"Twenty-ninth day of the first summer moon, eighty-first star cycle. "Today the raccoons fled, not wanting to be associated with the destruction of their kingdom in any way. One said upon leaving that, 'Even though our natural brethren may never forgive us, we can take heart in knowing that we didn't continue down your path of madness.' We let them go, not knowing what else to do. "Meanwhile, the lions are planning to build a temple around the new Chi pool, right in the middle of the ruins. Because one of their own designed the Chi pool and its unique combination of minerals, they have appointed themselves as the distributors of the new Chi." "This isn't true," Laval whispered. Loradus turned his cold yellow eye to Laval. "Sometimes the truth is more painful than any lie. I've read other ancient volumes that reference Emerotopia, and this seems to confirm everything I've learned previously; as well as provide the complete story. I have no choice but to believe that every word of it is true." "E-excuse me," I stuttered, "But you seem to have wandered away from the point somewhat. What has any of this to do with you?" Loradus flipped more pages, stopping on one even nearer to the end of the dusty tome. "I'll get to that in a moment." "The Tears of the Fountain," I suddenly blurted, unable to contain the question any longer; "Are they the reason you've lived as long as you have?" I felt the eyes of all my companions on me then, but I would not--could not--break eye contact with Loradus. "That is correct," he said at length.
Then, without warning, his voice echoed inside my mind again, an air of impatience about it that had not been present in his physical voice: I've already scoured your mind; I've seen what you do and don't understand. Listen, and your questions will be answered. It couldn't be helped; my consciousness instantly formed the question: How are you in my head? Loradus' face retained its composure, but I heard him give a sort of sigh. When you looked into my mirror, your mind was linked to those who have looked before you. It was a simple matter to extend my consciousness into yours. Why--? This conversation will take place in the blink of an eye; time doesn't quite apply to the mind. I only ask that you keep silent whilst I graciously answer your questions. I frowned. Back in the passage towards the Chi Fountain, Laval had seemed to-- Persuader plants create a similar link--those who inhale leave their minds open to the user. Persuader--? Very well, Anti-Chi. Do keep silent, I'd rather not hurt you again. I felt Loradus' presence withdraw, my physical awareness suddenly sharpening. I staggered slightly, regaining my balance more swiftly than I had before. As Loradus had said, our exchange seemed to have lasted no longer than a blink, and he looked down at the new page as if nothing had happened. "Fifth day of the third summer moon, eighty-first star cycle. Time and space Travel have been banned, by order of the lions. "Nineteenth day of the third summer moon, eighty-first star cycle. All Emerotopian-designed Chi-tools and instruments must be turned in to the lions; in exchange, every creature of age will receive a specially crafted weapon more compatible with the current Chi, and the right to name it. "Twentieth day of the third summer moon, eighty-first star cycle. Strange circular rocks fall from our floating Mountain; they glow and spin whenever the new Chi orbs are held nearby. We call them 'tribe stones'."
My dizziness lingered; I spread my wings for balance (earning confused looks from Razar and Gorzan). Clearly this was no longer an aftereffect of mind-to-mind communication. If all of what Loradus had read was our true history.... It was too much to take in at once. To have most of what I accepted as fact to be turned on its head-- I shook myself. Loradus finished summarizing the remainder of the entries in the oversized book he called the "record of happenings in Emerotopia", but I blocked his voice from my hearing. I had more than enough to think about already. Rizzo. I clenched my beak, gathering my thoughts into one concentrated wave of frustration: "Get out of my head!" "Excuse me?" said Loradus' voice. Finding it closed, I blinked my eye open. I realized I had shouted the words as well as pushing them mentally. Everyone was staring at me. Loradus had closed the book. I took a breath, glancing around at each of them. "Well?" said Loradus. I blinked again. "I--I--" "As I thought. You've had a fair warning...." "He has?" I heard Razar mutter. Loradus looked down and shook his head, then twisted a hand (all the way around) thrice. The oversized book vanished, and he turned his attention to us once more. Or, rather, to Ewar. Loradus stared at him shrewdly, and the eagle returned the stare. I had a suspicion that they were conversing mentally, until the former said, "Why so modest, Ewar?" The eagle continued to stare, either ignoring the question or refusing to answer. Loradus set his jaw and broke eye contact. "Very well; allow me to continue. I trust you know all about me, as I know all about you. "What you may not know, however, is this little bit of advice most important to me: the sacrifice of but one life for the good of many is sometimes too high a price to pay. If the skies themselves must fall for one to live on... "...so be it."
He stared at each of us in turn with a new intensity. "You came here to gather the Tears of the Fountain; to revert your friends downstairs back to their normal selves. You came here to thwart my 'plan'. You came here thinking I was evil. I don't deny it. But you might want to think again." I swallowed with difficulty, my insides tightening. Was my mind playing tricks, or was the deep blue light all around beginning to dim? Shadows were spreading across Loradus' face, his narrowed eye seeming to glow. I could not recall once feeling cold in this cavern, but I shivered then, my breath pluming out in front of me. As Loradus' eye flickered again, I looked over my shoulder towards the Chi Fountain. The monstrously large orb atop the inverted mountain of ice did seem to be fading. "You see?" said Loradus softly. "Our time has run out...." "How are you doing this?" said Eris, a note of fear entering her voice. "Not happy," Gorzan wailed. Through the gathering darkness, I saw Loradus' mouth curve into a smile that didn't quite reach his eye. "I have nothing to do with this. It's what I was trying to prevent. Timelines are shifting...." "Timelines?" I said, my throat dry. "That's right," returned Loradus. "But before I take you anywhere, there are two more things you must know about. "First and foremost, what I have accomplished thus far. Since the grievous mistake made by those before me, I have fully explored these tunnels, taught myself a few new tricks, and learned all there is to know about my persuader plant. Then, while digging through the hall of treasures--" "So it's true, my friend?" an apparently uncontrollable grin spread across Razar's face. "Mount Cavora holds a hall of treasures?" Loradus dipped his head, then continued speaking at an accelerated rate. "I found this--" he flipped his ornate dagger out from his cloak "--among other things. At the time, however, this seemed the most important."
