To Speak With Ancients

> ”Legends are based on true stories that have been lost in the flow of time. But sometimes, legends are not based on stories at all. Sometimes, legends do exist.” ~Su’karix, The Storm Forever

“Curious…” said the strange lady. “A Dream manifestation of the Visitor. Is this the modern way of going around these days? It’s a creative way, I suppose.”

“Pardon the intrusion, madam,” said Frein. He kept his voice calm and his choice of words neutral despite the difficulty in keeping his uncertainty in check. “We didn’t mean to trespass.”

The woman casually gestured to the side. “Oh, I’m sure you didn’t. I would’ve known otherwise. But since you’re here, it would be rude of me to shoo you away. Allow me to at least provide you some hospitality. Come, follow me.”

She flew past them, heading towards the circular landmass above. As she did so, she spared a glance towards Elizzel.

“Faunel of Freedom and Consequences. You haven’t changed one bit.” She moved on, not waiting for any response. “Or I suppose you did. I don’t really care.”

Frein willed himself to move. His thoughts processed and his muscles flexed, showing a desire to move forwards to follow the strange woman, but all he got was a slight shift upwards.

Elizzel helped him through the Tether, showing him the correct mindset for flight. He had to imagine himself pushing off the air, not pulling in desperation. The instant reaction threw him out of balance, but the faunel was there again to straighten him up.

“You seem awkward,” he whispered to Elizzel. He knew that a whisper didn’t guarantee privacy, but the gesture might convince the strange lady not to eavesdrop.

“I never thought I’d see her again.”

“I’m assuming then, that she’s Su’karix?”

Elizzel just nodded.

“And that landmass over there is where the dragons are?”

“I will show you, if you will follow, Visitor, Elizzel.” The lady, Su’karix, turned. “There’s still time to decide whether I allow a piece of my power to integrate with you or not. Do not squander it.”

The two followed without saying anything else out of respect. They were, after all, trespassing in someone else’s territory. It was only wise to follow their rules. It also helped that the landmass looked stunning in the night sky, which made Frein realize it was actually night.

That brought a confusing amount of questions to his head. Did they go forwards or backwards in time? Or were they still in the present but in a different time zone? If the former question, then how far? If the latter, then where? Are they even in Brymeia?

“I’ve never seen you this distracted before,” Elizzel commented telepathically.

“You’re right. Need to focus. It doesn’t matter when this is or where. What matters is how and why.”

The night had a slightly darker shade than the usual purple glow Frein had been used to. A red tone was more prominent overall. He looked up and saw the Shinemoon was no longer in its full phase, a quarter of its face darkened, while the Darkmoon was still a complete circle of red. He wondered how the nights would be if the Shinemoon was in its new phase and the Darkmoon still reflected its red.

“It’s not that red, actually,” Elizzel said, bored of their slow flight towards the landmass. “The phases of both moons are consistent and there’s never a new moon Shinemoon phase with a full moon Darkmoon phase. But the reverse is true for every other full Shinemoon.”

“Why’s that?”

“The Shinemoon moves equally twice as fast as the Darkmoon.”

“I don’t mind whispers behind my back,” Su’karix said without turning towards them. “Frankly, quite a lot of those has been happening rather frequently lately. But I do hope it’s not about me. Nothing bad at least.”

She craned her neck towards them when Frein couldn’t voice the obvious question.

“Your telepathic link is based around Meiyal Arts. The discipline’s sole weakness is that every Art you do originates from within your body. As long as I closely observe the movements of meiyal around each of you, I can take educated guesses as to what you’re doing.”

Her eyes narrowed and she stopped in midair. Only then did Frein feel the foreign meiyal, Su’karix’s meiyal, closing in on him. They were subtle once, no different from the passing of air, but they’ve revealed themselves. Heat and cold, and crackles of anticipation waiting to be unleashed upon cornered prey.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Sorry. No. We were talking about the moon, madam.” Frein ignored the attempt to frighten him. At least, he tried as much as he could.

Su’karix’s meiyal retreated to a calm. “Madam. You’ve called me twice that already.”

Frein was confused. The term wasn’t exactly foreign or misunderstood, at least as far as his experiences with other women were concerned. Adventurers, soldiers, knights, even those by the markets didn’t have an adverse reaction to being called a madam.

