Futo – Spring – Lure – Gitta (2nd Month, 4th Day, 1st Week) Year 815 GE
Futo – Spring – Rite – Gitta (2nd Month, 5th Day, 1st Week) Year 815 GE
Futo – Spring – Mune – Gitta (2nd Month, 6th Day, 1st Week) Year 815 GE
Futo – Spring – Zet – Gitta (2nd Month, 7th Day, 1st Week) Year 815 GE
The days were passing by in a blur. When Zira’s mind was present, she would notice the bruises on top of her bruises. The Hollow, the small creature she seemed to see in her mind’s eye, pulled to her more frequently as the days passed, making it harder to return to reality each time. Some days she felt like she was playing a game and no matter how hard she tried, The Hollow creature in her mind always seemed to win. Lilac and Namari in their determination to help their friend had moved their intervals of interference to four minutes, and each time they had to put more effort into their jabs to pull her from The Hollow’s hold.
The more she tried to remember her life in the dream, the more she felt her own mind slipping away from her. “Zira...” Namari's voice was a faint echo; Zira was not sure if she imagined the voice ringing from the darkness over the creature’s head. She had just placed her pawn in a position to take the creature's rook. “Zira...” Namari sounded like she was shouting in her ear, she brushed the thought aside as The Hollow’s creature managed to kill her pawn with the bishop Zira had not noticed. Some part of Zira’s mind told her that it must have been Namari’s day to watch over her, she could see a hazy image of her concerned friend leaning toward her. Zira moved her own bishop, taking one of The Hollow’s pawns.
When Namari called out for what Zira thought was the third time, she was gripping Zira’s arms firmly, pulling her from where she had been sitting. Slowly, the creature started to fade from her mind’s eye, as she could feel the pull of reality. Just before fading completely, the creature smiled, taking her bishop with its knight. “I'm here,” Zira’s voice sounded weak and raspy to her own ears, her perception of the world still out of focus. A firm grip on her shoulder startled her into looking into her friend Namari’s eyes. Zira could see the worry there, just yesterday, or maybe it had been that morning, Lilac had seemed to be watching her with the same look of concern. Zira missed the joy she used to see in her friend's eyes, she missed Namari lecturing her on tardiness, and Lilac getting into trouble with her as they played their pranks.
“You do remember that tomorrow is Lilac's 11ᵗʰ birthday, right?”
Zira stared at her friend, surprised, she did not remember. “I’m sorry,” Zira mumbled as she looked down toward the floor, tears starting to form in her eyes. What was happening to her, why couldn’t she remember the most important details? She quickly ran the back of her hand against her eyes, trying to hide her tears from her friend.
It had not worked, Namari noticed she was upset, and wrapped her in a hug. When Zira looked at her friend, she had red rimming her black eyes, as though she had been crying, “No one blames you Zira.”
After a time, when Zira was rubbing away the streaks her tears had left down her cheeks, Namari added, “We're going to have a little party after dinner.”
“That sounds like fun,” Zira smiled weakly at her friend.
Namari grabbed her arm, “We should head back to the dorms.” They were quiet on the way back; Namari left Zira in her room, wishing her a good night.
In her room, Zira could feel the silence closing in on her. Not wanting to sit and wait for The Hollow to find her, she wandered out into the hallway. The call for lights out had been some time ago, leaving her walk through the halls to be a quiet one. She explored the halls of the student's dorm, remembering the trouble she and her friends had gotten into. Lilac had been a prankster, always messing with the older kids, and Zira liked to see the outcome, so she followed through with most of her plans. More than half the time they would be caught, the other times it was Namari who would lecture them on proper behavior. It was rare that Lilac and Zira could pull Namari into one of Lilac’s schemes.
Zira traced a hand on a banister separating the walkway from the student's courtyard. Her mind wandering back to a time when Lilac had planned to get back at Jewuan, an older student, for pushing Zira down a flight of stairs. Zira had only received bruises from his efforts, but Lilac’s retaliation had given him the nickname feather duster for the rest of his time in school. She had set up a vat of warm honey, and a bucket of feathers, coating him in both in succession. If he had not been talking with one of the instructors, Lilac would have gotten away with it. The line between Zira’s Dreamtime as an adult and her time now as a child had started to blur, she could not be sure if this memory was from the Dreamtime or if it was something that had happened to her recently.
