Scene Three: Keeper
...Of Act One: Enter Ryoku
In the eyes of Ryoku Dragontalen, we are in
The Old Forest, in the world of Harohto.
It is late afternoon
On November 4th, 2017.
The rain we'd seen forecasted in the clouds was quick to follow our departure. A gentle pitter-patter at first, but it slowly hastened until even the shelter of thick trees could hardly keep us dry.
Another scream pierced the humid, wet air. Will's face paled a shade. He quickened his pace, only slowing when the mud caused me to slide back several feet on the path, and he started showing me how to find my footing even along the trudging uphill hike.
Atop the hill from where we'd stopped to rest, a small creature darted out onto the path. It was so quick, I could note little about it. It was red as copper, about the size of a small dog, and, perhaps the strangest, had the stature of a human. Will scared it off with a strange whistling sound. I saw the flash of red eyes, but it vanished into the woods without a trace. When I tried to ask Will about the encounter, he didn't hear me.
Will kept repeating his call every time we entered a new little area, but there was no response from his soldiers. The ground slowly evened out, but the rain only worsened. I kept a solid pace for Will's sake, but my lungs and chest burned with each stride. I feared that if we ran into whatever he was scared of, I might just keel over at its knees. Presuming it had knees. I didn't know what to imagine in this strange new world.
Will finally slowed at the bank of a steady river, capped with the excess runoff of the storm, which only seemed to meet us at this corner before veering off again. Further in the trees, I saw that the extra water crested the river at the corners and forged little streams of runoff through the woods. As we approached it, I studied the water with scrutiny, but my heart soared when I saw how clean it looked.
Will found a spot where the water skipped over a small ledge and lowered his canteen to it. "We will stock up on river water here. While traveling, it is always a good idea to collect fresh water – we all keep extra canteens in our bags for just that. You should have one in your ba—what are you giving me that look for?"
I hesitated. I watched the water fill his canteen and run across his hands, but he still stared at me. "Is that drinkable?" I asked.
Will laughed, shaking his head. "Of course. Natural spring water flows through the woods. Even said, I still find a spot where the river is flowing strong. Points like this, where the water breaks contact with the main body, are especially ideal for taking drinkable water. The only precautions in these woods are during the dry season when the river lowers exceptionally. Why...?"
He stopped himself, staring up at me, his jaw slightly agape. "Hold on. The rumors about your world... Are they true? That it begins to die?"
I didn't respond right away. I stared at the water blearily. In my own world, such a spring would never be safe to consume. They said that what we drank now was less than ten percent of actual water, and less than five percent of what ran through our oceans and rivers. It was heavily chemically modified in order to give us the same sustenance that it had since the beginning of time. But this… I had never seen water so clear, especially running through nature without any sort of filtration system.
"I have heard little but folklore about it," Will went on when I didn't reply. By his tone, he was treading very carefully. "Defenders will speak of it callously. Maybe some spirit-born believe it is just their distant kingdom, but we know the truth. Their world is starting to fall."
"It isn't dying," I cut him off sharply. Will flinched back, surprised by my outburst. I was, too. "The state of things in my world… they're temporary, I know it. The physical realm cannot just… die, can it?"
"Your eyes just now…" Will tilted his head. I gave him a quizzical look, but he lowered his gaze. Wordlessly, he capped his canteen and gestured for me to hand mine to him. I obeyed, and he gently showed me how I would hold the canteen under the runoff to minimize any possible risk. He left out the idea that the tactic was useless in my home.
"I do not know," Will answered finally, watching the canteen fill. "Those that know of your world are clueless as well, I imagine. It is a topic which should not be breached with just anyone."
I watched him in silence for a moment. Maybe I was in the wrong place hoping for answers. "You said spirit-born earlier," I commented. "What does that mean?"
"Ah, right," Will said apologetically. "The people of this realm can be divided into two: spirits, and spirit-born. Excluding you Defenders, of course. Spirits are just as you would expect – those who died in your world, and have come here. I am one myself. Spirit-borns are children that spirits have sired in these realms. Unlike us, who do not age with the passage of time, spirit-borns will live and die just as you do in your home. Those are the people who do not understand your world, and they outnumber us greatly."
