Alyssum: The Voices of the Shattered Sun – Chapter Eight

May 22, 2023 / birdjericho

Praeceptor

– Two Days Later –

Aeo had seen a bighorn once before. A few months back, some guild hunters came to Olvaren herding one they had captured to the slaughterhouse. Ten times as large as a full-grown horse and adorned with two gigantic gravel-gray horns, such gigantic caprines were much more than livestock. And much more wild, too. Bighorns (or whatever the scholars called them; maybe Leon would know) were big grumpy mammals, more sheep than bovine, often displaying an unpleasant demeanor and a Goddess-awful smell. They were strong, and stubborn, irritatingly so. The species was so close to domestication, but so far; though some bighorn calves reluctantly took orders, all would grow up and inevitably learn to refuse their masters; they could be neither bribed nor tortured into servitude. Fortunes aplenty had been lost in the attempts to tame the beasts, to the point where locals could count the decades by how many times the ranch-lands were renamed by new owners. But who could blame such investors when the reward was so apparent? Where an entire team of horses or mules would be needed to haul a loaded carriage up the mountain, a single bighorn ram could haul two of them at once, all by itself, up and down Falas a dozen times without breaking a sweat or dying of exposure.

That is, if a bighorn ever wanted to. And not a one ever did.

Fortunately for the people of Falas, even wild bighorns were an incredibly valuable resource. Sure, the beasts had insatiable appetites; two or three bighorns alone could strip an entire mountainside of greenery in the space of a season. They weren’t sought out for their fleece, which was rough and unpleasant in comparison to sheepswool. Nor were they hunted for the quality of their oily meat, which was considered gamey by most. Their horns were brittle and known to shatter at the most inopportune moments; a poor trait for tools or weapons. And while their bones were dense and used at times in construction, the marrow was bitter, and hardly suitable as a second-rate additive in fertilizer and feed. And yet, despite all these truths, no sensible person living on Falas would dare let any part of a bighorn go to waste. Whenever the guild hunters would kill one, Olvaren’s tailor would gladly purchase the whole pelt, filthy wool and all. It would take a team of seamstresses a week to skirt and scour the material, and weeks more to spin it all. The woven thread was coarse, but it was affordable, and it was warm. And though stiff, bighorn leather was perfect for crafting tents, tarps, belts, bedrolls, and dozens of other village essentials. As for Olvaren’s butcher, he never passed up the opportunity to butcher one of the beasts. A single carcass would reserve an entire season’s worth of work, and though the meat was only ever “Grade B” at best, it would mean even the poorest villagers in Olvaren would have the means to avoid a hungry winter.

If the shepherds of Olvaren could learn how to temper the giants into actual beasts of burden, the economic prospects of the entire region would no doubt change overnight. And yet, for all the fortunes lost, and all the incredible effort spent trying to tame the untameable Falas bighorn, Aeo bore witness to an incredible truth: the mephandras had already succeeded in taming them. Within the most spacious underground chamber he had ever stood in, Aeo couldn’t help but count them. Forty? Fifty? Seventy? No, more! An entire herd of bighorns, at least a hundred of them, all of them comfortably concealed beneath the protection of the mountain peak. No wonder Shera, Pick, and the other mephandras could sustain themselves so comfortably, despite their size. And no wonder they hadn’t been seen for a decade!

The entrance to the massive underground stable itself wasn’t an obvious one, no more than a simple gap in the rock face that sloped downwards for hundreds of meters (deep enough that the bitter cold could not follow) before widening into an immense hall of stone. Illuminated by a number of makeshift braziers lining the path downwards, Aeo could easily stand at the top of the sloping cavern and observe the whole herd without disturbing them. Which he did for nearly five minutes, too stunned at the scope of the scene before him to continue forwards.

It was quiet. Peaceful. Stinky. A distant stream of thermal water poured into a tepid pool at the lowest point of the chamber, around which a small but healthy group of bighorn calves were drinking and splashing. Though the firelight hardly reached them there, they didn’t seem at all bothered by the low-light conditions. Beyond the stream was a pitch-black jungle of strange deep foliage, the tangled mass of plants and vines growing haphazardly into the darkness beyond. An entire ecosystem blossoming deep within the mountain, all of it thriving without assistance or oversight. Well, human oversight, for there was no telling if Shera and the mephandras were master gardeners in addition to being master shepherds.There were no fences or barriers to keep the bighorns where they needed to be, save for the cavern itself. Though, sizing up the adult bighorns and their tremendous horns, Aeo thought: There’s no way the big ones could go outside even if they wanted to. How’d they get down here in the first place?

[Taken from the surface at birth, no doubt,] whispered Kind. [Fascinating.]

[The mephandras could easily dominate the minds of men,] said Mean. [And instead they choose to dominate the minds of beasts.]

So that’s how they did it, Aeo thought. No wonder the ranchers could never control the bighorns: they never tried using magick. Then again, were Pick and Shera using magick when they forced their thoughts into Aeo’s mind? Or were they doing something else entirely? Lost in thought, Aeo stood there, at the threshold of the stable, quietly shivering. Though Leon had allowed him to borrow his coat, and despite the crackling fire in the brazier beside him, the cavern was still uncomfortably chilly.

Before he could take a step forwards, a thought appeared in his mind:

A graceful thought, and terrifying in its clarity. His head turned, somehow aware of the thought’s “direction.” Seated beside the entrance was a large furry silhouette that seamlessly blended into the shadows of the cavern.

“Oh,” Aeo whispered, nearly tripping backwards on his own feet. Shera had been watching him stand there the whole time. “H-Hello, Shera. Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to… I was just—”

Aeo tried to agree, but instead he and his voice froze. The wolf raised up and approached him, sniffing the air around the boy.

<Hmm. I make you nervous.>

Aeo’s wide eyes said it all.

<There’s no need to feel this way,> Shera said. The wolf stepped past Aeo, descending the slope towards the herd. With her eyes now on level with the boy’s very frightened stare, she sat herself down and regarded him.

Aeo frowned.

“Wrong about… me?”

<Yes.> Shera shook the cold off her pristine white coat, the hard plates that lined her spine clicking. <You are special… for a human. You have become a great friend to my Little Runt, and I thank you for spending time with him.>

“Oh,” Aeo finally said, swallowing. “Um… you’re welcome.”

<He was born without cub-mates,> Shera said. <A rare occurrence, for our kind. And his eyes were still shut when the others chose to depart. Pick has grown up lonely. Only Hala and I have paid him much attention.> Her thoughts paused. <Everything Pick has shared with me in the last few days has included you. He likes you.>

Aeo clung tighter to his fur coat.

“Well… I like him, too.”

<Everything about humans interests him,> she continued. <He watches you and Leon. And he listens to everything you say.> As the words connected with Aeo’s mind, he suddenly felt the distinct urge to cry.

The thought carried with it a form of melancholy Aeo didn’t recognize, like the smell of wet rain on stone. And though the images did not appear like last time, he remembered the wolf, the one with the patch of blue fur. Even as he processed the thoughts and feelings, Aeo began to feel a bit nauseous. Shera was right: she did make him nervous. In the days since she saved him from freezing to death, it didn’t seem as though Shera paid him much attention. But now she spoke to him openly, and he didn’t quite know what to say.

“But… Pick doesn’t hate you,” Aeo said quietly. “He couldn’t.”

Shera lowered her face. And for the briefest moment, he thought she might have smiled at him.

Shera bent her nose towards Aeo, no longer sniffing at the air but staring directly at him.

<I’m afraid he’ll learn about the world as you have, Aeo.>

Aeo’s eyes widened a bit more, and he felt the air entering his lungs grow much colder.

<I’m sorry,> came the thought, almost imperceptible. <As we age, we mephandras begin to see many things we shouldn’t. As I speak to you, I sense your sadness. Your fear. And your anger. Everything you have experienced in life… comes from a dark place.>

Shera laid herself down and looked away.

“What do you mean?” Her words felt like a dark night on his mind, one where even the wind quiets to nothing. The fur coat nearly dropped from his shoulders by the sense of it. “Wait, Pick and Leon said that— they said that mephandras can’t read minds.”

<We cannot,> Shera said. <Not truly. But I can sense your emotions, and where they come from.>

Shera looked back at Aeo with her head laid low.

Aeo sniffed the cold mountain air. She was being surprisingly clear, in a way. He appreciated the fact that he wasn’t being bombarded by her usual scents, sensations, and memories, like the stage of his mind being filled with a dozen actors all at once.

“It’s okay,” he said with a shrug. “I don’t know what to say either. I just… I feel lost, like—”

If she was lying, and could read his mind, she wasn’t hiding it well. With these words, Aeo heard the great wolf grunt, as if entertained by her own words.

<You and Leon are very much alike, little one,> she said, her tail flicking back and forth. <So unsure of your place in the world. Fighting against the currents that would hold you still. It is something to admire.> Shera lifted herself up slightly. <You should thank him, you know. It was Leon that convinced me not to eat you.>

Aeo took an unconscious step backwards.

“It was…?”

<Yes. And I agree with his assessment. You are fartoo bony for good eating.>

The giant wolf huffed in and out as if laughing, much like Pick did, and this time she did present him with a toothy smile.

<I’ve made you worry enough for one day, little one. Go find Leon. He is studying in his cave further down, close to the river. Follow the fires and you will find him.>

Aeo then felt the distinct sensation of the color green. But not the way Pick made him feel. His mind recalled the look of grass in sunlight, the feel of soft grass upon his fingertips, the fragrance of morning-blown dew… followed by an abrupt passage of time. At once, the beauty of the newgrown grass became brittle, yellow, and dead. Aeo didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“Um, y-yes ma’am. I’ll go. Thank you.”

Shera rested her head upon her paws and said no more as Aeo stepped beyond her and into the great cavern. He meant no offense to the great mephandras, but nothing could have made him happier than finding another place to be.

Beyond the mighty bighorn herd, the braziers and a small thermal stream led Aeo to a narrow break in the cavern wall. He slipped inside to find that the split in the rock opened into a narrow hallway that led to a second expansive chamber. As he entered the brightly-lit room, the first thing that caught his attention was the massive waterfall of steaming water bursting forth from the northern wall. There must have been both a massive reservoir of water behind the wall of stone, as well as a massive underground river downstream, for the waterfall descended into a deep pool some twenty feet down from the level of the cave entrance. How deep the river ran beyond it into complete darkness, Aeo could not tell. The cavern ceiling was vast, perhaps a hundred feet up from where Aeo stood, and at its very height, Aeo could see actual daylight filtering in through a crack in the rock. Dozens of varieties of moss and vines grew upon the rough black stone, and an endless trail of flowers and seed pods flourished in the dim light. Their roots spilled right off the edge of the cliff face into the pool of spring water below, creating the most beautiful and natural underground garden Aeo could ever have imagined.

The moment he entered the cave, Aeo noticed a pair of candles placed on the side wall. Semi-transparent sigils of magick hung in the air before them, shivering and bleeding purple mist: more of Leon’s wards. As he stepped past them, the cold wind descending into the chamber from above immediately became still, replaced with the surprising heat rising from the thermal water below. Better yet, they also seemed to reduce the volume of the cacophonous cascading water. He peeled the bushy coat from his shoulders without another thought.

“Leon?” Aeo called above the din of the waterfall.

“Ah, Aeo!” he heard from somewhere below. “Good morning! Come on over!”

Careful not to slip, Aeo followed the slope of the chamber downwards until he reached a small alcove. There was Leon, seated at a makeshift workstation set up on a wide stone shelf. Upon its surface sat a variety of strange tubes, jars, and metal tools Aeo didn’t recognize. As Leon stood and approached the boy, Aeo realized that Leon was quite a tall man, and very thin; it hadn’t occurred to him before, having spent most of his time laying in bed. The man appeared very much like nobility, with brass spectacles, a white longshirt, and an embroidered jerkin.

“How are you feeling this morning?” Leon asked, placing a hand on Aeo’s shoulder. “Did you find your way down here all right?”

“Aye sir,” Aeo said. “I’m okay.”

“Just okay? How are your feet? Does it hurt to walk?”

“It hurts a little.”

“Hmm. Give it time,” Leon said. He looked down. “Those boots look good on you. Didn’t I tell you Hala is good at her work?”

Aeo gently kicked the solid earth with his brand-new handmade fur boots. Though made of bighorn fur and leather, Hala’s boots were perfectly sized and luxuriously comfortable. The most wonderful gift anyone had ever given him, and an amazing feat of tailoring besides. It made his stomach hurt that he had no way to thank her except for saying so.

“They’re really comfy,” Aeo agreed. “I love them.”

“She’ll be glad to hear it. Come on over. I’m just recording some test results.”

Leon stepped back towards the stone table and his instruments, scribbling notes into a leather-bound ledger with a feather quill. Beside it sat a wide wooden box filled with a strange selection of plants and fungi. Each specimen was neatly placed into its own compartment and labeled with a hand-written descriptor. Aeo peered down to read them, and found them all completely unpronounceable: Basidiomycota orphens, a strange wrinkled fungus with pale-orange flesh; Aspergillus incenti, an oak leaf with large sickly black spots growing on its paling-green surface; Ascomucota lumenti, a stunning bright-pink specimen with dozens of tiny, delicate arms surrounding its bulb.

Leon adjusted a few knobs attached to the glass contraptions and looked over at Aeo.

“Careful not to breathe too close to some of those,” he said, chuckling when Aeo quickly stood up straight. “You wouldn’t want to eat many of them, either. While this cavern system is a paradise for the wildlife, most of the plants and roots that grow here can be quite poisonous to humans.”

“Really?” Aeo asked, puzzled. “Then… why are you collecting them?”

“Because not all of them are,” he said. “Or won’t be, once we understand their biochemical components. No man has ever fully explored the Falas mountain range. And to my knowledge, no one has ever performed a scientific investigation of these caverns. Who knows what kinds of remedies and medicines we could create with the flowers and fungi that grow so abundantly here.”

