Levana Lore: Part 5
Noctis Labyrinthus — Tharsis Montes Region, Mars
Link to Lore Part 1
It’s sunset when Zahava accompanies Immah into her home. Without being prompted, a ranger from Salim’s meteor hunting party joins her, as if escorting a prisoner. They stand in Immah’s doorway.
Immah invites Zahava into her home. The matron questions the young girl as she gathers supplies for the trip to the caves of Min’Aroth.
“Where are you from? What is that creature the rangers found you with?”
Zahava attempts to explain but is fascinated by the colorful glass bottles throughout Immah’s hut. They are scattered about, glowing with brilliant blue, red, and green essence. Some elaborately hang from the ceiling while others are stored on the floor in large, clear jars. A steaming teapot sits at the center of a table in her kitchen. It’s transparent with a deep, glowing blue liquid at its center. Immah grabs a satchel and begins to pack some of the bottles.
“Well?” Immah asks again.
Zahava tells the truth as her eyes wander around the home. “Levana is a dragon. I’ve known her since she was young. The Guardians found her in a meteor.”
Immah takes pause at the word dragon. Zahava further explains to her that Levana’s egg was embedded in a meteor that was discovered in the Lunae Planum region. The knowing look on Immah’s face turns to deep contemplation. She grabs a purple concoction from the cabinet in the back of her home and heads towards the door. Zahava follows her outside to meet the rest of the group.
The entrance to the Min’Aroth caves is a short distance from Immah’s home. Immah directs Salim and a ranger to join her and Zahava on their journey to the sacred site.
They travel by foot. On the short trip to the Min’Aroth, Zahava asks Immah about the colorful bottles in her bag. Immah grins at Zahava and says, “These are made from meteor dust, the same meteors that brought your Levana. They help you craft anything your mind can dream of. You’ll see.”
***
Salim studies Zahava as they travel along the base of Noctis Labyrinthus, a massive wall system separating the lower Noctis Fossae from the Syria Planum. He’s still curious about how they found her in the desert, cradled in the arms of a large, purple creature.
The entrance to the cave is hidden in a ridge at the base of a cliff, but Immah knows exactly where to find it. She stops the party abruptly at an outcrop of deep red stone scattered within the cliff ridge. As they walk amongst the rocks towards a small opening in the cliff, a colossal shadow engulfs them.
Salim looks up and sees the magnificent purple creature from the desert flying above. It circles as if it’s hunting the group. The ranger readies his spear in fear of attack. Immah gazes at the beast in wonder.
As he watches the beast fly, Salim is certain that it’s the same creature he’s seen in sacred Jayu art.
This is a dragon.
With its wings fully extended, the dragon slows its descent and lands on top of the cliff above the cave entrance. It perches above them and releases a loud burst of air through its nostrils.
***
Zahava senses Levana’s anger. Her companions stole her from the dragon, leaving Levana alone in the fields of Mars. Zahava understands her anger but convinces her to allow them to pass.
These people mean us no harm, she silently conveys to the dragon. The caves are important, and so is the meteor dust that Immah holds — it’s from your planet.
Zahava, Salim, and a ranger travel into the cold, dark cave with Immah as a guide. The single Luna-powered lantern she carries swings back and forth, casting light on previously mined structures. Cave passages fluctuate in width, at times so narrow that only one person can pass at a time. In other places, they find themselves surrounded by massive caverns with brilliant blue Luna orbs embedded in the walls.
Zahava is fascinated by the abundance of Luna orbs ingrained in the cave structure. She’s never seen so many in one place. Studded from floor to ceiling, the walls glow with the deep blue luminescence of Luna, which is activated by their presence. She drags her fingers across them as her party passes through.
As they continue into the depths of the Min’Aroth, Zahava senses that a creature is tracking them. It’s desperate — and ravenously hungry. She isn’t sure what to think of the creature, but it doesn’t frighten her, so she says nothing.
Eventually, the cave passage opens up into a massive underground chamber. At the opposite end, the group sees the splintered facade of an ornate temple carved into the stone. It’s the entrance to the sacred site, surrounded by detailed dragon statues and cracked columns. Strangely, the floor of the cavern is tilted. The group awkwardly walks through the cavern at an angle. To Zahava, it appears that the sacred site has been picked up and dropped on its side.
As they progress through the chamber, Zahava senses the creature approaching. She slows her pace to look around. In a dark corner by the sacred site, a colossal arachnoid scurries into sight. It stops and stares at the ranger. Reeling back its four front legs, it lifts its body and screams. It charges full speed ahead towards the group.
