Chapter 49: 52. Respite and Disturbance Part 2

Ajax returns to Shaula with Angelidis, Sigvor and Dzan. Shaula is on the sidewalk out of the way, watching others enjoying the festival. She has a drink in her hand. It has a fruity taste that she doesn’t immediately recognize, but is sweet and refreshing.

“So, Shaula, how’re you liking the festival so far?” Angelidis asks with a happy expression. She knew that Shaula would enjoy it. Sigvor smiles and Dzan is surprised by Shaula’s own unreserved joy.

“This is my kind of place… By the way, have you checked out the scepter already?” Shaula asks.

“Ah, the scepter of the queen… that’s a rare one. I don’t know how this little festival got their hands on it, but I visit that exhibit every year. Still not sure if it’s real but it should be an accurate duplication, I think? Come on, guys, let’s go see it!”

Angelidis, Sigvor and Dzan walk towards the line for the scepter. Ajax and Shaula decide to accompany them to get a second look at it. The group moves up the line in a couple minutes and walks over to where it lies on the ground.

As the group of five now crowd around the scepter, Angelidis touches its fine engravings. The head of the scepter has some text on it that Angelidis has noticed before. She moves her claws over, feeling the nostalgia.

“Hey, Shaula, check this out.”

“Hm? Whoa… Ajax, come look at this, you see the writing, right?” Both Ajax and Shaula stare at the text while Angelidis speaks softly.

“I noticed it a few years ago, but I thought I’d point it out to you. I still don’t know what it says. I’ve asked the people who hold this exhibition what the words mean… some years back I think. They never got back to me. Probably expensive to get it translated by anyone talented enough to read it. My brothers thought it was the coolest thing they’d ever seen when I pointed it out, like a little secret.”

Angelidis remembers when she had come to the festival with her brothers once. It was a nice memory with them and her father still alive.

Shaula carefully examines the writing. The text itself is small and written in a way that hides it among the more complex engravings. It isn’t written like a sentence either.

Shaula and Ajax however, having noticed it, can comprehend the engraved words.

[The syntax isn’t like English or the Federation’s language. It says, ‘Life is divine’... and something…] Shaula surmises.

[The rest is scratched out.] Ajax notices.

[Maybe it’s a proverb?]

Angelidis notices the two of them whispering.

“You know, it’s rude to whisper like that when we’re right next to you?” Angelidis pouts.

“Ah, ahh, sorry, Jelli, we were just trying to decipher this–” Shaula grabs Ajax’s arm and gives him a glare. Ajax covers his mouth realizing what he just said.

“Wow, wait, so you can read it? Ooh! What’s it say? What’s it say?” Sigvor exclaims while Angelidis also looks at them with deep curiosity. Dzan stands around, his right ear perked up and listening while he tries to remain nonchalant.

Shaula sighs.

No use keeping silent now…

“It’s incomplete, there’s a part scratched off here that should finish the sentence.” She admits.

“It says ‘Life is divine…’” Ajax explains to them with a slightly guilty expression. Shaula and he had agreed earlier to keep their language comprehension skills a secret. It would be too difficult to explain how two kids living out in the sticks learned these really obscure languages.

Angelidis looks back at the engraved text carefully. She notices the part that’s scratched off.

“Huh, I wondered why it looked like that… How can you read this though?” Angelidis asks, looking over at Ajax.

“Yeah, people in the federation who can read Crawler are rare…” Sigvor adds.

“...That’s something we can’t share with others. I’m sorry.” Ajax explains, slightly dejected.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, I’m just glad I can read it!” Angelidis beams.

“Me too, me too! You two are really useful, aren’t you?” Sigvor says with an even brighter expression than earlier.

Shaula just smiles over at them while shaking her head in exasperation. Ajax had made a mistake letting that slip. But at the same time, it’s too much to expect perfection. They’re both still only human (as far as they know).

Ajax, Shaula and their group go to the next exhibit. This one is a sculpture of Gwasila’s right arm, located further up the road.

“...Holy fuck.” Ajax mutters, shocked.

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Shaula is quite surprised as well. They stare at the sculpture, a closed fist on the ground and a forearm and elbow standing upright. The fist is about the size of a boulder. The forearm is as thick as a large (but not Mega) tree trunk. The forearm seems to be covered in an exoskeletal plating that is black with yellow streaks.

The fist and the forearm are segments separated by a thinner but sturdy looking wrist. It looks like the joint of an insect leg. The fist also has five fingers and looks almost identical to a human hand.

This exhibit is not one they can touch.

