Secret of the Mystic

Aniki laid still in the chair, curled up with a soft pillow, as images from the world of his subconscious fluttered through his thoughts. Again he had dreamed of vast lands and wondrous beings, as he always had. Now, though, he was even more curious of the mysterious Mystic who watched from behind the cloak of shadow.

Aniki opened his eyes and looked over to the couch at Faron, who had clearly been awake for a while. He had opened the blinds to the center window, and was gazing calmly outside with a steaming cup in his hand, likely filled with tea, he thought.

It was only a few moments before Faron glanced at him and met his gaze, then smiled. “Good morning Aniki. Did you rest alright?”

Aniki sat up, still holding onto the pillow. “Kind of, I had a weird dream. But my dreams always seem strange… So I guess it really wasn’t weird for me. But there were strange creatures, and a huge black wolf… And the Mystic was there, as usual.”

“Oh, how interesting. Have you noticed, that there are no demons around?”

After getting up and taking a look out the open window, Aniki was pleasantly surprised. “Where did they go? Did they give up?”

“Not exactly. They’re hiding, so as not to disturb the common folk here. It would ruin their masters’ plans, you see. So we will not see them until the shadows of evening come again, which is a luxury we don’t have in Origynn.”

“What are their plans?”

“Nothing that we can do anything about, I’m afraid. The forces of evil work very well here, in such silent and subtle ways that the people are entirely unaware of it.”

Aniki sighed in disappointment.

“Don’t worry, good always triumphs over evil in the end. Even when it doesn’t seem possible.”

“How can you be so sure?” Aniki questioned.

A hint of sorrow filtered into Faron’s expression. “Sometimes, that faith is all I have to hold onto…”

Aniki looked down a bit, then remembered. “Oh, we’re going to look for um... Tai, today, right?”

“Yeah, whenever you’re ready. We should try to move quickly and hopefully find him before it begins to darken…” He sighed, ever so softly, and set his empty cup down to fasten the studded weapon belt across his shoulder. “Put your shoes on and we’ll be on our way.”

As Aniki tied his chuck taylors, he smiled as Faron reluctantly put on his shoes. “How come you hate shoes so much, Faron?”

“They’re terribly uncomfortable for me. I almost never wear them unless I have to.” Once Aniki was ready, Faron paused and looked down at him with a gentle thoughtfulness. “Are you ready? If we find Tai before nightfall I will take you both straight to Origynn…”

Aniki fidgeted nervously with his sleeve, feeling the fear send chills through his nerves until he looked up at Faron. So strong and confident he looked. This reassured Aniki that he, too, had nothing to fear. “Yes, I think so.”

Days of dreary appearance seem to carry with them secrets of the unusual sort, hidden by their misty veils from all who dare not seek them, which includes most. Amongst the cool and dampened city streets, they carry on in a hustled daze, noticing not the silent, cloaked man nor the dog at his side.

Snarling as it strained against the harness chain, the dog lead the searching man away from the crowded streets and into the empty, mist-shrouded alleyways. He glanced carefully around him, his features hidden beneath the shadows of his hood, realizing that what he was searching for was just beyond him.

Tai paused at the sudden feeling of being watched, and quickly turned to glance behind him. Upon first glance of the strange man, he froze, somewhat in fear but mostly in wonder. Before he could begin to speak, the creature beside the man began to growl in impatience, but as Tai listened, the growls started to form words. “The warrior knows not nor cares not what he is, he may as well be a foolish Banished Realmian human. I believe we waste our time in coming to this loathsome realm!”

Startled, he stared at the chained dog, which was not a dog at all he soon noticed. The creature had thick, black mane, like that of a lion, its face like that of a badger. It had hooves instead of paws and was covered in short, dark brown fur, with black spots upon its back. It had a lion’s tail and the ears of a wolf, but its most odd feature was its powerful jaws, which opened almost back to its ears. In place of jagged teeth behind its front canines were two ridges of impenetrable bone, hard enough to crush diamonds.

Disappointed at the creature for giving away their position, the man quietly scolded him, his voice barely audible to Tai. “Quiet, Fitz, you’ve given us away… Besides, we have orders to retrieve the warrior, whether he knows who he is or not.” The man sighed softly, then cautiously stepped closer to Tai. “Hello, my friend and I have come to take you back with us to another world, where you belong. I apologize for his rude behavior, he is a bit impatient with the circumstances.”

