Pratt prepared a full four course meal for dinner. Dia and Jerry couldn't stop giggling. The scowl never left Pratt's face. I couldn't understand what was going on. Dinner was extremely tasty. And that was all that really mattered.
Afterward, the twins and I gathered in the living room. Jerry went out, saying he had something to do. The twins pulled up pictures of the temple, and that set us off.
"The discovery was entirely accidental," Dia explained. "Jerry's team was studying an influence on Mizhtawi runes. It was no more than an unsubstantiated theory. Until they dug up the temple. They hit the mother load."
I had two questions.
"Mother load? What theory?"
Pratt snickered. Dia answered the question that mattered.
"Yeah. Mother load. Pay dirt. Treasure trove. You seriously don't get it?"
"Oh no, I do now."
And Pratt burst out laughing.
"What did it?" He asked. "Treasure trove?"
I nodded. For some reason I couldn't understand, I was embarrassed.
"Yeah, thought so. So, I really want to know now, more than anything. Who are you?"
"Will you let that go?"
"No," he answered, sans hesitation.
Dia sighed wordlessly, but we heard her voice loud and clear. Juveniles, she called us.
"The theory," she began and we fell quiet. "Mizhtawi was a civilisation of the central region from about eight hundred years ago. Makes it fairly recent. Also, easy to decipher. But there was always this tiny mystery. Their literature referenced civilisations of old. Characters from older civilisations made appearances in Mizhtawi literature. It was one of the proofs about the Mizhtawi's cultural advancement. Here's the thing though. There were phrases, in significant places, whose syntax and structure was very different from Mizhtawi. There was this theory that there was a higher civilisation that Mizhtawi looked up to, and all of those mystery phrases were borrowed from this higher civilisation. Jerry was a staunch proponent of the theory in an age when the theory was losing traction. It was a great day when they walked into the temple and saw those same phrases, but on the temple walls, as primary writings. Jerry's team knew they had found the higher civilisation. It's been a busy life since."
"Jerry's identity changed from an expert of renown in elemental runes to the father of Faery research," Pratt added.
"He's good," Dia appraised. "And fortunate."
"Of course he is," Pratt agreed. "He's got us."
After laughing to satisfaction, we turned back to the temple.
"The key point is that the heavenly war was written on the tablets, which were placed safely inside the temple. The runes on the walls mention Aparthyseion, the sun and the cosmic darkness, and the dawn of the new era. Whether it be a mausoleum for the era ended or a temple for the harbingers of the new era, it stands at the juncture. And that in itself might be of critical importance to the civilisation."
Dia said as much as could be said from where we were. We flipped through the pictures, spending long enough on each for every detail to be committed to memory. Never tiring. The beauty never lessening.
"So, let me show you something."
Pratt was grinning so excitedly, he had wings on his back that lifted him off the ground he stood upon. His fingers were dancing rapidly as he pulled open a hidden folder and started a program.
"I had a friend prepare this for me," he explained, with his eyes on the lines of code whirling up the black window. "It's supposed to be a simple aggregator. Stitches together the pictures to give a video-like rendering of the whole temple. It's almost as good as seeing the actual temple."
"Who's this friend?" Dia asked.
"Sasha," Pratt answered.
"Is she that good? Does it work?"
"What do you have against Sasha? She's really good. You know that too."
"I didn't know you would stand up to defend her."
"What are you on about? It's done. See."
Pratt was beaming. Dia's eyes were glowing. I was struck by the similarity. An idea was firmly rooting in my head.
"The long arc is one half. It's elemental. What about the other half?" I asked.
"What do you think?" The twins said together, beaming even brighter.
"Pictorial?" I asked slowly.
They only smiled, but there couldn't be a louder affirmation.
"Seriously? That simple?"
"What's simple?" Dia asked.
"Yeah, what's simple," Pratt repeated, wearing the same confusion.
"Oh, that. How you fit in. So simple."
The twins fell quiet for far too long. I wore the confusion as I looked at them. They shook their heads in sorrow and indignation. And repeated the question they couldn't let go of.
"Who are you?"
I sighed, shaking my head with the same sorrow.
"No one. It's just so sad that you can't get something so simple."
"Could you please stop saying that?" Dia asked.
"What?" I asked.
"Simple," Dia answered.
"Simple?" I asked.
"Yeah, simple," Pratt said.
"Okay," I agreed. "But what's your problem with simple?"
"Just stop," they said together.
"It's too painful," Pratt added. "So, just stop."
"You're weird," I said, unnecessarily.
"Yeah, right," they said in a tone that meant something else.
We looked at the simulated tour of the temple, struck with awe.
I could see the runes taking a whole shape on the walls. I could hear them calling for me. I recognised the long arc. And the other runes suddenly felt very familiar. Looking at them, I heard them sing.