Revelations

She stood on the balustrade and looked out upon the cavernous walls that surrounded the entrance to their keep. The air was humid but she felt a gentle breeze from beyond - undoubtedly a draft from the gateway to the upper levels. It was silent but for the occasional hum of the light sphere that sat upon the ledge. She had stood upon this balustrade and others like it for months, a clarion call for the Holy Revolution. Rapturous applause had roared from the people, their hearts and minds united in their belief  in the eternal wisdom of the Albino Messiah, Jade Moonkill. Of course, there had been dissenters. Stubborn remnants of the old ways and those that challenged the authenticity of the interpretations, not just of the old texts but of the albino's words themselves. Those who openly opposed the Jadeist Interpretations had been dealt with in a variety of ways but there was no doubt that dissenters remained, hidden from view even on her own council.

They would use the news of Jade Moonkill's survival to their advantage, no doubt.

"Adherent........Jasmine, what are you doing out here?"

She turned to face the deep, accented voice. It came from a tall, tanned man with long locks of hair that draped beneath his shoulders and a long, decorated brown overcoat that fell to his knees. She nodded at him and gestured to him to join her on the veranda.

"Events are moving at a pace we did not foresee, Tuledo."

He shuffled uneasily between his two feet and followed her gaze to the tunnels.

"Of course", the man said, "we have only the Holy Calina's....belief that the vidi-film truly shows the Muzaii."

"Do you truly believe the Legate to be so naive? Surely she doubted the footage herself the moment she laid eyes on it!  It will have been checked, double checked. Even though I saw it with my own eyes, I found myself believing it in spite of my own doubts."

"My apologies, Adherent. I did not wish to challenge the Holy Calina or yourself. But you have not elaborated on the images you have seen since your return. Maybe if I had seen the video myself..."

"Even if you had seen it, you would not know what to make of it. They are troubling images indeed. Callous even."

She paused and looked into Tuledo's eyes. He had been a loyal servant of both herself and her guardian, Cadiz.

"You have read my guardian's journals, of course."

"Of course, Adherent. His words have been added to the teachings as we work towards the Jadeist Bible."

"Then you will know of the shadowy figure from our Messiah's past in deep space. The man known as Darrian."

Tuledo's eyes narrowed. The account of Darrian plunging the future Albino Messiah into a life of selling her organs for profit was one of the darkest tales of the Jadeist Bible. It had only been deepened by revelations from the Holy Calina.

The Adherent nodded to indicate she understood his reaction. "It would appear we have Darrian to thank for the survival of Muzaii. I can only assume it was his decision...."

"His decision, Adherent? I don't understand."

"In order for this ruse to succeed, a ruse that has fooled almost everyone, another moonbaby had to be sacrificed. A moonbaby almost identical in proportion and age to the Muzaii. This unfortunate young woman died from a fatal gunshot to the face. It hardly seems worthy of the messiah's mantra."

She saw him thinking, crossed her arms and watched him putting the pieces together in his mind before he voiced it : "I won't spill water so I won't spill blood....".

"Indeed. Therefore the ruse, the plan must have been Darrian's idea....committed almost perfectly."

"Perhaps....", he pondered for a moment, "...perhaps the moonbaby gave her life willingly. An early acolyte."

"A possibility. Holy Calina told me that he has educated the messiah and that she currently spearheads an insurgency on her own world. "

"Then that merely proves us right in our beliefs. We are doing as the messiah wanted!"

The Adherent glanced at him and then back to the cavernous walls. "Be mindful. It is Darrian that has educated our messiah. We cannot know what undue influence he has placed upon her. We may find she has deviated from her true course.....and we cannot know how many people were aware of the conspiracy from the beginning, or how many of the autopsy reports are deliberately misleading. Plans within plans..."

"And you have not told the Council any of this?"

"I have not. They are aware of rumours that the messiah lives. They currently suspect, as I  myself, that the Holy Calina is not as faithful as she should be. However, she has confirmed she will do what she can to ensure the Land of Rats will convene and our position as fugitives should be lifted. This will allow us to exert our influence in ways as yet unexplored."

