The mirror: Kevali

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The Kevali inhabit vast cavern systems beneath the surface of their hostile planet. The twin suns constantly boring down on the surface have created a harsh desert environment. The days are long, the nights longer (the normal day lasts 36 hours). The intense heat of daytime and the bitter freezing cold of evening drove the Kevali underground centuries ago.

Phosphorescent algae provides an ambient glow, while oil lamps set into carved niches in the walls provide most of the dim light.

The capital city of Andhakara'a is built around an inky black subterranean river, the water is mostly drinkable...

The air is stale, it's crowded and the air is filled with the sound of tools and working.
It never seems to stop.

Map

Jarral rolled over and curled up, falling asleep very quickly.

Kaliyani stood near christine, head bowed as she watched the Ishvara sleep.
She looked troubled. Thinking exactly what Christine was thinking, what would Fate do now?
she also was trying to understand why Fate would bring the Carpathians here if she didn't want their interference, why had things worked out the way they had?
Either Fate didn't have the power they believed she had, or she had some other scheme here.
the thought made the woman extremely uneasy.

---

Meanwhile, on the Carpathian's ship, the orb seemed to whisper, urging any near it to touch it, open it, look closer at it.

Christine looked to Kaliyani then went to take her spot in the chair once more. She didn't know what to do.

~~
The twins were the closest, Bryan still holding it in the cloth he had carried it in. Brandon was putting a box together nearby but the twins shared a look at the whispers coming from the orb. Both were scared, knowing what the orb was for. Bryan quickly set the cloth covered orb down on a table and moved to his twin's side to help him finish the box quickly.

One of the crew heard the whispers and looked to the orb with curiosity. He was a young male, but he didn't have any magic to help fight against those whispers.

Kaliyani found a seat and spoke quietly. "I am frightened. Fate... she always has plans. What if this is exactly what she wanted to happen? Or... what if the Elder's are wrong?"

---

The orb continued to whisper enticingly. It wanted to be opened, too long had it been buried in the earth, powerless, useless.

Christine shivered and nodded then sighed and looked over tot he bed "She has plans, but are they for good or just selfish ones?" She said then looked to Kaliyani again "Max looked at their memories, unless they can change them without the lie being seen, then they are true memories."

~~~
The crewman came closer, looking to the twins worriedly to be sure they didn't see him.(He needs a name...how about George) The twins looked to be busy on a box that was just big enough for the cloth-wrapped orb to fit in. He looked back to the bundle and reached for the cloth

Kaliyani nodded. "But their memories would only show things from their own perspective yes? If they genuinely believe she is a threat, their memories would paint her as such, wouldn't they? " She looked to the sleeping boy. "Poor child, he never asked for any of this. It is all so unfair."

---

The orb continued to whisper, it wanted to be picked up. It was such a small simple thing, no obvious clasp or way to be opened. It was just a metal ball, such a tiny thing, how could it possibly be dangerous?

Christine frowned and looked down a her lap, thinking about that. "It is possible, I suppose. Max knows more about such things than I do."

~~~
George picked up the cloth to look at the orb.

Bryan frowned and turned from the box to see him "No, don't touch it" He said quickly

It was a boring looking golden coloured ball. Hard to believe it was special.
It urged George to just reach out, just one little touch, it wouldn't hurt anything.

---

Kaliyani frowned. "I do not like all this uncertainty.
Getting caught between the conflicts of gods is... not a place any mortal should have to be. I am.. afraid for the people."
She lowered her head.

---

The Elders all gathered together, talking to one another in low sombre tones. They seemed agitated and anxious.

George looked to the twins then back to the orb, taking it out of the cloth. "It is just a ball, right?"

"No, George" Byran said, moving to hit his hand to make him drop the orb.

~~~
Christine nodded and looked to her again. "It is not a good place to be." She agreed

~~~
Andre and Max looked to the elders "Are you alright?"

As soon as George touched the orb Fate would have a direct channel with him. It would come as a searing blinding pain in the head, and like fire was coursing through his veins as the power of a god surged into the mortal body.
Words echoed in his mind. "The people have served their purpose."

there was a click, and the orb opened.

---

The Elder Suravi looked up, he looked grim. "We are trying to determine what out next course of action should be." He explained.

Suddenly they all froze, the shining light in their eyes dimming slightly.

"The orb... " One of them gasped.

The others nodded, sensing the wave of power as it flooded out of the orb far far above.


---

Jarral cried out in his sleep.

George cried out as the pain surged through him.

Bryan and Brandon looked on, both moving back and staring at them with worry. "What now?" Bryan asked worriedly.

~~~
"What about the orb?" Max asked with concern for the two boys and the crew of the ship.

~~~
Christine frowned and went to Jerrel, rubbing his back gently.

"It opens... " The elders spoke in unison, their faces pale.

--

A bright light flooded from the open Orb, filling the room with blinding light before it seeped out through the walls.
Anyone near a window would see something that looked like a comet, heading straight for the heart of the larger sun.

The large white sun consumed the light, at least, it appeared to.
The initial shockwave would be felt by everyone, particularly those on the ship as the light from the sun intensified, faltered, and started to expand. It was about to go supernova.