“Oh.”

“That’s why I’m here, in fact,” Leon said. “Searching for a very specific compound.”

Aeo frowned, thinking of everything he’d eaten the last few days.

“What was in that stew you made? It was weird, but… it tasted so good.”

“Oh, you liked it, did you?” Leon asked. “I’m glad to hear it. At least you and Pick appreciate my cooking. It was mostly meat, of course, from the uriesi.”

“The what?”

“The uriesi.” Leon frowned at him. “Surely you saw them on the way down here.”

“Oh. You mean the bighorns?”

“Bighorns. Of course.” Leon said aloud. Under his breath he said something like: “They’ll take a razor to anything these days.” He then cleared his throat. “Yes. But the stew also had a few of these.” Leon pointed to a small purple leafy plant that looked like a blooming flower; the label did not have a name. “And a few of these.” He pointed to a large gray mushroom with a wide pale top; it also did not have a name. “And a few of these, chopped up into pieces. I adore these.” He pointed to a lumpy green vegetable, long and thin like a carrot. “Tastes a bit like an evari radish with the texture of a potato, especially when boiled and mashed. I haven’t named them all yet, but I mean to when I return to the Academy. I have a mind to ask the chefs for names that will encourage the students to try them.” He laughed. “I doubt the children will try something that looks so dull and tasteless.”

“Huh,” Aeo said. “How’d you find out they weren’t poisonous?”

“Ah, well,” he said, suddenly staring at the ceiling. “Don’t tell Hala, but… partially from experimentation, and partially from simply tasting them. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t recommend munching on plants you don’t recognize. But I know a few tricks for protecting myself from the effects of harmful reagents.”

“Tricks? Like, magick tricks?”

Leon nodded.

“Precisely. See this one here?” Leon pointed to a flower with bright yellow petals and thin wiry leaves. “It greatly resembles a junik flower, which is native to Ashant. Most humans are allergic to junik, myself included. And yet I was stupid enough to assume that this one might be completely unrelated. As it turns out, I believe they’re virtually the same. If I wasn’t well-versed in the incantation to reverse anaphylaxis, well… I might have died right then and there.”

“Ana… what?”

“Anaphylaxis. A severe allergic reaction. So severe that your airway constricts completely and you, uh… suffocate.”

Aeo’s eyes went wide.

“You almost died? Magick can stop something like that?”

“Yes indeed,” Leon said. “And, bless the Goddess, reverse such symptoms as well.” He paused to laugh. “You do promise not to tell Hala, right? She’s always warning me of such things. If she found out I nearly killed myself during my first week in this cave, I would never hear the end of it.”

“I promise,” Aeo said, smiling despite the topic.

“Good,” he said. “And thank you. Anyway, despite my impatience and foolishness, I’m happy to report that I may have finally found what I’ve been searching for. Right here.”

Leon pointed to one of the components in box. Inside was a simple flower, far more simple in color and shape than the rest. It resembled a stem of lavender with bright red petals instead of purple, curling into a half-crescent bow.

“I call it ‘fiery madwort.’ Alyssum igneus.” Leon looked down at Aeo as if guilty. “I know, naming things isn’t my specialty. But I felt the name matched the effect it has on some of the wildlife. Hala and some of the other frogs I’ve spoken to say it causes them to hallucinate.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means the flower makes them hear and see things that aren’t really there. A horrifying thought. Loads of the flowers grow down here, both in and out of the water, and yet I’ve seen some cavern fish leap straight into the air just to eat the flowers blooming furthest away. And they’ll eat it until it drives them mad. They’ll get so energetic and nervous, they’ll leap far out of the water to eat more only to strand themselves on the cold stone floor and die. It’s the strangest thing. I’m currently trying to figure out why, and why the alyssum grows only in these caves, of all places.”

“So… it’s poisonous?” Aeo asked.

“Yes, it is. Though not quite to the same level as it is to the fish,” Leon answered. “It’s safe to touch, but I would avoid eating it. Unless you want one of the worst headaches of your life.” Leon then pointed to a bundle of the red-petal flowers sitting next to the edge of the drop-off. “Speaking of, if it’s not too much trouble for your feet, would you mind helping me for a few moments? Could you bring those flowers up here for me while I finish these notes?”

“Aye sir.”

Aeo looked down towards the burbling hot pool and saw two small wooden crates filled to the brim with ruby-colored alyssum flowers. Placing Leon’s coat on the table, he carefully made his way down; though Hala’s leather boots provided immense comfort, they only provided so much traction. The steam blowing off the rippling water smelled of wet grass and dirt, and he breathed it all in, as deeply as he could. He bent down easily enough and picked up one of the boxes. They didn’t weigh much at all. He returned with a box under each arm, only slipping on the slick stone floor once.

“Just place them on the floor there,” Leon said, and Aeo obeyed. “Excellent. Thank you.”

For a moment, as Leon quietly wrote in his ledger, Aeo looked back at the waterfall gushing out of the side of the cavern wall.

“This place is amazing,” Aeo said.

“Never seen anything like it before, have you?” Leon asked.

“No sir,” Aeo said. “I never got to leave the inn by myself. Har—”

Aeo stopped speaking immediately. A cold sweat hit his forehead.

“The inn, eh? In Olvaren?” Leon didn’t turn around from his notes. “Is that where you lived?”

Aeo said nothing. His stomach turned. And when the silence lasted a lot longer than it should have, Leon finally turned around. After adjusting his glasses, he sighed and offered the poor boy a calm smile.

“Here, Aeo,” Leon said. “I have a task for you, and not a difficult one. Take this.”

To Aeo he held out a pair of curious instruments, both of them crafted of marble.

“It’s a mortar and pestle. Have you used such things before?”

“No sir,” Aeo said.

“Here, I’ll show you. Take some of the alyssum, peel off the flowers, and grind those up nicely in the mortar, just like this.” Taking a seat on the cave floor before Aeo, Leon took a few bits of alyssum from the box. The alyssum flowers came off the stem quite easily. “Now, it’s a bit tricky to grind them correctly,” he said, taking the pestle in his hand and beginning the process. “Don’t just stir them around. Take the pestle in your hand like so, and mash them in a circular motion. A small pool of liquid should form at the bottom, that’s what you’re looking for. See? Here, give it a go.”

Aeo carefully took the pestle from Leon. Leaning over the small mortar, he did his best to repeat Leon’s movements. Though the grinding of marble-on-marble made his teeth tingle a bit, he continued on.

“Be sure to keep the scrapings from the sides, pull them down.” Leon studied Aeo’s work for a moment more before standing, satisfied. “Good, good. Go ahead and keep it up. Mash up enough, and you’ll have what I need to get started.”

“Started on… what?” Aeo asked, looking away from his work for only a second.

“For extract distillation,” Leon said. “Do you know what that is?”

“No sir,” Aeo said.

“That’s all right,” Leon said. “Distillation serves to concentrate the components in the alyssum I wish to identify and study. Once in a pure form, I’ll be able to ascertain what makes alyssum so special.”

“Oh.”

“Just be sure not to get any on your hands,” Leon said, standing. “The skin absorbs it quite easily. You won’t want either the headache or the red-stained fingers.”

Everything fell quiet. Aeo continued his work, thoroughly unsure if his grinding made any difference. He did begin to see a bit of red liquid pooling in the mortar, so he kept circling and smashing. Leon continued writing notes in the ledger, pausing every few moments as he adjusted the odd knobs and tubes of the bubbling apparatus.

“Aeo,” Leon said, clearing his throat.

Aeo straightened up.

“Yes sir?”

“Have you ever heard of the Royal Archives of San’Doria?”

“No sir.”

Leon chuckled. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard of the city of San’Doria?”

“Um, I think so,” Aeo said. “That’s in Ashant, isn’t it?”

“It is indeed. The capital of Ashant, actually. And the city of my birth. It is quite far from here, perhaps seven or eight weeks south by carriage and four more weeks east. Far enough to make you quite sick of the road.”

Leon turned around, leaning his hip on the stone table and folding his arms.

“The Archives is where I grew up, you see. My parents were researchers there. Always studying something, always searching for books and scrolls and information. They worked for nobles, government officials, anyone who came looking for something. They would work for hours and hours, writing and studying by candlelight, long into the night and ignoring me in the process. So much so, that they often left me to my own devices.” Leon chuckled. “Well, when they finally decided I’d become too much trouble, they hired a tutor for me.”

Aeo nearly forgot about the mortal and pestle. He kept mashing as Leon spoke.

“Algus was his name. He was a cranky old ashanti, but he cared for me like my parents never did. Every day was a new lesson. Learning etiquette and manners, maths and geometry, old spells and wards from his enormous collection of spellbooks. He taught me everything I know about plants and animals. How everything in this world is connected to the Goddess. I don’t believe he was a very religious man. But considering the evidence, I think he believed enough to teach me about such divine topics whenever I asked. Geography was my favorite subject. I loved learning about towns and cities and countries I didn’t think I’d ever get to see. The old man always spoke like he’d traveled all over the world. And maybe he had, in his younger days.”

Leon removed his glasses and cleaned them with his sleeve.

“For years, I never left the Archives. I lived there, I played there, I studied there, and I slept there. I saw little but those dusty old bookshelves and catalogues until I was practically a grown man. I was too scared to sneak out on my own, especially with all the constant news of bandits and thieves always traveling the roads. And I never had any friends to goad me on. In fact, the only time I saw the sun was outside in the Archive courtyard. It was no place for children, of course. Always full of foreign visitors and diplomats. But at night, when all those people departed, the courtyard became my favorite study hall. It was there that Algus taught me everything I know about magick. He was an abjurist as well. He taught me how to create the wards and barriers I use today. He even taught me how to defend myself against destructive magicks, and I’m glad he did.”

“You can learn to do that?” Aeo said. “Protect yourself with magick?”

“It takes a good teacher,” Leon said. “But yes, you can. And Algus was the best. My mother would sometimes check on my progress.” His words then darkened. “My father, on the other hand, rarely visited me. He was always off on some important business. Even the Regent of San’Doria would request his assistance. He was a very important man, you see. Too important, even for his son.”

Aeo didn’t say anything.

“My father was an old man by the time I came of age. It wasn’t long after I graduated from the Everspring Academy when he died.”

“He died?” Aeo asked. “How?”

That was a rude question. He stopped stirring the pestle.

“Er. I didn’t mean—”

“No, it’s all right,” Leon said with a shrug. “It’s why I’m telling you all of this, actually.” He sighed, contemplating his words. “My father was murdered, Aeo. In secret. Mother and I did not suspect anything at first. However, neither of us were allowed to see his body. Even at the state funeral, his casket was kept closed. His fellows at the Archives told us he’d developed a defect in his heart, and that he’d chosen not to inform us, or cause us grief.” Leon rolled his eyes. “I never believed it. And I was right not to.”

“Why not? What happened?”

“As soon as I became an Academy professor, I was shown some rather damning evidence,” Leon said. He fell strangely silent and his eyes fell to the side, like something had crossed his mind. Then he perked up and pointed to the alyssum flowers sitting in the boxes beside Aeo. “And I was led… to those flowers.”

“To these?” Aeo asked. “Why?”

“It’s complicated, I’m afraid,” Leon answered. “It would probably take days to explain. But long story short, those flowers contain a very peculiar biological compound, one that is incredible deadly when concentrated. Despite growing only in this very special place, some of those flower petals found their way to a marketplace in San’Doria. When the merchant who sold them directed me to Falas and Olvaren, I decided to search the mountain myself. And while I meant to find flowers, I stumbled upon Shera instead.”

Aeo cringed a bit.

“What happened… when you met her?”

“You can probably guess,” Leon said, pointing to his temple. “She did not accept my arrival kindly. She forced me to make a few promises. First, that I would keep her and Pick comfortable and healthy. Second, that I would fend off any hunters or mages that approach the summit. Third, and most importantly, that I will keep the location of these caverns a secret for the rest of my life.” He grimaced as he spoke, rubbing his forehead as if in pain. “I can’t break the promises I made with her. Not without suffering a considerable amount of pain.” He paused. “Perhaps even enough to kill me. Even talking about it now is uncomfortable.”

Aeo grit his teeth.

“Is… is she gonna make me make promises like that?”

“It’s likely,” Leon said, grunting. “But don’t worry. If she does, I’ll do my best to shield you from the pain.”

Aeo wrinkled his nose at this, but he didn’t quite know how to reply. Leon noticed, though, and chuckled as he shoved his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

“Or perhaps not. I get the feeling that Shera likes you a lot more than she likes me,” Leon said. “Anyway, that’s the story of why you found a magician hiding underneath a frozen mountain. I hope I didn’t bore you. I imagine it isn’t the most exciting one you’ve ever heard.”

“No, it’s really interesting,” Aeo said sincerely. “It’s like… you’re solving a puzzle. A really important one.”

Leon smiled.

“That I am.” He tilted his head. “Perhaps it’s a puzzle you’d like to help me solve?”

“Aye sir,” Aeo replied with a nod and a clever grin of his own.

“Well, praise the Goddess,” Leon said, patting Aeo’s head. “I’m glad to hear it. I won’t say no to a second pair of hands, at least.” He bent down to examine Aeo’s distracted work. “Let’s see how your alyssum is coming along. Got quite a bit of liquid? Good, that’s a start. Come pour the liquid into this container and you can continue.”

Alyssum: The Voices of the Shattered Sun – Chapter Seven

May 18, 2023May 11, 2023 / birdjericho

Praecantatio

The day continued uneventfully, as thoroughly as a day can when everything is new and wonderful and yet so wonderfully dull. Wonderful, despite the very sore feet, the pulsating facial bruise, and the general exhaustion.

