Dodge: Serial 126

Losha confronts a vision of fire

Serial 126: Fire

July 9th, 48 S.D.         06:48        Sieg Lowlands, Central Plains

    I did not remember when I had left my room, but I soon realized I had gotten up to start my day. Perhaps, I thought, the process had become so automatic that I did not even remember waking. Nonetheless, I found myself outside, walking about as if I were prepared for classes. As I stepped across the ground, however, I began to feel a certain sense of unease. I paused for a moment, touching the bottom of my chin. What so disturbed me that morning? The weather was dark and windy but no cause for concern. Was it something else?

    Shaking my head, I continued a little ways to my office. Once again, though, my feet held still. From the corner of my eye, I noted an oddity. One of the doors to the students’ residence was left wide open. This in and of itself was nothing, but through the portal, I saw a great emptiness. Frowning, I moved to investigate. I pushed the door further as I went in, and though I brushed it aside ever so slightly, it creaked so very loudly. Upon entering, my eyes found the place utterly abandoned.

    “What?!” I breathed sharply in alarm. Where was everything? Where were my students?”

    I glanced up and down rapidly, knowing full well none of the buildings should have been vacant. I pulled out and whipped around. Only then did I notice every other place had open doors too. Quickly, I dashed into the nearest and threw a look around.

    “No!” I said to myself, seeing only the barren, wooden floors. What was going on? Were they all like this? As I tapped the side of my head, I tried pinging any nearby seras frequencies. To my dismay, I could feel none. Not for kilometers away in any direction.

    “What the hell!?” I hissed, tearing myself outside, spinning around as I walked. “What the hell is going on here?”

    This did not make sense, where had everyone else gone? This could not have been a joke, sa? While I stumbled across Talostol, all of sudden, a strong gust pushed me from behind. I whirled around to face it, but its strength blinded me. When at last I could see, an old, familiar face greeted me. It was Suvla, the Olta Fox and one-time foe, a woman who could view the future. But... she had been dead for years... She wasn’t wearing anything over her eyes, just like when she had perished. The seer’s gaze was both pale and penetrating.

    “Suvla?” I asked, but she scarcely moved her lips in reply. “No, this is not right. You died in that forest. This is all just some kind of...” I shook my head again, and with that, Suvla disappeared, like a phantom dispelled from this reality. In her place, however, was a small boy. He stood there, looking down at his feet; his hair blocked his face. I did not recognize the lad at all, yet there was something peculiar about him in my memory.

    “You there, little one,” I said. “What are you doing here? Do you know what has happened to this school?” My questions were only met with a slight turn of his head as he looked away from me.

    “Did you hear me, child?” I asked, stepping closer.

    As I neared him, however, he spontaneously burst into flames right before me. Shielding myself from the heat, I gasped and took a step back. Had I the time to react properly, I was certain I could have cast a series to save him, but the burning light overwhelmed me completely. As the fire roared powerfully, I could but squint against the glare. With a brief explosion, I was thrown to the ground by the blast wave. A searing intensity washed over me as I collapsed, yet I managed to prop myself back up shortly.

    The boy was no more. Rather, he had transformed into a man, a blackened, towering figure, covered in charcoal. As if his skin were breaking in places, I could see red and orange glowing beneath cracks. He merely stood there with his fists clenched tightly at his sides, then, he slowly reared his head up and focused on me. His eyes were entirely dark, soulless, and yet how they tore through me. Parts of his arms and legs were still blazing, yet it did not seem to bother him in the least.

    With what looked like a great effort, the man lurched forward on one foot. The movement caused him to shed ember and ash to the ground. His print left but a smoldering hole in its wake. Though at first he was slow, almost plodding, he continued to advance towards me, gaining some speed with each clumsy step. I backed away, sliding against the grass as I struggled to stand up. It were as if the sweltering air had somehow sapped me of any energy. By the time I rose, he’d nearly marched upon me. For whatever reason, he stopped but a few short meters in front of me.

    “Who are you?” I demanded. The man said nothing; he only raised his arm and pointed at me.

    “Me?” I asked, touching my chest. “What about me?”

    Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind. They leaned in close and whispered into my ears. It was Suvla again.

    “And you will give birth... to a burning son...”

    Those were the words of her prophecy, the final prediction she had given me in the Talimer Forest. My eyes opened wide, and at the same moment, the man howled aloud. Everything quaked in his wrath as he raised his fists to the sky. An aura of fire surrounded him, encapsulating his body before spewing outward in all directions. Again, I tried to block the pressure with my arms, and I somehow withstood the assault. Talostol was not so fortunate. Everything around us was torched. Though nothing had been outright incinerated, a great, circling inferno had come to life.

