Act Three: Trickster...
In the eyes of Sira Jessura, we are in
The Black Plain, in the world of Lysvid.
It is early afternoon
On November 7th, 2017.
Scene One: Tricks and Gods
When the world opened up around us, I was almost certain that it'd just been some kind of glitch. I mean, nobody was ever conscious during the arduous process of crossing realms. It didn't look like we ended up anywhere. Everything was dark.
I could dully detect the presence of the others around me. Will always carried an earthy scent, though not an entirely unpleasant one. It was as if he grew up among the trees with an added manly spice to his atmosphere. Lusari's aura was one that oddly reminded me of watching the rain from afar, sitting at a warm hearth with a nostalgic feel to the air.
Then, of course, Ryoku was the unmistakable one. He had an oddly light scent to him, something like the sun streaming through the boughs of tall, wise trees, dancing rays across the scattered stones. The whole time, despite all the good Will had to say about the kid, I expected the worst. Men weren't easy to trust. Even Will, with his etiquette, bold voice, and charming personality, seemed like a snake to me. It could be a ruse, meant to pierce the thousand shields that every sane woman put around her. I expected the same of Ryoku.
That all changed when he woke up. Since then, I was annoyed. His forest-green eyes were like a pair of stars shining through the night, already stabbing questions at me from the second he saw me. His voice was light and casual, but I could tell he thought his words over before he ever spoke. He was perceptive, but not enough to see the way I looked at him. All of that was enough to piss me off – I didn't like letting people in, and it was as if his green eyes already rolled out the red carpet for himself, straight into my life. I had yet to decide whether that red carpet was made of velvet or flames.
What a terrible, annoying pain.
It took a moment, but everything slowly came to focus. It was actually just dark as night, but the darkness seemed unsettling even for me. A pale moon hung in the sky like some eerie, singular ornament to try to enlighten the strange place we were in. I felt dry, crisp grass beneath my boots. I started to pick out some eerie-looking trees in the darkness. Given time, my eyes might adjust to a better state.
Then I remembered what Lusari mentioned. The last thing before everything went dark, like falling asleep. Somebody was tailing us.
My hand shot to Sinistra. No matter no dark it may be, I always knew where to find my sword. I heard Ryoku fumble for his knife. Just as quickly, Will and Lusari winged in on either side of me. I could see the green of Ryoku's eyes in the darkness next to the hulking frame of Will. Lusari, though she wore the lightest-colored clothes, seemed to swim in the darkness.
Will broke the silence. "What is this? This darkness..."
"Listen!" Lusari's soft voice brought us to edge, but nothing happened. We looked to her, and she whispered urgently, "The birds!"
Now that she mentioned it, I could hear the rhythmic songs of birds nearby. A small figure took flight from a nearby tree.
"Birds?" I echoed oddly. "That means... it's daytime?"
"How is that possible?" Ryoku asked us. "I mean, we left during the day, but... its pitch black."
Will sighed. "I know where we must be. Lysvid."
I groaned. "Seriously? What a dumb world."
"Do not let them hear you." Will only dissuaded the look I gave him with a chuckle. He must have been able to sense Ryoku's questions boring into his back, because he added, "Lysvid is the world of vampires. As far as is known, it may be their capital world. That is, a place where all vampires gather. And it is cast in eternal night."
"Vampires? Seriously?"
I snorted. Ryoku's humor was sometimes as dry as mine.
"Well, yes," Will said. "I mean, you could consult the magic stick on your back if you suggest I would lie to you about something so simple. Perhaps you could ask another spirit. I mean, here, in the spirit realm."
I grinned. Will was just as amusing.
"I'm okay, thanks," Ryoku groaned. "But... are they going to attack us?"
"They should not. Laws in their Capital normally forbid feeding on travelers. That is, unless we encounter the Ritual. A cult, one which essentially believes humans are just walking snacks for vampire-kind."
Ryoku sighed. "Okay. Great." He fumbled for his bag. "Do we have something for light?"
Will and Lusari went for their bags. I knew I didn't have anything, so I waited, staring up at the pale moon. How did their moon system work? A world like Lysvid might have two moons that swapped out through day and night. Many worlds had their own system. Most only had one sun and moon. Others, like Orden, worked differently. Orden's three moons cycled through the seasons.
I turned around just in time to see Lusari raise her staff. A second later, everyone was cowering before an absurdly bright light emanating from her.
"Ouch! What gives?"