Pick was surprisingly easy to talk to. He didn’t seem to tire of listening to Aeo describe his life at the Gray Pale. In return, Aeo did his best to listen to Pick “speak” back to him, sometimes asking for clarification, and sometimes asking questions in his own unique way. The wolf’s mental responses were always simplistic, hazy ideas. His thoughts were more concepts and colors than solid illustrations, and almost never words. It was like communicating with a six-year-old child who could only draw pictures. When Pick’s thoughts required clarification, he would gladly and enthusiastically try. At times the thoughts would be too obscure, referencing a plant, or an animal, or an action that required paws and teeth instead of fingers and toes. These foreign abstractions were strangely refreshing to Aeo, if not utterly bewildering to have appear in his mind. It was like daydreaming completely original ideas, ones that revealed themselves from either nowhere, or deep within his own imagination. Even when Pick described the familiar hopping of a rabbit or the flight of a bird, it felt as though Pick forced Aeo’s mind to process the idea as anew, as if he’d never imagined it before. And many times, he was contemplating them for the first time, as Aeo had rarely ever been outside the inn to experience things like rain on a foggy day, or the sound of a babbling brook.

With Pick dutifully laying his head in Aeo’s lap, their long conversation drifted away into sleep as the afternoon passed by. As the dim sunlight faded from the borders of the great wooden door, the door creaked open. As it did so, Aeo awoke with a start. Pick did as well, his ears perking up. In marched the form of Leon, wrapped up tightly in a puffy mountain jacket with a great hood over his head. In his arms he carried a curiously shaped package. Or was it a curiously shaped bag? Whatever it was, he clomped his feet at the door, placed the object down before the campfire, and removed the gloves from his hands.

“Goodness, it’s coming down out there,” he said to no one in particular. He looked up at Aeo, now wearing a pair of slim-framed spectacles that truly made him look like a school teacher. “Well now, you’re sitting up in bed and everything. How are your toes?”

Pick looked up at Aeo as he answered.

“They’re itchy, sir.”

“You’re not touching them, are you?” Leon pulled off his coat.

“No, sir.”

“Good, good. I have some tonic that might help the healing process. Once you can walk, I’ll have to show you the hot springs. The cavern is filled with helpful plants and fungi that make wonderful medicines.”

Leon walked over to Aeo’s bed and knelt, placing the bag onto the floor. He unbuttoned the front flap and produced a small glass vial that contained an oily and speckled red-and-black substance. He held it up, jingled it as his eyebrows raised. He then dove back into the bag and produced a roll of cotton bandages.

Without a word, Leon lifted the fur blanket off of Aeo’s feet and examined them.

He said: “Hmm.”

What did “hmm” mean? Aeo peered over the blanket, as did Pick. His stomach sank at the sight, and Pick let out a low gutteral moan. He hadn’t actually seen his toes himself… they were worse than he’d imagined.

“Skin’s peeling a bit,” Leon said, shrugging. “To be expected. But they look more red than purple now. Certainly an improvement.”

Carefully, Leon cupped his hands over both sets of toes.

“Do you feel that?”

“Yes, sir,” Aeo said, grimacing a bit at the feeling.

“Very good, you’ve got feeling. Well, you’re itching, so of course you do. Let’s see if we can’t help that.”

Suddenly, Pick’s ears perked up again. The small door creaked open, and a tiny lonesome spherical figure hopped into the cave, shutting the door behind them. Then, a second later, the entire wooden door shuddered, and something considerably larger slowly entered. Hala and Shera. Shera’s dark eyes immediately caught Aeo’s, and then diverted away, even as Aeo’s anxiety spiked.

“Oh, hello everyone!” cried Hala. The spherical fur coat hobbled over towards the campfire, shedding itself from its host. Out stepped a foot-tall frog, cheerful as always. She was no longer clothed in a bright aquamarine dress, but a slim leather suit covered in various pockets and satchels. “My my, it’s chilly out there!”

“Evening, Hala,” Leon said. “Come on in, Shera, there’s room for all of us.”

A much gentler thought arose in Aeo’s head.

<Hello, little ones.>

Aeo’s stomach squirmed at the sight of her. He forced a small, silent wave as Pick howled. At least he was happy to see his mother.

“Aeo, it’s wonderful you’re out of bed!” Hala said excitedly. “Well, halfway out of bed, anyway! How is the frostbite coming along?”

Shera shook off the snow and closed the door, laying down in the empty corner in front of Aeo that was no doubt reserved for her. Hala stepped towards Leon and stood beside him, placing a webbed hand on his side. She gasped.

“Oh, Goddess above, it’s worse than I feared.”

said Shera, lowering her head to look. <What awful colors.>

“Believe me,” Leon said. “They’re in better condition than before.”

“Well!” she said excitedly. “All the more reason I’m here! Please, Leon, before you tend to those little piggies, I have a quick task for you!”

From one of her pockets Hala produced what looked to be a thin silk string. Whatever it was, it shined and reflected the firelight like a thin strand of glass. From another pocket she produced a small bit of something black like a dark pebble.

“Now, if you would, hold that end to the top of his big toe,” she said.

Leon obeyed. Hala dove down and placed the other end on his heel, making a black mark on the string with what was definitely charcoal. Aeo forced himself not to move despite the tickling sensations.

“Now the other one!”

They repeated the process with his other foot.

“Now across!” she sang, now measuring width.

“Ah, that tickles!” Aeo said, holding back his laughter. “What’s she doing?”

“I believe she’s planning on making you a pair of boots,” Leon replied as Hala hopped back up.

“Oh, don’t spoil the surprise, dear!” Hala said, playfully slapping Leon’s arm. “Well, you’re right, of course. I’m going to make sure your feetsies never have to suffer out in the cold ever again. Perhaps if I have more time, I’ll knit you a fur coat to go along with it!”

“Now, Aeo, these projects can get a bit big for Hala,” He lowered his hand as if measuring Hala, then whispered: “No pun intended.”

“Humph!” Hala said, pushing his hand away.

“But she is a wonderfully talented seamstress. She made my bedding. And my boots,” Leon said, pointing to his own feet. “And my coat. All with bighorner fleece and buckskin, provided by Shera.”

“Wait, really?” Aeo asked. “You’re gonna make me… real boots?”

“Of course!” Hala declared. “Real ones are a bit more helpful than imaginary ones!”

“But no one’s ever made anything for me before.” Aeo felt his face turn a big red. “Th-thank you, ma’am.”

“Oh, don’t thank me just yet, my dear!” Hala placed the string and the black pebble back into the pouches on her belt. “You can thank me if I do the job correctly! It’s always a challenge making clothing for great big things like yourself, and I never say no to a challenge. Now, is it feeling a bit cold in here for everyone? No? Just me? Well, I’ll just tend to the fire anyway.”

She turned towards the campfire in the center of the chamber.

“Don’t tire yourself out, Hala,” Leon said. “I can take care of—”

“Tut tut! Nonsense, you big goof! Nonsense! It’s what I’m here for. Well, the second thing I’m here for. Hah hah!”

Shera, remaining ever quiet, instinctively motioned herself closer against the cave wall, knowing what was coming. As Hala had done the morning before, the little frog leaned over the fire and proceeded to take the biggest breath Aeo had ever seen. She held it in for a moment, then lurched forward and belched a bright red flame directly from her mouth into the smoldering campfire. Along with the fire dripped a strange liquid from her wide lips that burst and crackled when it hit the ground, bringing the fire to a bright and tempered glow.

When finished, she turned to see all eyes pointed at her.

“Well,” she said, flustered. “It’s very impolite to stare.”

“In case you were wondering,” Leon said, leaning closer to Aeo. “Hala and her kind have acquired some very unique adaptations in order to stay warm. It’s quite an amazing ability. It’s also how they hunt for fish underwater. The substance they produce cooks the fish immediately, it’s quite the sight.”

“Substance!” Hala laughed at the word. “Ever the academic, Mister Sire-Loo!”

“My last name’s Sirelu, Hala,” Leon said, rolling his eyes. “’Seer-eh-loo.’ Not ‘sire-loo.’ Don’t confuse the poor boy.”

At the correction, Hala simply laughed as she tended the fire.

“Anyway,” Leon said. “As I was saying, Hala’s family live in the underwater springs and currents of Falas. They can hold their breath for hours at a time, and the unique oil they belch—” to which Hala said: “Humph, belch indeed!” “—can burn for hours at a time.”

<Pick and I are eternally indebted to them,> Shera added. <Without their assistance, we would not live nearly as comfortably as we do.>

“Oh, it’s no trouble! No trouble at all!” Hala said with a gian toothless grin. “Well, it isn’t for me. Can’t say the same my mate, Ziduf. Or his family. Or Heem, for that matter! Laziest toadies you’ll ever see! They prefer to avoid the ice and cold entirely. Rarely do they come out of the spring, the silly things.”

Leon took his time, dabbing the red substance onto the bandages and around the worst colors of Aeo’s feet. It tickled; a good sign, of course. It meant they weren’t about to turn black and fall off. As Leon worked, Aeo patted Pick on the head and looked at the purple light emanating from the candles on the opposite wall. They danced and wavered all the more apparently in the low light of the campfire, and seemed to flicker to an unseen and unfelt current of air.

“Leon, sir,” Aeo said, pointing at the candles. “What are those for?”

Leon smiled.

“Oh, those? They keep the warmth inside the cave, and keep the cold out.”

“I know. But how?”

Leon frowned at him.

“You know?”

Aeo nodded.

“I’ve seen magicians do magick like that before. Are you a magician?”

Leon actually laughed at the title.

“Perhaps a bit more than that. Perhaps a little less. I’m a professor at the Everspring Academy in Ashant. I teach abjuration and alchemy to mid-class students.”

“Abjur… what?”

Both Aeo and Pick both tilted their heads. And Aeo saw an image in his mind:

“Are you serious?” Aeo asked Pick. “Leon can make fire like that? You’ve seen him?”

Leon laughed.

“No, he hasn’t. I’m not nearly as talented as that. Though I suppose if I wanted to tire myself out as fast as possible, I could probably conjure up a good bonfire.” He paused, scratching his head. “I suppose I can teach you about magick. If you don’t mind a lecture, that is.”

“And oh, how Leon can lecture!” chipped Hala.

“Yes. Please, sir,” Aeo said. “I want to learn.”

“Well, all right,” Leon said. “If you insist. I suppose we’ll start with the basics, then?”

Aeo nodded, folding his hands in his lap and offering the man his full attention. Leon cleared his throat and began:

“Magick is the manipulation of the basic principles and mechanics of the world. If you want something to change, and you understand what it takes to change it, magick can make it so, as long as your will is stronger than the forces around you. With enough willpower, you can bend the rules of the world and influence any number of things. Like summoning fire, for instance, or protecting yourself from harm. Or keeping this cave the right temperature with nothing more than a few candles and the right incantations.”

“You can change anything about the world?” Aeo asked.

“Mmm,” he hummed, thinking. “Perhaps not everything. People are notoriously difficult to change, though Goddess knows countless mages have tried. Magick is best used for simple tasks. You know, things you could accomplish with your own two hands, if you had the time. Things like boiling water, lightning candles, or cooling down a hot room.”

“But mages fight with magick, right? With fire, and ice?”

“Yes, some do. Combat arts can get very complex, however, and require a source of energy all their own. It can be dangerous to fight with magick if you ignore the proper precautions. In fact, if a mage is foolish enough, they’re more likely to kill themselves with their own spells than hurt anyone else.”

“But not you, Leon,” said Hala, her voice filled with hope. “You’re no fool, I hope?”

“Why do you think I avoid fighting?” he asked. “No, mages such as myself focus on more… mundane magicks. It’s different here, of course, in Antiell. But in Ashant, where I come from, you would call a lot of magick mundane. Not a lot of battles to be fought with fire and lightning. But laundry becomes infinitely easier with magick, as you might imagine.” He grinned. “No need to waste soap when you can simply banish the stains away instead.”

He pointed to the towels hanging from the stalactites above.

“Can anyone do that?” Aeo asked. “Can anyone learn magick?”

“Oh, certainly,” the teacher answered. “And don’t you let anyone tell you otherwise. Magick is an art, like writing, or making music. Once you understand the basics, it becomes nothing more than an issue of practice and mastery. It’s a shame so few people practice magick, especially here in Antiell. The authorities in this land do not trust their own people with such power, and they don’t trust outsiders should they flaunt their talents. I’m sure you’ve seen such things yourself.”

Aeo’s eyebrows raised and nodded. No wonder Harthon hated the magicians. He never trusted what he couldn’t personally control, and magick was certainly one of those things.

“Wait, you said lightning,” Aeo asked. “Mages fight with lightning too?”

“Of course,” Leon said. “Though you channel lightning, to be specific about it. Electricity is energy, much like fire is energy, and ice is the removal of energy. In its simplest application, magick is nothing more than manipulating power, moving heat, light, or aether from one place to another.” Then, Leon raised a finger, pausing as if remembering something. “Hold that thought.”

Leon quickly stood and crossed the room, grabbing an object from one of the crevices in the cavern wall.

“Ah, here we go. Catch.”

Leon tossed the object, and though Aeo fumbled it, it fumbled right into his lap. Aeo held it up to examine it: a glass sphere, perhaps a bit bigger than Aeo’s fist, perfectly polished and readily reflecting the flickering lights in the room.

“Oh, I do love this little bauble,” Hala said, hopping up to Aeo’s side to see the sphere for herself. “How’s it work, Leon?”

An image entered Aeo’s mind:

“What is it?” Aeo asked.

“It’s called a lusphere,” Leon said, retaking his seat next to the boy. “It’s the simplest application of energy I can demonstrate.” He paused. “Well? What do you suppose it does?”

Aeo frowned.

“It… does something?”

“Oh yes!” Hala said. “It lights up, bright as the sun! Go ahead, Aeo, turn it on.”

