by Drew Smith
Chapter Thirty Two- Goddess of Twilight
Twilight seemed silent as Lumus stood on the bridge that connected the Dornet region of Aquoise and Torson region of Capaz. The air was still, the animals were nowhere in sight, and time seemed to be moving slower than normal. He felt uneasy as he waited for everyone to return. He wondered how everyone was. He knew it was going to be difficult to explain what had happened to Scarlette. As he waited, he stared into the sky. His thoughts were clouded with doubt and confusion but he tried to stay optimistic.
(“Scarlette. How do I explain what happened to you? Do I just tell them the truth? Do I just explain that you agreed to become a goddess? How do you tell people something like that?”) He thought.
As he lowered his head he noticed Hedree coming from the north. Lady Concy and Coldblood came from the south. As they got closer he noticed Frostear, Ged, Dyne and Levitz. He smiled until he noticed Concy, Coldblood and Hedree were alone. Zelkem had Jol on his back. Zynx carried Antsos in his arms. Orson and Aire were barely visible in the distance, but he smiled when he realized they looked okay.
(“There are a few people missing. Lears isn’t here yet either.”) He thought. He crossed his arms to wait for everyone to arrive before jumping to conclusions.
“Lumus!” Orson called out. He opened his eyes to see Orson right in front of him.
(“I only shut my eyes for a moment…Zero? What just happened?”) Lumus shook his head.
“Lumus are you okay?” Orson had put his hand on his shoulder, but Lumus didn’t have any memory of him doing so.
“Yes, I’m fine. I must have been daydreaming. What’s going on? Is everyone back?” Orson pulled his arm away from Lumus.
“We have four people missing. Doxas, Brinx, Zephry and Scarlette. You were with Scarlette, so where is she?” Orson asked eagerly. Lumus couldn’t help but notice the sadness in his eyes.
“I will tell you about Scarlette later, please don’t worry she is fine. What do we know of the others?” Lumus asked. He looked over his shoulder and saw Lears with all of his people standing together on the northern part of the bridge. Lumus looked behind him to see Zelkem Zynx, Dyne and Lady Concy.
“Your friend Brinx gave his life to save mine while we fought against the Zodiac. After the battle I buried him in the centre of Dornet region. I am sorry for your loss.” Hedree said, his eyes lowered.
“He died?” Zelkem blurted out.
“He was a brave warrior, and I wish I could have saved him. I truly am sorry.” Hedree turned and made his way back to Lears and the others. Lears he looked up at him. He dropped his axe then continued to walk north.
“You dare quit my ranks, Hedree?” Lears shouted out. He picked up his axe, and threw his arm back, but Lumus ran over and grabbed the tip of the axe.
“No harm will come to Hedree. I will make sure of that.” Lumus demanded. Lears let go of the axe. He knew he didn’t have the strength to fight Lumus as he was.
“Have it your way. He isn’t worth my time anymore anyway.” Lears shouted. Lumus turned away from him, and gave his attention to Coldblood.
“Where is Zephry?” Lumus asked. Coldblood smirked at him.
“The girl? I sent that fool to Librine. I fought Libra on my own. She is probably still waiting for the Zodiac to arrive.” Coldblood announced. Lumus clenched his fist.
“You left her?” He replied.
“You travel with her right? Then you know how useless she really is.” Coldblood laughed.
Frostear ran up and punched him in the face.
“Watch your mouth boy!” Frostear yelled out. Coldblood wiped the blood from his mouth as he rolled onto his back.
“Ah yes, father has a thing for the girl. A human? Really? You always were a disappointment.” He said. Frostear reached down to him and picked him up by his throat with one hand.
“Another word, and I won’t hesitate to kill you.” Frostear’s eyes had a dim glow of red.
“Frostear!” Concy yelled out. Frostear turned his head to look over his shoulder. He looked back at Coldblood.
“Know your place, boy.” Frostear heaved him through the air. He slammed hard against the ground. He staggered as he tried to stand, but once he stood up he was silent, and brushed himself off.
Frostear walked back across the bridge, but didn’t stop. He made his way toward Librine. No one said a word to him as he passed them.