Zira was shocked to hear two young voices as she approached the common room area. Continuing toward the room, she was not surprised to recognize them as Namari and Lilac. She moved in close enough to see her two friends, surprised to find the shine of tears in the darkness, coating their cheeks and eyes.
“She's dying...” Namari cried out as she sobbed into her hands. “Why can't the Healers do anything!” Zira wanted to step back, leave her friends to their grief, but was afraid to make a noise.
“Hush now,” Lilac was more composed than her Zutu counterpart. Another tear slipped down her cheek, showing her true emotions. “They are doing what they can,” her voice cracked as she patted her friend on the back, trying to comfort her.
“This might be the last time...” Namari trailed off, her sobs breaking her words as she shook her head back and forth.
“I know,” was all Lilac said, her own voice shaky.
Cursing herself for prying, Zira moved into the shadows, her own heart breaking at the sight of her friend's grief. They had shown little sign of their emotions that Zira could remember over the last several days. It must have been eating them up to spend time with her while keeping their grief in check. Was this why they did not watch her at night, were they seeking each other out to vent off their frustrations of the day? Zira reminded herself that these girls were only 10, they were handling the situation delicately for children. Her heart reached out to them, wishing she could comfort them in their grief, but knew if she was to join them, they would struggle to hide it all over again.
Zira returned to her room, curling into a ball on her bed, she wept.
“ZIRA!” A distant part of her mind told her that was her name, the creature gripped her around the neck, hugging her tightly as he crooned in her ear. “How,” the frantic yelling voice continued, “She has never gone into The Hollow during sleep.” A part of her mind told her she knew this young girl's voice, The Hollow’s creature placed its hands over her ears, blocking out the sounds.
It was some time before she heard another voice calling through the darkness, “Go get Master Aldean, now!” Releasing her ears, the creature drew her toward a table in the dark space before her. The table had a game set up on its face, chess, again. She smiled at the creature, I’ll beat you this time, she thought as she moved her first pawn.
“ZIRA!” Again, the vaguely familiar voice rang through the darkness. Zira suddenly found it hard to breathe. The creature smiled as he moved his knight into place.
“NAMARI!” This girl’s voice was different, still vaguely familiar, but she could not place who it was. Zira moved another pawn into place, finding it easier to breathe. “Move please,” it was just a light echo in the darkness. The Hollow’s creature took her first pawn with his knight.
Cursing her lack of foresight she stared at the creature's knight, if she had just moved the pawn before her king, she could have taken it. She moved her own knight, dropping it twice, as a feeling of seasickness came over her.
A faint rubbing sound cut through the darkness, The Hollow’s creature considering its next move. Then a voice softly echoed through the darkness, “Crackle Shock,” it was strange to hear the chirping crackle of electricity in her dark space, where no light seemed to penetrate aside from the faint glow coming off the gaming table.
“What are you doing Lilac!?” This girl screamed frantically as the creature moved one of his pawns. Something pulled on the girl’s memories. Did she know someone named Lilac?
She was having a hard time focusing on the game in front of her. The creature was smiling, beckoning for her to make her next move. Her head ached with the motion sickness now, her stomach turning with the movements. The girl moved her bishop into position to remove his knight. Suddenly she doubled over, grabbing her chest as the pain tore through it. What was this? Her mind cried out as she caught a faint sight of a young green skinned, purple haired girl sitting over her.
The creature suddenly roared, jumping on her chest, knocking her back, her chair slamming into the ground, her head now aching. You’re Mine! He mouthed as the darkness started to fade, she could see his queen had been moved on the board, putting her in check.
Her body started to convulse, pain ripping through the area where the young, green-skinned girl placed her hands, causing her back to arch and her body to lift from the bed. The darkness completely faded from her mind, she tried to piece the fractured bits back together again. I am Zira and a Kander in training, and this girl is Lilac a Byevern, and a fellow trainee.
