Mystic Heart Odyssey
Part 8: The Wound Awakens
Chapter 4
A bit short, but hopefully still enjoyable. Sorry, coming out of a long, deep slump I've been in. I know I'm always asking for feedback, but I'd especially appreciate it on this one, since I'm shaking off the cobwebs and rust here. Comments appreciated!
-Llox
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``Why the hells did you do all this?'' Kuna demanded, glaring at the jarzin. ``Kidnap Lykou and I and send us on this ridiculous- and dangerous, I might add- journey?? And please spare us the `for the greater good' talk.''
``Oh but that's just the thing, Kuna,'' Ink replied, relighting her pipe with a flame from the tip of her finger before reclining back herself. ``I don't blame you for being skeptical, of course. Many of my kin do suffer from an inflated ego and sense of purpose that's more style than substance. But I... I know things. I've seen things. Things no other mortal has. And I genuinely want the world to be a better place for everyone.''
``Ah yes, wicked laughter and conjuring up storms, kidnapping and scaring the shit out of people,'' the sereva retorted. ``All so altruistic and benevolent.''
``A fair point,'' Ink replied with a chuckle, then took a quick puff. ``I never claimed I don't enjoy a bit of dramatic flare. I do have a reputation to keep, after all.''
``Listen, I don't mind helping people- I enjoy it, even,'' Lykou interjected. ``And I'm glad we've been able to help the ones we have on this trip, but surely you can arrange these things without separating me from all my friends and family back home for all this time??''
``Theatrics are no excuse for that,'' Kuna added.
``Whass theatrics?'' Gleam asked, as she lounged sideways on the flora-seat that'd been conjured up for her. Whatever chemicals Inkari had kissed into her were clearly making her a little loopy, but at least she was still with it enough to listen to the conversation.
``It means she likes to show off and be overly dramatic,'' Kuna explained without taking his eyes off the jarzin. ``You know, typical jarzin bullshit.''
Ink chuckled again. ``Well, I suppose if you want to be-''
``And,'' Kuna interrupted pointedly. ``I'm still not convinced there's anything more than ego involved in this. Other than age and power, what really makes you so much different from other jarzin, hmm? What `things' are you talking about that could possibly make you so special, or this cruel scheme of yours so important?''
The jarzin paused to think for a moment, then blew out a larger puff of smoke, which swirled and danced around, then formed a circle with a smaller one roaming around its edge slowly. ``As you say, I've been around longer than most mortals can even dream of, especially the other jarzin. Early on, I did the typical thing- find people with problems, try to nudge them in the right direction until they eventually come out better off in the end. But eventually, I-'' she faltered and hesitated for a moment, staring into the distance, before finally shaking her head and snapping out of it. ``Let's just say I eventually came to see that, no matter how much good it did for those individuals, it never mattered a great deal in the grand scheme of things. Long story short, I spent a large part of my unusually long life- more than half of it, really- wandering the world, learning, seeing, experiencing what I could, and trying to find ways to really make a difference.'' She took a breath and glanced back and forth between the boys. ``And do you know what I saw?''
``What?'' Lykou asked plainly.
Kuna arched a brow. ``Yes, please do enlighten us, oh mighty wise one.''
``Broken souls,'' Inkari said flatly. ``Too many of them.''
The sereva squinted at her. ``Broken-?''
``Wait, you mean like,'' Lykou interjected, eyes widening a bit as he gestured to Kuna. ``L-like the crack in Kuna's?''
``Indeed,'' Ink replied. ``And worse. Much worse.''
``W... w-worse?'' Kuna asked incredulously, his snark momentarily dropping as he felt a chill wash over him. ``But...''
``Are there that many demonic beings out there?'' Lykou wondered, then glanced over at the sereva. ``Maybe the red cloaks were accidentally onto something...''
