Scene Five: Nyctophobia
...Of Act Four: Blackness
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In the eyes of Ryoku Dragontalen, we are in
The Timeless Castle, in the world of Lysvid.
It is early afternoon
On November 10th, 2017.
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"So the time to continue your journey has arrived."
The nod of agreement in our company had a strange finality to it, as though we'd all had enough of this dark world. That was easy to assume. I longed for sunlight, for adventure. I wanted to find my friends from my world. I was making new friends fast, but reuniting with Guildford made me long for them, too.
We gathered around the long, rectangular table in the Timeless One's hall once more, dressed in our regular clothes again. I bought a new outfit with my share of Geri's bounty. A simple white long-sleeved shirt and pants not torn to shreds. New bandages wrapped around my right arm where Geri had apparently bitten me quite deeply in battle. The wound didn't hurt as much as I thought, but I was growing tired of getting bandaged up.
I noticed that the Timeless One was giving me an odd look. Just as I opened my mouth to ask what strange emotion was in his cloudy eyes, he turned to Guildford. "You will be traveling with your student now, I presume."
My teacher nodded. "Yes. I was unable to teach him of any value during our last few fights, I'm afraid. I want to travel with him until I can instruct him more fittingly. If not, then I will find him a more suitable instructor."
I silently protested that. If anyone could teach me, it was undeniably Guildford. Even if it was magic and combat.
"Then you want to take these with you," Relus said. He handed Guildford a small bag of books, small enough to fit into his own rucksack. "Magical theory and study; the same ones I taught you with. If nothing else, they'll help you recap anything you need to teach Ryoku."
Guildford accepted the books with a nod. "Thank you, Relus," he acknowledged, giving the vampire a curt bow.
"That's fantastic!" the Timeless One exclaimed. "I'm sure that will serve you both well. As they say, the wisest mind is one with something yet to read!"
Relus pushed his glasses up over his long nose. "I believe you meant to say…"
"'The wisest mind is one with something yet to learn,'" I finished, recalling the quote from school. "And I guess I'm the wisest of all, because I have a lot to learn."
The Timeless One smiled fondly at me. "Even I do not know all there is to know," he said vastly. "Not a soul in this room knows all there is to know about any given subject. Loki does not know every trick, nor does Sira or Will know every strike they're capable of."
Loki raised a countering finger, but the Timeless One kept going before he could interject. "I have much I could teach you if you were to stay in Lysvid. I wish I had the time. You seem like an excellent student, if Guildford is a reliable source of that information." I caught Guildford's bemused smile. "However, you have a journey you must complete – one which, I dare say, may be more pressing than the knowledge your soul desires. The duty must pass to my pupil, the teacher who must have quite a bit to learn himself."
I smiled at Guildford, who rubbed his head, abashed, in reply. He seemed quite amicable with the Timeless One and his pupils. "I'll do all I can."
"This matter falls under my witness as well," Will said, grinning at me from a few seats down. "I am his sworn guide, after all. It is only proper that I should assist in his education."
"My guide through the Old Forest," I repeated – not for the first time, and surely not the last.
"And I as well," Loki added gallantly. "I fear our recent battles have left little room for our Defender to grow, but I have much I can teach my favorite n—Defender, in the long run!"
Loki laughed at his own words. I studied him, trying to figure out what he was just about to say. Since the fight with Geri, the Trickster seemed off. He dragged his feet as he walked, and walked with a slump in his shoulders that he quickly did away with when he noticed me watching. Had the battle weakened him?
However, he was not the only one. In fact, everyone seemed a little different since that fight. Guildford and Will kept a close eye on me at all times. Rex and Cleria, who often kept to the shadows while everyone else chattered and laughed, seemed to be always watching me as I went.
A long, drawn-out sigh followed from across the table. Yes, of course. The unintelligible habits of Sira Jessura had returned. Just when I thought she had warmed back up to me, there it was again. She sat with her head down, arms crossed, feet up on the table – yes, she was the fiery picture of apathy once more, only it seemed even worse this time. She wouldn't even look at me. Whenever our eyes happened to cross paths, some dark emotion ignited in her scarlet eyes, and she turned away like I might transfer the bubonic plague between us.