Lilac as well as, she thought hard, Namari the Zutu, she caught sight of her then. Namari had tears running down her cheeks, her black eyes staring at her in a panic, we are all good friends.
Suddenly she threw her head back in a silent scream as she felt the sting of electricity running through her chest and body once again.
“You can't die,” Lilac was saying from above her, “I refuse to let you die,” finally the voltage coursing through her subsided.
Zira looked up at her friend Lilac, she felt the wet droplets as they landed on her own cheeks. Without realizing she reached her hand up and wiped away her friend's tears. Lilac looked at her eyes wide then gave a weak smile, “Welcome back.”
“Good to be back,” Her voice was weak and horse from the strain her silent scream had put on her body. Zira felt something wet on her other hand and turned to find Namari holding her face against it.
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“Well, it seems things are in order,” Master Aldean's voice came from the doorway. “Well, now, will one of you care to explain exactly what transpired here this morning?”
It was a long pause before any of the girls were composed enough to answer. Lilac was the first to recover, so she explained what occurred that morning. It took some time to get across to the Master Healer the exact events that had led up to Lilac using her casting on Zira. Once all explanations were complete, Zira went through an examination, there in her room before she was allowed to get up and dress for the day. During the examination, she repeatedly pinched herself, trying to keep her mind alert, refusing to give into the tantalizing call of The Hollow and its creature.
Zira moved into her closet to dress, leaving the Master Healer and her friends on the other side. When she went to put her hand on the door back into her room, she heard Namari whimper, “... It's the final stages,” Master Aldean explained, “She'll be lucky to make it through the night.”
“I'm not ready,” she heard Namari say, “Isn't there anything we can…”
“No. We have tried everything we can think of to stop or slow the effects of The Hollow, unfortunately there has never been a case of someone coming back once they start falling into it in their sleep,” Master Aldean's voice sounded cold to Zira's ears. “Now I best be going. Call me again if she goes into The Hollow tonight.”
There was a pause. Zira considered coming out of her closet when she heard Master Aldean add, “Spend time with your friend today, I’ll excuse you both from classes.” Another pause, Zira pictured the older man considering his words, “This might be the last day, best not to leave her alone.”
The sound of her outer door closing told Zira, it was okay for her to emerge from her closet, “How much did you hear?” It was Lilac who asked.
“Enough.”
“I see.”
“We're all sleeping here tonight,” Namari cried out, “And every night, until...” She let the words hang.
“Sounds like we get to spend all day together,” Zira looked at her friends with false good cheer.
Namari turned away from the other two girls, facing the door, “I’ll meet you later, like we originally planned.” With that, she fled from the room, a sob escaping from her before she was all the way out of the room.
“I didn’t mean to,” Zira looked down at her hands, her forced smile no longer needed.
“No, it's just…” Lilac put a hand on Zira’s shoulder. “This has all been really hard on her, just give her some time.”
“Right.”
“There is good news,” Lilac was grinning at her mischievously. “I arranged to be absent from class today before the Master even thought of it. That being the case, I have plans,” there was a glint of excitement in her eyes, “Just wait, I have the best things planned for today.”
With that, she grabbed Zira’s hand, dragging her out of the room.
Zira was exhausted by lunch, they had explored the woods around the older trainee’s practice grounds, getting lost amongst the trees. When lunch time came around Lilac led them back to the lunchroom with no trouble, she was never lost. The movement seemed to be keeping The Hollow at bay just as Lilac wanted. Each time they had a moment to rest Lilac made sure it was just that, a moment.
Sitting down to lunch Namari joined them as they enjoyed a basic meal, “Oh, he’s back,” Zira said under her breath, not realizing she had spoken aloud. The Hollow’s creature was sitting on the end of the table. She turned her eyes from it, starting to wonder if this creature was really a hallucination of hers. She could feel it tugging her, beckoning her back into the darkness.
Lilac looked around confused, “Who is back?”
