“Teach them,” Mekiri stated with a sly smile. “Do you think that you were already a proficient student in what you needed to be when your old master took you under her wing? Don’t be presumptuous.”
“That’s a different thing; she trained me since I was old enough to hold a wooden sword. And she was an accomplished warrior and teacher before that. I… I’m a failure at that. History proves it.”
“I don’t see them being less able than you at the same age. They can do this. And more important, you can do this. Whatever happened before, leave it in the past. Look forward. You are only responsible for what you can do. And right now, if you want to defeat your enemy, you need to teach your friends what they need to know in order to help you. This is a battle that you don’t have to fight alone,” Mekiri said. Then she smacked Fionn on his head once more with her cane. “Dunderhead.”
Fionn looked at Mekiri, with suspicion, rubbing his head. It all felt too familiar.
“We already told him that, but he doesn’t want to accept our help,” Alex interrupted.
“And I already told you, I can’t,” Fionn countered. “And even if I agreed, we don’t have the time.”
“Tsk, tsk, Fionn, you are letting your past drag you back,” Mekiri hit Fionn in the leg, eliciting a grunt from him. She smiled at him. Fionn had seen that smile before but couldn’t remember where. “And about the time, don’t worry. The Maze and Ravenhall will provide answers to all your questions.”
“Yeah, yeah, all that is fine, but we can’t get away from here anyway. The Figaro’s core is damaged, among other systems,” Sid interjected.
“We can help,” Stealth offered with a smile.
“No offense, but you don’t strike me as knowing how to fix a sophisticated aeronautical masterpiece like the Figaro,” Sid said. Alex facepalmed himself while Gaby shook her head and Harland rolled his eyes.
“I’m surprised that a samoharo has such a narrow mind,” Mekiri replied. “Especially one that desires to visit the stars.”
“I hold a few advanced degrees in engineering and physics,” Stealth replied dryly.
“Plus I have this here,” Mekiri said while jumping back on her dragonwolf. She rummaged through the bags hanging at the sides of the animal. A myriad of objects fell to the ground, mostly junk belonging to a hoarder’s cave, including a sink. “Bingo!”
Mekiri rose and held aloft a pulsating orb that was bigger than her. It was a sphere, whose polished surface showed swirling streaks of green and red energy. It glowed with intensity. Sid’s eyes opened wide, his mouth agape.
“I can’t believe it!”
“Excuse me, but what’s that?” Gaby asked politely to Mekiri, but Sid cut her off.
“It’s a freaking dragoncore!” Sid took it from Mekiri’s hands. “I thought they disappeared alongside the Montoc Dragons!”
“I surmise that it could help fix your ship,” Stealth climbed down from his dragonwolf and removed some tools out of a bag.
“How long will it take to fix the Figaro?” Sam asked. “I’m worried. Byron and his followers have students with them, as well as Professor Hunt. We don’t know how long they will keep them alive.”
“Four, five hours providing we work nonstop,” Sid explained. “Even then we don’t know where they are heading.”
“That can be solved,” Alex replied, grinning. “They must have stolen a considerable amount of crystals for their spell. If we synchronize the Figaro’s sensors with Sam’s own crystal and the spare ones littering this place, the resonance will help us track them.”
Sam cast a look of surprise towards Alex.
“What? I do pay attention,” Alex shrugged his shoulders.
“The Maze won’t let you go just yet, though,” Stealth said out of the blue. “You need to pass a test first to receive the help you need from Ravenhall.”
“Test? What are you talking about?” Fionn asked, confused.
“It’s a shame you haven’t kept in touch with your roots, Greywolf,” Mekiri explained. “Ravenhall can answer your questions, provide you with help. But only if you undertake a test of character, a lesson from the Trickster Goddess, so to speak.”
“That would explain why so many get lost here. But how do you know we have a test to pass?” Harland asked.
“Because that door with a stone frame wasn’t there five minutes ago.” Mekiri pointed towards a stone threshold, crowned by a raven statue. “That’s the entrance to Ravenhall. The test has begun, your prayer for knowledge has been answered.”
