Belford's Heart

Chapter 24: Malice

Belford and Evelyn's hearts pounded in unison as Thelos had truly revealed itself to them. He wished Vathan had spoken of this before sending them on with his map. Had he known what became of his home? The sky was hard for them to draw any meaning from. The clouds of total black should have darkened the landscape, yet there was a warm red illumination covering the land. The horizon appeared in the same red as it filled the space between in the distance. The towering Eternal Peak to the West appeared to them in the silhouette of blood and shadow. Phlip's eyes stared at them, the white surrounding his irises entirely visible as he saw them enter.

"In all creation," Philip said, doing all he could to calm himself atop Grifford's back. "Are you two alright?"

"Physically, yes," Belford said, putting forth great effort to comprehend the landscape. "I am not entirely sure what I am looking at, though."

"It...could be worse," Evelyn said. "It is much the same, say for the red light."

"I shall take your understanding as my own, and by her will it will carry us forward," Philip said. He patted Grifford on the neck, and Grifford huffed twice in comfort. "Are you okay to continue, Grifford?" Grifford nodded, huffing twice more before turning to look at Belford and Evelyn.

"Lead on, buddy. Stay close to the colonel."

Grifford led on, clearing the distance between them and Colonel Grant as he turned back to make sure that they still followed the caravan. Once he saw Grifford making his approach in front of Grimbo and Thunderfoot, he turned back to the front, and the three companions matched their positions on the road. It was not likely that any cart would be traveling the opposite direction, and the constant sight of someone familiar would ensure that they had not fallen into some terrible dream without an end.

The crystal forests were no longer peaceful as they passed through them. They remained in similar shading, but the unnatural red light of the land beyond the gate crashed between them in violent angles. The tendrils held within them now appeared to move as they became outlined in the light whose source was neither above or below them. It was simply there in the most basic and disturbing way it could be. No longer were there shadows, nor any way to measure the time of day. It also told Belford that his latest measure would need to be meticulously counted as they went on. Little more than twenty-eight days remained before they crossed the gate, but he needed a way to track it.

"Philip," Belford said, turning the minister's head toward him along with Evelyn. "Perhaps you have a way to keep time while we are in this place. My last reading was a few hours more than twenty-eight days left until the moons were full."

Philip smiled, scanning the red horizon around them. "Well, Belford. This may be one of those times where faith must guide us forward."

Belford scowled. "But if faith could have been guiding us this whole time, why keep track of the phases at all?"

"Was it not a gift of her teaching that allowed me to read Theo and Lora? This same gift that I, a mere individual of her creation, was able to pass on to you, mind you." Philip smiled, turning back to Belford with an affirming nod. "My fear of this place is quite obvious, but certainty is something that I abandoned as soon as Grifford discovered the dungeon beneath my temple. The certainty of the sky was taken from you when we crossed that gate."

Belford avoided Philip's eyes, scanning the landscape again for himself. "I suppose I can be thankful that it is still cooler than the lands below."

Evelyn laughed. "Do you think your mountain will be too cold when we get back?"

Grifford huffed once, shaking his head in disagreement. Belford turned to him, and said, "Spoiled by the world beyond our own." He smiled at Grifford. "But now, it seems we have seen something that the All-Knower could never have imagined."