Blood Moon Cycle

By the time Vesth reached the dining hall the next morning, everyone was already awake and well into their breakfasts. Segine was eating ravenously from several plates at once as Tiasia sat nearby with her own plate of food trying to talk and eat at the same time. Rielle sat across the table and watched as she ate, and Agamemnon sat at the head of the table, seemingly oblivious of his guests.

“Good morning mister Vesth.” Tiasia said, stumbling over his name as she spoke around a mouthful of biscuits and a bit of sausage. Vesth noticed a twitch that was almost a smile at the corner of the old Priest’s mouth. Vesth waved to the little girl and she went on talking to Segine who merely nodded and continued to eat. Vesth took his seat next to Rielle.

“How are things this morning?” He asked her as he filled his plate from the platters and bowls. Rielle wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.

“Good. Segine remembered most of what happened last night, up until the portal anyway. I told him about his recovery and the Nibilus and he is ready to continue with our journey once breakfast is over.” Vesth nodded and started into his food.

“And what is the plan? What is the next part of this journey?” Rielle shrugged.

“I am not one hundred percent sure. Solidus says there is one more person who we need to have join us, but he won’t tell me who it is or where we can find them. He says we have to wait until we are back in the Mercury Mountains before he will tell us where to go.” Vesth sighed.

“That seems about right.” Agamemnon chuckled, not unlike Solidus.

“Solidus does not always reveal everything he knows, but he has good reason. If you knew everything there was to know about what you were going to do next, things would turn out much differently than they should. You might choose not even to proceed if you knew what was going to happen before it did.” Vesth paused for a moment.

“Does Solidus see the future?” Agamemnon shrugged.

“The exact extent of what Solidus sees is known only to Solidus. But he does not see the future, per se. He sees how everything that is in balance affects everything else. He can see the consequences of a given choice or action. Once a choice has been made, more possibilities open to his vision. The trick is to learn to wait until the critical moment a choice is made to decide how to react.” Vesth thought about that while he slowly chewed his food.

“When I first met Solidus, he told me he wouldn’t help me unless a certain choice was made.” Rielle interjected.

“Is that why?” Agamemnon nodded.

“Yes. He could see that, if High Priest Borsa were to reject the demon that offered to take him as host, this entire series of events could have been avoided. If balance could right itself without his intervention, he would let things happen as they should. In most cases when something puts the world out of balance, it fixes itself. Something rises up to balance what fell. But in some few cases, such as yours, someone else must help tip the scales.”

“Why are we here?” Vesth asked, suddenly finding that his food was not very appetizing. Agamemnon glanced at him.

“There are… predictions. Long ago, even before Solidus was born, The balance mages came together in Alenon and attempted to look into the future to see how the world would end. What they found were endless possibilities. But they did find that the end of the world would be one of two things. The first would be that the world would achieve absolute balance within itself and would never be threatened by destruction again.” Segine coughed once and then spoke.

“I do not mean to interrupt venerated one, but how is achieving balance an end to the world?” Agamemnon chuckled.

“In the sense that the world would cease to exist, it is not an end. However, it would mean that the chaos is cleansed and the Six Deities could come and go to our world as they wished without upsetting the balance or their power. There would no longer be need for faithfulness or piety. There would be no hunger, no war, no poverty. Everything would be in harmony.” Segine sat back in his chair, nodding.

“I understand.”

“What about the second way the world ends?” Tiasia asked.

“This is not really a discussion for young children.” Segine told her. Tiasia folded her arms across her chest and stuck her tongue out at him. Segine sputtered, looking for a way to scold her, but Agamemnon held up a hand.

“It is alright, Segine, She needs to hear as much as the rest of you.” Segine nodded and sat back in his chair, carefully avoiding eye contact with Tiasia.

“So what is the second way?” Vesth asked. Agamemnon gave Vesth a sober look.

“The complete unbalancing of the world. Everything returning to chaos.” Everyone was quiet for several minutes until Rielle finally spoke.

“All predictions end this way?” Agamemnon shook his head.

“The predictions showed them only that these were the two ways that the world would end. The way these ends were achieved were numberless. The Balance Mages sifted through the endless possibilities for years until a few thousand appeared to be the most likely ends. These were written and passed down to every balance mage after them to watch for the choices that would end the world. As the years passed by, more and more of the predictions were crossed out as their choices came and went with no conclusion. There are only some few hundred left. Now that Master Solidus is the only surviving Balance Mage, it falls to him to watch for all the predictions.” Rielle swallowed hard. Vesth watched her for a moment then turned back to the old priest.

