If that's the case—hm… this is really becoming a pain," Gwyndolin said with a troubled look. She swayed to the side, mulling over something before her expression steeled itself. It seemed as if she had come to a decision.
Julia watched in silence, and then he asked, "Do you have a destination in mind? For where we are headed." They had walked for a short while already, and he couldn't resist asking.
"I do… We're approaching the place now." Gwyndolin turned towards him, and the edges of her mouth seemed to rise just the faintest bit. Julia frowned, the response hardly answering his question; which was probably done intentionally on her part. Since they weren't far now, he sighed, not giving it further thought and seeing it as her usual antics which he was unfortunately growing used to. He sincerely missed Gwynevere's straightforwardness; really, just how were they siblings?
They soon came onto a dip in the ground, breaking apart the fauna, trees, mud, and the forest itself. It almost looked as if a path downwards had been excavated by hand, but the rock formations and lack of unnatural indentations or scraping suggested otherwise; there was plentiful shrubbery too, convincing him this was a natural formation; an honest-to-god hole in the ground. The two headed down towards somewhere.
As Julia followed behind, the ground seemed to rise up and surround them like an alleyway. They passed large rocks, more foliage, and the occasional tree that bore its roots in the lowered ground; and eventually, they reached the end of their course, only to be struck by a powerful beam of light which took him by surprise. How dimly lit the passageway was only worsened the sudden exposure.
"Agh-!" Julia threw his hands up, hurriedly blocking the sun. He awkwardly scuffled about for a moment before pulling his blindfold out of his coat; then he leaned forward, wrapping it around his face and letting his bangs rest over it. Only then did a sigh of relief escape.
"You alright?" Gwyndolin asked.
"Yeah…" he replied.
It was then that he set eyes upon the destination Gwyndolin brought him to. A vast, wide area opened up; it was a large clearing in which the thick canopy was completely absent. The evening sun shined down and bathed it in a tropical heat, and the plant life held its own flourishing verdancy, showing off a refreshingly green hue. Liberated from the destructive hands of man or aberrant, it set itself apart from the Fraylands or anywhere else for that matter.
At its centre was a large lake. As Julia stared down, he found fish—miniscule specks of light swimming in the water. He felt a wave of solemness wash over him as he gazed upon the view. Few and far between were moments like this where the mere description seemed so vivid; it was almost like he could see the world through his eyes. But what he saw wasn't the truth—it was an imitation. This scene was observed through a looking-glass.
Above the lake, there was a derelict structure. With enticing vestiges of regal stone pillars and walls, seemingly much older and deteriorated than Julia thought possible; its architectural style largely differed from the ruins he previously scoured. It was through the sale of rare, strange, or even historically important objects, as well as the documentation of new findings, that he derived his main source of income; and it also happened to be a major hobby of his. It wouldn't be wrong to call him an amateur archaeologist. Naturally, this was an exciting find.
Gwyndolin stood idly, allowing him to take in the area before saying a word or asking him to move on; but he was soon interrupted regardless as they were approached by two figures. Although it didn't fail to unsettle him, Julia had seen many specks of light spread throughout the clearing, so it didn't come as a surprise.
The situation seemed to be more complex than he initially thought. Gwyndolin didn't flinch or lose her composure in the slightest, and it was obvious that they were all from the same group. Unlike Julia, she hadn't come to this forest alone.
The two men were heavily clothed, armoured, and had layers of fabric covering any gaps which would otherwise expose skin. Their faces were heavily obscured as well, making it impossible to see the expressions hidden under their helmets. Julia quickly grew uneasy; because whereas the tension would unsettle anyone in his place, he, on the other hand, could see beyond the guise of their garments and see them for what they really were.
With the truth laid out before him, his distress amplified greatly. His heart rate quickened, but he tried hard to obscure his emotions and the ideas he held so that they wouldn't show on his half-exposed face. Julia then took a deep breath and turned to Gwyndolin, sensing it would be better for her to do the talking. She gave a subtle nod back.
When Gwyndolin spoke, the words were in a language he failed to understand, and he felt cold sweat forming on his brow, beneath the blindfold, as his face tensed. They conversed back and forth for what felt like impossibly long, before she turned back and said: "Come." Although her tone didn't give away hostility, Julia couldn't hear this single word as anything but sinister. There wasn't any room to refuse.
As he hesitated, Julia felt the cold and indifferent gazes from the escorting figures. He felt that, perhaps, he would have preferred looks of belligerence or disfavour, but in the end he was met with neither.
