This place looked like it came straight from an old storybook, illuminated by the harsh, bright light emitted by the being before them. The floor and walls, made of the same translucent stone, glowed with a mystical light. It shone in a multitude of colours, ever-changing between the entire spectrum in beautiful, divine patterns. As the statue raised a talon, splinters flew off the walls, forming odd symbols that floated around it in a ring form. It flicked its talon across them, causing them to swirl - but as it tapped one of them, they instantly stopped.
It hummed. “So, it has been nearly three centuries.” It said, swishing the symbol aside. As the ring dispersed and the characters flew back into the wall, the statue crossed its arms. Leaning forward, it lowered its head to their level before its eye sockets began emitting a bright red glow. “It seems little has changed in the outside world.” It said, curiously looking them up and down.
“What are you? What is this place?” Ionyr said, noting that the echo of his voice was puny compared to this giant’s. He was trembling - it was all so much to take in. The being glanced at him, then clapped the paws of its top arms together. Suddenly, the light in the walls shone brightly. Blinded, Ionyr instinctively shut his eyes.
“Over the millenia, we have been given many names.”
As Ionyr opened his eyes, he bore witness to an otherworldly sight. No longer were there walls surrounding the great hall - they had given way to what looked like the night sky. His feet still stood on solid ground, but when he looked beneath him, there was nothing there. Ionyr heard Rayza yelp in surprise before grabbing onto his arm.
“To even try mentioning them all would be tantamount to naming all stars in the sky.”
He could see everything from here - Idyllis, the Western Isles, the North, even the Dead South! The whole world lay at his feet! Ionyr looked up to meet the statue’s gaze. Its base had melded with the ink of emptiness surrounding them, giving the illusion that it sprouted from this space itself. Raising its hand, a golden radiance emanated from behind them.
“Putting it simply - we are the Ones you sought.”
Ionyr turned around, seeing the sun in all its glory. A snake of fire rose from its surface, shooting towards them. He dropped onto his knees, pulling a terrified Rayza with him. The flare shot right over their heads, leaving him in utter awe. It coiled around the being’s furry arm and slithered across its torso before curling up before the statue in a ball of flame.
“We are the Creators. You stand in our sacred sanctuary, built to guard the Sacred Flame.”
Ionyr was stunned speechless. Glancing at Rayza, he could see her jaw dropped and her eyes wide, unable to grasp what they were witnessing. This was it, he thought. His dream…it all culminated here. He - no, they had really done it.
They found the Creators. Those ancient myths…all of them, true.
Yet, it all only whet his mind’s appetite for answers. Why did the statue refer to itself as ‘we’? Why were they down here, in this cave, remaining hidden for millenia? What did they mean by ‘three centuries’? Or ‘Sacred Flame’, for that matter?
He had so many questions, yet lacked the breath to ask. It had been taken from him - the view on the world below; the infinite void between the stars; and the grand figure of the Creators standing before him had robbed him of his voice. He was faced with the ineffable, an unmatchable awe - how could he possibly dare to ruin it with his mortal questions?
“We have been observing your journey.” The gods continued, using its tentacles to mould the ball of flame before them. It morphed until it looked like a man and a woman holding hands.
Wait, that’s us, Ionyr realised, eyes widening.
“Ever since you stepped foot in our domain, we have been testing you. Gazing at your dreams.” Moulding it further, the fiery figures morphed into two different shapes - the man now had a satchel and cloak strapped around him, the woman held a child in her arms.
“You, who desires to satiate your thirst for knowledge with your own hands. And you, whose wish is for your union to reach its ultimate climax. We thoroughly understand what it is you seek in this life.” The flames dispersed. “We believe you are worthy.”
Worthy of what, Ionyr wondered as it leaned forward. Its falcon-like face was now inches away from them. Despite its body being composed of glowing, molten rock, there was no heat exuding from it.
“Touch your hands to our third eye.” It spoke. Said eye had been pulsing with red light, steadily and slowly, almost like breathing. “This is our final test. Pass, and you will have proven your worthiness.”
