Chapter 15 – Ghosts from the Past.

A legacy of a time long past,
broken in two,
whole but not whole,
incomplete, and sealed.

A sign of change,
evolutions,
new beginnings.

Grow,
change,
overcome,
claim what is yours.

A new era dawns,
but the old are never gone,
they just sleep, adapt,
lie in wait,
till it is time again.

The city rose up in front of her, ancient and twisted, and a shadow of its former glory. It would have been beautiful once, organic, a merger between the world and man. Now though something else controlled it entirely. Spiders hung their webs on the sides of the buildings, rats scurried along the gutters and shades prowled the streets. Statues stood forgotten and forlorn, corruption pulsed through its veins. Deep within its depths, something stirred. Something primal, one of many who had slept through many ages. While some had woken, not all had, and not all were equal. Some should never wake, best left to their dreams, if such they had. Like this one, but it had been disturbed.

Pyre stood at the edge of the city, confident, strong and proud. Her hair flowed free, burning with dawns fire, its light reflecting off the white and gold armour that she wore, teasing the shadows around her. She held a shield in one hand, a sword in the other, its blade wreathed in flame. As she waited others came up beside her. Her companions, and her soul-mate. This was their challenge, their hunt. And they would succeed.

Chris woke with a start, dawn having already passed. The fireflies were long gone, the clearing now bathed in a soft green light as the rays of the new day filtered through the canopy. He was still lying on one of the moon shrubs, Spectre lying curled up on top of lap. Nothing had disturbed them during the night and he felt quite refreshed.

He had dreamed of Pyre. He had thought her long gone, along with the rest of the past, but yet she was still a part of him, surfacing in his slumber. She had been slightly different. More of what he had wanted her to be rather than what she had ended up being. She had also being suited up differently as well, more like what he was currently wearing. A subconscious side effect perhaps? She had always fought with her fists as well, like Rachael had done against the werewolf creature. Memories of that creature put his nerves on edge, wiping out every other aspect of that scene. He shook his head, trying to physically clear his mind. It only partially worked. In his dream Pyre had wielded sword and shield, like he had now, though the ones she had were far superior to his. He sighed. Why had she cropped up now? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe in omens and portents, but given what he had recently been through, dismissing them was probably more ill advised.

“I thought you didn’t need to sleep?” teased Chris, focusing back on the now.

‘I wasn’t.’ Spectre gave him a defensive look. ‘I was just keeping a comfortable position.’

Chris smiled in spite of himself, and picking Spectre up, he extracted himself from the moon shrub. A few of the colourful birds flow through the clearing, but otherwise the forest was calm. Listening carefully he was able to clearly make out the sound of the stream. Good, they hadn’t wandered too far away. Turning, he bowed, and thanked the spirit of the forest, or whatever had provided the sanctuary. He didn’t know why it was there, but he knew that he had needed it, and he was grateful. They then left, heading back towards the stream.

A drink and a quick wash up in the stream, followed by some more of the berries from yesterday that he found growing nearby, and Chris was feeling ready to tackle the day. Well, as much as one could. Repeating the same tact as yesterday, he continued to approximately follow the stream, with Spectre in tow. The forest was quiet and peaceful, the density of the trees low enough that he had no problems walking his chosen route. As he wasn’t carrying any fruit this time round, Chris found that he was actually travelling a little bit faster, but he did miss having them in the first place, not knowing when he would next eat. A few hours later the trees thinned out abruptly and within a few minutes Chris found himself standing at the edge of the forest, the stream flowing past him out into the grassy plain. The plain had looked big when he had been looking at it from up on the mountainside, but now that he was actually here, it looked even more intimidating.

“Are we heading in the right direction for Odinsphere?” He didn’t know where he was meant to be going, so heading to Spectre’s home in the interim seemed like as good an idea as any. Failing anything else, those there may be able to perform the shift again and send him to where he was meant to have been in the first place, assuming that he didn’t find Rachael before that.

‘I’d say so. The signal is stronger, though only by a miniscule amount.’

Out here, with the rolling hills making things even more complicated by reducing the visibility of any landmarks, Chris was certain that he would quite easily get lost. He’d had no training in wilderness survival nor navigation, you know, city kid, so he’d have to learn as he went, mostly by trial and error. But getting lost in a sea of green wasn’t on his list of errors. Which meant, that since he had a point of reference, he was going to sick to it for the moment. Turning and thanking the spirits of the forest once more, if there were such things, he then proceeded to continue to follow the flow of the stream.

The grass was thick and tall, varying in height, but usually somewhere between chest and head height, affording him no visibility through it. It swayed in gentle winds, and constant background noise to complement the babble of the water as it flowed over rocks along it well worn path. A few small birds flittered around, collecting seeds from the grasses, Chris jumping each time he heard a more defined noise from within the grass, his psyche on edge. He had no idea what types of creatures made the plains their home, and he wasn’t too keen to find out. Because of the nature of the terrain Chris was forced to walk right at the streams edge, the ground damp and his footing not quite as stable on some of the loose rocks, and irregularly in it, when a small tree or other invasive and often thorny bush decided to grow over parts of the stream itself. By this point the stream had widened out quite a bit, about double the width of what it was when he had first come across it, a couple of other small tributaries having also joined its flow as it wove its way lazily deeper into the plains.

