Calytrix's Journey

Part XXVIII: Memory

As I entered the dark ruins I saw a mirage of Leo's back in front of me. Flames were sprouting out of his body. The lights were dazzling. A mix of red, orange and yellow colors danced and mixed together. I couldn't feel them because it was just an old memory showing itself, but if I had a hunch that they would probably be very powerful.

Leo's...no! It was just a memory of the fire spirit when it materialized in its human form. The spirit's walk became faster and he started running.

I remembered the animosity of the spirit towards these ruins. There must have been some kind of a dispute between the vampire and the spirit.

I didn't encounter anyone in the ruins so I simply followed the memory of the spirit. It seemed like the path I was meant to tread. The fire spirit abruptly stopped and I bumped into it. My body prepared for an impact but nothing happened because memories weren't material. I couldn't touch Leo although it felt real to my eyes. It was like I passed through mist although I didn't feel any water, of course. The strange sensation I felt was very hard to explain, but it wasn't a bad one. I was glad to see a glimpse of the spirit's past. It was my travel companion so I wanted to know more about it.

The memory didn't dissolve right away so I distanced myself to see what was going on. I wanted to see it until the end. The spirit called fort powerful flames and directed them towards a dark figure sitting on shiny, metal throne.

„Rules from the above don't work here," the vampire said and deflected the flames with his hand.

„Let her go!" the spirit yelled.

„She wronged my brothers. We punish everyone who disobeys the rules on our territory," the vampire furrowed his brows when he said it.

"Solelay didn't do it on purpose. It was to protect others!" the spirit angrily said.

"I am protecting my people too," the vampire bared its fangs.

Solelay? The Solelay? The famous fire witch who was a close friend of the fire spirit? She really existed! Her myth was true! That was fantastic news. The other myths could have been true too. This was such a pleasant surprise. My face naturally smiled. I excitedly waited to see what will happen next but the memory mist suddenly dissolved and I was left in the dark. It was such a disappointment.

I let out a deep sigh and focused on magic to call forth flames to light the place, but suddenly somebody tapped my shoulder. I jumped up in shock.

"Easy there," The entire place light up.

I was face to face with an old man's wrinkled face. His hair ashen hair was in a terrible state, all tangled up and strands of it were missing. His piercing ruby eyes looked straight in my soul. The clothes he wore were old and ragged and overall he gave off the feeling of someone who didn't take care of himself for a very long time, but they were of high quality materials.

"Hello there, Calytrix's," he said in a tune one would call old friends."You were the witch the fire spirit decided to favor in this age." he carefully examined me.

I took a step back shaken off by his rude behavior.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but the fire spirit and I had a long history. It is quite interesting how you have no resemblance to Solelay." he said. "My name is Lemniselenis, the last of the old ages vampires."

His name sounded so hard to pronounce. I wasn't sure what to say next. Introductions from my part didn't seem necessary because it seemed that he already had enough information about me.

"You called me here because of your history with the fire spirit?" I asked.

"No. The fire spirit memory was just a lure to catch you interest," Lemniselenis said.