The Cycles of Revelation Series

Artifact of the Dawn: Escape (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)

Episode 15: Jevan and Ardyn flee back into the forbidden woods, hoping to escape their fate at the hands of their leaders, and to hopefully discover more secrets.

The hoped-for rain finally came a few days before the expected arrival of the Elder Triumvirate. At first, the day had dawned disappointingly sunny, but their hopes rose when the sky grew overcast by late afternoon. By the early evening, the rain began, promising to be another deluge that could last for hours. Ardyn and Jevan waited until it was late at night, when everyone in the village would be asleep and their guards would hopefully be less watchful.

Besides the two guards who were always outside his door, a third patrolled around the house, deterring any escape through the window. However, with the torrential rain, Jevan hoped they’d rethink going on patrol. Since Jevan and Ardyn hadn’t attempted to run, they hoped the guards would be more lax in their duties. They also hoped the guards would assume that no one would willingly try to run in the middle of a storm like this.

After their last meal of the day had been served, they knew the guards would leave them alone for the rest of the evening. No one would bring them bathwater in the middle of a storm. So, they felt safe enough pulling out their packs and making final preparations. Once Jevan deemed it late enough, they grabbed their laden packs, donned their cloaks, and slipped through the window.

When they reached the edge of the woods, they looked back one last time to make sure no one had spotted them. Then, clasping each other’s hand to keep from being separated in the downpour, they headed roughly northwest, straight for the heart of the Aria’una.

The rains didn’t let up for hours, and Jevan hoped it would obscure their passage enough to prevent the villagers from following them. Their plan was to go as deep into the Aria’una as possible, and hopefully take shelter in the small metal structure. Once the rains stopped, they planned to scout the entire area as thoroughly as possible.

They ran through the downpour, stopping to rest only when their legs refused to carry them any farther. They were both soaked to the skin and Ardyn’s smaller frame began shivering if they stopped for too long. Jevan offered to help warm him by holding the elf close to him. Ardyn appreciated it, although it didn’t help much.

When they reached the perimeter of the Aria’una, Ardyn slowed and looked up to locate the metal boxes that would alert the elders of their presence. Carefully, he climbed into two trees, one after the other, and using a rock he’d put into his pocket, he smashed two of the boxes until their blinking lights went out. Even though they were sure the elders would be alerted to the damage, they hoped it would be enough to slow down their ability to track them.

The rain continued unabated. They wanted to head toward the large clearing where the mysterious tower stood, which was easily a two-day journey. From there, they could get their bearings before beginning their search. In the meantime, they made their way to the smaller structure to take refuge and rest for a few hours.

Once they found it again, Ardyn used the key to get inside, out of the pelting rain. They stripped themselves out of their wet clothes, unabashed at their nudity. Everything they had brought with them was also damp, but not completely soaked. They laid out their rain-soaked clothes and grabbed their bedrolls, which were still dry on their interiors. Jevan laid his down and then grabbed the other to use as a blanket. Ardyn was shivering again, so Jevan held out his arms to Ardyn. “Come here,” he offered.

Ardyn slipped between the bedrolls, letting the larger man pull him into an embrace. “Th-th-thanks,” Ardyn said through chattering teeth. Jevan tried to speed up the process by rubbing Ardyn’s hands and arms. Slowly, as Ardyn warmed up, his shivers subsided. He snuggled into Jevan’s arms while the feeling of warmth and relative security lulled him into a light sleep. They were both exhausted from the night-long run, made more difficult by the heavy rain.

Despite the damp and chill, Jevan felt more content here, with Ardyn snuggled next to him, than he had in quite a while. He thought back to the last morning he’d woken up feeling content. It had only been a few weeks since he’d spent the night in that elven settlement, enjoying Taela’s company, but it felt so long ago now. Yet, even with everything that had happened, Jevan felt happier with Ardyn in his arms than he had with his most recent lover. It made him realize he was developing feelings for Ardyn. Feelings he usually shied away from. For the first time in his life, the realization didn’t terrify him.

Jevan sighed and then allowed himself to relax, drifting off to sleep with Ardyn still nestled in his arms.

They spent the next couple of days near the small structure, taking time to recuperate. After the rain stopped, they hung all their clothes over low-hanging branches to dry. The food they brought with, helped to sustain them while they waited, not wanting to venture too far into the woods completely nude. Once everything was dry, they went out into the forest to fashion some spears they could use to hunt. Jevan also made a couple of crude shovels they could use to dig under the wall around the tower.

By the third morning of their self-imposed exile, they headed back toward the tower. “There must be something more out here than what we already found,” Ardyn said. “There has to be, or why else would they want to execute anyone finding these things? Nothing of what we’ve found can justify that.”

