The Mirage on the Brink of Oblivion (The Epic of Aravinda Book 3) by Andrew M. Crusoe Page A

view, and pointed to it. “So, what’s that structure, Jyana? It looks important.”
    Jyana smoothed her hair. “That, my long lost citizen, is the Empress Monument, and few have ever visited her chambers.”
    “She lives in that thing?” Zahn blurted.
    “Yes. It is woven out of her own thoughts, in fact.”
    “So could I make something? Could Asha?”
    Jyana sighed. “As I’ve already told you, to build anything of appreciable size, you would need to drink ambrosia first.”
    “Well, what about something small? I’ve got to try this.” Zahn let go of Asha’s hand and cupped his palms together. Shutting his eyes tight, he imagined a simple cube as clearly as he could.
    “Wait, Zahn! Don’t create anything yet.” Asha said, grabbing his arm. “You might hurt yourself!”
    A dim light grew inside of his cupped hands. After a few seconds, he could feel a texture begin to press against his palm, and breathed deeply. When Zahn opened his eyes, he found himself holding a small, colorless object.
    “Smaller than I thought.” He studied the cube in his hand, suddenly feeling exhausted. “And that was… not easy.”
    “What did you expect, Zahn?” Jyana said. “Creating takes energy, hence the necessity of having the right fuel.”
    Zahn pocketed the small cube and took Asha’s hand once more. He felt his insides churning and noticed the edges of his hands lose focus. “I don’t feel so good. Is there anywhere we can sit down?”
    “Of course,” Jyana said. “I can show you to your rooms where you can rest, and if you wish, I can show you more of the city later. One moment.”
    A bright ball of light shot out of Jyana’s forehead and zoomed away, toward the floating egg.
    “What’s that?” Zahn mumbled.
    “Zahn, try not to speak,” Asha said. “Save your energy.”
    Another ball of light shot out of the lower part of the egg and flew toward them, right into Jyana’s forehead.
    “That’s odd. The Empress has prepared the sunset suite for you. Follow me.” Jyana turned to the tall cliffs in the distance and zoomed up into the sky, vanishing in seconds.
    A few moments later she bolted back down to where they were, like lightning striking the platform.
    “I’m sorry,” she said, “but I haven’t taught either of you how to skip yet, have I?”
    Zahn tilted his head. “Skip?”
    “Yes,” she nodded. “In this realm, our bodies have no physical mass, so we can skip along the planet like pebbles across a stream, effortlessly.”
    “How?” Asha said.
    “Well, how about we begin by you both locking onto my ident? As I move, you will move. Does that make sense?”
    “No,” Asha said. “What do you mean by ident?”
    “It’s shorthand; means my essence, my identity. Everyone has an ident. If it helps, picture my face. If you keep me in mind as we jump, you’ll stay attached to my ident. Since I’m leading this skip, it should be easy for you.”
    “All right.” Zahn rubbed his hands together. “I’m ready when you are.”
    Jyana turned. “Asha?”
    She nodded. “I’m with you.”
    Jyana glided up into the air, and they flew up with her. After a few seconds, they were soaring swiftly over the sea, and she called back to them. “Okay, just remain focused on my ident. I’m about to pull a skip. Hold on!”
    Zahn set his sights on Jyana, picturing her face as clearly as he could.
    In a single blink, Jyana’s body shrank, gradually regrowing in size as a torrent of landscape rushed by. Zahn felt as if his stomach was falling into a gravity well and held his breath. He felt as if he were being stretched to twice his height. Images and sensations blurred around him, and he felt like letting go.
    Is Asha all right? I don’t see her. No, I’d better stay focused on Jyana or I could get lost.
    As he considered this, Zahn felt as though he were moving through a strange soup.
    And then, with another blink of his eyes, it was over.
    Zahn found himself standing on a grassy patch of ground,