Creative Chaos
NoriWasHere
AtrophyKaramzinaโ The Frontier, Day 3
Tatiana Leviatan
Tatiana Leviatan
Permanencyโฆ
What is deserving of such a title and what is exile to eternity?
By the time Tatiana finished her work, her black inquisitorโs coat was unrecognizable. Rivers of red had washed over its dark mesh, discoloring it to a crimson brown. Tufts of matted fur stuck to the jacket like sharp bristles. Tatiana peeled off her gloves and tossed them to one of the large chamberโs workbenches. Ever since the summoner had arrived aboard the Karamzina, she had wondered what uses all of these massive spaces throughout the ark could have been meant for in Indiraโs eyes. Tatiana wondered what audience Indira might entreat within the room. Was it a human audience or had the summoner taken to just the place that Indira had expected her to?
Tatiana had been quiet from the moment the Karamzina disappeared into the icy horizon of the east. Perhaps the only times sheโd been seen since her meeting with Oren and Viveca were in her frequent wanderings throughout the Karamzinaโs echoic hallways. She lookedโฆ catatonic, disassociated as she stumbled with seemingly no aim. Rarely could her fellow inquisitors catch her for a conversation. Ever since the strife in Lanostre, Tatiana had closed off. While others may have noticed the difference in the usually cheery Phoenixโs personality, Tatiana seemed oblivious to the fact.
โLooking for Galahad,โ sheโd say on occasion if approached in the labyrinth of the Karamzina. Her close friend and warleader was absent, however. Tatiana was unsure if theyโd not spoken about the incident in Lanostre since departure because of their overloaded agenda or something more apathetic. Nonetheless, she did continue searching each day the inquisitors were aboard, but Galahad wasnโt the only thing Tatiana was looking for. Maybe she was looking forโ
โPermanency,โ she said.
โBeg your pardon?โ It was hard to hear her over the sound of rattling metal and welders that echoed throughout the hangar.
โI said, do you think these vehicles are permanent? How long will they last?โ She wasnโt quite sure what she was asking. He was.
โTheyโll last months out in the storms. Surviving that long in one is another question.โ The SA engineer smeared a stain of grease from his palm across his jumpsuit. Tatiana had come to visit the Karamzinaโs engineering bay a number of times since sheโd arrived aboard. She stepped further into the hangar, running her hand along one of the ice skiffs awaiting its occupants. โLooking to flee the ark and die in the snow?โ The engineer smirked. Tatiana stared him down long enough to take note of the silence.
โNot just yet, Seminov. I just got finished with my secret inquisitor work.โ
โAnd you came here? I feel so special.โ Seminov rolled on a set of protective gloves before turning back to the project on his workbench.
โWhat are you working on? Iโm surprised you can even make a chunk of metal into so many little broken pieces.โ
โJust another side project, Tatiana.โ
โIt looks like a weapon.โ They shared another silence. She broke it. โA broken weapon.โ
โIโm sure the inquisitors think a lot of weapons and tools they donโt understand are broken,โ Seminov said. Tatiana felt like asking him what that was supposed to mean. She didnโt. Seminov finished wrenching a component into the hull of his mess. โBut speaking of secret inquisitor business.โ He fidgeted for his multitool to occupy his hands. โThereโs something I need to ask you.โ
Tatiana paced between the nearby vehicles awaiting maintenance. Her eyes traced the detailed and masterworked features of Father Ilyaโs racer. โWhat is it?โ
โYou must hear a lot.โ
โI try to make it that way.โ Tatiana thought back to the Seminary, where she became an expert at prying information out of Galahad. Her skills carried.
โThe SA only gets the rumorsโฆ Tall tales spread throughout the crew every day. New stories and gossipโ even on the Karamzina if youโd believe it.โ
โLike what?โ
โLike, soldiers are going missing, Tatiana. Right out of the SA and into oblivion. They vanish without trace. Officers wonโt say a thing.โ
The Red Seminary was a dangerous place. Wellโฆ Maybe not so dangerous as much as ephemeral. Children, soldiers, and clerics appeared and disappeared at will. No explanation. One day you knew someone, the next, they never returned to the Seminary. Tatiana didnโt meet Seminovโs eyes. โWhat do you think happens to them?โ
โHave you not heard anything in your meetings with the commander or your time in the Seminary? My brother Andrei was conscripted by the SA. Six months later, no one had ever heard his name. He was fifteen, Tatiana.โ Seminov had forgotten about the weapon on the table in all its pieces.