---

Jarral jerked away. "RUN!" He screamed.

---

Suravi clutched his chest and collapsed to his knees.
"She... the suns... " he gasped in pain. "I .. cannot fight her. "

Akantarak's eyes widened.

Naral and Ada, the twins, both looked around in panic. "We must evacuate!" They spoke in unison.

The four elemental gods each rushed off in a different direction as the first shockwave hit the city. It felt like an earthquake.
People screamed.
rocks rained down from above.

Christine moved to cover Jarrel from any falling rocks then looked to Kaliyani before making Jerral get up "If we run, you are coming with us." She stated.

~~~
Max and Andre went Suravi, each touching him to give him strength to fight. Jessica stood over them, watching for any falling rocks over them.

~~~
Bryan and Brandon turned away and covered their eyes then yelled at the captain to get to the planet and call for backup, they had to help evacuate the people.

Suravi gasped in pain. "Get... the people to safety... GO!" He commanded, struggling to speak.

Akantarak went to his side, putting a hand on his shoulder tenderly, looking deeply concerned. "My love?"

He met her gaze, shuddering in agony. "She is stronger than we are... save as many as you can... "

The elemental Elders were already commanding people to flee. There was no real way out of here and everyone was panicking, but quite a few nodded and shaped space blindly, taking the risk that they would end up somewhere more immediately survivable than a crumbling cavern.

Naral and Ada split up and began organising people into groups, getting them to teleport in clusters. Very few knew where they were going.

Shu, the fire god returned to Suravi's side. "We haven't the time." He spoke grimly.

"I.. know.. " Suravi told him. "You.. you four.. and the twins... they can survive... "

"you are linked to the people, so long as they live, so will you. Stay with them." Akantarak spoke for Suravi, who no longer could form words.

"What of you?" Shu asked.

"We cannot leave." Akantarak sounded both sad and resentful.


---

Another shockwave hit.

Jarral's eyes were wild with terror.

Kaliyani nodded. "My Lord, can you shape space?" She asked the young Ishvara.

Jarral nodded. "But... there is no guarentee we will end up anywhere safe.. or.. anywhere near one another." He protested.

"If we hold one another, we will not be separated." Kaliyani told him.

"what about the others?" Jarral asked, looking around as small pebbles and rocks crumbled around them. "We cannot abandon the people!"

"We have no choice my Lord! We must save ourselves!" Kaliyani insisted.

---

On Kalvair people came out of their huts to look up at the sky, though night, the sky was a brilliant burning white. Many coward in terror, judgement day was upon them.
Families clung to one another. Others shaped space.
The animals panicked, breaking free of their pens but nobody tried to stop them.

Even the wildlife fell silent.

"They are being taken out too, though the panic is high" Christine said, holding onto Jerral and reaching for Kaliyani also.

~~
Max looked to Andre then to Jessica "Go with them, now" He told them then looked to Akantarak "You cannot leave this cavern?"

Andre looked to them then turned and took Jessica's hand to take her to the portal, gathering as many as they could on the way

"We cannot leave this system." Akantarak told him. "We are too linked to the celestial bodies here. The moon, and the suns." She looked to Suravi. "She is killing him." Her voice trembled. "I will not leave his side."

Suravi was on his hands and knees now, gasping for breath. Akantarak knelt beside him. "Please, save as many as you can. Get away from here, there is not much time"

The light in Suravi's eyes was vivid white, his entire form seemed to glow.

"GO!" Akantarak insisted.

The other Elders hurried.

A large group of Kevali followed the Carpathians to the portal, terrified and completely helpless to save themselves.
The Elders followed.

---

Jarral tightened his grip on Christine's hand. Kaliyani took her other hand. "Do not let go." She cautioned, nodding to the young Ishvara as they both stepped backward, shaping space around themselves to safety.

Max frowned at that then sighed and nodded "May Aius keep you" He said softly then left to follow the others out of the portal.

~~
Christine held tight to their hands, closing her eyes as the magic took them away. She blinked then tried to figure out where they were when they stopped.

~~
The ship landed as close as they could get to the entrance of the caves, opening the ramp to let those fleeing get in.

George had been pushed into a room and the door sealed as well as the twins could do. Neither was sure what to do and they couldn't get the orb out of his hand.

The sky above when they exited the portal from the underground was brilliant white, brighter than daylight.
Kalvair traders were about, some hiding from the bright sky, others staring up at it in a stupor.

When the ship landed, some were swept along with the fleeing Kevali.

The Elders paused, waiting till as many people as possible had headed up the ramp and dragging a few of the catatonic Kalvair to their feet, shoving them toward someone else who could drag them aboard.

"Sister!" Elder Naral called.

Ada paused and looked back at him. "Brother?"

"I cannot go." He told her.

Ada shook her head. "No, you must! We can survive, wherever the people go, we can go."

"I cannot abandon those left behind. You know this Ada. You go, stay with the refugees, ensure they find a new home, far from Fate's petty wrath. One of us must remain, we are tied to the people. "

Ada's eyes welled with tears, she pulled her brother into a hug.

