The Mantle

Chapter 20:

Thunder rumbled in the distance. I started, looking around for the source.

Nanak looked up, sadness falling across his face. “It seems there’s a storm coming.”

S’gath inflated their chin.

Nanak turned from the meat to the pot of stew, poking at it thoughtfully. After a moment, he turned back to me and held my gaze. “You look on the last of the Forebears, young one. Last of a people that were almost hunted to extinction. In your expression, I see that you have encountered our nemesis. Our failure.”

Thunder rumbled again as I closed my eyes in recognition and remembrance of the darkness that had almost engulfed me. That followed me and whispered streams of hatred in the ears of my friends and enemies alike.

Nanak nodded. “Yes. It has been with you. All your life, and all the lives of those closest to you. It was with me, my whole life. It was with us who came before you as we moved from world to world. Gathering strength until it could be made manifest among us. It seeks not to conquer, but destroy. It sees perfection in nothingness, order in disorder. It is an entropy made form. Given voice by the collective fears and anxieties of the human superconsciousness.

“For uncounted millennia, we left the worlds it had spoiled behind. A remnant each time seeking shelter among the stars, trying to find a new home in the void. And each time, we would find a new place. We would settle. Build a city, a hearth, a pristine civilization. The long eras would erase our memory of the foe who hunted us. And with forgetfulness would begin again the downfall. Separation, discord, fears and anxieties exacerbated by a lack of understanding. They would grow stronger, until the Anti-ness was once again reborn on a new world.

“Lost to the past is the memory of how it began; how we came to endlessly run from the predator. Each turning of the cycle lasted thousands of years.” Nanak looked down.

I blinked. “Until you came to… my world.”

“Yes. In my tongue it was called ‘Sunlock’, for in those days… rhythms…” he smiled as he corrected himself. “It was mostly locked to the sun.”

S’gath rumbled, “The beginning of your days was the end of ours.”

“Indeed.” Nanak agreed. “We found the Precursors ravaged by their own catastrophe. And for a while, there was peace between us. Over time, fewer and fewer of them were awakened to the world, and more and more of their children became beasts. We in turn began to hunt them to extinction. And when the last Precursor was slain, the mandate of heaven was taken from us. The dead Anti-ness was resurrected again.

“And so… ‘They’...” Nanak hesitated. “Declared our rhythms over. In desperation, we ran again. A remnant was chosen to be buried at the darkward side. Their memories were wiped so that hopefully no contagion of the old nemesis could survive in them. They were your ancestors, who survived the catastrophe of all catastrophes.

“Tell me, do you wonder at the Great Range in the sunward of your planet?” Nanak asked.

“Not really?” I pursed my lips.

“That is the result of Their judgment. The final epitaph of my kind.

“Words cannot accurately describe the form of Their judgment. The sister to this world fell against the sunward pole. Fire and sulfur suffused the lands for… eons. Truly I do not know how many millennia separate your people and mine. All of my kindred were extinguished like candles in the wind. The uplift of this destruction formed the Great Range, and the land of Solandye in the middle of the blow.”

I gaped, picturing the incomprehensible destruction that would have formed such an outline in the world.

“The city that you see in Solandye… it is a fake. Not one stone of the original metropolis of the Forebears still stands.” Nanak declared definitively.

“What!” I cried in surprise. It made sense though. The destruction visited on the Forebears would have been total.

Nanak nodded, sitting down again at the table as a sudden darkness fell over the atrium in which we were seated. More rumbles of thunder.

“It has been recreated by the penumbra of entropy, in mockery of its counterpart. Solandye is its new home. And it has risen again, powered by the fears and phobias of your time. Its servants prowl through the city and maintain it as a perfect image of how it was in our time.”

I shuddered as I thought of how the jelly-like creatures floated. Then, a question arose in my mind, “What about the Ultimate Truth?”

Nanak nodded. “A beacon… A snare? A light to draw insects to it, so that it may break free. Only Truth can truly entice the seeker. But it is a half-truth represented there within the light. A truth that is not definitive. One that grabs ahold of the seeker and allows them to interpret it as they please.”

S’gath closed their eyes and warbled, “One who cannot see grabs the leg of a great beast, and declares it like a column. One who grabs its tail declares it like a rope. One who grabs its ear declares it like a sheet of leather.”

