The Mythos Trials

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The following morning proved cold and dreary. Despite being tired and chilled, Gwen seemed more determined than ever to find the pure ether.

This came as no small amount of relief to Forneus. Over a month had passed since the Spectrum had fallen, and with each passing day, the urgency to restore it to its former glory—and to free the gods and operatives trapped within, so they in turn could protect the realms from Set and Iris's current takeover—became all-encompassing.

In spite of his mood having improved vastly in the days since Reeves' death, Forneus could tell Phenex's patience was beginning to wear thin. Not with Gwen, he knew, but with their voyage through Mythos. No doubt he was every bit as worried about when Iris's next attack would come, and where. Would she hold off until after they'd left Mythos? Or would she attempt one last coup against them while they were still here? Moreover, how many countless innocent lives would be pulled into their battle—for it wasn't a matter of if, but when—it came to pass?

Forneus sighed. The loss of many of the Golden Kelpie's former crew weighed heavily on his mind, driven relentlessly by the thought that it was his use of the Light of Mythos that had contributed to their downfall. Whatever hope he'd held that they had somehow survived and had washed ashore elsewhere waned with each passing day. Still, there was little time for regrets and what-ifs. With the morning came a sense of urgency, made all the more apparent when Gwen rushed through both her breakfast and private time to lay down the ethereal construct borne from her innate Sensory ability.

Ethereal light permeated the surrounding mist, revolving like flurries as it spanned the plateau. Though smaller than the first one they had landed on, this one was teeming with life, jackalopes disappearing into the thicket of white willow and meadow rue as if hybrid hellhounds were on their heels. Several times, Forneus heard the distinct crackling cry of a Raicho, the thunderbird hidden somewhere beyond the mountainous region of the plateau above them. If there were any humanoid entity settlements, however, he saw no evidence of them. He could only hope that should any reveal themselves, it would be in a friendly capacity. Gods knew they could do with a few more friendly faces, even if their friendliness only extended to keeping a wary distance from the strangers in their land.

Forneus glanced at Gwen, all bundled up in her thick, down-lined coat, the hood drawn up over the unruly locks of blonde hair being tugged by the wind. Her face was screwed up in concentration, eyes closed with her left hand extended. Forneus doubted she even realized she was doing it, her fingers deftly feeling along the fluttering edges where the ethereal ribbons of her Magic Sight hung in the air.

Sensory followed soon after, constructing a bluff that no longer existed, one that had once held the plateau they were on and the one above together, forming a single landmass. Forneus wasn't the only one to notice. Phenex's head swivelled this way and that, following the tenuous strands that bound the islands together, long before Caelum Plateau had split apart and its denizens had had to build rope bridges in order to visit their neighbours for the goods they themselves lacked.

"I think I've got it." Gwen slowly opened her eyes, hand dropping back at her side as she did. Her eyes were uncharacteristically dull for a moment, before she blinked the daze away, revealing the liveliness Forneus had come to expect from her.

There was a spark in her, one that he couldn't help feeling matched Phenex's embers; a thought that made him smile when once again, he was reminded of how similar they were at times. Especially when it came to their stubborn determination. The smile faded, and he cast a cursory glance in Phenex's direction, noting the same exhausted preoccupation from the night before shadowing his face. Brooding was another thing they shared in common, unfortunately, but unlike Gwen, Phenex was all too experienced in hiding just what it was he was brooding over.