The sounds of the crickets chirping in the dark disturbed Arexis' sleep. As he opened his eyes, he spotted 2984 doing another wierd activity in front of the fire again. As usual, the thick bear skin was covering the young master's body. 2984 wasn't taking his eyes off from the piece of paper in his hand. Arexis pretended to be asleep as he watched his guardian. He took a glimpse of the smiling guy in front of the blazing fire. 2984 was holding a charcoal in his hand, it was the most convenient equipment to use for drawing on the paper. He was smiling and looked contented when he finally blew the residues of the coal. The joyful servant looked at his young master -who in the moment immediately closed his eyes. 2984 sneered, he just caught his young master pretending to be asleep but he didn't want to embarrass Arexis anymore, the servant pretended that he didn't know. He continued to to draw using the charcoal while keeping the fire active from time to time. From the time that the four of them decided to go to sleep, 2984 already felt the heavy energy surrounding around them. He knew that many eyes were watching them but he remained calm so the other young men would not panic. He decided to stay awake for the night to guard everyone.
"You damn coal-eaters, I know you're around. Show yourselves and I will take your leader's head off" 2984 warned loud enough for the nearby watchers to hear him. The growling sounds became angrier. Arexis heard everything that 2984 said. He frowned when the nearby sigbins began to sound scared from 2984's warning.
"Let's have a deal, I will see your leader in the middle of the forest and we will have a duel. You dare no to come near them. You'll know what will happem to you when you don't follow my condition." 2984 warned. When the three young men were sleeping, 2984 played his panpipes in its calmest melody. He created a protecting spell around Leo, Anthony and Arexis. The largest sigbin with the size of a dog revealed its form from the depths of the darkness. It was walking backwards with its head hanging behind its hind legs. It was looking at 2984 in upside down position, which seemed really creepy and scary. 2984 felt the chills on his neck when he totally saw the creature's features. Its form was a bit different from the other smaller sigbins. It has red, long twisted horns and its sticky saliva dripping on the ground, its menacing energy enveloping around its body. The awful smell never disappears during its presence. It smelled like rotten rat which badly tickles the tiny hair under 2984's nostrils.
'Is it because they pee from above down to their heads? Or they naturally smell like corpses?' 2984 sniffed, he put down the paper on the ground and started walking towards the middle of the forest. Arexis slowly removed his blanket as he decided to follow his servant secretly. Tiny branches were cracking against the ground everytime Arexis tried to make his steps lighter and quieter. He saw the paper on the ground and picked it up. Judging from the texture and the coldness of the paper, it was a bit crumpled and wet. Arexis was surprised with the content of such a dirty paper. It was a sketch of the enchanted river made of charcoal. It was when the river still looked peaceful and calm, before the attack of the coal eaters. Even if Arexis would not admit it, his servant really had a talent in artistic drawing too. The young master put the sketch back on the ground and entered the core of the forest. He assumed that he had a servant with a lot of knowledge about everything.
"Have I told you not to go near my master?" 2984 spoke with a fierce voice. He was holding his sword with the leader of the sigbins hanging on it, its chest being pierced against the air. The sigbin was squeling helplessly as its whole pack slowly retreating behind the darkness.
"You just tried to eat my master while he was sleeping. It's unforgiveable." 2984 stated. The sigbins were following Arexis along the core of the forest without the young master noticing them. When Arexis turned around, he saw a school of sigbins behind him. He immediately pulled out his sword and pointed it towards the coal eaters. As Arexis fought with the sigbins all by himself, 2984 strangled the leader of the sigbin's neck barehanded. Those pair of red eyes glared at 2984 and a black tiny smoke came out from its forehead. The red stone that emited the black smoke turned into normal black stone. It traveled towards the guardian's arms and penetrated under his pale skin. 2984 groaned as he felt the unbearable pain near his heart. He had no idea why it suddenly began to ache. He accidentally let the sigbin go and the lifeless creature fell on the ground. As the leader visibly lost its life, the other remaining creatures sprinted towards any directions, running for their lives in the dark because their leader just died. 2984 collapsed on the ground with the veins on his arms turning dark purple. His eyes were all white for a split second before they turned back to normal unidentical irises. Arexis went towards his lying servant and looked down on him. 2984 was still breathing but not moving, the black smoke had long gone and his veins returned to its normal color. From a dying body to a normal one, 2984 seemed to recover instantly.
"Get up. If you don't, I'm leaving you behind." Arexis said and walked away. In an instant, 2984 opened his eyes and sat up, he pouted at Arexis who was now heading back to where Leo and Anthony stayed. The servant sniffed and groaned as he got up.
"So fierce. I would not wonder if he grows up single forever. No woman could stand that kind of atittude." 2984 murmured as he followed his master behind.
"Young master, are we going to hunt the Abus by tommorrow? I just noticed that I've never felt any presence of them ever since we entered the forest." 2984 spoke.
