by Adam Lynch
“Why are you telling me this? With the barrier destroyed, the Mystics will be forced to retaliate, bringing them back into the war. Won’t that unpredictability cripple your plan? Say for instance if Springeria attacked while you were persuading Autumnum to form an alliance with you?”
Yce chuckled. “On the contrary, friend. By destroying Springeria’s barrier, you’ll be controlling Salem’s next move for us. He has long sought after Chiharu’s capture—whom he intends to strip of her power. Once he is notified by Rolf Valentine of his failure to capture Sunrise Castle and once he becomes aware of Springeria’s vulnerability, he will storm for the region after her, making it easy for me and my new alliances to ambush him. In short, it is in your best interest and mine if you go to Springeria.”
By that time it seemed clear as to what he needed to do next. Yet still, he wanted Kel’s opinion, facing her. “What do you say, Kelanassa?”
She beamed, seemingly pleased with the spotlight he offered her. “Well, what had the chalice revealed to you?”
He nodded, facing Yce again. “We’ll go,” he said simply.
“Stupendous, friend!” he said, gripping Ashkii’s shoulders firmly. “As promised, whatever we have is yours: our land, our resources, our full support—whatever you need. We, the White-Bloods, cannot thank you two enough for all that you’ve done for us. None of this would have been possible without you. Because of your actions, Seasons will be united in peace once again. It was all as prophecy had foretold. You truly are the prophesied Spirit Gatherer—the gatherer of people.”
Keep Going
When Ashkii and Kel had finished eating and resting with Yce’s people at Sunrise Castle, they headed east for Springeria. With Ieronne’s defeat, the sky slowly cleared of its black clouds, Summeria’s rare rainfall shifting to the east. Lightning struck in the far distance, thunder echoing. Off this elevated view surrounding them, Ashkii saw much of the plateaus, mountains, cities, and forestry of Summeria. But descending east into the plains towards the coast, he saw farms and agriculture, camps, small forests, wild fauna such as griffins, centaurs, Minotaur, cyclops, and giants—and a vast, expansive lake. If Ashkii was not mistaken, then that was the Great Lake of Sirens. From what he’d read no sailors had ever returned from there. It was considered one of the most dangerous bodies of water in Seasons. Yet, it was necessary to cross, as it would take them to the foothold of Springeria.
Summeria was warm and mild—a relief from Winteria. It had reminded him a lot of home. How he’d missed it. He’d never traveled this far from it and had never been away for so long. He was growing weary. Surely if at all possible, he would have tracked down the Hypnotist by this time. Yet instead of closing in on it, he was going on a national tour—every lead revealed as nothing more than a tease to keep him moving. Why had this felt intended? Directed? Was this the Hypnotist’s doing in some way? What did it want? Ashkii couldn’t think. He needed rest.
“Let’s lodge here for the night,” he told Kel when they arrived at the center of an abandoned agriculture field at dusk.
Concurring, they prepared the fire, gathered and ate what they could around the fields. Then, they slept there for the night.
Midnight when Ashkii awoke troubled by his daily nightmares, he heard haunting echoes in the air. Barely conscious, he opened his eyelids. Far to the distance outside the massive fields, he spotted a glimmer of black figures dressed in white apparel. They sounded disturbing hisses and grunts as they treaded around the field’s perimeter. What were they? Ashkii asked himself with half a conscious mind. Ghosts? The undead? Whatever they were, they were far out of reach—far out of sight. As long as they continued on the path that they marched, they were of no concern to him.
○
“Ashkii...” said Kel, shoving his body back and forth with violent motion. “Ashkii—get up. I-I need you to see this...” She was stammering, Ashkii opening his eyes to find her petrified. Alerted by this, he inclined immediately, spinning around him. It was dawn, no one or nothing in sight anywhere. But then Ashkii noticed that the air was dead silent—no chirping insects, no cawing or humming birds, not even a breeze.
Not understanding what was happening, he faced Kel who’d been urging him to follow her past a row of dead flora. “Ashkii… loo-look at this,” she stammered again, her body shaking nervously.