“This place is getting weirder with each minute,” Harland murmured.
“What do I need to do?” Fionn asked, his grip on Black Fang tightening to the point of whitening his knuckles.
“Just enter, the test will reveal itself,” Stealth said.
Fionn tried to open the door, but it didn’t budge.
“The door is locked. Can we go now?” Fionn asked, annoyed.
“It won’t open until you accept your test,” Mekiri said, clearly exasperated. “Why do you have to be so stubborn? Hikaru was right in trying to knock some sense into you.”
“How do you know about that?” Fionn was surprised. It had been a vision, not an actual event. Unless Mekiri was…
“Just take those two with you,” Mekiri pointed to Alex and Gaby. She raised her voice. “And get the frigging test started. Kids these days! So damn stubborn!”
Mekiri hit Fionn once more in the knee.
“Ok, ok. We are running out of time. We’d better start with this,” Fionn mumbled. He wasn’t happy with his hand being forced while Byron was on the loose.
Gaby and Alex walked towards the entrance, followed by Sam.
“You can’t go there, little one,” Mekiri stopped Sam with her cane.
“Why?” Samantha looked confused.
“Because you haven’t witnessed the Path of the Dead yet,” the wizard added with a somber voice. Her expression turned sad. “Don’t be in a hurry to follow it just yet. If it’s in your personal fate, you will face it when the time is right.”
“Forgive me wise one, but what do you mean by that?”
“Having a near-death experience is what awakens the Gift. And it works only for a few lucky ones,” Mekiri replied with a shadow of pain covering her face.
“You mean all of you have died or have been close to it?” Sam asked, opening her eyes wide in realization. “How? Not you Dad, I know that story. You got caught in the Light Explosion and ended up like a burned steak.”
Gaby and Alex looked at each other and then at Sam. Alex lifted his t-shirt, showing his back and chest full of scars.
“Stabbed multiple times, left to bleed out,” Alex replied. “Not funny at all and I got it easy.” Alex pointed at Gaby with his head.
Gaby sighed.
“When you refuse to take the Last Rite with the Sisters of Mercy, they throw you into a labyrinth carved inside the mountain. If you solve it, then you are free. But the place is so dangerous, dark and devoid of anything edible that you end up dead from starvation, dehydration, or broken bones. In my case all three of them,” Gaby replied, looking not at Sam, but at Fionn.
Fionn fought the urge to hug her and soothe away the pain of the memory. Now he understood Gaby better. His reluctance to teach them grew. It would be cruel and unfair to put them in further pain for a problem that was solely his.
Sam was speechless, barely mumbling an ‘I’m sorry’ that garnered smiles from Gaby and Alex. Fionn looked at his daughter with a mix of sorrow and love in his eyes. That was the reason he had tried to keep her away from any danger. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. She was the only family he had left. He knew that training Gaby and Alex was a bad idea. They should be able to walk away from all of this and have normal lives. He was responsible for Byron, not them. Dealing with what Byron had become was his re
sponsibility. Instead, they were being exposed to the horrors and dangers that being awakened brought. Having the Gift wasn’t life insurance, not even for him. Long-lived, higher stamina or endurance didn’t mean being eternal or indestructible. And with Byron’s ability to nullify the Gift in others, the risk was even greater.
“The Gift comes with a hefty price. It gives you great power, but comes with a great…” Mekiri started.
“A much more likely chance of dying horribly or going insane,” Fionn interrupted.
“Not if you train them. Not if you pass the test,” Mekiri said.
“We’d better start the training and test then, shouldn’t we?” Fionn said sarcastically. “Will you be ok, Sam?”
“I will, Dad. Please go easy on them.”
“I will take care of her,” Harland offered.
“Yeah, while you help me to install this beauty. A freaking dragoncore!” Sid said with clear excitment.
Alex and Gaby started to walk towards the entrance of Ravenhall. Fionn tried to open the door, and this time it worked.
