by Dreagen
“Rex,” BaRone interrupted his thoughts. “You still with us?”
“Yes, sorry. I get lost in thought sometimes.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” he said with a smile. “Just don’t forget about us.”
The sound of the wooden shingles made the three of them turn their heads towards the door, where they saw a figure wearing a dark green cloak and hood standing in the doorway.
“Why, hello there,” said BaRone happily. “I was wondering when we would see you again.”
The figure nodded in his direction then approached the counter. BaRone held up his arm and met the young man’s. He then turned to Rex and smiled. “Rex, I’d like you to meet someone. This is ShinGaru.”
Rex studied the figure as he pulled back his hood to reveal a thin-faced young man of a lean frame and somewhat shorter stature; he was dark-skinned with pronounced features and long black fur. Rex was curious by the gracefulness in which he carried himself, almost as if he was a feather floating on air. Bowing in his direction, the young man who BaRone had called ShinGaru raised his arm to Rex.
Rex, still uncomfortable with the greeting, raised his arm in hopes that he was successfully mimicking the gesture, and placed it against ShinGaru’s. He felt the peculiar warming of his body, which happened whenever two flames came into contact, as well as what felt like a small surge of adrenaline, which vanished when they broke contact.
“It is a pleasure to meet you…”
“Rex,” he replied.
“Hmm,” ShinGaru said thoughtfully as he regarded the new boy with reserved curiosity. “That is an interesting name. Not one I have ever come by. I hope you do not take any offense by my saying so, but it almost does not even sound like a real word.”
Rex frowned. “I assure you it’s real.”
Placing a hand on his shoulder, BaRone turned to Rex. “ShinGaru here offers you no insult. What you must understand about him is that he is one of the Northern Continent’s foremost scholars. At his age, he has already led several archeological expeditions and specializes in EeNara’s ancient history. So it would stand to reason that if someone had a name that was, say…not of this world…he would spot it immediately.”
“While BaRone is embellishing my station more than a little, as usual, I can assure you that he is correct in his assessment that I did not mean for you to feel insulted by what I said. I am truly sorry if I accidentally implied such.”
Shit, is he for real? Rex thought as he took in the picture-perfect example of what one would discern as a “proper young man.” Calling this formal would be an understatement.
“Please,” ShinGaru continued, “if you would, could you tell me the linguistic origin of your name? I am attempting to trace the evolution of EeNara’s current spoken language back to its original root languages.”
“You believe there was more than one?” BaRone asked, surprised.
“Stands to reason, given the structure of ours.”
“Well, all I know is that it’s Latin for ‘king,’” Rex said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Latin,” ShinGaru repeated thoughtfully as he mulled the word over, searching for any form of familiarity with it. Finally he sighed. “Well, I’m afraid that name is not familiar to me through any of my studies. Still, it means that my theory is sound and that there was at least one now extinct language spoken on EeNara prior to this one. My question is how you came to have such a name?”
Rex shifted on his feet and looked uncomfortably to BaRone then DiNiya. He was still uncertain about answering questions of where he was from and how he had arrived here. In truth, he did not know if it was even supposed to be public knowledge at this point or how far DiNiya and her father had spread the word about him. He knew that many people in KaNar were aware that he had recently arrived, but as to whether they were also aware he was essentially an alien from another world was still unclear. Fortunately, he did not have to suffer over the question for long, for as he began to feel the telltale sign of a panicked sweat coming on, BaRone spoke up.
“Rex has come to us from a long way away. Unfortunately, he was injured during the course of his journey and has lost some of his memory.”
“I see,” said ShinGaru. “I am sorry, I had no idea. Please forgive me for my intrusiveness.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Rex said simply.
“We’ve been looking after him since he arrived about five days ago. We hope that with time and care, his lost memories will eventually return. DiNiya here has been doing an excellent job of helping him adjust to life here in KaNar,” he added, flashing her a broad smile.
DiNiya turned slightly red and waved her hands dismissively. “It’s really not a big deal,” she laughed. “All I do is point to things and explain. I’m really just a tour guide.”
Tour guide, Rex thought. That’s putting it lightly. If it wasn’t for her, I would probably still be gasping at everything.
“Nevertheless, it sounds like you’re in good hands here, Rex,” ShinGaru said.
“I think I’m starting to see that,” Rex replied as he smiled at DiNiya, who did the same.
“So what brings you to our humble little corner of the world?” BaRone asked. “I didn’t expect to see you for at least another half year, what with all the requests for your presence in the capital these days.”
“Going over old scrolls and stone reliefs that have been picked and prodded at in the museum of the Northern Capital may be interesting to those seeking a complacent career in this field, but I have my sights set on something a bit more—how should I say?— adventurous.”
“ShinGaru, I’m stunned,” BaRone said, looking slightly taken aback. “I would have never figured you for the type to go thrill seeking.”
“And you would be correct in that assessment of character. However, real science is made by those who continue to push deeper into the unknown, and not by those who continue to republish findings that were made generations prior simply to hold a higher station in the guild.”