Puzzled, Ashkii studied her carefully as he approached her, trying to figure out what was wrong. When he caught up to her, she brushed aside the flora obstructing the view, pointing to it. “Look,” she urged again, practically demanding it.
He did as she said.
Blood.
There was a fresh line of blood—and it went on.
“Follow me,” Kel said, moving along its trail. Ashkii did just that, eyes on the line that went on and on. Eventually, it lead them in an oval, the line of blood then arching out like an antennae, ending at a point.
“There’s more,” said Kel, her finger shaking as she aimed towards the outer perimeter of the massive field. Looking there, he saw another line of blood—His eyes followed it until it came full circle.
The blood marking was a symbol. An enormous circle of blood with the number six inside it.
Immediately his memory flashed back on what the chalice had revealed to him. This mark—this symbol. It was the cover of the book in the vision. But this symbol—he’d seen and heard of it someplace before...
Kel’s incessant shuddering drew his attention back on her. She was terrified, eyeing all around with paranoia. Curious, Ashkii thought, examining her. Why was she so afraid?
“This symbol...” Ashkii said, awaiting Kel’s eyes to meet his and simmer down. “We’ve seen it before.”
“It’s the Sky Pirates,” she said, seemingly forcing herself not to stammer. “It’s the symbol of the Sky Pirates.”
Suddenly, he thought back at what he thought he saw last night. That was something. They were not ghosts or the undead. They were the Sky Pirates. That must had been when they had marked this symbol. But what did it mean?
Kel’s shuddering had again distracted his train of thought. He faced her, examining her. “What do you know of this?” he finally inquired of her.
She forced herself to calm, glaring at him. He waited for a response, but he never got one. So he continued. “Is there something you want to tell me? Has a mark like this been seen anywhere else in Seasons that you know of?”
“It hasn’t,” she said, her eyes cast back at the symbol. “This is new.”
“What does it mean?”
She hesitated, her eyes fixed on the symbol. Then she shook her head, making eye contact with him again. “A landing zone.”
“A landing zone? For what? A ship for the sky pirates? A flying ship?”
She nodded, fixating back on the mark.
Ashkii marveled, not expecting to have had her agree with his absurd hypothesis. For a reason he couldn’t understand, it was suddenly difficult for him to ponder deeper into this. He remained confused, unable to think of any more questions to ask on this subject. But then suddenly, something else important arose to mind: “The Chalice of Prophecy,” he began. “You wanted to know what it showed me?”
He faced her, waiting for her to look at him but she never did. “I saw the barrier over Springeria, Chiharu Fantasia, and a book with the same symbol as this one.” He paused for a reaction, but Kel didn’t. “Then I heard a whisper that said ‘the answers that I seek are inside.’”
Hearing this, Kel faced him, her eyes suddenly displaying courage and determination. Then she said, Let us go to Springeria and find that book.
○
Journeying silently for the coast. Ashkii struggled to think over what had occurred at the field many times, but the harder he thought about it, the more his mind went blank. What was happening? He couldn’t think. All that remained was perplexity… and... empathy…
What was wrong with him? Perhaps he was growing weary over this journey after all.
; His mind perplexed, his eyes wandered off to the sky to help clear his mind for the time being. By now there wasn’t a single cloud… and yet… something seemed off. The light was dimmer than how it should have been, like something was masking it. But what? There were no clouds. With nothing in the sky to reveal this mystery to him, he forced a quick glance at the sun, immediately turning away. Two seconds was all that he could manage… yet it was enough for him to notice something unusual. Curious with what he saw, he forced another glance—and then another to confirm it.
“What are you doing?” Kel asked, noticing his rapid head turns.
“There’s something masking the sun,” he said. “More than three quarters of it.”
Not understanding his meaning, she gazed at it directly—and much to his astonishment she never turned away. Eyes were fully peeled, Ashkii couldn’t believe it. How was she doing this? Just what was she?