Tatiana imagined a young soldier, wiped from history. Andrei Seminov. The name conjured up the memory of her meeting with Oren and Viveca. Three soldiers transformed into crystalline warriors. There was a new force populating these lands and it was all wrapped in the scattered fragments observed by the inquisitors. โThere are monsters, Seminov,โ Tatiana said. โTheyโre hurting people everywhere. I saw them in Lanostre.โ
โThatโs what destroyed the armada?โ
Tatiana tapped against the metal of Ilyaโs racer. The resonant sound of her knocking barely carried, drowned out by the mechanics spread about the hangar. โI heard of a Seminov who,โ she pursed her lips, โencountered one such creature.โ
โAndrei?โ
โI donโt know.โ Tatiana wouldnโt look him in the eyes. She favored tracing the ornate skiff of her wealthy colleague.
โTheseโฆ Demons,โ Seminov said. โTatiana, you control them. Can you not stop them? Oh, Andreiโฆโ He trailed off, but didnโt stop mumbling lamenting moans for his brother.
Tatiana lost track of Seminovโs words. Can you not stop them? It echoed in her head, clanking along with the sound of the skiffs, and blowtorches, and creaking gears and wrenches. Tatiana didnโt know the answer. She rarely ever did. Controlโit seemed so foreign. Now and even back then. She remembered:
Indiraโฆ Gregorothโฆ Creid... Tatiana cursed under her breath, enough to worry her warband companions. Luckily enough, they werenโt roaming the halls of the Red Seminary, but instead enduring another battering of the Great Bearโs tests. Tatiana slid to a halt in the hallway, panting to catch her breath. It had been a long walk from the mighty black tower in which Indira had trapped them with the creatures. The Charnel Tower Plague Asylum. After a week, finally allowed to return to the Seminary, Tatiana could finally see her warband. Or so she thought, before she recognized the difficulty of Indiraโs final task of her and Dara. They had to control the familiars throughout their daily life, and after all the trials to reach that point, Tatiana thought sheโd have some escape from the shadow. She didnโt realize the havoc of her manifested familiar demon would be even greater than being locked up with it.
A crash emanated down the barren and dimly-lit walls of the Seminaryโs halls. Tatiana raced after the sound, eyes scouring the darkest corners of each room in search of the anomaly. The fiend would be so easy to miss had it not been filching or breaking and knocking over everything it crossed paths with. Where had it gotten off to now? Tatiana chased the shadows through one of the seminaryโs mess halls and into an indoor training room. She caught sight of her familiar, the humanoid figure of void. It was ether made of black shadows, featureless and expressionless, but she could feel it staring back. It remained watching. Between Tatiana and her newest obligation, Dara gritted his teeth, warding off his own familiar with a crude spear grabbed in haste off the weapons rack.
โDaraโฆโ Tatiana eyed the little dragon evoking comparatively mighty roars. Despite its stature, Daraโs dragon had a vicious demeanor, lunging out and gnashing its jaw at the closest threatโ most often Dara. Her fellow summoner paid Tatiana no heed, fervent in his concentration so as not to get bitten once again. Tatianaโs own shadow familiar shot off into another room in her distraction. The young inquisitor sighed as audibly as she could to add to the effect. โDara. Please help me go get him.โ Her lamenting was, as always, accompanied by a series of helpless pouting gestures. Hassan, Ragnar, and Galahad may have fallen prey to Tatianaโs subtle tricks, but Dara was different. Dara was different.
โIโve got,โ Dara paused. He wouldnโt meet her eyes. โMy own problems.โ The moment he had finished talking, Daraโs left foot slid forward and his spear feinted to the dragonโs low right. Tatiana shot towards Dara. Sheโd seen his formulaic movements a hundred times in the Charnel Tower during their first barrage of tests. He was recycling the same moves, and Tatiana knew it. Feint right, strike high left and spin into a low strike on the right. Tatiana wasnโt the only one that caught on. The serpent demon prepared itself and dove straight in on Daraโs second position.
