Arc 9-54
“What happens now?”
I hold my silence; that’s a question someone else should be answering. His new companion is already moving. Slowly, almost reverently, the voidkin extends a single foot beyond the circle’s perimeter. He trills, birdsong echoing from a voice made deep by a heavy existence. His next steps are quicker and surer, bringing him to Khan. The wanderer flinches as a three-clawed hand grabs his shoulder.
“You…”
“Come, take me from these walls.”
“Wait!”
The elemental doesn’t wait; Khan is dragged along until he reluctantly takes the lead. I follow behind, keeping my distance but not quite willing to leave the floundering northman to his own devices quite yet.
Khan takes us out the front door and the voidkin releases him, stepping onto the neatly trimmed grass confidently. A hand waves at the sky, where a bright full moon sits behind a veil of dark clouds. “A good omen.”
“What is? And…shouldn’t we talk? I’m not even sure what to call y—”
“Moons are its eyes.” Khan grimaces as his companion speaks over him. “The more eyes upon a world, the more it perceives. It is not always good to be known.”
“That doesn’t make sense! You’re…” Khan swallows his next words. Good. Not a good idea to insult the creature responsible for you future insane. “She called you Shadow.”
“Yes. Your patron sees through many things.” Shadow cranes his neck at an angle that would hurt a man, his sightless gaze turning toward me. “What do you think, patron of my partner? Do you think that which connects the heavens and the earth is inert? No more alive than stone or stagnant water?”
“Never thought about it,” I respond flippantly. It sounds like the kind of idea one only finds at the bottom of a tall bottle. I absently tilt my head back, taking in the stars. “Does it matter? Something like that is too big to be concerned with.” It’d be like ants trying to understand a city and all its intricate parts.
“The patron is wise.” Shadow drops its cloak; Khan gasps as two enormous dark wings unfurl. These creatures are so odd, so many distinct features that shouldn’t be on the same body. A physical reflection of the mystery is craves.
“The Dark is vast, too great for any one creature to know. My kin dedicate our lives to finding its truths and even with our generations of knowledge, we would be lucky if we understand the equivalent of a strand of hair. They journey may never end but each step has value. For when you look into the Dark, it looks into you. Most will be crushed by the weight of its gaze, but those who can endure?”
Shadow extends a hand, urging Khan to seek the answer.
The northman turns to me and we hold a conversation in a moment; the voidkin is definitely nuts. Fortunately for my future brother-in-law, faith doesn’t need to make sense. People have worshipped far stranger and sinister things than the empty sky. So what if he thinks the moon might wink at him if he stares at it long enough, or whatever he’s getting at?
I’m a little worried about the wings and the cloth over its eyes, but I hide those doubts as I motion for Khan to take the offered hand.
There is reluctance in every line of his body but he does.
“We should talk about tomorrow,” Khan suggests, doing his best to impose reason on the unreasonable being.
“Tomorrow is for tomorrow,” comes the voidkins immediate rejection. “Tonight, you take the first step.”
“And what if I don’t want to?” the wanderer snaps, some of his earlier attitude returning. “Following along with your game isn’t a part of the contract. You can…do whatever this is without me. Find me in the morning.”
“I could. But I will not.”
“Why, dammit!”
“Because we are the guides and you are the lost.”
Khan tries to snatch his arm back but the elemental holds fast. I squint; he isn’t hurting him.
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“You don’t know what it means to truly look upon something. I know you, Khan Wakeson James.”
Khan flinches, pulling harder. He may as well be trying to pull away from a statue.
“I’ve known you from the moment you called. As a summoner, you should know how revealing a circle is.”
“I’m not a summoner and that wasn’t my circle. None of this is me,” Khan professes as his voice drops to a whisper.
“But it is you, young seeker. The message may have been written by another’s hand, but they were your words. Your story. A man of faith who has lost the object of his devotion. A dutiful man without purpose. A small man caught between large forces. A lost man in need of guidance.”
Ouch.
“I know you, servant of the small dark.”
“…I’m not a servant.” Khan’s rebuttal lacks heat, as if he’s trying more to convince himself.
“We are all servants, but that does not mean we are devoid of choice. Freedom lies in accepting your fate and choosing which direction to walk in. Have you ever done this, Khan? Have you ever made a choice, unburdened by the expectations and agendas of others? Have you ever found a truth that wasn’t given to you by another?”
“No and I doubt I ever. I suppose I’ll be swallowing your truth next.”
Ugh. Phrasing.
I don’t know if Shadow understands or cares about the innuendo but he does chuckle. “Unless you choose to make it your own.”
Khan huffs, his derision underscored by exhaustion…but he isn’t pulling away anymore. The northman stares at his contracted elemental for several heartbeats and then he steps closer. Shadow’s hand reaches down, wrapping around him. The wings beat the air.
I know what it’s going to do before the silver of air mana coats its dark feathers. A moment is a small eternity to this form. I can make it to them, easily. It’s my last chance to intervene.
I don’t.
The voidkin’s spell activates at the same time the elemental beats his wings, a powerful gust accompanying the motion. One of my many eyelids drops down, protecting my eyes from the wave of dust thrown by the powerful force and I watch as they become a tiny patch of darkness against the darker sky. Faintly, I can heat a panicked scream turning into something joyous.
I smile; in the end, summoning is still magical. Everything about this was flawed and yet, something beautiful came from it.
Gives me hope everything might turn out alright.