There were many similar figures as they walked; they never moved from their positions, and not even a glance was directed his way. They were clearly well-trained, holding spears as well as many other weaponry as they held each corner in resolute, commandeered purpose. It was almost as if they were statues and he had failed to notice.
Julia felt as if he had stumbled upon something he was never meant to see; his desire to leave increased, but there wasn't much of a choice. He needed to avoid capture by the soldiers, and Gwyndolin had clearly shown him to this location as an expression of her trust in him. Since he didn't want to wake the sleeping statues, it was better to not break that trust.
The journey through the ruins started in troubled silence. It was hard to get excited, and Julia was too busy dealing with the thoughts and implications. Gwyndolin said a few more words he couldn't understand and the two escorts left them alone in a room. It wasn't in good condition, but it did well to obscure them from prying eyes.
For the first time since entering the clearing, Julia met Gwyndolin's eyes. She stared back with some intensity… until she spun on her ankle and fell against the wall with a laidback 'phew-!'. Her head tilted towards him with an expression devoid of the rigidness moments before, and when Julia's loss for words showed on his face, she started speaking in this lousy tone as if she was the one who was worn out. "Hah… Putting on an air of importance is so annoying y'know? 'But you're a role model and it's your responsibility!' I swear, I can hear her nagging halfway across the continent…"
Julia had no clue what Gwyndolin was going on about. He thought he would be able to gather the correct words to say after she broke the silence—but after hearing what she had to say, he was lost for words. There were too many things he wanted to say and address that he ultimately couldn't even speak.
After a few more painful moments of a prolonged and awkward silence, Julia eventually fixed some words together into something resembling a sentence. "You—. Those… those are, they're aberrants right? What—what is going on? Gwynevere, does she…?"
Gwyndolin didn't seem shocked by his inability to remain calm or speak plainly, but neither did she seem obligated to react normally. She was relaxed and unbothered. Since long ago when Julia realised what was going on, a hollow burning sensation had slowly gathered in his stomach and refused to settle. His fury was only displaced by the gratitude for the audience he was granted. He was finally away from the soldiers and alone to settle things with Gwyndolin.
"You're correct, they're aberrants. I am the only human here, besides you of course," Gwyndolin answered one of the many questions asked before slowly revealing more. "They're with me, and it's for that reason the inquisitors' presence is a big problem for me."
"Inquisitors?" Julia asked curiously. He was only hearing mention of them now, and it had been his belief that those searching the forest were soldiers and soldiers only.
"You've probably heard of them. They're a special force dedicated to finding, capturing, and prosecuting anyone who dabbles in witchcraft. Depending on who exactly they send out, they can be much scarier than the average soldier."
"That's… strange, though. Why are they here? They're only supposed to appear when witchcraft is concerned… as far as I know. What do they care about spirits?" Julia could see a relation in how spirits and witchery were both superstitious concepts, but other than that, there wasn't anything else to link the two. Inquisitors only cared about mandating human-related witchcraft, so he found it hard to believe that they would show up in this circumstance; which was more involved with aberrants, and as such, only the army should be necessary.
"They ain't here for the spirits—I doubt they even believe in them," Gwyndolin responded. "Most humans go their entire lives without ever knowing their phantasmic friends exist, which makes you all the more interesting, but what they do know at the moment is that corpses are being reanimated. Since they don't know the culprits are those nasty dreads, but they've gotten reports of a strange fella going 'round killing aberrants before they suddenly get up, whaddya think they're gonna put it down to? The usual excuse… some obscure kinda spell!"
"Ah… I think I get what you mean." Julia understood what she was saying. It was easy to forget others couldn't just see spirits like he could. "So they're here too then…"
"Right, and it isn't just the regular army men out there-! They're dealing with a big ol' threat, and it's one they don't have much information on. You saw the firearms holstered on the soldiers' hips, right? Rank and file units like them armed with pistols in a place so far out in the country's about as strange as strange gets. On top of that, there's inquisitors too being thrown into the mix. Your guy really messed things up, attracting this much attention in so short a time." Gwyndolin paused for a moment, squinting as she looked upwards into nothingness before turning her head his way and asking a question, "What's the name of your friend, anyway?"
"I'd rather not speak it." Julia was quick to answer. No matter how he looked at it, it was a bad idea to give his name away, so he chose to stay silent.
Gwyndolin didn't seem bothered by his reluctance. Instead, her face turned sour as if she had been tasked with more work, "Mm, well the name's irrelevant. The ignorant bastard messed everything up, he did. Tch… what a pain…"
Julia furrowed his brows, and before he cared to notice, he had already spoken.