Ionyr shot Rayza a glance - was this safe, he wanted to ask. After what happened earlier, he was far more inclined to listen to her warnings. However, there was neither fear nor desperation on her face. She, too, was enraptured by the magic happening before them.
When she caught his glance, Rayza bit her lip. Clearly, she had some reservations. How could she not, after everything that happened?
“Great Creators.” She said, slowly standing up. “What happens if we refuse to take your test?”
“A valid inquiry.” They spoke, the tentacles suddenly flaring out, grabbing hold of the dark void. Giving it a strong spin, the entire sky around them turned into a blur - it was like watching a globe spin from the inside. There were no more stars, just streaks of light. “Should you refuse, we would wipe your memory. This entire adventure would fade from your minds, becoming nothing more than a blurry dream. Then, you will be released back to the outer world.”
“I see.” Rayza looked at Ionyr, her eyes betraying her uncertainty. He could tell she was conflicted - on one hand, they’d get out of a near-death scenario relatively safe. But would it really be them that left this cave? “So even though we accomplished your dream, we’d be back at square one.”
“Yeah.” Ionyr stood up and scratched his chin. “We’d probably go back to adventuring anyway.”
“Knowing you, we’d spend the rest of our lives searching for what we’ve already found.” Rayza said, slightly annoyed. “Let’s not do that.”
Chuckling, Ionyr agreed. In a cosmically ironic way, there was some humour to that idea. Then again, would it even be worth finding the Creators if they couldn’t remember it? If he achieved his dream, but never knew it? Nah, not worth it.
“Well then, looks like we won’t have much of a choice.” Ionyr put his arm around Rayza’s shoulder. “I do have one final question though.” He said, turning to face the statue. “Great Creators. What would happen if we failed your test?”
“Should you fail, it will lead to the same result as your refusal.” It said, the red eye flashing. “We strongly urge you to take this trial - destiny has brought you before us for a reason.”
He checked with Rayza. She nodded without hesitation - if the result was the same regardless, why not risk it? Grinning, he turned to face the statue. “Well, who are we to deny destiny? We’ll face your trial, Great Creators.”
“Go on, then.” It said, its voice stoic as ever. “Touch our third eye, and let us begin your final trial.”
They reached out together. As they touched the crimson gemstone, it flashed brightly, engulfing them in an incandescent light. Comforting and familiar, like a sun of days long past - the sun of better days.
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A nostalgic scent filled his nostrils. Lavender. Ionyr’s eyes flew open, to be greeted by the familiar wooden ceiling of his childhood bedroom. Looking over, he could see Ielus sleeping beside him. For some reason, Ionyr had tears in his eyes, and was breathing heavily.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Why were his eyes wet? Did he have a bad dream? Or was it so good it made him cry?
“Ionyr! Ielus!” He heard his mother call. They both stood up and rushed into the kitchen. “I’m making fish stew.” She said without looking up, busy chopping vegetables. “Be dears and go fetch from the creek.”
“Yes Mum!” They said, grabbing their fishing nets before taking off. The creek was on the outskirts of the village, beyond a path of reeds, which were well taller than the boys. Sounds of buzzing filled the air - there were bugs abound. Of them all, the low humming of the Reedjumper’s wings was the most distinct. Using their nets, they caught the finger-sized insects and prepared them for use as bait.
It didn’t take long before they each had caught a Bassinger, and ran back home. “Thank you, boys.” Their mother said warmly, before pressing a kiss onto Ielus’ head. As she leaned in to give Ionyr one, he closed his eyes, his lungs filled with the nostalgic lavender air.
When he opened them, he found himself in a small alcove - their homebase, under that big tree in the woods near his home. He’d recognize that earthy, dirty smell anywhere. Rayza and Ielus were staring intently at him. What was he doing again? And why did he have that warm, longing feeling in his chest?
“Brother? You were saying?”