“Oh, well,” Zira didn’t know how to explain. How did she tell her friends that she saw The Hollow as a small creature?
“Master Porain!” Namari called out as she jumped up from the bench, jarring Zira and Lilac in the process. She skipped over to the 19 Zitta Kander, one of the highest ranking Kander to date. “You made it.” She grabbed his hand, dragging him toward the table at which Lilac and Zira still sat, watching in surprise.
“Master Porain,” Lilac came to her feet, Zira a moment behind her, saluting the higher ranked Kander.
“Enough of that,” He motioned for the girls to sit down. They did so, slowly, waiting to find out what brought this high ranking Kander to their lunch hall.
The creature was cackling in her ear now, “He can’t help you this time,” its raspy voice whispered as it leaned toward the higher ranked Kander.
Zira had not seen a Jariven before, but she had heard of them from her books. They were a people that split their life span between three phases, causing her to wonder, what phase was this Jariven. He had black hair and green eyes, with the customary gray skin that Jariven were said to have. Had she read something about their second phase being the one where their hair was dark or was the phase where they developed their physique?
Not realizing the darkness was closing in around her she continued to debate with herself the characteristics of a Jariven’s phase, until The Hollow’s creature leaned forward swiping his claw where the Jariven had been, “She can’t see you, fool.” In the next motion he jumped from her shoulder, beckoning her back toward the game they had started before. “It’s your move,” he hissed before adding, “And you’re in check.”
Zira grumbled as she sat down at the table, what should she do now?
“No, don’t touch her,” She could hear a male’s voice in her darkness, “That happened quicker than I would have thought possible.”
“It’s the darkness,” Zira knew this was Namari’s voice, “She is so closely tied to it already, the pull from it must feel natural to her.” Her voice cracked, filling the empty space in The Hollow’s darkness.
Don’t cry, Zira thought toward Namari, her heart breaking to hear her friend's grief. Why am I always hurting my friends? The game with the creature forgotten she pushed away from the table and cried out, “I’m here!”
“The darkness you say,” this must have been Master Porain. Zira ran around, trying to find a way out. “I did not think that could be a factor. But it makes sense.”
“Sit down,” the creature crooned, “If you do not move, you’ll lose again.”
“How do I go back?” She asked the creature, “I know, you know.” His only answer was a grin that made the skin crawl down Zira’s back.
“Here, let’s try this,” she could hear Master Porain again.
“No, don’t hurt her,” this was Namari.
“She’ll be fine, it won’t hurt her.”
Zira could feel something burning her hand. She cried out, pushing back from the bench, her eyes searching the lunch hall for what had caused her pain. Lilac and Namari both stared at her with relief. Master Porain on the other hand was holding a candle before him, a look of surprise, then interest. A quick glance at her hand told her she had not been burned, just a small circle of black soot from having it held over an open flame.
“See I told you she would be fine.” He smiled as he gestured for Zira to return to the table.
She was wide awake now, the creature nowhere to be seen. Approaching the table warily, Zira watched as the high ranked Kander placed the candle back in the center of the table. “I apologize, I didn’t realize it would work so well.” He gave her a charming smile, “So you can feel pain in The Hollow than.”
“You could say that,” she grumbled, rubbing the soot from her hand. Standing alongside the table, her friends too were on their feet.
“I truly did not think that it would bring you around so quickly,” He gave her another smile, “I guess we both learned something new today.”
“Not meaning to be rude Master Porain, but could we be excused?” Lilac was polite as she shifted behind Zira, “We had plans to climb up to Overlook Point.”
“Really? I heard that trainees weren’t allowed up the Point,” Master Porain looked between the girls.
“That’s right, but I got special approvals from the headmaster.”
“Is that so, then I shouldn’t hold you here,” He smiled at the girls as they saluted him respectfully and headed out of the Lunch Hall. When they were out of sight his smiled faded and he turned toward the Medical Wing.
Lilac led Zira and Namari toward the ocean nearest to their dorms, which would take them through a small forest to reach the water’s edge. Some time into their hike, a small opening in the trees showed the rocky beach below. Admiring the view, Zira realized she had never heard of the place they were headed toward. “What is Overlook Point?”