"Do not call him that."
"Haha, what's got you so energetic? You like him or something?" Gwyndolin looked equally surprised and amused as Julia suddenly regained his vigour. "It wasn't an insult—I ain't got any personal vendetta against the lad. Would've said the same about anyone else."
Julia found himself losing the will to argue with her. He let out a long sigh as the muscles in his face loosened. At the same time, Gwyndolin seemed to get a little more serious as she carried on from where she left off.
"I can't tell you why I'm here—can't tell you much for that matter. Mostly for your own safety. But do understand neither us nor you want an unnecessary scuffle with Christeyeres here. We both need to get out of here covertly to carry on our own ideals."
Julia looked at her and felt as if he had a grasp of where she was getting at. He then sighed, still overwhelmed with emotion.
"How do you know all this? About, you know, the inquisitors—and everything else," Julia asked, suspecting there were more answers than what was obvious. Gwyndolin's moment in detecting the soldiers previously remained in his mind, fuelled by curiosity and petty pride.
"Oh, uh, better than outright telling you…! Let me introduce you to someone," Gwyndolin exclaimed with excitement. Julia was anything but excited, however, as he instantly felt the regret seeping in. He shouldn't have asked the question; if he was meeting someone here, then that person would be an aberrant. She even said they were the only humans present!
As she left, Gwyndolin suggested that he use this time to mull over everything and come to a decision. "At your own pace of course," she added.
And Julia was left like that. It was clear Gwyndolin wanted him to co-operate in some way, but she hadn't explained his role in this; so his decision to make was whether or not he was willing to work with them at all. That is what he was suggested to think over.
Resigning himself, he leaned against the wall and sighed. It wasn't as if there was any other way to spend the time.
She's putting a lot of trust in me, allowing me to stroll into this place without any trouble and being left alone like this. And now, she's revealing her secrets and potentially important information by letting me meet one of their aberrants…
The weight of this trust wasn't easy to carry, and Julia wanted nothing to do with it; but she seemed keen on this. Julia questioned, How exactly am I going to contribute anything? What could I possibly do…? He didn't know how his presence or compliance was necessary, or what effect it would have. Perhaps it was purely to keep tabs on him, and were he anyone else other than himself, with his relations to Gwynevere and thus indirect relations to Gwyndolin, he may have just been silenced directly instead.
After a few more seconds of dull and numbing silence, Julia couldn't ignore it any longer. He wanted to figure out his approach, rather than being cornered by time, and rushing into a decision for Gwyndolin when she returned with whatever creature it was that would be joining them.
The hollow burning sensation swelled up in his stomach again; it was a primal feeling of slow but long, irritating, and intense rage. This burning had always been. Constant and unwavering, grasping at his heart. But it was feeble and Julia had withstood it. He could continue to bear with it so long as it was never spurred on by the necessary fuel, with which it would develop into a truly disastrous flame.
The depths of his heart were occupied by two figures; equally important, both so vitally precious to him. They provided him the strength to persevere through the greatest of difficulties. Yet they were contained within the walls enclosing his heart, protecting what made him whole, and in the event these figures betrayed him, Julia knew he would be nothing more than a frail child.
Where memories of his mother lacked in quantity, they were made up in quality; the cherished memories shined like gold in his heart even after a decade. Were it not for her courage and bravery, and her sacrifice until they found sanctuary in the village, then Julia would have died long ago in the barren, harsh confines of the Fraylands.
Julia lamented, Mother… she was a sweet soul… and was undeserving of such a cruel and sudden death. If karma existed, then his one hope was that she is given the best in her next life. She deserves it.
As he reminisced, Julia's legs wobbled and weakened as he slid against the wall, trying to support himself to no avail. Entering a crouching position, in his dead and unkindled eyes, he felt tears start to well up as he hurriedly sought to push them back. Now was not the time to cry.
Then there was Gwynevere, whose face he saw with a gentle smile. A feeling of calm washed over him, but it didn't last for long; he started to shake and his breathing grew heavy, emotions overwhelming him in an instant.
Gwyndolin was Gwynevere's sister. She was allied with aberrants, and it was this same army that mercilessly slaughtered his village and murdered his mother. Gwynevere… Did she know? Was she involved? From the very start—from the very beginning, was she involved in this?! Julia felt the anger seethe, and his hand clutched the knife hidden in his coat.