“Er…right.” Ionyr composed himself and cleared his throat. “Rayza, we found out more about the Creators.” He glanced at his brother. “And we’ve finally settled on a goal for our adventuring party.”
“What is it?” She asked, tilting her head, a small smile on her face.
“We-”
“We’ll be searching for the Creators, Rayza!” Ielus interrupted, and went on to explain in lengthy detail the entire story of the ancient gods, as well as the Calamity that ended their era. “We will prove them real, Rayza!” He said, proudly puffing his chest out.
“That’s great, Ielus.” She seemed a little taken aback by his outburst, but kept a polite smile. She even giggled a little. Ionyr was surprised. It was like they’d known her for years, with how comfortable she was around them - but in truth, it had been barely a month since they’d met.
He was glad, though, that he was no longer the only person in Ielus’ life - that there was another that accepted his brother. Ionyr smiled as she turned to face him. “So, Leader, what’s our first move?” She asked.
Grinning, he picked up a stick. “First, we’ll need a map.” Kneeling on the ground, he drew a small circle in the dirt. “This is our village.” He then went around the entire edge of the alcove, drawing one big line along it. “It’s a big world out there. So we’ll need to first explore everything around our village.” Following that, he drew a slightly bigger circle around the village. Then he marked an X on the west side of the smallest ring. “This is our home base - we know this forest like the back of our hand. What other places could we explore?”
“What about this cave here?” Rayza took the stick from him and drew an X on the northern edge of the large circle. While she maintained her polite expression, her eyes betrayed excitement - as though she were holding herself back. Yet there was also a hint of shame as she continued. “My…my father said that there are some sticky rocks in there.”
“Sticky rocks? Why, are they gooey?” Ielus said, with a mocking tone. There was immediate regret on his face as he finished his sentence - he likely didn’t intend for it to come off like that.
“No, ew!” Rayza grimaced and gagged in disgust - likely more in reference to what he said, and not how he said it. “My father had a name for it. Mag…Magne…Magne-something.”
But Ielus’ expression became dejected nevertheless.
“Sounds good to me!” Ionyr quickly tried to move on and circled the X she drew. Turning to his brother, he tried changing the subject. “Ielus, you got any suggestions?”
It took a brief moment before Ielus realised, but his expression turned excited the second he did. “Sure do!” Giddily grabbing the stick, he drew an X outside the southern edge of the large circle. “I heard from Old Goldie that there’s a big bluff here. It’s just upstream from our creek.”
“I don’t know, isn’t that a bit far?” Rayza said, anxiously twirling her hair. She gave Ielus a politely questioning look - like she wanted to reject his idea outright, but without risking offending him.
“Well, yeah.” Ielus said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. He suddenly didn’t look so excited anymore. “But…go big or go home, right?” He added in a quiet, hasty mumble.
“I’d rather go home instead of big.” Rayza glanced at Ionyr - not outright asking for his support, but hoping he’d convince his brother otherwise.
He wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea, though. Turning to Ielus, he asked: “Well, what’s so special about this…bluff?” Adding onto that, he’d like to know what a bluff was.
“Oh, well…” Ielus twiddled his thumbs, glancing insecurely at Rayza before looking back at Ionyr. “Goldie said that’s where the Bassingers lay their eggs…and there’s a lot of interesting shellfish there. Apparently, some extinct ones were seen there recently.”
A smile forced itself onto Ionyr’s face. “That sounds amazing! Why didn’t you lead with that?!” He shouted giddily, drawing a circle around Ielus’ X.
“It is?” Ielus said timidly, glancing at Rayza, who was still anxiously twirling her hair. He quickly straightened his back and puffed out his chest. “I mean, of course it is! That’s why I suggested it!”
Rayza still appeared unconvinced. “But it’s so far from home. I have to -” She paused, meeting Ielus’ expectant gaze with an unsure one. “Are we really ready to go out this far?”
Upon hearing her question, Ielus started staring at the ground, his eyes vacant and distant. ”I wanted to go out of my comfort zone for once.” His eyes were affixed to the village circle. “Do something memorable…no, something unforgettable.”
