The Mark of Aether

The Eye~Part I

We left Deneyosis the following morning, continuing our journey with the first sunrays birthing in their blue cradle. The celebration lasted an entire day, bending us to stay during the complete ceremony. Otherwise, we would have left  as soon as Carter informed us with his thesis.

Deneyosis's subjects were gentle enough to give us a change of clothes and some provisions to last us a few days. My black cargo pants and olive top were replaced with beige pants, an emerald, short-sleeved top worn underneath thin leather, brown, sleeveless jackets. My black cloak was substituted with another one, dyed a lovely, deep green color that merged perfectly with the colors around us.

"Are you sure that the chart is there?''

"Not entirely, but I'm confident that we'll find our aim. Differently, I cannot imagine any other possible solution. Wasn't it you who said that we need to see outside the box?''

"I still don't understand why this place is not represented on any map of Arelesia.''

"It is not something to be spread to anybody. If dark magic ever lays hand on it, all life on Ardoria may possibly perish.''

Depending on the Arelesian lord, the key was hidden in the nigh of a water spring standing on a mountain about a day and half of walking. It was supposedly the quiddity of water in all Ardoria. The first source that gave life to the earth and living beings. It seemed that the fountain in the temple inspired him, giving us the push we needed to find our aim.

"Then how did you know about it?'' I asked, swiping away the branches that blocked my way.

"Being from the representatives of the royal family gives us some perks. All the rulers are aware of the hidden and holy places that exist in their lands, needing this information to be able to protect them. In accurate time, I should not be aware of this before I ascend my father's duty. But it ever so happens that I accidently entered on my parents through a discussion about this matter. They, of course, tried to change the subject, but I had heard quite enough to sum a coherent idea.''

"So how do we exactly find this place?'' asked Leon.

"Apparently, we have to follow the sun. However its direction changes, we keep following it.''

My legs ached as I continued walking, the evening's breeze carrying a hint of humidity that made my body complain from the elevated temperature.

We were walking on a fast pace, trying to gain as much time as possible. The sun was our guide and, soon enough, the tenebric shadows of night would cloak this world in a blanket of black and silence. We'd traipsed past hills, mountains, denes, valleys, and everything that could be called a geographical feature. More than the discussions we would ignite from time to time, nothing much happened.

And I loathed it.

For there was nothing to keep me busy, my mind drowned in the sea of matters and questions that kept plaguing me like a continuous misery.

Unstoppably, I would eventually rethink about all that mystery about the traitor and who could possibly be the apostate. But I always ended with a blank mind and zero answers. Maybe it was a sign for me to stop worrying, to resign it to the fates like I'd been doing my entire life.

To succeed, I had to play my cards right, but the problem remained that I knew not who I was playing against.

I was fidgeting with the rings around my fingers when several whinnies and growls resonated in the air, respective wild spirits hitting my radar. I pulled an arrow from my quiver and settled it against my bow, ready for whatever this noise was.

The bushes moved slowly and the low water of the stream we were crossing started wobbling. From behind the vegetation appeared a pack of odd-looking creatures—about five of them. The beasts looked like chimeras but with magnificent slatey antlers and white fur that lined the manes around the lionesses' heads. Their topaz eyes stared at us, a sudden flicker of magic sparking in them.