The Esoteric Design

by A. R. Crebs

  Dovian watched in awe at the scene. People hollered and signaled for taxis. They bid on the streets for food, household items, and black-market weaponry while others stood in the middle of the road watching the news and battles on the giant televisions that sat atop the surrounding domed structures.

  A stray missile flew over the walls. Quickly, everyone darted under the protection of the side streets’ overhangs. A loud explosion sounded; rock and dirt sprayed over the buildings and onto the streets. There was a couple of shouts, mostly swear words, and the gesturing of hands. It was only moments later before the people ventured back out onto the streets to continue with their shopping and dining. Humanity had officially lost its mind.

  Dovian followed Aria and Troy as they traveled through the crowds of people. He ignored the stares and grumbles thrown his way. Obviously, the people had no respect for the military in this town. Dovian couldn’t completely blame them. What was the point of this useless fighting? Were thirty years really necessary? What about the countless wars before this one? Wasn’t it just a waste of money at this point?

  He turned his attention to the blonde beside him. She was still completely covered in her armor, even her beautiful face was hidden behind the visor of her helmet. He frowned. Where was her cheerful disposition?

  “There is something bothering you,” he whispered.

  “Me?” Ivory asked, turning her hidden face up toward the tall man.

  “Yes.”

  “Oh. I suppose.”

  “You’re not as chatty as you often are.”

  “Guess I’m feeling a bit tired today, that’s all.” She fidgeted with her gloved hands, the small armor plates clinking together.

  “That’s all?” He watched her carefully, scrutinizing her.

  “You’ve been staring at me all day,” she whispered meekly.

  “My apologies. It’s just that I haven’t been able to get a read on you all day.”

  “A read?” she asked.

  Dovian was quiet a moment. “Usually, I’m good at reading people. You’ve been uncharacteristically silent today and very mosey. If there is something on your mind, it is best to get it out now before you go into battle. Distractions will only lead to you getting hurt or possibly killed.”

  Ivory didn’t respond. She merely kept up her pace with the giant man.

  “Do I bother you?” he asked finally.

  “No! No, you don’t bother me.” She quickly shook her head. “I’m just not feeling well, I suppose.”

  Dovian frowned. His blue eyes darted to a small shop nearby. He smiled. “Then perhaps a treat will help?” he offered.

  “A treat?” Ivory lifted her head again.

  Dovian grabbed her hand. “Something to cheer you up.”

  He led the girl to a small café where tiny, intricately detailed pastries and truffles were on display. Upon noticing the two, Aria paused and tugged Troy’s arm.

  “What are they looking at?” Troy asked.

  “Chocolates,” Aria replied dully. She met Dovian’s vibrant eyes, and he cheerfully waved her over.

  “Come look at these exquisite truffles.” Dovian pressed a finger against the glass. The curly, peach-haired young woman behind the counter smiled widely.

  “What about them?” Aria asked, folding her arms.

  “May we purchase some?” he asked.

  “Dovian, those are fifty units each,” Aria stated sourly.

  “I take it that means they are expensive?”

  “Very,” she replied.

  Ivory gave a small whimper. “Oh, that’s a pity. I’ve never had a truffle before.” She stared at the chocolates through the glass.

  “Indeed, it is such a pity. It is probably the closest thing to Heaven on this entire planet.” Dovian winked at the lady behind the counter. Her face turned a dark shade of red as she giggled.

  “Come on, Aria. Don’t be such a tight-ass.” Troy nudged the woman.

  “You pay for them, then. I had to fund a shopping spree the other night,” she growled.

  “You owe me for that sandwich incident,” he pointed out.

  Aria frowned.

  “And you owe me for that stunt you pulled when you body-snatched me,” he added.

  ‘Damn it,’ she cursed to herself.

  “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed.” Dovian grinned.

  “Shut up, Dovian.” Aria exasperatedly tugged off the armor on her forearm. “I’ll take two truffles,” she grumbled.

  “Whoa, wait. I want one, too, missy.” Troy grabbed her shoulder.