Inkari chuckled darkly and took another puff. ``No, most of them had nothing to do with demons. They can certainly do more direct damage, and more quickly, but never underestimate the damage that mundane trauma and cruelty can do.''
Kuna winced and glanced away as dark memories tickled at the back of his mind again. ``R-right...''
``Some of the most wicked, sadistic beings in the world are as mortal as you are,'' Inkari continued. ``Don't get me wrong, most people are generally decent. But a handful can really screw up the balance with how rotten they are.''
``Just how baaaad are these people?'' Gleam chimed in anxiously, although she followed it up with a giggle a moment later as her mood immediately shifted when a leaf that'd been floating down from the trees landed on her nose at just that moment. She remained silent as to what about it so amused her, and instead just grabbed at her nose and slumped over, sticking her tongue out as she played with the leaf.
``For once, I think we'd be better off without details,'' Kuna suggested, fidgeting uncomfortably.
Lykou's ears drooped, along with the rest of him. ``H-how is that even... how can someone be worse than-''
``You really don't want to know,'' Inkari assured them, clenching her eyes shut for a moment herself as she took another drag. A moment later, she let it blow out her nose and continued, quietly, almost to herself, ``And hopefully, you never will...''
``Right, so some people are even worse than I imagined in my most cynical moments,'' Kuna eventually said, rallying himself back into an angry state. He crossed his arms and fixed her with another glare. ``Great. So what does that have to do with us, and this damn journey?''
``You've helped more people already than you realize,'' Inkari said with a smirk and opened her eyes again. ``There's a ripple effect to everything. Even the smallest act of kindness can lead to others that will eventually spread and magnify into great things- just as a small act of cruelty can lead to worse things. Cause and effect, Kuna. That's what I've spent so much time studying. That, and the nature of people in general.''
Kuna shot her a dubious look. ``Uh-huh... and?''
``And you can do the whole... soul-peeking thing, right?'' Lykou added. ``Shouldn't that make it pretty easy to see how people think, without it taking centuries?''
``Taking a peek at someone's soul can give you plenty of information- but finding patterns and seeing that ripple- that's the tricky thing,'' the jarzin continued. ``One that nobody else, even those inclined to look into things, tend to take very far. But when you've been around as long as I have, you tend to pick up on the hidden shapes of causality.''
``Ca-whawha?'' Gleam asked with an exaggerated lopsided look of confusion, having lost interest in the now-destroyed leaf.
Lykou scratched his head. ``Yeah I'm with you this time Gleam.''
``Pretty sure she's just using complex language to make it sound like she's doing more than just fucking around with people,'' Kuna snarked humorlessly.
``Oh goodness no, Kuna- I am offended!'' Inkari said with feigned indignity, then grinned again. ``I would never deny fucking around with people.'' She chuckled. ``But no, as much fun as that can be, there's more to it than that. Long story short, I've gotten exceedingly good at predicting peoples' motives, nature, and behavior. And with that kind of knowledge, it's like I can almos....'' She trailed off for a moment, staring off into space as she slowly puffed on her pipe. ``...see through time...''
This time, it was Lykou's turn to throw out some sass. ``Oh that's b-''
``-oarshit,'' Inkari finished almost perfectly in sync with him- even going so far as to mimick his voice.
Kuna rolled his eyes. ``Oh, so you're telling the future now huh? Please, even I knew where he was going with that. Why don't you te-''
``Berries and nuts. And no, don't worry- the green one was just underripe, not poisonous,'' Inkari said, slowly and absent-mindedly twirling her pipe around in a small figure eight shape. There was a strange, distant look in her eyes. Just as the sereva, now faltering, was about to say something else, she shook her head and chuckled. ``Nope, wasn't scrying on you at that time.''
Lykou's eyes twitched and he quickly held his hands behind him. ``How m-''
``Seven. Now two,'' Inkari said with an increasingly amused grin as she finally turned her gaze towards him. ``Really, Lykou?''