I frowned. "How do they know you're spirits, then, without knowing about my home?"
Will shrugged. "We are normal to them – spirits, their forefathers, but not quite as esteemed. Some time ago, it was agreed upon to let the spirit-born believe theirs is the only realm. In fact, such is the law in many different worlds." When he saw my look, he shrugged. "To hear the whole story, one might believe a spirit-born only gets their one life here as a result. Would there be truly be a whole slew of afterlives for those born in different dimensions? Should your kind be the only one who gets to go someplace afterward?"
I considered his words heavily. It gave me a headache to imagine that there was another spirit realm for the spirits of this realm, and then maybe even more after that. "I see," I murmured softly. "That is an elaborate tri ck for the spirit realm to collectively follow."
"In a perfect world, all would obey it."
I nodded, watching Will as he stood. "It's wonderful, though. Imagining a whole other cycle of life taking place here – apart from my own twisted, corrupted world."
Will's eyes sparked dangerously. "This world is still wrought with danger in itself," he said sharply. "Living here does not mean one is safe. Depending on the world, they might be without medicine or proper medical care. Many spirits abandon their children, so as to not explain why they will age as regular folk while their parents stay the same. Many are shadowed with darkness of a completely different sort. Many of these individual worlds will not last for long, condemning millions of spirits and spirit-born alike to their deaths."
I quickly realized I'd offended him. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean to make it sound like that." I studied him for a moment, thinking of what he said. "So there are multiple worlds here. If I understand, we're just in one of them."
"Correct," Will said, his voice still a little brusque. "We currently stomp through the world of Harohto. This is a rather peaceful world, considering. They can vary greatly in design, but all seem to have a general moot point. You might be surprised to see the extent of some other worlds outside Harohto, including my own. Each has norms that do not exist in other realms, or lack things commonplace in most other lands. Each world, too, is somewhat of a different size. Harohto is moderate. Both the main continent and the southern continent are simply labelled 'Harohto,' but that is all to this world."
I regarded him with surprise as he handed me my canteen. "That is all? But... do they not question why their world is so small? Or where you come from? Where I come from?"
Will shrugged. "It is commonplace. Your world is made of seven continents, is it not? Why is that all? Must there not be more?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"As for the other realms, compare it to another aspect of your world." He gave me a small grin. "Aliens. Just imagine if aliens came to your world, mingling with the other folk. They would surely have come from other galaxies far away, but that technology is beyond your knowledge. In the case of Harohto, this world has barely grasped building ships to survive the southern voyage. Some worlds, to my knowledge, do not even carry such vast bodies of water. A surprising amount, to be frank. A denizen of Bonnin or Brooklyn may be alarmed by such oceans, filled with water not immediately drinkable."
I took this in with surprise. "They seriously don't know about that?"
Will shrugged. "Forgive me if my knowledge of your realm is outdated, but are there not small villages within the Amazon Rainforest that have not seen anything more than the great river?"
His knowledge wasn't misplaced, and surprisingly recent. I wondered how long ago Will had been a part of my world. I tried to picture him in my classes, politely listening to the teacher as they explained algebra to the intelligent woodsman, hunched over in his chair because the kids behind him couldn't see the chalkboard.
"And yes," Will went on, oblivious to my train of thought, "these worlds seem to have a finite lifespan. I do not know the details. Perhaps new ones are born from new stars somewhere out in the void."
"So they can die," I derived. My wording caught Will's glance, and I swallowed back my hesitation. "The individual realms, part of this spirit realm, can die. The world seems to go on without them, but can the same be said for my world? Could the land of the living just... cease? Could we go on with half of the world gone?"
"Bold of you to assume your world is half," Will commended sharply. "You have seen but the very tip of the corner of the realms. Hah – not even, to be frank. A small niche in the page. Your indifference can be written off only as such. I will ask again, when you have become a more seasoned Defender. Once you have come with me to my world, and you have seen what exists beside us – a fallen world, one that we cower in the shadow of. The common folk do not know. They cannot see it like we may see the moon in the sky, but I, as a seasoned traveler, have seen it. Worlds can fall, Ryoku Dragontalen, no matter how large they may seem. Take care that it does not happen to your own."
