Klaus considered himself lucky that Lasp and Aria held no hate for him, and he wouldn’t have been upset if they did. Growing up in Acamus, he had seen all that hatred could do to the human heart, and the horrible things done to Harpen captured or brought inside their lands. He distinctly remembered that, when he was younger, his mother, and father had personally been brought up to witness the execution of a harpen who had committed no crimes. All they had done was step talon on Acamus soil, and people had declared him a spy from Ekra Eshan without any proof to back it up.
All harpen had a right to hate him and his own, but Lasp, Aria, and their daughter Nyal had been nothing but kind in the short time he had stayed. Well, he couldn’t be too sure of Nyal given her Acamese seemed to be near non-existent, but she wasn’t afraid of him. She remained silent as they all ate together, the light of day fading as they filled their stomachs with vegetable stew and bread. He looked up to see if Rul, the lower Oracle of daylight, still blessed their sight. He did not, and by the looks of it their sister Gis was not in the sky yet.
The story of the many Oracles that protected the corpse of Rag’na’rog had many story for their creation. Rul and Gis were no different, though he personally liked the Numaran version most. To the Numaran, the two were born at different times and, due to their power, could only rarely visit each other and only for the briefest moments. They forever chased each other across the planet, bringing night and day where they went. Those rare instances where they were both at each other’s sides were what all knew as eclipses.
“We were lucky to see a hrekat once,” Aria said. It took Klaus a minute to remember that “hrekat” was the harparic word for eclipse. He wondered how she had managed to read his thoughts. “Nyal wasn’t born then, but her sister was. It was one of the few memories we got to share with her.”
“One of the few?” Klaus asked. When he saw the expression on the Harpen’s face dim, he quickly corrected what he realized had been an error. “Apologies, I shouldn’t have asked.”
“Thanks for apologizing,” Aria said. Lasp couldn’t help but smile at the human’s quick correction as his wife looked up to the sky. “You never truly get over the loss of a child, but Lasp and I cherish what time we had with her.”
“I know what you mean. A mother should never feel such pain,” Klaus replied. He lowered his head and mouthed a silent prayer. When he raised it again, the look on his face had changed to one filled with determination. “It is because of stories like that which encourage my travels. I wish to prevent such loss from happening again.”
“You’re a scholar, then? Or perhaps a doctor?” Lasp asked.
“No, nothing of the sort. I’m just a man searching for something many others have before,” The human replied, his words coming with a chuckle. Those did indeed sound far more realistic than the truth. He looked to the sky as he continued to speak. “I search for that which will make it so no child ever has to die again. I will make it so that war is pointless, and those who fight can turn their arts into more beautiful means. I search for immortality not for myself, but for everyone.”
Aria and Lasp stared at the man with wide eyes, ready for him to say he was joking. Yet as the silence went on, Nyal glancing between his parents and the man wondering what had brought the conversation to a standstill, it became clear he was not. Not that either could blame him for searching for such a thing, but both doubted the keys to such a thing exist. The search for such a thing did lead to newfound knowledge and even innovation, but immortality seemed far out of reach.
“Te grekiq trenaq te grekip trenaq?”
Eyes shifted to Nyal, the look of concern on her face made deciphering her words easy for Klaus. She seemed like a wonderful girl, and the knowledge she had a sister taken from her wounded him. He couldn’t help but wonder if she even knew about the family she had lost, given the innocence that seemed to lay within her eyes.
“Prn, Nyal. Kawkiq te ayea,” Aria said, giving her daughter a smile. Though he had no idea what was being said, he could see the concern erase from her face. Aria turned back to Klaus. “Immortality is quite the thing to search for. You think you can find it?”
“I already know the methods to obtain it exist somewhere out there,” Klaus replied, his voice filled with confidence. Lasp and Aria tilted their heads, curious yet wary of the man. “Out here in Reine is one who holds the key to immortality, though they do not know it. I was told this by none other than the Oracle of Life herself, Me’re’thia.”