Tai stared at them in confusion. “Another world? What are you talking about?”

“The world of Origynn, where you were born.” The other man replied, his tone nonchalant as though this were common knowledge. However, judging by Tai’s puzzled silence, he concluded that was not the case here. “…You do not know?”

Tai stared at him for a moment, then spoke with hesitation. “Are you the one that spoke to me before? The cloaked and shadowy one that always appears in my dreams?”

The other man laughed a bit and removed the hood, revealing his face. He had long silver hair and sharply pointed ears, and eyes as green as emerald grass. The features of his face were sleek and angled nicely, giving him a rather handsome appearance. He wore a buttoned, forest green jacket with three-quarter-length sleeves, and tight black trousers. His arms and legs were wrapped in twisting ribbons of differing shades of green, making a sort of finger-less glove around each hand. For shoes all he had was a pair of soft leather sandals, the straps twisting like vines around his feet and ankles. “Not at all. My name is Elwyn, I was sent here to find you and bring you to the one you speak of. This here is Fitz, a good friend of mine.”

“...You’re an elf?”

“Don’t look so surprised... it’s not as though you haven’t seen one before.”

“I haven’t, actually... I don’t know if you know, but elves are not supposed to be... real.”

Elwyn scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. Have you never looked at your reflection? Ever noticed the slender features of your face, felt your pointed ears?”

Tai quickly touched his right ear, always having known they were slightly pointed, but never had he thought much of it until now. “But how... my mother and father both were human...”

“You’re the warrior. An important part of the prophecy. You were destined to be what you are, no matter your parents’ blood.” The strange creature, Fitz, began to growl again in annoyance.

Tai glanced at the creature. “What is he?”

“Fitz is a leucrocotta, he is the son of Marlowe, one of the most respected of the race of leucrocotta. He is just a pup, and still has as much growing to do as he does manners to learn.” Elwyn gently touched the leucrocotta’s head with a smile, but Fitz continued to grumble in his snarling manner. “Well, are you ready? We should leave as soon as possible, or the humans here will start to take notice of us...”

Before Tai had a chance to respond in disagreement, another man in a flowing cloak hurried from around the corner, a young boy with strawberry blond curls following close behind. Elwyn’s expression was less than pleased, though a hint of surprise was clear in his emerald eyes. “And what are you doing here? You know the law, it is forbidden to cross into the realm of Earth.”

The other man sighed and pushed aside some of his long black curls. “And I suppose the laws do not apply to you, elf?” He responded, clearly irked by the elf’s hypocrisy.

“I was sent here by order of the Mystic, to retrieve the chaos warrior. I highly doubt you have such valid approval for your transgression, Faron.”

For a moment a look of deep concern came across Faron’s face, but he quickly regained his composure. “…Why would he send us both and not tell us? Something isn’t right…”

Elwyn turned to Faron, uncertainty filtering into his smug expression. “Are you saying the Mystic sent you here for the warrior as well?”

Faron gave a stiff nod, but his attention was quickly diverted to the sounds of screaming in the near distance. He swiftly rushed around the corner to the open streets, gazing in disbelief towards the source of the chaos. His muscles froze, as still as stone, as he struggled to think. The others quickly followed, Aniki hiding behind Faron in fear of what he saw. Moving like a river of black was an enormous swarm of demons, tearing through the streets like locusts over a field.

Behind them, Tai gazed at the scene in disbelief, his voice quiet with apprehension as he spoke. “…What’s happening? What are those things?”

“Demons. Far more than we can ever hope to fight…” Faron responded in despair.

“Maybe not, but I’ll wager we can outrun them.” With that, Elwyn gave a high pitched whistle, and the sound of thunderous hoof-beats followed as a large creature rounded the corner a block away. It had the build of a draft horse, though much larger, with shaggy brown fur and slightly longer and darker mane. Its hooves were more like those of ancient horses, having three hard toes on each large foot, and the tail was like that of a rhinoceros. From the center of the forehead protruded a long, dark brown horn that curved slightly upward.