"There is no time. Ada, go!" Naral pushed her toward the ramp.

Ada nodded. "Farewell brother, I will keep the people safe."

"I know you will." Naral smiled to her.

Ada and the four elemental Elders hurried up the ramp.

"Quickly!" Shu shouted as they boarded. "There is no more time, the suns... "

---

Kaliyani, Christine and Jarral found themselves on a space station.

Kaliyani looked around. "Oh.." She remarked.

"you know this place?" Jarral asked, he looked woozy and stumbled forward. She caught him.

"Yes my Lord, this is where I appeared when I first fled the underground city."

"is.. is it safe?" Jarral asked.

"It is safer than where we were." Kaliyani told him sadly.

Jarral nodded, then his eyes rolled back and he passed out.

The Carpathians were immediately weaker as they stepped out into that light, but they knew it was the only choice there was to go through it. They tried to cover the trail with clouds to make it easier to get to the ship, though it was a thin cover

~~~
Christine looked around then up and sighed, covering her eyes and looking to the buildings again. "I have to get out of the light" She said then looked to Kaliyani "I can send out a call for my people to come pick us up."

The panicking people would probably sweep the carpathians along regardless.

Once everyone was aboard the Elders yelled to the pilots to get them away from this system as quickly as possible.

---

Kaliyani nodded and carried Jarral. "We can go down to the lower floors, they are service tunnels, it is dark." She didn't much like the light either, it hurt her eyes.

The crew were quick to do that at the call, they closed the ramp and took off, heading into light speed as soon as they safely could to get out of that system.

~~~
Christine nodded and would walk with her to the lower tunnels "I wonder if anyone else from there will make it here" She said softly

Kaliyani looked grim. "I hope they got away..." She shuddered, so many lives...
She carried the unconcious Ishvara down to the service tunnels which were far dimmer lit and gently put him down, sitting on the floor and resting his head on her lap, stroking his hair gently. "I just do not understand why... "

---


Meanwhile underground in the capital Akantarak remained by Suravi's side as his mortal form failed, the light within him becamse too much for the host and his physical form evaportated in the brilliant whiteness.

Akantarak gasped but any scream was cut short as the heat consumed her too.

As the larger sun above collapsed on itself, the sun god broke free of his mortal constraints with a gigantic nuclear explosion.
That underground that wasn't immediately obliterated would be crushed by the collapsing cave system as the shockwave hit.


---

The supernova consumed it's smaller twin sun, adding the power of the red dwarf to it's own as it exploded, consuming the Kevali home world completely, the shock wave shattering Kalvair instantly, vaporizing any life left there immediately.

--

The ripples would spread out across the universe slowly but steadily, like a stone thrown into a pond. Fate's power, fueled by her consumption of three other gods spread out across the galaxy, unconfined by the barriers the Elders had put around her, unshackled by the orb which bound her, she was free to expand her influence as she wished.

The orb grew cold and silent, an empty metal husk. It had no more power.

Christine sat down with her and sighed softly. She wasn't certain what to do now beyond eventually finding a way to contact her homeworld for a ride.

~~~
George dropped the orb and stared at it, rubbing his hand before he passed out.

The carpathians tried to get everyone settled as they left that system and headed for their homeworld. They were uncertain of what to do either, though they did have a message sent out to send any of the two races sent to their world and they would reimburse for travel.

The Kevali and small number of Kalvair on the ship huddled in small groups, silent, shell shocked, all of them a little too overwhelmed to do much of anything aside from sit with one another and try to process what had happened.

The Elders too looked sombre. Ada was sobbing quietly in a corner, linked to the people as she was, she had felt each and every life snuffed out in that instant and the link with her brother was severed, he was gone, a part of herself was gone. It was devastating.

The four elemental Elders looked at one another. One of the females put a hand on Ada's shoulder in a small gesture of comfort. Ada continued to cry.

---

Kaliyani fell silent, closing her eyes and bowing her head.
After a while she spoke. "We... need to find the others. Anyone who survived. Some of those who shaped space as we did must have ended up somewhere relatively safe. We need to locate them, and... find somewhere to go... " Her voice trembled, she choked.

The carpathians sat together once the message had been sent and they were on the way to their world. They had to talk and find out what had happened. Once they spoke to one another, they went to check on George and see how he was doing.

~~
"Max would take who he can to our homeworld." Christine said and reached over to touch her arm "We will find who we can and at the least have you stay with us until you find somewhere else you want to live, if not stay with us." Christine said gently then stood. "I will find a terminal and make my calls."

Kaliyani nodded.
Jarral slept.

"Thank you." Kaliyani spoke weakly, reeling from the loss of her home world so soon after returning to it. How many had just died? Hundreds? thousands? millions? She couldn't stand to think about it.

Christine nodded and stood, going to find a terminal to make her calls from. She smiled at the message she found waiting on all terminals, sending in her call for a ship to pick them up then going back to Kaliyani and Jerral so she could tell them

Kaliyani sat on the floor very gently stroking Jarral's hair as he slept, she really did seem to have somewhat maternal feelings toward the kid. She looked up at Christine. "What did you find?" She asked cautiously.