Aeo’s nose wrinkled as his fingers felt the smooth surface of the glass. There were no marks or depressions of any kind on its surface, no wick that might hold a flame.

“I don’t know how,” he whispered.

“You only need to know its keyword,” Leon said. “And speak it out loud.”

“What is it?”

“Repeat after me: lu’vai.”

“Uh…” Aeo said, feeling a bit foolish. “Okay. Loo… vai?”

In a flash, the transparent orb illuminated, like an explosive going off in his hand. He let out a shout and dropped the sphere, and to his horror, the sphere rolled away towards the campfire, its luminosity filling the cavern with the brightest white light he’d ever seen.

“Whoa, careful Aeo!” Leon said with a quick laugh, reaching out his hand to the lusphere. “It may look like a simple glass ball, but it is quite an expensive trinket!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—!”

Instead of diving for it, or even bending down to grab it, Leon simply reached out his hand. And the lusphere responded as if it had a mind of its own, rolling back up the slope of its own accord and leaping into the man’s hand. Hala cheered, and Pick let out a quick energetic howl.

“Brilliant, Leon! I love it when you do that!”

“Whoa,”Aeo whispered. “How did you do that?”

Leon gave him a look.

“How do you think?” he replied with a chuckle, holding up the lusphere. “The more important question, though: how did you turn the lusphere on?”

“I… I said the word,” Aeo answered. “Didn’t I?”

“You did. But words alone aren’t enough to create magick.” Leon whispered: “Lu’kah.” The bright white light within the glass sphere faded, returning to its previous inactive state. He then held out the sphere to Hala, much to her confusion. “Here you are, Hala. Why don’t you give it a try?”

“What?” she gasped, taking the lusphere with two webbed hands. “But I can’t do magick!”

“You never know until you try,” Leon said with a wink.

“Well, I—” She rolled the sphere about as if trying to find an activation switch herself. “Hmm! There really is no other way to turn it on, is there? Eh, what was that word again?”

“Lu’vai,” Leon said.

“Ah, right, okay then.” Hala cleared her mighty throat and held the orb in the air. “Here I go! Loo-vai!”

Aeo waited. Leon waited. Hala waited too, her eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of bright white light. But nothing happened. A single eye squinted at the orb, immediately frowning at it.

“Hmm? Loo-vai?” Hala then gently shook the sphere. “Loo-vai, you silly thing! Why isn’t it working?”

“Why, indeed,” Leon said. He gestured. “Give it to Aeo. Let’s see if he can tell the difference.”

“Well, aren’t you two just special,” she said with a sigh, handing the orb to Aeo.

“Not me, Hala,” Leon said. “The only difference between you and me is that I understand mechanically how a lusphere works. Aeo is the special one here.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Hala asked.

“The word ‘lu’vai’ is Ashanti,” Leon said. “It means: ‘become active,’ or ‘turn on.’ When you spoke the word, Aeo, you gave the lusphere permission to access the power inside you. It is a power that neither Hala nor I possess, not by ourselves.”

Leon then produced a small trinket from underneath his shirt. Hanging from his neck was a leather necklace, adorned with a small silver charm in the shape of a diving falcon.

“See this?” Leon asked, slowly showing the necklace to everyone. “This is my spell-focus. It was a gift from my father, when I graduated from the Academy. You see the small gemstone in the falcon’s eye? That gemstone is no ordinary rock. It is crystallized aether, taken from the Everspring Well at the Academy. Without that crystal, I would be hard-pressed to perform even the most simple of magicks. I would be rather useless.”

<You require a source of power beyond yourself,> said Shera, her tail flicking and thumping behind her.

“Yes,” Leon said. “I’m afraid so. It is a great limitation of mine, one I am not proud of. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable I am about the world, or how much I practice. If I do not have access to a source of energy, I cannot change the world with magick. To tell you the truth, it’s why I prefer abjuration. I do not have to look very far for a proper energy source, so long as I have a source of heat or light. The candles, you see. They usually provide enough heat to keep such magick active.”

Leon tapped the lusphere in Aeo’s hand.

“You, on the other hand,” he said. “Have a different source of power. Go ahead, turn the light on again. Remember the word?”

“Uh-huh,” Aeo said. “Lu’vai.”

The lusphere’s light instantly flared to life, even brighter than before. Aeo had to shield his eyes from the glare, and it was Hala’s turn to shout in surprise.

“Very good!” Leon said. “I was right about you, Aeo, your animis is strong.”

“Animis?”

“Mm-hmm. It is the Ashanti word for a wellspring of power that comes from the individual,” Leon said. “While most practitioners of magick rely on outside sources of power, some beings are born with an innate power all their own. It is an uncommon trait in Antiell, it seems, though in my opinion, there should be more; it is only because the practice of magick is so suppressed. Perhaps every one in ten Ashanti children are born with some level of animis. Perhaps one in every hundred of these can exercise it before adulthood, and far fewer can do so without training.”

The color green then leaped into Aeo’s mind:

<How fortunate,> said Shera. <That Aeo should find someone like you on this mountain, of all places.>

Leon’s smile faded. For some reason, he ignored the mephandras.

“Now, Aeo,” he said quickly. “There’s something I’d like you to try.”

“Huh?”

Leon stood up slowly and approached the campfire. If Aeo had seen his face, he would have witnessed a look of determined focus. Hala hopped over to his side to see.

“There we go,” Leon whispered.

“Oh, Leon, don’t you dare,” Hala hissed at the man. “What are you doing, put that down! You’ll catch the poor boy on fire!”

“Nonsense, Hala,” he said quietly. “Don’t worry, I am in control.”

Leon stepped back over to Aeo, his face illuminated by a strange light. No, not strange. Familiar, the very same light as the campfire. Floating between the man’s hands was a gentle flame, suspended in midair as if held in place by an invisible wick. Pick lifted his head and backed away from it with a slight whimper. Shera, for her part, said nothing, but watched the scene with greater interest.

“Whoa,” Aeo whispered.

“As I said before,” Leon said, his voice tense and halting. “Most scholars have a knack for different practices. My specialty… is certainly not elemental, so this requires… eh, more than a bit of concentration.”

Leon put his hands forward.

“Now. I want you to… hold your hands up. Like you’re warming them near the flame. Hold them up.”

Slowly, the boy lifted his hands to the flame. He felt the fire’s warmth and hoped Leon didn’t simply dump the fire in his lap.

“There you go. Put your hands together a little bit more. Good.”

Leon sighed, and the fire danced in his hands with the pattern of his breath. The man’s face twisted, as if straining to control the flickering flame.

“Aeo. I want you to imagine warmth. Imagine wrapping up in the blankets, or touching the warm water bottles. Feel the fire warming up your hands.”

Aeo imagined it easily.

“As you’re focusing on that feeling,” Leon continued. “Imagine that warmth being gathered together. Take all the warmth in your body and imagine it going up your arms and settling into the space between your hands. Can you do that? Can you imagine that for me?”

“I think so,” Aeo whispered.

“Tell me when you’re ready,” Leon replied.

Ready? For what exactly?

Aeo tried to imagine. With his hands raised to the magickal fire, he did as he was told: he imagines all the warmth in his body beginning to move. From his chest to his shoulders and muscles, down his arms, into his hands, and between his fingertips.

It was all imagination, though. It wasn’t actually doing anything. Was it?

“Okay,” he said quietly. “I’m… ready.”

“Now lift your hands. Think of the warmth between your hands, and don’t stop thinking as you lift them.”

Aeo tried. They wouldn’t move. He tried harder, straining even to pull himself away. Nothing was working, something was wrong. But then, all at once, Leon’s hands were gone. And there, nestled between his own two hands sat the small flame. It danced, back and forth. With every inhale, the flame would grow larger. And with every exhale, it would grow smaller and threaten to fade.

“I thought as much,” Leon whispered.

“Look at that!” Hala whispered excitedly, as Pick let out an airy growl.

Aeo had never seen anything as strange as this. So mesmerizing. His head suddenly felt very dizzy. But he couldn’t fall back into his blankets; the fire held him there. He watched it dance like a spinning flower, like a leaf blowing in the wind. It seemed to glow like the sun itself. His eyes began to burn, and he felt the need to close them, but he couldn’t look away. Then, as if some sort of invisible thread had been cut, Aeo could move. And he very nearly did, falling backwards and bringing the fire closer to his chest.

“Whoa, there you go,” Leon said, holding Aeo’s shoulders steady. “That’s your animis, releasing you from its hold. You’re quite good at this for a beginner, Aeo. Are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

Aeo’s thoughts burned as bright as the flame. Comforting. He remembered the dreams of the sun as the warmth fell down upon him. Not burning and unbearable, but gentle and soft. He shouldn’t be able to look upon that bright sun from his dreams with his naked eyes, and yet he could, and within it he saw all the colors of the rainbow. They were beautiful, and they burned and danced all together. He could see the flames growing ever brighter, and he never wanted them to fade.

Like the flames of the Gray Pale. They would burn forever.

[Fool,] whispered a voice in Aeo’s ear. [You could shatter yourself so easily.]

A pair of voices, in his other ear: [You will burn everything. Everything! Burn it all!]

Aeo began to tremble. He looked up at Leon; he had not heard the voices. The once-small flicker of flame did not vanish from Aeo’s hands. On the contrary, as he looked back down, the flame began to wildly grow. He couldn’t hold it. He widened his hands to better support the expanding flame, but the flames flared all the more in response.

“I can’t—!” he gasped.

“Wait, wait,” Leon said quietly, quickly leaning over. He took Aeo’s hands and slowly brought them together with his own. “Breathe normally, now. Just breathe. It’s all right. You can let the fire go out now. Close your hands, just so.”

Aeo did. With Leon’s help, he pressed his hands together, and the fire vanished without a trace of smoke.

Pick howled.

<Fascinating,> said Shera.

“It most certainly is,” Hala said with a gasp. “Leon, how did you know Aeo could do something like that?”

“Just had a feeling,” Leon said, offering the boy a comforting smile. “What do you think of that, Aeo? Want to learn more?”

Aeo stared at his now-shaking hands, breathless. He didn’t answer.

Alyssum: The Voices of the Shattered Sun – Chapter Six

May 15, 2023May 15, 2023 / birdjericho

Lupus Benevolus

By midday, the wind outside had become particularly vicious. Even if he couldn’t feel it beyond the magick that protected the cavern, Aeo could hear its anger quite clearly. With little else to do besides rest, Aeo laid against the back wall of cave and simply did nothing. Truly, there was a first time for everything. For the first time in years, he had nothing to clean, nothing to sweep, nothing to organize, and no orders to take.

What a strange place. Maybe not home. But I’m free here. Mostly. More free than the inn, at least.

It was odd; in this place, the Shattered did not speak to him nearly as often. He didn’t know what to think about with them gone. He thought about what he’d be doing back at the inn at that moment. Probably wiping down a table. Probably being blamed for something. Probably being hit by Harthon for something he did or didn’t do. He wondered how well his master could operate the Gray Pale without him.

[Yearning for mediocrity again,] came the predictable whisper.

“Shut up, sark,” Aeo whispered, stretching his arms. Mock me all you want. But I’m never going back.

His limbs no longer felt sore and lifeless. Quite the opposite, in fact. They longed to move something, sweep something, mop something. When his feet healed, Aeo decided, he would work for Leon and Pick. He might even work for Shera, so long as she never did… whatever that was again. What did she even do? Leon said she didn’t “protect” him. Protect him from what? His head still ached from the experience.

What would he say to Leon? He couldn’t admit to burning down the Gray Pale. He certainly couldn’t admit to being a slave, even if Leon already knew. There was no family he could return to, no friends that would miss him. No one but Harthon and Ariste. He could already imagine Harthon beating him to death for what he’d done. But there was no way his master even knew where he’d gone, or how to track him. Right? He was a hunter, and a good one, but he couldn’t have been that good. Would he send bloodhounds after him, like hunters do when tracking a wild animal? And how long would he keep searching until he gave up?

He had no idea about any of it. Aeo tiredly stopped entertaining those thoughts.

Maybe he could stay on the summit of Falas. Maybe he could live on the mountain with Leon, and the frogs, and the mephandras. He wouldn’t mind that. So long as that terrible headaches and nosebleeds stayed at a minimum, he could manage it.

The big cave door creaked. Aeo felt his heart skip a beat.

Oh no, it’s her!

In wobbled a great furry mass, which stopped halfway in the cave to shake off the light layer of snow. A pair of curious eyes then gazed at Aeo, and the furry creature growled quietly as a thought entered Aeo’s head.

“Oh,” Aeo said, with slight relief, unable to think of anything but the blue sky. Fortunate, considering the thought of blue smothered his panic with the feeling of naïve hope. “Uh, hi Pick. Um, I don’t think I should walk yet. My toes still hurt.”

After closing the door with the rope, Pick practically pranced over to the corner of the room next to Aeo. He circled a couple of times in the space beside the boy, finally resting himself with a thud. His head came down across Aeo’s lap as it had before, and he whimpered a sad song as he looked up.

“It’s okay,” Aeo said, hesitantly petting Pick’s nose. “Leon said I’ll be better soon. I believe him.”

“You like to run around?” Aeo asked. “Um… You like to play?”

Pick barked, a sound that made Aeo flinch from the volume.

“Ah, uh… I guess you do.”

Then the worst possible scenario occurred. Again. Pick lifted his head and did his best to lick Aeo’s face. This time, he only nearly succeeded. Aeo defended himself, receiving wolf slobber all up and down his hands and arms.

“H-Hey! Eww, d-don’t do that!”

Pick obeyed as he placed his head down again. His eyes seemed to grow distant, looking away.

Aeo frowned, wiping his arms on the fur blanket. His mind grasped hold of as many purple things as it could recall, from violet flowers in the marketplace to grapes from the Gray Pale’s pantry. He also felt the distinct sensation of regret, of having wronged someone close to him.

