Chapter 1
Orobella
Being born starts with dying. You may be lying among rocks or drifting in the ocean, seaweed in your hair. You already know you exist. You open your eyes, if you have them, and look at the sky. It’s always so different—red like mashed strawberries with cream. Violet, resembling a planet’s silk sheet. Or turquoise, foamy dreams gliding across its joyous plain. Like here.
But my favorite moment is to see myself. The first thing that comes into sight is some sort of tentacles, paws, or fins. This time, I had hands. They were green.
“Welcome to Instaar, Collector,” a translucent critter spoke to me from a stone among bulrushes. “I am Smoku, your guide.”
I had many guides before—indestructible creatures with ancient wisdom from all over the Universe. Sometimes they took the form of a light being, an electric current, or a musical note. Other times—of a gigantic winged feline shaped by stars. Yet never had I had one that looked like a baby lizard.
I stood out of the water and walked towards the river bank. Two legs. Mmm, I had missed those.
“Clothes and accessories, as per the latest fashion. It’ll make it easier to blend in,” said Smoku while pointing with his scaled head at the bundle under a tree. I opened it.
“A map, a pouch, some local coin,” Smoku named the items as I was taking them out of the bag. "They use the money system here.”
When I got to a knife on a thigh strap, a little gasp escaped my mouth. “What about this tool of bloodshed?” Even in dread, my voice sounded sweet and joyful like the song of a bird.
“It might make itself useful, Collector. This planet is not as peaceful as Samoriah. That’s where your last mission was, wasn’t it?”
I sighed a longing, “Yes.” My eyes closed at the remembrance of the loving whispers and blissful collective chant of Samoriah’s bloom.
“Collecting crystals may be easier if you keep your new form in one piece,” said Smoku. “A little dagger under your skirt will do the trick.”
My eyebrow lifted in amusement. Not only was my new guide a very handsome reptile but also a real smooth talker. How did he even gather all these supplies? The knife on its own was triple his size.
I attached the strap to my thigh. Murderous or not, I had to admit, the weapon looked good against my new form's emerald skin. “Oh, well. I’ll wear it,” I decided. "Just to blend in."
Having brushed the duckweed off my body, I put on the rest of the attire—a turtleneck crop top, seamless panties, and a double slit maxi skirt, all in white. I slipped my feet into lace-up sandals and wrapped the long straps around my calves. I nodded with satisfaction. Shoes were the true reason why I loved having legs.
“You will need those, too.” Smoku waved his tail at two silver cuff bracelets.
I looked at my wrists marked with deep cuts. “Suicide?”
Smoku nodded. “It seems like.”
I hid the scars under the cuffs without asking further questions. That was the first rule of every collector—not to inquire into the form’s past experiences. The body was empty and available for use, that was all I needed to concern myself with. The less I knew about its life, or death for that matter, the better.
I tied the pouch filled with coin to the thigh strap and unfolded the map. It showed an archipelago of islands and its name scribed in the antiquarian font—The Middle Isles. Smoku stepped on one of them with his tiny foot.
“We’re here, on the Common Land. It belongs to no one and everyone. No wars or violence can be performed here. Theoretically.” He pointed to the big port city on the eastmost peninsula of the island. “That’s Amber Fields, thirty kilometers from here.”
“Is that where the inhabitants are?” The chrysalis in my chest itched for an exchange. It longed to know what wonders this turquoise planet held.
Smoku chuckled softly, amused by my excitement. “Yes. Diving through shouldn’t be a problem. Your new form allows hydroportation.”
Huh, that was precisely what I loved about the planets covered with liquid matter. With the right body, you could just dip in at point A and dip out at point B. It saved a lot of walking. However, I didn’t want to get my new skirt wet.
“I will walk,” I announced. “Please join me.” I outstretched my hand to Smoku, who scurried up my arm and made himself comfortable on my shoulder.
We took the forest path, among the merry twitter of flying creatures. “What can you tell me about this curious place, Smoku?” I asked, brushing away the slim branches, heavy with blossoms. The flowers giggled at my touch.
“Instaar is rather underdeveloped, compared to the planets you’ve visited before. The Middle Isles are believed to be the center of the world.”