I felt like I knew the reason, but I didn't voice it. Perhaps I feared it to be true, and my own deceptive thoughts couldn't confirm those mere shadows. After whatever happened in the last fight, they watched me like a ticking time bomb. They didn't think I could fight on my own.
It made sense. Sira would never respect me if I couldn't defend myself. Will and Guildford were always ready to jump in. Everyone seemed ready to help, but, more than ever, I needed to do this on my own. I needed to save Chris and find my sister. Ever since I had stepped into this world, it felt like I had to be here. I needed to step into these shoes, even if they were too large for me right now.
The Timeless One laughed, something between a squirrel's chattering and a choking bird.
"It seems you have no shortage of instructors," he claimed, smiling wide. Rex cleared his throat ambiguously, and the Timeless One's eyes flitted to him. When he turned back to me, the little vampire was all business. "Ryoku. You are aiming to reach Syaoto in your travels, correct?"
Will perked up, and I recalled what he said to me back in Syaoto. Once you have come with me to my world. It was an immediate goal for us if we didn't stumble upon Orden first. According to Will, his king would gladly supply us with any help we needed. I wondered if that meant I might lose Will to his kingdom. He had sworn to be my Guardian, but the meaning of such a thing remained unclear to me. How long would he travel at my side?
"We hope so," I replied. "As long as we reach there before Orden."
"It's fully possible," Loki agreed. "Syaoto is a friendly nation, sympathetic to a good Defender's plight. In terms of nearby worlds, it stands directly in the way of the dark empire."
I thought the Timeless One's brow furrowed in distaste. Then he was grinning easily, like that was all he knew how to do. "Rex Dougo wishes to reach the world of Syaoto safely, though he doesn't have world-traveling magic of his own," the Timeless One told us. "Perhaps you would be interested in allowing him to travel with you?"
The dark haired half-breed stood bolt upright. "I wouldn't be a burden to your journey," he addressed his boots stalwartly. "I can fight, and pay for my own food and lodgings. Whatever trouble you may land yourselves in, you have me."
Loki assessed the boy carefully. We'd all seen Rex fight alongside us, and we knew he was more than capable of keeping his word. He was reliable, honest, and had a surprisingly bright outlook to him that I liked. I could tell he had an important reason to go to Syaoto. I could see it in the way he stood, practically begging us to bring him along. He couldn't make the journey alone, or he saw that we needed him just as much as he needed us. His posture, his eyes, the corners of his smile told a story I was starting to read; he had somebody he needed to protect.
"We could use another sword arm," Loki said thoughtfully, scratching his chin. I couldn't tell if he was seriously debating or just pulling Rex's leg. "You would help us protect Ryoku should the worst occur? We have attained some powerful enemies, Rex Dougo."
"Of course," Rex replied quickly. He glanced over at me quickly, his dark hair brushing past his crimson eyes, and he smiled. "He may end up the one protecting us before long."
Loki laughed heartily. "Very well then," he said heavily, as though the decision was truly a difficult one. "Welcome aboard, Rex."
The change in Rex was immediate. He bowed deeply before us, hiding a brave smile behind his dark hair. "Thank you! Thank you so much. I won't let you down, I swear."
"We know you will not, friend," Will told him plaintively. "Loki only seeks to bring unnecessary stress to all living things. Be at ease."
Rex took his seat, but he couldn't erase the grin on his face. Was he that happy to travel with us?
"Now that that's settled," the Timeless One said, "there is something I'd like to discuss with the Trickster. If we may be excused?"
Loki didn't look surprised, and his playful grin wavered. "Agreed. We should speak in the back room." His emerald eyes found me, and winked. "I shan't be too long. Then we can leave this dark and dreary world, my friend."
I smiled in response, unsure how to reply to the Trickster's antics. He addressed me like a child who needed to leave an uncomfortable situation. All the same, he was becoming an unlikely fast friend to most of us. Loki met the small vampire at the head of the table. The Timeless One hopped down from his seat and they walked together. I wasn't the only one trying not to laugh, seeing the Trickster walking next to the pint-sized vampire.