“So, we are one of the predictions?” Agamemnon shrugged again.

“Truth be told, we won’t know until it reaches its conclusion. However, up until now everything fits. ’A war spawned by chaos as the Blood Moon Cycle draws near. An alliance of powers to fight the chaos and fear. A deal made with a terror for power. A knife in the back at a desperate hour. A careful dragon wields his blade. A strong life force is heaven bade‘…” “Careful Agamemnon.” Solidus’s voice was strong, nearly erasing Rielle’s completely. Agamemnon bowed in his chair.

“Yes, of course Master Solidus. Please forgive me, I forgot myself.” Rielle/Solidus nodded and then Rielle’s eyes returned to normal. Agamemnon took a moment to compose himself.

“As you can see some things fit the prediction, such as the war near the time of the Blood Moon Cycle. Some have tried to force predictions to end the world before, but they have thus far failed. But, unlike other predictions, this one cannot be faked. The only ones who can foresee the time of a Blood Moon Cycle is a balance mage or the Six Deities. The priest of the chaos order and the demons can guess, but they cannot know when the cycle will be. In that we have an advantage.” Vesth sat quietly thinking.

“If this is a prediction, is it one that ends good or bad?” Tiasia asked. Agamemnon smiled.

“Smart girl. This prediction, if that is indeed what it is, is somewhat different than most others. This prediction can end both ways.” Segine leaned forward.

“How is that possible?” Agamemnon shrugged.

“I do not know. I am not a balance mage, I do not see how the world turns. But this prediction can end differently depending on what choices are made. I cannot speak of them, for that would influence what choices you make now and could have drastic affects in the future. Just follow the guidance of Solidus and you will come out of this alright. Remember that.” A bell tolled somewhere inside the temple. Agamemnon looked around.

“Is it really so late? I did not realize we had been here so long. It is time for you all to go. I will open the portal to return you all to Solidus’s home in the Mercury Mountains. Solidus will tell you what you need to do from there.” Rielle stood from the table and the others followed. “We are ready.” Agamemnon stood as well.

“Then follow me to the portal. And good luck to you all.”

Rielle sat in a high backed chair against one wall. Vesth sat on a wooden stool beside her, and they both watched as Tiasia sat with Segine before the fireplace, asking about what it was like to be a knight. Rielle half smiled as she watched, remembering when she had been young and curious of such things. The fire burned brightly and easily warmed the small hut. When they had returned through the portal they had found a fresh layer of snow on the ground and had quickly retreated into the warmth of the hut.

“Do you know what we are to do?” Vesth asked her. She shook her head.

“Solidus told me that we must wait until nightfall. Beyond that, I do not know.” Vesth nodded slowly.

“Then we wait.” Rielle nodded.

“If you wish, Solidus says there is good hunting in the forest by the cliffs. It could keep you occupied until tonight.” Vesth shook his head.

“No, I do not think so. I was never much good with a bow, and the time spent tracking prey could be better spent training or meditating.” Rielle smiled.

“You spend so much time thinking on your training and your duties. Have you ever done something just for fun?” Vesth looked at Rielle as if she had suggested something very strange. Rielle stared in disbelief for a moment and then laughed. Vesth continued to watch Rielle.

“I fail to see what is so amusing.” He stated. Rielle laughed harder and it caught Tiasia’s attention.

“What is so funny?” She asked, jumping up and rushing to Rielle’s side. Rielle calmed herself and whispered into the little girl’s ear. Tiasia listened for a moment and then fell over in fits of giggling. Rielle laughed again as Segine walked to Vesth’s side.

“What is so funny?” He asked. Vesth shrugged.

“I am yet to understand.” Both men watched as Rielle and Tiasia giggled and laughed until Rielle gained enough control to speak again.

“Sir Segine, have you ever done something simply for the fun of it?” The big knight gave her a strange look.

“I am not sure I understand what you mean.” Tiasia scoffed.

“A game, you silly. Have you ever played a game?” The little girl looked at both men. Segine shrugged.

“When I was very young perhaps.” Tiasia and Rielle looked at Vesth. Vesth shifted uncomfortably.

“I have never understood the need to play games before. I do not see any benefit to be gained from it.” Rielle stared in surprise. Tiasia’s eyes widened.

“You have never played a single game before?” Vesth shook his head and Tiasia’s eyes widened further.

“You never played hide-and-seek? I see? Chase and tag?” Vesth shook his head to all of them.

“Have you ever even had a snowball fight?” Rielle asked. Vesth again shook his head. “That is just criminal.” Solidus commented. Rielle shook her head.

