Rainbows in the Dark

[yutzen]

(Another from the archives, and first of the Subterraneum series, back when I was excessively ripping off Fifth City content. The characters and concepts in this story may or may not work like this anymore, but it doesn't feel right not to include it. Prompt provided by Impressions of Detail.)

Illegal colours, barred from membership of the rainbow by the Parliament of Hues, skulking at the edges of things and leaking furtively into strange pigments.

---

"A parliament...?" asked a deep, near-tectonic voice. The biggest of the two -- a towering, though indistinct figure on two legs -- leaned towards his companion to listen as she elaborated.

And elaborate she did, as the axolotl -- or something close to one -- strode confidently on despite the blinders of her goggles being completely shut. "A parliament indeed, Andronicus. Old-fashioned, unmovable and as irrepresentative as all the parliaments you and I have known, in fact." The shutter on the lens closest to him rose, giving the impression of a raised brow as she continued. "More, in fact, seeing they've had far longer to calcify than any nation's been alive."

The greater, burdened figure walked by her side, each step splashing audibly against the raw stone that formed the ground. To try and fit boots to clay that had never settled and would never, ever dry would've been a waste of time under their circumstances. "Zulban, a color is a matter of physics perceived," Andronicus pondered in return, "it is not something that could simply be outlawed." Doubt crept into his voice at the end, knowing his companion had seen far more, and far deeper than he had.

"So it would seem, wouldn't it? And yet, laws have passed against them all. Just like we would pass laws against our own potential actions, in fact; or rather, those of us with more power and clout outlawing the acts of all. If you're paying attention, that should give you a hint as to who the members would be, much as I don't have the specifics yet." Zulban's goggles clicked shut once more, barring what little light they had in this old, forgotten tunnel. She took the time to straighten out her frayed, tawny jacket between steps. "And another hint: Just like our laws, it does not mean its subjects have vanished, or that their actions have ceased. It simply means they are now punished wherever they are spotted, and whenever it is possible."

The clay one hummed, his own carved eyes unfocusing as he played with the frills of his tattered opera cloak -- the one piece of clothing he could retrieve in his flight -- before he arrived to a conclusion he could speak: "I imagine we get a bit of both down here, and thus we can actually work with such hues." At a nod from the artist, he continued: "Still, these colors, where exactly do they fit in the spectrum we know, just to clarify that at last?"

"Let us start from what we know, mm? There is far more to light than just a narrow band from 38 to 75, any common scientist would tell you so. Luminosity comes in many forms." She made motions with her hands, outlining an imaginary line; a paintbrush remained tucked under her thumb, dry and ready, yet seemingly forgotten. "But that, what we'd call a spectrum, is only a singular plane, of greater and lesser frequencies. It covers all such Radiance in that plane, of course... But, there are more directions on a map than simply four. There are more directions in our existence than can be fit to X, Y and Z. And, just like that, there are far more directions for Radiance to take than simply "less" and "more". A simple idea, yet with so many branching possibilities, don't you think?"

Andronicus lagged behind for just a moment, processing the implications. His cracked brow furrowed, dust falling from his features -- not that they'd ever been worn down by such expressions -- as he got his thoughts together. Once he was done, he caught up with earth-rattling steps. "Practically infinite, truly... though, and do excuse me if I sound like you for a moment, wouldn't such an infinity be like all the others, entirely unreachable to us? Your eyes weren't made to catch these outside lights, these... illegal colors. They don't even work outside the seven everyone already knows."

Zulban smiled, her lustrous violet frills flaring out as the shutters of her goggles opened to mid-height. Of course she had a function to make these things look smug. "But that is where you are wrong, Andronicus. Not one of those hues would've been addressed, let alone outlawed, if there was no chance they would've ever been perceived. Even in those bands outside our eyes' purview, there is something one can catch. And there are ways to stretch out one's vision towards those yet-uncharted territories, too. One must catch the first to proceed towards the next. And we have caught the first." She clenched her slimy fist triumphantly, as if she had caught such lights in her palm all by herself.

"An incomplete perception, then? That would explain why the seven you like look so much like actual colors, at least at the first glance." The construct's mind went back to part of her luggage, the seven flasks and the easel that'd carry their hues. All seven so similar to colors he already knew to the point their names called back to them, and yet at a glance, even the blind could tell they were different. And they had such effects upon those who saw them, let alone touched them... Yet the final meaning of it made him sigh, a heavy statement for one who needn't breathe. "Suppose this means your work will antagonize even more than I thought, if you'll weave such colors into your art. What's yet another law to break by now, isn't it? Induction of mass hysteria, introduction of forbidden ideas, and now what, harboring and aiding unlawful colors?"

The shutters narrowed until only the faintest slit could be seen of her lidless eyes. "Andronicus, you hardly need to take that tone with me, knowing your particular existence is a grey area, if not a transgression all by itself. Your creation was certainly a lawless matter, you made that quite clear. Especially to your maker, mm?"

Her companion's grumble made clear she had entirely defused his sarcasm. And at the sound, she continued without skipping a beat. "Nevertheless, you are correct. After all, art should go further, should it not? Having some constraints helps, but one must cross a line or another if one wants to say something new, to get others to think at last!" The brush still in Zulban's hand was finally addressed, now held in a proper painting grip and motioning through the air as it outlined her visions. "You've already seen what I've achieved just transgressing the limits these ill-named kingdoms imposed upon us both. What we have achieved. All with just the two of us, rather than the troupe I intend..."

The axolotl opened the shutters further, just to stare at her own brush. Her scarlet eyes were distant as she spoke. "And all with just the seven colors I've discovered in the lightless depths, lightless and yet Radiant still. Just the seven colors I could coax into their pigments, given sanctuary in my paints so that they may be freed." Zulban's expression went from a smirk, to a smile, to a blazing grin in reaction to whatever she saw in her own brush. "Each of them, applied just right so that it'd have the impact I desired upon our audience, upon the world. Our escape, our defiance to the Subterraneum's powers, our battles against law and outlaw alike, all achieved with just my little rainbow in the dark. Just one. Imagine how many more there may be..." The shutters were fully open now, her eyes practically burning with vision. "And I've yet to master this one. Imagine what the mixtures could do. Just two colors could achieve much. And imagine, for one moment, the entirety of the spectrum! For every rainbow has its white light before it's split, does it not? Imagine, imagine for one moment, what such a light could achieve!"

In the face of such manic inspiration, all the construct could do was remain grounded, and be her tether. "Zulban... you do know you cannot mix colors in light the way you do in paint, yes? There'd be no white light, you'd only get black paint." he said with a raised brow, with the thought he was perhaps being too grounded and mundane. Whatever worked to bring Zulban back to the ground, he answered to himself.

And yet it didn't seem to work. Her expression didn't drop; it merely softened, with shutters lowering back to half-lidded and that grin turning into a smug, closed smile. "Andronicus, may I remind you of what I said about Radiance having far more directions than just less and more? There is an inherent paradox in that detail that I very much look forward to exploring... you'll see, dear companion, you will see first of them all."

Quieting at what seemed like an outright threat, Andronicus simply walked along with her, wondering just what this mad artist would find, and just what pieces he'd be witness to now that their fates were tied together... though her voice barged into his thoughts one last time, with one last statement that almost made him flinch.

"Andronicus, when we have time and refuge, I'll be using the black velvet we packed. I believe our little conversation just gave me an idea~."