He took a swig of his water and capped it, turning his gaze to the path ahead. I held an open flask in front of me, untouched. Unwittingly, I'd offended Will. His expression was pallid and grey with worry, his eyes bleary. Still, his words rang in my ears. Once you have come with me to my world.
He had come so far to protect me. He'd stood up against the likes of Lancet Cooper. Now, his friends and fellow soldiers were lost in the woods, perhaps fallen to whatever beast may be pursuing us, and he still stood at my side. Still, he was my only source of information in this world right now.
"I don't intend to stick around," I told him. "I have a mission I have to accomplish. A few, to be exact. I have questions that need answering. However I may wish for lush forests and drinkable water, this isn't my home."
I was speaking with envy and rage. I didn't need Will's sorrowful look to tell me that. I was watching my conversation with this likeable soldier falling apart, but I couldn't hold back my comments. Why? Was I so full of unspoken words that I needed to tear into Will?
"Try that water," he instructed softly. "I see the way you look at it. I drank it, and I am fine."
I looked closely at Will as though to challenge that opinion, but there was nothing I could find. Gingerly, I lifted the canteen to my face and smelled it, just in case, but was pleasantly surprised. Was water supposed to smell so appealing? I expected to wrinkle my nose in disgust, but my throat twisted instead. I drank from it quickly, as though that might change. It passed through my parched lips and wetted my anxious tongue. The sensation was alarming. I'd never tasted something so refreshing!
"Those who enter these realms will never forget it."
I looked at Will, but he was staring pointedly up the path, his sapphire eyes gleaming like the sky.
"You will never hear the wind without the whispers of our people, or the fire dance in the hearth without whispering the ancient tongue of magic. You will never stare at the failing foliage of your world without longing for our earthy, healthy trees in their stead. You will never watch the tepid tide roll across the beach without picturing this gallant river."
He plucked an apple from the corner of his bag as easily as ever. I realized it was probably convenient to have our food readily available, and thought of mine tucked into my sleeping roll. He held the apple in front of him in a loose fist.
"Up until now, you have likely believed your world is the entire apple, even as it has soured and ripened in age, riddled with worms, bruised... Now you learn that there is another half. While yours is contaminated, ours remains largely untouched, as though fresh from the tree. Perhaps something within the good part of the apple can explain why the other half ended up this way. Why the worms only riddled throughout half of it. Maybe there is even a cure. Maybe one day, both will eventually rot. But one thing remains true."
With a fluid, one-handed motion, he snapped the apple clean in half between his fingers, and held them both side-by-side in his palm. "Now that you know your apple was never the whole picture, it will never be the whole picture." He gave me a wistful look and passed me half of the apple. "You can enjoy your side of the apple, rotten as it may be, but you would never forget the other half."
I didn't reply, regarding the half of an apple as though it might very well be rotten. Moments washed past us with the rushing water in the background. I stared at the wet soil at our feet, ignoring the relentless pattering of rain upon the earth, dampening my body and spirit. Will stared at me, searching my expression. He looked weary and tired. We had merely stopped for a drink of water, but something had caught us into this dangerous conversation. I felt ashamed, and clasped my canteen shut with only a sip taken from it. I felt his eyes on me as I returned to the path, and he followed suit shortly after.
We trudged along the path for well over an hour. The tension eventually subsided between us and I ate the half of an apple he gave me, along with more from my bag. Still, we saw no sign of his squad, nor any signs of struggle nearby. No discarded armor, no blood, nor any baggage spilt across the path. I dared to think they might still be alive, but I was wondering if we went the wrong way. Had they turned down a side trail somewhere? Will assured me that wasn't the case. They knew these woods like the back of their hand. Splitting up only ensured they would meet up later down the path.
Later on, we came to another bend in the river that jutted out into the path like a scar through the woods. Will zeroed in, and I caught up to him as he examined a set of rushed tracks in the mud. I counted the footsteps long after he stood. It must have been about five of them.
