ATRIA

Her mind was still spinning from the whole encounter. However, those words kept replaying in her head, like a foreshadowing mantra: A power like yours could change everything. Atria wasn't so sure she believed that, but the universe wouldn't let it go, wouldn't let her forget it. Perhaps, for that reason alone, it was important.

She shook her head and quickly shut her window and her curtains, returning to the dim light illuminating her room with a warm glow. She went to the book, the ancient looking one, Idonis. Before Cassius had appeared at her window, she had been planning to delve into the secrets of the old text. Now, she had her chance.

With a small exhale, she opened the book, the cover creaking with age and the scent of must leaking from its pages. The paper pages were brittle but all remained intact. How old is this thing? Atria wondered. Her curious hazel eyes scanned over the printed words, the letters looking as faded and worn as the book itself; however, they could still be made out. With a careful eye, she read it.

"Idonis is a name just as much as it is a place. It is the name of a place, a special and diverse one. With the Vectreon Galaxy settling upon planets, the people with creative minds, ambitious hearts, wild souls, and persevering lives," Atria read softly to herself, furrowing her eyebrows. How could Idonis be a place? On what planet does this place reside? She was baffled by this. What exactly was this book suggesting?

"It's just a confusing, old book," she mumbled to herself. However, as she closed the cover of the book, her fingers skimming the title scrawled into it, she was submerged into a vision. An odd one at that.

She stood upon soft, fertile land, vast mountains lining the landscape and a hazy gray sky stretching for miles. Dark pine forests and crisp, dark-colored rivers, their waters indigo and crystalline. She was like a bird soaring the skies, her mind alight, her hazel eyes wide with wonder. Then she saw the people, sheltered beneath their shelters as a light rain drizzled onto the surface. These people, some with pale and polished skin, others with skin dark like the night, and every shade between. It was diversity like Atria had never seen. What planet was this, she wondered to herself. Then she was rocketing away from the scene but still immersed in the vision. Except she levitated in space, the darkness of swirling stars. Glancing around, Atria spotted the other planets. In the farthest distance sat Ojak, her home, the bright red planet glimmering with an angry radiance. When she turned back, there was only dark matter, emptiness on the edge of the Vectreon Galaxy. She blinked and saw the vivid images of the place from before, with such subtle beauty, and then it was just the emptiness. Then, a cool and haunting voice pricked the back of her mind, "Our home was lost, but not forever. We shall have our place in this galaxy once more."

"What do you mean?" she whispered in response, spinning to try and catch a glimpse of who was speaking to her, her body still suspended in the vastness of space, her conscious remaining in this astral plane.

"Oh little ember, hold on to your fire, or you might just ignite a fire too big to put out," the voice said, a man's voice, chilling and warm all at once.

"Who are you?"

"You shall know soon enough when I save our galaxy from damnation. Do not believe everything they tell you, little ember."

Atria's hazel eyes looked around wildly but she found nothing. Never in her visions was she able to communicate with anyone.

"Your confusion in adorable, though this isn't exactly a normal vision, Atria--"

"How do you know my name? How can you read my thoughts?"

"We are connected by the stars, connected by ancient blood, and connected by fate. It is only natural that I should know you."

"That only answered one of my questions," she replied skeptically.

"I do not read them, I hear them. I know you better than you know yourself, little ember. Do not let that daunt you. I have no wish to harm you. You are like me, and we are connected. I only wish to show you what used to be, what they took from us."

"What are you talking about? Why is there dark matter here? Wouldn't we have known of such a thing? What did they take? Where was that beautiful place?" the questions rolled off her tongue like bullets in rapid fire. Her mind was spinning, and nothing was adding up. And through all of this, she didn't even know who this man speaking to her was. He was just as good as a figment of her imagination.

"Don't worry, Atria, I am plenty real. I just choose not to reveal myself to you yet. Have patience, little ember. And I'm surprised you didn't recognize it, the place I showed you. Though I can't blame you. It has been far too long and I fear that all of the Vectreon Galaxy has forgotten. But they can't forget people like you and I, the ones who don't quite fit."

"I fit just--"

"No, you're lying to yourself and you know it. You feel lost amongst the others. True, you have the heart of an Ojakian, but you do not belong to them. You feel the pull that sets you apart, a pull that brings you towards a greater purpose. You have a greater purpose than you could possibly fathom, Atria."