“A few words before you start your test, Greywolf,” Mekiri said. “Remember, the past is a lesson, not an anchor. The present is a gift, not a test. The future is an opportunity, not something to fear. All of us will arrive at our destination sooner or later. The difference lies in the path we take and with whom we choose to walk it.”
Fionn remained silent as Mekiri let him go after Gaby and Alex. This was going to suck.
Chapter 15
Teachings
Fionn walked to the threshold and inhaled deeply. He entered the darkened tunnel; its shadows soon engulfed him like warm water. He struggled to move, as if the dark had the consistency of mud, heavy and warm. Yet he could breathe perfectly.
After a few steps, the tunnel became dimly illuminated by a few half-lit torches. On the walls, engravings and bas-reliefs with faded colors portrayed several stories. The images showcased the story of the three major species and how they had arrived at Theia. Curiously enough, none of them depicted the species being created by the gods or the spirits; instead, they were transported to Theia from somewhere else. The freefolk, guided by the so-called Last Hero, came out from the woods of Yumenomori, their spirits escaping from oblivion, originated from a book in a world whose main god had passed away.
The humans appeared by arriving through a ringed portal, led by their leaders, a group known as the Forefathers, in floating arks. They were escaping a destroyed world surrounded by unknown constellations: one that looked like a casserole and another like a man with a belt composed of three stars.
Led by their Prophet, the samoharo descended from the stars in arks similar to the human ones, escaping from an exploding star surrounded by ships that resembled eldritch squids. All the races were guided by winged beings, the Akeleth.
No one, to this day, could agree on what the Akeleth were: deities, angels, advanced precursor aliens, or a mix. At least some of the freefolk gods, such as the Trickster Goddess and the Judge from the Underworld, siblings by birth, were suspected to have been part of the Akeleths. The samoharo had their own beliefs, but they didn’t talk about them. And it was hard to keep track of what humans believed.
Moving forward, past the reliefs that depicted the events of the Dawn Age and later on, those of Queen Khary, the Silver Riders and the Montoc Dragon, Fionn stopped briefly by the engravings that depicted a young man carrying a silver horn, accompanied by a troll. It was the story of his father Fraog. Not far from there, the depiction of the Great War, between the Blood Horde and the Free Alliance, could be seen. It even included the Light Explosion. Fionn could still feel the searing of his skin, the impact of the shockwave crushing his bones and taking out all the air from his lungs. The day he became what he was now.
On the other side of the tunnel, he saw an open garden, with columns so tall that they seemed to reach the open sky. But it didn’t look like the regular sky, as there were no signs of birds, clouds or rain. The inner weather seemed to be entirely artificial. Fionn couldn’t but admire the whole place. Never in his life had he imagined bearing witness to the majesty that was the Ravenhall.
Between the columns, there were fruit trees and bushes, and ivies scaled up the outer wall. There were rooms upon rooms, with their white stone walls covered with books, parchments, scrolls, and tablets made from unknown materials. From their ceilings hung gyroscopes, models of solar systems, and even scale models of ships. Statues and figurines of dragons, members of the three major species and minor creatures, rested on massive tables. Those tables revealed to be painted maps of the continents of Theia, portraying different eras and kingdoms, battles and journeys. In some of the rooms were cabinets, their contents labeled in unknown cuneiform symbols. They ranged from herbs to crystals to sample objects from all the cultures that had existed on the planet, plus a few unknown ones. Most cabinets were locked under a special spell that issued a shock to the tampering hand, as Alex found out to his surprise. But that wasn’t the only thing that had surprised him.
“No way! They have that here, too?” Alex exclaimed running towards an old arcade video game.
“What’s that?” Fionn asked Gaby.
“Judging by his reaction, it’s a copy of an old arcade game he used to play all the time. He is obsessed with finishing the game,” Gaby explained, rolling her eyes.