Nyal had recognized nothing but the title “Oracle” and the name “Me’re’thia”, a name she knew quite well from stories. What left her confused was her parents’ reaction, who stared at Klaus as if he was surrounded by spirits of the damned. Lasp made to speak, but Klaus motioned for him to halt his words. With a moment of quiet, he grabbed the back resting at his side and pulled out a book. Nyal couldn’t help but notice it held some similarities with her special book, and with her attention drawn, she didn’t see her parent’s ever-growing shock at the man who stood before them.
“I understand that it is not exactly easy to believe, but if you need any further proof of my connection to the Oracle of Life…” Klaus halted his sentence for a moment. He then opened the book, revealing pages filled with unrecognizable and ever-changing text. Having noticed Nyal’s curiosity in it, he held it out to her, “... let us see if it remains open for your daughter.”
Nyal looked at the book, and then to Klaus. Though they didn’t understand each other’s language, the Harpen hen knew what he wanted through his motions. She held her wings out, and Klaus slid the book into her hands till only the tip of his finger touched the binding. As soon as any trace of contact with his body was lost, the book shut itself without hesitation. Nyal, surprised at the book’s response, lurched back and nearly fell over. She brought her wings to catch her from nearly falling over, talons swiping at the air for a moment before digging at the ground.
For a minute, no one moved or said a thing. Aria and Lasp looked on in surprise at everything Klaus had revealed to them both through words and actions. Nyal, after her heart had calmed from the book’s sudden closing, looked at where it now laid on the ground. She had seen her own special book do that before when she had tried to hand it to her parents. To see that same action happen to herself, it left her befuddled.
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“Another Historia,” Lasp spoke after a time, looking at the human. “Then, you are one of the three Oracle Vessels?”
“Yes, though I ask that you don’t treat me any differently with this knowledge. Even if I’m to one day take charge over the duty of replenishing all life on Rag’na’rog, I’m still nothing more than human,” Klaus told them. He picked up the book and gave Nyal a pat on the head, before turning his attention back to her parents. “Though, by the sounds of it, I’m not the first vessel you have met. Might I ask who it was? The Vessel of Death or Vessel of Balance?”
He watched as Aria and Lasp spoke to each other for a minute or two, the conversation too quiet for him to hear. After a moment, they both nodded and looked back in the direction of their daughter and him, their expressions having changed drastically. Shock and awe had been replaced by smiles and a sense of trust that lay behind their eyes. Lasp stepped towards Nyal, who had gotten back on her talons after her tumble not long earlier.
“Nyal, quek reqa’e dae Klaus,” Lasp said. Nyal looked between her father and Klaus for a second, and then took off toward her tent.
“Was what I said wrong?” Klaus asked as he looked at Lasp confused. “I did not think my question was reason enough to make you send your daughter away.”
“No, we did not send her away,” Aria told him as she stepped forward. “We asked her to grab something.”
Klaus went to ask what she meant, but the voice of the young Harpen stole his attention. Looking towards Nyal’s tent, he watched as she emerged with something tightly against her body with her wings. Covered by the feathers, he did not recognize it at first. Yet the closer she got, and the more he saw of the item, he felt something in his stomach twist. It was only when she held the book out, looking much like the one he held, that he knew why it had twisted.
“Jeira,” She said, holding the book out towards him.
He knew she wanted him to take the book, the innocent smile on her face telling him she had no idea what she was currently holding. Nyal tilted her head, wondering why he was staring at her so intensely, and then remembered she was the only one able to open it. So she did, unaware that by doing so she had confirmed a line of thought going through Klaus’ head that he had desperately hoped wasn’t true. Despite the inner pain and sadness that was suddenly bubbling up from inside him, he managed to keep it hidden.
He held out a hand and shook his head. Nyal understood what he meant immediately, nodded, and went back to where she had been sitting earlier. She laid the book before her, spoke some words, and started reading. Both her parents and Klaus watched for a moment before turning to each other. A sigh escaped Klaus’ lips, and one hand clenched tightly into a fist.
“So, she is a vessel just like I am,” Klaus stated, gaining a nod from both Lasp and Aria in the process. “Might I ask which Historia it is that she holds?”
