Ethan Wright and the Curse of Silence (22 page)

“We will not join forces with you — we are not interested in the massacre of an entire race. Xivon’s vision of the future is grim and will only put death on everyone’s hands.”

“It will be you or them, Loka. Think about it!” Ciprian spat on the ground, turned, and disappeared into the darkness.

“What was that about?” asked Auren.

Availia leaned in and gave Auren an elbow to the gut.

“What?” argued Auren.

“Shut up,” hissed Availia. “You’re being rude.” She shot him a dirty look.

“He is with the Aegis — they have hunted and maimed humans since the last great war of Tirguard,” said Loka. He looked at Ethan. “Your parents — they left Tirguard during that war. And since that time, it has never been the same here. The Aegis are Mitans that are beyond displeased that humans are in Tirguard. They, at one time, were ok with hunting down humans — but now … they have started creating traps with purposes of torture in mind. They wish to send a message with these devices — for humans to leave Tirguard and never return,” he added, motioning them to follow him down a long staircase.

The four followed Loka down the staircase. They continued down a path that led through many tall trees, some of which had platforms high up in the branches. The platforms emanated with flashes of pristine blue, letting Ethan know that many Mitan were around. He knew he was being watched, but felt safe with Loka.

The city was indeed breathtaking, even when masked in darkness. Ethan felt at peace with himself — he had not felt this serene since he was with his twin brother.

To the right was a path that led to a long bridge that traveled across the middle of a pond, where Ethan could barely make out several structures in the darkness. They followed Loka down a path to the left and approached a grouping of gigantic trees that housed platforms about halfway up.

Ethan had never seen a tree dwelling until now. He looked up and saw that one of the platforms was still lit; it had to be at least fifty feet in the air. Loka led them up a staircase that encircled the tree in an upward spiral. Auren kept trying to wiggle the railing on his way up, to test the integrity of the structure. It seemed to pass his crude test, for he kept on climbing the staircase. They stepped onto the wooden platform and walked to the edge to look over the city.

“It is breathtaking, isn’t it?” asked Loka.

“It’s beautiful,” replied Ethan. “Do you live way up here? I mean …is this your house?”

Loka gave a bit of a chuckle. “Some are houses, but these are the Watchtowers of old Aeroseth — so yes, you will be staying here tonight … it’s safe up here,” answered Loka. “The city was built from the ground up, which took hundreds of years. Every Mitan born of the city gives something back by adding to its beauty. The buildings, the statues, the bridge that passes over the pond, or simply the torch that lights our very conversation; all made by residents of the city, by hand, over time,” added Loka with pride.

Loka put his hand on the railing and took a deep breath. As he spoke he had a look of despair on his face. “Before Losalfar stood, there was a grand city called Aeroseth. The city stretched as far as the eyes could see, even over what is now called Tirguard. But there always seems to be a need for war, and the time for Aeroseth had come. We won the war … if you would call it a victory. We successfully defended our city to the bitter end, and these Watchtowers are all that remain, holding strong on the city’s edge. It was deemed a good defense for the heart of Losalfar as we rebuilt,” explained Loka.

Ethan looked down at the railing he was leaning on. Even that had beautiful carvings of vines and leaves. He thought of what Aeroseth must have looked like and a warm feeling came over him. Loka seemed to sense this.

“That is why it is so unfortunate,” said Loka.

“Unfortunate?” questioned Ethan.

“I know why you are all here. You need answers on a certain Stonewolf … and of course the whereabouts of Isaac Wright.”

“Yes,” exclaimed Ethan.

“Just as I wish I could show the four of you Aeroseth, I wish I had the answers you seek about your brother,” said Loka as he put his hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “I do, however, have information on the Stonewolf in our library — but now, I must make preparations for a war that I cannot possibly win. I will leave you with Ventu, my most trusted friend. He will show you a place to sleep — I will try and meet with you in the morning.”

Chapter 23
The Library of Truth

Loka was surrounded by one thousand Mitans belonging to the opposition. The one with the purple glow stood out among the others.

“Dregfin, this isn’t the way to accomplish anything. I won’t have any more Mitans die because of this,” said Loka to the Mitan with the purple markings surrounding his left eye.

