There is no doubt that staying with the Encantos of Hele has given Mirano Suri a glimpse of the world beyond the boundaries of the Beda Rainforest. As he begins his slow trek towards the unfamiliar woods, he recalls the knowledge he has gained through the years he spent with Hele and with Aiden Maris.
Like his current status, the people of CANDEMARO lack the knowledge of their past. But unlike him, who is missing the totality of his identity, the people of CANDEMARO only lost a part of it. They can still identify based on their tribes; a concept that has existed at least a thousand years ago.
Mirano pushes past the strange clump of bushes, wary where he places his foot on the account of fallen twigs in the area. When he successfully crosses the obstacle, he resumes his recollection.
What remains a mystery to CANDEMARO is the cause and subsequent beginning of their Great Tribal War; a war waged by the three existing tribes. A war without a winner and one that everyone lost. Somehow, this missing patch is the motivation for almost all of the expeditions being led by ISoS as of the moment.
Mirano senses a clearing ahead of him and stops in the middle of it, scraping his feet under the dirt, relieved to find a familiar sensation. He sits on his crossed legs and looks up. No light from the sun penetrates this part of the woods and the noises from the creatures lurking in the distance revel in the anonymity of the dark. Mirano ignores their growls and continues thinking.
The only inter-tribal interaction Mirano has witnessed between the Sequoia Council and ISoS's Heart Order makes no sense. Even now, when the main path has been blocked by debris, the Heart Order seems lax in clearing the path. If they were so interested in their goals of re-exploring the Jigsaw Canyon, Mirano hums, they should have at least hustled to get the debris out. Then again, they must have ulterior motives for these decisions— a fact that even the Sequoia Council deduced during the High Priests' visit.
It doesn't help that the growling and shrieks of creatures grow louder during Mirano's extensive contemplation. In his annoyance, he throws a blade to his right and a sharp yelp emanates from behind the bushes. A beast comes running blindly to the clearing, the blade clearly plunged in the middle of its furry forehead. Mirano didn't budge from his seat. Instead, he drives his elbow to the beast's mane as it ran behind him, driving it unconscious to a nearby tree.
"What do they wish to uncover here?" Mirano verbally asks, his voice tingling with irritation as he stands up to go retrieve his blade.
It is evident by his brief presence in the area, that it is greatly dangerous for any person--if they are unlucky enough--to be within the boundaries of the undocumented parts of the Beda Rainforest. Creatures as feral as the one Mirano had slain run rampant and the dense clumps of trees and thick foliage only blur one's senses. Besides, not everyone has the same affinity with the Darkness of the woods like he has.
Returning to the clearing with his blade, Mirano buries it on the dirt to let the blood seep out of it. He sighs at the thought people has of the Rainforest being "alive" for it is a claim he discovers to be true.
The moment he uttered his name in front of the Lightning's Mistress and Aiden Maris a long time ago, a voice begins mentally conversing with him. It was faint at first; even disappearing for days. But when it returns, it is clearer than before, and Mirano is guided by the voice in his choices; even this one. He was able to ask it questions only recently, and pointed out its uncanny nature of being active during the night. Not hearing its serene tone echoing in his mind has given Mirano the signal that it is still daytime.
He has dubbed the voice as something ancient; similar to the Encantos' regard to K'raas, the old god, but the voice seems to disprove of this notion. Nevertheless, Mirano knows that the partiality of the creatures looming near the clearing has something to do with the voice's origins.
Everything under the darkness is still clear to Mirano's senses. He sees the numerous heads of creatures; some hairy like the one he had slain; others seem to be full of scales; many are huge in terms of its sizes, and all of their hunger-stricken eyes are locked on him. He does not faze, though. This is what he intends to see, after all.
Pulling the blade out of the dirt and walking out of the clearing, Mirano grips on the handle, the tip pointing in front of him as he slowly hovers his bloodshot eyes across the creatures' deprived glares. Much to Mirano's confusion, the creatures slowly retreat and eventually breaks to a run. As much as he wishes to inquire about the strange behaviors, he knows that the voice within him won't be able to answer until later.
Sometime after a few more minutes of walking, Mirano attempts to take command of the Rainforest. The voice had shared this skill with him the day before he became Duko'o with Aiden. The voice had revealed that it is one with the Rainforest, and so is Mirano, for this is what had revived him. With darkness enveloping almost every inch of the wretched woods, it is possible to control anything within it.
Mirano raises his palms towards the tree branches, tightens his jaw, then attempts to draw the branches away to reveal the country's sky. The branches follow his hands' movements and the beam of the sun up on the sky at high noon floods the area immediately, searing Mirano's eyes and making him withdraw his hands, at which point, the Rainforest returns to the Darkness' care.
He rubs his eyes while groaning. "That was a mistake." He blinks his eyes a few times, chuckling at the thought that the skill still works within the different areas of the Rainforest. "As I thought, the dark is where I greatly strive... But I have to leave its care in a few days' time. I have to get used with the sun."
