Aithlin friendily waved Gwaed off.
"Lady Yvresse is justified to be curious. It is a simple ritual of reclamation. We have done so for multiple locations in Erinun territory, locations that were lost or buried during the global civil wars, then the human conquests. What the High Priest is doing is thanking our ancestors and the natural gods, before reaffirming our commitment to reviving the Aos Si Golden Age and reestablishing our bonds with Them."
The High Priest spoke in an ancient Aos Si dialect, with some terms barely understandable to the Goedwish Aos Si: "Sun", "
Earth", "Mother", "Home", etc. He then turned to the spherical metal frame, presenting the sphere in his palms, and continued chanting, while the other priests lowered their heads in respect.
"Right now, he is supporting our claim by presenting a well preserved and cared for artifact of our past. In this case, the Orb of the First Moon, Chia'Gaela."
The chanting went on for a few more minutes, before the High Priest sighed.
"It is done." Aithlin remarked, before his eyes lit up in confusion.
Audible heartbeats sounded from the chests of the Aos Si present, and Vita.
As the High Priest relaxed his hands, the sphere didn't follow downwards. Instead, it floated in midair. Arcs of electricity connected it to the carbon scrubber, the oxygen supply, and all the other human instruments in the room, and on the people.
Bukang's eyes darted to Aithlin with a mix of fear and curiosity, while all the eletronics started spitting out warning lights and nervous beeps.
"What is the meaning of this?"
The interpreter shook his head vehmently. The priests backed off from the central spherical frame in astonishment.
"This wasn't part of the plan!"
One of the human soldiers barged in, barking at Bukang.
"Sun, is everyone alright, the environmental controls are going haywire!"
It was then when Gwaed, Amisra, Fioda, and Vita felt an excrutiating pain from their chests, sending them to the ground, along with the rest of the Aos Si. The metal sphere floated into the center of the frame, which started rotating, bright light eminating from the center. As they drifted in and out of conscious, they heard barks and orders that grew ever more distant.
"We need medics and stretchers, now!"
"Sun, they're not breathing!"
"Come on, Hewyllys, hang in there!"
----------------------------
In the beginning, the earth was barren, the void empty and cold. Then, a single light in the dark sky, which grew ever brighter. Beneath it, a sapling, standing alone. The light grew brighter, the sapling grew larger along with it. The light a bright star, the sapling now a great, tall tree with beautiful pink leaves. Then, more stars appeared in the sky, the great tree spreading its young across the earth, more saplings that grew tall themselves, each of their own color. The star became the eye of a great constellation, the tree towering over a forest.
But then, one by one, the stars disappeared along the periphery, trees withered and died, until there was a lone, red-leafed tree and a lone star. Blinks of light spread out across the sky, but ephemeral, and soon, the last star disappeared as well, the last tree withering into a cold, lifeless husk. The earth became barren again, the void empty, and cold.
-----------------------------
The view was foggy now, the air wavy. White noise filled the background. They stood on a black, dusty road, asphalt, the
humans called it, leading through a barbed wire fence, the gate left open, stopping in front of a brutalist building, its walls covered with sheet metal.
Aithlin's image was ill-defined, barely recognizable, his voice distant.
"Where... are we?" The other Erinun Aos Si were nowhere to be seen.
A sign was mounted on the fence, written in the human, Chinese tongue, foggy and twisted, but legible: "Area 43."