“Wait, what? Purple means… sad? It makes you sad when you lick me?”

Pick growled and shook his head. That wasn’t it.

“Oh. Oh, you think it makes me sad?”

Pick yipped quietly.

“No, it doesn’t,” Aeo said. “It’s just… yucky, is all. The slobber.”

Pick looked up at Aeo from his lap.

Along with the sadness of the color came the distinct sensation of fear. Somehow Pick knew he’d run away from home. Aeo’s eyes grew wide.

“No, I didn’t—” Aeo tried to slide backwards, but his back found the stone wall. He placed a hand to his lips and whispered: “Wait, you… can’t read my mind, can you?”

Pick shook up and down with airy laughter and shook his head back and forth.

“Oh. Uh, good.” He tried to shake off his nerves. “Um. Promise not to tell Leon or Shera?”

Pick nodded with a grunt.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “You’re right, I… I ran away from my home. But it was a terrible place. I didn’t belong there.”

“Falling?” Aeo reached out for the bruise surrounding his eye. “Oh, no, I didn’t fall. Someone… hurt me. I ran away from them.”

Pick growled, showing his razor-sharp canines.

Aeo’s mind became bombarded by everything crimson, from the old Adian war banners to the sight of his own blood during the nosebleed. Then:

“Yeah. Yeah, Pick. I got angry too.”

He fell silent. But something stirred inside him. Pick was correct: this wasn’t sadness. This was anger.

“I couldn’t do anything about it,” Aeo whispered. “I can never do anything right. I’m just… I’m a worthless Adian bastard. I’m useless, I’m lazy, I’m good-for-nothing. That’s what he told me. Every day. Every day!”

Aeo threw his fist in his lap and felt tears coming to his eyes. He couldn’t stop the words from coming.

“I started a fire, Pick. A big one. In the inn. I wanted it to burn everything down. I wanted my master to stop hurting me. I knew the fire would make it go away, and I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted it to get bigger and bigger, and make it all just disappear!”

Pick whined and drew his head closer to Aeo’s chest.

“I didn’t mean to do it,” Aeo whined. “It was an accident! But it doesn’t matter, he’d never believe me. He’d never believe I didn’t light it on purpose just to make him pay. It started really small at first. And I thought it burned my hand. But it didn’t. It didn’t hurt me. And it just kept burning. When they tried to put it out with water, it just burned brighter and brighter.”

Pick watched him silently.

“Even though the fire was burning, my master hurt me anyway. He threw me, and… this happened.” Aeo pointed to his face. “He threw me out, and said he was gonna kill me. So I ran away. I hope the inn burned down. I hope Harthon is stuck in the cold like me. And I hope he’s angry, because he can’t do anything about it, just like me! I’m never going back there. No one’s going to make me. I hope Harthon freezes to death trying to find me!”

Aeo squeezed his eyes shut. He’d never been able to say such things out loud. He realized his voice had been echoing against the stone walls of the cave. Everything fell quiet save for the howling of the wind outside. Pick simply watched patiently as Aeo regained his composure.

Aeo raised his hand and passed it over the soft fur on Pick’s head.

“I’m sorry,” Aeo said quietly. “I didn’t mean to yell.”

Pick lifted his head a bit.

Aeo frowned.

“Two wolves? What do you mean?”

Aeo’s shoulders fell. Parents. The thought hadn’t occurred to him in a long time. The only two “wolves” in his life either didn’t care he existed or beat him on a daily basis.

“A… Mama and Papa.” Aeo shrugged. “I don’t have any.”

Pick whined.

“I don’t know who my dad was. I guess I had one, but I don’t remember him. Aristé told me my mom died when I was really little. At least, I think that’s what they told me. When I was born, I lived really far away, in a place called Adia. That’s why everyone calls me an Adian, because of my hair, and my eyes. A war happened there, and when I was two years old, someone brought me to Olvaren.”

Aeo paused.

“If I had parents, I don’t think they would have hit me as much.”

Pick’s head bobbed up and down. He then started panting, and his breath filled the air.

Aeo rubbed his nose with his arm.

“Yeah,” Aeo said. “I’m glad you have a mama. She probably takes care of everything for you. She’s never mean to you, or makes you do chores. Right?”

Pick howled.

Aeo couldn’t help but think of dandelions, and feel really annoyed while doing so.

“You run away? From Shera? Oh, you mean she does make you do chores?” For the first time in a long time, Aeo chuckled. “I’m sorry. That stinks.”

Pick guffed.

“But,” Aeo said quietly, thinking. “If Shera asked me to do chores for her… I’d do them, I think. If it meant I never have to go back to the village ever again, I’d do anything for her.”

“Yeah,” Aeo said. “I’ll be your friend. Absolutely. As long as it means I don’t have to live with Aristé and Harthon anymore. I’ll live with you instead, and you’ll never be mean to me. Right?”

Pick lifted his head and howled quietly at the ceiling. It then fell back down into the boy’s lap and getnly licked the boy’s arm. The young mephandras had a grin on his face, Aeo could tell.

“I’m sorry, Pick,” Aeo repeated. “I don’t want to be sad anymore. I just want to live and be happy, you know?”

“Promise you won’t tell Leon or Shera?”

Both of Pick’s paws rose up and covered his snout.

“Thanks,” Aeo said with a smirk.

Pick’s head rose and gave a light airy howl.

Hearing the boy through the roar of the wind wasn’t a simple thing to do. The tempest wards inside the cave were aided by the animis of the lit candles; outside, he only had his freezing bare hands and the small silver talisman he wore at his neck. Certainly not the proper tool for the job. Despite the improper focus and his great distaste for the task, however, it had to be done. Holding his left hand outwards, he gently touched the great wooden door, being cautious not to make it creak and startle the occupants inside the cave. A hazy purple glyph flickered to life between his fingers, the magickal energy distorting in the heavy mountain gale. His right hand rose to ear level and began to shimmer with a similar purple mist. Beneath his heavy Ashanti fur coat and linen tunic, the silver talisman began to heat up. It had been at least a year since he’d practiced this trick, and back then he’d had the candles to act as the foundation.

Oh well. Nothing like improvisation.

The moment his ear popped, he felt the animis begin to sap away his body heat. He knew it was working when he heard the following, reverberating through the wooden door like a distant canyon echo:

“—didn’t fall. Someone… hurt me. I ran away from—”

Keep talking, boy, Leon thought to himself, barely hearing the boy’s voice above the wind.

His hand slipped from the surface of the doorway for a moment, causing the sound he heard to scratch and warble. He gave in, allowing his hand to rest upon the door a bit firmer than he would have cared to. The door made no noise in response.

“—I started a fire, Pick. A big one. In the inn. I wanted it to burn everything down. I wanted my master to stop hurting me. I knew the fire would make it go away, and I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted it to get bigger and bigger, and make it all just—”

A fire, Leon thought. So that was the source of the smoke column.

“I didn’t mean to do it. It was an accident. At first. But he’d never believe me. He’d never beli— it on —pose just to ma—im stop. It started really small —first, and it even burn— hand, but— It didn’t hurt me. It just kept burning. When he tried to put it out with water—”

Leon’s ear popped, and a bead of sweat formed on his brow. The sound was garbled at best.

I can’t handle even this, he thought. For a few mere seconds. So pathetic.

The silver talisman was growing hot beneath his skin, like a piece of metal baked in hot sunlight. The glyphs within his fingers wavered like ripples of raindrops on a still pond, threatening to vanish entirely. Resisting the urge to grunt through the strain, he again touched the large wooden door with his left hand and held his right hand to his hooded ear.

His ear popped:

“I didn’t help them. I didn’t. I hope the inn burned down. I hope Harthon is stuck in the cold like me. I hope he’s— because he can’t do —thing about it. I’m never —ing back th— No one’s going to ma— I hope he freeze—”

With a whirr-like ping just loud enough to momentarily deafen him, the glyph in his right hand vanished, followed by a silent fading of his left. The magick was finished, and his talisman did not have sufficient animis to renew it. Desperate to keep his volume down, he tore open his coat and tore the silver from his neck. It fell into the snowdrift beside the door as steam began to billow from the small crater of snow. He then bent down and scooped up a fistful of snow, passing it underneath his shirt and pressing it against the center of his bare chest.

The burn would be worth it, for he had learned three important things. First: the boy was indeed the property of the man and woman who owned the inn at the center of Olvaren. He had observed the Adian boy and his Antielli owners before, a few months prior while gathering supplies from the trail merchants.

Milfoiek. Harthon and Ariste Milfoiek. Yes, that was their names. The simplest of slave owners.

After a decade of devastation and bloodshed, the nation of Antiell was well-deserving of divine punishment for allowing the practice of slavery to endure. In Leon’s estimation, they were simply setting themselves up for further retribution from their red-eyed neighbors. But did the woman and her detestable husband individually deserve such punishment? Did they deserve for their inn and their livelihood to go up in flames? By the sound of Aeo’s voice, perhaps they did. Under such conditions, perhaps the boy’s outburst was inevitable. Perhaps of all the things that died during the Second Adian War, Antiell might have saved themselves grief and killed slavery along the way.

Like most fools, Leon thought, they persist, and then grieve at the most sensible of consequences.

Second: the boy had started the fire that destroyed the Gray Pale Inn. Based on the size of the smoke column that rose from Olvaren the day after the boy had arrived, there was little chance that the only casualty was a single establishment. No, the conflagration must have spread to other buildings. Likely the market next door, and perhaps the town hall beyond that. He could only speculate further, as he had no intention of investigating personally. Better to remain hidden than attract any unwanted attention from hunters or San’dorian mages, especially if the fire were started through curiously arcane means.

Speaking of which, third: the boy had potential. Real potential. Leon had sensed the boy’s animis the moment he first laid eyes on him. It was strong for someone so young and so inexperienced. The boy was a spark, a potential that might consume everything it touches. Or, with proper instruction and guidance, such a spark could become a torchlight in darkness. The boy knew nothing about the ways of magick, that much was certain. He had not been raised in Ashant. Or Adia, for that matter. And the simple-minded folk that lived in places like Olvaren rarely had time for such things. Slaves, most especially.

This boy is the one I’ve been waiting for? Leon thought. Wonderful. One more piece in the puzzle that doesn’t fit.

He sighed. One more gamble. A gamble on top of gambles. Everything upon the table was untested. Unproven, and volatile. Twelve long years of questions and eight months upon a frozen mountaintop, and still everything remained so utterly hypothetical. The boy was merely the most recent complication. This was no way for a sensible man of science and magick to proceed.

Leon looked about, still pressing the ice to his burned chest. Shera was nowhere to be found; no doubt she was scouting the mountain for danger. He looked back to the wooden cavern door, and decided to leave it alone for now.

No need to bother them. There are experiments I should attend to. So many experiments.

Leon stooped down, digging through the ice for his talisman. The graven image of a diving falcon seemed undamaged, as did the small garnet gemstone that served as the falcon’s eye. Though still quite warm, Leon pocketed the talisman in his coat pocket. And for a split second, the memory of his father’s face flashed in his mind as he stepped away from the wolf den.

If only the old man knew the risks I was taking. And after all my talk of diligence and duty. He would laugh right in my face.

Alyssum: The Voices of the Shattered Sun – Chapter Five

May 11, 2023May 11, 2023 / birdjericho

Lupus Loquentes

Fifteen minutes later, Leon returned from the blizzard outside bearing an armful of steaming rubber bottles, all filled with brand-new spring water. Aeo’s muscles felt like melted butter beneath their wonderful warmth. Leon even placed rubber bottles on the sides of his head to keep his ears warm; he hadn’t realized just how achingly cold they’d been until he did. He didn’t even bother to move when Pick came to lick his face again, soaking his cheek in wet slobber.

“Uh…” Aeo whispered, forced to think of oak leaves again. “Y-Yeah… good boy.”

“Pick,” said Leon. “Can you go get Shera for me? Go watch the bighorners for her for a few moments. Tell her I need her advice.”

Pick’s head drooped down low, and his nose nuzzled up against Aeo’s side as he quietly whined. Leon chuckled.

“It’s all right, Runt, Aeo’s not going anywhere. I’ll be working all day, and you’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other. I just need to speak with him and Shera for a while. Please?”

Pick’s shoulders visibly sunk, but he lifted himself on all fours and headed for the door. Standing, the wolf pup stood a little taller perhaps than a full-grown lion, and Aeo wondered to himself how much growing the pup had left. Aeo expected the cold air from outside to blast into the cave as Pick pressed his weight against the door. But to his surprise, the temperature of the room hardly changed at all (and not just because he was being smothered by thermal rubber bottles). Pick closed the door shut behind him with the latch in his mouth.

“All right, young man,” Leon said, sitting on the stone floor beside Aeo. “I was hoping we could talk. Now that you’re not frozen solid.”

Aeo frowned. Might as well make his intentions plain.

“You’re… not going to make me go back to the village, are you, sir?”

Leon folded his hands in his lap and leaned forwards.

“Well, therein lies the problem,” he said. He gave the boy an assuring glance. “If you’re asking if I’m kicking you out of the cave when your frostbite heals, the answer is no. Of course not. But I wonder if you might tell me who you belong to. You came from Olvaren, no doubt. Do you have family? Friends? Anyone who might be searching for you?”

“No,” Aeo replied quickly. “No one. No one cares about me.”

Leon cast his eyes downwards.

“Is that right?” he replied.

“I’m not going back to Olvaren,” Aeo said flatly. “Never.”

“Be that as it may,” Leon said quietly. “There aren’t many free Adians living in Olvaren these days. I imagine you might… belong to someone. I’ve visited Olvaren may times over the years, and I may have seen a few Adian children working as stable boys or innkeepers. Does this sound at all familiar?”

They both fell silent. Aeo in particular stared dead-set at his lap.