At the thought, he looks to his right, where the Rainforest meets the banks of the Naga River. He contemplates on whether to continue his journey within the shade, but ultimately goes against it and keeps on his pace in the middle of the darkness, where he can focus on discovering the other areas. This has continued for three full days, without any rest.
By the fourth day, Mirano had noticed his need for food. Smacking his dry lips, he looks around. While it is true that the trees nearby are dense, it is not the bountiful kind. Hopping up from branch to branch, Mirano checks for some fruit, much to his misfortune, there is none. His next choice is the bushes for berries. Trekking forward some more, he finds a couple of hedges, but it's also without fruits. Groaning, he persists forward and notices a fallen tree trunk towering him and blocking his path. A familiar, pungent aroma registers in Mirano's nose, and his mouth waters at the recollection of the Mako mushrooms he regularly consumes at Hele.
His first instinct is to go around the trunk. He figures that a trunk so large will have an end, but Mirano walks the length of the trunk; then sprints, to no avail. It seems that it's a trunk with no end. Panting, Mirano places a hand on the trunk as he stoops down while catching his breath. The smell of the mushrooms brushes against his nose some more, as if teasing him.
Gulping as he readies for another attempt to run the length of the trunk, the voice rings loud and clear in his mind:
"Jump over".
In a surge of force from his soles, Mirano propels himself over the trunk, fumbling in mid-air in disbelief and landing on the other side of the dirt on his bottom. He groans at the sting, but the fungi's aroma soon takes his mind off of the pain. Seeing the abundant growth on the trunk, Mirano plucks a generous amount and helps himself.
As he savors his meal, his mind drifts to the depths of his thoughts; hoping that the voice will resurface and answer his questions. The Rainforest; even after going deeper and deeper through its unknown areas, does not get any quieter, and Mirano finds it difficult to focus on reaching out to the mysterious voice.
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In the height of his annoyance, Mirano stuffs a few of the thick mushroom stalks in his shorts' pockets and stomps further to the woods, determined to give the distracting noises a piece of his mind. In a few minutes of walking, however, he comes across the widest clearing he has ever seen. Unlike the previous clearings he has been, where the dirt is alive and bountiful, the dirt in this current open space is dry, which makes the sole of his feet powdery and rough. The Rainforest seemingly ends from behind him, and as Mirano looks on to the horizon, towering cliffs of the same dead earth greets him, with the starry sky hovering above his head.
Mirano did not need to look back to confirm his guesses. With the almost silent flow of water running across him, he knows he has arrived in the infamous Jigsaw Canyon. A big sigh escapes from his lips upon noticing the great shadows being casted by the rocky cliff sides. It will be more beneficial for him to begin exploring the site with those.
As he walks towards the strange place, Mirano dips his feet on what remains of the river. Sensing the gap between the running water and the ground nearby suggests that the problem with the blockage has not yet been resolved.
"What is taking them so long?" He asks no one in particular.
He steps out of the water, his wet feet absorbing the dry dirt, the sensation making Mirano smile. He twists each of his foot on the ground, making sure to let as much of the dirt cling to it as possible. When he steps further to the looming ravines, a strange awareness of something ancient and powerful within the end of the rocks, has frozen Mirano in his steps. His bloodshot eyes bore through the darkness beyond and finds nothing. Stretching to his tiptoes, leaning to the side, Mirano loudly groans as he attempts to find something in the mysterious darkness. His efforts futile; Mirano clicks his tongue, his brows furrowing at the lack of ability to push through the area. As the thought of dismissing his initial premonition, however, the voice returns within Mirano's head in its strongest presence yet, which causes Mirano to fall on his knees in reverence.
"Sink in respects..!" it dictates.
Finding the force surprising, Mirano did not question the reason further, realizing that the voice must have originated from the same ancient area to be somehow terrified of whatever looms ahead.
A low snarl registers in Mirano's ears, which makes him turn to the darkness once more. The voice's instruction continues to bind him on the ground, however, and despite knowing that it could be a sign of impending danger, Mirano gently places his forehead on the ground and closes his eyes.
For a while, it seems to work. Or at least that's what the silence indicated to Mirano. When he shifts to look up to the darkness, however, he barely had the time to dodge the slicing arms protruding from it. He rolls around the dirt, terrified of the damage it left. Mirano glares back to find more penumbral arm-like contraptions shooting out from the darkness, wildly flailing and pulverizing the ground he is on. In the ruckus that Mirano barely dodges, he can make out the cacophony of multiple metals clanging against each other. He had not been very familiar to such a sound, as there were little metal present in the Western Encanto capital of Hele, but he recognized that the distant, echoing noises are similar to how Rai's grill poker slams on the metal grill; only perpetually multiplying and sounded in a variety of ranges.
Rubble begins to accumulate in his location, and Mirano reaches out to the familiar Darkness' aid for an extension of his senses, searching for an escape route before the creature—or whatever it is— strikes again. Mirano finds one near to him; a gaping hole in the length of the ravine on the left. While he is unsure if the hole is deep enough to seek refuge in, Mirano comes dashing to the void, where the creature predictably lunges its arms. Had Mirano confronted it in the scourge of the daylight, he might have been too slow to give the creature a chance to kill him. Luckily, the moon is hiding behind the clouds and the cape of Darkness enveloping him provides him with additional strength.