When the door shut calmly behind them, everyone dissolved into separate conversations. Most of my friends either dissolved into their own conversations or appeared entirely unapproachable – Sira, mainly.
"If I may inquire?"
Guildford's sudden voice from behind me made me jump. I turned to face him. His brow furrowed in a playful sort of way.
"Before I decide to join you on a reckless journey through the realm of the afterlife," he started, coming to sit next to me. "I want to know what happened after my death."
I glanced away quickly, unsure if I was ready to impart this information on him. He sighed. "In light of what you told me, I hardly think that you, Dagger and Varis sat down together to sing Kumbaya around the campfire. The police force must have been in an uproar as well Varis El'Salandier, with his family prestige and the police backing him, would not have waltzed out of the city on a red carpet. So... what happened to your eye?"
I jumped outright, nearly falling from my chair in shock. Guildford's hand on my shoulder steadied me. I stared at him in disbelief. How did he know?
"You've kept up the illusion quite well," he spoke softly, aware that I wasn't ready to tell everyone. "You've adapted your hearing extraordinarily to your left side. With your quick reflexes, someone else might not even notice the delay. You're a quick learner, I'll give you that. Nevertheless, don't forget who told you that story in the first place. Also, it was likely Dawn who reminded you of the story, wasn't it?"
I gave him a look, and he smiled. "An officer who lost his eye in a struggle against one particularly violent outlaw. Facing possible expulsion from the force due to his disability, he implemented a glass eye. He worked closely with a particular optometrist in developing this eye, and trained around the clock to perfect his reflexes and make up for the loss. Within months, he was better than ever before."
He fell silent, studying my expression, waiting for the truth to dawn on me. When it did, I took a sharp breath. "No way. That was Dawn's father?"
Guildford nodded. "She was quite adamant about keeping that story anonymous. Even to you, it would seem. It has been some... what, four years since his premature death? As you are with your mother and stepfather, so is she with her late father. That, and I don't believe her remaining family is much to count on."
I nodded silently. I still had trouble speaking of my own family, and Dawn's father was about all she had besides her sister, Alyssa. I still had my foster parents, my friends, and a strong group of support around me. Even though Dawn's situation had somewhat improved recently, there were some things harder to get past.
"The eye had one small weakness that couldn't be hidden or fixed," Guildford went on. "Of course I noticed you acquired the same sort of eye. It connects to your optic nerves and simulates the different directions and expressions quite well. It adapts to most lighting. Even your friends, who seem quite keen on reading each other at a glance, likely couldn't tell that your left eye was anything but real. That optometrist of yours is quite good, still, but the dilation of a pupil due to lighting is extremely difficult to simulate. Your one pupil will always show less dilated than the other in certain lighting. In regular daylight, you might never notice. In the dark of Lysvid, however…"
I stared at my teacher in disbelief. "You saw through all that? That's almost like you were looking for it."
Guildford smirked. "Only once I saw the eye in your hand."
I gave the teacher a grumpy look. Of course. Geri had knocked the glass eye out in the brawl in Peul. I quickly snatched it up until I could slip it back in unnoticed. I thought I could pass it off as just getting blood in my eye, but Guildford was far too perceptive. Of course he'd play it off, too, until I admitted it on my own.
"I can only hope you didn't act too rashly on your own," Guildford went on. "You must have gone after them, didn't you?"
I swallowed. "Yeah." Please, I thought, stop asking about it.
Guildford shook his head sadly. "Dagger's family is keener on honor and strength than the El'Salandiers," he said. "Varis' family readily relies on their connections and hired muscle to keep them safe. They lack the honor that the Neseru's value. Taking them on in a head-on confrontation was foolish. Tell me that none of your friends suffered such grievous injuries as you did. Perhaps, out of usual teacher context, I hope your enemies came out worse."
I grinned in spite of myself. What a Guildford thing to say. "They're fine," I told him. "I took the worst hit."
