Chapter 249: A Dark Beginning Part 3

A single canoe and its passengers floated quietly down the mountain river as the forest burned behind them. The sun had already set, but the glow of Mount Mov’s burning remains lit the sky a dark red.

Emma, Duncan, and Aqila sat on one end of the canoe, staring at the small boy who sat huddled as usual at the other end of the canoe. Yara sat in the middle with a frown.

“Wait,” Yara twisted her lips. “You don’t remember anything?”

The small boy nodded reluctantly, “Mm.”

“Not even your name?” Yara asked.

“Uh uh,” he said.

“Damn, and here I thought you’d be a wealth of knowledge,” Yara sighed. “What do you remember?”

“Um, waking up this morning?” he shrugged.

“And how did that happen?”

The boy closed his eyes, “...It was dark, I couldn’t move, I think I was sleeping…? Then there was this really loud sound, like the earth itself was screaming out in pain… I opened my eyes and saw fire and molten rock.”

“Mount Mov’s eruption,” Aqila whispered. “Were you on the volcano when it erupted?”

“Maybe?” The small boy shrugged.

“No, that’s not possible,” Yara said. “The eruption tore everything apart in a league-wide radius, nothing could have survived a direct blast. But maybe you were quite near? Anyone else would have died even from that distance, but you survived, probably incurring a lot of damage in the process. It would explain the memory loss.”

“That makes sense,” the small boy nodded.

“Does that mean he’s from the dark side of the mountains?” Aqila narrowed her eyes. “He’s a monster from the Western Forest!? He’s dangerous!”

“Ugh, can you stop with all of that nonsense,” Yara rolled her eyes. “If the kid wanted us dead I doubt there is anything we could have done to stop him. Isn’t that right, kid?”

“I guess…?” the small boy cocked his head to the side.

“If you were so strong, why didn’t you kill that monster from the start?” Aqila asked, anger dripping from her voice.

“...I don’t know… Better to be underestimated, than to be feared? Or something? I don’t remember how the saying goes,” the small boy admitted.

“Don’t worry about it.” Yara leaned forward with a grin, “What I really want to know is what are you? You're probably really old, right? Definitely from the Sundering Age or maybe even from the Age of Titans?” Yara shook her head, “I know the latter is doubtful, but one can hope, right?”

“How is he old? He looks younger than me,” Emma frowned.

“Shapeshifters can mask one’s true appearance and some live longer than others,” Yara said. “But I don’t know anyone who can shapeshift like this kid though.”

“Hey, what’s that?” the small boy pointed up.

A flock of butterflies slowly descended around them. Their black and purple wings grazed the water before they flew up and back down in a spiraling pattern around the canoe.

“Butterflies!” Emma said happily.

“A rare variant of owl butterfly to be precise. They’re native to the Duality Mountains,” Yara said matter-of-factly.

“I’ve never seen so many at once,” Duncan muttered.

“They must be fleeing the fires,” Aqila said.

“They’re beautiful,” the small boy said in awe.

“You think so?” Yara smiled thoughtfully.

“I think they’re beautiful too! Oh, my name’s Emma by the way.”

Aqila cleared her throat, “...Right, we haven’t properly introduced ourselves. I’m Aqila, this is Emma and her big brother Duncan.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Yara nodded with a grin.

The small boy smiled, “Nice to meet you, I’m, uh… I don’t remember my name…”

“Hm, well that won’t do,” Yara placed a finger to her lips. “How about… Caligo?”

“Caligo?” the small boy said tentatively.

“Yeah, after the butterfly,” Yara pointed at the butterflies flitting around them. “How about we call you Caligo? Until you remember your own name that is.”

“Caligo… Caligo,” the small boy mumbled. “What do you think, Lin-lu?”

A small white fox poked her head out from his ragged cloak and squeaked in approval.

“The mountain goddess!?” Aqila whispered in shock. “She’s alive!?”

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you kid?” Yara laughed.

“Huh? Goddess?” Caligo blinked.

Lin-lu squeaked a mournful sound.

“Ah, I see,” Caligo nodded. “She says that she isn’t the mountain goddess. That was her mother.”

“Her mother?” Yara asked.

Caligo rubbed Lin-lu’s head affectionately, “...After I woke up this morning, I walked through the mountains, looking for anybody… I found Lin-lu crying next to her mother’s body. It seems Vanara had killed her.”

“Vanara?”

“The one you called a dark god,” Caligo said. “He introduced himself, several times really. Were none of you listening?”

“All I heard was a lot of roaring and snarling,” Yara sighed. “I really wish I had been able to understand Vanara. Maybe he wouldn’t have had to die.”

“No, I would certainly have killed him,” Caligo said calmly. “He killed Lin-lu’s mother. She’s just a cub, but she saw her mother fall. Vanara had to die. A life for a life.”

“No hesitation, huh?” Yara said wryly.

“Are you the goddess’ protector now?” Aqila asked.