"How do you know this? How can I trust you?"

"My name is Genesis, and I wish to revive what had been lost, to create our home once more."

"Is that what this dark matter is for? To create?"

"Oh child, this dark matter is what remains of it. This is the cruel fate our home and our people suffered. But they don't tell you of it."

"Can you stop being so vague?" Atria demanded, fed up with the riddles that had her mind reelings with a thousand more questions.

"Then let me make it clear for you. Idonis is, was, more than a place; it was a planet. Our planet. And then they took it from us."

"Who did?"

Atria could almost feel the sad smile in his voice as he answered her, "The government who oversees all. The Vectreon Planetary Assembly, the government that claims to know what's best for all, who build themselves up as if they're gods. They destroyed our planet and our history. But no longer shall we remain in hiding. I will create a new origin for Idonis and begin anew. I shall cleanse this galaxy of its sins, and all shall be balanced once more."

"That's an ambitious plan, but what does that have to do with me? Why show me any of this?"

"You shall know soon enough, little ember. Have patience."

Then the vision faded and she was back in her room, surrounded by things she understood. But she came back with more questions than she could fathom. She quickly hid the book in a drawer. She then proceeded to turn off the soft light that had been illuminating her room in a warm glow before she retreated to her bed.

As she lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling with the blankets tucked up to her chin, she thought back to the beauty of the world she had seen. Idonis. How could something so wonderful have been obliterated? How could it be that everything she thought she knew was wrong? How many other dark secrets was the VPA hiding? The questions racing through her mind worked to tire her out and before she knew it, her eyelids were dropping down over her hazel eyes, her world truly being submerged in darkness as sleep took her.

✩✩✩

The following morning, Atria didn't say much. She tried to busy herself with household tasks and offered to run errands within Hessai. She offered to run the shop, which her parents insisted she needn't do. She offered to do anything to keep herself occupied and to keep her mind off of the things that had occurred last night. Her parents may not have picked up on her off behavior, but Atria knew that Amias was skeptical. If there was one person who knew her best, it was her older brother.

Seeing as she was willing and able, Atria's father asked her to run errands for him within Hessai. Her father would be departing tonight, traveling the galaxy for his exotic wares. People thought it odd that he seemed to collect and sell things from all over the galaxy. They figured that he should've been around more, left a good impression as the Head of Household instead of giving in to flighty desires. They couldn't fathom the fact that he didn't have a fighting bone within his body. But the people's opinions aside, Atria loved her father and she couldn't imagine having anyone in his place. Her father, Eliseo Zamet, bestowed her with a short list consisting of fairly simple supplies to keep him going throughout his journey. He was headed to Draxt this time, the pale yellow, slightly sulfuric planet the home to justice and order.

However, before Atria thought she could slip away without anyone questioning her further, Amias butted in, "I'll go with her, just to make sure she's safe."

"Amias, I'm seventeen. I can--"

"Excellent idea, Amias," her mother spoke up, cutting her daughter off, and gave Atria a pointed look. It seemed that her mother, Ariadne Zahmet, wouldn't loosen her grip on her daughter all too soon. Her mother was a woman with a backbone and a short temper, feisty and proud.

Atria only glowered but knew that arguing was futile. She would just have to withstand Amias' berating questions.

"Great, then let's get going, Atria," Amias nodded, the motion signaling their departure. Atria gave a quiet sigh and followed her brother out into the daylight.

Silence made its way between the both of them as the two siblings traveled by foot into the heart of Hessai. Atria clutched the list of things requested by her father in her hand, her eyes flickering between the writing and the surroundings; however, not once did she turn to look at Amias. But that didn't last long because Amias broke the silence.

"What is it now?" he asked, giving her a knowing and pointed look.

Atria's hazel eyes betrayed her as they went and looked up at her older brother. She gave a subtle shake of her head, "Nothing."

"Atria if you think I'm that dense--"

"Did you ever think to consider that I haven't told you for a reason?" she retorted, a little more harshly than she intended. She wished she could've bit back her words, especially because of the shocked expression on Amias' face. "Amias, I didn't mean it like that..."

"Of course you didn't," Amias muttered under his breath, his words rigid like stone and cool like thin ice.