Kuna and Lykou shared an incredulous look, then the canid shivered. ``Dammit, just when I thought you were scary enough already...''
``So you can... see the future,'' Kuna said, squinting at her suspiciously. He kept looking for any sign of her special version of soul sight, but she'd long since dismissed it, as far as he could tell. ``Great. Wonderful. Can you see a future where you-''
``Watch it, Kuna,'' Inkari interrupted with a playfully stern look. ``Gleam may be an adult, but she's still got innocent ears, you know. No need to color her vocabulary too quickly.''
Lykou snorted and smirked, blushing faintly. ``Oh trust me, she's-''
``I know,'' the jarzin said. ``I just wanted an excuse to cut him off.''
``Heyyyy, if you guys're gonna talk `bout me,'' Gleam said, frowning up at them from the ground. ``C'n you at least include me?''
Ink chuckled and reached down to tussle the squirrel girl's hair lightly. ``Fair point, that's getting off topic anyway,'' she said, then leaned back again. ``In any case, it's nothing magical- well, besides the bit about peeking at peoples' souls now and then. It's mostly just really good prediction. Lana can do it too, when she sets her mind to it. And it gets better the more you practice it and the smaller your focus. I've just been putting most of my focus on you two and your interactions with others for a while now.''
``Right. I don't totally believe you, but not important,'' Kuna said, squinting at her again. ``So what's that got to do with taking Kou from his home and sending us on this journey??''
``Well, like I said- I've seen so many broken souls out there. And I'm done sitting by and letting the world be like that,'' Inkari explained. ``Now, I could just go around trying to change things directly- in fact I've tried that a few times.'' She sighed. ``Unfortunately, that only ends up helping short-term at best- and usually works out for the worse, long-term. Having a single powerful individual swoop in and fix everything in one go never has the staying power of changes brought about through other means.'' She looked at her pipe thoughtfully for a moment. ``Which, to be fair... I should have just listened to Lana's advice about that sooner, I suppose.''
``Oh, finally admitting someone's smarter than you, hmm?'' Lykou remarked.
``Please,'' Inkari said dismissively. ``She's been around as long as I have, if not a bit longer- I am not at all ashamed to admit she's got a leg up on me on all sorts of things. I nudged you two her way for a reason, you know. That was one of the few places I wasn't keeping a close eye on you two.''
``Right right, and?'' Kuna demanded, growing ever more impatient. ``You just picked a couple random people to put in all sorts of danger and help people in your place?? How's that better??''
``Not random at all,'' Inkari insisted, sitting upright and furrowing her brow. ``I picked you two for a reason.''
``And that is?'' Lykou asked impatiently.
``All in good time, Lykou,'' Inkari said dismissively.
``So... that's it? Just... dropping in to rub in our faces how much more you know than us? No answers or anything??'' Kuna spat out, glaring at her intensely again. He threw up his hands and slumped back. ``Wonderful chatting with you Inkari! You're oh so helpful! What a delight. Next time just save yourself the trouble and fart into the wind, we'll get the same message.''
Lykou snorted and coughed to hide the laughter that fought to burst out.
Inkari didn't bother, however, and snickered. ``Fair point. No, I'm not just here to waste your time. Much as I'd like to dispense answers-''
``That's a damn lie,'' Kuna quipped, crossing his arms again.
``-I do have other reasons for visiting,'' Inkari continued, ignoring the comment. On that note, she leaned over, glancing down at the squirrel. ``Hey squirrely. You promise not to freak out and run off if I help you sober up?''
``Sober.... Wha?'' Gleam asked, going slightly cross-eyed as a butterfly landed on her nose. She wriggled it a bit and blew it away before eventually managing to focus her eyes on the jarzin. ``...huh?''
``Sober her up?'' Lykou asked warily. ``Why not let her come down naturally?''
``You heard her,'' Ink said. ``She wants to be part of the conversation, and I think it's only fair.''
