Echoes of Gravity (Tapache's Promise Trilogy Book 1) by James Murdo

Author:James Murdo [Murdo, James]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2023-09-30T00:00:00+00:00

21

Vaesian Divide

Upon reaching the top of the final staircase, having waded through increasingly frequent, protracted flips and with a consistent ringing in his ears, Diyan sighed with relief through his facepiece, which Hespinr had recently advised he pull up. He moved politely to the side, as much as he could manage, as a Veiler walked slowly past without acknowledging him. Straightening out his legs, Diyan leaned against the side of a tall, thin tower, taking deep breaths while waiting for his exhausted limbs to recover. Despite the howling winds that now battered against him, their walking was finally over. He was just a few strides away from the edge of Ringscape, which had been obscured by the heights of the steps only moments before, and he could see Sunsprit’s great dome high above them, curving down over the edge.

“Don’t mind them,” Hespinr shouted, referring to the Veiler. “They’re absorbed in their own thoughts most of the time. They see veils everywhere: conspiracies; covers; camouflage. They’re harmless.”

Diyan did not reply. Only recently, the mere thought of standing right at the edge would have terrified him, but now, he was almost thankful for the reprieve it gave his tired body. The flips continued, but they no longer disturbed him to the same extent. Judging the correct amount of effort for each action in the presence of a varying gravitational field was not an easy skill to master, but at least his movements were less jerky now, more economical. The main problem was his internal response: the ringing in his ears, the headache, and the blurry sight.

Hespinr waited next to the railing, right at the edge. The Silvered did not appear to be under any stress as far as Diyan could tell. Diyan sluggishly pushed himself up from the tower, stumbling a little as he overdid the force required mid-flip, and carefully made his way over. He could see other Silvereds further down the railing, on either side, apparently taking in the same view he was there to see. He also spotted two Roranians, one of them relatively close by, both with their facepieces up and standing beside Silvered companions. The Roranian furthest away seemed equally interested in looking back over at Diyan. He waved awkwardly towards the stranger, receiving an awkward wave in return.

“It’s like being back on the ship,” Diyan shouted over loud winds, as he grabbed the railing tightly with both hands, wincing. “I could use some more of your tetibat right now.”

Hespinr guffawed. Both of its arms were by its sides, tensirs wafting passively in the wind, as Diyan looked out, enthralled. Sunsprit’s dome disappeared over the ridge, obscured by the thick atmosphere – something which still seemed to apply within the Vaesian city. The space encompassed by the dome was staggering. Directly below Diyan’s feet, quite some way down, the natural surface of Ringscape stuck out one long stride further than his current position. Sunsprit’s layout was not flat like Fadin’s, and the steps they had steadily climbed had taken them high above ground level.

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