Tatiana caught the back of the spear, yanking backward enough to trip over her own force and fall to the ground as she pulled Dara from the needle-like teeth of his familiar demon. The beast screeched again, and Dara glared through Tatiana. โTheyโre not stupid, Dara,โ she said.
โDonโt you have toโโ Dara was interrupted by a crash and a voice yelling that emanated from one of the halls. Tatiana recognized Father Creidโs tone immediately. โโThat?โ Dara finished.
โShit.โ
Tatiana lurched towards the distant chorus of chaos, but the Daraโs demon blocked her way into the hallway. She eyed Dara with a smirk, then calmly brought her hands up. She inched around the serpent, giving it as much space as possible. When she looked at the demons, there was something void about Tatianaโs eyes. She met the beastโs eyes as a blank slate. Tatianaโs palms exuded a translucent monochrome puff of ether. Once she made it to the other side, Tatiana sent Dara another devious grin, but it melted away as Creid yelled again. The crashing of pots and pans must have been heard from across the Seminary.
Dara chuckled as Tatiana took off.
โWhere did youโ
A crash emanated down the barren and dimly-lit walls of the Seminaryโs halls. Tatiana raced after the sound, eyes scouring the darkest corners of each room in search of the anomaly. The fiend would be so easy to miss had it not been filching or breaking and knocking over everything it crossed paths with. Where had it gotten off to now? Tatiana chased the shadows through one of the seminaryโs mess halls and into an indoor training room. She caught sight of her familiar, the humanoid figure of void. It was ether made of black shadows, featureless and expressionless, but she could feel it staring back. It remained watching. Between Tatiana and her newest obligation, Dara gritted his teeth, warding off his own familiar with a crude spear grabbed in haste off the weapons rack.
โDaraโฆโ Tatiana eyed the little dragon evoking comparatively mighty roars. Despite its stature, Daraโs dragon had a vicious demeanor, lunging out and gnashing its jaw at the closest threatโ most often Dara. Her fellow summoner paid Tatiana no heed, fervent in his concentration so as not to get bitten once again. Tatianaโs own shadow familiar shot off into another room in her distraction. The young inquisitor sighed as audibly as she could to add to the effect. โDara. Please help me go get him.โ Her lamenting was, as always, accompanied by a series of helpless pouting gestures. Hassan, Ragnar, and Galahad may have fallen prey to Tatianaโs subtle tricks, but Dara was different. Dara was different.
โIโve got,โ Dara paused. He wouldnโt meet her eyes. โMy own problems.โ The moment he had finished talking, Daraโs left foot slid forward and his spear feinted to the dragonโs low right. Tatiana shot towards Dara. Sheโd seen his formulaic movements a hundred times in the Charnel Tower during their first barrage of tests. He was recycling the same moves, and Tatiana knew it. Feint right, strike high left and spin into a low strike on the right. Tatiana wasnโt the only one that caught on. The serpent demon prepared itself and dove straight in on Daraโs second position.
Tatiana caught the back of the spear, yanking backward enough to trip over her own force and fall to the ground as she pulled Dara from the needle-like teeth of his familiar demon. The beast screeched again, and Dara glared through Tatiana. โTheyโre not stupid, Dara,โ she said.
โDonโt you have toโโ Dara was interrupted by a crash and a voice yelling that emanated from one of the halls. Tatiana recognized Father Creidโs tone immediately. โโThat?โ Dara finished.
โShit.โ
Tatiana lurched towards the distant chorus of chaos, but the Daraโs demon blocked her way into the hallway. She eyed Dara with a smirk, then calmly brought her hands up. She inched around the serpent, giving it as much space as possible. When she looked at the demons, there was something void about Tatianaโs eyes. She met the beastโs eyes as a blank slate. Tatianaโs palms exuded a translucent monochrome puff of ether. Once she made it to the other side, Tatiana sent Dara another devious grin, but it melted away as Creid yelled again. The crashing of pots and pans must have been heard from across the Seminary.
Dara chuckled as Tatiana took off.
โWhere did youโ
โGo?โ Tatiana asked.
โWhat was that, dear?โ Seminov spoke up over his welder. Once their conversation had given way to Tatianaโs silence, Seminov returned to his work.
