Touchstone 1 - Stray

moon, Muina, seven night there. Was still walking river then, no buildings. Just seem like moon to me, bit bigger bluer Earth moon, three quarter full.” I paused. “You know has hole in yes?”
    “Yes. Go on.”
    I flipped a few more pages. “Reach village thirteenth day. Moon come out every eight day, so came out after been there couple day, was full. Was sitting on roof tower when rose. Buildings began glow. Faint first, then too strong normal. In centre all roof there circle – rosette? Pattern. All building there have. It glow much strong than rest building. Light – aether – start flow out from circle. I right next circle, touch flow light. Was cold, but made feel warm. Effect like alcohol. After while saw that bigger light centre village. Followed aether there. Think it was flow up hill. In centre village there amphitheatre. Very big circle there. And cats. Cats not there that night, just huge lot liquid moonlight. Centre circle make column light. Very drunk by then. Went stood in column. Passed out. Woke there next day. Felt good.”
    I sighed, flipping more pages. My moonlight adventures made me sound like a total idiot. “Few days later, sick. Cold all time. Liquid in chest. Fever.” I paused, thinking back over the few confused fragments I could call to mind. “Was maybe die. Not conscious most time, several days. Then again moonfall. Too sick move, don’t remember much that. Could see aether fall past window. Made feel warm. Easier breathe. Much better next day. Able move.”
    The next entry made me frown, and I said doubtfully. “Not sure this. Eyesight strange after. Some things blurry, some not. Thought had damaged. Next day, thought being watch. Feel something behind, see movement corner eye. Thought go insane, imagine monsters. Next day, lots noise, like hills wailing. Ddura, guess. Couldn’t see where come from. Sounds go away, so did feeling watch everywhere. Eyes still blurry. Two day later, Setari show up.” I glanced at Ruuel, who had gone back to being impassive, but was watching me very closely. “Don’t remember eyes blurry since ten thousand injections. Is all.”
    “You could hear the Ddura from real-space?” Selkie asked, with a queer note to his voice.
    “Loud. Loudest thing ever heard. Like unhappy mountain.”
    “I cannot–” someone began, sounding hugely pissed off, but stopped, then said in a sharp but less obviously hostile tone: “Have you observed any other relevant phenomena?”
    The ‘speaking’ indicator told me the person’s name was Lakrin, but I don’t have the access to look up more details about people.
    I was wary of just saying ‘no’. “Not obvious,” I said eventually. “Ddura. On Earth have polar aurora, look like Ddura, but lot bigger. But not make noises. Nothing about Ionoth. Is just, uh, something do radiation from sun? How know whether relevant? Is relevant every place go have cats? Nothing obvious relevant.”
    “And two worlds’ worth of observations an expansive topic,” said another voice, a woman called Notra. “The youngster is still in the medical facility, is she not? I will revisit the question of other detail with her separately.”
    “Very well,” Selkie said, and then I was cut from the channel. Military people are like that.
    I started to close my diary, but Ruuel slid it out of my hands. Military people are like that, too.
    “Symbol Sight can let read?” I asked, sounding nearly as unenthused about that idea as I actually was.
    “Not usefully.”
    He turned several pages back, then pressed two fingertips to one of the pages and closed his eyes. Whatever he was doing – presumably using one of the ‘Sights’ – didn’t seem to be easy, and little lines of effort or pain appeared around his mouth. But he didn’t do anything more dramatic than that, and after a while opened his eyes and handed my diary back.
    “Since Tare found a way to travel through the spaces, we have not encountered our equal in technology,” he said, voice measured. “It leads to an assumption that there is little we can learn from those who have not the same achievements. Base stupidity not to debrief you fully about your experiences on Muina. But no sense on your part to assume in return that we know everything about a planet that we are only permitted to visit under exceptional circumstances for a few short hours.”
    It was hard to argue the point, so I said: “Fair enough,” and he nodded and left me to feel annoyed at him