  She gave him a glare, one that warned him of his untimely demise. He fed her the biggest grin he could muster. Holding back her tongue, she turned to the peach-haired woman.

  “We are having a special today,” the woman gleefully spoke. “Buy three, get one free.”

  “Oh! A special!” Dovian grinned at Aria. “How lovely.”

  “Very lovely.” Ivory nodded.

  “Lovely, indeed!” Troy chimed in, clasping his hands together.

  Aria clenched her fists, trying to keep her cool. “Fine. Four truffles then,” she sighed.

  Happily, the woman bagged the chocolates in their decorative paper and placed them inside a small pink box with a heart seal. Aria nearly gagged when she lifted the pretty item. How ridiculous. She bitterly swiped her chip across the scanner and muttered a gruff thanks to the cashier.

  “Half the cost covers the decorative wrapping,” she grumbled as they neared a small table on the sidewalk.

  “I think it’s delightfully cute!” Ivory beamed joyfully. At least the old Ivory was back.

  “Yes, yes. Delightful,” Aria moaned. Daintily, she opened the package and slowly took each individually wrapped truffle out and divvied among the four. She glared at Dovian as she handed him his. He smiled in return.

  Slowly, Dovian took a small bite out of the chocolate. He almost melted. It had been thousands upon thousands of years since he even had a piece of chocolate as blissful as this. Troy put the whole truffle in his mouth, alarming the Sorcēarian.

  “Dear God, Troy!” Dovian shouted.

  “Mwat?” Troy asked, startled.

  “Savor it! You don’t just gobble the whole damn thing in one bite, you ignorant cod!”

  Troy quickly spit the item out into his hand and took a small nibble off the corner.

  “You’re so gross.” Aria wrinkled her nose.

  “What? It’s just chocolate.” Troy shrugged.

  “Not just chocolate…a little piece of Heaven. Nothing in the entire world comes close to the joys of Heaven. But this, this is the closest representation I can think of, so enjoy it. You humans need to slow down and enjoy the simple pleasures in life, not take everything for granted,” Dovian snapped.

  “Jeez, didn’t think it was that important,” Troy grumbled, slowly eating away at his piece of chocolate. Why did he suddenly feel like a small child again?

  Aria took a tiny bite, watching Dovian as she did so. The treat had a slight crunch on the outside, but the inside was soft and cake-like. “Wow…That’s pretty awesome,” she laughed. “Not sure if it was worth fifty units, but it’s definitely good.”

  “It’s the best thing I’ve ever had!” Ivory beamed.

  “Heaven, right?” Dovian asked.

  “Heaven,” Ivory agreed.

  “So…Heaven’s made out of chocolate?” Troy asked.

  Dovian glared at the man, slowly finishing his truffle. “It’s made of things with wonder you can’t even imagine.”

  “Guess we’ll all find out someday, huh?” Aria quickly said. She grabbed the box and placed the paper inside. Standing, she stared at the trashcan beside her, weighing her options.

  ‘Hell no,’ she thought.

  “What are you doing with that?” Troy asked her, following closely.

  “I am not throwing this away, not after what I paid for it,” Aria said.

  Troy laughed. “So you’
re going to carry that pink box with you everywhere you go?”

  She glanced at the pink container. Stopping, she turned to Dovian. “Here.” She held out the item.

  “What?” The Sorcēarian stared upon the item with curiosity.

  “Take this.”

  “And what am I supposed to do with that?” he asked dully.

  “You got that staff. Work up some magic and send this thing to my apartment.”

  He gave her a look that made her feel most stupid.

  “I know you can do something with it,” she huffed.

  Troy looked over the woman’s shoulder and then up at the sorcerer, his mouth open in amusement. Ivory stared at the tall man. Feeling on the spot, Dovian rolled his eyes.

  “The things I do to entertain you children,” he murmured sourly. Grabbing the pink box, he lifted his eyebrows sarcastically and uttered something in Legacy. Throwing his hands in the air, the item disappeared.

  “Ha!” Aria folded her arms. “Knew you could do it.”

  “Yes, but it isn’t guaranteed to be in your apartment. It may have landed in some dumpster somewhere instead.”