“Guild?” Rex asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“Yes,” ShinGaru replied, giving him an odd look. “The Science Guild. The ones located in the four capitals.”
Rex knew he had made a severe tactical error, for lost and confused he was supposed to be, but also of this world. This would mean having at least a basic understanding of what was considered common knowledge.
In an effort to quickly cover up this slip of the tongue, BaRone stepped between the two boys. “What can we do for you today, ShinGaru?”
ShinGaru held his gaze on Rex for a moment longer before turning and answering. “Well, I’m planning a solo expedition to the Rainbow Caverns and could use a good map of the area. I know you specialize in this sort of thing, so naturally I came here.”
BaRone stroked his beard. “Hmm, I’m not sure I still have any maps of the Rainbow Caverns.”
“None of the other shops have any either,” ShinGaru sighed. “You usually always seem to have what they do not when I need it most. I was hoping this time would be no different.”
“You know me. I’m always happy to help, but I can’t trade you what I don’t have…Hey, wait. What do you mean none of the other shops have it either? I thought you said you came straight here?”
ShinGaru grinned bashfully while DiNiya giggled behind her father.
Suddenly DiNiya stopped laughing and pushed herself off the counter. “Wait a moment—I think we may have what you’re looking for, ShinGaru.”
“What do you mean?” BaRone asked. “There aren’t any maps of those caverns in any of the geographical surveys we have.”
“But we might have one with the maps of ancient ruins.” She headed to the back of the shop where she disappeared from sight.
“You’re lucky,” said ShinGaru. “I would kill to have a research assistant half as competent as her.”
“Lucky?” BaRone said with a laugh. “At this rate, she’s going to steal this place from right out undernea
th me.”
The two of them continued to talk at great length about the caverns while Rex stood by, silently absorbing all that was being said. He was intrigued by comments about enormous underwater caves made of polished stone of different colors as a result of the varying mineral deposits left by the tides over the course of millions of years. He wondered what such a place must look like, and if, like the other places DiNiya had told him about, he would ever get a chance to see it with his own eyes.
When DiNiya finally returned holding a large scroll, ShinGaru’s face lit up. “You found one!”
“So it was with those of the ruins?” BaRone asked.
“Actually, I found it tucked in with the agricultural ones,” she said, glancing up at him. “Seems somebody miscategorized it.”
“The result of a rushed youth perhaps?”
“Or a senile old man,” she shot back with a sly grin.
Her father laughed. “You’re probably right. Regardless, it would appear you are in luck, ShinGaru.” He looked over the scroll quickly before handing it to the young man, who in turn handed over a small cloth bag that was tied at the top. BaRone, after taking a quick peek inside, smiled broadly.
“Thank you very much, my young friend, and good luck to you in your travels. Please be safe,” he added, sounding a bit more serious.
“Thank you, I will,” ShinGaru said before turning to Rex and DiNiya. “It was good meeting you, Rex. I hope we can have a chance to talk more next time I’m in KaNar.”
“I’ll be here,” Rex said, not fully trusting the validity of his claim but feeling it was as good a thing to say as any.
Turning to DiNiya, ShinGaru bowed his head. “A pleasure as always, DiNiya.”
“Likewise,” she replied, lowering her head in turn.
“And thank you once again,” he added, holding up the scroll.
“Well, someone has to make sure our customers walk out of here happy if we want to stay in business,” she said playfully, jabbing her father’s side, who in turn just rolled his eyes.
With a final farewell, ShinGaru threw his hood back up and disappeared out the door. Rex was still trying to decide how he felt about the young man he had just encountered. Not being too quick to judge or trust, he decided to reserve his final judgment for a later time, if one should ever come.
BaRone looked down at the bag and took out what Rex thought was a strange purple rock about the size of a walnut.
“Oooh, wow,” exclaimed DiNiya excitedly. “Is that a fire stone?”
“It is indeed,” her father replied, turning it over in his fingers. “Looks like seven of them.”
“What’s a fire stone?” Rex asked, worried that they were growing annoyed with his insistent questions.
“It’s a stone that has been imbued with lavender flame,” explained BaRone. “The lavender flame is the flame of restoration and life. Those born of its power can use it to heal themselves and even others who are on the threshold of death. As a result, they are extremely long lived and so have no reason to produce as many offspring. Because of that, they are far fewer in numbers, when compared to those of gold, green, and blue flames.”
“Don’t all the flames heal people?” asked Rex. “I mean, DiNiya, you said I had to stay in bed all that time because mine wasn’t igniting on its own.”
“And she was right,” he said. “But unlike all the other flames, which can only heal basic injuries, the lavender flame heals almost anything. There are even legends of those who had such mastery of it that they could even drain one of their flames or strip it from them altogether.”
“That would be a terrifying thing to see done,” DiNiya said as she looked over one of the stones herself. “But there’s no scientific evidence to support that. So for now, anyway, it’s just a story.”
