Children of Prophecy

Astra: Chapter 9

We have been travelling for a day still trying to solve the riddle. The riddle kept playing in my mind over and over again. Wherever the next riddle is, I am not sure where or what is guarding it. There is something about it that makes me think that the ones guarding it are no ordinary people or creatures. 

I went over to Lynx who was looking around the forest in awe, this being her first time outside the Great Library. "Lynx?" I asked as I tapped her shoulder. She turned to me and smiled knowing I had a question. "Do you know what the riddle means?" I asked curious to know if she knew. She turned her head towards the sky and began to decipher bit by bit of the riddle, not giving me the whole answer. “I leave no mark on the ground, means that it does not walk on land and nor on the water gleam, means that it does not swim in water." Lynx paused before she asked the last part of the riddle "You see my silhouette where ever you go, but I hide from the sun whenever it's in tow, what do you think shows only their silhouettes and hide from the sun?” A creature that hides from the sun and only show their silhouettes? I don't think I've heard any creatures like that or, maybe... "Shadow weavers?" I asked Lynx cautiously. The only answer I had got was a smile which made me shout out the answer of the riddle, "Shadow weavers!"

Tabitha and the boys turned to me giving odd looks. "It is the answer to the riddle! The guardians are shadow weavers." I turned back to Lynx and thanked her for helping in deciphering the riddle. "Where exactly do shadow weavers live?" Raphael asked as Tabitha, Spot and Basil held an agreeing look on Raphael's question. "They live in the Storm Cloud cave", answered Lynx. I crossed my hands thinking really hard on where the cave was. I pulled out a map from my satchel and checked out all the places. There was no cave noted on the map, unless, but it can't be possible. "Lynx, the cave is not on land is it?" I asked wondering if my assumptions were correct and the answer I got was only a smile which told me what I needed to know. 

"The cave is like what is named, since it’s on a storm cloud", I said still looking at the map thinking about where the passage to the clouds could be. "I know where the passage is", Tabitha said getting curious looks from everyone. She must have notice that we were going to ask how because she answered right away on the questions we had in our head. "We nymphs were always told about the dangers in the Storm Clouds, how the shadow weavers are sly and intelligent." Tabitha flew beside me to look at the map and point out the destination to where the passageway was. 

I studied our distance and which way we were going to use from the map before folding and putting it back in my satchel. I pointed towards west where the sun always set before beginning to walk. The shadow weavers were not just sly and intelligent; they would do everything to guard something that belongs to them, especially something very valuable such as the 'light'. It will be hard to get the 'light' from them. "Tabitha, are their anymore facts you know about shadow weavers?" I asked as I was walking. Tabitha nodded and answered with a yes telling me everything she knew, "As I said earlier, they are sly and intelligent. You already know that their possessive on what they own. They like to taunt and give you a trial that one must pass to be able to acquire what they desire from them. I don't know what the trial is about; no one has ever survived to tell people about it." Definitely a challenge, but what is the trial about? 

We stopped for a while and set up the camp. Each of us had a task which we did as fast as we could. Tabitha, Lynx and I finished collecting wood and the boys were still hunting after food and collecting herbs or berries. I was too lost in thought to notice that Lynx had started the fire for the food. The trial kept bugging me and making me wonder too much about it. The boys came a bit later with a dead flutter fish, a few herbs and berries. We made stew out of the fish and spared a few herbs that we might need. Basil sat beside me looking at the fire "So, I guess we should get to know each other better since we're siblings", he said. I only nodded in response as he started to tell me about his royal life in the castle before asking me my story.  Every single thing about my past I told him. The night was shining with the blinking stars and the full moon which lit up. I stood up to walk to my sleeping bag and muttered a goodnight to everyone.

Even now I could not stop thinking about what had happened a few days ago finding out about a twin. The prophecy said that we had the 'light', but I'm not really sure about it. There are other fragments of it out there and only a fragment each that Basil and I received. I wonder what is going on now between Alastar and Euryele after the soldiers stole the substitute core of the lake. The substitute core works just like the 'light' only it's not as strong. I closed my eyes and forced myself to sleep for the next day. I threw away every thought about the trial and the 'light' making me fall asleep under the twinkling stars and shining moon.