Chapter 6 - A brief guide on how to break a man's form
After the brave declaration from Varatos, the grey-robed individuals arranged the survivors into different groups with the help of the knight. Each group was assigned to a grey-robed individual.
Minutes and minutes passed, and finally, the mysterious individuals began their work. They led the survivors to a side of the large hall where various doors were located.
It was where they were going to begin their investigation. Without wasting any time, they dived into the closed room and summoned the first survivor in their respective groups.
This process took longer and the young boy was left tense, as he didn't know what to expect.
He thought, 'What exactly are they investigating? Should I be worried?'
He later realized that there was nothing to be worried about. He was a survivor of the unknown fall of a kingdom.
If anything, the grey-robed individuals would think twice before messing with his "fragile" mind.
However, this realization didn't put him at ease. He had come to understand that he could never feel at ease. The only time when he was calm was when he was with Knight Trystan. The latter somehow managed to evoke a relaxing atmosphere that affected him.
The door in front of him opened.
"Aye, boy, come over here," said the grey-robed person.
The young boy entered the room. Inside, there was nothing special.
It resembled a regular office, with two chairs facing each other and a table in between.
The smell of flowers wafted into his nose and he discovered the lines of flower pots arranged at the sides of the room. It was definitely a weird thing to notice.
However, the young boy revealed no expression that depicted his inner thoughts. He could tell that the investigator was watching his every action.
"Take a seat, boy," offered the investigator.
He tapped his hands on the table as soon as the boy followed his instructions.
Out of nowhere, a crystal ball with pure transparency appeared on the table. The young boy calmly looked at it and wondered what this was all about.
The investigator continued, "Do not worry. No harm shall come to you. This is just to assist with my analysis. Do you understand?"
The boy nodded.
With his sharp eyes, he tried staring deep into the investigator, but it was to no avail. He couldn't read a man that wore a thick expressionless mask just like him.
The investigator's tone was neutral when he spoke again, "Good. Put your hand on the crystal ball."
The boy took his time to ravage the crystal ball with his eyes. After seconds, he decided to comply. He laid his palms on the cold oddity and an electrical current flowed into him in response.
His mind became foggy as he could now see visible trails sifting through the air.
What were they?
They reeked of the scent of the flowers and were affecting him psychologically. The pheromones made his eyelids slowly close and open constantly. His body lost sight of the energy contained in him and his bodily reactions seemed to be a few seconds later than normal.
The boy's mouth finally obeyed his thoughts, "What did you do?"
"As I have said, I mean no harm. This is just part of the procedure."
The young boy mocked in his mind, 'Is… this… what you mean by "mean no harm"?'
Nevertheless, this was still within the realms he could endure. Hence, he kept quiet and complied with the investigation.
After ascertaining that the young boy wouldn't resist, the investigator quickly started his procedure, "What is your name?"
"I...do not have any name," truthfully spoke the boy.
"You do not remember your name?"
Now, the investigator showed a look of interest. This would be the first survivor that still failed to recollect at least his basic information about himself, like his name.
The investigator turned to the crystal ball, which turned blue in agreement, "Hmmmm…you speak the truth."
He went on, "What exactly can you remember?"
"Nothing…just darkness. That's all I remember."
All he remembered was that he existed in a void and was pulled into light by Trystan.
As he told the investigator this minor but appalling detail, the latter scrunched his brows in surprise.
Was it possible to only remember one's proof of existence?
Surely, if he took the psychological route, he could explain this process as a state of unconsciousness.
He could then go further to prove that this happened to the boy because of the explosion or attack that caused the downfall of Thyur, but was that truly the case?
The investigator racked his brain as he used all his years of service to give meaning to the boy's experience.
He decidedly skipped this notion and moved on to the next, "You seem to still retain your educated persona. Your speech pattern is foreign, not unlike natives of Thyur. That means your family is not from the kingdom. Your appearance is a bit strange, bearing resemblance to a fifth-generation Halfling. Alright, I have a test to prove some of my theories."
He brought an object from his pocket and presented it to the young boy, "Tell me, what is this?"
"I do not know….."
"Think deeply. You still possess knowledge from your subconscious. Draw it out," cajoled the investigator.
The object in his hand was a sea pendant made of crystals. The pendant was in the shape of a circle, and its content seemed to be a tempestuous sea. Yet, depicted on the sea was a heroic bridge that had no end, just like the sea.
These details were hard to make out, but the more one looked at the pendant, the more it attracted them, and the more details they discovered.
Yet, the pendant did not ring a bell in the boy's mind.
He didn't understand. Was it supposed to be something he knew?
"What about now? Do you have a clue as to the identity of this pendant?"
"No…"
"Do not jump to a conclusion. Let your instinctive self speak."
"I… can't remember anything..."
The investigator was surprised, "How is that possible? The Amaranthine symbol is something every soul on this damned earth knows."
He was breaking form. The enigmatic case of this young boy was enough to raise the dead!
The investigator gave his conclusion, "Your mind is fractured. No, beyond fractured. Even your subconscious has holes in it. It's a miracle you can still perform basic human functions."
He brought out another pendant. This time, it was simply a purple crystal with ropes tied to it.
The investigator spoke. He didn't realize he said more than he normally would, "Just one last thing. I need to confirm something strange."
He raised the pendant to his right eyes and looked at the young boy. Meanwhile, the young boy could only watch as all this happened.
It was unknown what the investigator saw, but his expressions quickly took a 360-degree turn.
"Well, I will be damned…"
..............
---- Moments later ------
Far away from the Evergreen Manor, the king of Gretia sat in his office.
There were dark circles under his eyes, but he ignored them. The King patiently read a document from one of his knights regarding a local conflict between nobles.
He released a sharp breath, "Heaven's buttocks!! I am preoccupied with one brimming issue, yet these obnoxious idiots seem intent on piling another problem on it. If it was up to me, I would have my men ransack their homes and feed them to my wild dogs."
Just as he continued ranting, there was a knocking on his door.
"King Gavin, may I request an audience?" said the voice on the other side.
Recognizing who it was, King Gavin responded, "Varatos, you may come in."
He had sent the head of his court-mages on an important task and he expected a good feedback to draw him out of these dark times.
Reaching the table, Varatos took to his knee, "Your Highness, it has been done."
"Good. What did you find out?"
Varatos' face shifted visibly. His skin became pale as he thought of his answer.
With a tense tone, he spoke, trying to be as composed as possible but he failed tremendously.
"It is bad, Your Highness. Everything the knights reported came out true. The Thyur survivors appear to be possessed by the spirits of amnesia. They can barely remember anything."
Varatos went on, "I asked the other mages to conduct a brief status check, and the results were...they were...they were…"
Varatos struggled to spit out the words. Something about it terrified him to the guts.
"Speak now, Varatos!" bellowed King Gavin.
"The results were abominable…..how can something be bright and yet be dark at the same time? When scanning their body, my mages found traces of an unknown energy in them. Being ignorant, they could only copy the energy signature and couldn't decipher it."
"But I know better than them. The energy signature could only belong to one form of energy."
King Gavin could now feel the seriousness of the situation.
A form of energy that only the highest court mage knew about.
A form of energy that terrified the man that had always remained composed, even during the grim Darkwoods campaigns.
Somewhere in him, he recognized this energy, but he needed to ask.
It was better to not jump to conclusions as the after-effects would be grim.
"What is it? Tell me!"
"My king, we discovered traces of Aether in their bodies!"
Yes, that was it!
That was the truth King Gavin wanted to hide from.
...and that remained the reason why he looked horrified.