The Persistence of Memories - A Novel of the Mendaihu Universe (2 page)

Yes,
Ampryss answered.
I am
expecting a spiritual revolution that goes far beyond global,
Denysia. I'm sensing this goes far past Gharra. This could include
Trisanda as well.

“Not what I wanted to hear,” Denni whispered
to herself.
Ampryss, how do I prevent this? I've been running on
instinct ever since we talked up on the Crest! Don't get me wrong,
I do trust it — how could I question the instinct of eight other
Embodiments? I'm learning from their actions and their mistakes.
Yet...
She faltered, searching for the right words to say. How
could she accurately describe the confusion she felt right now?

What is it, Dearest One?

Ampryss,
she snapped a little too
hastily.
I'm sorry, but please let me speak.

Nyhnd’aladh,
Ampryss answered.
I am
yours.

Denni exhaled.
Thank you. The answer I beg
of you is minor. I speak of what I see before me. I am in solitude,
here in this otherwhere, yet I feel troubled. What I see before me
on this Earth is the Light of Spirits.

That is normal,
Ampryss said.
Is
there something regarding this Light that troubles you?

Denni closed her eyes to the world again.
Spiritually she still felt them, the cho-nyhndah, the Mendaihu, the
Shenaihu...all of them. She could mute the sensations, but she
could not turn it off completely.
These lives hang in the
balance,
she said finally. She pursed her lips and opened her
eyes again. She was speaking as the One of All Sacred now, not as
the desperately confused teenager she was in reality.
I am
afraid of their future. I am to protect them all, though I am
unsure of how to go about it — or even if I’m qualified!

Faith,
Ampryss said.

I know that,
Denni retorted.
But
it’s not
me
I’m worried about. It’s the Shenaihu nuhm’ndah.
They have surfaced, but they are not acting. They are just…waiting.
I’m not sure if they’re merely waiting for me or Nehalé or some
fool to act in haste, or if they wish balance just like the
Mendaihu kiralla do. I just don’t know, Ampryss. I can’t see. I’m
not a reality seer like you are.

You
will
know,
Ampryss
said.
You cannot rely solely on your spiritsensing to protect
Gharra, my dear child.

Well that makes a lot of sense,
she
huffed.

Close your eyes,
Ampryss said.

They already are,
she said.
I don’t
see—

Cold.
Deathly
cold. Cold enough to
kill.

Denni gasped.
Goddess! What the—

Keep them closed, dear.

Denni wrapped her arms around herself in an
effort not to go into sudden shock, as a magnificent chill and a
fearful absence of Light overtook her. After days of feeling nearly
every living spirit on Earth, she now felt nothing but a dark,
unending vacuum…a complete desolation. Fearfully she took a breath,
the empty solitude of space suddenly feeling all too real.

That is the sensing of the nuhm’ndah,
Ampryss said, her voice distant and sad.
Their lack of Light is
what you must search for, Denysia.

She tried to acclimate herself to this new
sensation, and it came painfully slow. As terrifying as it felt,
she refused to recoil from it. She would embrace this too, this
lack of Light.
Why are they here?

They are here in this reality as balance.
The Shenaihu nuhm’ndah and the Mendaihu kiralla are spiritual
opposites. Both are here, because they both must maintain this
balance by whatever means possible. The Shenaihu are creativity and
they are entropy; the Mendaihu are knowledge and emotion. Both must
see their destiny through.

A second question died on her lips, having
figured out the answer already. She opened her eyes again, and
looked down over the lands and the oceans of the planet she knew.
It was a backwater planet that didn’t get much attention from the
Crimson-Null Foundation...yet Meraladians considered it a blessed
world. Why did they care about it so damned much?

Here I am,
Denni thought aloud.
Dennise Johnson, age fifteen. Floating x-number of miles out in
space. Contemplating my role as the most powerful and holy being of
the Meraladian and human races.
Despite her sadness, she smiled
at the incredulity of her words.
Ampryss, am I to just sit and
wait for the nuhm’ndah to attack us, or am I to make the first
move?

