Chapter 14: The Labyrinth of Memories

He said that around the time that you read this passage, you would have an encounter with creatures even more ancient than himself ... creatures that have served the Dark Dragon Lords almost since the beginnings of our clan. The Fallen.

Ryan was hunting. He was hunting alongside his father in Pinnfar woods. His dad told him that he must stay quiet, that the animals had better hearing and a better sense of smell than he did. Ryan did the best he could, careful not to step on twigs or branches, steadying his breathing so as not to give away their position. They had to hunt to keep the population of the Sprite Deer down. If the Sprite Deer got too numerous, the Elves complained about how they would ruin their crops. Plus, it was the only way to get meat since the Elves didn’t sell any at the market, though his parents still hadn’t told him how they turned the game they hunted into meat.

Richard always used a bow and arrow when he hunted. He said he preferred a more primitive weapon than that of a gun because it reminded him of his days at the Ministry. Ryan was the spotter. It was his job to spot out the game and judge the distance to the target. He also had to do a bunch of complicated stuff like feel what direction the wind was coming from so they stayed downwind of their target. His dad told him to judge how fast the wind was blowing so that the arrow’s trajectory wasn’t thrown off.

Today, Richard let Ryan track the prey’s footprints almost without helping at all. It was easy since it had been raining so much recently, leaving good impressions in the mud. Finally, they caught up to it. It was a beautiful Sprite Buck. Instead of fur like a normal buck from Ancient Earth, it had green feathers that fluttered up and down when it got agitated. It stood on four birdlike feet, and its horns came together in a great halo-like loop over its head. The creature’s muzzle was directed to the forest floor as it fed. It hadn’t noticed them.

“You’re sure you want to finish it off this time?” his father whispered almost too softly to hear.

Ryan hesitated only a moment before he nodded, holding out the knife his dad gave him.

Richard nodded. “Okay, then. Just like I taught you. When I drop the deer, go for the heart between the ribs like I showed you last time. We don’t want him to suffer.”

Richard inhaled deeply and took aim. Ryan had fired his father’s wooden bow a few times, so he knew how hard it was to aim. He did like to practice with the bow a little if his dad was there, but he still preferred swords. Richard’s breathing became still as he pulled the bowstring back as gently and quietly as possible, his golden-scaled arms going taut with power. For an instant, the deer stopped eating and looked right at them with big yellow eyes, its ears perking up in curiosity. Then came the twang! of the bowstring as Richard dropped the deer in one shot. As far as Ryan knew, his father never missed.

As soon as the deer dropped, Ryan ran forward, brandishing his knife to do as instructed. His father always told him how important it was to make sure the game did not suffer. He said the game was giving their family a precious gift, and it was their duty to honor the game by making sure they didn’t suffer. As Ryan came upon the deer, he looked down into its big yellow eyes and raised the knife. As the deer fidgeted on the forest floor, its breaths coming in soft, wheezing gasps, Ryan froze. He tried to make himself move, tried to do as his father said so the game would not suffer, but he just couldn’t.

Ryan didn’t know how long he stood there, but his father crept up silently behind him and gently took the knife from his grasp. Ryan never understood how someone as big as his dad could move so stealthily. Without saying a word, Richard pressed the knife firmly between the deer’s ribs, killing the animal instantly as its yellow eyes closed.

Ryan was crying now. “I’m sorry, dad. I didn’t mean to let it suffer. I-I just froze. I don’t know why.”

Richard gave Ryan a gentle smile, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, son. I wasn’t able to do it my first time either when my ... my adopted father taught me how to hunt.”

Ryan drew an arm over his eyes to wipe away his tears. “What changed?”

His father’s expression became sad and distant. “Well, I was put in a situation I’d rather not be in again. I had to hunt to survive, and I had to learn the hard way. One time I got injured, and the pain hurt so much that I wished I could die. That’s when I realized what it must’ve been like to be some of those animals that got caught in my traps. They would be injured and bleed to death slowly. I knew that it would be kinder of me not to let that happen to them, so I made it a point to always finish the job after that.”

His father got that wise but distant look in his eyes, as if his mind were somewhere else. “That’s why I decided to teach you these things, so that you can survive on your own if you need to. So that you don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

Ryan frowned. “But, dad, I won’t be on my own because I’ll always have you and mom, right?”