“Concy, what of Doxas?” Orson finally said to break the dead air. She looked back at him with dread.
“Scorpio turned him to stone. He was moved to Scorpial throne room, and is under protection by my knights.” She hesitated to say. Orson dropped to both knees.
(“Doxas… No! Another one of our kids I couldn’t protect…”) Orson thought to himself as tears filled his eyes. Concy walked onto the bridge, but Zelkem stopped her from going further.
“Just leave him, Lady Concy. Let him deal with the loss.” Zelkem suggested. She backed up from the bridge. Tears filled her eyes.
“Is there a cure for petrification? Can he be helped?” Orson said with panic in his voice. Concy moved forward, pushing Zelkem aside.
“If there is I will find it. You have my word. Concy turned to Capaz, and ran as fast as she could. Lumus offered Orson a hand. He reached out, and let him pull him to his feet.
“He isn’t lost yet. We will help him, Orson.” Lumus smiled.
“I don’t mean to interrupt your sad moment of loss, but I think we will be leaving now.” Lears blurted out. He turned toward Aster Mountains.
He started to walk, but only Ged, Antsos and Coldblood followed him. He noticed after a few steps, and turned to look at the others.
“What are you fools waiting for?” He asked. Aire, Levitz and Jol didn’t move. Finally Aire turned to Levitz.
“Hey Levitz, you were telling me about your hometown of Canby a while back. You know in all the time we spent travelling I don’t think I have ever been there.” Levitz smiled.
“You’re right. How about we take Jol to Canby. I could show her around too. Would you like to come too, Jol?” Jol smiled.
“Yes I think I would. I heard it is a peaceful city.” She quickly replied. They started to walk past Lumus on the bridge. Jol turned to Lears with no expression on her face. Just a stare, then she followed behind Aire and Levitz. Lears turned back to Aster Mountains without a word.
“Looks like Lears is losing control of his people.” Zelkem said with a smile.
“Don’t forget: we have also lost friends today. We should go back to Capaz.” Lumus walked past Orson.
“Lumus… What about Scarlette?” Orson asked once again.
“Maybe we can leave that until everyone has time to get themselves together. We can all meet in Neutral City when the council sends everyone back.” Lumus didn’t wait for a response. He just walked by Orson with a sad look on his face.
“Zelkem, Dyne and Zynx. You all did great today. Let’s go back to Capaz for now.” Lumus shouted back.
Zynx and Dyne followed behind him. Zelkem looked toward Aster Mountains as he joined Orson on the bridge.
“He is right brother. If something happened to Scarlette, then I’m sure he just wants to tell us when we are all together. Don’t let it get to you, and if it was something terrible then he wouldn’t be as composed as he seems right now.” Zelkem said. Orson leaned on the railing of the bridge. We suffered many losses today, Zelkem. I am thankful you are alright.” He smiled.
“Just a few cuts and bruises. Seems I’m tougher than a few god-made legends.” Zelkem said with a laugh.
“Let’s go back to Capaz. I would like some answers. I would also like to join Lady Concy in her search for a cure for Doxas.” He put one hand on Zelkem’s back and gave him a pat.
“Let’s go little brother.” They were last to walk back to Capaz. Lears looked back from the distance with anger.
“Lumus!” Zephry called out.
“I heard from Frostear. Brinx and Doxas… I can’t believe i
t! Brinx was…“ She blurted out. Lumus’ face went red.
“I know Zephry…Brinx was the first one to show me humans and demons can work together. He was also a great friend, and he is unreplaceable. But remember: He will always be in our hearts. I didn’t know Doxas, but Orson is taking the news hard. It would seem they knew each other from before I met him.” He explained.
“I didn’t get a chance to meet him either, and even though he didn’t know us… He fought with us. I wish I would have known him better.” She added.
“Zephry, can I ask you to do something for me?” He asked.
“What can I do for you, Lumus?” She tried to hold back her tears, but a few slipped down her cheek as she thought about Brinx and Doxas.
“Let the council know that it is over. The people can return to their homes.” He added. She nodded.
