Beyond the Void

Chapter 60, His name

ANDARIS

Four moons since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

One day, the doctor and his helper had removed part of the wall to reveal doors and a small terrace behind the house. He liked to sit there, behind the corner, and enjoy the faint warmth seeping in and the sounds of the village. Quiet shouts, a faint chatter, the sounds of animals and the villagers alike.

To His surprise, there were cows here, chickens, horses, and sheep. All farmyard animals you could imagine from back home. Cats and dogs too, pigs and birds like any other. They were all different to the breeds back home, yet not unrecognisable. There was nothing else they could have been.

A sense of nostalgia and melancholy accompanied the sight of the villagers' day-to-day life. If it were not for the constant tangled yarn of presences and power, you would have thought this to be home.

"I need leave near coming days." He mumbled. Despite the familiarity, this place felt wrong. Especially the humans.

They looked different. Not the kind you had ever seen back home. And He could not fully explain the difference. Their skin was slightly darker, something you would see around the Mediterranean perhaps, or further east.

With this old lifestyle many of them could have had a deeper tan, but He had seen the healer's helper without clothes enough times to realise that was not the case.

Many of the villagers had darker hair colours, blonde seemed to be the minority here. They seemed to have tiny eyes, but they were not Asiatic. Overall, their facial features looked less pronounced, but that did not mean they had rounder faces. Everything about the villager's features seemed smoother.

This explanation did not satisfy Him, as He was certain He had never seen humans such as these. He tried to recall the humans frozen in time, but most of his memories of the past moons were a blurred mess.

He turned His gaze towards a rough mirror on the wall. His hair had grown long, it was now wrapped in a bun against the back of his head. The handiwork of the girl who looked after Him from time to time. She had spent an entire day teaching Him how to make a simple bun. He was debating whether to chop it all off.

He had recently noticed that his hair colour had smudged. From a wheat field to something like a dark kiwi peel. Even darker streaks were visible, but the roots of His hair had turned white. Thankfully, they did not show. His face looked thin and gaunt. He could not stand the reflection of Himself. The grey eyes looked tired and without a goal.

"I going leave soon to come." He tried to reassure Himself. But He felt weak. His legs did not support his weight properly.

Somewhere beyond, He could sense the guardian's reply. -Get going then!- She said. -The only thing holding you back is your mind. Go.-

Where should He go? And when? Should He worry about troubling this village at all? He could leave in the middle of the night, maybe leave a few gems as collateral. The village considered Him a criminal. He might become a fugitive if He ran.

The guardian had confirmed his suspicions. To the humans here, the journey through the void was something long forgotten. Beyond memory, legend and myth. Aside from the doctor and his helper, none of the other villagers had tapped into their power, ever. There was potential here, but mere embers were all that were left. Hidden under a thick coat of ash, barely alive.

He shook His head. His thoughts became fuzzy and jumbled once more. A wave ran across the endless ocean and the face of the guardian danced in front of Him. The sunny day returned, harsh, uncaring. Unfamiliar. Slowly, He stood up and looked for His clothes. The girl who was looking after Him from time to time had brought new pants and a couple of shirts. And both warm- and cold-weather clothes.