Awaken (Hermitcraft Fanfiction)

VI. A Time Of War

TW: fighting, death

Pearl stared at Grian in disbelief, too stunned to speak. Her mouth moved as she failed to comprehend the changes that had occurred to her friend. He smiled sheepishly, taking his hand off the white mask that had previously obscured his face. Pearl's eyes scanned him: his face had several new scars, although they had faded and were barely visible. He bore himself with confidence, a trait she had found lacking previously. Finally, her gaze traveled to the crimson wings settled on his back. They must have been at least three meters wide when fully outstretched, although, judging from his conversation with Yevir, it seemed they had more to grow.

Before Pearl could fully process her friend's new appearance, Grian threw his arms around her in a hug, the folds of his robes enveloping her in warmth and power. Every centimeter seemed to radiate magic, accentuated by the red glow she could hardly discern rising off his skin.

"Pearl!" Grian cried ecstatically as he broke away from his hug. "It's been too long! How are you?"

"Confused," Pearl admitted, shoving her hands in the pocket of her hoodie. "What do you mean, 'it's been too long'? It's only been a couple of weeks."

"Oh, yeah..." Grian trailed off. "I forget about the fluctuation of time between dimensions. Especially between ours and yours. I mean, the time between different servers," he added, sensing the additional confusion that Pearl now put into full display. Pearl guessed much of his information was parroted from the Watchers. Since when did Grian use a word like 'fluctuation'?

"So, how long has it been?"

"About fifty years?" he guessed. "It took me a while to come around. I was a handful back then. Still am," he added with a touch of pride.

"What do you mean by 'back then'?" Pearl demanded. "Don't tell me you gave in to these–" she gestured aggressively at the congregation in the sky.

Grian smiled guiltily. "That's what I thought, too. I gradually annoyed each of the council members until I got back to Yevir and Zeroc. There was another one, but they didn't want to train me. I think they were too busy dealing with the Listeners. I thought it'd be the same with Yevir. Relentless training, a demand for the ancient language, and forcing me to use magic. It was different, though. I actually felt like learning for once."

"What are they like?" Pearl asked.

"Yevir? He's actually quite nice." Magic flashed around Grian as he checked the area. Finally, it spiked as he muttered two spells in quick succession. "I don't want anyone listening or reading our lips," he explained. Again, his eyes darted around furtively. A voice in the back of Pearl's mind attributed it to the enhanced vision the legends professed Watchers had. She pivoted her attention back to Grian. "It's considered blasphemy to use gendered pronouns for Watchers. Like we're above it or something. Me, Yevir, and Zeroc don't like it, though. Really, it feels like oppression: there is no self-expression or identity, if you get what I'm saying."

Pearl bit her lip, pondering. "So... you can't be yourself?" Grian shook his head bitterly. "Well, what's the point of that?"

"Fear," he replied, spitting the word like rotten flesh in his teeth. "There's nothing substantial known about the Order. The less information players are able to gather, the better. That's what Valyn told me after a session with Xalyn. When we're out in the worlds, we're forced to follow a strict protocol to avoid spreading information. I don't understand why we have to put ourselves above everyone, though."

"Maybe the power is getting to their–"

Light bloomed violently in the sky before Pearl could complete her sentence, abruptly plunging the world into a white void. The silhouettes of the trees closest to Pearl faded into the white of the pure, unrestrained magic of the two powerful races. She threw up her hands in a desperate move to shield her eyes from the blistering light.