  “You’re an ass.” She frowned.

  “You had better not have wasted that pretty wrapping!” Ivory waggled a finger at the grown man. He leaned away from her gesture, pulling his staff with him.

  Troy looked about the surroundings in interest, trying to spot something to busy himself with until his duty called. “Hey, a bar!” He tugged on Aria’s arm.

  “Damn it, man! You’re an alcoholic!” she growled.

  “Not any more than you are,” he argued.

  “You have an hour,” she hissed.

  “More than enough time.”

  “We’re going to drink before a mission?” Ivory cheeped.

  “Why would you expect any responsible behavior from these two?” Dovian asked. Ivory giggled quietly.

  “Shut up, Dovian,” Aria grumbled.

  Ivory giggled again.

  “Such disrespect.” Dovian shook his head sadly, gently placing his hand on Ivory’s back, guiding her into the bar beside him.

  The pub was actually clean, much to Dovian’s surprise. It was full of people, but not so much that it was uncomfortable, except for the angry looks a couple of the patrons sent his way. In the corner was a small table. It was dark and far enough away where people wouldn’t be able to hear much of their conversation as long as they were quiet. Aria looked over her shoulder, pointing at the seats his eyes were set upon. He nodded in confirmation and one by one they took their places.

  “You’re buying me a drink,” Aria said to Troy as she dropped heavily into her chair.

  “Bullshit,” he said.

  “Do it!” she snapped.

  “Rawr!” he growled at her. “Chill out!” He swiftly moved to the bar.

  “You have him on a leash,” Dovian said in amusement.

  “He needs a shorter one,” Aria sighed.

  The man gave a little chuckle, playing with the small candle sitting at the center of the table. He watched it, traveling far away once again, lost in his thoughts. Aria furrowed her brow. Dovian was a rollercoaster of emotion. One minute he was joking around, the next he was falling into a pit of depression caused by unknown reasons.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  Cerulean eyes met hers. “You want to know?”

  “Sure.” She leaned forward attentively. “Let us in a little on your past. I know that’s what you were thinking about.”

  “I’m that obvious?” he asked.

  She scoffed. “I’ve been around soldiers most of my life. I know that faraway look. You’re thinking about times that no longer exist.”

  “Indeed, I was.” He was quiet, watching the flame. “The world has changed so much.”

  “Beer,” Troy interrupted, handing out bottles to everyone at the table, the glass clinking against the surface. He noticed the somber faces and quickly plopped into his seat.

  “How so?” Aria asked, ignoring Troy’s intrusion.

  Dovian breathed a laugh. “Oh, my dear, where do I even begin?”

  “How about this? Why the seclusion?” Troy asked, putting his bottle to his lips.

  “Seclusion?” Dovian watched the other man in interest.

  “Yeah, from the rest of the world? You can’t tell me that those little thunderstorms kept you locked up forever on that small continent,” the male soldier said.

  “No, they didn’t. In fact, I used to travel the world quite a bit, but that was a very long time ago.”

  “What made you stop?” Aria asked.

  Dovian frowned. “At first, the people were kind. I was treated with respect most of the time. I used to give sermons to the people, trying to restore their faith and reassure them of better times. Then, I noticed a shift. More and more, the people began to resent and eventually hate me. They thought I was a liar, a false prophet. The churches kicked me out, claiming I was a fallen one. Pure beings don’t fall from Heaven; only those that are tainted are cursed to live here. Then, the wars progressed. My people were no longer around to keep the humans under control. Sure, I’m a Sorcēarian, but what can one Sorcēarian do?” He slowly twisted his bottle, watching the liquid ripple inside the glass. “Besides destroy things.” He sipped the brew.

  “You say that like you’re some kind of monster,” Ivory whispered. She was leaning toward Dovian, the light flickering on her face like a campfire as she listened intently to the man’s story.

  “I never said I wasn’t.” He looked at her gravely.

  “So you just stopped going outside? Just like that?” Troy asked.

