Something Immortal

53: Bloodline Part Six

Although Som was not opposed to the idea of having his mind poked since he too was eager to uncover the things that he had kept hidden even from himself, he was not certain if this was a route he would like to venture forth; let alone that he couldn't shake the feeling that something else was happening and neither one of them was aware of it.

"Alright," he finally consented, Ilarion had convinced him enough. He would face the truth whatever kind of truth there was. "How do I get my memory back?"

They all turned to Malee who disclosed earlier that there was a way to recall lost memories. "I know something that can help us," she told them. "But I'm not certain if your kind would approve of it."

"At this point, do we have much choice?" Ilarion pointed out the obvious. "How can this person help us?"

"It's actually a place," Malee clarified, "It's in the region of Rurik, they call it the pool of recollection."

"NO!" Both Marko and Mica said in unison.

"What is with the pool of recollection?" Som too was intrigued why the brothers hastily denied the suggestion given by the female Erinyes.

"That pool is a known trickster," Marko explained. "If it cannot have what it wants, it will obscure the fact and make it a fiction. Not to mention, it is situated near the Dungeon of Addanc."

"Are we to assume that place is dangerous?" Ilarion commented, apparently fed up with the ordeal since everywhere they go, danger lurks even in the most benign of places. "This whole world is infested with malignant beings, of beasts and faunas of different sizes and the undead. What else can give us an immediate heart attack?"

"It's the home of the Black Annis," said Mica. "The hagridden witches who eat offspring of any races and wear their skins as clothing."

Ilarion gulped in spite of himself. As a writer, he heard all kinds of lore from the previous world he lived in, and the Black Annis lore was an example of what folklorists define as a legend. And in their world, the Black Annis talks about a single person that may or may have existed. In this world, Black Annis was another race with quite a horrific bloodline, and obviously, tales about them were not simply to amuse or entertain. In this world-they were as real as everyone else!

"Okay, let's abort this. I don't want to meet them!"

Som rolled his eyes. "You're the one who convinced me to face the truth. Where did all those dramatic speeches go?"

"Before we make any hasty decisions, care to explain why are we all invested in this?" Marko said, and only then that Ilarion and Som recalled that the brothers still didn't know about his alleged identity.

Ilarion pulled out a book from his satchel that he was carrying and the brothers gasped upon seeing it. "Isn't that...the book from the undead draconian priest?" Mica was peering at him in disbelief, he didn't think that someone like Ilarion would carry the object with him.

"Why do you act like I'm cursed? It's only a book."

"Duh, it's a book from the draconian priest! What if it's cursed or something?"

"It's not cursed and stop overreacting!" Ilarion snapped at the young Strigoi. "No one can translate this shit and we are only able to transcribe a few parts thanks to that Grand Sage Zelda. But just so you know, it tells a story about the Phoenix and the Dragon Naga."

To what he said, realization dawned on the brothers who had long suspected that Som was indeed the Phoenix, and their conversation with Kali solidified that belief. It did not take long to convince them of the significance of the said book, but they were still adamant when it came to the pool of recollection.