“And you Sir Segine?” The big knight shrugged.

“When I was very young, the other children of my father’s manor often played such games. I tried to play chase and tag once, but my father caught me and I was put back to my studies.” Tiasia shook her head and placed her hands on her hips.

“That is sad. We have to play, right now.” Without waiting for permission, Tiasia grabbed Segine’s hand and dragged him towards the door. Unsure of what else to do, the knight followed her without trouble. Rielle stood and motioned to Vesth.

“Come on Vesth, it is more fun if there is more than three people.” Vesth looked at Rielle as he stood, a little shocked.

“You mean to indulge this young girl? Are there not more important things to be focusing on?” Rielle frowned.

“At the moment? No.” Vesth continued to stare.

“But what is the point of such a frivolous activity?” Rielle laughed.

“To be frivolous of course. Come now, even my cousin has played chase and tag before, and he is High King. I do not think it would be beneath you to play.” Vesth looked at the ground looking for argument. Rielle placed her hands on her hips.

“If you must think of it as something other than play, think of it as mastering the art of retreat.” Vesth glanced at Rielle and sighed.

“Very well, what are the rules of this exercise?” Rielle shook her head in amazement. “One person is ‘It’ everyone else runs away from them. If the person who is it tags you, then you are ‘It’. Then you have to catch someone else and tag them ‘It’. Make sense?” Vesth shook his head sullenly.

“No, but I understand.”

“Chase and tag? I remember playing that with the young children around the temple ages ago.” Solidus mentioned. “Except I think we played it where everyone chased whoever was ‘It’… come to think of it, I seemed to get picked as ‘It’ quite frequently.” Rielle suppressed her giggle and shoed Vesth out of the hut and onto the snow covered area outside, closing the door behind her. Vesth blinked in the bright light for a moment and then glanced down. Tiasia ran up full speed and touched Vesth’s arm and immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction, sliding in the snow.

“Your It!” She yelled excitedly. Rielle smiled and danced out of reach when Vesth turned around.

“Now you have to tag someone else.” She said, then she gave him a sly look. “If you can.” She giggled girlishly and ran out into the open. Vesth looked around for a moment and caught sight of Segine, standing ankle deep in the snow. The knight shrugged. Vesth sighed again and set out after Tiasia.

Vesth hid behind one corner of the hut, a cold snowball numbing one of his hands. Early on, the game of chase and tag had somehow become an all out war of icy projectiles. Vesth had quickly learned that chasing after Tiasia and trying to hit her with a snowball was a pointless endeavor. The little girl was deceptively fast and she was such a small target that trying to hit her on the run was nearly impossible.

Vesth peaked around the corner and saw Segine trying to sneak from the hut to the place where they had the horses tied. Vesth quickly stepped out and hurled his snowball. Segine noticed just in time to turn and take the snowball straight in the face. The big knight jumped and hurriedly wiped the stinging snow from his face. Vesth was about to announce his victory over the knight when a snowball zipped past him, inches from his head, and another hit him squarely in the back. He jumped around the corner of the hut and peaked back around the other way. Two more snowballs flew at him and he barely pulled his face out of the way in time.

Vesth hugged the wall thinking carefully when he realized Segine was still to his back. He turned around and watched the big knight charge at him with a battle cry, a melon sized snowball held above his head. Vesth shivered at the thought of how cold he was going to be in a moment and then watched as the knight took a snowball in the ribs and another to the face. The knight dropped his arms to protect his face, promptly dropping the large snowball on top of his head. Vesth tried not to laugh as the knight dropped to the ground, wriggling around, trying to get the snow out of his tunic. Vesth smiled and then waved his hand.

“This way Sir Segine, hide here.” Segine crawled across the ground, another two snowballs flying over his back, and slid up against the wall next to Vesth.

“What was that?” He asked, wiping the last of the snow off of his face. Vesth shook his head.

“I don’t know, but I think the girls have made an alliance against us.” Segine patted his wet tunic.

“Well, whatever it is they are doing seems to be working.” Vesth nodded.

“Indeed it does.” Vesth looked around the corner again and watched as Rielle and Tiasia rose up from behind a wall of snow they had constructed and lobbed more snowballs at his exposed head. He pulled his head out of the way and watched the snowballs sail past.

“Where are they?” Segine asked.

“There isn’t any cover over there that I am aware of.” Vesth gave a short laugh.

“There wasn’t any cover, until they packed the snow together into a wall.” Segine scratched his chin.

“That is pretty smart.” Vesth nodded.

“They have obviously done this before.” Segine shrugged.