Just as it reached them, Elwyn took hold of the reins and touched the beast’s side to calm it before agilely climbing upon its back. He glanced down at Faron, Aniki, and Tai with urgency. “Come on then, quickly!”

Faron wasted no time taking hold of Aniki and setting him upon the back of the unicorn, swiftly climbing on behind him. Only Tai hesitated, uncertainty paralyzing his muscles as he struggled to comprehend the situation. Elwyn, however, had no patience for stalling in the midst of a crisis. “Either get on the unicorn or be torn apart by demons, please make your decision now.”

With a frustrated sigh, Tai reached to grasp the saddle, Faron helping him up, and with a quick word from Elwyn in the elvish tongue they were off. The unicorn quickened its pace, pushing as hard as it could through the busy streets, leaping over and between speeding cars, many of which struggled to spin out of the way, especially when they saw what was following the strange horse.

Fitz snarled as the demons closed in behind him, lunging to grab hold of his tail and tear him apart. “We’re not going to make it, the portal is too far!”

“We will, Fitz, we have to. Hurry on, Gwynen!”

Gwynen raced between the cars along the highway, car horns and shrieking tires sounded all around them behind the muffle of the wind. Just beyond them, across an overpass, a tiny pinprick of light slowly expanded, twisting the atmosphere around it into a spiral, which grew tighter as the light grew brighter. Aniki pointed towards it. “Look! Is that the portal?”

Elwyn gazed at the sight in surprise. “That’s a portal, but how? No mortal can conjure a new portal between realms…”

“I don’t care how it got there! I’m more concerned about losing my tail, just jump through it!” Fitz growled, and to Aniki’s amazement and Tai’s fear, both Fitz and Gwynen leapt across from the edge of one overpass towards the other into the gently rippled surface of the portal.

The sensation of the portal lasted only a moment’s time, and felt like walking through a wall of water without getting wet. As soon as Aniki opened his eyes, the other realm expanded before them, with tall green grass and just beyond them, a thick and beautiful forest. The sky was early nightfall, and clear as glass with bright shining stars.

His awe stricken feelings of this strange world were quickly interrupted as the unicorn raised upon her back legs, throwing them all into the soft blades of grass. Her hooves struck the vicious demons, which now looked less like shadows and more solid in form. They walked upon fours, their black and spindly bodies hunched. Their ears were large and cone shaped, and they had needle like fangs and claws, long spikes lined their protruding spines.

Like shooting stars, arrows showered upon the demons from the treetops, killing most and sending the remaining away in a rush. Aniki stood up and brushed the dirt off of his jeans, then gazed in the direction they had come. Nothing remained of the portal, nor the world he knew. No paved streets or towering steel buildings, only trees as far as he could see, and mountains rose high into the distance of the eastern sky.

“It looks just like my dreams…” Aniki wondered aloud.

He turned around to see other elves like himself, five of them. One stepped forward to speak with Elwyn, his smooth golden hair blowing in the slight breeze. “We should move quickly to the nearby village. The Phoenix must know he is here and is all but pleased. We nearly had to turn back until something else caught its eye, but there is no telling when it may return.”

“Right, let’s get moving then.” Elwyn responded.

Tai stood still. “Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?” His voice was exasperated, his expression deeply frustrated as he struggled to grasp why he had suddenly been whisked away to some other world without any explanation.

The other elves looked to Elwyn in confusion, who sighed a bit, slightly in agitation but mostly in slight despair of the situation. “Fine, but please, let’s walk and talk at the same time. We need to take shelter.”

Tai reluctantly followed them into the forest, traveling southward. Crickets sang with the gentle breeze, and fireflies danced to the rhythm, but the fireflies in this realm were not limited to green. There were blues, reds, and even an occasional purple here and there. Finally, Elwyn sighed and glanced at Tai.

“Alright, I don’t know what your parents taught you about this world, if anything, so we’ll start with the basics. This,” he paused briefly, gesturing to the world around them, “is the world of Origynn. This is where you, and Aniki I believe, were born. From what I understand, you both play a role in the Mystic’s legend of the ultimate destruction of the Dark Forces. More than that I really don’t know, only the Mystic himself has that information. He sent me, and… Faron, oddly, to retrieve you from the Banished Realm of Earth and bring you to him.”

