children, …" Karin began, "you understand better than the rest." She caught the stares of a few. Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus. Arcas. Ersa. They seemed exhausted. "We're going to need your help in the coming days. Some of you have younger siblings already, but we'll need you to treat everyone like your younger brothers and sisters, alright?" A few of the children nodded.
"I want mommy," a girl said. Her older sister tried to shush her but the little one became indignant, "No, Asteria! Where is mommy?"
"Quiet!" she said.
Karin knelt down and looked at the younger girl. "What's your name?"
She said, "Leto."
Baraz nodded. Coeus and Phoebe's daughter. "I'm very sorry, Leto, but … your parents are not coming back."
The girl's face soured and her eyes began to water. She opened her mouth to speak but a little boy several seats over said, "I told you!"
"Shh," Gaia said. "Quiet."
Leto flopped over onto Asteria's arm. When Karin stood up she looked at the boy who yelled. It was Zeus. Unconsciously, Baraz found herself staring at him.
Zeus noticed and said, almost whispering, "Everyone's mommy and daddy is dead." Gaia touched him to quiet him, but he kept talking. "I saw mine. They were on the floor."
Karin nodded and tried to swallow past her own clenching throat. "Yes, Zeus. That's enough now."
"I want to go home," someone said.
"I know," Baraz said. She took a step toward Gaia and looked into her eyes. The deep, dark brown was especially reflective. She was ready to cry, too. Karin cleared her throat and spoke low enough for only Gaia to hear, "They can't go home again." She nodded. "It's not safe here."
Gaia licked her lips and turned to face the door as she spoke, "Caesar will try again. He wants the materials needed to become a Psilon." She glanced back at the children and added, "He may want to finish what he started."
"I'm not certain this was only the Caesar's doing." Gaia's eyes narrowed for a moment until she thought the same name that Karin had. Baraz inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. "We need to leave."
L
THE MESSENGERS
133 Years Before the End
"Shh," Minah said. She kept her finger against her lips and turned to the crack. The moonlight created a bar across her face. She didn't get too close. They were all lying in the dirt under the planks of an old walkway in front of a store.
"Audivistine aliquid?" a centurion asked.
"Cur?" another soldier answered.
The centurion looked from the storefront and into the night. "Ego aliquid audivi."
He stepped onto the planks above Minah's legs. Dust fell from it onto her. Some fell in her face. She turned her head, hoping she wouldn't have to sneeze. God help us, she thought.
Suddenly, the men jerked their heads and ran off the walkway.
Minah listened carefully. She could hear their steps on dirt, receding. She turned back to her three children. She could barely see them, but she knew they were scared and hungry.
"Mommy."
A chill ran down Minah's spine and she turned back to the crack in the planks. She looked through and saw Nami standing above her.
"Come on. They've gone."
Gaber took in a deep breath and shuddered as she did so. She tapped the legs of her children and began to shimmy out from under the walkway. She looked across the path and saw no one, so she emerged first. When she stood erect, she saw Nami standing there, smiling. It was disconcerting, to say the least. But this wasn't the only time her late daughter had appeared to her to help them escape the Tiberians.
"You have to go west," the young girl said. Gaber looked back at the walkway and watched the last of her children leave it. They brushed themselves off and Minah waved them forward. "The trees? You see them?"
The children ran along the side of the building, in front of Minah and therefore easily within sight of Nami. They didn't react. It was confirmation, again, that only Minah could see the girl.
Gaber nodded and began to follow. She whispered, "They seem far."
"About a kilometer," Nami said as she ran alongside Minah. "There are small areas with bushes along the way. You can duck inside those easily enough until you get to the trees."
Minah looked back at the small town they left. "The soldiers?"
Nami smiled and said, "They're busy watching the people captive inside the church. And keeping an eye on the river north of the town."
"Where are we going?" her oldest son said.
"To those trees. We'll hide in bushes along the way."
They began to run.
Gaber glanced around and didn't see Nami. A minute or so later, they reached the first clutch of shrubs. They leapt down a small slope and into them. A couple of birds flew away into the starry sky. Minah closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath.