It is up to you,
Ampryss said,
noncommittal.

You’re a big help,
Denni said with a
wry smile. She looked again down at the surface of the earth, and
saw the glittering spirits dotting the landscape, even out into the
oceans. Their Light pulsed evenly and softly, almost in time with
her own beating heart. They responded to her very being. They felt
her as she felt them. If she were to listen to those spirits,
all
of them at the same time, it would sound like a heavenly
chorus. She had already tested that theory a few days ago, when she
had talked to approximately five thousand people at the same time.
Her consciousness had split itself into separate yet linked shards
of intelligence, each able to connect with a spirit and lead it to
safety.

For the first time since coming up here, she
felt a profound loneliness. She was completely alone, watching over
this vast planet that meant so much to everyone on it, yet so
little to the rest of the universe.

I would feel guilty for wanting to make
the first move
, she said.
It’s as if I know I’m going to
cause something worse down the road. A victim of my own
fate.

She felt Ampryss’ wave of empathy wash over
her.
We are all connected to our own fates, Denysia,
she
said.
The only victims are those who let fate take control. You
find a concrete goal. You make an intelligent, logical choice, and
you move with it, fully aware of the consequences.

But I don’t know the consequences,
she
cried.
Don’t you understand? I could be the one launching
another war!

Ampryss took a slow, measured breath.
If
it comes to that, Dearest One.

Denni shivered.
Then I have no
choice.

You always have a choice,
Ampryss
countered.
But you do not always have to move forward.

Denni frowned.
What is that supposed to
mean?

Time,
she said.
You have all of
time to fall back on. You do not always need to stay here, in the
Now, processing everything as it comes to you. Remember your
anchor, your sister Karinna. You were able to tether yourself to
the here and now by remembering what it was to be with her in the
past. Memories, Dearest One. Memories of the past are what will
bring you forward again.

For a brief moment, Denni understood. The
sehna lumia records...the spiritual library of a soul’s memories.
She could open them up to the world below, the memories of
countless spirits over millions of years, coming back, no longer
locked away in a library few could access. As the One of All
Sacred, she could do this — she
had
to do this!

One of her predecessors had used the sehna
lumia records for the same reason. She wondered, now that she knew
she had access to the intelligence of the previous Ones, if she had
their memories as well. While it could benefit her by knowing those
memories...but no, there were too many unknown factors. In
accessing their memories, using them, manipulating them until they
were her own...would she lose hers in the process? Would she forget
to the point that she was Denni
and
the One of All
Sacred?

She shivered, pushing that line of thought
away.

She had awakened everyone on Earth. The
Gharné, the Meraladhza, the Mannaki, and all other sentient races
inhabiting it…they had all gained spiritual consciousness through
her actions. Most had accepted their Shenaihu or Mendaihu souls,
with a select few awakening as the twin-spirited cho-nyhndah. And
all were waiting to take the next step.

Yes, perhaps memories were the key after
all.

Starting with her own.

I have awakened them,
she said to
Ampryss.
I have given their spirits sentience. Now I must give
them memories for which they shall base their own lives on.

That is your will,
Ampryss said.
Go
forth.

Thank you, Ampryss,
she called out.
She felt the Watcher’s presence slowly fade into the periphery of
her mind, glad that she had chosen to talk with her after all.

It was time to reconnect to the world.

Caren and Anando had found her that first
night, after the Ascension had failed. Her sister’s will was
incredibly strong; she was not about to lose her under any
circumstances. Once she’d found her, she remained in the
background, understanding the solitude Denni needed. She visited
her nearly every day since, talking to her, treating her as the
sister she was and not the deity she had become. And for that she
was eternally grateful.

Denni pulled out of the fetal position and
stretched her muscles, feeling the aches and pains of zero gravity.
It had been too long, and everyone had been more patient than she’d
expected.

