The third installment of the Edge of Eternities story introduces readers to the perspectives of two new characters: Alpharael, a young acolyte following the Monoist cult, and Haliya, a Summist and Squire of the Free Company who directly oppose the Monoists.
Alpharael’s perspective begins within a dream, where he and his sister, Raphaella, are falling through space. As followers of Monoism, they believe Sothera, the black hole at the center of their universe, will eventually lead everyone to a promised land of sorts, what they call The Next Eternity.
In Alpharael’s dream, Raphaella drifts downward, trapped in Sothera’s pull. She tells her brother not to be sad, that she is fulfilling her purpose and that he should be proud. As the pull of the black hole takes hold of Raphaella, instead of promised bliss, she cries out in pain, and Alpharael panics. Overcome by the thought of losing his sister, he subconsciously realizes that their beliefs are misplaced, and pleads for her to turn back, but it’s too late, and Sothera consumes her.
After being shaken awake by a steward on the Monoist spacecraft, Alpharael is given word that Raphaella’s transit had dropped and she had fulfilled her purpose – proving that an “…infalling inevitor can penetrate the Free Company’s defenses.”
With the omen-like dream still fresh on his mind, what would otherwise be a cause for celebration causes Alpharael to snap, and he tells the steward that he wants to die, and demands to be included in the next assault wave against the Free Company. The steward agrees to relay his request to those in charge and leaves Alpharael to process his sister’s death.
After having his request honored, Alpharael gathers with other Monoists who have either been selected or volunteered for the mission. The group then takes part in a ritual to receive beads containing what amounts to a portable black hole, and then, one-by-one, they load onto their dropships (known as inevitors).
Their mission, he was told, was to eliminate the Free Company’s flagship, the Dawnsire, that guards Sothera and seeks to reverse its condition. According to the other passengers, their inevitors would deploy “cherazad—a tactical event horizon” to essentially pause time long enough for them to survive a high-speed crash into the Dawnsire. Using this method, they’d have approximately 10 minutes to get inside the vessel and deploy their black hole beads before the effects of the event horizon wear off and the impact of the crash catches up and turns them to paste.
Despite his desire to die and be reunited with his sister, Alpharael hadn’t fully accepted the reality of his situation, and while the other Monoists were able to take comfort in their belief that the black holes would save them, the clarity from Alpharael’s dream lead him to the realization that either outcome meant death.
“All at once Alpharael realizes that he is really going to die. He wants to scream. So he does. He howls in raw terror and slams his head around inside his helmet.”
Switching perspectives, Haliya prepares her assigned Solar Knight, Syr Vondam, for battle. While covering the knight in protective fabrics and assisting him with the outer armor, Syr Vondam informs Haliya that they would be traveling to the Dawnsire to prepare for a potential infiltration.
Upon completing her squire duties, Haliya requests a short break for a meal with friends where they discuss the upcoming mission and share perspectives on their enemy. As Summists, the group believes that the actions and motivations of the Monoists are selfish because they lack the willpower to fight for a greater good. To the logic-driven Summists, the Monoist philosophy makes no sense, and only Haliya takes pause to consider what it is that they understand that her faction doesn’t.
“It must make sense to them. What makes the most sense to her, and to all the other squires, must make the least sense to the Monoists. This, she supposes, is why they are fighting an interstellar war.”
A short time later, emergency alarms sound throughout the cafeteria, blaring a warning of imminent attack. Rushing to their posts, the Squires reunite with their Knights and make for the Dawnsire.
Upon arrival, Haliya and Syr Vondam report to the Dawnsire‘s bridge where they meet with the vessel’s captain. Greeting the captain as an old friend, Syr Vondam introduces Haliya to Captain Slats – an Astelli being made of “hard light and internal reflection.” Being connected to the light, Astelli have the unique ability to send out and receive light particles as a form of data which manifests as extremely accurate prophecies.
After exchanging pleasantries, the Captain shares the intel they’ve gathered on the enemy attack and it’s clear that the Free Company has predicted the Monoists plan with total accuracy. After the briefing concludes, Slats’s demeanor suddenly changes and he states that the light has given him a prophecy that foretells Syr Vondam will fall in the upcoming battle.
Stunned and refusing to accept the news, Haliya pleads with her superiors to find a way to save Syr Vondam, but she knows that the prophecies of the Astelli are almost never wrong. Resigned to his fate, Syr Vondam does his best to calm his Squire and together the pair readies for battle.
Read Edge of Eternities Episode 3 in full from Wizards of the Coast.