Occasionally the clear section of the riverbank widened out, patches of stone and mud where he guessed animals regularly came to the stream to drink. While he didn’t spot any, there was the evidence of them with the tracks that had been left behind. Whether they had all departed at his noisy passage or if he was just being lucky he did not know.

Time all started to blur and the walk became somewhat mechanical. With the terrain all looking the same, Chris’ thoughts started to wander as he thought about the world that was, wondering what of his own age might still exist, if anything at all, and also what that was previously fiction may now be fact. He rounded a bend in the stream, making his way along the edge of the water when a noise made him look up and he froze in terror.

In a small clearing on the opposite bank of the river was a sleek black great cat, all muscles and spines, and it was looking straight at him, its razor sharp teeth showing in a wicked grin. Panic set in, fear clawing at his soul. He couldn’t move, his body not responding, not that he knew what to do in the first place. His breathing started to become rapid, memories of the werewolf tearing into him coming to the surface of his mind. His hands felt clammy, and a sense of dread steadily rose. This was it. He was done for, he was going to die.

take a deep breath, calm down

focus

‘Don’t panic. It isn’t being aggressive. Just wait and hopefully it just leaves.’ Spectres voice was clear, and somewhat calming, along with the other.

He tried to focus, and calm himself down, still remaining still, all the while watching the great cat. It seemed to work, albeit slowly, a soothing presence flowing over him. The great cat stared at him for a bit, its tail lazily swinging, before it bent down, lapped up some more water, and then turned, disappearing into the grass.

Chris collapsed to his knees the instant it was gone, his strength fleeing him. He shook, tears rolling down his face. He felt pathetic and worthless. He hadn’t paid enough attention and become complacent, and it had almost cost him. Not to mention that then terror and fear had taken him over and he had become absolutely useless.

‘You are new to all of this. It’s only natural.’

Spectre was of course right, but it wasn’t very reassuring right at this point. He’d never had to fight or survive before, and thus far he wasn’t faring too well. His life depended on it now too. He stood up shakily, and tried to recompose himself. Then after having a quick drink himself, he continued on.

A few hours later he came across the tracks. Train tracks. Something that he had not expected at all. Not the remains of them from his time either, but much more recent, maintained and in good condition, the steel of the rails glinting in the sun, the large wooden sleepers having been replaced in a number of places. The track sat on a half meter embankment that the stream had now reached, and from what he could tell from climbing up the small slope to get a better view was that it ran alongside the steam for quite some time, a couple of structures just able to be made out in the far distance. He hadn’t reached civilization yet, he was well aware of that, but it was a sign of it at the least. He might actually have the chance of finding some people if he went down the tracks towards whatever was down there (or at least followed the stream to there).

But did he actually want to do that? Chris suddenly felt uncertain, anxious, and self conscious. Was he ready to face other people. Not only was he likely dressed differently, he was also dressed like a girl. He knew how different people had been treated in his time, and for all he knew it could well be the same now. He had felt safe dressing that way around Rachael, well after they had talked about it anyways, as everything had initially gone wrong for him, but she was not here at the moment, and he felt vulnerable. So, it was all down to him.

He had little choice however. He was going to have to face people eventually, and right now he could do with some directions, information, and hopefully also some food. He also liked how he was dressed, and he should be proud of who he was.

‘That’s the spirit.’ Spectre gave him a smile, and climbing back down to the waters edge they continued to walk beside the stream. It would be safer walking down here, too many people had been killed by trains, and he wasn’t going to be included in that number.

It was an hour and a half later when he finally reached the structures. While the railroad track had gone in a straight line, nature wasn’t as keen and the stream had meandered to and from the embankment, and as he had been sticking to the stream he had travelled further than strictly necessary. A stone hut had been built at the edge of the stream, a waterwheel turning freely in the flow, and what he assumed were steel pipes coming out of it and going deep into the water. The same pipes came out of the other end of the hut and up the embankment, which had been widened at this point, and into a water tower that stood there. The hut had a solid looking steel door that sported a larger than practical lock on it.

A water refuelling station for steam trains. Chris smiled. That was certainly going back a bit in time. He’d never actually seen one in the flesh, but they were certainly low tech enough, and given the amount of time that had apparently passed they would be well able to build and maintain them, if they hadn’t just repaired one from a museum.

Chris sat down against the side of the hut, contemplating options. He could continue walking, or wait here and hope for a train to come by, and then hope that they were going in the right direction. While he had no idea of what their frequency was like, if he wanted the chance of getting a lift, here would be his best bet. The chances of the train stopping for him further down the line were pretty slim, if he was able to get their attention at all. But here there was a pretty good chance that they’d stop. If they’d built a water tower here, unmanned at that, then it was probably needed.

He decided to wait.