Seeing his brother’s saddened expression, Ionyr realised what this was actually about. He put his hand on Ielus shoulder to reassure him. “It’s alright. Let’s go there first.” He said, causing a small spark to return to his brother’s eyes. He then turned to ease Rayza’s fears. “We can handle it.” He said confidently.
“Yeah. Yeah! We can handle it, Rayza!” Ielus added, hastily, but even more confidently.
Rayza, upon seeing their united front, sighed and smiled. Unlike all the other small, polite ones, this one felt real - their words got through to her. There was a tinge of sadness in it, a hint of ‘What will I do with you?’, but there was genuine happiness in that smile, too. “If you say so, Leader.”
Returning her smile, he could hear Ielus whisper, barely audible: “But it was my - nevermind.” He then spoke again, this time loud enough for them all to hear. “Yes, thank you, brother.”
As Ionyr turned to face him, he blinked.
“You good there, lad?” Raev was looking at him, quite concerned. They were standing in a field of wheat on a hill, overlooking Ionyr’s hometown. Right, Raev had come over to visit them for a change. He was wearing a rather inconspicuous attire for a man of his stature - then again, he’d given up that position to live with his family in a small village in the middle of nowhere. Being dangerously close to middle age, this old man wasn’t known for enjoying attention.
“Sorry, zoned out for a bit.” Ionyr laughed it off, but there was this oddly determined feeling in the right side of his chest, opposite his heart. It reminded him of his early adventuring days.
“If you say so. Anyway, got any more gems for me?” Raev said, rubbing his hands in anticipation.
Laughing, Ionyr pulled out a small pouch and handed it to the old codger. “Why, you running out?” Even though this man was a good decade older than him, he still had the spirit of a child. In that, they were quite similar.
“I don’t around much to Idyllis these days.” Raev said, enthusiastically opening the pouch. Gems of all colours and elements revealed themselves - red, blue, green and yellow. Fire, Water, Air and Earth. “Beautiful, aren’t they?” He mumbled, picking out a red gem and holding it against the sunset’s light. “Still trying to figure out if there’s a difference between gems from Idyllis and those from the Isles.”
“If anyone can find out, it’s you. No one else even bothers researching these stones.” Ionyr crossed his arms. “Shame, really. Look at what you’ve created after a single year of research. Who knows what scientific revolutions they would bring. If only all scholars -”
“Weapons.” Raev interrupted, pocketing the pouch. “They’d be used for weapons, lad. There’s a damn good reason I asked you to not spread this knowledge.”
“I know, I know.” Ionyr sighed, looking wistfully at his home village. Was it worth giving up a potentially better future to prevent a potentially worse one? Hell, who was he to decide? All he wanted was to live in peace and chase adventures. “Still, those tools you made for us really helped.”
“Glad to hear it.” He chuckled.
“So what are you cooking up now?” Ionyr asked, causing Raev’s expression to darken.
Avoiding Ionyr’s gaze, he looked over to the village and sighed. “A hot, fresh serving of Hypocrisy.”
“What do you mean?” He asked, concerned.
But Raev waved it off, turning to leave. “Nevermind. Just mumbling to myself. There’s this little gadget I’m working on - helps me get up in the morning. I’ll send you one, alright?”
Ionyr grabbed his arm before he could take another step. “Raev. Are you alright? You sound…troubled.”
Sighing, the old codger ripped his arm from Ionyr’s grip. “You know me well, lad - perhaps too well. I’m always troubled, you know that. Old habits are hard to break.” Glancing back, he revealed a sad smile. “But thanks for asking. See you around.”
Waving, Raev walked off toward the horizon. A tinge of worry and sorrow filled Ionyr’s chest as he watched his friend leave him alone on the hill. Sighing, he turned to head home.
His vision went white.
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“A most curious life - well-suited to the Star’s mission to learn. Protective and responsible - he will take good care of it. Indeed, a very promising prospect. Now, how about the female?”