“I’m done talking, Loka, and … it was a mistake for you to come here alone,” taunted Dregfin as he gave the signal for the Mitan force to attack.

Loka swiftly drew his sword, knowing that he had instructed his army not to intervene. The first Mitan came at him with a steady thrust. Loka easily avoided the thrust and countered by stabbing the Mitan in the foot. Immediately he had three more behind him — he disarmed the first and used him as a shield for the two remaining oncomers. He guided their swords, one into the Mitan-shield’s leg and the other into the attacking Mitan’s arm. Loka whipped around and knocked the third unconscious. Ten more Mitans came, followed by twenty more, and two hundred followed. Each one dropped, grabbing an arm or leg, but none being dealt a deadly blow by Loka Tattur. He fended one attack after another, until all nine hundred and ninety-nine Mitans under Dregfin’s command lay on the ground, injured and in agony.

“You forgot one,” said Dregfin as he drew his sword.

“I told you, no Mitans will die today — all of you are welcome back … always!”

Just then fire and ash, followed by black billowing smoke, shot out at Loka and filled the sky. Loka dashed to the side and drove his sword through Dregfin’s hands, turning his opponent’s blade on himself. The sword dropped to the ground — wisps of smoke were all that remained.

Ethan woke with a start as his heart raced. His breathing starting to slow, he sat up. He was used to waking up riddled in sweat. But this dream was different. It seemed to continue from when he had meditated in Edison’s alchemy class. He wondered if the dreams were different because of his journey through the Oroborus. Regardless of the bad dream, Ethan felt rested and refreshed. Auren, on the other hand, was off to a slow start as he rolled over with the blankets covering his face.

“Are you getting up?” asked Ethan.

“Yew …” mumbled Auren.

Ethan went to the railing, leaned against it and looked over the city.

“Amazing,” he said quietly to himself.

The city was quiet and almost serene. Ethan could see statues of heroic figures and buildings that paled in comparison to anything he had seen in Tirguard. He had thought nothing could top what a sight the city displayed at night. But in the daytime, its awe-inspiring grandeur passed before Ethan’s eyes.

“Auren!” Ethan prodded. “Get up and look at this!”

“What? Who do you want, I mean …” Auren pulled the blankets from his head. “Oh — bright enough,” he said in a tired voice.

He stood next to Ethan, looked around, shrugged his shoulders and went to get his things together. Ethan followed suit and they started for the stairs. The Mitan with the fierce blue markings, named Ventu, greeted them at the top of the staircase.

“It’s about time, you missed breakfast. Here, I brought you these.” Ventu gave them a handful of biscuits and some sort of leafy green vegetables.

“Thanks,” said Ethan with a smile on his face.

Auren started chewing on the biscuits right away. He took a small bite at first, but immediately inhaled three more biscuits.

“Ventu, where are Stanley and Availia?” asked Ethan politely. Just then Availia came around the corner with Stanley following after.

“We made it to breakfast — you should have seen all the food they had!” exclaimed Availia.

“Food?” grunted Auren. “I like food.”

“Fun feasting fresh fantastic food,” exclaimed Stanley.

“Well you don’t have to rub it in — anyways, these biscuits are really good,” boasted Auren.

“We must be heading to the library if we are to meet Loka,” said Ventu as he headed down the spiral stairs. “It’s just over here.” He pointed to a domed building with pillars lining the front opening.

“This place is great,” said Availia as she walked inside.

There were no doors on the front, just an opening. The inner dome was painted with several marvelous yet scary creatures. Ethan nearly swallowed his own tongue when he recognized not one, but two of the creatures on the ceiling.

“That’s the …” sputtered Ethan.

“The Stonewolf,” finished Loka Tattur. “And I would guess that you recognize another up there?”

“Venenum Spiculum, or Dendrobates Azureus if you will,” spouted Auren.

Ethan looked at Auren in shock, as did Availia, Stanley, Loka, and even Ventu.

“What?” complained Auren. “You know … the Ravim?” he continued. “WHAT? I have a thing for creatures, is all.”