Littering his arm were the unholy phantasms tempting him towards vengeance. Gwynevere's face lingered in his mind and a new sensation built up in his eye; not one that warned of tears, but one that simply ached.
Julia's eyes ached so bad. He clutched at them frantically, letting out a low groan that felt more like a growl. He closed his eyes and squeezed them tight, hoping and near-outright begging that the pain would disperse.
He opened his eyes a few seconds later, unexpectedly finding something else. They clung to Julia, holding onto his coat and the cloth of his robe. The small, imp-like creatures he briefly interacted with before, their skin just as pallid and transparent, and their eyes hollowed out with their tiny little bulbous heads had returned.
Their appearance was as freakishly other-worldly as he remembered. But their presence seemed to mollify his intensifying emotions and brought peace to his mind, if not for a brief moment.
Julia hadn't been sure if he would meet this strange new form again, but he found an odd glee and comfort in their ugly visages that caused him to smile involuntarily. Their feelings were pure and clear, unlike the dread-inducing form the villagers previously took.
Indecision still plagued him, and that was made clear by the continued existence of both forms. But Julia felt resolute in his ability to choose his own path. Standing up, he looked over towards the crack in the wall that Gwyndolin left through, and he nearly walked over there himself before he noticed shadows approaching.
Gwyndolin entered and Julia soon met eyes with her. They reciprocated stares for a moment before Gwyndolin turned away, and the corners of her mouth raised slightly, seemingly satisfied with something. Meanwhile, a figure slowly emerged.
It looked humanoid; and if not for his unique vision, Julia may have thought them to be human. The uncertainty and uncanniness in this deceitful visage, not entirely monstrous nor human, felt even more unsettling than a hulking, animalistic body.
"Julia, meet Evelynn. Evelynn, meet Julia…!" Gwyndolin's playful tone was as unwelcome as usual, and it was like that he was forced to meet and exchange names with the aberrant named 'Evelynn'. She wore a cloak that concealed her frame, with only the head being exposed.
The head alone left much to be digested. Her facial features looked human but minimised, showing a compact and recessive nose with small holes for nostrils accompanied by a likewise unusually small mouth; said mouth was only just big enough to not seem unnatural in contrast to the size of her face.
As for the eyes, she seemed to completely lack any, only leaving a creased patch of skin in their place. But the most glaring feature had to be her ears, which were similar to a bat, being two large appendages protruding from her scalp, both pointy and reaching high above the top of her head.
The animal ears blended into her dark hair, which fell below her shoulders and into her cloak. She really did resemble a human beyond those particular features.
"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you." To Julia's surprise, not only did she speak Christeyeran but she also spoke with an eerily polite tone. It contrasted greatly in comparison to Gwyndolin.
"I am Evelynn, acting advisor and lead scout for this operation."
Introducing herself, Evelynn curtsied and lowered her head slightly. That was strange, but Julia also noticed how her cloak started to move, splitting into two and spreading out. Her 'cloak' opened up and revealed itself to be a pair of large bat wings attached to the arm.
Julia was bewildered. He had never seen something like it, and it was more shocking with his ability to see the spiritual constitution of the flesh and below it thanks to his special sight. Regaining his composure, he attempted to reciprocate her greeting, "Julia… is my name, as Gwyndolin just said. Uhm… I'm a wandering traveller and an old friend of Gwynevere."
"Old friend? So distant sounding… Is this teenage angst…?" Julia's attempts at a respectful opening, for what would be a very laboursome conversation, were quickly torn apart by Gwyndolin once again. Frustration flashed through his eyes, which was thankfully hidden by the blindfold, and he held back the temptation to raise his voice or act impolitely.
Evelynn held a wing up towards her mouth and a faint sense of quaking was visible from her shoulders, so at the very least this one was amused by Gwyndolin's odd quirks. Someone kept by her side would need to find her personality tolerable; which Julia found impressive, knowing he wouldn't be capable of the same. "Commander, there are serious matters to discuss. It is not the time for jokes," she said, once her shoulders were done quaking.
"Commander? You are, Gwyndolin?" Julia couldn't stop himself from asking.
Evelynn responded, "She is. The commander is quite capable, contrary to initial expectations."
"Contrary? Is that the impression I give?" Gwyndolin seemed genuinely shocked, showing her lack of self-awareness.
Evelynn faced Gwyndolin, and said, as if to cheer her up, "I find you quite formidable—but alas, not everyone is me."
"Hmm, you reap what you sow I s'pose…" Gwyndolin nodded along, becoming unbothered at a terrifying rate. Her recovery speed was amazing in a way. It was almost unnerving how little she cared about this sudden revelation.