โI said, where do you think the Terviclops goes?โ
โWhat?โ
โLike when heโs not with meโฆโ Tatiana said. โWhere does he go? Does he exist somewhere else? Is he permanent? He must be. Ever since I met him, my lifeโฆ It was a series of inevitabilities that all culminatedโall led here, aboard the Karamzina.โ
Seminov grinned, and waited a long moment before responding. โWhere are any of us going now might be a better question.โ Scarcely ever would Tatiana zone out enough to go off on her tangents, but he had determined that was when she would open up to him the most. Alas, it seemed she was done today. โYou might want to worry about more epochal concerns these days, Tatiana. Donโt you inquisitors have a meeting with the commander soon? You shouldnโt show up late again...โ
Tatianaโs eyes went wide. Sheโd lost track of her plans again. โOhโฆ Iโโ Rather than explaining herself, Tatiana offered Seminov a courteous nod. Seminov bowed his head in response.
โNot much looks permanent these days, dear. Not aboard this arkโฆ Be seeing you, Tatiana.โ
Tatiana was ignorant to Seminovโs words. Her eyes, instead lingered over Ilyaโs racer and its sleek metal chassis, communicators and other metallic barrels protruding from its edges. She stepped from Seminovโs view.
And Seminov heard the heavy snap echo throughout the hangar. Other engineers must have as well, though when he turned to investigate, Tatiana was already walking towards the shipโs labyrinth of hallways, albeit holding her inquisitorโs jacket tightly closed as she did so.
โTatiana,โ Seminov called with some authority. She stopped, but didnโt turn. โYou seem to have spilled something red on your jacket. Is everything quite alright?โ
After a long pause, Tatiana said only โIโm fine,โ and disappeared into the Karamzina.
Tatiana didnโt have much time to clean up before the meeting. That, of course, didnโt stop her from bursting into the commanderโs war room like she owned the place. Her eyes caught on the crimson and white silks of the clerical representative. She hid herself off to the side, shrewdly hiding in the periphery. Tatiana met Mother Yonah Levshinโs eyes and didnโt break her dead, intent stare with the woman as she crossed the room towards the others. For a moment, small contrails of black smog rose up from her hands, barely visible. Those who noticed the diminutive flow of the black ether from Mother Tatianaโs hands visibly tensed.
Then she heard Galahadโs voice. The smog dissipated and Tatiana shook herself away from the gaze of Mother Yonah. She suddenly recognized the sorry state of her coat, peeling off a patch of what appeared to be fur and viscera stuck to the jacket. The fervor and rage of the Terviclops werenโt the only forces that called to her anymore. Someoneโฆ different lingered with them. Tatiana seated herself next to Lieutenant Dragonov. She sat upon her knees in the chair, turning it to face Dragonov as she leaned against an elbow on the table. โHello,โ she said, painfully clear in her lack of any titles of address. โYouโre sitting next to Galahad, where I normally sit. Iโm like his best assistant, since we inquisitors trust each other so much. I guess we have to be next to each other today. Iโm Tatiana. Have you heard of me?โ
Throughout the start of the conference, Tatiana seemed to blink in and out of focus, staring off into her own imaginary trances at will. Really, that was nothing new. The summoner had a tendency to daydream and miss details. She always caught the most important information and stepped in at the most important times. Or at least, thatโs what she insisted whenever Hassan or Ragnar would bring it up.
It wasnโt until Galahad started speaking up that Tatiana really started listening in. He was right, as always, she knew that much. If Ragnar had accompanied any forward scouts, the scouting parties risked the futures of every warsibling they left behind in the Karamzina. Tatiana could hardly suppress her muffled laughs as Rodion mentioned the state of Ilyaโs racer. She knew something was up with it. Now there was just something else up with it as well.
โDonโt worry Galahad. Iโll join them in the forward party and guard Ragnar.โ Tatiana raised a fist of solidarity with Ragnar, though the gesture was as much ironic and boasting as it was encouraging to her dear friend. โOut on the ice, I think me and my friends will have the greatest mobility and presence. If weโre overwhelmed, I can be sure to get him to safety.โ
Tatiana winked to Ragnar in the most unsubtle way imaginable.
She had said friends. She didnโt think anyone had noticed or understood.