“The Historia of the Past.” Aria told him, her tone far more serious than it had been before. “Though she doesn’t know it. As far as she is concerned, it is just some magic book that has been with her for her entire life,” She looked at her daughter, a sad smile on her face. “We know we will have to tell her what she is one day, but I want her to go about her childhood not having to deal with the knowledge of what she truly is.”
“Please don’t tell anyone about us,” Lasp pleaded, the look of concern clear on his face. “The last thing we want to deal with is religious zealots.”
“You need not worry, I have no desire to do so,” Klaus replied with a nod of his head. He looked at Nyal, both his expression and tone of voice growing dark as he did. “Your secret will stay with me and me alone. I will go to the grave before revealing it… though I guess by then the world will likely know what she is.”
He laughed at his poor attempt at a joke, and Aria’s face turned to concern. The sudden shift in his tone, the way joy had been wiped from his face. He looked as if the news had suddenly made him ill, though why she didn’t know. Did he feel sorry for them? Did he see what their daughter was as a curse?
“Is everything alright, Sir Klaus?” Aria asked.
“Yes, mostly,” Klaus said. He walked over to his pack and placed his historia within it. Nyal looked up as he lifted the pack onto his back. “I have stayed too long, and the day nears its end. I will journey some more before setting up camp.”
“Are you sure? We would be more than happy to have your company, given our destination is the same,” Lasp said. He got a shake of the head as his reply.
“Thanks for the offer, but I must decline,” Klaus told the Harpens. He tipped his head to them. “Till we meet again, Aria and Lasp. May your journeys be calm and uninteresting,” He turned to Nyal, who was looking at him wondering what he was doing. “Farewell young Nyal. Tre.”
Mri was one of the few Harpen words that Klaus knew, meaning goodbye. Nyal had no idea why he was suddenly leaving, but she didn’t dwell on it. With a smile, she got up and tipped her body forward, wings stretching to their full length. It was how her kind said goodbye without words.
“Tre tre Klaus!” She said, voice far brighter than that of the man she had said the words to.
Klaus mimicked the motion Nyal did back to the family, and then left.
----------------------------------------
Ten minutes later, Klaus slammed a knife into a nearby dead tree. He was nearly in tears, his mouth muttering jumbled letters that were an attempt to curse himself. No, not just himself, but Rag’na’rog and all her Oracle offspring. He did not care that Nyal was included in that curse, for it was her very existence that he was now weeping over.
“Me’re’thia, you foul creature. You knew, didn’t you?” He asked the air. He knew that the Oracle he would one day replace was listening in on his words, even if she would not respond. No doubt she was smiling. “You knew the form of the Vessel of Death long before me. You knew it was that young Harpen, thus why you didn’t tell me who my target was; you knew I wouldn’t have agreed.”
His woes were met with silence, and he was not surprised by it. After all, the Oracle of Life didn’t need to say anything. Her words had been clear, and what they meant for Klaus had been kept under wraps to better use him. To be given the power he had, and still be a pawn before those around him hurt, yet it wouldn’t hurt nearly as much as what he knew lied ahead. With a yank, he took his knife out of the tree and looked into its blade.
“Foul or not, you showed me the way to immortality. You showed me a way to stop this war and the sadness of losing one’s life,” He said, waxing poetic as he turned to the darkening sky. No doubt, the Oracle of would be visible in mere moments. Determination tried to hide the grim feeling that was held on his body. “To which I must ask myself: is the condemnation of one more life worth it? Am I willing to do what must be done for the sake of humans, Harpens, and Numarans alike?”
He knew his answer was yes. He was more than willing to do what had to be done, but he could not openly say it. What he would do is not something that people would love, no matter the good it brought. A part of him wanted to wait for another time, far in the future, but then it would likely be more difficult. It was for that reason that he had to decide if his blade would strike a young soul’s heart now and turn a family to grieving, or later when more lives would likely be around her. He gripped the knife so hard his palms hurt, and he let tears fall now so that they wouldn’t later that night, when he would commit one of the most heinous crimes any human could commit.
“Nyal, Aria, Lasp, I am so, so sorry,” He cried, knowing that those in question would never hear his apology. “I wish not to do it, but I am too afraid to die. Just know that your daughter will be the last to ever be welcomed to death’s embrace.”