I am coming home, Karinna,
she said
within.
I am returning.

She felt a burst of love in response, rising
high through the clouds, through the vacuum of space, hitting her
squarely in the heart. She laughed at its arrow precision and its
fiery warmth, and basked in it. She latched onto its source and
sent her own response back, lowering her body into a dive.

Safe journey,
she heard.
I can’t
wait to see you, Den.

She smiled and continued her descent.

Peace, Love and Light to you, my
eichi,
she answered.
And thank you.

CHAPTER TWO

Saisshalé

I am Saisshalé
, the man said from
within.

His voice trembled, though not out of any
kind of fear. It was the voice of dissonance and arrogance, barely
restrained. He was speaking directly to Natianos Lehanna, letting
his presence be known as he entered the man’s outer office. He
stood nearly seven feet tall, larger than life, and glared at those
around him with cold gray eyes that knew the pain of abandonment
and distrust.

Natianos, a tall Meraladian himself but
nowhere near as large as this man, stopped at the doorway to his
inner office and studied him with interest. This particular
embodiment of Saisshalé was not quite what he'd expected, but he
was pleased nonetheless. The name itself, the mythical spirit from
the ancient spacefaring days, inspired images of lost and abandoned
Trisandi fleets promising vengeance against those who had left them
adrift in vast space, dead to the universe. For this man to
proclaim himself the next coming of a vengeance deity was nothing
short of arrogance indeed, but Natianos gave him the benefit of the
doubt.

“A pleasure to meet you, my Dahné,” he said
aloud, his calm baritone much less threatening than his inner
voice, yet no less intimidating. He walked across the room with an
incredibly wide stride, coming face to face with him before he
could respond. He stood mere inches away, coming nearly eye to eye,
invading his personal space but not touching him at all. Long,
scraggly black hair fell past his shoulders with no apparent
direction in mind, half of it pulled back in a very loose tail
behind him, the rest hanging over each shoulder. He wore the
anti-fashion of a jacker gang member, a complete disregard for
outer appearance with a well-worn gray overcoat cloaking his white
tee shirt and faded jeans.

“Somfei, Saisshalé,” Natianos said,
outstretching a hand to shake. “It's an honor to finally meet you
in person.” The man took his hand with surprising lightness,
covering it with his own. Natianos did the same, flashing a smile.
In that gesture he had shown a willingness to trust him, with a
plea to be trusted in turn. “Please, come in,” he continued. “We
can discuss our business in private.”

Saisshalé nodded graciously and let him show
the way. They entered Natianos' main office, a spacious room with a
long row of tinted windows overlooking the northern half of the
Bridgetown Sprawl. They both moved towards them, drawn to the
northeastern expanse of the city. It was filled with the tenements,
towers, warehouses and factories that made the Waterfront Sector,
one of the oldest sections of the city.

“I don’t think I’ve been able to properly
thank you, Saisshalé,” Natianos said. “With your help we were able
to stop the Cleansing and the Ascension at the last possible
moment. We were able to corrupt the Rain of Light at a critical
time. Some cho-nyhndah have been awakened, I'm afraid, but their
leader has not yet ascended. The One of All Sacred still lives
among the people.”

Saisshalé shifted in place and nodded, but
otherwise remained emotionless. “That is not a problem,” he
said.

Natianos studied the man for a moment,
curious about his lack of expression. “The followers of the One
still linger down at the warehouse,” he said. “I am assuming that
they are regrouping, but they have no plans for retaliation. They
are spiritually too weak to try anything, anyway.”

Again, no reaction from Saisshalé. “The One
of All Sacred is not among us at the moment,” he continued. “She is
still at her lumisha dea, we assume, but it’s only a matter of time
before she returns. Until then, we should be planning our next
moves.”

“Nehalé Usarai?” Saisshalé asked.

“He is...” Natianos faltered. “He's missing
as well. No one is sure where he went off to. He disappeared soon
after the One did.”