by Ryan Johnson
The others followed closely behind Halvdan. Okinawan walked behind everyone else and Valverno walked in the middle and Alfhild walked behind. They walked to join a small group of demihuman kids sitting closely with different colored fruits and vegetables in large baskets and bowls. Loafs of bread were placed in front of the baskets.
Alfhild sat group of children smiling to see the Elf joining them. Halvdan sat a short distance away from the group and Okinawan only stood behind. Valverno also stood when his tail was pulled by two children: it was the boy and girl he saw when he first woke up.
The two kids smiling when Valverno was looking at them. “Sit with us, One Wing,” said the boy.
“Kids, don’t rip his tail from the roots,” said Freyya’s voice. Freyya sat close to the children and motioned them to stopped pulling his tail. “I’m sorry about them. My children seemed to have become attached to you while you slept.”
“That’s quite alright,” said Valverno, sitting down next to Freyya. “They remind of another pair of twins who were also attached to me. I know that sort of feeling, and I’ve always been a big brother to them. I don’t mind if they pull my tail for attention. It won’t rip that easily, unless they do have the strength to pull it from me.”
Freyya smiled when Valverno allowed the two kids to sit on his lap. “Those two have always been little troublemakers around other people.”
“Have they?” asked Valverno. “Reminds of twin boys I know who always get into trouble, and I would be the one to scold them, not in a parental fashion. I was raised around humans. I know a few troublemakers when I see them. I don’t mind if they are annoying or spoiled; that what makes them lovable. What are their names?”
“My daughter’s name is Querida and my son’s name is Gustavo,” answered Freyya. “They both were named by my late husband who recently passed.”
“I’m sorry to hear about that. I know what’s like to lose a father and I…”
“Shhhh,” whispered Alfhild. “The High Priest is coming.”
From the furthest end of the circled around, the High Priest Ganymede appeared. He walked through a small area where demihumans have moved, and he strolled over to the fireplace. “My fellow Pangaeans,” he announced, raising his hands. “Another day has come and gone like snow melting from the mountaintops to join the river flowing to the mountain’s base. And it is another night we sleep under the stars watching over us.
“Let us give pray to our gods for watching us as we live in the Mortal Realm. Let us give prayer for this food they have provided for us. And let us give pray for the appearance for the son of one of our beloved founders: the son of Celestreá la Mùne.” Ganymede walked over to Valverno sitting on the opposite end of the circle Ganymede entered from.
“And for tonight, we honor his presence among us. Celestreá la Mùne was the founder which has brought us all together when the night was at its darkness. And it was Celestreá la Mùne who brought forth the lightness and formed the realm of Pangaea. And through the miracle of fate, he has been brought here to see the legacy of his mother. And for tonight, we feast in the miraculous appearance of Celestreá la Mùne’s son.”
A few of the Pangaeans cheered softly that the son of Celestreá la Mùne was among them. Many of them chanted with words Valverno couldn’t understand, which meant this must have been their prayers to the Three Gods in a strange language.
Valverno sighed when he was being mentioned. “Has much as you honor me among the Pangaeans gathered here tonight, High Priest, I no longer believe in the power of miracles anymore.”
Ganymede lost his smile and looked at Valverno with a sympathetic look. And his frowning face turned to a comforted face. “Don’t believe in miracles? Let you assure you: life itself is a miracle. First, you survived a shot through your body that would have killed any person. Second, you find yourself awakened in the midst of a civilization you thought was lost forever. You don’t think those are miracles themselves? You should be happy and rejoice with what you have, while you shouldn’t be overzealous with things you don’t or can’t have. It just seems you no longer know what is good or evil anymore in this realm. Look and see everything around you.”
Valverno sighed and toward the burning fire. He looked passed Ganymede and saw people aligning with each other and dancing around the giant fire pit. Instruments played by musicians, and the instruments were the same as the human musicians played with the night Valverno was honored for killing the Minotaur; the night he was spending with the Pangaeans felt as the same night Valverno spent with the humans in Geraldus’s village.
He felt he was back in that village but filled with Pangaeans and not humans. Valverno could feel the same warmth and brightness among the Pangaeans around him as he did with the humans in Geraldus’s village.
Then Ganymede walked back to the fireplace and the musicians played their instruments louder.
The green leaf that hangs on a branch to a tree
Is just one life that lives with other leaves on a vine
Just like how a bee can live through a large hive
Which hangs with the leaves that grow on the vine
And that makes two different lives that can intertwine
What could be more miraculous than having a life?
Miracles don’t come from anger or strife;
Miracles come those of have faith in a heart
And they would see the world as a piece of art
Many things can happen in a lifetime
If they could take the time to climb
Then they will see a greater world in their prime
And if they only can put faith in their heart
When someone feels like they lost everything,
They feel will their heart’s a sting
But if they put faith in a heart in life
Then they won’t need to live in strife
So, how can a single person see through greed?
Or see their life through eyes in despair?