“Don’t get too close, Ajax, Shaula, this may look big, but apparently it’s way more brittle than the scepter.” Angelidis says. This sculpture is hollow and fashioned out of wood and some metal. It’s just light enough that it can be carried off in pieces after the festival concludes.

“Is it… to scale?” Shaula asks.

“Honestly, I think so? But, no one really knows for sure. I’ve always assumed the usurpers are huge creatures. After all, the queen is massive herself.” Angelidis explains.

“It doesn’t show Gwasila’s size in the crawler art or books or anything?” Ajax asks.

“The art is very diverse and surprisingly abstract. It isn’t always a perfect representation either… Sometimes Gwasila is shown among his crawler children, sometimes it would show him creating the queen… But, his size would vary. In a few paintings, he would look about the height of a human. Other times, he’s painted or drawn three times the size of a crawler queen. In my opinion, he could be massive or small. After all, when he makes a queen, he only has to create an egg, not mold her from scratch.”

Dzan offers this explanation with a truly intrigued expression. Noticing how he’s letting his nonchalant mask slip, he coughs a bit and walks forward. The rest of the gang remain looking at Gwasila’s right arm.

Obviously, this is a human creation, but still the artists weren’t pushovers.

“You know, the first time I saw this arm was a few years ago?”

“Wow, this thing is built to last, huh…” Ajax says. All that wood and metal remained fairly sturdy for years. It looks almost brand new from where they are standing. However, if Ajax and Shaula were to use their visual powers to comb its surface, they would find some wear and tear.

Angelidis laughs.

“I came to the festival, to this exhibit, with my father when I was… 11 I think. I had begged him to take me. I met Sigvor on that day in line to see this thing, you know?”

“Oh yeah, I remember that…” Sigvor says while reminiscing.

“I remember playing with you the entire time while my dad chased after us. What a great day that was…” Angelidis smiles softly.

Shaula notices the depth of their friendship and smiles as well. The two of them remind her of Ajax and Shaula. What would her life have been if she had a loving father or mother like Angelidis did? What if she was part of Ajax’s family instead of… instead of…

Thoughts like this come and go, but Shaula doesn’t like dwelling on her past for too long. The milk has already been spilt.

After they leave the line for Gwasila’s right arm, the whole group heads to their next exhibit on another road. It is basically a showcase of the original depictions of Gwasila made by the crawler workers in Greiss’s aberrant hive. Some of the paintings are forgeries for sure, but that won’t detract from this festival. At least, not for their group.

The paintings hang in frames at various points along the road, interspersed with some food stalls. Shaula walks through the showcase while observing the paintings. They are often quite brightly colored overall while keeping the usurper darkly painted. The use of color is interesting, they actually look like professional paintings.

It is surprising that they were built by those arthropod-like creatures. Shaula is extremely fascinated by their society.

“What do you think, Shaula?” Angelidis asks.

“It looks amazing… I never thought it would be like this.” Shaula says distractedly, while looking at a painting of a black Gwasila floating in midair below a bright yellow sun. The passing around of Gwasila’s image was supposedly meant to be disrespectful.

Still, most of the crawler workers (at least at this showcase) paint him as a divine being. His dignity and grandeur is thoroughly conveyed.

Shaula, Angelidis and Sigvor continue exploring the festival, while Ajax and Dzan tail behind them. Both Ajax and Dzan seem to like being more reserved while walking through the festival. The other three are more fanatical and open about their enjoyment. All five of them go through more exhibits and games as the day continues.

It reaches about mid afternoon before they decide to take a break in Maz square. There are some concrete seats available, but the effigy burning in the square would mostly involve a standing crowd.

Ajax and Dzan talk about the divinities. Ajax had learned about them recently, beings that are sometimes strong as crawler usurpers. The myths claim that in the past, the divinities would protect humanity against many foes. They were legendary humans who could fight usurpers, wyvern kings, dragon knights…

A Divinity is basically the strongest individual of the heroic nobility of their generation. They are only designated and honored as divinities after their deaths, much like saints in Catholicism. Dzan listens to Ajax explain what he’s learned with deep interest. Dzan is very fascinated by all the mythology and deep history of Omicron.

Even if the nobles aren’t good friends to the beastkin, the divinities are still demigods in their own right.

Shaula watches them talk as Angelidis talks to Sigvor about what they ate for lunch from the various food stalls.

Shaula feels good today. The festival so far has been quite enjoyable. She looks over these new people she has connected with. Earlier she was afraid to admit to herself that these are her friends.

However, what can she say now? After the time they’ve spent today, they’re clearly not just acquaintances.

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