"Of course you did." Guildford sighed. "I suppose the eventual outcome was Varis' banishment from the city, so I do commend you for that. I only wish the price wasn't quite so steep." He then tilted his head at Rex subtly. "Rex may be able to help you. He suffers from weak vision along with the inability to use his arm. He's skilled in combat and has honed his senses quite well. He may be a hybrid and have combat skills quite unlike yours, but you can certainly learn a thing or two from him about fighting at a disadvantage. He seems quite fond of you as well."
The door opened. Loki and the Timeless One returned, and the pair both gave me grim looks.
"The time nears for your departure," the Timeless One addressed us, drawing the attention of my group. "Loki has taken a bag of supplies for you on my behalf. Should the next world you land in prove as unfriendly, you will have the supplies to make it for a time."
I stood and bowed before the little vampire as he approached the table. "Thank you for all your help," I told him earnestly. "I don't think we could have survived this world without you."
He chuckled lavishly. "Do not sell yourself short, Ryoku Dragontalen. You have proven yourself a resourceful and promising young lad. I'm sure you would have made it."
I only nodded idly, knowing I never would have made it here otherwise. That, and I'd probably be a rampaging werewolf to boot. A thought occurred to me, and I met the Timeless One's milky gaze.
"Were my actions in this world right? To join the vampires against the werewolves? To battle the Ritual in Leudis? To pursue Geri?"
The Timeless One's gaze turned soft. "Who knows? Affairs could have turned out quite differently if you trusted the wolves instead. Even as they are people, they remain perpetually in the state of their wolf forms. Tell me, Ryoku. If you lived the life of an animal for as long as you knew, wouldn't it simply feel natural to you? Wouldn't you scoff at the humans who acted with civility, abashed of their dignified ways?"
I hesitated. It was easy to think something was normal if we'd done it for so long. One day, I might even think this world was normal.
"Furthermore, the Ritual is an insidious force in Lysvid. They've bought the cities into their pockets. While the general practice of the Ritual is, luckily, not as common, the fact remains that they control the cities and the law. It is all too easy to bribe the city guard with a few coins, especially when it's made of their own men. I'm proud of you for standing up to them. Putting a damper on their plans means this world is a little safer for other races."
"As rare as they are," Loki added bitterly. "I wouldn't recommend this place to travelers."
"And Geri," the Timeless One added quickly, probably to intercept Loki. "Your friends have told me the details of your encounter with that particular god. I don't believe you had a choice. Some gods are quite unreasonable, and events as of late have riled a great many of them up. I'm afraid I cannot explain in full detail, but more than a few gods may find blame upon you for such things. Geri, of course, is a god that serves no master. Should he seek a fight, he will certainly take it without regard for his own life."
Relus interjected with a raised finger. I thought he was going to correct something the Timeless One said, but he turned to me instead. "Did you draw Ragnarokkr during your plights?"
I nodded hesitantly. "Sorta. I didn't really get to use it properly. I used…"
"The chains?" Relus guessed.
"Yes," I replied. "I thought I was going to lose it against… well, a very unsettling vampire that the Ritual summoned against me. I managed to grasp it by the chains and it worked. Against Geri, though, I didn't really get to use it. I just supported myself with it."
I held my hands up, showing them my knuckles torn asunder by the chains, though the bleeding had long since stopped. Grooves in the print of chains sank deeply between my knuckles.
Relus nodded, studying my hands absently. "I'm glad it could serve you well," he said. "Practice with it, and I'm sure it'll prove invaluable. Are you familiar with the blade's namesake?"
I thought about it. The name did sound vaguely familiar, I thought. Had I learned it in one of Guildford's classes?
"Do you mean Ragnarok?" Guildford asked. "If I recall, wasn't that the war of the Norse gods? So claimed, the end of their world?"
"Indeed," Relus confirmed. "Ragnarok was the name given to that particular war, the battle between the gods. It translates to Twilight of the Gods – the 'kr' sound at the end is a suffix apparently granted to the blade at some point in time. It means dark, so perhaps Dark Twilight of the Gods, or Twilight of the Dark Gods."