The ranger raises his spear in defense, preparing to strike the beast before it attacks them. Zahava sees that he’s shaking in terror, hesitant to act, and instinctively intercedes, grabbing the spear and throwing it aside. Behind her, Salim slips and falls along the tilted floor, sliding into the dark.
***
Salim catches himself as he slips, just in time to prevent falling into the arachnoid-infested darkness. He looks up to see Zahava standing in front of the beast, staring it down. It stops in front of her, and Salim is certain that Zahava’s eyes are glowing. She reaches out with her hand, and the creature appears to bow. They have made an agreement of sorts. The arachnoid retreats into the darkness.
Immah spots Salim and lifts him to his feet. When he rejoins the group to enter the sacred site, he feels innately drawn to Zahava. He wants to talk to her. He wants to ask her how she stopped the arachnoid. More importantly, he wants to know if she remembers him. But he stays quiet.
Immah guides them past a large, stone dragon sculpture to the hieroglyphics in the center of the sacred site. Together, they look upon an ancient mural and a large, ornate disk. Immah tells the story of the dragons as outlined before them.
The mural has been severely damaged, but it shows what appears to be a storied progression of an ancient civilization. The start of the wall shows a land showered in fiery meteors. A small purple dragon sits at the center, surrounded by rock. At the opposite end of the wall, the mural depicts a lush, green landscape with large bodies of water scattered throughout. All across the landscape, dragons are soaring through the skies, cooling themselves in the clear waters, even sprinting across the transformed Martian land.
Zahava is in awe of the mural, even though the center of the wall is too damaged to show the full story. She touches her hand to the wall and closes her eyes. Salim wishes he knew what she was thinking.
Immah directs the group to the large disk. It depicts a woman and a large dragon. The color is drained from the hieroglyphic, but it is clear that the woman wears a suit and helmet. As Immah details the history of the woman and the dragon, Zahava’s eyes grow wide. She places her hand on the disk, tracing her finger over the strangely familiar outlines of the woman’s suit.
“I’ve seen this suit before. My father showed me a drawing of one a long time ago. It allows people to breathe among the stars!” says Zahava.
Immah stops and smiles. Zahava returns a knowing look. The matron opens her satchel and removes the purple crafting dust she took from her home before they descended into the caves. She hands Zahava the bottle.
“Everything you need to craft your own suit is right here,” says Immah, handing Zahava the bottle and then setting her hand gently on the girl’s brow.
Zahava accepts the glowing purple bottle from Immah. It feels cool in her hands.
Entranced by the colorful essence, Zahava does not hesitate. She removes the cork from the opening, raises the bottle to her lips, and consumes its contents.
A few seconds pass, and Zahava’s eyes slowly begin to glow. She paces in front of a massive stone dragon statue, imagining the suit her father built years ago. Its protective barrier consists of ore and crystals, embedded with Luna orb material. The helmet is clear, forged from Martian sand into radiant glass.
As Zahava paces, Salim feels the sacred site begin to shake. Zahava’s eyes are glowing deep purple now, and bits of rock from the ground begin to shoot up towards her. Explosions sound from outside as Luna orbs free themselves from the cavern walls and hurl themselves towards Zahava. Salim and the ranger duck behind a nearby statue.
A whirlwind of dust, ore, and Luna orbs encase Zahava as cave debris continues to dart past the statues. Immah stands in awe of the sight, too captivated to move.
From behind the statue, Salim watches as raw ore molds itself to Zahava’s frame. Brilliant blue Luna orbs circle Zahava, radiating the sandy dust to form a transparent helmet. Smaller Luna orbs unwind themselves into strands that begin to weave parts of the suit together until Zahava is fully adorned, matching the woman in the hieroglyphics.
***
As the dust settles around Zahava, her glowing vision returns to normal. She surveys her newly crafted suit and tests her retractable helmet. She spins around, smiling at her companions.
Zahava reaches out the Levana with her mind. Now, I am ready to fly.
Salim, Immah, and the ranger stare in shock and amazement, speechless at the transformation that took place before their eyes just moments ago.
Zahava immediately prepares to leave the sacred site and rejoin Levana at the cave entrance. She now has the tools to continue the mission to Levana’s planet. Salim, Immah, and the ranger follow her out of the sacred site and back through Min’Aroth, but she does not notice them.
After all this time wandering, running, and hiding, she’s ready to find her true purpose. Levana’s planet is calling her. She will hunt down the meteors. She will find the other dragon eggs. She is the first dragon rider, but she will not be the last.
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