“Funny. They’d be amazed if they saw the real planetary core.” I jumped over a tree root. “What about the Instaarii? How are they?”
“First of all, they don’t see themselves as the Instaarii. They’re all divided.”
“Typical,” I snorted. “So they have those… What do they call them? Nations?”
“Tribes,” Smoku clarified. “The most powerful ones in this region are the Lasota and their allies, the Mazuuria, occasionally in the state of war with the fierce Dargiin. The Baykush are mostly neutral.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ugh, war. And what do they do when they don’t kill each other?”
“Train to kill each other.” Yet another chuckle vibrated through the lizard’s throat. “And when they get tired of that, they sail, fish, hunt, dance—”
My fervent new heart fluttered. “Dance?”
“Yes. That’s how they worship their gods.”
I touched my chest. “Splendid. That sounds like the perfect way to exchange a whole lot of crystals.”
“Indeed, Collector.”
“Orobella,” I corrected. “Actually, call me Oro, if you please. Have there been other Crystellians on a mission here?”
Smoku hesitated for a moment. “Yes, Oro.”
I clapped. “Collectors?”
“Mainly. But no one is collecting at the moment.”
“Oh…” My enthusiasm dimmed. Then I felt my mouth curling to the side and that immediately made me feel better. “I love this facial expression. Feels so sassy.” Exploring a new form was always fun. You never knew what features it came with. It would be nice if this one could fly. But a side pout was perfectly satisfying.
The path led up and down, unraveling an orchestra of colors and sounds with every step. The flying creatures zigged and zagged above my head, impishly diving into the air just to soar up before colliding with a tree. Or my face. A pink bird poked my forearm as if wanting to say, Hey, look how pretty I am.
“There seems to be so much joy on this planet,” I exclaimed. “Does it even need more?”
“It truly does. The Instaarii are not like these little beings. They are… complex,” said Smoku while stretching his weightless body across my shoulder. “Besides, Oniria is a special kind of forest. It has a mind of its own and loves to interact with its guests.”
“Ms. Oniria must be a sweetheart,” I concluded, my hand dancing with the pink bird in the air.
“No, it’s you who is a sweetheart,” said Smoku. “The more time you spend in Oniria, the more it adjusts itself to your mood.”
“How helpful.” I let the mischievous bird fly away. “You’re not sure why you’re salty, you wander into the forest for an hour and walk out all enlightened. Problem solved.”
“That’s not how the Instaarii see it. That’s why no one wants to live here. They’re scared of the forest.”
“So silly.”
Instaar was a young planet, its people still in development. My kind, the Crystellians, arrived here hundreds of thousands of years ago. We implanted crystals in a few of the most developed species but the experiment worked with only one. The second implementation happened six thousand Instaarii years ago. Now came the time of harvest. I hoped we had given the inhabitants just enough time to grow some magnificent minerals. That was what I came for. Well, and also for a bit of fun.
We’d just walked through a dense and very giggly thicket when I noticed the most unusual silky mandala among the branches. There were two creatures in it.
“What is this mystical being?” I asked.
Smoku licked his eye. “That’s a butterfly.”
“Well, I know this one, obviously. It’s all over the Universe. What’s the other one? Haven’t seen it before.”
“Oh, that’s a spider.”
I squatted and observed in silence how the extraordinary eight-legged animal wrapped its prey in silk and slowly sucked the life out of it.
“So sad,” I whispered.
“I thought Crystellians don’t get emotional over death,” Smoku remarked.
“Being emotional is the goal of our existence,” I said, never taking my eyes off the spiderweb. “But I feel sorry for the spider. It must be tragic to have to kill something so pure and gorgeous in order to survive.”
I felt Smoku’s googly glance on me. I met it with a question, “Right?”
“Well, I don’t know. It’s pretty, indeed, but a spider must eat.” He flicked his tongue. “And so does a lizard.”
I laughed and rose to my feet. “I enjoy your pragmatic approach, my dear friend. I think we shall be a lovely team. Unless, by accident, you eat me.”
“I will do my best to avoid such an accident.” He sighed with regret. “Once my kind used to eat sharks and crocodiles. Those were the days!”
“Mmm, tell me all about it.”
