Rachel had left Ling Tyler to configure the solar arrays and had taken a walk through some of the more familiar tower corridors. She hadn't thought about where she wanted to go next but she had found herself standing on the lookout balcony, staring out to the South.
There was a stiff breeze outside. It played against her skin and ruffled her fine, black hair. She could see a long way from the lookout balcony, at almost eight hundred metres above ground level. Gazing down at the Grand Plaza, she followed the white stone South until the Kamari army filled her vision.
She jumped when she heard a deep booming sound, and looked up to see several Wasp Drones exploding in mid-air. Bright yellow flashes erupted across the sky.
The war wasn't going as any of them had hoped. The Kamari always seemed to be one step ahead. She thought about Lord Hades. He had been a Techno Prophet, spreading news of his visions of the Second Black Day. Hadn't he talked about lights flashing beneath the Dome Shield? His visions had tormented him for most of his life. How he must have suffered, knowing that something so dreadful was going to happen and being so powerless to stop it. Rachel could barely imagine how such knowledge must have eaten him up inside.
Hades had cried out in fear during his vision on King Hun's throne. Rachel had sensed that something was wrong, even then. She had asked him who had been with him in his visions, but Lord Hades had evaded her questions as he had always done. Had he seen his own death? Was that what had frightened him after his visions of the Second Black Day?
Lisa had asked Lord Hades if he had ever seen the Third Black Day. She had forced him to admit that he had not. Later she had spoken to Rachel about the Lasrecon, explaining how they could travel back and forth in time, carrying a prophet's emotionally charged memories with them. According to Lisa, Visions weren't really visions at all. They were just reflections of memories that hadn't yet happened.
Rachel shook her head. She remembered Lord Hades standing in the corridor behind her, telling her to accept her true self. She had denied his words for so long but in the end her fate had overtaken her. She couldn't hide from herself anymore. Only a fool would even try.
Now that Lord Hades was dead, she felt more of a connection with him than ever before. She was a sand lord and she was starting to understand his tormented life in ways that she had never imagined.
Lord Hades had dedicated his whole life to warning people about the Second Black Day and nobody had wanted to listen to him. He had built the Dome Shield with Lord Wembern to keep the people safe. He had worked tirelessly to keep the other lords out of the Orange Zone, pushing Central Command to make their preparations for the Second Black Day. The people had led privileged lives within the safe confines of the Orange Zone. None of them had appreciated the sacrifices that Lord Hades and Lord Wembern had made for them.
Rachel rubbed her eyes with her finger and thumb. She had complained about the lords like everyone else. It was so easy to complain and so difficult to understand the deeper sacrifices that had been made for them.
Lord Hades had always been on her side. She could see that now. He had only been trying to keep her safe. He had fought Lord Malkor, and journeyed into the Blasted Lands to buy her more time. Had he known he would fail all along? Was it all part of his master plan? She would never know. She couldn't help feeling that they had moved on to a new phase of history, a phase where she and her daughter were the last remaining sand lords to stand against the war lords.
What was Jacob's role in all of this? His army was based on knowledge and technology provided by the war lords. He fought his own battles but perhaps he served another's purpose in the long run? Rachel couldn't help thinking that Lord Malkor had to be behind it all. Lord Hades had made it clear that Malkor wanted her dead, though she still wasn't sure why. Lord Goran had told her that Malkor would never stop hunting her, and that no obstacle would stand in his way. War was all the war lords understood. Her own sporadic memories of the Iridium Wars confirmed that. They had fought each other for centuries, using ever more powerful weapons against each other. Eventually they had destroyed Megarothia in their endless fight for power and territory.
Lord Hades had been right about so many things. Rachel hoped she could understand his life one day. With sadness in her heart, she turned and walked back into the White Spear.