“Really? You don’t know?” That was Lilac; she made sure to stay beside Zira during their hike.
“Really,” Zira grumbled.
“Right, wouldn’t have asked if you knew.” She wore the smile that she did sometimes when she was wanting to tease someone instead of giving a straight answer. Zira gave her a level look until she relented, “Oh, well, you know.”
“Nope, don’t know.”
“Overlook Point is a cliff that overlooks the ocean below,” Lilac ignored Zira’s interruption.
“Yeah, kind of guessed that might be part of it, Overlook being in the name of the place.”
“That does make it a bit obvious,” she gave a big grin, “But what you don’t know is the stories that go with the Point.”
“Right, go on.”
“Well, you see, trainees can’t go there, which of course makes me want to go there even more.” She gave another grin; Namari was strangely quiet walking before them. She neither made eye contact nor acknowledged the two girls walking not far behind her. “You see, the story goes that one of the trainees some ten years back was being bullied by his fellow classmates, so to teach them a lesson he called them out to Outlook Point, where he had some elaborate plan in place. The problem was, it all went wrong, and when he jumped from the cliff his fail safes failed to save him. As any who threw themselves from the height of the Point, he was thrown against the cliff face by the ever-relentless ocean. Therefore, getting all trainees banned from Outlook Point,” she gave Zira a grin, “What do you think?”
“Kind of depressing,” Zira could see they were finally approaching the exit to the woods. “You’re not thinking of ending it all, are you, cause if you intend to throw me…”
“STOP IT!” Namari cried out as she turned to look at Lilac and Zira, tears were running down her cheeks, red rimming her black eyes. “Just stop it,” she spoke softer the second time, “Why are you making a joke out of it? Why are you laughing over nonsense? Why didn’t you let Master Porain try and help you?” She was breathing hard, more tears trickled down her cheeks.
Zira looked first at Lilac, then stepped forward, taking Namari’s hand in her own, “I’m sorry Namari, I didn’t mean to make it seem like I didn’t care, or make you feel uncomfortable,” she gave her friend a weak smile, “I make jokes, and I laugh at nonsense, cause laughing makes me feel like I’m still here.” Zira wiped the tears from one of Namari’s cheeks with her hand. “And explain, how could Master Porain help?”
It took a moment for Namari to compose herself long enough to answer, “You don’t know?”
“Really,” she gave her friend the same dry look she had given Lilac earlier, Namari let a small smile sneak through.
“Master Porain was the high ranking Kander who stopped your shadow when it went out of control.”
“I had no idea; do you know how he did it?”
“That wasn’t public knowledge,” Namari looked disappointed she couldn’t find out how he had completed the feat.
“Do you think we should head back? Maybe he can help.”
Namari hung her head, “In truth, I begged Master Aldean to bring the high ranking Kander who took down your shadow to try and fight The Hollow. It took several days, but he finally gave in. The problem is that when Master Porain arrived, he told me,” her voice cracked again, “He said he likely couldn’t do any more than what Master Aldean was already doing.”
“Oh, is that so,” Zira thought a moment before she wrapped her arms around Namari’s waist, “Thank you for trying, we wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t got him to come here.” She squeezed a bit tighter, “Just think, if you hadn’t, we would have always wondered if he could have been the one to help.”
Namari gave another weak smile, then rubbed her fingers together, causing the moisture on her cheeks to move away from her face and eyes. With a bit of difficulty, she directed them toward the flask on her left hip. That done, she faced Lilac and Zira, trying to put on a fake smile.
With a look between Lilac and Zira a decision was made. Zira squeezed her friend’s waist tighter as Lilac wrapped an arm around her from the other direction, squeezing as well. Then, without warning, both of them switched to tickling their friend.
Namari tried to squirm out of her friends’ grips, letting out a laugh as she jerked to get away from their onslaught. It took some moments before she was able to escape the two girls, running toward the light she had seen coming from the exit toward Overlook Point, Lilac and Zira hard on her heels.