“Don’t look at me, this is my first snowball fight. It almost never snows in the plains.” Vesth nodded.

“I have seen snow before many times, but I never had occasion to have a fight with it.” Segine chuckled heartily.

“Then we are both at a large disadvantage. What should we do?” Vesth thought for a moment.

“You go out and distract them, I will run around the other way and chase them from their hiding place.” Segine nodded.

“I will go to my death with glory.” Vesth turned to leave and then paused.

“Oh, and Segine.” Vesth said, doing his best not to smile. “You may want to cover your face.” The knight grumbled and Vesth made his way to the other side of the house. When he got there he motioned to Segine who ran out into the open, arms across his face. Snowballs immediately started flying. Vesth took a few breaths and then dashed out around the hut and headed straight for the wall of snow.

Half way Tiasia spotted him and pointed him out with a little squeal. The snowballs were now flying at Vesth and he did his best to dodge them while he ran. He got close to them and jumped at their hiding place, landing face first in the snow. Both of them jumped and ran, giggling all the way. Vesth jumped up and wiped the snow from his face. He immediately saw that the girls had been stockpiling snowballs, making them and leaving them in neat little stacks behind their wall. He picked up two and threw them in quick succession at the fleeing girls.

The first flew wide, but the second flew straight at Rielle. Vesth smiled at this and then frowned as Rielle turned and caught the snowball in mid air. Even from that distance, Vesth could see that her eyes had turned silver.

“I hate to interrupt while things are going so well.” Solidus said, a faint smile touching his lips.

“But the sun will be setting soon and we will need to move out. It would be wise for you to go inside and dry yourselves by the fire and pack your things before we leave.” Rielle’s eyes returned to normal and she looked at the snowball in her hand, debating with herself on whether or not to throw it. Eventually she shrugged and dropped it.

“I think going in to the fire would be wise. My hands are very cold.” She said.

“Mine too.” Tiasia agreed. They all headed back towards the hut and Vesth fell in next to Segine, brushing the snow off of himself. He looked up at the house and down to the ground, then quickly back up to the house. Being careful not to let the two girls see Vesth nudged Segine and motioned towards the hut. Segine followed his eyes and saw the snow piled up on the roof just above the door. Segine looked back down at Vesth with a sly wink and they walked to the door.

Vesth walked inside and Segine motioned for the two girls to go before him. As they got to the door, Segine and Vesth both rammed the walls with their shoulders and Segine jumped out of the way as the snow cascaded down off the roof onto the heads of the two girls. Both gasped as they were covered with the cold snow. Segine dropped to his knees laughing and Vesth shook slightly, suppressing his own laughter. Tiasia turned with a little war cry and jumped at the knight, grabbing him around the neck shoving hands full of snow down his back. The big knight gasped, but continued to laugh and picked the little girl up off the ground, wriggling and fighting, and took her inside to the fire. Rielle followed him in and wrinkled her nose in a scowl, pointing at Vesth.

“I will get you later.” She stated. Vesth smiled and Rielle smiled back before going to the fire to warm her hands. By the time they had all dried off and packed, the sun had set well below the horizon.

“It is time to go.” Rielle stated. They got their packs settled on their shoulders and made their way out the door and down the path that led to the forest below. When they came to the cave, Rielle turned away and headed down a steep ravine on a path that had almost completely faded away. They followed the path until it met a second ravine an turned to follow it. The way was steep and rocky and they all lost their footing more than a few times before they reached the top. They came out on top of a low saddle in the mountains and Vesth looked around.

He didn’t like what he saw. Even though the moon was only a sliver less than full, the trees around them swallowed what little light it gave. The leaves were slick and so dark that they were almost black. A few black pines were scattered amongst the other trees, adding a sense of death to the forest. Vesth looked back the way they had come. He could see both ravines and the path that led to Solidus’s hut.

“Wow.” Tiasia stated pointing at the Hermit Peak. From that distance they could not see the hut on top of the mountain, but the peak itself stood out in bright contrast to the rest of the Mercury Mountains. It was high and almost perfectly round at the top, and it seemed to glow with otherworldly light as the moonlight reflected off of the fallen snow.

“Keep on your toes.” Solidus stated, having taken over Rielle’s body. “We have left the protected path and are now in the wilds of the Mercury Mountains. Out here there are things beyond your comprehension. If you see or hear anything, you tell me. None of you are capable of fighting off anything we might come across in here so don’t try.” When they had all nodded their agreement Rielle/Solidus nodded once.

“Good. Follow closely. We have a long way to go tonight.” No one argued and they all fell into a line and started out into the blackened trees.