Nanak agreed, “The Truth cannot be said. It cannot be summarized in the page of a book. It cannot be put forward in argument. It cannot be diagrammed, nor can it be built out of wood and stone. There is no river that contains the whole Truth. There is no forest that makes it visible to the listener. There is no beam of light that imparts it on the audience. There is no statue of it. There is no work of painted art that encompasses it. There is no assembly of beings that can give it voice. You will not find it unadulterated within the scriptures of humankind, nor will you find it in the reason of wise men. All these things… they are true.” Nanak emphasized. “But you will not find the whole truth in them. Even the most honest of things, the Ultimate Truth, is dishonest in its claim to be honest. For if it were the Ultimate Truth, it would be the unity of being. It would be the One, the Endless, and the many other names we have given it.”

Nanak paused. And the shadow passed again from the atrium. A gust of wind picked up and blew through the open space, causing the robes of the two to flutter, along with Nanak’s beard.

“And we’ve flown right into that snare.” I felt despair flowing through me. “We haven’t gone to heaven, we’ve gone to hell.”

The sounds of thunder softened somewhat. The bearded sage across from me looked to the sky and then closed his eyes. “Nothing is ever without redemption or corruption, Haye Zintan. In the most cruel human lies one redoubt of good, and in the most righteous saint lies one beachhead of evil. To extrapolate the parable to your situation, yes. You have played into the hands of our nemesis. But you have also set the stage for its ultimate defeat, and an end to the cycle.” He raised a hand. “Fear not. It cannot hear us here. We are shielded from its prying tendrils.”

“How can I trust what you’re saying?” I stated in disbelief. “I thought… I thought we were headed to either the River, or to the Forebears’ city all along. Now… Now…” Doubt spread through me.

“Look inside yourself and tell me what you see.” Nanak replied with a smile.

“I…” I closed my eyes.

Bless the River, flow well.

“It is there.” Came the soft exhale of Nanak.

I nodded. Conviction. Knowledge of truth. I didn’t know where it came from, but I knew that I could trust it.

I opened my eyes. “What is… that?” I breathed out.

“That same thing which led you past the incorruptible Gate. In my time, we called it Agnosis. It is a word inherited over the numberless ages of history from a distant world, in order to describe… not-knowing. Unknowing.”

I sighed in frustration. “How can I know something by not knowing it!?”

“Patience!” Nanak laughed as he cried out.

“Definitely within this one, the Precursors live on.” S’gath rumbled.

I crossed my arms. “Well are you gonna keep laughing at me or-”

Nanak waved both arms. “Agnosis doesn’t mean that you know nothing, although that can help. Little children are often more enlightened than the most tempered of adult souls. That is why we expected you to have a lack of curiosity… No.” He shook his head. “Agnosis means knowledge of the fact that you do not know, and can never fully know, the Truth. There will always be something outside of your grasp, something hidden from your mind’s eye, that could change your perspective on the reality we live in. To know the full Truth completely means that you will have to rejoin it - to die and be born again. Sometimes this can happen in one’s life - as it is happening in yours. To most of us, it is reserved for the time after our deaths.

“There is a latent Humility built into you, Haye, that allows you to feel sureties beyond your reason.”

“You wouldn’t say that if you knew me.”

“Again, latent, young one.” Nanak grinned. “It is a muscle that you will have to exercise. Knowledge through Unknowing may have come to you in flickers prior to now, but with practice you will become better at it. Be thankful enough: of those who tried to access the gate, you were the humblest of the three.”

He must be referring to Dr. Hennir and Zealot. Yeah, that tracked.

“Agnosis leads the way to the Truth. To conceive of nothing, and instead bring forth awe and wonder at existence lightens the way to… many things.” Nanak closed his eyes. “It shows us that we must not fear, for fear is a presupposition of the way things are. It shows us that we must love others, for they are all potentialities of the One. It shows us also that we must not consider a trespass to define another for all time. We must forgive.”

Another gust of wind brought one of the fuzzy bugs to the table. Nanak followed the creature with his eyes and smiled as it nestled on top of his goblet. He reached a finger forward and stroked the creature as it sat there, extending a proboscis into the remnants of his juice.

“There are so many things that Agnosis teaches us. There are so many things that it will teach you during your lifetime.”

A thought crossed my mind. “... were you sent here by the River? Is the River the One?”

“Yes, although what you call the River is a literary and religious reflection of the One. An apt name for convenience, perhaps, but… ‘They’ are not perfectly reflected in the Riverrun.”

Another question: “How can the cycle be broken? And why me? I’m…” I looked down at my hands. “I’m a no-good outlaw from Yin. I’ve killed… How many people now? I’m no saint.”