“Well,” Leon continued, stroking his rough stubble. “It isn’t my business, I suppose. But if someone was worried about you, and tried to follow you up the mountain, it could mean danger. For you. For Pick, and for Shera. For Hala, and Heem, and their family. And for myself.”

Aeo didn’t respond, casting only a passing glance at the academic.

“I’m assuming you’ve heard stories about the mephandras.”

Aeo nodded, looking up.

“I didn’t think they were real,” he said. “My mast— er, the hunters… they used to talk about them all the time. The hunts.”

“Oh yes,” Leon sighed. “The damnable hunts. Did you know the Academy at San’doria paid the bounties for the mephandras in years past? Used to be a great deal of scientific interest in their study. So few animals species are capable of communication, especially at such a high level of intellect and power.”

“I didn’t know the mephandras could talk,” Aeo said. “The hunters never said anything about that.”

“Oh, of course not,” Leon said. “It isn’t common knowledge, either. That’s because the mephandras don’t usually talk to things they consider to be their prey.”

“Prey…?” Aeo whispered. “You mean… Pick would actually eat me?”

“If Shera allowed him to,” Leon said with a shrug. He then laughed. “More like forced him to. I don’t believe he would willingly. I suspect he likes you and I too much to ever consider it. Shera herself is a different matter. If we ever demonstrated ourselves to be a threat to her or Pick, there is little question on whether she would devour us. So when you speak to her… I would appreciate it if you continued to appear as harmless as possible. Understand?”

For the first time, Leon appeared very grave, and this made Aeo’s stomach turn.

“Uh-huh,” Aeo replied quickly, nodding as his throat ran dry. “O-Of course.”

“Good,” Leon said, almost visibly relieved. “Well, it sounds like you and I have the same source for the stories. The hunters have hunted mephandras for hundreds of years, but only recently have they endangered them. Shera allows me to stay only because I have assured her that I can keep the hunters away from her and her child.” Leon stretched his arm as he spoke. “If the hunters ever discovered Shera and Pick alone here on the summit, they would almost certainly be captured or killed. I will not let that happen. And I’m hoping neither will you.”

Aeo’s jaw hung open as he contemplated Leon’s words.

“But…” Aeo whispered. “Where are the other mephandras? Aren’t there more living here? I thought the mountain was their home.”

Leon shook his head.

“It isn’t anymore. Shera and Pick are the last of the mephandras living on Falas.” Leon folded his arms and grimaced. “I have tried to convince them to leave. For their own safety. But they will not.”

“Why not?” Aeo asked.

The large cavern door suddenly creaked open. If Pick had appeared to be a gigantic wolf, then what stepped into the cavern made Aeo very afraid. The giant muzzle of a fully-grown mephandras passed through the doorway, followed by a veritable mountain of shimmering-ivory fur. Four massive limbs allowed the great beast to stand as high as the cave ceiling, a full fifteen feet tall. In fact, Shera had to bend a fraction to avoid skimming the stone with her pointed ears. Where Pick resembled a full-grown wolf with thick but gentle fur, any softness in Shera was covered in thick, spiked plates of chitinous armor. From the joints of her limbs to the flat portions of her skull, there was little doubt that she knew conflict and pain; wherever her armor grew, deep scars and grooves accompanied the growth.

And if it felt strange to receive images from Pick’s mind, then listening to the almost-audible words of this massive monster commanded all of Aeo’s attention as they entered his mind.

“Good morning, Shera,” Leon said, showing no fear at her sudden appearance. “I was just telling Aeo about—”

At the same time as Shera’s words dominated his thoughts, he swore he could “see” the image of a mephandras in the background of his thoughts. He could “see” a dozen massive ivory creatures, all covered in chitin and fur, all surrounding a dozen more tiny wolves as their children played in the snow. One in particular stood out from the others. Smaller than most of the fully grown beasts, but playful and energetic, spots of his fur colored light blue. To see this mephandras caused Aeo to sorrow, and he didn’t know why.

Were they merely images, like Pick’s? Or were they memories? They made his head ache as muffled words, colors, sounds, smells, and sensations all fought to dominate the stage of his mind simultaneously.

“That’s right, Aeo,” Leon said, the torrent of images and thoughts visibly affecting him as well. “Shera’s kin—or what remains of them—fled Falas many years ago. But Shera stays because she must. It is her duty to protect the summit from those who would spoil it for gain.”

Shera closed the door by gripping the rope latch with her teeth, then circled and laid her great body down neatly in between the campfire and the wall of the cave. Alone she easily took up half the floor space. She eyed Aeo up and down and made him wish he wasn’t lying prone and vulnerable.

<It is the vow I made to my mother,> said Shera. <And it is the vow she gave to hers. The vow began with the Goddess, and I swear it will not end with me.>

“The… Goddess?” Aeo asked. “You promised Tiathys?”

<Do not speak Her name, little one,> Shera said, growling. <You dishonor it.>

Leon placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder, as if in apology.

“Therein lies the problem, Aeo,” he said. “If the hunters ever find this place, Shera and Pick would be in great danger… and it is likely they will stumble upon a number of secrets that must remain hidden. That’s why I need to know if anyone will come looking for you.” He looked up at Shera. “I can’t imagine anyone would. The blizzard hasn’t ceased. His tracks are long gone, as is his scent. I should think that if anyone cared, they would imagine him dead from exposure.”

As much as a wolf can look displeased, Shera did, and growled a bit as a thought entered Aeo’s mind.

<Perhaps.>

“Considering no other humans have traveled this far without assistance,” Leon continued. “I would think it safe to assume that all is—”

Leon paused. His attention aimed squarely upon the great wolf.

“Yes, but— no, no, I think that—”

Aeo heard nothing. Were his ears plugged? He couldn’t help but shake his head.

Very slowly, something began to feel odd. The room became different, as if the air suddenly became dry. The feeling wasn’t painful at first, more like having a small weight sit on top his head. But soon, his ears began ringing, and a small headache entered his head through his temples. He tried to block the pain with his fingers, but they provided no comfort.

“I know you don’t like the idea of another—”

Leon stopped.

“No one will follow him. If we give it some time maybe I can—”

Another stop.

“I understand that, but there’s his situation to consid—”

Shera was becoming visibly agitated as Leon continued to respond to her silent conversation. At first, she kept the growling low, but soon a snarl accompanied the sound. Aeo’s heart leaped up into his throat as he remembered Leon’s words:

They can whisper too, so you’re the only one who can hear them.

Somehow, Shera and Leon were having a conversation without him. The longer this phantom conversation continued, the paler Leon’s face became, as if the wolf had drained the man’s face of color.

“Uhh…”

The pain in Aeo’s head grew worse. In fact, the headache in his temples began to spread to his forehead and behind his ears. A slow, steady process, like knives being pushed into his brain from multiple angles. He tried to push the headache out of his forehead with his hands, but this made things worse. The headache seemed to spread from the inside, making the muscles of his brow contract involuntarily. Blood rushed to his head, making the bruise around his eye unbearable.

“I… I know that,” Leon spoke, his voice distant. “But I truly think—”

“Please…” Aeo whispered.

Neither the wolf nor the man paid Aeo any attention. Nor did the pain stop. It grew backwards towards his neck, and his vision began to blur. His head felt heavy and thick, like something was leaking out his ears and nose. Aeo lifted his arm and reached out for Leon’s shoulder. He could hardly find it through the haze of his vision and must have looked grasping and desperate.

“L-Leon, sir…”

Aeo’s tongue barely obeyed him, the bursting pain traveling down his neck and spine. Aeo finally clung to Leon’s arm, but he could no longer see it. The pain spiked, and it felt as though something in his head disconnected and burst open. When Leon finally looked away from Shera, he seemed distant and distracted as if Shera still spoke to him.

Leon’s focus finally rested on Aeo.

“What…? Aeo, are you—”

Aeo stared at him, unable to speak.

“Shera!” Leon shouted. “Shera, stop!”

Almost immediately, the tightness and pain on Aeo’s head faded, and fuzzy vision swam back into view. The snarl on Shera’s face disappeared, replaced with an emotionless serenity. Though she remained on her front paws, leaning forward at attention, her eyes darted away. As if the wolf could feel his thoughts and feelings, her thought-voice came clear and gentler than before.

“Difficult…?” Leon whispered, suddenly incredulous. “Shera… you weren’t protecting him.”

Shera said nothing.

“Shera! You fool, you… you could have killed him!” Leon quickly turned to Aeo, placing his hands on the boy’s temples. “We didn’t need to speak of these things in front of the boy, we could have taken this elsewhere!”

Aeo’s brow raised, then lowered in confusion. Then something clicked inside his head, like the snapping of a delicate tree branch. Instantly, his nose began to bleed, and thick drops of blood bled down his face and across his bare chest. Small droplets of blood even trickled from his ears and onto the fur blanket in his lap.

“Goddess! Hold on to me, Aeo, hold my hands! Lay down carefully, now!”

Aeo sputtered and coughed, slowly laying back down and allowing the blood to flow down his throat. Still he clung to Leon like a desperate spider, even as the man produced a handkerchief.

“Are you all right, Aeo? Can you see? Can you see me? Can you speak?” Leon said, moisture beading on his own forehead. When Aeo nodded in affirmative, Leon shouted: “Shera, this argument has already been had. You didn’t need to lash out the boy in my stead! I merely wanted your help in explaining the situation to him. Have you gone mad?”

While Leon’s nose hadn’t bled like his, Leon himself looked positively terrible. He was breathing heavily, sweating as if he’d hiked all the way down the mountain and back up again. Even as Leon wiped the sweat from his mouth, Shera flicked her tail in contemplation.

<Goddess help me,> Shera said finally, her thought barely an addition to the confusion in Aeo’s mind. She lifted herself off the ground and turned towards the door.

“Shera, be reasonable,” Leon said as the great wolf walked away. “The boy cannot simply leave. Where would he go?”

Shera stepped away with a surprising grace, much more than Aeo would suspect a creature her size to possess. Just as deftly, she slammed the door behind her with a thud. And as if in response to her prompt exit, the magickal purple candles that maintained the temperature of the room suddenly blew out with an audible pop. To Aeo’s shock, the air in the cave fell to freezing in an instant.

Leon sighed, his breath becoming quite visible in the sudden cold.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Aeo? You can see, can’t you? The first time I met Shera, she spoke to me so strongly, she caused me to go blind for a week. It isn’t a pleasant sensation, I know.”

“I can… see,” Aeo asked quietly, his vision slowly focusing.

“Oh thank heavens,” Leon whispered, and fell quiet for a moment.

Aeo placed a hand on his own forehead. He must have looked like Leon himself: white as a ghost. Leon nearly hid his own condition as he wiped the blood from Aeo’s face, but Aeo could feel Leon’s hands trembling behind the cloth.

“I’m… I’m f-fine, sir,” Aeo said, lifting his hand to the cloth. Dropping Leon’s handkerchief into his lap, his grip on Leon’s arm lessened. “Did I… did I make Shera mad?”

“No, you didn’t,” Leon said. He looked down at Aeo, clearing his rattled throat. “Goddess, you didn’t. She was only angry at me.”

Leon lifted himself, rolling up his sleeves and ignoring the intense chill now blowing through the cavern.

“I’m sorry, Aeo. The blame is mine, I should have known better. I had hoped she would explain to you more about the situation on the mountain, but… it conjured memories that are best left forgotten. Perhaps you witnessed some of them. I will speak to her about letting you stay. It is obvious you should not return to Olvaren.”

Leon looked down at Aeo.

“For now, just rest. I’ll have Pick come in and watch over you. Besides his friendly disposition, his mental capabilities have yet to achieve even a fraction of his mother’s power.”

Leon’s voice sounded hoarse for a moment at the end. He went quiet. For a moment, he placed his fingers on his temples.

“Are… are you all right, sir?” Aeo asked.

Leon cleared his throat and didn’t turn around.

“Oh, of course. Don’t worry about me. It’s, eh, not the first time Shera and I have… conversed.”

Aeo squirmed beneath his fur blanket.

Alyssum: The Voices of the Shattered Sun – Chapter Four

May 8, 2023May 8, 2023 / birdjericho

Rana

With food, water, and a warming body, Aeo slept straight through the night, even with a giant wolf at his side and a strange academic watching over him. He didn’t really know what he had eaten; it appeared to be a bowl of brown and purple lumps, all meat and fungus, stewed in a thick sauce. He slurped it down, anticipating the worst.

That’s when he realized it: despite the texture, the inexplicable stew was the most savory and delicious meal he’d ever eaten in his life.

The Storyteller had been wrong. He survived. Not only did the mephandras not eat him, it had saved him. Though it certainly sounded like it wanted to eat him! Well, not an “it.” A “she,” like in the Storyteller’s story. Was it the same creature? The mate of the dead mephandras? He might have asked, but the wolf didn’t return to the cave before he fell asleep.

A strange dream swirled in his head. It was different than his dreams of the sun. He dreamed he stood at the top of the mountain. Even as he gazed upon his distant homeland beyond the summit, something chased after him. He heard the violent barking of hounds, the shouts of hunters calling after him. Hired by Harthon, no doubt. He cast his gaze backwards, and saw them in the distance, dozens of angry men with spears and bows racing towards him from the broken treeline. They were chasing him, yet he felt no anxiety; they were miles away. Instead, he looked beyond the summit to the wide dunes and deserts of Adia. Strange. The merchants that traveled the pass never mentioned how close to the mountain his homeland lay.

Without a second thought, Aeo raised his foot into the airy dark and allowed himself to plummet down the snowy cliffs. Gravity could not hurt him in his dreams, and it felt natural to fall into Adia’s embrace. He flew, weightless, just inches from the crags, soaring at the speed of an eagle’s dive. He could no longer hear the dogs or the men following him, just the sound of rushing wind cascading past his face.