"Anyway, Evelynn here is my informant. She gets me all the information I need to know, and largely tells me what to do with it. Big problem now is mostly what I've told you. Sizeable Christeyeran forces have appeared at our doorstep and we want nothing to do with them. They don't know what we're doing here—though it's pretty obvious they know we're here—and we don't want them to find out."
Gwyndolin then sighed regretfully, "A clash with regular soldiers on top of the inquisitors is the last thing we want, because frankly we're not equipped for it. You're in the same situation as far as I believe. They're looking for you and they aren't going to be nice about it when they bring you in. Though I have a feeling you don't care about being treated rough, you just have somewhere you need to be and can't spare the time getting arrested and questioned."
Evelynn continued, "We need to create a distraction somehow, sufficient enough to allow our forces to retreat without being chased down. The commander and I concluded that you would be capable of creating that distraction, and your help would be no small favour. You do not have to help—we can find another way—but this plan is the least likely to result in casualties, and you would be able to escape without concern for getting caught as well."
Julia had been curious what his assistance truly meant, but he was uncertain he could do as they said or if he even desired to play the role. He looked down, "I just want to reach Cherepakha, that's all."
It wasn't as if he didn't agree, but stubborn doubts filled his mind and made him reticent; but he was unable to express his doubts or put them into words. Something beyond logic made him want to refuse without even considering it.
In the end, Julia expressed no denial, implying that their interests aligned, but he failed to show any enthusiasm in their 'shared' ideals.
"That's good! Then, onto the specifics—..." Gwyndolin was ready to explain her plan, and her own readiness made up plenty for his lack of enthusiasm. But before she could speak a word of the specifics she mentioned, she was interrupted.
"Wait. There's something I'm concerned about," Evelynn exclaimed. With a moment of silence and another moment of exchanged looks, Julia watched the two edge closer towards one another as they whispered about something.
A short while later, Gwyndolin took a step back before crossing her arms, looking slightly bothered but convinced. "So you wanna speak with him for a bit? I guess we have the time for it if it's really necessary…"
"Yes. If the child is comfortable with it, of course," Evelynn said, before turning to Julia. He wasn't keen on her labelling him as 'the child' but that was hardly his greatest concern.
Her voice grew very gentle when directed at him, which he felt was odd and misdirected. She asked in an almost pleading tone, "Would you allow me to speak with you—even if it's just for a mere moment?"
Julia had already stepped outside of his comfort zone. It was a consensus for the human race to hold a universal wariness, which was not merely common sense but a teaching passed on for survival; but even that sold short the gravity of an aberrant, and the precautions that should be taken to never meet one.
Foolhardy men will raise their mug and speak of brave combatance against their kind for the sake of their country (but mostly derived from the promised rewards in everlasting riches and fame); and young boys will follow suit, selling dreams of enlisting in the army and facing the forces of Lyre—the more courageous and informed (though evidently not experienced) hinting at becoming a butcherer, but suppressing their voices when doing so to prevent their mothers from hearing. However, these are people who grew up in a peaceful environment.
A harsh environment forces you to grow up faster. Stay a child and you will perish, so it is imperative that you learn to live as an adult—independant and mature. Julia was robbed of a childhood, even before the aberrants invaded his village and killed his mother. The Fraylands is no place to raise a child after all.
But the experience and wisdom achieved through these conditions were something he held dear. Wisdom can only be acquired through age, so the only way to gain wisdom at a faster rate is to grow up at a faster rate; and probably one of the most useful and important pieces of knowledge he possessed was just how dangerous and frightening an aberrant is.
Anything a human can do, they can do better. They are anomalies in the concept of evolution, disobeying the rules in which species have adapted. They are physically enhanced. They are smart, if not smarter than humans. And while humans must sacrifice a great deal for a mere external source of magic through witchcraft, known to all as a highly heretical act, aberrants are naturally inclined in their evolutionary paths to establish a connection and beneficial rapport with mana. The aberrant is superior in every way and for that reason is truly terrifying to those who know this.
Julia stared at the face of the aberrant called 'Evelynn' before him, different in so many ways that he could go on forever; yet he found some sort of kinship as he focused on the rough patch of skin covering where her eyes would be, briefly touching the cloth that covered his own. This is the first time I've ever actually spoken to an aberrant, isn't it…
"Evelynn…" Julia muttered her name. He let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding and said just a few words: "Sure… I'm willing to speak."