Lusari only giggled timidly. "Sorry. I thought you wanted light."
"That's a handy trick," Ryoku commented, rubbing his eyes, "though a little warning could have been nice."
Only Will looked unperturbed. I suspected he had a soft spot for the mage, but I didn't dare voice that idea. Will was perceptive, and I knew he saw how I looked at Ryoku.
"Well," Will started, looking around. "Seems we appeared on the path. So, which direction...?"
He broke off as he turned to the path behind him, and reached for his lance. I tightened my grip on Sinistra.
"What?" Ryoku asked, turning toward where we stared.
A portal stretched the fabric of the world just ten feet down the path, appearing like a fresh wound splitting skin. Within looked like a starry night sky, out of place on the path ahead. Tendrils of violet mist seeped into our realm.
"Somebody approaches," Will warned. "That is a single-person portal. Some may cross the worlds alone. Whoever it is..."
"They must have been the one who tracked us!" Lusari cried.
My heart felt encased in ice. All I could think of was how vassals of Orden's royal family – and the emperor himself – frequented single-man portals. Had they found us?
A shadow appeared within, becoming clearer as the portal reached human height. Then it dropped abruptly, leaving a well-built man standing in the middle of the path. His skin was almost as dark as the world around him, but his hair and baggy pants stood out as stark white. I caught the steel glistening of thick bracers on his arms, but I couldn't spot another weapon. Honestly, by the size of him, he might as well be the weapon.
He strolled toward us with as purposeful a gait as though he hadn't stopped walking whilst he crossed worlds. As soon as the man dropped into our world, I could sense the power he radiated, like the coming of a storm as electricity crackled in the air, foretelling certain lightning. The ability to sense power was dilute in me, but I bore no doubts about it. This man was dangerous.
We kept close to Ryoku, weapons drawn. The man sauntered forward with the ease of a cougar. As he closed in, I noticed the most unsettling fact about the man: his eyes were jet-black. I thought it was a trick of Lysvid's night at first, but there was no mistaking it. I could see the whites of everyone else's eyes.
Without any indication to us, Ryoku stepped toward the man. Will and I both made to wing him, but the man's hand twitched in a noticeable gesture. My muscles seized up. I couldn't move an inch.
"What the—!"
Will growled under his breath, his expression strained. He, too, couldn't move. "W-What sort of sorcery is this? Who are you? State your business!"
The man laughed. I associated the noise with a lion looming over paralyzed prey. He didn't offer an answer. His eyes remained on Ryoku. Inches from our Defender, the large man had a serious height advantage on him. Ryoku didn't make a noise. I couldn't tell if he was paralyzed like us. His face didn't betray anything.
"You are Ryoku Dragontalen?"
The man's voice was deep and rich, tinged with a bit of accent. I cursed Ryoku's abilities. Now that we were his Guardians, the same translating barrier applied to us, meaning I couldn't properly guess this man's lineage. Vortigeran? No, his white hair and black eyes weren't common there. The same went for Id, the next desert world I could think of.
Ryoku nodded slowly. "And you are?"
His voice made chills run through the pit of my stomach. There it was again. The darkness. It was that voice he used the other day when he spoke to the raider captain in Harohto. The voice that, I believed, caused him to use magic so fluidly without prior experience. It was equally thrilling and terrifying.
If the stranger thought anything of this voice, he said nothing. A cold, wry grin etched out over his face like it was slowly drawn on. "At last, I've found you. My name is Jesanht Olace. Perhaps you do not recall. I was born into a world without a name because of your deeds. My father was somebody you destroyed not long ago. For your plight, I was born into this world lacking the things you take for granted. A family. A purpose."
I didn't think Ryoku knew what the hell the man was talking about, but he didn't respond. Jesanht raised a hand and pressed it directly over the center of Ryoku's chest. Still, Ryoku didn't move.
"Your oaths of Guardianship are freed – you may go as you wish." Jesanht seemed to be speaking to us, though he didn't remove his eyes from Ryoku. "Once your Defender is exterminated, there is nothing left to bind you. My quarrel does not exist with you." His eyelids fluttered, his head tilted. "This is for my father."
Before anything could happen, something hurled Jesanht Olace to the side. His hand jolted from Ryoku's chest. As he soared, I saw a lance of dark energy burst from his hand in an arc that would have pierced Ryoku's heart instantly. Whatever it was that broke their connection looked emerald-green and left a burning golden spark in the air. Will and I stumbled – the magic holding us snapped. I rushed to Ryoku's side as a new stranger appeared where Jesanht stood.