“I am her… friend? That is what she calls me,” Caligo said. “Lin-lu is still too young to look after herself. So I took her with me. We found a ruined village. There were a lot of bodies, most were mangled, but I found the body of a boy that was relatively unscathed. I copied his form to blend in and kept making my way through the mountains. One of your kind found me and led me to the river.”

“And the rest is history,” Yara nodded. “So, what do you really look like, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I… huh… I actually don’t know,” Caligo admitted. “I don’t even remember how to transform back. I guess only Lin-lu really knows… What do I look like, Lin-lu?”

The little fox trembled and buried her face in his chest.

“Is that good or bad?” Caligo wrinkled his brow.

“Now I’m even more curious,” Yara smiled mischievously.

“Where are we going?” Caligo suddenly asked. “Lin-lu wishes to know.”

“...I want to introduce you to some people, but before that, I’m taking the children to the Azure Realm, to a village on a small island,” Yara said. “A sea guardian is said to live there and I think I have a pretty good idea of who it is.”

“And mommy and daddy will be there?” Emma asked hopefully.

Aqila bit her lip.

“Um, no, sorry kid,” Yara said bluntly. “They are all d-”

“They aren’t there yet, Emma,” Aqila interrupted. “They are a bit late, but before I left, the soothsayers told me that if they are a little late they’ll just meet up with us at the island.”

“Oh… but I want to see them now,” Emma’s lip trembled.

“We’ll see them soon, Emma,” Duncan smiled weakly. He shared a silent glance with Aqila and swallowed hard. “...We’ll get through this, Emma, I promise.”

Lin-lu squeaked a small noise in Caligo’s ear.

“A sea guardian, I see,” Caligo murmured. “This sea guardian is said to be wise?”

“Something like that,” Yara shrugged.

“Do you think this mighty guardian will be able to help me regain my memories?” Caligo asked.

“It’s worth a try,” Yara smiled.

“Okay then, to the Azure Realm it is,” Caligo nodded. “Question. What is the Azure Realm?”

“You don’t even remember the Azure Realm?” Yara frowned. “It’s one of the ten Null Realms.”

“Null Realms…?” Caligo mumbled.

Lin-lu squeaked.

“We’re in the Violet Realm? Fascinating,” Caligo patted the fox’s head. He glanced up at Yara, “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing this Azure Realm, Miss…? Actually, I don’t think I know your name. What is your name, Miss?”

Yara smiled, “You can call me…”

~~~

“...Holo… Lady Holo…”

Holo blinked and shook her head, “Hm? Gregor?”

“Are you alright, my lady?” Lord Sientia asked worriedly.

“I’m fine, just thinking about the past,” she smiled reminiscently.

“Was it a good memory?”

“I don’t know… It’s a very old memory. Things were so different back then,” Holo sighed. “I was so young, so eager to prove myself, so unconcerned about the consequences of my actions… I was so stupid.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, my lady. We all do foolish things in search of knowledge.”

She smiled sadly, “Oh, Gregor, your scars may be visible, but we all carry the weight of our mistakes.”

He ran his hand across the burns on his cheek and shrugged, “I do not regret sneaking into your city’s library, even if I was… injured.” He smiled, “I got to meet you and believe me when I say, you changed everything, my lady.”

“A true scholar to the end,” Holo smirked. “I’ll need that dedication soon enough.” She looked out at Shadow Lake, the silver moon reflecting off its black waters.

“...House Thorn has been growing more curious and impatient, they wish to know of my findings in the sunken temple,” Lord Sientia muttered. “But not to worry, I haven’t told Lady Thorn anything regarding the true nature of our findings.”

“And how exactly have your findings been progressing?”

“I have been making excellent progress with the temple’s engravings and murals, as you requested, my lady. Soon I’ll have decoded all the upper floors.”

“Have you managed to open the innermost chamber yet?”

“...Not yet, but I have my best people working on it. I’m confident we’ll have it open soon.”

“We must hurry. I’m afraid we are running out of time,” Holo said grimly.

“Because of the war brewing in Dusk Valley?” Lord Sientia asked worriedly.

Holo shook her head, “No. I think this war is just a distraction, a ploy at something larger. I don’t know what yet, but I fear Caligo will go to any lengths to achieve his goals. The Ebon Realm may not recover from this…”

Lord Sientia furrowed his brow, “Surely the other ebon gods would intervene and stop the Monster in the Dark?”

“You don’t understand,” Holo said bitterly. “The gods underestimate Caligo and he likes it that way. But I’ve seen what that monster can do, the destruction he leaves in his wake. And now there are whispers of these so-called Unildyr creatures… Gregor, we need to reach the temple’s innermost chamber.”

Lord Sientia licked his lips nervously, “If I may be so bold, what exactly is in the chamber, my lady?”

Holo stared out at the half-sunken stone structure protruding from the lake, “...The temple was built in the Age of Memory, a time when people strove to remember what was forgotten at the Sundering and the age that followed. The people that built this temple were particularly more dedicated to history than most and it is said their greatest lessons were recorded in the innermost chamber. In other words, answers, Gregor, that is what lies in the innermost chamber. Hopefully, the right answers. And we need answers, now more than ever.”