“My mother never let me stay long enough to pass the final stages. And those bosses were hardcore,” Alex recalled with fondness in his voice. “But I loved it. You have to fight your way through enemy-filled levels, choosing from four humanoid creatures with martial combat skills. She said that it was a waste of time and money.”
“I can’t argue with her on that,” Fionn replied.
“Have you seen that?” Gaby said, pointing to a giant black stone slab standing in the middle of the garden. Its surface was covered with the same strange handwriting and images similar to those from the tunnel. The three of them got closer to the slab, examining the engravings.
“What does it say?” Gaby asked, her fingers tracing the low relief of the engraved letters. The edges were smooth with a silk-like texture and the surface was polished as if it were a mirror. Crowning the slab there was a statue of a raven descending from the skies, with the Moons as a background. For the keen observer, the library was decorated with raven motifs, appropriately since in tradition the raven was one of the preferred forms used by the Trickster Goddess.
“I will give it a try, but I haven’t read ancient freefolk since I was a kid. And even then I wasn’t good at it. It has a lot of Draconis mixed in, and I barely know a few words of that,” Fionn replied, getting closer to the slab to read it.
“‘This is our legacy, the memories of my people the Akeleth…’” Fionn leaned closer. He had never seen some of the words. “Can’t understand what’s next. Mentions something about their mistakes, then I think this word translates as ‘birth worlds.’” Fionn knelt to read the lower lines. “Then it goes on to say: ‘samoharo are mighty, freefolk are powerful, humans are indomitable.’ That’s funny.”
“Why?” Gaby asked.
“That last line is a freefolk saying. Well, more like a warning about dealing with each species,” Fionn replied. “It is usually attributed to Asherah as an explanation for the Pilgrimage. It’s an event we…”
“Sam explained to me what the Pilgrimage is, and why you should do it,” Gaby interrupted with a smile. “What else does it say?”
“Something about the Tempest Blades, but I can’t tell if it means forged or created and finishes with ‘giving the Gift.’” Fionn squinted, trying to understand the last line. “Here it just says, ‘learn and hope.’”
“What are these sigils?” Alex asked. Below the writing, there were several engraved sigils of which only six could be distinguished, as the slab had sections damaged by some unknown force. From left to right there were
, still preserved, a raven, a wingedlion, a dragonwolf, an orca and a hawkdove. The next one was half of a sigil, but still recognizable: an onyx falcon. The following two were the damaged ones. Given the size of the slab, there might have been more. But which ones?
“Freefolk used some of them for sigils of our tribes. Of course we use more than just those now. Originally they were sigils of the gods. The raven belongs to the Trickster Goddess, our patron god. The wingedlion represents the Guardian God and the hawkdove, well I’m not entirely sure, but it usually relates to the Seer. The Orca is the spirit of the sea. The dragonwolf is related to the wind and exploration. Finally the onyx falcon is the symbol of the Judge, god of the underworld,” Fionn replied, kneeling to examine the engravings.
“But, no one really uses the onyx falcon as a sigil,” Alex added. “I recall seeing some of them as totems at Ravenstone as well. The onyx falcon wasn’t there.”
“The onyx falcon is considered a bad omen. Usually of death,” Fionn explained.
“That’s a bad omen?” Alex replied. “I mean, dying is a bad thing, especially from illness or accidents, but death is a natural part of existence, isn’t it? I thought the freefolk, being more connected to nature, would know that. No offense, I’m just trying to understand. There is not much known about the freefolk in the Straits.”
“None taken,” Fionn said, placing his hand on Alex’s shoulder to reassure him. “We know that. But not everybody has the black humor that people from the Straits have with the concept of death.”
“It’s not necessarily black humor,” Alex replied, shrugging his shoulders. “I would say that it is more like an earthly, intimate relationship. Life in the Straits is a bit harsh, with the earthquakes and the prowlers and all. Making a celebration around death, hoping that our departed are looking over us to guide us and celebrate, is how we cope.”
“I can get that, but how do you explain the sugar skulls then?” Fionn looked at Alex, not satisfied with his explanation. “Or the skull cartoons and face paints.”
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