"They were split up," Will murmured, "and they came this way."
It was hard to hear him over the falls. A short waterfall, only about Will's height off the ground, coursed near us like unchained horses made of aqua. Mist sprayed all around, and the ground nearby was beginning to develop a late day fog. Will approached and dipped his hand in. "The rain must be heavier on ahead. The normal flow of the water is escalated. Much of it is warmer rainwater, and not glacial runoff as it should be this high up. I pray the bridge ahead is still intact."
"W-We have to cross a bridge?" I asked, uncertain. Considering the poisonous quality of water in my world, I wasn't particularly fond of crossing or swimming in the stuff, either. I didn't feel that concern ebb away in a new world. Something about looking down and not being able to see the bottom of the river made me shaky at the thought of tumbling into its depths from above.
"It will be easy. One little bridge and we will be on the other side." He stared up the length of the river ahead. "I only hope they are still alive."
He led the way alongside the river and past the falls. We were showered with even colder water than the rain as we passed, and I wrapped myself in my cloak for warmth. The slope was muddy and tough to climb, but Will helped me after deftly making short work of it himself. It was becoming harder to see as, true to Will's word, the rain already began to pick up.
When he led me to a rickety bridge ahead, I halted in my tracks. It crossed the river and was only as wide as we were. A faint creaking noise I dully became aware of seemed to belong to the ropes of this bridge. Churning waters tickled the bottom of the bridge. When it tossed in the wind, I could see the boards making the bridge spread quite far apart. All too easy to slip through.
"It is our only option," Will said firmly. "This bridge has survived worse, I can assure you. If we can cross it and sever the ropes behind us, then perhaps we can shake the entity following us."
I hesitated, surprised to hear such a suggestion from him. "What of your squad? There were five sets of tracks. We don't know if everyone got across, or is even headed the same way." I gripped my knife, more of a reassurance to myself than anything. "Will, if you think we can, I'll stand with you against it."
"I do not believe the option exists," he replied. He sounded as though he'd spent the whole walk reaffirming that thought in his mind. "Besides, there are other ways to cross the river even to those not as resourceful as my group. Perhaps we will find them once we cross, or they are further ahead. There are many crossroads in these woods, and I am sure the truth awaits." He cast a haunted look behind me, as though seeing our apparent pursuer. I glanced, but saw nothing among the ancient trees of the Old Forest. I thought I could hear a faint noise in the distance, but it might have just been my own ears. When I turned back, Will looked grave. "Besides, I assure you that we cannot fight this entity. The only option is escape."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "You mentioned something about bounties in the forest earlier, and I think Kimball said something, too..."
He was searching my eyes. "Ryoku. You have a goal, do you not? A lofty one, I imagine, from that look you get in your eyes. I do not know what, but I wager it must be truly valuable." He smiled at me – it was a grave smile. "I believe in you. I believe that your mission might be something that you alone are capable of. So, can you accomplish your goal if you prowl these woods aimlessly for days? Seeking out friends that may already be waiting at the inn with a cup of hot cocoa?"
"I..."
I hesitated. Will's words touched me. Still, what if we were pressing forward while his friends remained lost behind us? I couldn't voice that opinion, not while he looked like he was trying his hardest to think about anything but that. I had to swallow my hesitation. Here was Will, but one of his squad, able to guide me seamlessly through the woods. Surely his other seven comrades were capable of similar feats, especially all in one pack.
"Come," he told me, and he cleared the mound leading up to the bridge in a single stride. "It is sturdier than it looks."
That was the first time I didn't fully trust the words from Will's mouth. Still, I had little choice in the matter. I tried to ascend the mound in a single stoic step as Will had, but stumbled and turned it into more like six staggered ones. Will caught me before I could fall back, chuckling.
"Do not let yourself get frazzled. I already taught you how to walk up muddy paths! Now come. Think of stairs – they must creak with age, but they will not collapse. We still have nights to spend in these woods."