Kuna furrowed his brow, then sighed. ``I hate to admit it, but you have a point,'' he said, then glanced over at Gleam with a softer expression. ``She just wants you to promise not to run off when you feel normal again, okay Gleam?''
Gleam blinked and somewhat awkwardly glanced back and forth between them, then giggled and shrugged. ``I'onwanna run, nah. Just wanna rela... relu... rest.''
``Good enough for me,'' Ink said, then summoned up a green glow around her finger tip. She swirled it in the air a bit, then shot a small bolt of energy at the squirrel, making her jerk slightly and blink a few times.
There was an awkward silence as Gleam's expression slowly changed. The silly grin gradually faded, her eyes became less glassy, and eventually her brows furrowed. The group waited, then she shot a look at each of the others in turn. Finally, she took a breath, rolled onto her back, and stared at the sky through a gap between the tree branches above them with an annoyed expression. ``Guys. Was I just... acting silly?''
``Err, well,'' Lykou said with an awkward smile. ``Yeahh, a bit-''
``Don't blame yourself,'' Kuna interjected. ``It wasn't your fa-''
``Yeah I know,'' Gleam said, then shot a flat look at Inkari briefly before pointing at her half-heartedly and returning her gaze up to the sky. ``Scary shadow lady put her mouth against mine and blew funny smoke in my mouth.''
``Yes,'' Lykou said, shooting Inkari a pointed look. ``Yes she did.''
``And it made me feel really good,'' Gleam said flatly. ``And act silly.''
Lykou and Kuna shared a look.
``Well... yeah, but she used her magic to return you to normal,'' Lykou explained. ``Sobering up means when that stuff stops affecting you. Usually it happens over time, but... well, she sped it up.''
Gleam waited a beat, then sat up and suddenly shot Ink a hopeful look. ``Canyadoitagain?''
``Gleam!'' Kuna blurted out in surprise, then facepalmed.
``Whaaat?!'' Gleam retorted, shooting him a look. ``What part of `feel really good' is confusing you?''
Lykou couldn't help but snicker again before the sereva elbowed him. ``Uh, r-right, well...''
``We want you to be part of the conversation,'' Kuna said, rubbing his face in exasperation. ``And that doesn't work too well if you're... well, not all there.''
Gleam frowned at them, then turned her attention back to Ink with a questioning look.
Inkari chuckled and reached down to tussle her hair. ``Sorry kiddo, they have a point. I just wanted to calm you down before you got yourself hurt, not throw you a party.''
``Great. No more feeling fuzzy and nice,'' Gleam grumbled, flopping back down. ``Time for another conversation where I'll probably just be totally confused half the time again as usual. Fuuuun.''
``Well, don't be so sure,'' the jarzin said, tilting her head slightly as she sized the squirrel up. ``You, miss Gleam, are quite special- as are the circumstances that made you what you are now.''
``Fancy way of saying I'm a freak,'' Gleam quipped flatly without looking up. ``Thanks.''
``From one freak to another, you're quite welcome,'' Ink retorted with a grin. ``So how do you like it so far? Sentience, I mean.''
Gleam arched a brow. ``I'm guessing that means being a people. It's... complicated?''
``You're not wrong,'' Kuna agreed with a sigh, then smiled a bit. ``But you've taken to it pretty well.''
Gleam managed to grin faintly as well and glance over at him. ``Thanks to you guys.''
``If you had to be welcomed to the world of personhood by anyone,'' Inkari agreed. ``I can't think of a better pair than these two for the job.''
``And yet you claim she was a surprise,'' Lykou said, shooting the jarzin a dubious look. ``You sure you want to stick to that story?''