Tai’s expression was thoughtful as he stared ahead. “The Mystic… He’s the one in my dreams, then? Cloaked in shadows?”

Aniki looked up at the older boy suddenly in surprise. “He appears in your dreams too, Tai?”

Puzzled, having paid little attention to the child in the midst of all the commotion of the evening, Tai glanced down at him for the first time. “Oh… yeah, I guess so. Who are you?”

“I’m Aniki. Faron was sent to bring me to the Mystic too…”

Knowing this seemed to rekindle Tai’s perplexity. “What exactly does this person want with us? What’s going on? None of this makes any sense.”

It was Faron who answered this time. “There is a great evil in this world, known as the Dark Forces. Millennia ago they had taken control of everything, destroying the land and slaughtering the people with legions of demons and wicked warriors from the shadow land of Nostereth. A powerful angel lead the armies of the kingdoms and overcame the Dark Forces, driving them back to the Black Lands of the south. It wasn’t a total victory, the angel was killed and the Dark Forces endured. Not long after the end of the war, the Mystic appeared and gave the people a prophecy that would bring an end to the Dark Forces. In the prophecy it tells of two warriors, the fire of life and the storm of chaos. These warriors were ancient beings who once kept the balance of this world.”

“…And you’re saying that we are the two warriors? He’s just a kid, and I’m a month away from 17, I don’t know about you but I really don’t see us annihilating an entire legion of Dark Forces.” Tai scoffed in disbelief.

“Just wait until you discover your power, oh you of little faith. You don’t know a thing about this world, nor of the magic and mysteries it holds. Do us all a favor and forestall your judgements until you’ve had a chance to see for yourself.” Elwyn responded, a hint of amusement in his tone.

With a reluctant sigh, Tai fell silent as he followed along behind the others. The forest path was long to the elvish village, or so it felt to the earth-grown boys, for they were used to the luxuries of automated transportation to cover such distances. Tai did well to ignore the aching in his feet and the tiredness of his legs. For a while he let the quiet of his mind drown out the questions, the worries, the nagging fears, all muffled against the soothing cloud of silence within. He had always loved the peace he could find deep inside the still of his own thoughts, letting his consciousness wander through the mists of a pleasant memory, a grassy hilltop with a lake below and a great tree, all shrouded in the soft mist of morning. He never could place the memory, for to his knowledge he had never been to such a place, yet somehow it felt as familiar as an old friend.

The group traveled quietly for much of the way, tension was thick among them from the stress of the day, and the wrenching feeling that something wasn’t quite right. After a while, it was Aniki’s curiosity that broke the silence.

“Why do we have to hide from the Phoenix? I thought phoenixes were good creatures…”

Elwyn gave a tired sigh. “Not this one. The current phoenix is an aid of the Darkside. No one’s sure why, but it hates the Sacred Alliance and has done everything in its power to stop our progression.”

“What’s the Sacred Alliance?”

“A group that was formed a long time ago, rebels against the Dark Forces. They say the leader and original founder was an angel. There is a statue built in his honor in our capitol city, Risola.”

“So there are cities here? I was beginning to think it was nothing but trees and mountains…”

“Yes, we have cities, but they are not like the awful cities in the other realm. There are no metal towers or those self-drawn carriages. And no cover over the ground.”

“Oh. Well, what do they look like then?”

Elwyn smiled. “You’ll see.”

Aniki looked down with a sigh and watched the fireflies blink like Christmas lights around the forest brush. The walk was at least an hour before they reached the nearest village. It was small, consisting of only twenty or thirty little buildings, and rested over a wide cliff with a lake far below, the forest expanding beyond that. The buildings were lovely, with walls of grey marble and bronze shingles arranged in a pyramid form for the roofs. Flowering vines twisted their way in labyrinths around and between many of the buildings, though the blooms had already withered away in this mid-September chill.

“Welcome to our central village, Tai and Aniki.” Elwyn smiled as he led them through the dirt streets, tracks of carriage wheels embedded on either side.

“Is this where you live?” Aniki asked, smiling at the simple charm of the place.

“No, I live in a village in the north west. A whole three and a half week’s travel from here.”

Aniki stared at him. “Three and a half weeks? Of walking? Sheesh.”