Su’karix saw his struggle and smiled, resuming their travel towards the landmass. “My point is that I prefer to be called by my name.”

“I would hate to assume,” Frein implied. Whether or not she knew that Elizzel told him telepathically wasn’t exactly a good confirmation of the woman’s actual name.

“You’re expecting a grand reveal? A show of prowess? I’m afraid revealing my real form to you would instantly eradicate your meager manifestations. I would even venture so far as to accidentally and permanently scar your meiyal systems when I do so. Mortals of these modern times are too fragile. Too weak. It would not do well for my reputation to hinder Evanclad and his spawns any further. My name in the history books has been tarnished enough.”

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When Frein still refused to say her name, she sighed.

“Fine. You may address me as Su’karix, Visitor. This should suffice, yes?”

“Thank you, Su’karix.” Frein gave his most appreciative smile despite the dragon in humanoid form not looking at him. “I’m Frein Nivan.”

His recollection of the Thousand-Year Storm, depicted as she was in the history books, were all filled with insecure, misleading information. There were many embellishments involved whenever her account was concerned, trying to portray her as the villain. But he found something consistent within all the confusing details.

Su’karix cared for her Sky Islands. The people, the land, the culture. She treasured them all. Someone who cared, someone who protected like that was always someone Frein would try his best to understand.

“You are adorable,” she said, turning towards them once again. This time, she continued to fly, sure that her back wouldn’t bump into a levitating rock or debris. “Frein Nivan is an adorable name. I quite like it.”

They were so close now. Frein could see more details of the landmass which was actually a number of islands. Clouds formed connections in between these islands, filling the gaps and creating the illusion of a single landform.

“Me?” he asked. “Someone’s been talking about me?”

Su’karix looked at Frein as one would look when admiring a small puppy or a kitten. He felt embarrassed and Elizzel felt the same in turn.

“She’s a Deitar,” the faunel reminded him. “Looking at Destiny is a common thing for her.”

“Oh.” The way it clicked in his head wasn’t particularly mind-blowing. In fact, he felt even more embarrassed. “You’ve been watching me.”

“Observing,” Su’karix corrected. “And only during times when your mind or situation overlaps with mine, my past, or my future. Such is the way Destiny works. You can only look at your own, see. But we can talk more about that after a while. Let me first introduce you to my humble abode, The Keeper’s Isolation.”

The world opened up to Frein once again. This must be the third time, or the fourth. He had lost count. Every new place, every vista of wonder and beauty, they simply always took his breath away. He wondered if he could take anymore of it, or if he would get used to it at all.

He realized it hadn’t even been a month since he stepped foot on Brymeia, but he had already seen so many wonderful things. And he was supposed to expect even more. The Great Cities of Irista Nation, the High Palace, the Nothing, Vyndival Kingdom, and so many other places yet for him to know, yet for him to visit.

Maybe that was the true essence of being a Visitor…

Frein pulled himself back—he wasn’t sure whether to consider this reality—to The Keeper’s Isolation. They landed on one of the small islands. It had a perfectly spaced out forest of trees at its center, surrounded by a river that fell directly towards another small island. It reminded him of the Relativity Temples in Schrodie’s Realm, only there were no upside-down islands.

Instead, what the Keeper’s Isolation had was a massive piece of land surrounded by smaller islands connected by clouds and rivers. Frein realized they were slowly rotating, orbiting around this central landmass while slowly interchanging altitude with the other, smaller islands.

Frein could see a gigantic tower on what could only be the center of the central island. They were too low and too far away for him to make sure of its exact location.

Despite this wonder, he couldn’t help but notice that something was obviously missing.

“Where are the dragons?”

“Not here, Frein. Unfortunately.” Su’karix’s face was somber, her glowing pupil-less eyes shimmering. “Would you do me a favor, Frein? Would you refuse to believe any assumptions made about our kind written in their history books?”

“Will you tell me what really happened?”

“I’m not sure.” Su’karix walked towards the edge of the island, urging them to follow. “But definitely not right now. Our history is lengthy, and we do not have enough time for that. Perhaps when you’re actually able to set foot on this land to meet me face-to-face, I might consider telling you my story.”