Soon the trail merged with a dirt road. We walked until the day star moved from the East to the West, and the sky burned in all shades of red. As the treetops bathed in the deliciousness of twilight, a sucking sensation made its way to my abdomen.
“I think I’m hungry,” I announced.
“We all are,” said Smoku, before licking himself all over his face. “Your form needs to be fed at least once per day. There should be a tavern right… there.”
A wooden inn stood on the side of the road, loud music and laughter coming from the open windows. “Uh-huh. That looks like my kind of place.” I strode towards the gate.
A few horses idled about in front of the building, plucking the grass. I approached one of them and put my face to its forehead. The memories of endless steppes and wind in my mane crossed my mind. And then… ropes, gates, and darkness. “I’m so sorry, my friend,” I whispered in its ear. “I wish you happiness.”
Smoku called my attention. “Oro, before you enter, a word of advice. Different tribes communicate among each other in a lingua franca called the Language of the Birds, offered to the Instaariii by the Great Spirit.”
“All right. I speak it, don’t I?” Actually, I spoke all tongues. A language was just a code carrying vibrations. Or rather hiding them.
“Everyone is a brother or a sister,” Smoku continued his crash course on the Instaarii etiquette. “The customary greeting is, I see you.”
“Lovely. Can we enter now?” I walked towards the entrance of the tavern. The wild rhythm hit my ears and poured down my veins.
“There’s usually a hand greeting to it too,” said Smoku. “I wish I were able to present it properly.”
“Awww...” I caressed his chin. “Don’t worry, my sweet Smoku. I will watch and learn. It’s not the first time.” I placed my two hands on the heavy door, but the stubborn lizard on my shoulder stopped me by nibbling my ear.
I was on the verge of losing my patience. “Yes?”
“One more thing, Oro. They won’t see me. If anything happens, I won’t be able to help, you know that?”
I knew. That was the first rule of every guide—not to get involved. They provided the words of wisdom and local knowledge, but if things got physical, a collector was on their own. Nothing I wasn’t used to.
Smoku continued, “Some male representatives of this planet might be rather—”
I stuck my finger into his mouth. “I said, it’s not the first time. I’m protected, Smoku. Don’t forget who I am.”
He made a coughing sound and jerked his head away. “I remember, Collector,” he said, only slightly offended. “I hope you shall never forget it either.”
I just winked at him and threw open the door. The room was hot and loud, filled with diverse forms, male and female, big and small, of various colors—creamy, pink, beige, brown... Not even one of them was green.
“There goes blending in,” I whispered through my teeth to the invisible gecko on my shoulder.
“I would give a shrug but I simply can’t,” he answered.
I walked to the bar, followed by astonished looks. A group of women by the entrance started whispering in each other’s ears. A lanky dancer crashed into his companion’s monumental belly, spilling sunny-colored liquid over his beard. One of the drummers let his stick fall off his hand. He immediately got slapped on his scalp by an elderly musician. I smirked. I loved the attention, each and every time.
I sat on a bar stool and watched the band perform, as casually as a solo green girl could. I took a minute, or maybe even less than that, before a peachy-skinned, wheat-haired “lumberjack” stood up from his seat and came to the bar.
“I see you, sister,” he said, his voice pure velvet.
I smiled flirtatiously. “I see you too... big brother.”
He choked on his beverage but quickly regained his composure. “Let my presence be a blessing.”
“It already is,” I coaxed.
He stroked his braided beard with relish. “I’ve seen people from the furthest corners of the world coming to Koliada, but I’ve never seen an exotic beauty such as yourself. Did you fall from the sky?”
“How did you know?” I bit my lip seductively. I had no idea what he was talking about but decided to play along. “It’s my first time to… Koliada.”
The charming giant took another sip from his mug. “I know it is. I would’ve noticed you before. The nights of the Winter Solstice Festival are dark and obscure, but some wonders can’t escape a man’s eye.”
“Aww, you’re just saying that because I’m green.” I playfully tapped him on the naked shoulder. It was time to read him.
A stream of images flew through my head—a clash of swords, ships on fire, dismembered bodies, a goblet of wine falling to the ground, an old man dying in agony, and then just drunken amok. “Hmm… What a pity.” I looked into his beautiful azure eyes with compassion before sliding off the stool. “I wish you happiness.”