``It's the truth,'' Inkari said with a shrug. ``Don't get me wrong, I had a hunch you two would be the ones to unlock something long forgotten in that valley, and given what I'd seen and learned, I had some strong suspicions. But nothing solid until after the fact.'' She blinked and, for a few moments, the second, glowing set of eyes appeared, causing the squirrel to jerk slightly in surprise. Fortunately, they were gone after a moment and she managed to resist panicking. ``And congratulations, by the way. You're probably the first person in countless centuries to speak to any kind of remnant of the primori.''
``Primori?'' Kuna asked. ``Is that the people that made those ruins?''
``I thought you said you didn't know much more than anyone else,'' Lykou pointed out suspiciously.
``We don't know what they called themselves, but the term `primori' has been floating around for ages to describe them,'' Ink said with a shrug. ``As well as progenitors, precursors, and other things of that nature.''
Kuna narrowed his eyes. ``Who is `we' exactly?''
``The jarzin, as well as various others that know about the valley and have dedicated any time or focus on studying it. So, not very many,'' Inkari continued. ``But any people that encounter it do tend to become quite curious, as I'm sure you can imagine. There are always individuals trying to figure out its secrets.''
``Then how come we didn't see any of them?'' Lykou asked. ``We didn't even see any sign that anyone else had been there recently, either.''
``Yeah, as far as I can remember, these two- er, and Zyn, are the only people I ever saw in the valley,'' Gleam said, then propped herself up on her arms. ``Um... admittedly my memory from before is pretty hazy, though.''
``Well if they're as powerful as the jarzin,'' Kuna said. ``I guess they wouldn't be seen if they didn't want to be.'' He remembered that eerie feeling that they were being watched on the way out of the valley and shivered.
Inkari very subtly glanced off to the side past Lykou's shoulder for a brief moment, then blew another series of smoke rings into the air. ``Indeed. We aren't the only secretive ones around,'' she said quietly, with a faint smirk. ``Consider your own people, Kuna.''
Kuna's eye twitched. ``Right. `My' people. Sure.''
``I mean sereva in general, not your tribe specifically,'' Ink clarified. ``Although-''
``Come on, Ink,'' Lykou interrupted, gently placing a calming hand on Kuna's shoulder. ``You know that's a bad subject.''
``Fair enough,'' the jarzin continued. ``Point is, the valley's mysteries are enticing, and you three-'' She paused to gesture to Gleam. ``-especially you, have a unique insight into it now that nobody else has had in who-knows how long.'' She tilted her head as she stared down at the squirrel with narrowed eyes. ``So what was it like?''
``Uh... you're gonna have to be more specific,'' Gleam said as she sat up and hugged her legs nervously.
``I think she means ATA,'' Kuna suggested, then shot the jarzin a questioning look. ``The, uh, `remnant', I assume?''
``Exactly,'' Inkari confirmed. ``What were they like?''
``Oh, ATA, yeah,'' Gleam said, relaxing a little as she recalled the strange dream-visitor. With a bit of prodding, she explained each of their visits with as much detail as she could recall. ``And then they were gone.''
``Fascinating... the Primori truly were advanced in every way,'' Ink replied, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. ``I should really go poke around there some more myself sometime.''
``I don't suppose it interests you enough to call off this journey and send us back to Lakefire?'' Lykou suggested flatly, already knowing the answer.
``Nope!'' Inkari retorted, then cast her pipe away in a plume of smoke and stood up. ``That said, you three need to get to the bottom of that canyon safely, so let's focus on that now.''
Lykou and Kuna stood up as well, followed a moment later, hesitantly, by Gleam. ``You mean you're actually gonna help us here?'' the sereva asked dubiously. ``Color me shocked.''
``Tell us what you're going to do before you do it, though,'' Lykou said warily.
``Oh I'm just letting you know the safest and fastest way down,'' Inkari said, while the other three gathered up there things. ``That's all.''
``And that is?'' Kuna asked suspiciously.
Using her magic, the jarzin conjured up a sapling, uprooted it, then trimmed off all the branches and roots with some glowing orange energy-claws. ``Ride the waterfall.''