"Amias--" but Atria never got to finish as her brother waved his hand as a signal for her words to stop. She hadn't meant what she said. Sometimes she was just so confused and overwhelmed by all that she saw. So much so that she didn't trust others to help her. But that made her foolish. Amias always did his best to help and though he may not have been someone with Seer qualities as Atria was, he was more insightful than given credit for.

The rest of the errand trip dragged on with silence as the siblings gathered all things upon the list. It wasn't until they were walking back towards home that Amias finally dared to say a word. "Why?"

"What?" Atria asked confused by his broad an open-ended question.

"Why do you feel as if you can't confide in me? Atria, I would never forsake you. I am your older brother and it has always been my duty to watch out for you and help you. Why do you insist on keeping me away from that human right? You know that my only intention is to help you in whatever way I can," Amias explained, his forehead creased slightly and his eyebrows furrowed gently as if he couldn't make sense of her behavior.

"I know you only want what's best for me. You seek to help me. But Amias? This time it wasn't something I'm used to. This vision...I don't think even your insightful nature could puzzle this out," she murmured.

"And how can you be certain that I'll be of no help? You aren't even brave enough to try, Atria. You are an Ojakian: be steadfast, brave, and strong. Tell me what you saw," he replied. His tone was gentle and coaxing, reassuring too. Amias, above all else, was loyal--almost as if he were a Draxtian--and it was clear that he would never betray her or her visions.

Atria wanted to tell him about what she had seen, about what she had learned, about who had seemingly contacted her. However, a part of her was also nagging at her to keep her mouth shut. Though, if she didn't tell a soul, how could she ever truly figure out the meaning of all of this? "Fine. Later." That seemed a satisfying answer for him because he gave a brief nod. With that, the two siblings headed home.

Upon arriving back at the Zamet household, they bestowed their father with the recently bought goods he had requested. Eliseo Zamet gave a proud smile and thanked his children before getting back to packing his bags for his approaching journey. Meanwhile, Atria and Amias excused themselves all while evading their mother and any other chores she would throw at them. Atria led the way towards the safety and privacy of her room. If she couldn't confide in her brother, she couldn't confide in anyone surely. Of course, there was Gemini, but her boisterous friend would be the type to flaunt such information with pride.

The auburn-haired Ojakian closed the door behind her with Amias standing inside. Her eyes met her brother's, the same shade of hazel. That's when she let the current of words spill from her lips like an ocean wave crashing against the shore. It had been held back for far too long and while explaining everything, a small burden seemed to be lifted from her shoulders.

When she had finished, Amias blinked once, twice, his eyebrows furrowed as his mind thought it over. "That can't be right," he sighed and shook his head.

"But it happened, Amias. I'm not making it up," Atria insisted with a huff.

"I never said you were making it up. It's just impossible."

"Amias you're not even trying--"

"Atria, when have Seers ever been able to communicate through visions?"

She frowned, "That doesn't mean it's impossible. You and I both know that the Seers keep the secrets of their abilities under lock and key. They have always been vague. How can you so easily rule out the possibility? Besides, it isn't normal for me to even be able to see!"

Amias gave a long sigh, shaking his head, "Fine, but Idonis? Do you really think that the VPA would keep something like that from us? Sounds like propaganda to me..."

"But maybe the VPA had been giving us propaganda, keeping the truth--"

"You're naive, Atria. Look, your vision might be important, so don't sell it short. However, I find it difficult to fathom or make any sense of. I'm sorry," Amias concluded with a helpless shrug. What else could he say?

Atria nodded slowly. She knew it sounded crazy. She knew he wouldn't have understood. But she had told him anyway hoping that maybe he could understand. With that, she watched her brother exit the room, retreating to probably help their mother prepare dinner. Amias had always had skills in the kitchen.

With a heavy sigh, Atria sat on her bed. Her mind still pondered everything she had seen and explaining it had her brain fighting to make sense of it all. If only Amias could have understood. She glanced around her room, her eyes landing on her transmitter. A thought crossed her mind: just because Amias didn't understand didn't mean someone else couldn't. And she had one person in mind, someone who had been keenly interested in whatever Seer-like abilities she had. Grabbing her transmitter, determined to get someone on her side, she called upon Cassius Ignis.