They must never see of what they want or need
They only need a heart of faith through prayer
And if one put faith into a heart of gold
They won’t have to die in the cold
But they will feel need to be told
Only if they have great faith in their hearts
Ganymede ceased his voice, but he joined the others dancing around the fireplace. The musical instruments still played after Ganymede was done singing. Freyya and her children got up and joined in the dancing crowd. Alfhild and Halvdan stayed with him and slowly ate the fruit surrounding them.
The children sitting next of Alfhild clapped their hands with the Elf as they watch the dancers swing around the fireplace. Each of their own tails waved in movement of the music being played, and their ears flicked at the balance of a beating drum.
Valverno only watched and ate the fruit and clunks of bread placed in the baskets. He watched as many of the Pangaeans dance around the fireplace while many others sat and watched the dancers. He felt hungrier more than ever; hearing about lying asleep for five months and seven months under water (according to the scent of Halvdan’s nose) made Valverno feel the need to feed himself for lying asleep for that long. He felt hungry enough to feed himself four whole loafs of bread, and many of the fruits that filled four baskets around him.
After helping himself to four whole loafs of bread and many fruits around him, Valverno could no longer eat the delicious food the Pangaeans had prepped for their dinner. Compared to the Pangaean food, the food on Shimabellia would be baby food. Valverno found more flavor to the food around him than to the food that grew on Shimabellia.
“Lost your appetite?” asked Halvdan.
“No, I just felt too hungry after I spent a year in hibernation, or I think I was in hibernation,” answered Valverno. “Now I know what a bear would feel like w
hen it wakes from its winter hibernation. And as you said, Halvdan, I was asleep for five months in a tent and underwater for seven months. I’ve been like this for a year, or so your nose says.”
“You got a problem with my nose?” asked Halvdan.
“No, just stating the facts and I know of each demihumans’ natural abilities, even the wolf demihumans. At times, I agree with you that I should have died, because I don’t deserve to be the demigod. And I don’t know how to conjure the divine power I’m supposed to have. And I sacrificed so much and gave up everything that led my astray from my main goal.”
“Well, don’t look so down,” said Okinawan. “Look around you. Pangaeans are alive, and we glad with what we have. There’s plenty to go around. And we stay up all night dancing around the fire and having food and drink. Be happy with what you have got and don’t get upset over what you don’t have.”
“From my perspective, it’s not what I don’t have; it’s about who I don’t have. My wife who died in my arms. My sister I betrayed. And others people I left behind. It’s them who matter the most than earthly treasures; earthly material can always be replaced with other earthly materials than people.
“Now, I wouldn’t know how to face them since they now think I am dead. Even if I find a way to activate my divine power and defeat the Titans and Shadow King, those people may not look at me the same they did a year ago. At one point, I was a hero to them, but now I am not. There will be no way they will accept my back.”
Okinawan only laughed loudly in response to Valverno. “My boy. You think too negatively of your reputation. You are the person who chose to be the gods’ hand. You need see more of the light than the darkness. There is no need to pay attention to your reputation; you only need to see your life through the eyes of the gods, and you are half.”
“And how am I supposed to see through the eyes of the gods if I’m only half god?”
“That answer lies in only your eyes, hybrid, not mine,” answered Okinawan, walking to join the other dancers.
Valverno watched as Okinawan walked away and danced in front of everyone with his legs bouncing in a crazy style Valverno had ever seen. It was if the giant two-legged lizard was drunk from a hundred gallons of ale.
Valverno sighed and he stood back up. When he stood up, the tip of his right wing lay on his left shoulder and walked away from the group. Even though he felt happy to see Pangaeans alive, he felt too negative Marina or Sora weren’t among them and he felt empty as the baskets he ate all the food from.
TIME WITH AN ELF
Valverno strolled beneath a bright starry night and the three moons glittering in three different colors: one green, one purple, and the other red. The stars sparked like a flash of lightening; many stars sparked in many different colors like a rainbow during a rainy day. He didn’t bother taking off the kimono the Elf made for him. He saw it as gift he shouldn’t tear or break; he kept it on as he strolled under the night sky.
He walked a great distance into the night and covered a lot ground. He walked what he felt was straight forward without making any left or right turns, only straight where his eyes were staring. Around him were stacks of rubble stones lying around and trees growing and covering rocks. Many of the trees had grown apples and oranges, but he couldn’t find the fruits the Pangaeans had, which were looked every different from the apples and oranges and more of oval-shaped than circle-shaped.
He halted when he heard waves of water splashing. This must mean he must be near a beach and sounds the waves washing against the sand.
Valverno followed the sounds, and he climbed over a pile of crumbled rocks and when he reached to the top; he could see the watery ocean stretching out afar. Waves of water slowly washes against the sandy shores. The sight reminded of Shimabellia’s western shores. The light from the three moons made it easy for Valverno to see the ocean waves.