It took his last comment for me to turn toward him as he started out onto the bridge, strolling as easily as though he headed to the bar. I thought back to our banter about drunks in the woods and almost chuckled at the idea. If only an inn and a warm fire waited at the other side. I'd even take on those drunks again if Oliver, Leif, Alex, and the others were waiting inside.
I didn't consider our combined weight on the bridge until I stepped on and the bridge swayed vicariously. Cool air and mist throttled me as I flailed, sure that I was about to plummet – but a strong hand grabbed my arm. "Steady yourself! This is not a tightrope, Ryoku – just a bridge! Here, let me take your bag and things. There – unburdened. Come on!"
Will let go after stealing my bag, bow, and quiver from my back, and he easily strolled ahead of me with all of it. I still stumbled as soon as he let go, but I steadied myself this time. I dared not look down at the waves that sloshed over my boots, or the waves that reached up on either side like giant hands trying to take me to their lair.
I tried to step in a rhythm, keeping my feet slower than my racing chest, but it was hard to keep my footing on the slippery bridge. I gripped the rope rails until my hands bled, dragging myself forward. If I could snap my fingers to get off this bridge, but land in a circle of angry drunks unarmed, I'd snap my fingers again and again.
Something alerted me to raise my head. Will, standing near the end of the bridge, froze. His neck craned, and he turned to face upstream with an expression I couldn't see.
I began to hear a faint noise. It rang between the sloshing waves and the torrential downpour in oddly clairvoyant tones. It almost sounded like a flute, though there was an odd atmosphere to the sound that made my hair stand on end.
It wasn't until I saw Will break into a dead run ahead of me that I clued in.
The noise somehow elevated above the rain and waves – and it was getting closer, fast.
Run.
The ice shattered. I forced myself into a run, which could easily break my legs at least if I couldn't time my pounding steps with the gaps in the bridge. I half-dragged myself by the rope railing as the sound gained volume. There was a beautiful, haunting tone to it, but it slowly began to sound more like a shriek.
If I thought I was overreacting, my mind resolved when I saw Will clearing the last steps of the bridge, and he freed his lance from over his back like an unleashed scorpion tail.
Then I saw something else. A shape, some sort of entity that caught my eye from up the river. For a moment, it looked like a dark green cloak thrown from somewhere in the trees. It flew at us with horrific speed.
The shrieking noise was now so loud that I couldn't hear the water. I wanted to cover my ears, but I couldn't let go of the bridge. In fact, I couldn't move – not once I saw the hooded red eyes amidst the green cloak-like entity, or the twin sets of ivory claws that it lashed out with.
A noise rose out now above even the shrieking. The splitting of rope, the snapping of wood. Before I could fully comprehend what happened, I hit the water like ice. The force of my fall sucked me down, and water filled my lungs at an alarming rate.
I struggled to free myself of the icy clutches of the river, but I only sank further. I knew the current got me, latching onto me as if the river was its own dangerous entity that hunted us. Every frenzied attempt only served to drag me deeper. Pressure built up on my chest, only letting more water into my lungs.
Unwittingly, I thought of what Will said moments before clambering onto the forsaken bridge. Will said my goal was lofty, but he believed in it. I hadn't told him much – hardly anything at all, really. Nevertheless, he believed in me.
Here I was. Was I to die here? Thrown from the bridge into the relentless river by some mysterious cloaked creature, worlds away from anything close to my goal?
Faces flashed across my vision. The strawberry-blond, her blue irises like clear summer skies, her freckles like sunspots in my eyes. I could almost feel her smile. Would I never see her again?
It was no use. Despite my best efforts to rouse myself and free myself from this watery prison, my arms were pinned by the current. Not even a giant could free themselves from this vicious undertow, and I certainly wasn't even a giant.
My arms felt like lava ran through them, and my lungs much the same. My chest seemed to sink with me. The waves would swallow me here and end my journey, quickly as I had ever entered this place. The clear water I'd tasted for the first time today would now be my grave as it became black as night, swallowing me into its ancient darkness.
The last thing my mind imagined was the slightest, most infinitesimal touch of human skin – and the water turned to fire.