The snowy ground approached quickly. Aeo tried his best to pull up, or maneuver to the side to avoid it. But nothing worked. He could not fly, not really. And just before he collided with the rocks and ice…

He woke up.

That strange morning, he quickly realized that he wasn’t sleeping in a cot in his tiny closet in the Gray Pale. His sore muscles and the dull aching behind his eye were quick to remind him that he was sleeping instead inside an unfamiliar cavern. And though he still felt the dull tingle of frostbite in his ears and toes, the heavy fur blankets on top of him were luxuriously warm.

Aeo tugged at his arms to rub his eyes. Heavy weights stopped them from rising, weights that were no longer warm.

Oh. Water bottles. Right.

With some effort, he hauled an arm out from beneath the pair of bottles, and wiped his eye. Pain shot from his face at the slightest touch—the bruise. He was tired. Very tired. His body was useless, but his mind was painfully clear and active. Not to mention more than a little nervous. Finally able to move his head about without discomfort, Aeo looked to his left, towards the direction of the campfire. His ears didn’t deceive him. A giant furry monster slept comfortably against the corner of the wall on a pile of furs, curled up all together and breathing steadily. How old was this wolf named Pick? It wasn’t like Aeo could judge from the thoughts Pick forced into his head. Or could he? Maybe he was still young, like a little kid? He hadn’t hesitated at all to place his head in Aeo’s lap like an adorable puppy.

Where was the man named Leon? Oh, there, sleeping on a makeshift cot set into an alcove in the cavern wall.

Aeo sighed, trying to relax as he examined his surroundings. His bed lay against the slope of a very wide cavern. The purposefully-flat stone floor gently curved into the walls, though whether it had been formed with tools or time, Aeo couldn’t tell. The cave walls themselves weren’t nearly as orderly. Nooks, cracks, and crannies filled the four oblong walls, dozens of them filled with unlit wax candles and small charms of varying sizes and colors. Aeo could feel the weight of the mountain’s peak above him, as the cavern’s ceiling was dotted with hundreds of small stalactites and bulbous formations of solidified silt. Ropes and fabric hung from a number of the larger stalactites; there was no sunlight outside to dry laundry, after all. Opposite of Aeo’s resting place was the entrance to the cave. From the campfire in the center of the chamber, the natural stone continued until it met a constructed wall of wooden slats sealed with mud cement. A human-sized doorway sat in the middle of the wooden wall, while a larger barn-like door with a rope-loop doorknob could open half of the wall to the blizzards outside. How the wolves might have helped in the construction of this cavernous dwelling, or whether they had at all, Aeo didn’t know. Maybe it was all the man’s doing.

A large campfire ring dominated the center of the chamber, complete with a roasting spit and a cast-iron cauldron suspended from a set of steel stilts. Nearer Leon’s sleeping place sat wooden crates and boarded boxes of all sizes, no doubt filled with foodstuffs and other such necessities. The wax candle crevasses continued along this wall. And although a few of them were lit, they did not flicker with typical flame. Instead, the flames dancing on their wicks were a shimmering violet, and each cast a strange series of dim glyphs and figures upon the stone like the shadows of a silhouette’s dance.

Magick, Aeo thought in wonder. The man knows real magick!

[Interesting,] whispered Kind, as if from a great distance.

I wish I could learn magick, Aeo thought. Then I would never be a slave again.

[Perhaps. It did not help us.]

Aeo thought: What do you mean?

[By magick, we were undone. Take care it does not undo you in turn.]

Aeo expected one of the other Shattered to chime in. But none of the other voices seemed present… or chose to remain uncharacteristically silent.

Aeo knew of magick, if only in concept. Everyone knew of the ancient practice of spellcraft and sorcery, even if very few knew how it all really worked. The hunters mistrusted it. Harthon in particular usually called magick “a bunch of Ashanti bunk,” unless he more bluntly called it “Adian trickery and bull-shite.” Aeo didn’t truly know why; it didn’t seem like magick belonged to any nation in particular. In fact, every so often, traveling magicians would wander into Olvaren and offer their talents as entertainment for a few coins and a place to spend the night. Some of these men and women would come from as far south as Ladonis, and as far east as San’drael. None of these were ever from Adia, though; slaves were entirely forbidden from practicing the arts. Sure, many were probably phony, their magickal “talents” nothing more than clever cards tricks and sleight of hand. But every so often, these magicians would prove themselves the genuine article. They would make candlelights flicker different colors, or make smoke billow from a hunter’s ears, or make a child’s voice sound like a hiccuping chipmunk. Or, just like the violet candles hanging from the cave wall, their magick would increase and stabilize the temperature of a cold room.

The only time honest-to-goodness wizards came to town was during the hunts. Unlike the good-natured magicians, these practitioners of magick did not perform for children, nor did they come cheap. Trained at the Academy in San’doria, the Guild hired them for their invaluable abilities: paired begrudgingly with the hunters, they studied the habits of beasts and their migration patterns, learned their methods of stalking, and created strange enchantments and alchemical implements. They could start bonfires with the flick of a wrist, read people’s thoughts, and even turn lead into gold as payment for housing and food.

At least… supposedly. Aeo had never actually seen any of these things done, especially turning lead to gold, and he didn’t know anyone who had. Neither had Harthon, hence the “Ashanti bunk” and “Adian bull-shite.” Aeo had wished countless times that he could turn dirt into gold. He could have bought his own freedom with just a handful of gold dust and avoid a lifetime of misery all at once.

He laid back, fumbling his arm back underneath the water bottles that leaned against his side.

What to do now, he thought to himself. Maybe Leon could take me to Adia.

He expected sharp criticism from Mean. But his thoughts remained oddly quiet, save for a single concern:

Wait. Will Leon make me go back? No. No, I won’t let him. He won’t take me back.

Aeo’s fists clenched. Even in his weakened state, he’d fight back. Or he’d run as fast as he could for the summit. And just like his dream, he’d fall down the other side until he reached the desert beyond.

I won’t let him take me back. I’m never going back! Even if I freeze to death, I don’t care!

“…all the way up the mountain by himself, you know! Stunning! Such bravery!”

“I know, Mama! I wanna see him!”

The massive wooden door of the cave suddenly creaked as if something were pushing against it. And Aeo jumped at the sound. His hearing focused. At first he could hear nothing beyond the roar of the endless wind outside, but then his stomach turned. Someone was out there. Multiple someones.

The door opened. The human door, in fact.

“Hush, now, little darling! Hush!”

Aeo’s eyes widened. It was no giant wolf who stepped through the door, nor was it anything resembling a human being. Instead, two round creatures came hopping into the room like a pair of springy, leather-padded kickballs. One of the creatures, the largest one, scanned the room for a moment with its big spotty black eyes, hopping further on all fours inside like a frog. Behind it, the smaller round frog bounded towards the campfire, full of energy and speaking rather loudly.

“Where is the leet-il hoo-maan, Mama?”

The bigger frog turned and put a webbed finger to her wide green lips.

“Hush, little toad,” she said. “You’ll wake all the sleeping folk!”

“But I aw-weady woke She-wa,” whined the round little thing.

“I am well aware,” the older frog whispered. “And I’m surprised Shera didn’t gobble you up!”

The more Aeo listened to the older creature, the more she sounded like a right and proper lady. Lady-frog? No burbling, or croaking, or frothing at the mouth, as Aeo might imagine a frog speaking Antielli words. In comparison, the adorable little frog beside her seemed to have a bit of difficulty with vowels.

“Oh yes, the poor dear is still sleeping,” whispered the older frog. “Good good good. The boy needs all the rest he can get after his terrible ordeal.”

“What’s a ow-deow?” the littlest frog whispered.

“Trouble, dear Heem, it means trouble.”

“Uh-oh. Twuh-ble. Twuh-ble’s no good.”

The elder frog then hopped to the center of the room, stepping towards the remnants of the once-roaring fire. She kicked at a few of the errant pieces of char for a moment, as if in quiet contemplation. Then the frog leaned back as if gathering air. A lot of it, like a balloon inflating of its own accord. Then, at the apex of her inhale, something in the frog’s throat clicked quite audibly. All at once, the frog then belched loud and long, her mouth erupting in a bright errant flame. The thick, super-heated substance that emerged from the rotund creature was more than just flame, instantly igniting the moment it caught the open air. In less than three seconds, the frog’s excretions brought the campfire to a roaring consistency.

Aeo, for his part, nearly cried out loud; he’d never seen something sound so disgusting and yet appear so mesmerizing.

“Ah, there we go,” the frog said, wiping her lips clean with the back of her hand. “Much better! Heem, my dear, would you grab a few logs for the fire?”

“Yes, Mama,” the little frog said, hopping to the wood pile next to the crates.

“Now then…”

Aeo suddenly realized why the frogs looked so round: each wore a tightly knit coat of thick fur around themselves, which the elder frog then shed and placed upon the ground close to the fire. Beneath the coat was the thin and petite form of a bipedal frog. She walked on two webbed feet as gracefully as any human, though she often dropped to all fours to hop about. The frog wore a tight dress of a strange dazzling multi-colored material, and her green skin glistened in the bright firelight. She certainly had the wide mouth of a frog, with thick pale whiskers sticking out the sides that added a curious wisdom to the wrinkles of her face. She stood about a foot and a half from the ground, maybe two when she stretched.

The little one named Heem stood half the elder’s height, a mirror copy of the frog in both color and poise. Now also removed of her thick coat, she hopped slowly towards Leon. Seeing him still fast asleep beneath the purple candles, she then hopped closer to Aeo. This made him pull his feet away by instinct, which caused Heem to jump three feet into the air and shout in surprise.

“Mama! Mama!” Heem cried. “Monster! Monster!”

“Oh! Oh my!” the elder frog turned to see Aeo watching them, clapping her webbed hands in surprise. “My poor boy! How long have you been awake? You’ve probably been watching us the whole time! Well, bless the Goddess! I probably scared you silly by starting that fire, didn’t I?”

Aeo didn’t dare nod in agreement. He didn’t dare do anything.

The frog-lady jumped close to Aeo, kneeling before his head. The little frog named Heem huddled tightly behind the older, watching Aeo with great big black eyes.

“Hello!” said the older frog with a cheerful wave. “My name is Hala, my dear! Pleased to make your acquaintance!”

“H-Hi,” Aeo squeaked.

“Leon told us all about you last night after you fell asleep,” Hala said. “My goodness, what a journey you took to reach us all the way up here! Of course, Shera had to drag you some of the way. It’s a miracle she decided to bring you up here at all! She told us she was searching for bighorns out of the treeline ridge when she saw a little human out there wandering all by himself. I have a feeling she wanted to eat you, but she carried you up here regardless! Wasn’t that kind of her?”

“Eat me…?”

“Oh, yes,” Hala sighed, bending down into a squat in front of Aeo. “I’m afraid she does that quite often these days. Only to keep us all safe from the nasty critters that roam the mountain, of course. The poor dear’s been tending to the bighorns all night long. She usually sleeps in this cave with Leon and Pick, but for some reason last night she decided to sleep in the barn! Isn’t that funny?”

“Um…”

Aeo decided it was not.

“The hoo-maan a-wake?”

Heem then approached Aeo’s face, examining him closely. Though made of the same shimmering material, she instead wore a thin tunic and waist skirt that provided much more dexterity. She folded her green little arms, licking her lips in disapproval.

“The hoo-maan isn’t leet-il,” she said, pointing. “He’s biiiig.”

“Well, he’s little to other humans, dear Heem,” Hala said, pinching the little frog’s cheeks. “Littler than Leon, anyway! Aeo, this is my little one. Her name is Heem. She’s very excited to meet you! Heem, this is Aeo. Be very careful now, he’s not feeling very well at the moment. No jumping on him, okay?”

“Okay, Mama.”

That’s when a great sneeze echoed through the cavern. In an instant, Heem’s attention turned quite dramatically to the far corner of the room. With a gasp, she cried:

“Piiiick!”

Pick was indeed awake, eyeing the situation. As if anticipating her hopping onto his back, Pick let out a long whine, yawning big enough to devour the little frog if she tried. Heem didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Instead, she deftly circled the great wolf’s furry head and climbed up Pick’s neck to sit on his back.

“Hi, you big floo-fie puppy!” Heem cried.

“Good to see you up, Little Runt!” Hala said with a wide smile. “Sleep well, did you?”

Pick growled and blinked. Despite the tiny frog hopping on his back, he managed to look almost bored. But then his gaze passed to Aeo.

Aeo tried very hard not to think of the color of the sky as he looked down at his toes.

“What… are you saying?” he asked.

“Oh,” Hala said with a chuckle. “I believe he wants to know if you’re well enough to be on your feet! Oh Pick, I’m afraid he won’t be on his toes for a bit longer. Frostbite is no little thing, after all!”

Aeo tried to wiggle them beneath the fur blankets. They felt inflamed. Painful, even, though no longer frozen.

“I don’t… I dunno,” he said finally.

“Don’t you worry, my boy,” Hala said. “Leon and I will take care of everything you need while you heal. Why, I remember getting frostbite on my toes! I had to sit in the thermal spring for a week before I could start hopping again. As a matter of fact, that’s not a bad idea!” She turned back to Aeo. “Perhaps if someone could carry you there, young man, the warm water might do you some good.”

A gruff voice then rose to fill the cave.

“Where do you think the water bottles come from?”

“Oh dear,” said Hala, clearing her throat. “Well, good morning Leon! I do hope we didn’t wake you. Though I’m certain we did.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you did,” he said with a chuckle. He lifted himself to sit. Curiously, he wore a loose-fitting pair of stained trousers that didn’t seem to fit his thin legs. His chest was bare; for someone of higher status, he appeared as oddly thin as Aeo himself. “But I’m glad. I have a lot of work to attend to today, and I might as well get started.”