“I-I’ve seen this once before...” she said, still having her eyes locked onto it. “When the sun is fully masked for seven minutes, and the sky darkens... day becomes night.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s about to happen...” she said.
“How can you gaze upon it directly?”
Hearing this, she faced him. Then suddenly, Ashkii noticed again her radiant orange-yellow eyes. They hadn’t blinded him as when he’d first seen them, but they stood out like a fire on a candle. “I’ve already told you that I was an outsider. My eyes are the sun and the sun is my eyes. Its shine does not hurt me, it empowers me. With its superior energy comes superior empowerment.”
Ashkii hadn’t understood what any of that had meant, but hearing voices up ahead suddenly, he spotted a gathering of people. They were along the shore, not far from him and Kel. Alerted by this, they immediately dashed for cover.
“Who are they?” Kel asked, Ashkii’s answer pending until getting a second look.
There was a ritual taking place—a gathering of Summerian locals: men, women, and a single child from what Ashkii could see—a boy around the age of when Ashkii had—he stopped his thought there, continuing his observation.
All the locals were gathered around an altar, a body sacrifice of some kind igniting a blaze from which they praised. The boy stood alone, isolated from the circle. What was happening? He couldn’t tell from where they hid. They needed to get closer.
“Ashkii, look,” said Kel, pointing beyond the alter towards the lake. “Do you see it? A dock of boats. We can use one of those to sail across the Lake of Sirens.”
“Let’s get in closer,” he suggested, doing just that, having hardly listened to what Kel had said.
Ashkii and Kel lurked from cover to cover, ending at a tree closest to the ritual. From there, Ashkii saw everything.
The locals had their hands raised to the sky, worshiping the sun god, Sunos—one of the many gods the Summerians had worshiped. When the flames at the altar went out, Ashkii suddenly recognized the sacrifice as a human body—and a young one from the look of its size… probably around fifteen years of age.
Ashkii was infuriated when he saw this—his rationality vacated and replaced entirely with rage. What was this? Ashkii had never before read of such rituals from Summerian records. What brought about this nonsensical madness suddenly?
That very minute, the light in the sky dimmed significantly, day became night. All the Summerians gasped as it occurred. Marveled by this, Ashkii gazed at the sun which he now saw directly for the first time. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He couldn’t believe the possibility of even looking at it.
He saw a black disk, only its corona visible to the human eye. The sight was celestial, unlike anything he had ever seen in his life. Its mystery brought about great fear in him, his eyes happily glancing away at any distraction he could find.
“Hear me, people of Summeria: the time has come!” exclaimed a Summerian local suddenly, Ashkii’s attention immediately gripped. “Sunos has spoken and we shall honor him with this feast. For the god of the sun! For Summeria!” At this, they all chanted, Glory to the gods. Glory to Summeria. The local who’d announced this jabbed his spear into the body, cutting crisped flesh and reeling it back. With vigor insanity, he chomped on the meat, tearing it apart with his teeth—his eyes were nearly popping out of his head. Then, with flesh falling out of his mouth he chanted again, Glory to Sunos.
The others followed in his steps after his bold display—some even fighting for their share. Ashkii was so infuriated with this that he had to turn away. It was then that he noticed the boy again— who stood innocent, helpless, and entirely ignorant with what was happening. Ashkii knew what was coming—what would happen by nightfall. The first who ate human flesh would transform into a wendigo, and then it would mutilate all life near it, including this boy.
It was not compassion and sympathy that had driven Ashkii to this rare passionate fury—it was something else… something that felt to him like self-reflection.
Somehow in some way, Ashkii saw himself in that boy. He saw his need for protection. He saw his need for prevention. He saw that he needed to survive.
Dead-locking the man who’s taken the first bite, thoughts blank of everything but murder, Ashkii spontaneously strung his bow, aiming it. Then, before Kel had realized and stopped him, he released it, a critical piercing into the man’s skull.
