CLEO – Ankratur

  Cleo woke suddenly, not sure exactly what had disturbed her sleep. She was still exhausted; her eyes burned even though they were still closed and she’d slept the entire night. Her body ached as though she’d been beaten with a baseball bat or three. Would she ever be free of the painful effects of her lupus? She hoped so, one day.

  Vaguely, she thought she’d been dreaming and then someone had screamed, but she couldn’t remember anything other than a nebulous figure that might have been the goddess Saskia. Her chest hurt, and a terrible sense of loss overwhelmed her, and she wept without understanding why.

  “I think that was a hurry-up,” a voice said from above her. “A prod, since you’re so slow.”

  Cleo opened her eyes and realized that part of the reason her chest hurt was that Mau was sitting on it. Somehow, the cat was exceptionally heavy. Thin streams of light emanated from the slatted shutters covering the room’s small window, offering enough illumination to see by.

  “Get off me,” she said grouchily, keeping her voice to a whisper so she wouldn’t wake Rosalia or Kalak, or make enough sound that they’d hear her talking if they were already up. She didn’t need them thinking she was crazy.

  “Well, you’re not a morning person, obviously.”

  Mau moved onto the blankets beside her, taking their time, relieving the weight and leaving a warm spot on her chest. Was it her imagination, or did Mau look a little scrappy? Their black-tipped, pale silver fur coat was messy, and from the scrapes and scratches on its face the cat looked like it had recently been in a fight and had come out of it the worse for wear.

  Cleo rubbed her aching eyes and yawned. Dust from the old woolen blanket tickled her nose and she sniffed, noticing that Mau smelled pleasantly like cinnamon and caramel, which was a strange scent for a cat. “I’m fine with mornings. I’ve had to get up early to take my medication for years.”

  “Come on, get moving. You’ve got work to do. The early bird catches the worm, or something like that.”

  She sat up and eyed Mau with exasperation. “I’ve just survived days in the Blighted Lands fighting undead and the Silent Legion. You’ve been no help at all! Some guide you are.”

  “You’re alive, aren’t you?”

  “With no help from you!”

  “That you know of.”

  Cleo glared at Mau, but the cat simply stared back. “What have you done to help me, then?”

  “This and that. A few things here and there.”

  Appropriately vague and nonsensical. She didn’t know why she’d bothered to ask. Stupid cat. No wonder they’ve been demoted. “What work do I have to do? I’ve got enough on my plate without you adding more. I’ve no idea what I’m doing.”

  “That’s obvious.”

  Cleo clenched her jaw so hard her teeth ached. With an effort, she relaxed as best she could, and forced herself to speak without swearing. Although this would be a good time to use the local ‘frak’, she thought. “I know I need to become stronger, more powerful, and then somehow help to stop the Corrupted Scourge. Any hints on the right way to go about it would be appreciated.”

  “You’re supposed to be at the Misk’Imas Institution.”

  “I know that! But I was summoned to somewhere on the frontier, and I need to find a way to get there.”

  “Then why are you lying around in bed?”

  “Because I have to sleep, and the last few days have been difficult. I know nothing about this world, or the cards, or anything, really. And I had to fight the undead to stay alive and even get here to Ankratur.”

  “You said that already. Oh, Ankratur?” Mau peered around the tiny room, as if the stone walls would offer clues they’d missed. “You’re a long way from where you need to be. My advice, since you asked, is to get a move on.”

  “Insightful. Anything else?”

  “You said it yourself: get stronger.”

  A goddess had told Cleo that humanity—because she couldn’t think of everyone any other way—was losing the drawn-out war against the Corrupted Scourge. She needed to do her best to understand the world in order to grow in power, as she was meant to be a wild card, a lone—maybe?—hope against the coming darkness that threatened to extinguish civilization. But not only that, she needed to become tougher. As hard as nails. If she knew anything, it was that she’d have to face hard choices in the future, perhaps even ones that meant a great many people died because of her. So far, the only people who had shown her kindness were Rosalia and Kalak. True, she hadn’t really met anyone else, but the thought of her newfound friends dying brought unexpected tears to her eyes. She wiped them away with the sleeve of her borrowed clothes. Fraking hells, she was an emotional mess at the moment. And bone weary. I need to be as hard as a diamond. I can’t keep crying due to stress. Wait, did I just think ‘fraking hells’? Well, I do need to blend in.

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  “Sorry,” she mumbled. Who knew that being portaled to another world would be so hard? Wasn’t it supposed to be easy in the beginning, gaining a lot of quick levels and stats and growing in confidence?

  “Cleo,” Mau said. “Look at me.”

  “I’d rather not. I have to eat breakfast soon.”

  “Not funny. Cleo, just… do your best. That’s all we can ask of you.”

  “But what if my best isn’t—”

  “It’ll be enough, or it won’t. There’s no point in wasting emotional energy worrying about things you have no control over. Do. Your. Best. You have advantages hardly anyone else has. Use them to your benefit. You’re smart enough to figure things out. I have faith in you. Even though you’re not the Cleopatra I was aiming for. I’m still not sure what happened there… maybe it was the third word-link, or maybe… ” Mau trailed off, staring at the ceiling.

