An unfamiliar starscape filled the main viewport. The ship had passed out of charted space many cycles ago, but it pressed ever onward. N.O.A.H. sat in the pilot’s seat and readied to send another report. It had been many cycles since it had heard from its creators. Perhaps no one was left to listen. It did not matter. N.O.A.H.’s programming was clear. Regular reports. The cargo was too important to neglect the reports.
The recording device flickered on, and one thin laser connected N.O.A.H.’s dataport to the device. In a flash, all relevant statistics were recorded for use back on Earth. Temperatures, fuel levels
Eron stared down at the holodisplay on his lap and waggled his index finger at it. The image on display shook with his movements. He thrust a finger forward, and the screen advanced.
“Give it up, man. There’s nothing here.”
“The whole point of this sport was patience, Ziek. Sometimes ancient anglers would be out all day and not see anything. But they didn’t give up. That’s why they were successful and you’re struggling to pass Basic Particle Physics.”
“Whatever. You’re just jealous.”
Eron didn’t look up from his careful scans of the water.
“Excuse me, but what do you have there?” Brixton asked his servant.
Analee held the plain box close to her with well-trimmed claws. “It's something I got for myself from the market, sir.”
“But, can I see?” Brixton impatiently huffed a little bit of smoke through his scaly nostrils.
Analee sighed and opened the package. “Well, it's clothing. It's an old Earth style called a 'dress.' I had to get it specially-made, because usually they don't make them big enough for species like us.”
Without asking, Brixton snatched up the dress. “Oh my,” he said with a sense of awe. “And it
Ten kilometers out we dropped to below a hundred meters, sea-skimming and churning the water behind us as we split the night. We made landfall and proceeded to fly nap-of-the-earth inland down the mouth of what once would have been a raging river, now a dry dusty wound in the landscape.
Outside the cockpit the canyon walls loomed above us, leaning in as if to try to block out the sky, to swallow us. If there were any threats, they'd come from up there. In this chasm cut into the surface, our presence would only be known by the thundering rush of the air we displaced. Unless we slipped, caught a wall or misjudged a change in elevation, then t
Senna’s magic flickers and pops, the last of it dying as Caridin pulls it from the air. The only things left to bar his way are the ancient, failing wards, etched in the worn stone tiles.
For the longest time, she feels nothing. There is no echo of power when she reaches for it, no heat, no ethereal flame. Part of herself is just gone. She is empty. Cold.
“Come now, you’ve had your fun,” Caridin says, “Time to end this. Keep the last of your dignity, little one.”
Wax drips down the sides of the candles, seeping into the shallow grooves carved by the ancient wizards and druids. There is no magic left in t