    The man shook his cupped hands to the heavens, trembling as he commanded the flames to grow, as his voice cried ever high. When he finished, he looked down at me and grinned. Some force utterly immobilized me, rooting me to a single, vulnerable spot. I could not move as he once more approached me. He took several sturdy paces, and then he was a giant hovering over me. Reaching out, he picked me up single-handedly by my collar. Instinctively, I grabbed his wrist, but it was like stone. It was also scalding to the touch.

    I shouted in pain, yet I could not remove my grip, like I was already melting and fusing with him. All together, my body ignited, flaring up in an instant. I was trapped in a spire of immolation, somehow burning alive but never dying. The man pulled me close to his face; I could barely make out his features in all the fire. He may as well have been a demon dragged from hell. I writhed and strained and yelled but to no avail. He kept smiling; his satisfaction became more and more apparent as I suffered.

    When we locked eyes, he gave a short laugh, then opened his mouth wide. From the depths of an abyss, a great, intense flame shot forth, hotter than anything my mind could even start to comprehend. As the heat devoured me, I was consumed in the brightest light I ever saw...



    A flash wiped across Losha’s face as she jolted awake. Shaking, convulsing, her eyes ran around the room in panic. Breathing sharply, she sat up quickly, trying to gather her wits. Through sweat and blankets, she held herself tightly as her senses began to settle. The light... it was just the light from a rising sun, a burning sun. It had merely been another dream. The Wolf groaned and put her face into her hands. It had been ages since she’d had one of these night terrors, and longer still since she’d seen Suvla, dead or alive...

    Did it mean something? Was the Olta Fox trying to send her a message somehow? Or was her brain playing tricks on her? That woman was long gone. There was no way she could still be around in some form, sa? But, whenever she had these kinds of vivid visions, it always meant something was amiss. Losha sighed and leaned back against the headrest of her bed.

    “Burning... son,” she repeated softly.

    Suvla’s prophecy, ever committed to memory, had scarcely faded from her ears. What had the sightless seer really seen that day? Whatever it was, she’d only spoken cryptically. Losha had no son to speak of, nor any child for that matter. In fact, she was very much a virgin. No one had ever touched her heart in manners of love. From time to time, the Wolf wondered if a family were even in her future. She could easily imagine herself as a mother, for in many ways it was not so different from being a teacher. But being a partner, a wife, just never fit into her picture. Maybe she was like Faima, a “soloist” as her friend called it.

    At any rate, she was positive no one could claim to be her son. Had those words from Suvla meant something even further in the future? For now, she would treat it as a warning. She couldn’t let herself get distracted though, not while she and the others were tackling such large problems.

    After dressing herself, Losha stepped outside and went to her office. Unlike her bizarre dream sequence, everything that morning was at it should have been. The students were milling about, talking amongst themselves as they went to breakfast. The buildings looked fine, unscathed by fire. The sky was bright with a cooling breeze on hand. As soon as she sat down at her desk, she felt Mesel’s seras frequency drawing close. She’d left the door open, so he simply walked in on her.

    “Morning, Losha,” he said with a wave and a slight smile.

    “Good morning, Mesel,” she replied. “What brings you here?”

    “Well, it looks like WOLFGANG is about to get started.”

    “You mean Denze found something already?”

    “More or less,” Mesel grinned, touching his glasses as he cast a small series. The lenses filled with light, becoming screens before his eyes. “Sa, let me see... Something about our nearest neighbors, the major clan, Zelhat.” As images danced before Mesel’s eyes, Losha leaned both arms forward on the table.

    “Hmm... I knew it. I had a feeling that would be where we begin our work.”

    “That hunch paid off. Denze took a look, and you were right. A bunch of activity has happened there recently. Come over to headquarters after today’s lessons. He should fill us all in on the details.” Mesel took off his own glasses and faced the door. “I have my own lessons to give, so I will see you there, Wolf.”



    Later, as evening was about to fall, Losha once again found herself seated in the boardroom, surrounded by her comrades. It had barely been a week since they last gathered like so. Losha had preoccupied her mind and body with the school and the relocation of the Shansala. Denze had busied himself with his intelligence gathering in addition to his educational duties as a master of serialization. Brigitte had spent most of her days fine tuning their radio to the point where it could reliably receive transmissions as far away as Gandia and Zevano. The rest had helped fulfill Talostol’s daily operations.

    “What have you got for us, Denze?” Losha asked.

    “Plenty,” he said, sliding a piece of paper towards her. It was a report he’d written up. As she looked over it, Denze walked in front of the boards, holding a photo in his hands. “Our friends to the northeast, in the territory of Zelhat, are in some pretty big trouble.” Denze tapped the map, indicating the clan’s land.

    “What is going on with them?” Faima asked.