  Word-link? “What advantages? My cards?” Even now, where it was unlikely she’d be overheard, she wouldn’t mention her Legend class card out loud, or the fact that she had two class cards.

  “Cleo, what language are you speaking?”

  “Er… English?”

  “No, it isn’t. You’ve been unconsciously speaking Low Imperial, which is the official language of the Korazail Empire. Though the nobles and people of note also speak a High Imperial variant.”

  She hadn’t realized… but now, looking back on it, something about speaking had seemed slightly off. “I don’t… is that part of my coming here? Did you change me, somehow?” The thought of having her mind messed with was frightening.

  “We gave you the ability to speak Low Imperial, since without it no one would understand you, and you wouldn’t understand anyone else. And your ability to learn other languages is enhanced.”

  We means Saskia, probably. Anyhow, this is kind of cool. But it makes sense that they’d have to accommodate for taking someone from another world. A minor miracle, or maybe just… magic. “How enhanced are we talking?”

  Mau’s eyes seemed to flash in anger. “Enough to help. But you’re focusing on the wrong things. You’re all over the place, Cleo. Get up and get your act together. Your task is important. Much more important than wondering how well you’re able to learn other languages.”

  “Okay. It’s just… you haven’t been much help. Saskia said you’d guide me.” Don’t mention the demotion. Temporary demotion…

  “And I will, once you make it through this initial period.”

  “You’re testing me,” Cleo realized. My ‘tempering’, separating the wheat from the chaff. I really, really, don’t want to be chaff.

  “Testing. Verifying. You need to prove yourself. Are you tough enough, both physically and mentally? The goddess doesn’t need a hero—sorry, a legend—that is hesitant and feels the need to discuss every emergency at length. You need to make decisions and get on with the job. So far, though, you’ve displayed admirable courage and strength.”

  “If you have so much power, then why is the Corrupted Scourge winning? Why am I needed?”

  “There are rules. Limitations. Placing a feather on the scales is allowed, but not a finger. We have to be subtle and hope that our agents can survive and prosper with minimal assistance. Furthermore, we cannot take a direct hand in situations and meddle. There would be consequences, and to do so would invite disaster. That’s all I can say.”

  “Who, or what, are you, Mau?” Cleo wasn’t sure she wanted an answer, but curiosity overcame her reluctance.

  Mau stood, then, and gave her a deep nod of their head, like a bow. “I am not sure what words to use, but you can think of me as a demigod, maybe an angel—whichever you like. You don’t need to call me ‘Master’, but it would amuse me. I also accept offerings.” The cat sat back down. “I choose this shape, just as Saskia chooses hers, because it pleases me and doesn’t alarm anyone. On the plus side, it’s good for sneaking around.”

  Cleo was sure the cat was messing with her. “Really? A demigod? Do a miracle then.”

  “Do not mock me,” snarled Mau.

  The room had been dark before. Now it blazed like white-hot iron. Mau remained a cat, but it was as if their fur had cracked like a dried river bed and some part of its semi-divinity shone through for an instant. It was enough to reduce Cleo to abject terror.

  In that briefest moment, in that glimmer of gravitas, she had seen age beyond her imagining, enduring since before the earth was formed and which would continue long after suns had faded; a mind of supreme intelligence and understanding; power that could extinguish a life as easily as a candle; compassion beyond her meagre comprehension; and a purity, a nobility of purpose that made her feel insignificant and crude. She also felt something deeper, almost hidden, than all of those, a terrible presence of the dark side of immortality that left her reeling, bereft and lost for words.

  Cleo slowly became aware that she was curled in a fetal position, clutching her blankets tight to her body. She shook uncontrollably, and hot tears spilled from her eyes. She wanted to hide, to beg uncontrollably for clemency and understanding, to run all the way back to her family on Earth and never look back.

  “I apologize,” was all Mau said.

  It took a while for Cleo to collect herself. When her tears stopped and her body ceased to shake, the cat was still sitting there, watching her.

  “Mau?” she whispered. “I’m sorry, I—” She wiped drool from her mouth and chin.

  “Don’t be. You are only human, after all. Well, now that the hard part is over with, and you’ve recovered, and your attitude has been tweaked, perhaps you’ll get a wiggle on?”

  “Yes. I will.” Cleo couldn’t think of much else to say; her mind still spun and her thoughts were fragmented. It wasn’t quite fair though, as she hadn’t been lazing around. But that’s life, she supposed. When was it ever fair?

  “You were chosen. You’ve shown me you have courage. You have your own body, albeit with some drawbacks; you’ve been given the gift of languages; you’ve been handed a Legend class card and another class card; and you’ve been given an opportunity. All that’s left is to ask yourself: Are you worthy?”

  Cleo thought for a long moment. She didn’t know if she was worthy, but she did know that this world, with its disparate peoples and strange card system, was worth saving from undead invaders. How could it not be? “I can’t judge myself,” she said, “but I’ll do the best I can.”

  No pressure, just succeed or civilization is destroyed.

  “Again, that’s all we can ask of you. Believe in yourself, and you’ll go far.”

  And with that, Mau glittered and disappeared in a whirlwind of swirling embers.