Frein accepted the answer and offered his own. “I’ll study what I can, analyze whatever I can. But I will always keep in mind to be open until I hear your side of the story.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.”

She led them to a suspended bridge made out of clouds that mimicked a road. A platform made out of round stone appeared before them, lifting from somewhere below the island. She boarded it and Frein and Elizzel followed suit. The Visitor had to make sure to maintain his balance as they slowly ascended towards the central landmass.

“Why not just fly directly?” he asked.

“The Keeper’s Isolation is equipped with automated defense systems,” Elizzel replied, much to Frein’s surprise. “We’ll be shot down the second we fly without permission.”

“I would’ve assumed you’d lost that particular memory, Elizzel. Color me surprised.” Su’karix smiled and turned to him. “See, I do not originally own The Keeper’s Isolation. It was left to me by Alphazzel, before he isolated himself.”

The Thousand-Year Storm nodded towards the tower. “He is either at the very top, or the very bottom, I’m not quite sure.”

“Why?” Frein asked. It was naturally the next question.

Su’karix allowed Elizzel to answer. “He is the Faunel of History and Disasters. He’s convinced that the Void Region, the Nightmare Lands, was because of his existence. He believes that by isolating himself, he’s effectively slowing down the Nightmare Lands from spreading.”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to kill himself,” Frein said.

“That’s a bit dark,” Su’karix commented. “How sure are you, how sure can he be, that the Nightmare Lands would vanish if he ended his own life? What if his death, as the Faunel of Disasters, resulted in an even greater destruction?”

“Fair point,” Frein conceded. “Sorry.”

“You are a very sly person, Frein,” Su’karix said, smiling. “But you are not so subtle as you believe yourself to be. Still, you deserve your answers for being cunning enough.”

Like getting caught red handed, Frein couldn’t help but scratch his head. “Sorry,” he said again.

“What is she talking about?” Elizzel asked him. Before she could pull from the Tether, Su’karix responded.

“The question was neither to make assumptions nor to make a dark remark towards Alphazzel, Elizzel,” the dragon began. “It is to determine whether a faunel can be killed or not.”

“You could’ve just asked me,” the faunel said, expressing her disappointment.

“I know,” Frein said, not even trying to defend himself. “But let’s be honest, Eli. Your memory takes a bit of clarifying and double checking. We have with us here a person of great and vast knowledge. I’m just skipping a few steps.”

Elizzel narrowed her eyes and puffed her cheeks, crossing her arms in a huff. “Fine! Whatever…”

“Eli,” Su’karix repeated. “An adorable nickname indeed. Would you give me one, Frein?” She began to sit and the stone platform immediately produced a part of itself into a chair. Then she made a gesture towards the two and another pair of chairs appeared.

“Give you a nickname?” Frein asked while taking a seat. Elizzel slumped on hers.

“Correct. I would like an adorable sounding one. Make it as cute as you can. See, all my life, I’ve been given a plethora of terribly intimidating names. The Thousand-Year Storm, The Storm Forever, Dragon of Lightning, Terror of the Sky Islands. I am very much not a terror of the Sky Islands, mind you!” Su’karix sighed. “I would love a cute name for once.”

Frein pondered and came up with a number of simple nicknames. Su, Stormie, Kari, and a bunch of other wordplay with the storm dragon’s name. None of which sounded adorable or cute.

“Mind if I think about it for a while?” he asked.

“You have until before you have to leave.”

Frein nodded. The deadline reminded him of something that he had taken for granted. The awe and grandeur was too much that he almost forgot about that one small detail.

“You said I was ‘another’ guest, but I don’t see anybody else around.”

“Oh, that’s because she’s already inside,” Su’karix answered. “She’s also arrived as a Dream manifestation like you. Appeared about an hour ago. I’m not sure if she’s still around. Quite the conundrum, that lady. Had to summon a connection with Palar’gog, see. I believe her name was Frill Veli.”

Frein felt faint as he processed two very important things from what Su’karix just said. First, Palar’gog, one of the Four Sealed Ones, was actually really still alive somewhere. Second, Frill was here and was talking to the Dragon of Eternal Winter.

“Do all draconic meiyal-charged materials go through you or what?” Frein couldn’t afford the brainpower to sugarcoat his question for Su’karix.

The Thousand-Year Storm simply laughed at him.

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