Chris spent the next little while trying to get a feel for the shield and sword, while Spectre either ran around chasing butterflies and dragonflies, just like a real animal of his size would, or tried to give him pointers from its own limited knowledge pool. While he had seen plenty of instances of people using the combination, there was a stark difference between what you saw on the screen, and when you are actually holding onto them in your own hands. They were comfortable and well balanced, and while the sword wasn’t that sharp, it still had that dangerous aura to it. He practised swinging with the sword, trying to get a feel for its movement, defending with the shield, and doing both at once. He wasn’t happy with the results though. His stance felt poor, but he couldn’t quite work out what a good stance would be, his movements clunky, slow, and wasteful. He knew he was lacking in even the basics, but surely something was better than nothing at all.

It was late afternoon when his patience was finally rewarded, Chris sensing the vibration in the tracks well before he could hear or see it. Putting his armaments away, he stood back near the streams edge, and waited. Black smoke, and the noisy hissing and puffing of the engine announced its arrival, Chris pleased to note that the train was coming from the direction that he had been walking. It was a deep black with twin stacks, rounded, with six big wheels, and looked everything that you would expect for a classic steam train. It had also slowed down, screeching to a halt right in front of the water tower. He’d been right. Quickly glancing along its length, it appeared to be mostly pulling freight trucks rather than carriages, his attention distracted by the two figures that dismounted from the single carriage that sat directly behind the tender, making their way to him.

One of the figures, and older man with greying hair and a matching short beard and dressed in sooty overalls, ignored him completely, making his way to the hut, unlocking the door and disappearing inside.

The other one approached him directly, stopping a few feet from him.

“It’s unusual to find someone out here in the middle of nowhere. State your business.”

For all the bluntness of his statement, his voice was actually quite friendly. He looked to be around Chris’ age, and was dressed in leather armour with metallic plates across his chest and probably back as well. He was muscular and tall, having a good head and a bit on Chris, with a tanned and slightly weathered face of one who had spent most of his time working outdoors. He had deep orange hair which was cut short, the beginnings of a tidy beard, and amber coloured eyes. At his side was a holster with a gun in it, and though he couldn’t make out much of it, it looked unusual, like a cross between a modern firearm and one from the wild west. On his back was strapped a longsword. An odd combination of weapons.

Chris smiled shyly.

“I was hoping for passage to the next major town. I should be able to pay.”

The man eyed him up carefully. “And where exactly is your destination, and how did you end up out here.”

Chris paused, not sure what exactly to say.

‘If you lie, you will get found out soon enough. You don’t have to tell him the full truth though.’

Spectre was right of course.

Chris sighed. “I’m not quite sure how I ended up out here. It wasn’t where I was meant to be. I am heading for Odinsphere however...” He wasn’t sure how that would go down, given that Odinsphere wasn’t a normal place from what he could gather from Spectre.

The man raised an eyebrow at his answer, then looking down at Spectre as he seemed to finally notice the cat-fox. He then smiled and gave an amused laugh.

“Sure, why not. It fits I guess.” He nodded at Chris. “You can ride with us guards, assuming that you can indeed pay passage. You follow our rules. The train is heading for Brightswater, though you’ll still be a long way from the Odinsphere.”

Chris picked a ring at random out from the harness and passed it to the man.

“Will this be enough?”

The man grinned, and pocketed it. “That’ll do. Names Clocky, I’m the leader of this group of guards. You are...?”

“Chr...” Chris hesitated. This was the first that he had actually thought about it, but did he still want to keep using that name. Sure, it was who he was at the moment, but not who he wanted to be, and it was a new age after all. It was part of his past that was now gone, and it didn't match how he looked at a glance, and definitely didn't really reflect who he was on the inside. Something inside him was yearning for the change, to take that next step.

“Crystal. My name is Crystal.” He liked that name. It just seemed to come to him and felt right. “Crys for short though.” Well for the moment at least. A bridge between the two till he could own his new name. Correction, own her name. However long that took her.

“Well met, Crys. Come. It’ll be a little bit before the train is ready to leave and I should introduce you to the rest of the crew.”

Clocky turned, heading up the embankment to the train. Crys followed.

mogust

Quite a number of significant things happen or are mentioned in this chapter, some obvious, others not.

Crys is accepting herself more, and becoming a bit more confident in who she is. She is still not what she wants to be, but all things in time ^^

She has also found people, at last. Well, two at this stage, more in the next chapter (Train & Tale). Clocky should be familiar, but he was a side character in the previous book, so it is also possible that he has been forgotten. He does however play a much more important role in this story (which surprised even me), as will be seen as the story unfolds. Excluding the prologue and Angel, he is the first reoccurring character this story.

And steam trains! That was one thing that was always going to be included in the next story that I wrote that involved the Outerlands, being one of my earliest notes for it, and so here we are :)

The technology level of the Outerlands is a complex one, as is what they actually have (infrastructure, stuff, etc). At lot was lost in the war and the shattering, and yet a lot also remains. There is definitely a stark contrast between the Innerlands and the Outerlands (and Odinsphere as well).

As always thanks for reading and comments are welcome :)