"Could it mean Night of the Gods?" Lusari asked suddenly.
Relus gave her an appreciative smile. "It could," he agreed. "The sword has undergone a great deal in its time as a weapon. It was once a sword of light, but… as you see before you now, that has changed. One fact about the blade remains true, though. It is a weapon capable of slaying gods."
My eyes widened. I swore that I felt something about the blade behind my back, something tugging at my memory. I fell unconscious during the fight from Geri's intense onslaught, but… was Ragnarokkr instrumental in his defeat? To the massive scar in the earth, where the ruined wolf's body lay?
"There is much to learn about the sword," Relus told me. "There is a man who may be able to properly teach you the history of your weapon. He is quite hard to find."
"Who?" Will asked. As he listened intently, Loki instructed Lusari to begin preparing the world-travelling spell. She stepped away from the table, holding her staff aloft, and light began dancing in a circle around her.
"He is a possibility," the Timeless One agreed, "though a notoriously difficult man to find. None have seen him for a thousand years, at least." He scratched his top hat oddly, as though the hat were a spot that could get itchy. "Perhaps restoring Ragnarokkr to its true form would help. It is hard to say, although such a change may only be reversible in credit to your own strength."
Loki looked puzzled, crossing his arms as he watched Lusari prepare the spell. The way he watched her, it was as though he'd never seen it before. "Who are you speaking of?"
Relus and the Timeless One exchanged glances. "A man who goes by Nocrier," Relus answered. "An acclaimed master of the sword. They say he trained the last true wielder of Ragnarok. However, his whereabouts and the likelihood that he still exists are both quite foggy. The world is in quite a disheveled state as of these last few months."
I tilted my head. "What do you mean?" I asked him.
He didn't immediately respond. Everyone was rising to their feet as Lusari's spell grew. With the size of her spell, it was more than enough to accommodate our three new arrivals. Loki, Guildford, and Rex.
"Perhaps I am not the best man to reveal that certain truth." Relus shifted in his seat. He and the Timeless One exchanged odd looks. Loki also fixated them in a glare that quickly dissipated when I looked his way. "You may be starting to learn some truths on your own, Ryoku. That sword plays a great role in that journey. In truth, you may have more to accomplish than merely saving Chris Olestine."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "This sword is just a means to an end, right?"
"Come, Ryoku," Loki urged me. "Lusari's spell is ready. We must say our goodbyes and depart from this dreary world."
I gave Relus a desperate look, begging him to share whatever it was he kept hidden from me. He only gazed back, the lights of Lusari's spell reflected in his spectacles.
I sighed heavily and gave in. We made our goodbyes to everyone around the table. Cleria embraced me in a startlingly gentle way. I shook hands with Relus and the Timeless One. Both returned it in kind, secrets hidden behind their eyes.
With all said and done, I stepped into the circle with my friends. Lusari stood in the center with Will, and Sira kept to the corner of the spell. Rex, Guildford, and Loki awaited me with kind smiles.
As the spell was starting to activate, Relus seemed to reaffirm himself. "Ryoku, I have one last thing I must tell you. One last piece of advice for which you must build your resolve on."
He locked his crimson eyes on mine, which seemed to flicker behind the reflected light on his glasses. "Ryoku, you mustn't ignore the darkness inside you. You must not give in to its creed."
I froze. His eyes seemed to demand my attention with a strange ferocity. "W-What do you mean?" I asked, unsure if I wanted the truth or not.
He opened his mouth. As he spoke, the lights of Lusari's travel spell flared up, and I couldn't hear what he said. I tried to shout to him, to ask him to repeat himself, but there was no chance he heard me. When the arc of light fell from before me, Relus vanished.
The darkness inside me… What did he mean?
I could still see the Timeless One, and glanced at him, wondering if something about his milky eyes could tell me whatever Relus was trying to say. Before the magic of world-traveling fully enveloped me, I saw the Timeless One's eyes turn orange.
...End of Act Four.