He dropped over the rock and walked forward to the shores and felt the smoothness of the water waving at his feet and the softness of the wet sand his feet could sink into like quicksand.
The feel of the water and the sand at his feet reminded him so much of the seashores of Geraldus’s village. The air was soft and chilly when it blew against his skin. The softness of the breeze made him feel like he was flying again without the use of his wings.
The tide waved against the sandy shores that swerved against Valverno’s feet and rose higher by the second. The tide was coming in under the late night sky and the three moons were full and slightly less bright than Valverno remembered them, remembering seeing them one night in Geraldus’s village bright as the yellow sun. Now, the three moons are as dull as zombies standing in one spot doing nothing.
After releasing a breath of air, Valverno grabbed a rock from the sand and water. He placed two fingers on the bottom, his middle finger on the rock’s edge, and his index finger and thumb on the top. He motioned his arm behind him and with a little power from his hips; Valverno flung the rock and saw it spinning in the air.
The spinning rock flopped over the water’s surface like a frog jumping over lily pads. The spinning rock flipped over the water’s surface for a long distance and kept going until it disappeared into the darkness. Valverno’s heard only heard the splashing the rock made, even if he couldn’t see it.
Then he proceeded to throw another rock with the same agility and momentum as with the first rock; the rock bounced over the water but it gets caught in a small-sized wave that suddenly rose over the water at a close distance. And the wave swirled against the water’s surface and flowed to Valverno’s legs.
The bottom of his kimono got drenched in the water’s wave flowing to him, not that Valverno mind getting part of his kimono wet. After seeing part of the kimono getting wet, Valverno took a few steps away and grabbed another rock he would not to throw over the water’s surface.
“Out here alone?” asked Alfhild’s voice.
Valverno heard the Elf’s voice but didn’t hear any footsteps coming from behind. “Yes, I am,” he answered, softly. Valverno then threw the third rock he was holding but with less speed and strength than he gave the first rock. The third rock flopped over the water’s surface, and it sunk into the water after its twentieth flop.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
“It’s easy. All its about is momentum and the moment of your body. Basically, for it to work, the rock needs to be on the flat surface. You must use your fingers to angle the rock on the correct position. Mostly the rock needs to be flat as it can be and a complete circle, if need be. You would want to put two fingers on the bottom, your third finger on the edge, and your index finger on the top. Then you need to give it the speed it needs to start spinning first and the spinning rock will start to jump on the water, but it will only jump if only the rock is spinning fast enough.”
Alfhild nodded her head and looked around for a flat rock with a rounded edge. It took her ten minutes to find a small, rounded rock with a perfect flat surface. She followed Valverno’s instructions and placed her fingers in the correct angels. She threw it like throwing a ball from above her head and the rock ended up splashing into the water.
“That’s not how it worked,” said Alfhild.
Valverno nodded his head that Alfhild got her fingering right but threw the rock from a vertical point, not something above the head. “It’s got to be horizontal, the side of your side. Stretch out your arm behind you, move your arm to the front, and curve your elbow to your left shoulder after you release the rock from the finger that makes the last contact with the rock.”
“So just like this?” Alfhild grabbed another rock and readied her right hand with behind her. She swung and swirled her arm from behind and threw the rock over the water; the rock went spinning fast and hopped across the water’s surface and watched it hop onwards until it disappeared into the night.
Valverno nodded in approval. “You Elves always
the gift of mastering these tricks in a heartbeat. That trick took me a full day to learn to make rock jump over water.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call myself a master. I didn’t get it right on the first round. And I’m still learning to how use healing magic. I don’t even have the easiest basics mastered yet.”
“Hmm. Do you mind if I ask you a person question, Alfhild?”
“Ask what you need. You told me your entire life’s events. I think it would be fair I would tell you anything or everything you need to know.”
“Well, if it’s not too personal, how old are you?”
“I’m in my mid-twenties, and I have still not a full-grown Elf. I am still thought as a child and a student compared to other Elves at this encampment.”
“Interesting. I spent my entire childhood around Elves, and there were many of the young Elves, mostly your age, who already mastered the basics and the advanced of healing spells. But I guess the knowledge was destroyed when the land was destroyed. Now, it’s about starting from scratch and reworking what has been lost.”
“You make it sound easy,” said Alfhild.
“Too easy to say,” said Valverno. “I used to have my own sorts of magic power until the Shadow King sucked it out of me. I don’t think I have demon power swelling inside me. If I did, it must be sleeping like my divine power. And I don’t even have the knowledge of knowing how to active its power.”
“Don’t say that. You don’t have demon power.”
“What makes you say that, Alfhild?”
“Because I am an Elf and I can sense when evil is lurking around. I can sense a great amount of confusion in you, but I don’t sense any demonic power inside you. If you had, you don’t anymore. However, I sense there is something inside you, but I can’t tell what it is like an egg waiting to hatch at the right time. But demonic power? Nonsense. That kind of power can turn any mortal or spiritual being into a corrupt, vile monster.”
