The Pigeon and the Phoenix

A lone engine rails against the faux tranquility of the Dead Zone, keeping a teetering chassis of metal just within the terminator line of brimming twilight. The carrier dives through needled mountains that perforate low-hanging clouds, cutting them into…

Tyv Lucine leaves the tree line with six souls in tow. She spots Geppetto's Light flickering in the twilight. Her Ghost, Ghost, spins and shimmers in the hands of a child who is "navigating" them to their destination. Moonlight creeps into the valley, lifting…

Saint looks to the twisted scar where the carrier had been. "They are gone…" "SUPPRESSING FIRE!" Marin sends their response clear into the tree line. The Fallen charge against his lead rebuke. "MOVE!" Saint catches sight of Tyv, newly breathing. She…

Cinders spit, washing faint light over Osiris's lone face. The woods behind him formlessly melt into midnight nothing. Sagira moves across his shoulders. Distant serenity. She is a small diamond. Instilled isolation. A playful flitter blinking among thermal…

A small band of humans emerge from the woods at Osiris's flank. Some carry rust-laden firearms. The one who leads them jaunts forward. "Stand up, old man." The words are slung over his shoulder, wet and heavy. "No." A painted Ghost whips in front of…

What would be the Last City looms over Osiris. Ramshackle barricades bend around it miles into the distance. He strides through half-formed steel-rust walls and across flattened earth foundations pocked from small-arms fire. He passes dozens of citizens…

"It is nice to meet you too, Sagira! Osiris, please." Saint-14 gestures to a flimsy wooden chair. Two Ghosts zoom past them and sweep plates from the counter before scooting off. "Would you mind helping them bring food to the people, Sagira?" "Sure, let me…

Saint-14 barrels through drifting wool tufts, dyed in now-dispersed polychromatic patterns. A detachment of the Firebreak Order had overextended their hold in the valley and, when pressed, refused to give ground. Their valiance was swept away in futility.…

Osiris burns; a roaring visage against the sky-soot firmament. Compressing, endless night. Skeins of light twist and hum; charged sinew stitch through his muscle and bone. Myriad shimmering-gold marionettes scramble to reinforce gaps across the City's defense…

Geppetto: Coms frequency no longer jammed. Re-establishing. Hello OpCom. Welcome to— Shaxx: THIS IS SHAXX; THE ENEMY IS IN FULL RETREAT! Osiris: The Northern walls stand— I am needed. Saint-14: Shaxx? Hello? Western Fronts are clear. This is Saint-14.…

At the perimeter of the risen walls, sectioned off from the rest of the City, tiny farms sprout from war-rich soil and sow green dashes across ploughed patties. Snake-weave vines trellis up war-husk remnants, long-since abandoned. The weeks since Six Fronts…

Osiris sits in the small stone garden beneath the Traveler; his attempts at communion unsuccessful. He had seen the Speaker stand here for hours. Ikora had begrudgingly agreed to appear in his place at the Remembrance. Her words were stern, but deep down,…

"I am pleased to see you here. May I sit?" he spoke. Cloying noise. The stone garden is present. He is present. The Traveler, a monarch against bleak crepuscular ink. "You may." Osiris stands. "Stay." Osiris halts. He turns toward the Speaker; the Light…

Stone-laid roads lead Saint-14 through the City. He walks them most days when he is home. When time permits. The people wave. They cheer. They bring offerings of their support and adoration. Breads. Tokens. Wonderfully spun tassels and bands of royal…

Father and son stand atop the Tower. The City blooms as they watch, radiating outward into a lively sprawl beneath the Traveler. Six Fronts was a rallying cry, ringing out to call Humanity to its next great cause. Thousands made their way to the Last City's…

"Osiris, I'm sorry. Ikora cannot assume your role." "Ikora, leave please." She turns to him with a keen tone, "Is it rude for the subject of the conversation to be present?" "She may stay if she wishes. She deserves to hear why." The Speaker nods to Ikora.…

Geppetto-3-1-294: Hello Sagira, Brother Osiris. Please maintain this open communication channel. Sagira-3-1-294: Oh, good idea. Make us a sub-net. Osiris-3-7-294: I will miss my next rendezvous. Saint-3-8-294: Is that so? I suspected this would happen when…

Solar Wind The sand sweeps weeping Across a stone. It breaks on glass in keeping With its own. You were right. It helped.

Saint-14 watches vessels dip in and out of the hangar. The cadence of docking and disembarking ships finds rhythm in the busy city. It is routine. Practiced. Peaceful. A visitor steps aboard the Gray Pigeon. Geppetto turns to welcome them. "Greetings,…