Aestivus

6. the stars

EDWARD

The central pavilion was obviously Greek-inspired or designed by a greek architect. Either way, it didn't go well with Edward's gut feeling. Or maybe he's just hungry. Bowls of flickering blue flames mounted on stands illuminate the interior of the temple-like structure, a geyser-like pillar of water erupting from the centre of the room, but the water never comes down.

"Where are we going?" Edward asked as they walk past the fountain. "You said we're going to look for the leader but we're in a temple?" Jeremiel nodded. "The gateway is at the back of the room. Again, It's magic. Don't try to make sense of everything. Logic doesn't always work in your favour when magic dominates the land."

A blue semicircle shimmers to life at the back of the room as they walk closer and straight in. Seconds later, the altars vanish, replaced by an office illuminated by a ball of light dangling from the ceiling. A man with shining amber eyes sits behind his desk reading from scrolls made of animal skin or bamboo. "Hello, what's the matter? ...Oh." "Ed, meet Vladislav, he's the leader of this place. And Vlad... we have issues."

Vlad nodded. "What sort?" Jeremiel ruffled his brown hair. "The runes... they aren't happy being near him. But as much as I've seen so far, He's a healer," he paused. "Might not be safe if we let him live on his own."

Edward shifted uncomfortably. "On a side note, I don't remember much before falling into the forest." Vlad squinted and exchanged a short conversation with Rem in some other language. "Ed. Can you elaborate?"

*** (flashback) ***

"I thought it was the end of me, being cornered by 3 of the 12 Olympian gods. i had no power against them. All I could do was run.

"I failed. Miserably. The pain of wielding Aestivus, the sword that could slay a god, but not being able to use it; as if one who can cure millions of the red plague, but fails to save their beloved ones from it?

"Alas, no prayer will save you from gods who are so blinded by power that they forget their purpose and the name of Themis. Drowning in the same blinding light, I forgot as well—who I was meant to be.

"And into the darkness they sent me, through the gates of Tartarus. Where the gods' gaze does not fall, where they put all that they deem unpleasant, far away from the demigods drunk on promises of immortality and rebirth. Father... when will you cure me of this pain?

"My child, he replied. There is only one way.

*** (end of flashback) ***

Edward stumbled, clutching his head. "I got tossed down a hole filled with shadows that attacked me. I fell down another hole and into the forest. Thought this was just another level of hell." Vlad scribbled on a leaf. "You're not the only one here who fell down some sort of rabbit hole. Welcome to Hleoura, land of the lost, prison of the unfortunate."

Jeremiel took off his glasses and wiped them with the hem of his clothes. "Vlad, that was not reassuring. At all." Vladislav shrugged. "Anyway... What's your full name, kid? I gotta write it down somewhere."

"Edward Hunter. So... who do I live with then?" Vladislav tapped his quill on the table. "Rem, how do you feel?"

Jeremiel nodded. "Fine, but you may need to sleep in a hammock tonight while I make a bed. This is fun." Vladislav smiled, oblivious to the obvious sarcasm. "It's settled, then. And... you may want to try out the memory fountains sometime soon. If they're still working, that is."

***
"Memory fountains?" Edward asked as he jogged backwards next to Jeremiel. "Yea. The nearest one flows from the top of the mountain and into the sea. More of a waterfall than a fountain, but that's how it was translated so let's just stick to it. We have people and animals across history and geographic location. For example, Ophelia is from the Neolithic Era, judging from what she knew even before she got here."

"That wasn't expected. Anyway... when are you gonna tell me about your eyes? You're creeping me out." "I need to teach you some things first. And some matters are better discussed in private."

They stopped near the edge of the city, near the forest, in front of a house with trimmed wooden planks stacked neatly against their walls. "Hello?" Jeremiel stepped straight in, waving at the carpenter. "We'd like to have four standard trimmed logs, fireproof please."

Edward poked Rem's arm. "It's fine without the fireproof bit." "Unfortunately what happened last night proved that you're quite flammable." "Hey!" Ed protested, punching Remiel in the left arm, only to jump back from the pain. "The hell is your arm made of? Steel?"

Remiel nodded subtly. "Q/A session comes after we buy everything we need to make the bed. And food. Watch this." he whispered as the store owner brought over a few planks after being paid. "In this world, not all laws of physics apply. Some things, including health energy and your pockets work according to game logic. Other things are mostly normal. Now... you can either shove a 2-meter plank down your pocket which will work but makes you look like a complete canner. Or you can compress it into your hand first, then shove it in your pocket. Compact storage." one of the wooden planks simply flew into his hand and rapidly shrunk until it was about the size of a toothpick.

Edward squinted at it. "How did you do that? Are you secretly one of those fictional space warrior people? I wanna use the Force!" Edward dramatically waved his hands above the planks. "Up! Aggghhhh the force has failed me..." and dropped to the ground as if he was suddenly suffocated on the spot.

Remiel smiled. "Yeesh. Most people don't know telekinesis. And you can't really teach it. How about you try compressing the planks?" Ed sat up. "hmm..." he tried focusing, but with no avail. Remiel shrugged. "Guess you're gonna be a canner for today. Open up your pockets, we don't have time to waste."

***

Hours later, Ed watches as Remiel slowly builds the bed frame. He takes his time, nailing each piece in place carefully. "You can ask your questions now, you know," Rem muttered while carving notches into the wood to provide extra support.

"Biggest questions: What happened to your eyes and arm?" Ed sat straighter, like a kid being told an interesting story. Rem gently tapped his hammer on the wood, sliding the pieces in place. "In this world, there are rings of all kinds of islands, surrounding The Altar Gates, the so-called gates to heaven. The closer the islands are located to the centre, the more dangerous they become, and on the ring of volcanic islands surrounding The Altar, there's a lot of runes, magical stones that bestow their users with powers... and usually at a cost. A few years back I had to use one... got an arm ripped off and it sort of saved some people. Those runes are sentient. They have a mind of their own and talks to you once it's permanently attached."

Edward nodded. "So... what did it say when you found me?" He whispered, scared of the answer." Remiel stopped and stared at him, straight in the eyes.

"It said you're not human. And wanted me to burn down the forest with you in it."