"Won't some of the younger people be curious of what lies beyond the santwarju? Already some speak of venturing out to Al Raqis."

"Then we will temper their curiosity. Show them footage of the wars that have raged across the planet. Let them fear what they do not know."

Tuledo nodded in confirmation and felt that the conversation had drawn to an end. The Adherent nodded and smiled, "You can attend to your own business now. Your counsel has been useful, as always. Ensure Taryn is released from her cell but be wary of her. I found her behaviour unbecoming."

"I will advise the council immediately."

The Discovery

"We're approaching the co-ordinates, Adherent."

For a few moments, the Adherent did not stir. She sat cross-legged, palms outstretched in the centre of her caravan, the light from flickering candles dancing upon her face. She opened her eyes, one a faded green upon a blood shot white, the other a jaundiced yellow upon yellow and glanced across at the female.

"Good. Tell the others to prepare as best they can."

The female nodded and flicked back behind the curtain. The Adherent curled her hair around her fingers near the nape of her neck. Long and black, dyed deliberately to hide her white albino hair. It won't be long, she thought, before hiding would no longer be needed.

* * *

It was shortly before daybreak when the caravan came to a halt. The Adherent dismounted her caravan and strode across to the rock formation before them. An arch that swept from one side of the valley to the other. Taryn Al Sayal flanked alongside her.

"Now", she muttered in her leader's direction, "we find out if the scholars have sent us on a fool's errand or not."

"The scholars are wise, Taryn, but they can only work with the information they have."

"It would have been wise not to anger the Yiazzis, her help could have been invaluable."

"You know the Morloch better than I. She lived up to her reputation."

Taryn nodded with a proud smile before moving to the arch, running her fingers along the undulating rock face. "It matches the description found in the old book...". She stooped down and looked at the creases in the rock. "Created by intelligence, not nature. I recognise the handiwork. Old but definitely Desertborn...."

"There should be a cave ahead. I shall go alone Taryn."

"That would not be wise!"

The Adherent lifted her hand to calm her acolyte. "Have faith. Praise Musaii."

Taryn returned the refrain through clenched teeth.

***

The air within the cavern was stilted and dry. She had expected darkness yet found the cave walls reflected a luminance from further within. Glass in the walls from heated sand.

She trod carefully. With hundreds of miles of worm sand behind her, it would be unwise to throw care to the wind now.

The Inspirtu Jadeists, like the Messiah herself, had spent most of their lives beneath ground, figuratively and literally. Like a desert orchid, they had risen from the ground and blossomed in the air before the jackboot of the Concordat had fallen upon them. The Inspirtu  had left with the majority of the Desert Born, centuries ago. It was required reading for all Inspirtu children and she remembered Cadiz's calming cadence as he narrated the story to her on her sick bed. A young woman but a child in the ways of the desert.

She clambered over a small rock face and fell a few feet into a new chamber. The air felt different. Fresher. Light flickered from a tunnel beyond. With caution and no small amount of curiosity, she walked to the light.

The sand coloured rock began to give way to a grey stone. The air changed, the still dry air giving way to a refreshing breeze. A fragrance tickled her nose. She came to a round staircase descending further into the ground. She caught her breath, realising she had forgone breathing. Slowly she took each step, further and further into the ground.

And then she saw it.

*****

Taryn grew concerned. It had been several hours since the tribal leader had descended into the cavern. She cursed herself and howled abuse at the follower that had offered her his coat. She paced to and fro, impatiently. And then, as she glanced to the rock formation three hundred meters south, she saw the familiar cloaked figure striding towards her. As she neared, she saw a glint in the Adherent's eye.

"Adherent?"

"Do we have the route here stored in cartography?"

"Yes?"

"Collapse the cavern entrance and destroy these rock formations. Do it discreetly, as though by nature herself. Do it now."