Arexis noticed it too, ever since they entered the forest, the energy that he first noticed were those unfamiliar energy spirits, later he confirmed that it was those sigbins.
"We will invade the mountains by dawn. Prepare yourself for tommorrow." Arexis said and sat beside the tiny fire. Both Leo and Anthony were still sleeping so soundly beside each other. 2984 looked at the other young master and his servant with a bit envy. He sometimes wondered if it was him who served for Anthony and not Arexis, he thought his expedition would be a little funnier and less awkward. But since Arexis was his master, the only thing he could do was to be annoying all the time.
"How pitiful I am" 2984 sneered and stared at his young master. He sat beside Arexis but not too close for he knew that his master hates physical contact. He picked up the paper and a piece of charcoal to continue his unfinished draft. Smiling genuinely, 2984 created the drawing with all his heart. Arexis secretly entertained himself by watching his servant performing such masterpiece.
"You have skillful hands." Arexis said but 2984 didn't hear him. The young master frowned as he felt humiliated when a mere servant just ignored his words.
"Young master, take a look at this." 2984 said and pinned his drawing against the air, letting Arexis look at his work.
"Do you think the children in my district will find it realistic if I show this drawing to them?" 2984 asked, his voice was a bit annoying but sincere. Arexis frowned and just replied, "Hm"
"You think so?!" 2984 exclaimed. He was smiling purely and turned another empty page of his pad of dirty paper. After a few minutes of scratching and sketching, 2984 showed his second drawing to his master. He knew that he was annoying his master, but he wanted to talk.
"How about this one? Does it feel realistically sad?" 2984 asked. His second drawing was the enchanted river with all those floating and lying corpses. The water looked a little darker than the first drawing which simply meant that it was no longer pure.
"Hm" Arexis replied. 2984 sighed and smiled at the fire in front of them.
"Young master, if I may ask, what do you want to do in the future after this mission?" 2984 asked while finishing his drawing.
"I don't have to tell you." Arexis replied. 2984 scoffed, as expected of the young master.
"As for me, I want to become a storyteller." 2984 said. He held his hands together and rubbed them against each other to create heat.
"Why did you accept this mission?" Arexis asked. 2984 and Leo were both scholars who were offered to have a better life and education after they successfully made it out alive the mission. They would live beyond the white wall together with the other nobles. For Arexis who knew the danger of the mission, he believed that only ignorant people from the first district would take the offer when in fact, they could refuse it.
"I want to learn about a lot of things. And of course, I want to see the hidden beauty of this realm." 2984 said.
"Youre probably thinking that I was being ignorant and foolish because there's only a slight chance that servants like us would survive in the mission. And, living together with the nobles is just a fantasy for people like us." 2984 said. He sighed and smiled, added another batch of fuel to the fire and said, "But I won't die in here, neither you, young master."
"And uhm, I really like drawing when I was a kid. I usually use charcoal to draw out the characters of my story on a piece of paper when the kids are listening to me. It entertains them a lot when they see my drawings. Sometimes, you got to think of a creative way on how to make other people set their interest in you." 2984 said while smiling. He looked at Anthony and Leo, then asked, "Is master Anthony your closest friend, young master?"
"Not even close." Arexis replied. Anthony grew up together with Arexis but never did Arexis treated Anthony as a close friend. He only aknowledged the young noble as an aquaintance of his family. 2984 said no more as he continued to draw. Arexis frowned when he got a bit confused with the drawing.
"Is that a fog?" Arexis asked while looking at the drawing. His face showed no interest at the drawing but his eyes were filled with confusions. 2984 scoffed and chuckled. He acted a bit shy and embarrased as he slowly tried to hide his drawing away.
"This is heaven" 2984 answered. He was drawing the enchanted river with the heaven (clouds) almost touching the ground. Arexis frowned as why 2984 drew the heaven too near to the earth.
"Young master, have you ever wondered: What if the heaven used to be so near us we could almost reach it by our bare hands?" 2984 asked. Arexis frowned, he never heard such a thing. He thought that his servant was fooling around again if only 2984 didn't look too serious.
"I've never heard such thing." Arexis replied and gaze upon the night sky. The stars were twinkling like little bells as if they could almost hear the clanging sounds.
"I used to remember my mother talking bedtime stories about the heaven kissing the earth when I was six months old." 2984 said. Arexis knew it, 2984 was playing tricks on him again. Who would remember their pasts at such an early age?
"You're probably thinking that I am being stupid again. Young master, I have a secret." 2984 said and moved closer to Arexis which made the young master to move away a bit. 2984 twitched his mouth, his young master was absolutely antisocial.
"I can remember all the things that happened to me ever since I was a month old. Every little thing was clear. I have never told anyone about myself, not even my mother who only kept me for two months and left me in the middle of the forest afterwards." 2984 said. The servant looked so serious that the young master could never tell whether he was lying or not.
"Well, you don't have to believe me. I'm just saying that you are a lucky guy hehe" 2984 grinned. Arexis frowned.