Richard smiled fondly, mussing Ryan’s hair. “I thought the same thing once myself about the people who raised me.” Richard’s expression became even sadder, and Ryan wondered if he was about to start crying. “But you can never know what the future holds, son. And so you must always be prepared for it.”

Ryan smiled and opened his mouth to say something else when his father suddenly collapsed to the ground screaming in pain.

Ryan shook his dad by the shoulder in concern. “Dad! What’s wrong?”

Richard’s eyes had grown in size and had turned completely black. When he spoke again, he sounded like a little girl, not like a man. “This ... this isn’t right! I never went hunting! We don’t believe in it! We can hear the thoughts of even the animals! They don’t think in words, but they can still think! Why would my father take me hunting like this if it goes against our beliefs?”

Richard instantly transformed into the little Sage girl in the dark dress, cringing and covering her head. All at once Ryan remembered that this wasn’t real, that this was just a memory. It was a memory that he was somehow sharing with the Sage girl, a memory that she had confused for one of her own. The Sage girl screamed again, and Ryan’s mind went blank.

Kevla was meditating. She had learned how to quiet her mind and let her psyche wander into the minds of the creatures that lived in the forests around their house. She marveled at how gargantuan the world seemed through the eyes of the tiny insects that scurried and crawled all across the forest floor. She reveled in the exhilaration of flight as she watched the trees zoom underneath her through the eyes of a bird. She even felt the playful glee of two rodents chasing each other through the trees. It was mating season, and the female was coyly running from the male in a game of tag. If the male managed to catch her, they would be mated. Kevla still didn’t know what that word meant. Her daddy told her that she wasn’t old enough to know about those things yet.

Another mind caught Kevla’s attention, a mind her daddy had warned her never to visit or else she would feel and see scary things. However, curiosity won out over obedience this time, and Kevla allowed herself to see the world through the eyes of the large, wild cat. The cat’s body felt lithe and agile, faster and stronger than any other creature that Kevla had touched. It moved stealthily through the woods, each careful paw print not making a single sound. It sniffed the air and heard the chatter of its favorite snack. Climbing up the tree with its feline grace, the cat assumed a perch on a nearby branch as it surveyed its two targets.

The cat was watching the two rodents Kevla had seen playing earlier. In horror, she realized what the cat intended to do. She wanted to take over its mind and stop it, but she only knew how to see through the eyes of animals, not command them. Even worse, Kevla felt her own hunger being whetted as she thought about how wonderful the little rodents would taste if she could catch them. Kevla had never known the taste of meat for her entire life, but at that moment, she couldn’t remember anything she wanted more as the cat’s appetite resonated within her. In one graceful bound, the cat leapt, caught one of the rodents, and broke its neck in a single bite. As she felt the resounding crunch! of the tiny rodent’s body between her teeth, Kevla finally realized what she was doing, what she had allowed herself to feel. It horrified her, the thought of her enjoying taking the life of that adorable little creature that she had played with only moments ago.

Sobbing uncontrollably, Kevla leapt from her floating bed and ran to her parents’ rooms.

“Daddy! I didn’t mean to! But I ... I...”

Kormal was already up almost as if he’d been waiting for her. In one fluid motion, he had scooped her up in his gray arms and hugged her gently as she cried into his chest. He spoke shushing noises into her ear, and slowly, she began to calm down.

“Daddy. I did it,” she said, still crying a little into his gray arms. “The thing you told me not to do. I went into the mind of a wild cat while it was hunting. And I felt it...” More tears came as she remembered the awful sensation of holding the poor little tree mouse in her teeth.

“I know, beloved. I could already feel your distress from beyond the door. I would have preferred for you to be older before we had this talk. That is why I asked you to wait before seeing through the eyes of the animals. Even they know secrets of life and death that you are not ready for yet.”

“Why did it have to kill them, daddy? Why?”

“To survive, beloved. To survive. If the great cat does not eat, it starves and dies. Starving is very painful. You, as young as you are, cannot imagine just how painful.”

Kevla grimaced, making her tiny, gray hands into fists. “Maybe it would be better if something like that never existed. Then it wouldn’t have to kill to survive, or die starving to death.”

Her father smiled knowingly. “But if the great cat did not exist, then the tree mice would run amok, eating everything in sight ... all the berries and fruits and leaves. If that happened, many more would starve and die. It is not evil, little Kevla. It is the way of nature as the Lord Caretaker intended. The way of nature is balance.”

“I’m sorry, daddy,” said Kevla, hugging him around the neck. “I’ll never disobey you again.”