The older elf laughed. “You better get used to long walks, that’s just part of living here.” He paused in front of a two-story building. “Here’s where we’ll stay for now, until the Mystic comes for you.”

“Who really is this ‘Mystic’ anyway?” Tai questioned.

“He’s the most wise and mysterious person in all of Origynn. No one has ever seen what he looks like, for he is always hidden beneath robes and a hooded cloak of dark grey. They say he lives far in the north, in a castle with giant spires in the mountain valley. But… it’s impossible to find. Anyway, he knows all about the legend, including what your part in all of this is. He was supposed to meet with us to take you…”

“To take us where?” Aniki was suddenly alarmed, he didn’t want to be taken away by someone that no one knew anything about. To him, the Mystic sounded like a rather frightening person.

“To his castle I guess. You don’t need to get so excited.” Elwyn looked over at one of the other elves that they had traveled here with. “Take Gwynen and Fitz and give them water, please?” As the animals were lead away, he turned to Faron. “Let’s go inside. Oh, and we should probably keep a low profile, as we don’t want the Phoenix- or any of the Dark Forces- to know that they’re here.”

Faron nodded as they stepped inside the inn, followed by a few of the others they had traveled with, apparently friends of Elwyn. Inside it was surprisingly quiet, with just a few collections of people here and there talking softly amongst themselves. With a few whispered words to the innkeeper, they followed him up the wooden stairway to a hallway lined with several doors. Their room was on the far end, a large space with six simple beds, three on either side.

As the adults talked with one another, discussing plans in which Aniki did not understand, he gazed out the clerestory window into the star-freckled night. The lake below the cliff’s low side was as still as glass, stained with the glow of the quarter moon in its center, skewed reflections of the tall forest trees crinkled around its edges. The moon seemed larger in this realm, as it was in the ancient days.

It was beautiful, Aniki thought to himself. More beautiful than anything he had ever seen, even on television. Yet, the beauty of the land did not still his mind, for there was much that he did not understand. He wondered where this world was, if it was somehow a separate plane on the earth, or a different planet all together. It seemed just the same, the stars in the sky and the patterns on the moon, yet everything had an alien air about it.

Tai was sitting on the bed across from his, and despite his calm and quiet demeanor, Aniki could see that he was deeply troubled. In his hand he held something small, that glinted of silver in the soft moonlight from the window. Curious, Aniki got up and cautiously walked over to the older boy. “What’s that you’re holding?”

At the soft sound of the child’s voice, Tai’s golden eyes shifted to focus on him. Aniki shuddered at the cool gaze, for he had not noticed prior that his eyes were the same shimmering gold of his own. Tai’s, however, had a distinct wildness to them, like that of a wolf. Even so, his response was not at all unkind. He held out his hand toward Aniki, a small figure of carved stone rested in his palm. The figure was a wolf, sitting with its head thrown back as if to howl at the glowing moon.

Aniki smiled and ran a finger along the wolf’s smooth back, the stone still warm from being in Tai’s hand. There were designs of moon phases and stars carved in an intricate pattern along each side of the wolf, looking like a detailed harness of some kind.

“It’s cool. Did you make it?” Aniki questioned in admiration.

“No. I’ve had it as long as I can remember. Yet… I don’t remember where I got it. Still, it’s always been something important to me… Almost like a token of a memory of someone or something I’ve long forgotten…” He paused, his expression thoughtful as he gazed down at the little statue, then sighed as he pushed back some of the golden curls from his face. “I know that probably sounds silly.”

“No it doesn’t.” Aniki pulled the locket from underneath his shirt. It was small and simple, in the shape of a heart. “My mother gave this to me. She said it was a gift from an angel… I don’t know if that’s true, but it reminds me of her.”

Tai gave a half smile, then turned his gaze to the window again. His expression became deeply thoughtful, yet almost sorrowed. “It’s strange… this place seems almost familiar to me. I feel like I’ve seen this world before. The mountains, the forests… It’s all like a distant memory. Maybe I really do belong here. It’s not as if I ever felt a connection to earth before, after all…” He paused, looking back to Aniki. “What about you, though? I’m sure your parents are worried about you… These guys didn’t bother to think of that, it seems.” He assumed, referring to Faron and Elwyn.