Lykou gave her a bewildered look, while Kuna rolled his eyes at her. ``Yeah, right. That's suicide, no matter which one you're talking about.'' He gestured out towards the nearest waterfall in the distance. ``In what reality is that safe?''
``Not one of those waterfalls, Kuna,'' Inkari replied as she surrounded the stripped-down sapling with various energies, turning it dark and swirling with shimmery yellow lines. ``...the new one.'' Without warning, she lept high into the air and hurled the makeshift spear into the ground a dozen or so yards uphill from them, then vanished in rapidly-dissipating cloud of smoke as the spear embedded itself in the ground and vanished. The world began to shake underneath them and cracks started forming around the impact spot.
``Dammit,'' Lykou said as he, Gleam, and Kuna gathered together, searching for the safest thing to hold onto. ``Now what?!''
``Ugh! Should have known,'' Kuna said as he and the konuul held the trembling squirrel between them. ``That fucking-''
Before he could finish his sentence, the place the spear had landed exploded outwards and a torrent of water surged towards them. They had no time to react, and were rapidly swept off their feet and towards the cliff. Lykou managed to hook his axe onto a nearby low tree branch right at the edge of the cliff, while the other two hung onto him. Kuna tried to use his magic, but things were moving too fast and nearby plants, even some of the trees, were quickly being swept away by the sudden surge of water cascading violently from underground.
A cracking sound signaled the end of their anchor to the ground, as the branch Lykou had snagged began breaking away from its tree. Kuna tried to reinforce it with his magic, but the pull from the water was too much, and eventually the whole tree was uprooted. The next thing they knew, the world seemed to briefly slow down as they were all flung off the side of the cliff and began plunging to what they feared might be certain death far below.
But after a moment, the force of gravity suddenly felt altered slightly- it was as if the water wasn't willing to fully let them go. They were still falling, but somehow the torrent was moving in strange ways, keeping them away from any sharp rocks or other obstacles on the way down. And when they finally reached the bottom, as the water was exploding onto the previously-dry land at the bottom, they struggled to make sense of how they were still alive.
Somehow, the water was still holding onto them, cushioning them from the impact, even as it surged out into the wilderness. Trees, boulders, and panicked, fleeing wildlife caught up in the sudden chaos whipped around them as they were sent surging through the woods at the head of what seemed to be a brand new little river. Eventually it met up with another one flowing from another one of the waterfalls, resulting in it flooding out from its banks until the momentum slowly wound down. After the dizzying ride finally subsided, they were gently brought ashore to a dry place, where all three slumped over, trying to steady themselves and make sense of the world again.
Kuna lost his lunch in some nearby bushes, while Lykou shakily braced himself up against a tree to stand up again and steady himself. Gleam just lay there, panting and shivering, waiting for some part of her mind to come back to her- even her instincts were at a loss for the situation.
``W...w-what the fuck,'' the konuul muttered as she shakily looked himself over, noting that he was somehow completely dry after their wild ride. He glanced over at Kuna, who finally pulled himself from the bushes and started stumbling over to rejoin the other two. ``That... that was almost like-''
Kuna stopped halfway back to the canid as he looked up past him and an expression of disbelief and shock crossed his face.
Lykou saw his look and cut himself off, then tightened his grip on his axe as he slowly turned around, though he really hoped he wouldn't have to fight. He nearly dropped it when he saw what the sereva was looking at, though.
``Good to see you boys again,'' came a familiar voice they'd last heard over two months and several adventures previously. ``Oh, and I see you have a new friend with you this time~''
``Sulyr?!'' Lykou and Kuna both exclaimed at the same time.
Gleam finally managed to sit up briefly to try and take stock of their situation. When she looked towards the voice, however, she saw an enormous snake-like being made of flowing water and light looming over them with a grin. She blinked a few times, then sighed slightly. ``...kay,'' was all she managed to say before abruptly fainting.