"Why am I lucky?" Arexis asked. He was not interested nor convinced but he needed someone to talk to so he won't fall asleep.
"Because you met someone like me! I'm a unique individual who knows a lot of things despite the lack of education. I really want to go to school and learn a lot of things, that includes learning more about myself." 2984 said with a smile. Arexis ignored his arrogant servant again. 2984 kept talking to keep his young master awake, Arexis was somewhat entertained.
"Pencil is way better to use in drawing." Arexis said in the middle of 2984's endless storytelling. 2984 looked confused and stopped talking.
"What's a pencil?" 2984 asked while holding his chin. He may sound smart and informative but he had never gone to school. Since the nobles took only a few scholars from the first and lower districts, not even a single scholar successfully made it out alive. Arexis gulped and changed the topic, he felt a bit pity that he didn't want to continue talking.
"If it's an instrument convenient for drawing, then, will young master give me one when we get out of here alive?!" 2984 asked cheerfully. He was smiling like a kid waiting for a piece of candy.
Arexis replied with a nod and sighed softly.
"Young master, I have another favor." 2984 spoke. This time, Arexis was really annoyed that he didn't even made a response.
"Just like what young master Anthony gave to Leo..." 2984 bit his bottom lip as he was acting shy again. If he was talking about the sacred cloak, surely, Arexis would never grant his wish as how Anthony gave his cloak to Leo easily.
"A noble's cloak is very important to its owner that it would be improper to give it to others easily." Arexis responded with a straight face. He'd better tell him before 2984 asks for it.
"Oh! I don't intend to ask for your cloak. I want you to give me a name, too." 2984 said. He assumed that they would be successful with their mission and that he would be given a chance to study in the higher district together with other young nobles. He knew too that he could make his own name without asking anyone, but it would be meaningless. He didn't want to be called wierd and ignorant for having such a wierd name when he go to school.
"Well, '2984' is not a bad name but the students might make fun of me out there." 2984 said with a shy and awkward laugh.
"You are so sure that you won't die in here and study there. I'll give you a name if you'll make it alive here then." Arexis said and ended the conversation. Just as the night went deeper, a loud sound of a horn was played. Arexis looked up, the sound came from his district, signaling that the young nobles should return to the higher district before the sun rises. Anthony was awoken with the sound and he quickly looked for the other young master's presence.
"The district is telling us to retreat? Why so sudden?" Anthony asked, confusions written on his face.
"Instructions should be followed. We will leave right away. Something must have happened." Arexis said and stood on his feet. The three followed him behind, exiting the forest immediately without a second thought.
"That sound just now, I'm not sure but..." 2984 spoke while walking fast behind his master.
"...It doesn't sound so favorable. Is it an emergency call from your district, young master?" 2984 asked Arexis. The young master ignored the question, his eyes were too focused on his wild surroundings.
"Young master, are we going with you in the higher district?" Leo asked Anthony. Anthony smiled and patted Leo's head.
"You're right and lucky! You're coming with us and study! Once, the mission is done or aborted, chosen scholars will have the privilege to do anything they want inside the higher district. It's similar to giving rewards for brave soldiers." Anthony said while smiling. 2984 looked at his young master who was more concerned about the surroundings than returning home.
"Young master, when we go there! Can I call you Arie?" 2984 asked with a smile. Arexis ignored his servant's request for he was too attentive with the path that they were taking.
"That's a great idea!" Anthony agreed and strangled Leo in the neck with his arm.
"You don't have to call me 'young master' anymore when we get there. You just call me Anthony!" Anthony said to Leo. The servant was beyond happy that he received such treatment. The two walked faster and passed by Arexis, leaving the two behind.
"Young master" 2984 called Arexis. The young noble looked back with a serious face, brows frowning. 2984 felt awkward and decided not to intrude with the young master's business anymore. He smiled shyly and averted his head.
"Oh! It's nothing, sorry for distracting you! Go ahead!" 2984 pouted.
'Making your own name is not that hard, why ask for someone who doesn't care for you anyway?' 2984 thought while taking longer steps. 2984 believed that Arexis assumed the servant would not make it alive so he just went with the flow by agreeing all his requests.
'I'll start thinking of a cool name along the way!' 2984 thought gleefully while holding his chin.
"Crescent" 2984's eyes widened as he heard the word that came out from the young master's mouth.
"That's your name." Arexis said and walked faster, leaving the happiest servant on earth behind.
"But, what does Crescent mean?" 2984 asked himself and twitched his mouth.
"Ayaa! Forget about the meaning! At least for now, I got a name!" 2984 said cheerfully and ran in front of his master.
"Hello Arie, my name is Crescent! Nice to meet you!" Crescent greeted his master with a joyful voice. He bowed his head while placing one of his arms near his abdomen. Arexis scoffed and maintained his apathetic face as he left Crescent behind.
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©The Bathala's Forbidden Vessel
Creator: Arl Hesse