Aniki frowned, fidgeting with his jacket sleeve. “…My mom was killed by demons… Faron found me and kept me safe from then on. My stepdad was a bad person, he yelled at me all the time and hurt my mom… He’s not worried about me.”

Feeling the sting of guilt, Tai bit his lip as he thought over his response. “I’m sorry, Aniki. My parents were killed by demons too, a long time ago… I’ve been alone since I was 13.”

“It’s ok. Maybe things will be better here in Origynn. You think?” Aniki looked up at him, such hope in his young, golden eyes.

Tai couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Yeah, I think so.”

Elwyn stepped beside the bed, breaking away their moment of bonding. “Tomorrow morning, if all is safe, we will take you a bit further south to Felwren. It is only half a day’s walk from here. You will be safer there, and the hwervags can teach you a little more about living in this realm.”

“Hwervags? What are those?” Aniki questioned. There was just no keeping up with the oddities, it seemed to him.

The other elf thought for a moment, clearly never having had to answer such a question before. “They’re a bit hard to explain, Aniki. You’ll just have to see for yourself tomorrow.”

Aniki sighed, then wondered about the strange Mystic. “I thought you were going to wait for the Mystic? Isn’t he the one that sent you?”

“Well…” Elwyn sighed and turned to gaze out the window, his expression was troubled. “That was the original plan. The Mystic, you see… he’s a very mysterious and complicated fellow. And, impossible to track down… He only makes his presence known when he is ready.”

“That’s stupid… Making you go to a whole other world to find us and bring us here, then not showing up…” Aniki couldn’t help feeling frustrated.

“Aniki, I’m sure it isn’t his fault. The Mystic does a lot of work for the realm, I know he will find you when he can. You need to be patient and get some sleep.”

Despite how tired he felt, the last thing on his mind was sleep. He was frustrated, upset, lonely and confused, and all his mind wanted to do was question everything. As he laid down and gazed out the window, he wondered what tomorrow would bring.

With a quiet sigh, Aniki pulled the locket out from under his shirt again and gazed at its bright golden patches, gleaming against the dull areas that had worn over time. He held it open in his palm for its old melody to lull his mind to silence.

And all was silent and black as a void. Nothing stirred, not even a breeze. Only a scent, faint and bitter with a metallic tinge, broke the droning zone. Aniki focused his senses, and from somewhere in a far distance came the sound of water, dripping slowly and persistently. He followed the sound, hoping to find his way out of the darkness, yet the sound never grew stronger. Fear swelled into his throat as he felt something behind him, but he turned only to see a light, growing brighter and warmer. It was comforting at first, but soon the intensity began to burn. The dripping water, once distant, was suddenly much closer and sounded more and more like a whispering voice, growing louder as the light swallowed everything in scorching heat. Finally, the voice became clear to him, with a final, forceful shout.

“ANIKI!”

He jumped in surprise and opened his eyes, as Faron pulled him out of bed. The room was hot, and he glanced behind him out the window. Flames engulfed the village and rose up into the sky, covering the stars with a suffocating smoke.

“What’s happening?” Aniki nearly stumbled down the steps as he was dragged behind everyone.

“It’s the Phoenix, it’s burning everything-“

Flames burst through the windows as a low and guttural screech resounded above the collapsing inn, shattering the glass in the windows to shards. Faron pulled Aniki through the burning doorway just before it caved upon itself, and led him through the curving streets between walls of rampant fire. Aniki nervously glanced overhead, searching the skies for the Phoenix.

When they arrived just outside the village, Elwyn readied his bow as the sky filled with the bright flames of the blazing bird of legend. He fired, but the arrows burnt to ash before ever grazing its plumage. Balls of fire rained like asteroids from its great wings as it swept over the land, its talons reaching to catch Aniki in their fiery grasp. Aniki turned to run, but in his terror failed to realize his proximity to the cliff’s steep edge. With a severed cry, he stepped off the edge and tumbled through the air towards the lake, its waters tarnished in a deep, orange radiance.

Aniki hit the surface so hard that it felt like breaking through a wall of glass. Pain pounded through his nerves and shattered his mindful thoughts, the blazing world above the water vanishing into the murky depths of the unconscious…