Luines - Book 1

Chapter 06: A Dragon's Tale

Luines. That word has been bothering Hal for hours that she skipped a few classes just to get solitude. After hearing Professor Uskevren's warning, she wanted to figure out if searching for them would give her answers to her dad's death. Could he be a Luine? The best place in her mind to start hunting was in a library.

She dug deep into the Pamahres Library, scavenging through the collection of Realm Studies. She muttered, "It has to be somewhere here."

After finding none, she heard Luine echo from the corners of the library. She followed the source of the voices and found herself in one of the conference rooms in the library.

Daraken Huoile and Charmaine Halliwell were in a heated debate on that topic. No wonder she couldn't find any literature regarding it; they hoarded it. Those two had been at each other's throats through academics and worldly issues since the very start, and they took their debates seriously. Daraken Huoile was a gray elf Wizardry Major but kept a porcupine of a hair as a statement against his narcissistic kind, while Charmaine was on the top of her classes in Witchcraft whose magical lineage comes from the San Francisco Bay Area. Just by her stance, Charmaine Halliwell resembled one of those historical witches in her area, who bore the same surname.

Charm raised her voice, that almost shook the table. "Look, the shift isn't happening now. Believe it or not, the Luines may not see the end to this. Every eclipse, the Luines are born. If they haven't been killed by Bakunawa, no one would dare admit they are one because of fear."

Daraken Huoile shook his head, "There was one, Naiara D'Aigua."

"But, that Luine committed a sacrifice! She survived because she died not as a Luine. The curse of the Luines has never been broken. No one survives from Bakunawa. It's who they are. They try saving the world, but end up dying, and look at what happened to the Realm world in 2100."

Ken folded his hands, "Don't you believe in hope, Charm?"

"Hope is just an illusion. My thoughts on hope died with the death of your world, Ken. Hunting for the Luines is searching for any living relative. And I'm the last of my line."

"In some way, your lineage is like the Luines. The witches that fought during the wars saved my ancestors. I'm ever so grateful to them."

Charm lowered her head as she turned away. "Let's call this off. Can we pick another topic for our paper?" She raised her head, and saw Hal standing by the door. "Oh, Hal. How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear about the Luines and Naiara D'Aigua."

Ken lowered his head, "I bid my apologies. You see, Uskevren assigned us a dissertation regarding the Luines before we graduated. We've been tossing and turning on which angle to take."

Hal nodded, and raised the question she had been dying to ask, "What kind of beef does this Bakunawa have against the Luines? I heard the folk tales before but you talk as if they're real."

Charm had a glint of a smile, while Daraken bid Hal to sit. She said, "This is going to be a long one."

Hal raised a brow, and chose to remain standing. Those two were hungry for knowledge, and for someone to ask them questions, and see who could answer them was a feast. Hal was their intellectual dinner. She cringed while she received their inquisitive eyes.

Daraken's amber eyes sparked with joy as he addressed her, "You know the folk tales, right? They could vary from each region to another but they all share one thing: Bakunawa either falls for the seven moons or goes after them as a revenge. Bakunawa wanted the moon for himself and took them one by one like trophies or as a form of mockery to the gods, until the humans got to him."

"Hence, the drums of the baybaylan." Hal spoke out loud, remembering the drumming sound she heard that night.

"Exactly! You know your tales very well. For my case, those tales are history, not just plain old stories. The cycle goes on and on. There were some throughout history that made their names, but the others remain unknown. Unfortunately, Bakunawa never grows tired. He's gotten bored throughout the ages that he changes forms from a serpent, a winged dragon, a lion, a giant bird or a..."

"A crab! That was the weirdest transformation he did!" Charmaine interjected.

"Or he does a combination of any of those. You'll always find a coiled horn on its nose," Ken said.

"I read the horn got broken after the last attack. They turned it into a wand, I think." Charm said, "It's rather smart of them, if you ask me. Bakunawa has a way of tracking the Luines, and the horn could be his tracker. That was the only constant in his forms. As far as I heard, it broke because of the last of the Luines."

Daraken had a sharp gleam and threw a glance at Charm, "And that Luine was Naiara D'Aigua! Her sacrifice was to get to Bakunawa and take his horn! In order for Bakunawa to go with her willingly, she had to relinquish her Luine side and escape. Then, later on, the witches from your ancestry encaged Bakunawa in a golden ring, a serpent one to be exact."

He paused for a while to collect his thoughts, and said, "Luines were believed to hold the greatest powers of the world. They had the mental capacity to absorb every form of magic, unlike us, where our skills are limited. According to Azraff Gamil's Journals, it began with drums on a blood moon, as if it was calling them. They begin possessing primordial forces of magic: Earth, Fire, Wind or Water, and eventually possessing all of the rest of the magical spectrum."

Hal folded her arms, and raised a brow, "So, having all that power, how would you kill Bakunawa or kill a Luine then?"

Charm turned to Ken, and raised a brow, "Do you want me to answer her?"

Ken gulped and nodded.

"Have you ever thought of the essence of a being?" Charm asked.

Hal gave it some thought, and answered, "Not really."

"Believe me, it isn't easy killing a Luine. You'd have to kill the Luine's essence. So far, the only being successful enough to kill them is Bakunawa. It's his curse, I guess by the gods. And to kill Bakunawa you'd need a strong force of the seven Luines. No one from history has noted seeing all seven together. The strongest weapon now on the Luines' arsenal is that wand. Unfortunately, we know much about their history but not at the present state."

"Isn't that wand in Neon Requyem's keep?" Hal asked.

Ken said, "Figures. They give it to the Children of the Moon for safekeeping. Neon is like the heir to the rites of the clan. It normally goes around the Realm until they believe a Luine is born. After Naiara D'Aigua, we lost track of them. They all remained in hiding."

There were two more questions in her mind and she spat them out before they continued on in a longer dribble, "Can a human be a Luine? If you'd become a Luine, what would you do?"

Charm was the first to answer. "All Luines were Realm. So, I guess it would be impossible for a human to be a Luine. To answer your second question, I wouldn't know what to do if I'd be facing Bakunawa. It's like having death close to your side. I'd be counting the days when Bakunawa would kill me. I'd keep my head low so I wouldn't be found."

"You're such a Naiara D'Aigua, Charm. First, I'd need to receive confirmation from that wand or Azraff's Gem. It's traditional that the wand recognizes you. If not, anyone could be a Luine. But, having all fields of magic would be difficult to bluff. Then, I'd have an outburst. Then, I'd fight to the death for my world. I'd be proud to be one and utilize my strengths to fight against Bakunawa. Most of the Luines fought in the wars, and for the lives of their people."

Charm said, "At least, Naiara D'Aigua did it for love. She was bearing a child when she did it. Some Realm might find it cowardice, but I found her feat brave."

"Since you asked the question, Hal. I'd love to hear from you. What would you do if the gods decided a human can be a Luine and you'd be one?" Ken asked.

Hal said, "Hell to Bakunawa, I'd just live! I'm a strong woman and I won't let anything or anyone push me down!"