

“NOOOOOPE,” Azag and Sayane said in unison.

“…Glad we’re on the same page there,” Azag whispered.

“You would both be amazing parents,” Attis chimed in as he snorted.

“I mean, I bet they would be so cute. But no. How would that even work?” Sayane muttered as she studied a laugh and imagined a Hume-Rabal hybrid.

Back in Tokyo, she likely wasn’t going to help with Japan’s population decline any time soon. That sentiment had followed her into her second life. Still, the image in her mind was cute. And terrifying. But mostly sweet. Then she imagined the sensation of Azag finishing inside of her and her entire face turned red.

The laughing calmed as Sayane fanned her cheeks. Then Anahita suddenly paused. The other Akna looked at her in curiosity as she processed some unknown thought.

“Wait. …Unseeded?” she whispered.

“I may have an idea!” she exclaimed as her wings fluttered and began to shine.

“Really? What?” Azag asked.

“Let me look into it first, but Sayane, you may have given me some inspiration to solve this soil crisis.”

All Sayane could do was shrug in confused optimism.

“Hooray being unseeded?!” she offered.

“Hooray being unseeded!” Anahita repeated.

Now there was a burst of cautious excitement. Anahita’s voice seemed emboldened, and Sayane wondered how on earth her period might offer clues. She hoped the answer would come swiftly.

With that, their update call was over. Erosc was preparing to sweep the final Silence stronghold, so he wasn’t available. Goodbyes were shared, and the voice carrier dimmed. Attis stretched and his fur stood at its ends.

“Sounds, I feel more sleepy here than I have in years,” he said as he returned to his drink.

“How are you feeling? With everything?” Sayane asked.

Attis smiled and winked.

“Intimidated… yet hopeful. I spoke with Kol and the council yesterday. In honor of your concerns about the council chambers being isolated, we will not hold anymore meetings there. For now, we will move to Haven’s Great Hall.”

The reveal was a pleasant surprise. Azag patted the chair in quiet celebration as Sayane clapped. It was a welcome change in general, but Sayane especially appreciated Attis listening to their concerns and immediately acting.

“It was once their main hall for learning. Two thousand seats. So whoever from the outside wishes to listen, they can. No more secrecy. If we are no longer at war, we no longer need to hide.”

“So the regular people will be able to join?” Azag asked.

Attis nodded.

“Will they have a voice?” Azag added.

That was something Attis wasn’t yet sure about.

“The point of the council was they were chosen by the regular people to be their voice. I’m not sure how well it works anymore,” Attis admitted.

“It was that way in my world,” Sayane agreed as she recalled all of the years of economic stagnation in her country while politicians continuously promised better days were coming.

“Maybe, in time, something better will come to us,” Azag said in wishful thinking.

Attis smiled.

“Maybe, but for now, we have immediate matters to deal with…”

Sayane clapped her hands and shimmied as she jumped from her seat. The next item on their agenda was something she was desperately looking forward to.

“Time for instruments!!!” Sayane sang.

Attis stood and grabbed his walking stick.

“You two go receive your friends, I will fetch the cloudburst for you, Sayane.”

Sayane paused and looked at her friend.

“You don’t mind getting me tampons?” she asked.

“What are tampons? I thought Anahita said cloudbrush?” Attis replied.

Sayane shook her head and grinned to herself.

“She did. You are very kind, Attis.”

“I will see you both at Can-Mo’s in a moment!” Attis cheered as he slowly made his way out the door.

Azag’s hand found Sayane’s and she felt his thumb on her wrist.

“I was thinking, maybe I make the second space a small workshop for myself,” he proposed.

The idea brought Sayane great joy. There was something lovely in the idea of both of them having their own studio spaces so close to one another yet wholly dedicated to themselves.

“I could work on Saxum’s frequency detector, and a new mask perhaps. I imagine I’ll have much better tools available,” Azag said.

Sayane softly squeezed his hand as joy fluttered in her fingers.

“That sounds lovely, darling.”

When they returned to their chambers, a levitation skiff was waiting for them at the main balcony. Every instrument was loaded in waiting. Seeing them felt like receiving old friends. It had only been a few weeks since she’d sang with them, but she felt like an entirely different person.

As they were unloaded and set into place all through the round room, Sayane felt more and more excitement. She moved between each one, singing soft notes to each as her hands glided along their strange, curved bodies.

“I missed you all,” she said as she rested her cheek on the neck of a large percussive device.

After a few minutes of having the helpers shift certain pieces to different areas, Sayane was satisfied. A simple cushion set was placed in the center of the room, and that was where Sayane lay her crown and gauntlets. Everything was ready.

Then Azag appeared behind her, carrying his glowing soul stone.

“Here,” he said.

“If you want to, you can have it in here.”

The offer was surprising and touching. Having a piece of him with her at all times sounded beautiful. Sayane pulled the beautiful stone to her chest with gratitude.

“I’d love to,” she said.

Then, it was done.

Sayane looked around the room and marveled at her orchestra of sacred instruments. A glow shined through the window and the Great Harmony Shard appeared, as though wishing to inspect.

“What do you think?!” Sayane asked.

The shard pulsed soft lavender light and slowly moved to touch Sayane’s arm with one of its spires.

“I think it approves?” Azag said.

The shard slowly poked his shoulder and Sayane let out a laugh.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Azag grunted as he patted the massive crystal.

With that, their residence began to feel even more like a home. Drops of serenity trickled into the vase of Sayane’s heart, and she felt more calmness moving through her. She was sure the next trip would help even more.

It was time to pick out the wardrobe that would define this phase of her journey.

It was time for them to go to Can-Mo’s temporary shop and be fitted for their new outfits.