  “Not necessarily. You see, I traveled for thousands of years. After a while, I was only wandering around in solitude. People eventually forgot about me, forgot about my race, and then they forgot the teachings. I watched them burn books. I watched them burn churches. I was powerless. What could I do? I was labeled a madman. Many times my life was threatened. I was doomed to sit on this planet and watch it slowly corrode into a sinful pit of disgusting despair. The day I left…it was a terrible day. It was when I finally realized how morbidly revolting the human race had gotten.” Dovian stared into the grooves and dents of the metal table. In it he saw his reflection–blue eyes gazing back up at him, much like they had the last day he had gone outside.

  “What happened?” Aria asked.

  “There was a time where I tried to help the innocent ones, those that still stood a chance.” He chuckled then. “I was a hero. I would save damsels in distress, help the elderly who had fallen and had no one to call; I brought food to the starving, helped children tie their shoes. It was a simple life but not entirely lonely. Some thought me to be their guardian angel. In a way, I was. I’m not sure what drove me. Maybe I thought it would counteract my own sins, bring me closer to Him once again. But one night, I heard the screams of a young woman. I watched from the rooftops as a man mugged her and proceeded to try and rape her. I dropped in and stopped him, how badly I wanted to cut off his arms, but I didn’t harm anyone. Not since I…destroyed my kind. I turned to the woman. She was crying, cold and wet as she lay in the rain. I asked her if she was alright. And she looked up at me with eyes holding so much fear. I remember that look, and it hurt more than any look I had received from a human. Because she was so beautiful. She looked just like her.”

  “Her?” Troy asked.

  Dovian gave a small smile. “Lanthe. She looked just like I’Lanthe. Her dark hair curled the same way. Her eyes were even a violet shade. Her neck was long; her skin was pale. And I couldn’t stop staring. The woman screamed and pushed away from me. I guess I was frightening to her. She called me a freak and ran away. It hurt, more than anything since the day I’Lanthe was killed, murdered.” His hands clenched as he watched the flame. “I suppose, in a way, I was hoping it was her. Maybe she had been given a second chance, was living another life as a human.” He mockingly laughed at himself. “That was when the humans beg
an fearing me. I was tall. My eyes were abnormal. They started hating me, rather than welcoming me and my faith.”

  “So that’s when you stopped coming out? Because of this woman?” Troy asked.

  “Not quite. It was a short time later. I had been watching from the rooftops once again when I noticed a man in the middle of an act most vile. How humans could be corrupted so easily, I can never know.” Here, he took a long drink. “He had raped and killed a little girl. I didn’t get there in time. As I grabbed him and pulled him off of her, her throat had already been slit. Her eyes…they were like glass. She was so cold, so white. Her brown hair was wet from the rain. Why it was always in the rain, I don’t know. The worst happens when it rains.” He took a shuddering breath. The other three watched, gaping in awe. “I couldn’t control myself. The rage I felt. He had killed an innocent girl. Had done horrible things! Men like that, men like that don’t deserve life. They don’t deserve any second chances! And just like that, like that…I….” Dovian’s wild eyes suddenly dimmed, the ferocity momentarily leaving. “I snapped his neck.”

  Ivory gasped, holding her hand against her lips.

  “It was the first time I had killed in nearly 10,000 years. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The mother came outside. She saw me standing above her child. She screamed a terrible scream, and it was like a knife cutting into my soul. This woman, it was the same woman from over fifteen years before. She was older, her hair was turning grey, but still…she resembled the woman from my past. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t do anything as she cried and screamed, holding her daughter. And there, at my feet was her dead boyfriend, the man who had raped and killed her daughter. She blamed me for it. She thought I had done it all. She cursed me, cursed me to no end. And then, as if a light bulb had turned on in her head, she remembered me. ‘It’s you’ she had said. ‘You are the one who attacked me all those years ago.’ She had somehow gotten it mixed up. Her memory had failed her, making her think I was the one who had attacked her all those years before. And then she thought I had killed her boyfriend and proceeded to rape and kill her daughter. I didn’t protest; I said nothing. Even as she pulled the gun from her jacket and shot me pointblank in the stomach. She left me there to die in the rain as she ran inside to call for help. But what she didn’t realize was…the wound didn’t kill me.