The first to witness his death shrieked, all the ritual participators scattering in a panic. They ran in different directions, but Ashkii sprang out of hiding, hunting them down one by one. Arrow after arrow, he brought down the bodies. They ran for the hills but met arrows at their backs. They sprinted down the fields, but met arrows at their heels. There was nowhere they could run. Ashkii killed every one. Focused, determined, his mind emptied of everything but his purpose. He didn’t stop until the last fly had dropped.
Finally, when it was all over, his rage had left him. Red was no longer the only color he saw. Glancing back at the boy, he approached him. The boy was drenched in the blood of Ashkii’s victims, yet he stood emotionless, his expression entirely blank. Seeing the boy in such a state drew empathy from Ashkii for the first time, a tear to his eye. Feeling everything that the boy couldn’t—pain, fear, sorrow—he bent his knees until his eyes were level with his. He held his gaze with him for a long time, expressing everything outwardly that the boy could only express inwardly. Then suddenly, he saw something that he didn’t immediately react to due to the shock of it. The boy’s eyes—they had flashed purple. Blinking and shaking his head, he took another look at the boy, a look more objective this time. He saw something different in him. The boy was pale with purple eyes, yet still drenched in blood. Then suddenly, Ashkii saw something beyond the boy—a message written in blood on a tree. His eyes focused in on it, reading it. It had written, Make the choice. Save yourself. Protect what is innocent and pure.
“Ashkii!” Kel shouted suddenly from behind him, startling him to face her. The second he saw her, he immediately turned back towards the boy—he was gone. The message in blood—that had vanished as well. “Ashkii,” she said again softer this time, her hand placed on his shoulder. He didn’t react. She paused before saying anything further. “Are you okay?”
He hadn’t responded, his face emotionless, his mind more perplexed than ever before. Yet, he reserved time to think of an answer—as he had wondered it himself. But pondering over it had only brought him more confusion. So he shook his head, decided to forget about it, and stood up. Then, gazing at her, he said, Let’s just keep going.
By then, the brief darkness over the land had ended. The sun’s light had returned once again.
The Lake of Sirens
Boarding a sailboat at the dock, Kel steered the tiller. Ashkii watched from the front, but dose off in a trance. Many things disheartened him, but he couldn’t think clearly about them. It was like there was a thought obstruction to his mind, leaving it a void. It frustrated him because he knew he had so many questions, but he couldn’t think of a
single one to ask himself.
“Try to relax,” said Kel, noticing his stressed state. “Not everything is meant to be figured out right away. Accept that all the answers will come in time. It’ll all come together soon.”
Again, it was like she had read his mind. How was she able to do that? It was like her observational and deduction stills were equal to his—maybe better.
Ashkii scoped the waters ahead of them, his mind confused and exhausted as he watched the waves. Soon, Kel voiced aloud to him: “The sirens—I sense their presence. We’re growing near...” She paused, Ashkii not changing his glance. “They will captivate your thoughts. They will stir your passions and you’ll be helpless in your desires. They will lure you in with a strong form of hypnosis that is able to control the mind. But know this, Ashkii Dighin. There is no form of hypnosis that can surpass me, for I will protect you. Just keep your eyes on me. Understood?”
Hearing this, he faced her directly, focused.
“Do you trust me?” she asked him, her face intense.
“I know you can get us through this,” he said. “This is the only reason how we’re able to cut through this lake.”
“That’s not what I asked.” She paused, her gaze piercing him. “Do you trust me?”
He hesitated. Had he ever trusted anyone? But the longer his gaze was on her, the more he felt serene… confident… strong. Then subconsciously, he felt a change in his heart, his lips speaking something he’d never expect to say. “I trust you.”
Hearing this, she nodded. “Good. Now here they come. Remember. Keep your eyes on me no matter what.”
He did just that, Kel reflecting his focused glance. Her eyes became immersive, like warping into another world. Everything around her was a blur. Her face was like the sun, outside of that: the sun’s rays.
The sun—had it given her superiority? Was this how she did it? The secret to her power? Was it from the sun that she received her power—power that had enabled her to surpass all forms of illusion-based magic because of its limitless energy? Was this what she had meant when she said that through the sun she was given superior empowerment?