“True of most things in life,” he said, nodding his head. “Anyway, these stones were said to have been created by an ancient scientist from a now long-extinct tribe who had fully become one with the lavender flame. Upon the threshold of death, he spread his flame across the entire world—into the air, the oceans, and the land,” he said, holding the fire stone as he slowly turned and presented it to Rex.
Rex gently took it in his hand and looked at the purple quartz-like stone. Only when bringing it right up to his eye did he see what looked like a flicker of light within the small stone. Peering harder he saw…fire.
“All one has to do is eat one of the stones,” explained DiNiya. “The lavender flame within it will bond with theirs for up to thirty-seven hours, and boost their natural healing abilities. Or, in your case, act as a substitute for your flame because it wasn’t reacting on its own.”
“Wait, you mean you made me eat one of these?” asked Rex with what could have almost been considered revulsion.
“Of course,” she replied, surprised that he found it so strange. “Well, actually we had to grind them into a powder and burn it so you would breathe in the vapors since you were unconscious. It’s common practice for someone who was in your condition.”
Rex felt an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach. Not so much because he apparently inhaled strange rock fumes, but because he felt like he ate someone, based on the story BaRone told. Clearing his throat, he handed the fire stone back to him.
“In any case, they aren’t necessarily the easiest things to find, so it’s always good to have at least a small supply of them on hand. Just in case you find yourself on the receiving end of something a bit nastier than you expected.”
He put the stone back in the bag, with DiNiya doing the same with hers, before tying it back up and securing it to his belt. “Well, I’m going to clean the—OHH, WAIT,” he suddenly exclaimed, wide-eyed with enthusiasm. “I know someone who lives not too far that can probably do the translation of that musty old scroll I just got!”
DiNiya’s brow furrowed.
“We could ask—?”
“No,” she cut him off angrily.
“I’m just saying, she may be our only option,” he replied sympathetically.
“And I’m telling you, it is not an option,” DiNiya fired back.
Rex realized that this was the first time he ever heard malice in DiNiya’s voice, or even seen her angry, for that matter, other than minor squabbles between her and EeNox. Deciding to test the waters a bit, he asked, “Who’s this ‘she’ that’s got you all worked up?”
DiNiya spun around with lightning speed and looked as if she was going to shoot flame out of her flaring nostrils; instead, she stormed off and disappeared out back. Rex felt awkward. He had only been trying to lighten the mood a bit by being what he thought was funny, but he managed to upset the only real friend he had here. He could not help but think of all the times he had found himself in this exact situation back on Earth. “The more things change…”
“Don’t take it personally,” BaRone said as he patted him on the shoulder. “Even our good-natured DiNiya has her own sordid history. It’s not something she likes discussing, so I wouldn’t press the issue with her if I were you.”
“So noted,” Rex replied in a flat voice.
He spent the rest of the day trying to stay out of DiNiya’s way while helping out where he could. She did not seem particularly mad at home, rather lost in intense thought. In the end, it turned out to be rather informative in more ways than one. He learned that this world was filled with all sorts of hidden wonders and that he had not lost his touch of rubbing people the wrong way. Then again, it is not so bad, he thought. After all, I did make it almost the entire day without stoking the fires.
8
A HAUNTINGLY COLD CHILL
The void was filled with the usual thick mist. Cool was its touch as it penetrated Rex to his very core. He walked through the haze while trying to mentally prepare himself to see the monster that he knew was lurking somewhere in the darkness, just out of sight. He moved as quietly as he could, listening for any hint of another presence. Finally, he stopped and looked around, but he saw only
more mist and shadow. Continuing his search for a sign of life, he felt another presence with him. He turned quickly and saw two glowing silver eyes staring back at him from a distance.
“Hello?” he called out. “You’re the one from before, right?”
The two eyes moved silently closer, almost as if they were floating, before a figure stepped out of the gloom.
“Yes,” said EliCia. “It is still I.”
“It’s time you explained a few things to me,” he said in an eerily cool and detached voice as he circled her like a predator slowly closing in on its prey. “For starters, what is this place? Oh, and spare me any cryptically ambiguous answers. I want the truth.”
“Rex, this is a place of your own making,” she replied. “Something that exists only within you.”
“Within me? You mean like a dream?”
“Not a dream, but rather the space behind a locked door.”
“What door?” he asked, still scanning for the larger set of eyes.
“The one in the darkest corner of your mind. This is a place of your own making, a world of shadow.”
“Why would I make something like that?”
“Why indeed?” she replied as she slowly circled him in turn.
“Enough with the double talk. I want to know just what is happening to me. Who am I exactly? Why is it I can remember most of my life before, but not the most important pieces?”
She stopped circling and gazed down at him. “What pieces would those be, and what makes you think they are of any more significance than that which you can remember?”
“Shouldn’t you know?” he countered. “After all, you claim to have always been there, right? So you tell me. I obviously had a home back there…but with whom? I’m asking, who did I leave behind?”