“Wait,” he shouted after me. “Where are you going, beauty? Let’s have a drink.”
“Stop drinking,” I called out through the crowd. “Snail ale lowers your vibrations.”
“Lowers my what?” I heard him say. I didn’t stay to offer an explanation.
“Ugh, all over the Universe, developing creatures find the most inventive ways to kill their souls. That makes my work so much more difficult,” I complained under my breath.
“You’d better get used to it, Oro. The Instaarii don't like to face grief. They prefer to drown their sorrows in snail ale or skycherry wine,” Smoku said. He lazily climbed to the top of my head and scanned the room. He was tiny, and I was shorter than anyone else on the dancefloor, but soon his scouting mission paid off.
“The musicians aren’t drinking,” he announced with pride in his voice. “They must stay sober for the spirits of music entering their bodies.”
“Smoku, you’re the best wingman ever,” I exclaimed.
“At your service. Thousands of years of ancient wisdom shall not be wasted.”
I slid among the hot, wet bodies all the way to the stage. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Every crystalkind on every planet I’d ever visited looked for a way to travel astrally. The profound longing for an unknown source of their existence pushed them to create the masterpieces of galactic art. So far, music had been my favorite.
I let the rhythm sway my shoulders and hips in a spellbinding trance. I felt a forest growing in my head—little bells on the wind among the leaves, raindrops on the surface of the lake, thunderstorms and rattlesnakes... And something… Like a heartbeat of the jungle... A drum! Yes, it was a drum!
Its hypnotic sound entered my mind, lifted my soul... My legs stomped back and forth in a pattern I didn’t realize I knew. My hands shaped sacred geometry in the air. My lips sang a song I’d never heard before, yet I’d known it from the beginning of time. My body was a vehicle and I was a passenger. I opened my eyes to see who was the captain on that flight.
He was looking at me, his big hazel eyes full of conspicuous desire. He was tapping the heart of the drum with his palms. Huh, so he had lost that stick for good? I smiled at him and saw his aura explode like a supernova. He wanted me more than anything in his life. Let’s do it, I thought.
And so he played for me and I danced for him, the flaps of my skirt swirling around my body, swaying against my naked thighs. The louder he played, the faster I spun. The stronger he tapped, the harder I stomped. Breathless and lightheaded, I felt the growing heat in my chest. The ball of light trapped under my crop top started to pulsate. It was happening. The chrysalis opened.
I looked up through my half-lidded eyes. A whirlpool of golden energy emanated from my chest, a yellow-white crystal spinning in its center—my core stone, the vibrational essence of my soul, my JOY.
An energy vortex opened in the drummer’s chest as well. A dazzling turquoise stone, mottled with light green specs, left his chrysalis and pirouetted across the stage towards mine.
Tears came to my eyes as the two streams of luminescence tangled into a passionate knot, swirling with the speed of light, shooting into the sky. The turquoise gem floated into my chrysalis, while the sunny one merged with the boy's chest. An orgasmic rapture poured over my brain as I felt the power of the green stone reaching every cell of my body. What was that sweet, gentle energy that filled the mind with music and the heart with tickles? It took a moment before I recognized one of my most beloved crystals in the whole Universe—DREAMINESS.
I shook in unworldly pleasure—surely, an intriguing view for a bystander. Yet, my physical reaction was the only observable part of the process. No one could see the crystals or our little exchange, not even the drummer himself. It could only be visible to the eye of a Crystellian.
As the petals of my chrysalis furled, satisfied with its trophy, I faltered to the side, bumping against another dancer.
“We’d better go, Oro,” Smoku urged. “You should get a room here tonight. The first exchange is always exhausting. And you haven’t eaten yet.”
“Mmm,” I moaned. “This form... Such ecstasy... So powerful...” I walked with difficulty, my legs heavy, blind spots before my eyes. The music stopped, and I heard a tumult of female shouting coming from the stage. I turned around for the last time to look at the young man who’d shared with me his DREAMINESS. He was having a seizure.
Cold sweat dripped down my forehead. “Smoku… Smoku, we have to help him,” I gasped before hitting the floor.
The rest was darkness.
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