“More of those experiments of yours? You know, the longer you’re down in those caves, the more I start to worry about you falling into holes, or getting trapped from a cave-in, or… even blowing yourself up with those glass pipes and jars of yours!”

“It’s nothing you need to worry yourself about, Hala,” Leon replied. “Everything I do is perfectly safe. I’m simply studying the plants and rocks around the spring.” He paused. “Nothing in the least bit explosive.”

“Hmm-um,” said Hala, tapping the floor with her foot. “You mean it isn’t anymore!”

Leon’s lips curled into a mischevious grin for a split second.

“Of course.” He looked over at the boy. “How are you feeling this morning, Aeo?”

Aeo shrugged, a challenge beneath his weighty blankets.

“I’m cold, sir,” he answered honestly.

“Oh, I’m sure. Thank you for starting the fire back up, Hala, that was very kind of you. I’ll refill those rubber bottles for you shortly, Aeo. That should help.”

As he lifted himself from his cot, Hala hopped up.

“Not a problem at all, Mister Sire-Loo!” said Hala. “I’m more than happy to help this young man get back on his feet!” She then turned to the little frog proudly sitting upon the wolf pup’s back. “All right, little Heem, it’s our turn to clean the hot springs today. You promised you would help me scrape off all the algae near the entrance, remember?”

“Waaah!” cried Heem immediately, kicking her feet and pounding Pick’s back with her fists. “But I wanna stay with Pick! I never git tooo!”

This time, Aeo was certain he could see irritation in Pick’s eyes.

“Pick has other duties, Heem,” Hala said, snapping her fingers at her little one. “Like taking care of Aeo while Leon is working! Don’t make me hop up on Pick’s head to get you!”

Aeo decided it was difficult to make out individual emotions on the frogs’ faces without hearing their words. But Heem’s expressions most certainly changed from outrage to sadness and then quiet acceptance within the space of a few seconds.

“Yes, Mama,” she quietly moaned.

The little frog hopped off of Pick’s back and made her way back to the campfire, gingerly putting on her spherical leather coat. Hala did the same.

“It’s so wonderful to have you here with us, Aeo!” she said, quite excited. “When you’re well enough to walk, I’d love for you to meet the rest of my family. They’re not as happy-sure as Heem and I are about more humans living here on the summit, but I know you’ll make yourself home in no time!”

Hala stepped over to the wood pile and made it a point to throw one more small bundle into the campfire.

“There’s no need, Hala, thank you,” Leon said as he buttoned up a long-sleeved shirt he’d produced from a small crevasse in the wall. “I’ll manage it.”

“If you’re sure, dear!” she said, her round form hopping towards the door. “I’ll see you later, Leon! Aeo! Pick!”

“Bye, Pick! And hoo-maans!” said Heem.

Both little frogs then disappeared through the door before closing it shut behind them.

“Such an fascinating woman,” Leon said with a laugh, folding his arms against the slight chill in the cave. “And so unlike the rest of her family. Speaks perfect Yshlene, too. Can’t imagine how.”

Yshlene. Aeo knew that word. It was the language he spoke. The language of Antiell.

Pick sat up and started panting.

“Oh, don’t be annoyed at her, Little Runt,” Leon said. “You know Heem loves you more than life itself. Don’t you?”

Pick growled once and laid back down on his fur blankets.

Aeo closed his eyes, lost in an odd sense of astonishment. Magick, talking frogs, and hearing the thoughts of wolves. Life was quickly losing sense. And he honestly preferred it stay that way.

Alyssum: The Voices of the Shattered Sun – Chapter Three

May 4, 2023May 1, 2023 / birdjericho

Calefacto

A burning sun. Gentle, terrible. And yet absent. Non-existent.

Aeo reached up in his dreams, to feel the heat of the sun on his skin. He could see it with his eyes, and it looked ready and willing to warm him. Yes, the sun wanted to fall upon him and give him comfort, yet none came. Instead, he froze. He cast his eyes downwards, and found his lower half sealed within three feet of solid ice. As if he’d been cast in marble, it suffocated him. He tried to claw his way into the sky, yearning to reach the light, but it remained distant.

And then the dream ended. The sun was gone. The ice was gone. And in its place, a terrible thought arose in the mind of the frozen boy.

“I know. He’s lucky you were out there.”

It sounded like the Shattered did. Except someone was responding to it, out loud. Someone else could hear the voice. Another thought arose in Aeo’s waking mind.

“No,” said a voice. Rough, with a slight accent. “As I told you before, Adians are for scaring, not eating. Especially not a child, for Goddess’s sake. That’s why I’m here, tending your herd and making your meals, remember?”

A third message crossed his mind.

“It is not terrible! Look, Pick isn’t eating the poor boy either, and that’s final. Besides, look at him; he’s all skin and bones, you’d be picking him out of your teeth for a week. Come now, the stew is almost done.” The voice became one of slightly mockery, adding with a lilted tone: “You’d like it if you tried it.”

A great beast snorted in response. Words emerged in Aeo’s thoughts, accompanied with the unmistakable sensation of disgust:

The boy felt fur beneath his fingertips, the weight of a thick blanket covering him. Behind his head, an enormous pillow made of thick hide. The smell of roasting meat and smokey pine wood filled his lungs, invigorating him.

Besides his surroundings, his body felt very wrong. Utterly drained and frigid, he didn’t have the strength to even raise a finger. He tried opening his eyes, but even gentle fire light proved too much to handle. He couldn’t feel his toes, only that something was pressing against the bottoms of his feet and making them tingle. He was unsure if this was a good sensation or not.

But he wasn’t dead. Not yet.

A strange concept then emerged in the boy’s mind, one he had no reason to form on his own. A mental image, or a series of concepts, that he had little choice but to contemplate:

The gruff, accented voice responded to the thought as if Aeo wasn’t the only one who could “hear” it.

“If you mean to eat him,” said the man with quiet resolve. “Then absolutely not. But if you mean to be his friend, then… I suppose. Lay next to him, warm him up a little. But let the poor boy sleep for a while longer, would you please? He needs rest.”

A monster then approached Aeo. Large enough to block the light, and heavy enough to make the ground beneath slightly tremble. Its footfalls tip-tapped and click-clacked across stony dirt, and a great body came to rest against the boy’s side. Worse, a large weight then settled across his legs, and the smell of a wet dog sank deep into his nose. The boy tried to open his eyes wide, and a face came into a blurry view.

A face? No. What made the boy think it was a face? Not a human face, certainly. A dog’s face. Or was it a wolf? It was too big to be a wolf’s face. The boy thought it a matter of fact that wolves do not grow to such sizes. The head of this wolf lay as large as an apple crate, as large as a hound should be by itself. A great black nose sniffed at the air like bellows, its gray-and-brown muzzle sinking deep into the fur blanket across the boy’s lap. Bright reflective eyes darted to and fro to other points of interest in the room, as if the dog had the intelligence to watch the room as a human might. As the boy strained to lift his head, he saw a pair of furry ears rotating to hear the myriad of homemade noises and the crackling of a campfire.

The wolf growled as if tired. The low vibrations shook the boy’s bones. His fear may have been frozen before, but like the rest of him, it was beginning to thaw. Try as he might to still his timid voice, he couldn’t help a small squeak of panic.

That’s when the wolf’s closest eye quickly switched upon him. The whole head rose and cocked to one side, and a thought arose in the boy’s mind:

The boy did not feel like smiling, though rising from his bed and screaming had certainly crossed his mind. The gruff man’s voice then called out from the opposite side of the cavern, as if alerted by the thought in the boy’s mind.

“Are you sure, Pick? Is he awake?”

The wolf bent his great head down, sniffing at the boy. Though the stale and humid dog-breath might well have been a violent hiss of steam, it growled and yelped a quiet affirmative. Then, Aeo’s worst fear came to pass: the wolf’s tongue emerged, shoving the boy’s red hair with a single terrible lick. The wolf was tasting him! The boy wanted to lift his arms to fight against it, but they remained uselessly at his side.

“Ah, he is awake!”

A dark figure appeared in place of the firelight, standing tall above the boy. Though Aeo’s sight remained blurry, the man’s form was recognizable enough. Not a wolf: a man. The man knelt down before him, resting his hand on Aeo’s forehead. He then touched Aeo’s nose. Then his ears.

“Hmm. Well, look at you. Looks like you’re not an ice cube.”

At this moment, the boy realized he was still shivering terribly. He opened his mouth, and the cold of the mountain fell out of it.

“Wh-Wh… whe… wh-where…”

“Now, now, boy. It’s all right. No need to worry yourself. You’re safe.”

The man came forward and sat himself down at the boy’s side, shoving the giant wolf’s head away from Aeo’s lap in the process. Not only did the wolf not straight away devour the man in response, the wolf simply grunted in protest, stepping over to the boy’s opposite side. It then laid its great body down and placed its head across the boy’s legs. Though it was obviously nothing more than a large wolf, its eyes kept staring at Aeo intently, like it knew something he didn’t. Its paws gently dug into the fur blanket as the wolf watched him with all the patience of a newborn puppy.

Aeo had no idea what to make of the man. He dressed like a scholar or a teacher, in fine trousers, a loose-fitting doublet, and a thin leather jacket with a wide tan collar. He wore thin spectacles that added to his years, the years that his freshly-shaven complexion removed. He didn’t seem at all like the hardy specimen of manhood that life this high up a mountain demanded. The sharpness of his countenance reflected something foreign, though from where Aeo had no clue. His accent, though different, was frustratingly plain, providing no further hint.

“By the Goddess, I can’t believe you decided to climb Falas in a blizzard like this,” the man said. “You must have been running away from something pretty dangerous to come this far up the mountain by yourself.”

The man placed a hand on the boy’s face, just above his left eye. Aeo immediately felt pulsing pain, the black-and-blue remnant of anger no doubt dominating his face.

“I’m guessing you didn’t do this to yourself.”

A thought rose in the boy’s mind.

“Yes, Pick,” the man said to the wolf, petting the wolf’s wet nose. “I’m… sure it was something like that.”

Aeo stared all the more: the man could “hear” the thoughts too. The man noticed and smiled, pointing to his temple.

“I’m sure you’ve never heard someone else’s thoughts before, have you?” The man placed a hand on the wolf’s nose. “Apologies. I suppose we should introduce ourselves. My name is Leon. This is Pick. His mama Shera was the one that rescued you from the cold. You’ll meet her when she returns. Welcome to our cozy little cave on the mountain.”

Pick gurgled and licked the fur blanket.

Leon laughed at the thought.

“Yes, you little scoundrel, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Leon leaned over to ruffle Pick’s thick coat. “I’m sure you’ll be great friends. Give it time, the boy’s been through a lot.”

“Wh-why… Why d-does…”

Leon waited patiently.

“H-he… talk… in m-my head?”

“I’ll be honest,” Leon answered with a sigh. “I don’t know. It’s curious, though, isn’t it? Mephandras pups are something else.”

Aeo’s jaw dropped open. The wolf wasn’t just a wolf. It was a mephandras. The monster. The Storyteller had actually told him the truth.

“I’ve actually tested a few things,” Leon continued. “Did you know you can hear Pick from about a kilometer away? And his mama Shera? You can hear her as far away as Olvaren if you know she’s speaking to you. Amazing, isn’t it? And perhaps a bit scary. When mephandras grow up, they learn to whisper, too, so you’re the only one who can hear them. Young pups don’t quite know how to whisper, of course. And the images Pick uses tend to get a bit, eh… lost in translation at times. It takes some practice to understand you, huh, Little Runt?”

Pick blinked a few times and started to pant.

“That’s right,” said Leon with a chuckle. “It’s fun to talk.”

It was as if someone were forcing Aeo to think of every green object he could recall, from moss and oak leaves to the green tunics the hunters sometimes wore. Though the sensation was unnerving, it was decidedly… good? At least, he felt positive when he contemplated the color. That alone added to Aeo’s confusion, and he blinked to make the green thoughts fade.

Aeo attempted to ask: “Wh-What… d…does… g-green…?”

“I believe that means he’s happy,” said Leon. “Green is Pick’s favorite color, after all. So when he howls, or talks, it makes him happy. Am I right, Pick?”

Pick let out a small airy howl, and Leon patted his head with a grin.

“All right, now. To business.” Leon bent forward, reaching under the blankets and lifting the boy’s arm. As Leon grasped Aeo’s hand, the warmth of it made his skin burn. “You can feel my hand? Does it hurt?”

Aeo nodded.

“Hmm, still cold. I’ll get you a couple warming pads for your fingers. At least you managed to keep them warmer than your toes. How about them? Can you feel the heat down there?”

The muscles felt tense and sore. But the fur blanket slowly wiggled back and forth.

“All right. Try not to move them too much right now. I’m sorry to say you’ve got a rather textbook case of frostbite there. They’ve started to turn a might purple. Your ears, too. It’ll take some time for the right color to return.”

Leon peeled the fur blanket back, and lifted a rubber bottle from the boy’s chest, testing its temperature. So that was the source of the weight.

“P-Purple?” the boy whispered frightfully.

“Oh, only slightly,” said Leon almost too quickly. “Nothing time can’t make better. I’ll go refill a couple of these bottles in a few minutes. In the meantime, just relax. The food is almost done, and there’s nothing better for healing than a full belly. I’ll even leave Pick right here to make sure you stay toasty warm.” He pat Pick’s ears. “Can you do that for me, Runt? Keep him warm?”

“Ha, good. Just don’t light him on fire, all right?”

Pick let out a series of grunts that sounded like dull laughter. Leon lifted himself but stopped midway.

“Oh, before I tend to the stew… I imagine you have a name?”

The boy cleared his throat.

“Aeo, s-sir,” he said.

“Aeo. Very good.”

Pick gave a soft moan, staring at Aeo with an almost curious canine grin. And once again, Aeo couldn’t help but think of grass.