Nanak breathed in, letting the time pass between us. More wind gusted through the atrium, picking up speed. Darkness fell over the interior again. S’gath inflated their chin, and croaked a microtonal burst of song. “Why me? Shugushannah, Immshag’neen, Shugushannah. Why me?”

“The Mantle is yours to accept or refuse. The One cannot predestine you to acceptance.” Nanak said finally. “The Mantle is a path that will require sacrifice. It means that you cannot start an empire, or a religion, or another hierarchy of any kind. You must pursue the destruction of the Anti-ness to the very end. Even if it means giving your own life. The knowledge of how the cycle may be broken will be imparted to you at the end of your time here, between the two worlds that your bodies inhabit and only be revealed if you are willing to take on the task.” Nanak folded his hands on the table. “Know this, Haye Zintan, that I have confidence in you, as I have confidence in the power of every human being’s potentiality. There is nothing special about you. Nothing chosen. No superior wit, or gracious beauty, or life experiences, other than the humility that you could potentially build. If you refuse this task, it will fall to another. But the One is able to make your life the pen by which they author salvation. It is not entirely up to you to be perfect in every way.”

I closed my eyes, searching once again within myself.

Bless the River, flow well.

“My life… it will be over?” I asked with trepidation.

“It already is in some part of time and space. All of our lives are already over in the same way. The question is how much pain you are willing to take on. You will receive a new life, one much longer than other humans. You will see your friends die around you, you will see the rise and fall of nations, the turmoil of the technological changes that are about to come upon your society. No other human will lay a finger on you. Power will flow through your veins. You will be irrevocably changed.”

“Otherwise… I will die. And my friends will die.” I noted.

“To die is still a choice. Equally as changing, perhaps, but far easier than to accept the Mantle.”

I paused.

After a long period of silence, during which more thunder sounded above, light came back into the atrium.

I felt it cascade across my face again, savoring it. What should I do? The voice inside me told me…

That I should accept.

I couldn’t let Yuri, or Dr. Ininsir, or… Tian’ Xi… die. Alone. Suffering.

And beyond them, I felt the future of our world spread out before me. Millions of suffering human beings. Starving, praying, being beaten by the oppression of the systems in which they were caught, systems that had driven me into the sunward lands in the first place. My compassion extended outward to them. I felt, for the first time in a while, my microcosm of care expand beyond myself and the immediate circle of people I associated with. I felt called.

The old Haye would die, and embrace the new.

I nodded. Thunder punctuated my words.

“I will accept the Mantle.”

Nanak smiled. “Good. Come quickly then, for there is something that must be done.”

***

We were gathered at the edge of the ocean, looking out towards the rapidly developing storm. The light of the alien sun had shifted in the sky, instead of staying put, something that disturbed me. The towering cumulonimbus over the expanse of water hadn’t yet covered the bright monarch. Its rays still fell across our forms as the three of us remained at the ocean’s edge. Looking at waves growing higher and higher against the cliffside below, I pondered the gathering darkness, wondering what was about to happen. Wondering how my life would change.

In the ground, a circular stone slab, devoid of any marking, had been tended to by Nanak and S’gath. The ruins of stone markings stood around it in a semicircle, all faring the worse for wear. In contrast, the central slab was free from blemish, a solid chunk of green and white marble that looked like jade mixed with quartz. Nanak was running around the edge, carefully measuring the circumference of the circle with his eyes, making doubly sure of something that I didn’t understand at the time.

S’gath looked out to sea with me, their arms folded in front of them, chin inflating from time to time.

“Shigur. Shigur. Tso’nahmith.” They muttered.

I glanced over at them. “Does this world have a sunstorm that travels from place to place? Like its sun?”

S’gath shook their head. “This one is a storm that will come and go. A little child compared to the sunstorm of Sunlock.”

“Was the weather like this when your… people walked Sunlock?”

A blink of the eyes. “Yes.”

I chuckled. “Not too talkative eh?”

“I cannot dwell on the stories of the lost world, for they bring nothing but sadness.” They licked their eyes. “But for the bearer of the Mantle, I will make an exception.”

“What was it like?” I asked while sitting down.

“Many things were different, young one. Beyond the moon and moving sun, there were cities and kingdoms - queendoms. Matriarchs and Patriarchs of great renown. Halls of beautiful construction. Walls of archaic splendor the likes of which were not replicated even in the time of the Forebears.

“The Ancients were our Gods, and we lived with them in harmony. They took shelter in our temples and feasted from the many sacrifices we made to them. The world was young then, and the springing of the animals was in full array. Plants were many-colored. Warriors were strong. Maidens and Youth alike were fair and sensuous. Our elders knew of the tablets and could recite them by memory.”

