Frost and Flame, Foes in the Dark (book 2)

Chapter 17, Remnants of the Past

Year 783 Octavus, day 25 of the seventh month of Domorus

"No," Sidastir said, shaking his head,"I refuse."

The Mayin rolled his eyes, "This isn't your decision. It has nothing to do with you."

"Damn the forgotten gods if it hasn't! You are not entering my consort's mind."

"Calm down," Akana said, feeling increasingly tired by the minute. "I want to know more details before I decide."

"Rumors has it that you have been out of control lately, glowing white eyes and changing personality among others," the Mayin cocked an eyebrow like to accuse him of withholding information, Akana just ignore the obvious question laying underneath the statement.

"So?"

"Don't you want to know more about it?"

"How does entering Akana's mind going to accomplish that?" Sidastir said.

"Because the answers of who he is and what he can do are inside of him, not outside-" the Mayin's looked into Akana's," and certainly not in a distant land."

"So you are saying-" Akana ignored Sidastir's pout," that the answers I seek are inside the cave with Sen."

"Who is Sen? What cave?" the Mayin leaned closer, his eyes sparkling with eagerness.

"Sen is my brother, he looks like me but... With emotions and he speaks with a voice sounding like a thousand people speaking at once. He is inside of me, living in a cave with wall paintings and a prison where the dragon is locked up. I enter there every time I sleep, sometimes Sen likes to come out to take over my body as I do."

Leaning back with a triumphant smirk, the Mayin nodded. "As I suspected. Do you know what Sen is?"

"I assumed he is me, if I were to have emotions. Because Auons live without them for so long I theorized that we create a second personality, one that can handle the emotions."

"Not a bad theory, but it doesn't take all the facts into account, does it. Tell me, has he said something that made you wonder if he knows something you don't. Like he has knowledge that you doesn't?"

The atrium fell into silence, only the servants' chatter in the distance could be heard. Too many, it might have been silence, but to Akana it was loud. Sen was whispering. Words. Memories. Things Akana couldn't understand.

"He has, hasn't he?" the Mayin said, watching Akana.

"He keeps saying a word. I don't understand it, but... I have a feeling like I should know it. Like something scraping in the back of my mind." Akana said. "A remnant."

"What is the word?" Sidastir asked with a frown, leaning closer as to hear every letter being uttered.

"Kairoh."

The word felt both foreign and familiar to Akana. Like he should know it, but his mind told him that he has never heard the word before.

"Do you know the meaning?" asked the Mayin, suddenly looking serene like he had expected it all along.

Akana shook his head, "It sounds like the old lisanian language. But my people have developed its language to suit us better over the years and many of the old words have been forgotten."

"It means devourer," the Mayin said,"And I'm not as sure you want to hear about the race the words speak of. You won't like it."

"I want to know what I am."

"What you was, might be a more accurate description. I can tell you what the Kairoh was, but I think you already know so I want to help you remember. To do that, I need to enter your mind."