"Who are you?" Jesanht Olace asked, quietly and vehemently. Despite how far he went, the panther-like man was already on his feet.
The stranger smiled. He was a young man, maybe with about ten years on the rest of us, with spiky golden hair and an angular face. The emerald-green blur seemed to be his tunic, pressing against his wiry figure, arms crossed over his chest. A kingly sword sat at his hip, lined with rubies all along the hilt.
"Leave now, Jesanht Olace. Put this event behind ya, or you shan't live to regret it."
His voice was smooth and quick, but layered with daggers behind each word. Jesanht Olace raised an eyebrow, but didn't move.
"I don't believe you heard me, stranger. I asked for your name."
The green-eyed man chuckled like wind chimes in the breeze. "I suppose I could tell you, but you'd have to run along now before I kill you for it. Oh, and you can get the word out, too." His eyes snapped open – as they did, I suddenly sensed energy bursting from the man. "Loki the Trickster god's lookin' out for this kid."
I stared at the guy incredulously. Was he kidding? Loki the Trickster god? Nevertheless, even as he boasted such a thing, the energy he gave off backed him up. Where Jesanht gave off a powerful, almost primal energy, Loki gave off something like white lightning, clear and focused in its rage.
When I turned to Jesanht to see his reaction, I realized he'd vanished, leaving only a dark afterimage of himself with the hanging noise of world travel behind him.
Loki smirked, and the power around him relaxed. "You're welcome," he told Ryoku, as sincerely as though Ryoku actually thanked him already. "You alright? Pretty sure I got him in time, but one cannot be too careful. That magic would have killed you."
Ryoku stared at him. "Are you really... Loki?" he asked. His voice returned to normal, which made my shoulders sag in relief. "From Norse mythology? That Loki?"
"In the flesh, or so to speak," Loki said, putting his hands on his hips. "Gods cannot simply waltz out of Immortalia without a price, so I'm a little weaker than I should be. More than enough to make Jesanht Olace turn tail, though."
"Why was he after me?"
Loki frowned a little, scratching his head. "Uh, beats me. Didn't he say why?"
"Nothing that made any sense," Will spoke. "What brings you to Lysvid anyway, Trickster god? Should we consider you a threat? You claimed to be 'looking out for Ryoku,' but I did not catch you while we, actually, have been doing that job."
I raised a brow in quiet surprise. Was that distaste in Willy-boy's voice? I had to admit I wasn't immediately fond of Loki's demeanour myself, but wasn't he still a god? Gods didn't like disrespect, if mythology had anything to say about the notion.
"Most should consider me a threat, Will Ramun of Syaoto," Loki professed, giving Will a sidelong glance. "I wouldn't dismiss the idea from your head just yet. Still, you're quite wrong in one aspect. I didn't come to harm Ryoku. On the contrary—"
"How do you know our names?" Ryoku asked, cutting him off in a way that made Loki's brow twitch. "And I thought mythology names you a giant."
I had to choke back a laugh. The golden-haired man was only a few inches taller than Ryoku, and scowled at him. "Mythology misunderstands, my friend, I assure you! Besides," he added with a smirk. "Mythology would also tell you a man in the sky made everything, and that you should believe him or die for it. Could be wrong, but isn't there a whole spiritual realm here disproving that? Your own two friends have likely been reincarnated more times than you could guess. Or is that just the Creator's way?" Loki shrugged cordially, fixating Ryoku in his emerald-eyed gaze. "Perhaps don't trust everything people tell you. Better to see it with your own eyes before you place your beliefs someplace."
Ryoku nodded slowly. I had to like the man's point. "You didn't answer his first question," I pointed out. "How do you know our names?"
Loki's emerald eyes flashed. "Isn't that odd, Sira Jessura of Orden?" He chuckled in a mischievous way. "The answer is truly simple, and yet as complex as the stars, the moons, and the worlds themselves."
Loki held his hand out to Ryoku. The young Defender stared at it for a moment, contemplating, ruminating over the possible dangers in his mind – but he reached out and accepted Loki's hand. Rather than shake it, Loki put his other hand over Ryoku's, smiling at him like a merchant who'd just sealed the deal.
"Ryoku Dragontalen, I'd like to offer my services on behalf of Immortalia, realm of the gods, as your Guardian."