“Yes sir.” She said with a serious face as she ran toward Penelope’s shop.
Orson and Zelkem came walking up to the gate. Lumus looked back at them, and then waved them over.
“Frostear? I thought you would have been long gone to Librine. Was that Zephry I saw run off into Capaz?” Orson scratched his chin as he approached him.
“Well she had already been waiting here when I was on my way to Librine. She said she was looking for Coldblood, but when she couldn’t find him she returned to Capaz.” He explained.
“We have some time before the people clear from Neutral City. How about we take a walk, Frostear?” Orson suggested. Frostear seemed confused.
“Sure Orson.” He agreed.
“We won’t be gone long, Lumus.” Orson shouted back.
Orson led him east to the bridge connecting Nuran region to Librine, towards the Torson region of Capaz. It was much closer than the bridge connecting Torson and Dornet regions.
“So I wanted to ask you about Drayhelms” Orson asked. Frostear fixed his sword on his back. It had been bugging him since they left Capaz.
“Is that so? Why bring me all the way out here for a question about the dragons? Is now really the time for a history lesson?” Frostear asked.
“Truthfully, I just wanted to know if Concy will actually be able to find a cure for my friend Doxas, or would it even be possible. I have never heard of petrification cases on Twilight before, so I’m a little skeptical. I understand she felt responsible for what happened. That is clear, but I just want to know if she is giving me false hope or not. I don’t want to give up on Doxas, but I need to know I’m not chasing fairy tales.” He explained.
Frostear leaned on the railing, looking toward the south.
“I see. Then let me tell you a story: When I was a soldier for Scorpial, Concy was a medic for our kind. No, I shouldn’t say medic, because of her father she was not allowed to fight in the Dragon Wars. Instead her father sent her here to Capaz. At the beginning of the war she did tend to the wounded, but she had no training as a real medic. So I don’t know for sure what she does or doesn’t know about such things. However, I do know that medicine was an interest to her. What she studied while we were separated, I couldn’t say.” Frostear added.
“So it wasn’t a ruse to spare my feelings?” Orson asked.
“I wouldn’t be able to tell you for sure. That woman has a way of surprising people though. She came to Capaz and made her way into the council. True, it was in the works for some time, but when she gained power she fought to stop the war. Everyone called her a traitor… Even me. I didn’t find out until years after the war was over what the truth really was. Concy fought tooth and nail. In the end it didn’t matter. My kind was nearly wiped out. Only a few survived, and the rest scattered like animals. Even after the war we were hunted. When Geare was elected to be a councillor of Aquoise the hunting stopped. I don’t know the whole story of that man, but something about him doesn’t seem right to me. In any case, Concy may know something we don’t. Don’t give up on her or your friend.” Frostear said with a reassuring smile. Orson noticed him looking at something in the distance, but he couldn’t see it himself.
“What are you looking at Frostear?” He asked.
“Don’t worry. I was just daydreaming. I have a lot on my mind these days. A lot has happened to us since we all came together. It is almost hard to believe. Before I met you all, I didn’t care for anything. I just kept to myself and searched for something.” Frostear added.
“What were you searching for?” Frostear turned to Orson and patted his back as he started to walk back to Capaz.
“I don’t know. Maybe I was just looking for a reason to put one foot in front of the other. Now that I have joined all of you, I have felt like I am needed once again, but losing Brinx angers me most of all. He was a force for good, with the ability to help others and still be strong. I haven’t told anyone this before, but I looked up to him. He was learning how to be human, and I was learning how to be human from him. Funny isn’t it?” Frostear walked off toward Capaz, but Orson stayed behind.
(“I think we were all searching for the same thing. Just that none of us knew it.”)
He looked back to Capaz. Frostear was well ahead of him though. He started to walk back too. He thought about his comrades a lot on the way back. He thought about Doxas, and he thought that Concy still might have a way to save him. It made him happy again to think that he may be able to help him. He thought of Brinx, and how they didn’t see eye to eye, but in the end he knew Brinx had become something else: A friend.
Orson arrived at Capaz, but he saw Frostear walking into town alone. Lumus wasn’t waiting at the gate. He assumed he would be there when they got back.