Hopping from one arm after another, Mirano is able to latch on the cliff and hoists himself on the small patch of rock leading to the hole. It guarantees his safety, as Mirano is able to crawl in the cramped space and the creature is left to lay more waste on the ground below.
Not one to stay within the closed space, though, Mirano quickly ponders about how to subdue the creature and return to finding Rai's last excavation site.
By this time, Mirano wiggles inside his hiding spot, finding much space still linger across him. Reaching one arm out, he is surprised to meet the gentle run of a bundled fabric in his hand. Peering through the darkness, Mirano indeed finds a parcel of some sorts, the fabric he had just touched bearing unknown, but eerily familiar designs. Past the item, Mirano notices a carving on the wall of the hiding spot. It is a seven-sided circle with an intricate symbol in the middle of it.
He did not have any time to think more about it, as the earth outside begins to shake and the rampage of the mysterious creature has affected his location. Now unsure of what to do, Mirano finally hears the voice's instructions; its insistence begins pounding on his head with immense force that becomes too painful to ignore:
"Eat".
With the pain surging from his head towards his arms, Mirano lets out a great scream and slams his head on the cramped space in an attempt to alleviate the pain. Call it a misfortune, though, for the whole cliff collapses upon impact of the creature's arm on it, lifting him out the confines, at which point, Mirano's arm shoots towards the end of the ravine, and with immense power unknown even to him, a surge of dark, condensed energy shoots from his hand, spearing the end of the ravine and eliciting a hollow cry from the grounds. The arms retract and a continuous shriek of pain emanates from the rubble, while Mirano lands on the debris, writhing in pain.
A great glow soon erupts from the ravine and despite still twitching from the pain surging in his body, Mirano begrudgingly lifts his head up to witness the flooding light which consumes the creature's figure. There is no cry of pain anymore, as Mirano notes while catching his breath behind whimpers, he finds the eyes of the creature glow with serenity, its form slowly dissolving, until the last of the light traverses the darkness to land on the parcel Mirano has found earlier. The parcel glowed for a few moments beneath its fabric and Mirano reaches for it before passing out.
---
That morning, the group of Usor sorcerers tasked with dislodging the debris blocking the forked path north of Hele arrived on site, opposite of the river bank. They dress similarly to that of the priests who visited Hele a month ago, but their robes bear different colors and accents, indicating that they are from a different Order.
As the sorcerers look on to the great blockage of earth and fallen trees, many of them has already expressed annoyance over the task. Sure, ISoS has sent them here as part of an official expedition, but neither is interested in the task requiring the greatest efforts. All of them were eyeing the supposed reward that wait past this: the promise of great discoveries in the Beda Rainforest.
Annoyed at the obstacle, but making no move to actually begin the clearing operation, one of the sorcerers lazily kicked a few pebbles to the debris, at which point, upon kicking the last pebble, the ground began to shake and the rough currents of the Naga River came roaring down, ultimately toppling down the debris and letting water flow towards the other side of the river bend.
The subsequent success perplexed the Usor sorcerers, but the Sequoia Council who were about to begin the clearing on the other side is even more surprised to see them.
"Was it any of you sorcerers who caused that?" Rai asked while pointing a finger to the freely flowing river.
Though confused at the succession of events, the Usor sorcerers claimed the magnanimous work, exchanging glances in an attempt to signal that nobody should reveal the truth.
With relieved smiles, the Sequoia Council invited the Usor Sorcerers back to Hele for a celebration, to which the sorcerers humbly declined. They excused themselves back to the northern postal house, where they related to the Council that they will write a correspondence back to ISoS for the successful clearing operation.
Agua Carina politely dismissed the meeting and returned to Hele with the Council, while the group of Usor Sorcerers did return to the Northern Postal House and sent a message back to the central post. Now motivated as the obstacle blocking them and their treasure trove was easily resolved, the group hustled to the entrance leading to the undocumented area of the Beda Rainforest, their eyes and souls brimming with greed for discovery; not knowing that their haste will lead to their eventual demise.
----
While their correspondence did arrive in the central post in four days' time, ISoS found it strange that their reply to it had been returned to their footsteps. As this detail was being related in ISoS' Council Meeting, Seth and his brother Bela, exchanged discreet glances, both were fully aware of the implications of this report.
"... No matter. Once others go and explore the area, they will bump into each other soon. Thanks to the efforts of our Encanto brethren, we will be able to traverse the wretched woods safely. Who knows? Maybe the answers to our lifelong questions lies there!"
With the Head Magistrate's words, the Meeting was adjourned. Seth and Bela walked down the decorated hallway leading back to their Order's office, both keeping a hand over their mouths to keep anyone from noticing their menacingly triumphant smiles.
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To be Continued...