    “As we have known for a while, Zelhat is only one of four major clans that has not entered into an alliance. Above Zelhat, Auris and Lobul form one alliance, and to the west, Prevati and Besnol form another Zelhat has no other major clan this far east to team up with; they are all alone, essentially. Because of this, Zelhat is feeling vulnerable. Rather than use the Zeroes to make up for their isolation, they have been taking another route to gain their security. And frankly, it is almost more troubling than the Zeroes.”

    “A super alliance...” Losha said, putting down the paper.

    “Exactly. To date, all of the inter-clan alliances have been two clan joining sides, but never three clans. It is already difficult enough to establish and maintain that sort of relationship with two; any more becomes extremely problematic. Clans just have too many differences amongst themselves. But what if they managed to succeed this time? If Zelhat swallowed their pride, took a ‘marriage of convenience’ and created a tri-clan alliance, the balance of power suddenly shifts.”

    “It would be enough to finally spark some sort of armed conflict,” Mesel frowned. “Until now, no large-scale fighting has resulted from these alliances, but there has not been anything like three clans working in unison. Everyone would instantly feel threatened.”

    “Worse yet,” Losha said, cupping her mouth as she leaned back. “It would spark another race. People would seek to expand their own alliances with other clans. Shir, Tegal, and Kalon are also unaligned; they would look like attractive partners if Zelhat goes through with this. There is also the possibility that some alliances would actually split into order to be absorbed into a larger group. In short order, we could see new superpowers rise, with their sole purpose being to fight.”

    “Which is why we have to step in,” Denze said. “Prevati has approached Zelhat and is currently trying to make a deal. A Besnol-Prevati-Zelhat alliance would be enough to challenge even Sventa’s default supremacy on the plains, and it would give Zelhat relief from tensions along its borders. All parties in the agreement appear quite warm to the idea. Auris and Lobul, however, are bound to take exception.”

    “Obviously,” Faima said. “Who want to deal with that? After Zelhat makes that play, they will not have a single enemy that can touch them without getting burned. Not unless they hire the Zeroes...”

    “Lobul sits just north of Zelhat, so they are the ones most concerned,” Denze continued. “Needless to say, Auris is not as worried for now. Even so, both clans are jointly plotting to do something about it. Exactly what, I cannot say for sure. My gut tells me they are likely to interfere with the meeting between Prevati and Zelhat. I think this is where we insert ourselves into their business.”

    “Hmm...” Losha said. “Breaking up that meeting ourselves sounds like one way to do it.”

    “Already ahead of you, Wolf,” Denze smiled as he pinned the photo up. On the board, a man in his late 30s stared ahead at an angle. He wore a short, red military cap and had a decorated chest. Everyone turned towards the picture curiously.

    “Meet Prime Lead Vedniv Kadel Zelhat, the preeminent commander in Zelhat,” Denze said. “Their army essentially runs their clan, its government, so he is the effective leader for all of Zelhat. If anyone is going to be making the decision for Zelhat to join forces with Besnol and Prevati, it is going to be him.”

    “He would be on Lobul’s hitlist, if they want to stop Zelhat from making a pact. An assassination attempt appears to be something they would contract the Zeroes for,” Losha surmised.

    “Exactly. Getting involved directly would be bad,” Denze nodded. “I am sure our favorite mercenaries will show up. So, Losha, what will we do here? What will be our move in all of this?” Losha got up and walked to the board, staring at the map for a while. She bent over, taking a close glance at various parts of the region.

    “When are the Prevati and Zelhat going to meet?” she asked.

    “No clear date, but some time in the next five days.”

    “Sa, that gives us plenty of breathing room... Here.” She tapped a specific point on the map, a broad strip of land connecting Prevati and Zelhat. “Prevati will send a delegation to Zelhat through this route. The Sholat River blocks off the north for both clans, so travel will be through here, through their central territories. Any further south would delay them. This path is vast and flat, similar to the Sieg Lowlands. The Prevati will feel safer going in the open. I think it would be wiser to follow this delegation, have them lead us to Prime Lead Vedniv.”

    “And the next step?” Denze wondered.

    “We will see to it that the Prevati do not make it. Vedniv will get us instead. Then, we are going to have a long talk.”

    “A talk? About what exactly?”

    “Our goal is to bring peace. The only reason Zelhat is even considering allying with Besnol and Prevati is due to how threatened they feel in today’s climate. What if we decided to allay those fears? If they knew the Wolf was by their side, to maintain stability among the clans, Zelhat would forgo the creation of a tri-clan alliance. The power structure of the Central Plains would shift. If we vow to prevent all security concerns for Zelhat, the Besnol-Prevati alliance and the Lobul-Auris alliance will have to behave, unless they want to deal with serialists. Our agreement will cut both ways, since we will keep Zelhat in check as well. Our presence will, in theory at least, reduce aggression across the eastern part of the Central Plains. It is not the true unification we need, but it is a step in that direction. A step in the right direction.”