"Mom?" her daughter said as she held out a bottle of water. Gaber nodded and took a sip.
A moment later, they looked out from under the branches of the plants, saw no one, and ran to the next hiding place.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived in the forest. The trees were tall and the ground was covered in leaves, acorns and needles. It crunched as they walked and the children seemed nervous.
"Tell them not to worry," Nami said. "There's no one around."
Minah smiled, "It's fine. Just walk." Reluctantly, they did, but they still stalked from tree trunk to tree trunk, looking around, just in case.
"Keep walking until dawn," Nami said. "After the sun's up, you'll leave the forest and find yourself on a road." Minah slowed down and watched the girl speak. "Thousands of refugees will be on their way to Ghassan. There are camps there taking care of people, giving them food …"
"The Caesar hasn't invaded Ghassan?" Minah asked.
Nami shook her head. "Not yet. You'll have time to gather your strength and then we can move west again."
Minah sighed and nodded once. She trotted a bit to catch up to her children. When she did, she glanced back and saw that Nami was gone.
The Messenger watched, however, as the family continued their march. For hours it kept guard until they joined the caravan of weary souls on the long road west.
The being felt the call of its companion and it departed.
"The echoes begin to fade," the Messenger said.
The other tender just arrived and looked toward the field of battle. Tiberian soldiers walked over the corpses of Naban's meager resistance. While the invaders carried automatic weapons and fought alongside Cyclops, the dead had no armor at all and little more than hunting rifles. "You have seen much death."
"I have walked as both victor and defeated. I have led soldiers to their goals … I have led victims from doom."
"You have saved many of them."
"For a time," the male said softly. "I have spared many thousands one day only to have most killed on another."
The Messenger moved toward her companion. She took the form of Minah Gaber and sought to comfort her fellow tender in a motherly way. "I, too, sense the death of humanity. Do not forget that humanity is the tree … though I find branches that continue to grow."
The first being seemed confused and he looked up, "This gives you hope?"
"It does." They drifted into the battlefield and passed a squadron of marching machines. The beings stared at them as they moved before alighting near the body of a fallen commander. "You are focused on all of humanity."
"I am."
"You cannot see the drops in the ocean." The other being was confused as the first continued, "Some time ago, you tried to change the path of an individual."
"I failed."
"Yes, but your aim was not off. Your methods were not wrong for I have employed them myself."
The Messenger paused and then said, "You have been observing and influencing beings with limited sway on the growth of all."
"Perhaps." She gave up Ga
ber's appearance and glowed with her usual blank energy. "But through my presence with individuals, I have a greater understanding of the whole. And do not discount the effect of … 'limited' individuals on all the world."
The despondent tender began to understand. "Do you believe I should take up with an individual? To see things through their lives?"
"I do. And not just theirs, but those who follow that line, as well. When one life ends, there are others that may grow on from them."
"I will try."
LI
TITANS
131 Years Before the End
"For too long, Ghattaffan has been kept down." Tethys continued to stare into the camera and she tried her best to ignore the crowds of generals and advisers behind it. "Alabor and Arkaim struggled over this land for centuries. I know you would scoff and say, 'Now Tiber is here.'" She shook her head. "This is different."
Tethys lifted her head and managed a slight, confident smile. "Yes, Tiber is here. Yes, the citizens of Ghattaffan are on the path toward citizenship in the Empire. Beyond these things, Ghattaffan is now in a position to rule itself. For the first time in centuries, this nation can rid itself of the things that poison it from the inside. Once these toxins have been expelled, Ghattaffan can grow and flourish."
The people in the room applauded and pre-recorded crowd noise was added, too.
"Unsavory elements have usurped the will of the people. These minorities managed to corrupt the former leadership of Ghattaffan into accepting their ways to the detriment of the majority. This cannot stand. This should not stand. This will not stand under my rule." There was applause again and Tethys raised her hand to quiet it. "Effective today, I am