“Agreed,” Jevan said. “Well, we have the rest of our lives to figure this mystery out.”

When they reached the invisible barrier, Jevan tried again to get through it, but it still repelled him. “Alright, let’s start digging and see how far this extends underground.”

Jevan dropped to his knees, digging into the ground and removing dirt along the wall. What surprised them both was when Jevan’s shovel went past the barrier, causing Jevan to lose his balance and fall against it.

“Oof!”

Ardyn watched Jevan’s shovel tumble down the hill. “I’ll go get it! I guess it is only keeping you out, not things you’re holding.”

Jevan groaned in frustration as Ardyn pushed past the wall and went to get the shovel. As he came back through, he handed it to a sheepish looking Jevan. “I swear I’m not usually this clumsy.”

Laughing, Ardyn grabbed his own shovel and started digging again. “Don’t worry, I think it’s adorable,” he teased.

They began digging in earnest, testing every now and again if Jevan could push past the barrier yet. After digging for the better part of the morning, deep enough for the top of the hole to be nearly as deep as Ardyn was tall, his shovel hit against something hard. Before he could say anything, he heard Jevan’s shovel hit something as well. Looking at each other, they cleared enough dirt away to see what they had hit.

“It’s more metal,” Jevan said, slumping in defeat.

Still on his knees, Ardyn stood up and clambered out of the hole before looking up at the gleaming tower. “I wonder, could this be connected to the tower? Does it extend underground somehow?”

Climbing out and standing next to Ardyn, he also looked up at the tower and back down to the bottom of the hole they’d dug. “You know, that’s possible, but how far? Between the two of us, I doubt we can find out, especially with these crude shovels.”

A sudden realization hit Ardyn. “Could that large dirt… mover… thing… could that have been used to help build this place?”

Nodding, Jevan agreed. “Yeah, that makes some sense. I wonder if it still works?”

“Well, there is only one way to find out.”

They headed over to where they had found the enormous machine and spent the rest of the day cutting away the rest of the overgrowth covering it. They finished just before sundown. “Let’s go back to camp,” Jevan said, looking as sweaty and tired as Ardyn felt. “Maybe we can catch some dinner along the way and then get some rest. We can figure out how this thing works tomorrow.”

The next morning, not long after they set out, they heard voices coming from a distance. “Climb into the trees,” Ardyn whispered. “As high as you can.” Once they were both up high enough for the foliage to obscure their presence, they waited silently.

The voices moved closer. The first distinct words they heard were from a male voice, speaking in the Medellan tongue. “Are you sure they came this way?”

Jevan recognized the voice immediately. Ard Mathias.

“Positive,” another male voice replied, with an elven accent.

From the sound of the footfalls, there were perhaps a half-dozen people walking below them. The elven voice continued. “They had sought to take down our detection grid by destroying two of the markers at the perimeter, but we replaced them. This tracker allows us to detect both Medellan and Athla’naa life signs, and according to this, they are still within the Aria’una.”

“We must keep searching for them!” an elven female ordered.

For a moment, the footsteps paused. Spying a face between a gap in the canopy of leaves, Jevan recognized Elder Taeglyn. He held something in his hand that glinted like metal, with glowing letters and flashing lights. Something that was undoubtedly related to all the advanced technology they kept finding within the Aria’una.

Jevan flushed with anger at the realization. This confirmed all their suspicions and was the most damning evidence of all. The elven elders were liars and hypocrites. Not only were they aware of this technology, but it was clear they knew how to use it as well.

The people below them continued their search, but thankfully, Jevan and Ardyn were dressed in browns and greens. From their position in the dense foliage, they were difficult to spot as long as they remained still. Eventually, the party moved on. Once they could no longer hear their voices, the pair clambered out of the trees and ran in the opposite direction.

Feeling betrayed by Mathias, Jevan fumed with anger as he ran beside Ardyn, who undoubtedly was feeling equally betrayed. Jevan may not have agreed with Mathias on the necessity of pair-bonding, but until now Jevan had respected the man, but not anymore.

They continued to run, but did not know where to run to. Now they had been followed into the one place they thought was a safe refuge. If they remained in the Aria’una, they would eventually be tracked down as long as the elders possessed the technology to find them. However, outside of the Aria’una, there weren’t many options for them. They could survive in the dense forests, but both Medellans and elves regularly patrolled their lands. There was a high likelihood of them being found, regardless of where they went.

A sense of panic overtook Jevan, not knowing where to go or what to do. He was so lost in thought; he wasn’t paying attention to where he stepped. When his boot caught on something, he didn’t have the chance to correct his balance before he was falling face-first onto the ground.

Thank you for reading. If you enjoy my writing and are not yet a member of Medium, for a nominal fee you can join and support me, to unlock more of my articles and all the content on this platform.