The Shadress (MCD X READER)

Ruins and the Memories with Them

This is the three-year anniversary of this book! The first part was on May 6, 2018; today is May 6, 2021! :D

I ended up not telling Laurence. Not because I didn't trust him, but because I didn't trust a few other people. He was a little upset about it but didn't try to press farther. That was 5 days ago now though. Progress had been made on our settlement, but we haven't really gone out and explored the island; a fact that was changing right now.

I was walking along with Aaron, Aphmau, and Garroth, in the opposite direction of Katelyn, Travis, and Laurence. Lucinda had stayed behind at base camp with Elenor. It was largely uneventful until we stumbled across a familiar stone tower. At least the remains of one. "What is this?" Aphmau asked.

I lightly placed a hand on the broken wall and sighed. "This was one of the buildings for the civilization that once existed here on this island. That building over there too." I motioned towards a building that was a bit farther off. They were both crumbling stone brick structures, most of the bricks cracked or not even whole anymore. The foundations of the buildings looked the best. They were covered in vines, weeds, and moss but weren't cracked as much.

Garroth and Aphmau wandered over to the farther building, something must've caught their eyes. Aaron, on the other hand, followed me around the closest building and down into what was once the basement. There were two banners, one was blank and the other had Irene's symbol on it. There are also quite a few rusty tools and weapons on the floor. "Irene's symbol..." Aaron mumbled out, probably unaware he was doing so.

"How do you know what that is?" I asked curiously.

He looked at me a bit surprised but answered anyway. "I know you've taken notice of the artifacts I've used around you. I had to get them somehow, as well as find out what they do."

I nodded as a sign of understanding. Aaron, out of everyone, was a person I talked to a lot but didn't know much about; at least not a lot about his past. He's told me bits and pieces: his history with Zane, why he stabbed through his stomach, a bit about some 'adventures' (to put it loosely). But not much more than that. He did admit that he's not the greatest person alive as well, which might be part of the reason why we got close quickly.

Laurence, Garroth, Travis, Dante, and pretty much everyone else aren't that close to me (Aphmau and Lucinda excluded from that group for very obvious reasons). I was ripped from my thoughts by a sudden shout, taking notice of the fact that Aaron and I were staring at each other. He must've noticed as well because he quickly looked away.

"WHAT'S THIS?!" Aphmau called over to us. We walked over to the other building to find it quite similar.

"This would be an armory. Weapons and armor were mostly stored here, but the occasional toolset was as well. The tower-looking structure over there would be a guard tower."

"Ok. And what about this?" Garroth pointed to a very specific brick on the most put-together wall. I stepped a bit closer to see a carving of the Irene symbol, a symbol of peace on this island.

I smiled at it and ran my finger over it very lightly. "I remember this like it was yesterday..." They gave me curious glances. "Cyprus Evergreen carved this here. I miss him a lot."

"'Cyprus Evergreen'?" Aph inquired.

"He was a former guard of Irene. Well respected and had a lot of power, Cyprus was the second in command, following me. Surprisingly, the rest of the Divine Warriors liked him as well." I ran a hand through my hair and chuckled.

"Why is that surprising?" Aaron asked.

I frowned. "They hadn't liked my picks for second in command the past 5 times I tried. Cyprus was the first they liked and he stayed in that position until he died. Before you ask, it was old age thankfully. But that amounts to nothing when compared to the fact that Irene and I are immortal."