Half-Bloods R • 2 : Growing Shadows

C • 13 : Dreams of Mist, Fire over Hill

Elizabeth sat on the floor at the base of her bed, her legs crossed and her hands on her knees. She shifted in discomfort as she forced herself to keep her eyes shut. Her veil marks glowed dimly.

There was a knock on her door, she opened her eyes. The door creaked open and Christopher peaked in, "Hey, Elizabeth, can I- What are you doing?"

"Trying to meditate," she groaned, "It's hard though."

He stepped in, his metal feet sounding soft as they pressed against the pale carpet. He looked around and she noticed that before he turned back to her, his eyes had landed on her bookshelf, filled mostly with collectibles and trinkets while holding a few books. She looked at her bookshelf and back to Christopher.

"Whatcha looking for?" She said, drawing out her words.

"Well I was gonna ask if I could have my book back, but now I'm more curious about what you're up to," he squatted down next to her.

She sighed, "Just trying to find memories of my past. I did it by accident before, just a single memory, so maybe this time I'll get something good. I just need to get some help from the Veil."

"Anything I can do to help?" He asked.

"Just keep watch, if something seems off or wrong, wake me up. And if you get bored, enjoy your book," she smirked.

He walked to the bookshelf, took out his book and a couple of hers, then sat on her bed and watched her.

She closed her eyes and focused inward and said a Kerronasen prayer, doing her best to speak Kerrotongue, the language of her people. She tried not to cringe at her clumsy speaking, and she could hear Christopher struggling not to laugh, but she put it out of her mind and straightened up. She repeated the prayer again and again until her speaking wasn't as messy and eventually began to slip away into deep meditation. Darkness crept around her, the whispers of the Veil and of all Kerronasen who spoke the prayer pounded against her head.

Her veil marks glowed brightly in the endless sea of shadow.

She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with a figure seemingly made of stardust, its form glittering like a nebulous mix of violet, orange, and blue dust. Stars dotted its body as it looked at her with two elliptical galaxies for eyes.

"Whoa, are you the Veil?" She asked as she floated in the murk.

"Dearest child of Veil, child who once never believed but now begins to believe, I am the tongue and voice of the Veil," it spoke.

"Whoa," she reach to feel the dust that made up its body, a single speck brushed against her fingers and she was jutted through all of reality and time.

Stars exploded, galaxies were created, and she saw the birth of the earth and its fiery demise at the hands of the sun. She saw the birth of Anthraahla and the death of both it and its star inside the depths of a black hole. She felt the birth and death of every Kerronasen throughout time, and let out a scream as she pulled back.

The tongue and voice of the Veil chuckled, "I believe on Earth, children are taught to never touch a hot stove, perhaps all Kerronasen should be taught not to directly touch the bodies of the Veil."

"Yeah, no kidding," she held her hand close to her chest, "So, will you show me my past?"

"I will show you what must be known," it said.

"And that is?"

"One's past does not always start at one's birth, sometimes, it begins with the birth of another," the tongue and voice flew toward her, its formless face close to hers, "Now, see your past."

A massive shockwave smashed against her, making her entire body shake like an earthquake, forcing her asleep. She opened her eyes and suddenly she wasn't herself anymore.

"Michael, Nathaniel!" A woman's voice called, "Lunch is ready!"

"Coming, Mom!" The two brothers loudly answered.

They rushed out their bedroom door, through the hallway, and down the stairs, laughing as they made a game of it. Nathaniel looked at his brother, Michael quickly darted down the stairs with his golden-orange eyes shining, while Nathaniel hopped onto the railing and slid down.

They dashed into the kitchen, where their mother faced away from them. She slowly turned around, a massive red blot on her chest and a strange man looming over her. He looked at the children as their mother fell to her knees, a wide and toothy grin on his face. His eyes were especially terrifying, he had x-shaped pupils surrounded by vibrant pink irises. He giggled to himself, licking a bloody, crystalline dagger.

"Hello children," he said in a high-pitched growl.

The kitchen door opened, and the two were relieved to see their father walk in, "I'm home- What the hell? Who are you and what the fuck are you doing in my house? Kids, get away from him!"

They stepped back as the strange, grey-skinned man turned toward their father, still holding that crooked smile on his face. He suddenly in front of their father and tore the dagger through his gut, then looked back at the brother and raised a finger to his mouth.

"Hush, little ones," he whispered as he stepped out and disappeared in the night.

Nathaniel's head was spinning. What had just happened, why did it have to happen? Why did his head suddenly hurt so damn much?

Then, with little more than a blink, Elizabeth was back in front of the tongue and voice of the Veil.

She looked around for a moment, "Hey, wait! That can't be it! What happens to them?"

"I'm sorry little one, but any more visions and you would begin to lose yourself, now it is time for you to rest," it spoke.

She plunged back into the waking world, gasping for breath as energy flooded outward around her, tossing around her shelves, books, and collectibles. Christopher was knocked off the bed and Elizabeth dropped from the air and struck the floor. Christopher was crumpled up on the floor.

He groaned, "You know, I don't have much of my body left, so if you can please not hurt me, that would be nice."

"Sorry, Chris, is your robo-ass alright?" She responded, laughing as her head throbbed.

"Why my ass?"

She rolled over, "First thing that came to mind."

"So, did you at least learn something?" He sat up and stared at her.

She was half tempted to tell him about her vision of her father's past and about her recent venture with Animus to talk to him, but she kept quiet. "Nah, zilch," she said, "But I did meet the tongue and voice and the Veil."

"The tongue and voice of the Veil?"

"Yeah, it's this magical entity that uh... well, I don't know what it normally does, but it seemed to speak for the Veil," she said.

"So, what do you wanna do now?"

"How about I pay you back for hurting your robo-ass?"