(“We weren’t gone that long. Lumus couldn’t have gone far.”) He thought. He turned to the north. He noticed someone in the distance.
“Lumus? Where is he going?” He looked into Capaz, but decided to go see if the person in the distance really was Lumus.
(“Where is he going? We were all supposed to meet in Neutral City. Dornet region is… Oh Hedree did say he had buried Brinx out in the middle of Dornet region, so maybe Lumus went to see for himself.”) Orson concluded.
He continued to follow him. As he got closer he noticed Lumus had stopped, and was looking toward the ground. He joined Lumus, but they didn’t speak at first. They both just looked down at a small sprout growing over the newly turned soil.
“Orson, does it seem odd to you that a sprout has grown to this stage already?” Lumus asked. He didn’t actually notice at first, though he was looking right at it.
“You were a farmer right? You would know better than me, but as far as I know this shouldn’t be as big as it is within a few hours.” Orson said.
“I thought the same thing. I just wanted to be sure.” Lumus added. Orson saw a smile on his face.
“What are you thinking Lumus?” He asked.
“I was thinking that we should protect this area.” He suggested.
“I’m confused. I know Brinx is buried here, and we will have a proper grave built around Brinx, but…” Orson’s eyes opened wide. Then he looked at Lumus.
“Brinx is going to need a lot of space if what I think is right.” Lumus said as he began walking back to Capaz with a smile, and his eyes closed.
(“That massive tree Brinx told us about on Dystopia. Could that be what this little sprout is?”) Orson thought. He looked at the sprout once more, then he started to smile.
Capaz was full of life once again. People filled the streets with life as Lumus and Orson made their way to Penelope’s shop. Penelope was standing outside with Brunius. Orson found it odd that they were without guards.
“Councillor Brunius, it is good to see you.” Orson said as he shook hands with Brunius. Lumus nodded to Penelope with a smile.
“Sir Orson I am glad to see you looking well after the battle. I have been talking with Penelope for some time about something she brought to my attention.” Brunius smiled as he looked to Penelope.
“Is it something I can help with?” Lumus gave a quick response.
“
No that is quite alright. Your friend Captain Nex has already been kind enough to take the job.” Brunius added. Orson smiled awkwardly.
“What exactly are we talking about?” Orson asked.
“Yes Sir Orson, I suppose some context would help. Penelope has offered to relocate her general store to another location in town. She had the idea to tear her shop down. We will then build a stronger structure around it, and that will be linked underground to our palace.” Orson gave Penelope a nod.
“That will make access to Neutral City more secure from our end. Thank you Penelope. But where would you put your shop?” Lumus asked.
“I was thinking Neutral City. I can set up shop there for anyone that may need supplies. Those paths to each city are long and tiring. For example, it could take many hours to make it from Scorpial to Canby. I was hoping, Lumus… would you allow me to set up a shop and an Inn for those passing through?” She asked.
“I think that is a great idea, but there may not be as much traveling through as you think. Neutral City is supposed to be a secret, and so you may not have the business you make here.” He added.
“Lumus we just had everyone from every city in North Twilight in Neutral City at once. I would imagine that Neutral City is no longer a secret.” Brunius blurted out.
“I guess he has you there Lumus. Look, the tunnels are great, and since the secret is out of the bag: The council has already agreed to build structures around the entrances in each city. We will be charging people to use the tunnels after this year’s Zodiac Awakening.” Brunius explained.
“What did you say? Zodiac Awakening? Also I never agreed to allow you to charge the people for use of the tunnels.” Lumus took a step toward Brunius.
“I’m sorry Lumus, but we voted on it. All cities agreed to enforce a fee for travelers, but we would obviously grant free travel in times of crisis.” Brunius was slightly scared of Lumus when he moved closer to him.
“So I have no say in the matter?” Lumus cried out. Orson put his hand on his shoulder.
“The cities are in need, and will all benefit from this. When money is collected from people leaving the cities they can use it to build and restore the city, and purchase supplies, and people will still be granted safe passage in times of need. It will work for everyone.” Orson explained.