“He is correct,” said Loka. “There are seven legendary creatures that represent each of the seven worlds. Each creature was known to demonstrate special abilities. Dendrobates Azureus, or the Ravim for example — is a heavily armored creature with unimaginable strength. It can burrow underground and chews on stone like butter. Lastly, it shoots spikes that can paralyze, poison, and even kill. If left undisturbed it is known to be rather docile and generally minds its own business. But you’re not here about the Ravim, are you? You are here about the legendary lycanthrope, the Stonewolf.”

“Docile?” exclaimed Auren. “Wegnel had us chasing this thing around his hut like a puppy!”

“Yeah, until the Stonewolf showed up,” added Ethan.

“You had
two
legendary creatures facing you at the same time?” asked Loka curiously. “And you’re still here to tell the tale?”

Ethan and Auren both nodded while Loka stood in disbelief.

“If you ever had a run-in with one of these creatures … well, you should be dead,” said Loka, concerned.

“Ethan also faced the Stonewolf by himself at Tirguard,” boasted Availia. “He scared it from the city completely.”

“Well, maybe you’re much further along than I thought.”

“No, not at all,” replied Ethan bluntly. “Wegnel helped us escape the first encounter — and I wouldn’t have escaped the second, if it weren’t for the fact that every time I grab onto a sword it seems to start things on fire. We really have no idea what we’re doing, and no idea why this Stonewolf is after me. That’s one of the reasons we’re here.”

“Well, one of the amazing things about this library is that everything written down is the truth,” stated Loka, waiting for a reaction. Stanley’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“You mean like the hidden records room in Tirguard?” asked Availia.

“Yes, exactly like that. That was the old library of Aeroseth. That room partially survived the war. Anything that is written here will disappear from the parchment if it is not true, and in some cases it will change to what is true.”

“That’s not how the room works in Tirguard. Anything that was written in one room seems to replicate into the hidden room,” argued Availia.

“Oh … well then. Yes, because half of the building was destroyed in the war, disrupting the flow of alchemical properties that make the library work as expected.”

“Alchemy?” asked Ethan.

“Yes, in fact — Wegnel helped us build this new library several hundred years ago, that is, before he was bound to the Oroborus. The goal is that you can not only learn by reading, but also by writing things down.”

“Why did you have Wegnel help? Isn’t there a more normal alchemist in Losalfar?” prodded Auren.

Loka chuckled. “Because Mitans cannot control alchemy like you — one of the many fascinating things about humans.”

Auren grabbed some parchment at a nearby desk and started writing, then displayed his work to Ethan and Availia.

‘“Auren Faryndon is the strongest boy alive,’” read Ethan aloud. “That is
really
funny.”

“But a good test,” added Loka as the ink started to fade away.

As the ink resurfaced, Ethan noticed the message had changed. Auren frantically tried to grab the parchment back from Ethan, but was unable to.

“What does it say?” asked Auren nervously.

‘“Auren Faryndon is the strongest twelve-year-old human on this planet,’” read Ethan in disbelief.

“Yeah!” exclaimed Auren as he smiled from ear to ear.

“I could spend all day in here,” smiled Availia.

“Me too,” agreed Auren.

Ethan, on the other hand, immediately started writing on a new piece of parchment. He watched the words ‘Isaac Wright is located nearby’
disappear from the page. New words did not appear in their place.

Loka placed his hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

“I am sorry, Ethan, it doesn’t work that way — and for that matter, it doesn’t always work at all.”

Ethan frantically started writing again, ‘Isaac Wright is still alive.’ The ink once again disappeared from the page, and did not return.

“There are rules here that alchemy cannot defy. You cannot tell the future, only past events. You cannot see past events that are purposefully disguised in alchemy. And you cannot defy the will of the Oroborus — if the Oroborus does not wish you to see something, you will not be able to. I am truly sorry, Ethan.”

Ethan was devastated. He laid the parchment on the desk and readjusted the pack on his shoulder.

“Well then … what do you have on the Stonewolf?” asked Ethan.

Loka smiled and grabbed a book from the shelf, handing it to Ethan.

‘“The Seven Legendary Creatures, Their Historical Significance and Their Known Attributes,’” read Ethan out loud. “Can we borrow it?”

Loka nodded.

Ethan noticed Auren looking desperate and handed him the book. Auren immediately opened it and started reading.