S’gath exhaled and closed their eyes. I saw a tear break along their face. “I devoutly wish for a return of those days. But they are forever gone.”

“Found it!” Nanak suddenly exclaimed.

The two of us walked over to stare over his shoulder and see what he had found. In the side of the pedestal, a singular protuberance of rock extended outward awkwardly. Nanak scraped away the grass and earth that covered it, smiling up at me as he did so. “Go to the middle of the platform.” He commanded.

I hesitated briefly. Was I ready to do this?

Yes.

Yes I was.

I walked to the center of the platform, and turned to look back at Nanak and S’gath.

Nanak stood up and stretched, excitement filling him. I could tell he had waited a long time for this moment. “Now to wait for the right time…” He trailed off, looking at the sky and muttering.

A question popped into my mind. “Nanak?”

“Yeah?”

“You said the… thing. What did you call it? Anti-ness? You said it wanted us to go to the city at the sunward pole. It set up the Ultimate Truth as a lure. Why?”

“To spread it darkward back to your people. Its corporeal form had been isolated beyond the Great Range since the destruction of the Forebears. Now, after it has grown strong on the millennia of human suffering and fear from the Beltlands, it is time for it to begin its advent. It wants you to escape. So that it can sustain itself across the range by your thoughts”

“Shouldn’t we… not escape then?” I asked.

“Escape or not escape, sooner or later it will go darkward. If not by you, then by other explorers in your wake. You being the herald of its arrival changes nothing. Especially since you are accepting the Mantle. Yes.” Nanak sighed in defeat. “It will follow you home. It will likely accelerate the explosion of technological development that is about to come to your homelands. And yes, this is exactly what the people who sent you sunward desire.”

“You mean The Five? Yensir?” Finally, the secret society’s designs were laid bare.

Nanak nodded. “Indeed, they started out desiring the One, but upon realizing they could not grasp its true nature, decided upon annihilation as a way of reconnecting with the One. Pride has been their downfall. What they call “Integer” will be their undoing. You are the harbinger of that Integer.” Nanak looked up at the sky again. “Any last questions before the Mantle is placed on your shoulders?”

I looked up with him, seeing with amazement that the sun was fading from view, starting to hide behind… something. I couldn’t comprehend what I saw. It was almost as if a bite was starting to be taken out of it.

“Uh…” I spluttered.

“Yes?” A patient look crossed Nanak’s face.

“Wha….” My eyes widened as the sun darkened. “How long will I have to wear the Mantle?”

“Something on the order of centuries. The exact time is unknown.”

Centuries. My stomach fell and my hands turned clammy as I felt the weight of responsibility falling over me. I could still back out, I could still…

No.

My fists clenched.

I was done running from responsibility. Couldn’t I see what effect that had? I closed my eyes again.

“I’m ready, Nanak.”

Nanak’s voice seemed to echo through my consciousness as he stated quite plainly above the developing storm:

“First, listen. Second, reflect. Third, do. In all things trust the One to work through you and those around you. Forgive, forget, love. This is the Mantle. It falls on all, but on you it falls the hardest. Through it you shall be free. Though you shall suffer, you shall bring peace to the world. To defeat the cycle, you must work to grow the minds of all around you. You must fight injustice wherever it arises. You must help sentient life move past its fear.

“Remember: Trust The One.”

I opened my eyes to see the sun, now completely gone. In its place, a ring of wispy light surrounded the circle where it should be. Pearlescent white flames poked outward along the rim of the light-ring, each one frozen in time. A multitude of pinpricks of additional light were visible around the entirety of the sky’s zenith. I’d read about stars on the darkward side of my world before, but until now had never seen them for myself. In that moment I understood the titanic enormity of what I was witnessing. An entire other world stood between me and that light source. An open abyss of aether-suffused space exceeded in greatness by the void between that world and the sun. The size and vastness of the distances involved became utterly clear as my mouth fell open at the magnitude of the event.

“Haye Zintan.”

My eyes darted over to Nanak, whose eyes were in turn fixed on me. “You now wear the Mantle.”

I started to feel darkness closing in at the corners of my vision and looked down to see my legs… dissolving into microscopic glittering shards of glass. I looked up in comprehension. I was going back.

Tears formed in Nanak’s eyes as he watched me go. I barely heard his last words to me:

“You didn’t go to hell, Haye. You went to heaven.”

I closed my eyes and let the nothingness sweep over me. Peace filled me.

Bless the River, flow well.