A confused look came to Kormal’s face. Then his once black eyes turned red, darting back and forth in alarm. “What’s going on here?! I never promised that to my dad! We both knew I’d never keep a promise like that, so why bother?”

Kevla stared up in confusion. Her father no longer sounded like her father. His voice had become younger and no longer held that quality of ancient wisdom.

“Daddy?”

Her father suddenly dropped her to the ground, causing her to yelp in surprise and pain as her bottom hit the floor. She glared up at her ‘not-daddy’ in annoyance as he scratched his chin in puzzlement.

“Come to think of it, I don’t remember seeing through the eyes of the woodland creatures either. That sounds like telepathy, and I’m a Physical-Type ... a Beater, so I couldn’t have used telepathy when I was young. Hell, I couldn’t use any psionic ability when I was young since I hadn’t awakened any Elemental powers yet.”

Kevla rose in anger, knowing that this part of the memory wasn’t supposed to happen. She beat the chest of the interloper furiously, trying to drive him away. “Get out of my head! You’re ruining everything!”

Her ‘not-daddy’ suddenly changed into the boy she knew from earlier. The boy with golden skin and red hair who had been hunting with his father. Or was it her father he’d been hunting with?

“Your head?” he said, pointing an accusing finger in her face, then a thumb back at himself. “You’re the one in my head, brat!”

Everything went white, then black, and then white again. A myriad of confused images danced before their eyes. Ryan’s and Kevla’s vision distorted as their memories collided with one another, converging and mixing until neither one could remember whose memory was whose anymore.

Hannah put a hand to Ryan’s head as he grimaced, his eyes clenching shut. He didn’t seem to have a fever at least. But whatever telepathic spell was messing with his mind, it seemed to be causing him pain.

Damn that Kormal! she thought angrily. She rarely cussed out loud, but she still did it occasionally in her head. If this is his doing, I swear I’ll pop out one of his bug eyes and roast it on a spit while making him watch with his one remaining eye!

Hannah immediately said a silent prayer for forgiveness to the Caretaker for even thinking such vile things. That being said, she didn’t promise not to do it, especially if the worse came to pass for dear Ryan. She still couldn’t wrap her head around it. Ryan somehow taking possession of the psyche of a dead Sage girl. Ryan didn’t even have telepathy, so how could he have accomplished such a feat in the first place? Even more strange, he did it by accident. So many things Ryan accomplished seemed to be by accident. Or perhaps by providence. Just like his father.

Hannah smiled warmly at the memories of Richard. They were both so alike in so many ways. She may have failed the man she loved, but by the Caretaker, she would not fail his son. She would not fail this innocent child. Not again.

If none of the Elemental Thinkers or Healers can deal with this, his only hope will be Zanderius. Kormal all but admitted to causing this, so there’s no way I can trust him. If it came down to it, he’d sacrifice Ryan to save his daughter. I know he would because I’d do the same for Ryan if it came down to a choice between their lives.

Hannah considered contacting Zanderius. Given the escalating situation, and the disturbing discovery of Dark Water, she half expected him to contact her already. She wondered if anything could be wrong. Zanderius was acting strangely when he asked that Amelia girl for help. Maybe Hannah should ... No. She had to have faith in the Prime Minister. It was by his will and strength alone that the Tarrus Empire still endured to this day, that the universe still endured. She must trust him. He had never let her down before, and she knew he wouldn’t now. Besides. Communication outside of Corinth was strictly prohibited unless he initiated it first. Zand’s plan was still in motion. For now, he must remain anonymous to the Empire in order to take back the government in a bloodless manner as he envisioned. Chissler’s spy network could be watching her even now, so best not to risk it.

As Hannah considered all this, she almost failed to notice the incessant beeping of her communicator. Hannah activated it to be greeted by the head of her pupil, Torsha. The Werewolf seemed out of sorts as her once luxurious furry mane fell disheveled and messy over her face in a very similar fashion to the locks of a human girl.

“Priestess! Mucho big problem!”

Hannah’s face remained passive as she spoke in a soothing but firm voice that she hoped would calm her panicking protégé. “Tell me of the problem, sister. If necessary, I will send more Blessed Monks to your aid.”

In the background, Hannah saw a man, she thought one of her Monks, flying across the screen with a gaping wound in his chest while screaming in terror. Torsha ducked, panting frantically as she ran with the communicator, the hallway blurring behind her head as she did so.