    “Sounds like a plan to me,” Denze said. “Who will be on the Action Team, Wolf?”

    Losha turned around to the table for a moment. “Are you feeling up to this, Faima?”

    “F**k yeah!” Faima said emphatically. “I mean, sa, of course...”

    “Good. We should leave in the morning. Zelhat is not that far. We can get there on foot, via speed-steps, relatively quickly. It will be easier to move unseen without our horses. No need to cloak ourselves with light-altering serialization.”

    “Before you two head out, I think Brigitte has something for you,” Denze said with a nod to their technician.

    “Yesiree. Jus’ finished these little puppies yesterday.” From beneath the table, she pulled out a box. Brigitte set it down and opened it. Inside were more portable radios similar to the one Virel had shown Losha. The newer models, however, were incredibly smaller.

    “This here is your new kit. The actual transmitter and receiver are all in this box right in my hand.” She held up a black object only slightly bigger than a pack of cigarettes.

    “How is it so tiny?” Virel asked. “It looks nothing like what you gave me earlier, in terms of size.”

    “That’s Schmidt Electronics for y’all, innovation at its finest, sugar. Things is, we were able to miniaturize a lot of components thanks to serialization. No need for a lot of the bulky stuff if your art can do the job. Controls are more of less the same except for this this thing.” Brigitte held up a coiling cord that spiraled into the end of an ear piece. “This is the speaker and microphone, all in one. Obviously this piece goes in your ear. The part that juts out like this goes by your mouth. To talk, just tap this button in the center. Pretty simple, nothin’ fancy.”

    “What did you mean serialization helped make these things?” Losha asked, picking one up and flipping it in her hand.

    “The power source is rechargeable, hon. All you gotta do is zap this piece of metal.” Brigitte took the radio from Losha and removed a panel on the back, revealing an embedded plate. “Easy enough with serialization. It has a regulator, but try not to give it more than 12 volts. Do that for about a minute, and you’re good to go. Serialization also helps with the radio range. Normally, you need more power the further you get away from us with the old models. The waves tend to get fuzzy otherwise, prone to interference and all. Now however, thanks to Mesel, y’all can cast one of them series to amplify your signal strength. I dunno how it works, but it’s workin’. He’ll explain it to you since that ain’t my area of expertise.”

    “One more thing, Losha. These ones use encryption. Nothin’ you need to do; jus’ built right in. It means no one can listen in on our conversations. Not without some hard effort at least. I don’t expect any other radios to be operatin’ ‘round these parts, but you never know.”

    “Excellent,” Losha said. Well, looks like this is it, WOLFGANG. The road to Aste lies before us.”

Author's Note

15 years ago, Losha Holvate Sventa fought to bring peace between Sventa and Henron. Though calm has been established between these two major clans, the larger situation has not been resolved. Time has passed, but the Central Plains are still a violent place, seething with anger and hatred. All it takes is a simple scratch, and everything will come rushing to the top. From the shadows, one underground group aims to do just that using the strength of serialization. Now an abandoned hero, Losha must once more rise to save these lands from the destructive power of the art. Yet as the actions of her past confront the Wolf, can she find the will to stand against the one behind it all, her very own son?

The next installment comes June 8th, 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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* Super late again...

* Another dream, another vision for Losha. This one is shorter than the rest, but no less important. These dream sequences of hers are always meant to be revealing, sometimes of the past, however, this one is most definitely about the future, something that involves this man of flames, this so-called "burning son". I'm sure readers will get to meet the man real soon.

* Losha, as mentioned here, is a loveless hero. No one has ever found a way into her heart, so even into her mid-30s (though still looking 20-something), she hasn't found someone special. She poured herself into her career as a master of the art of serialization, but she ended up losing herself for a decade. Time sort of escaped her. That isn't to say she'll never love, or that no one is currently smitten with her. Perhaps we'll see this side of her develop over the course of this arc.

* To get a better visual sense of the clans and where they are geographically speaking, Zelhat is directly northeast of the Sieg Lowlands (which are the southest parts of the Central Plains). Above Zelhat is Lobul and Auris. To the northwest of the Sieg Lowlands (right beside Zelhat) is Prevati. Zelhat, Lobul, and Auris form the eastern region of the Central Plains. West of Prevati is Besnol. Zelhat is roughly south of Henron, and Prevati sits halfway below Henron and Sventa. Remember, Govan made an agreement with Prevati to sneak into Sventa via their lands during the Sventa-Henron war, but that never happened thanks to Losha. Note how the Sholat River (the river that largely divides Sventa from Henron) also carves the border for other clans as well, to a lesser extent though.

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