As the darkness deepened further, I stared into Loradus' eye. He didn't return the stare; but he had said our minds were linked. Perhaps eye contact mattered not at all. But he had also said that conversations in the mind took next to no time, and I had a new question. Thus, despite his warnings, I concentrated my thoughts towards him, hoping he would "hear" me. Almost instantaneously, his voice thundered into my mind, sounding like several overlapping voices. I told you not to interrupt! But--the dagger. Is it of Emerotopian design? As if in answer, the dagger began to glow with a blue-white radiance along the veins engraved into the blade. This is one of the few surviving Emerotopian tools; I merely reshaped it. And as such.... In a single, fluid movement, he carved a tall rectangular shape in the air before him, similar to what the Gatekeeper had done with his staff. But that was where all similarity ended. As the lines burned blue, the air within seemed to shatter into irretrievable shards. I felt a familiar dizziness as Loradus left my head (my head?) and gestured to the blazing rectangle. "Through, everyone. Our time is past." I began to step forward, but Laval threw out his arm to stop me. "We still don't know if we can trust you," he said. Loradus shook his head. "It's far too late for that." Laval reached out his other arm to halt Gorzan's progress. "What I mean is, you could be making all this darkness to scare us into coming with you. How do we know it's real?" A bolt of lightning flashed in the darkness, looping itself about Laval's neck. Loradus flicked his wrist, forcing him through the rectangular opening. He did not come out the other side. "Through!" said Loradus, with a grim finality. My companions and I needed no further bidding.
We rushed for the opening, which, despite blazing with a fierce light, was already fading into darkness. I was jostled to the back of the company, directly behind Ewar. But as he approached the rift, he stopped, turning his head to Loradus. I fidgeted, unable to pass him. What was he doing? "I have a last question," said he. My beak chattered from the cold as I looked at Loradus worriedly; I felt certain he would not tolerate any more questions.... But Loradus gestured for him to proceed; and so he asked, "What happened to the ruler of Emerotopia? Did anyone ever find him--in the future?" Loradus nodded. "I just have." And before his words even began to sink in, he swept his hand, and Ewar and I hurtled into the opening. The sensation was worse than that of entering Mount Cavora to begin with, if that were possible. My vision went blank instantly, and my very bones seemed to scream as my form somehow ceased to exist. I became a void; an unthinking consciousness, floating numbly, unaware of anything.
Then I felt the brush of grass against my stomach. Sunlight reddened the inside of my closed eyelid. A slight breeze caressed the feathers on my back and wings. Sluggishly, I opened my eye to a slit, seeing the open field before me as if from far, far away. My eyelid drooped shut again, and I drew a shallow, unsteady breath. I heard a distant sound, two syllables of a strange, incomprehensible speech. My name. I felt both my eyes roll. Then I heard it again, louder and more insistent. A croaking sound rolled out of my beak. I felt someone flip me onto my back, then press something sharp and thin into the base of my neck, both sides of my head, and betwixt my eyes. I shuddered violently for a moment, then sat up, senses, thoughts and memories all flooding back. I gasped, feeling my lungs swell. "Welcome back," said Loradus, who was hunkering beside me. He pulled a violet thorn from my neck.
I scooted away from him, feeling at the miniscule puncture. Seeing the look on my face, he said, "I've caused no lasting harm. Jabbing certain points around the face and neck is the simplest method of reviving those unused to time and space Travel." I raised an eyebrow. "I doubt one could ever grow used to that." He said nothing in return, merely looking out over my shoulder. I tipped my head back momentarily. The sky was a brilliant blue, with no clouds in sight. "Er...where are we, exactly?" Loradus stood up then, still staring at something behind me. I turned my head to see what it was, and the sight that greeted my eye didn't seem all too unusual--at first. Far into the distance, the green of the field was interrupted by rows of pink--flowers, I thought. Then the realization struck me: this was the field of Anti-Chi flowers I had stumbled upon in the Lion Temple's ever-changing passageways so long ago. I stared at the distant rows of flowers for some time ere shifting my gaze skyward again and turning a circle on the spot. As I had expected, Mount Cavora had gone the way of the clouds: it was nowhere to be seen. "Is this place so unfamiliar?" said Loradus at length. He had been inside my mind, I remembered. He knew. Distancing myself from him further, I asked, "Where are the o--my companions?" He waved a hand. "Off somewhere, planning my demise. Only one remains hesitant to join them; and for once, it isn't you." "Ewar," I muttered. He would be trying to decide if he truly was the lost ruler of Emerotopia (I remembered this as well). It was possible that he hadn't even told the rest of our company anything about it. I had to find him. "Where did you say--?" I looked up to find Loradus gone. But, farther on in the same direction, I saw a group of creatures gathered close together. Somewhat puzzled, I began to make my way towards them, calling, "Hello!"
It was not long before one of them spotted me, and once I reached them, they welcomed me into their midst. "--We demand to know where we are," Worriz was saying, softly (for him). Laval shook his head. "He wouldn't go for that, I'm pretty sure. Unless you want every one of his arrows in your--" Eris cleared her throat. "You do know that, even if we did know where we were, we have nowhere to go. Loradus could leave us stranded here, forever, if he wanted to." "And he probably does," said Laval, eyebrows coming together. "Hey, Rizzo, you've seen Loradus around, right?" Pondering what Eris had said, I looked down at the grass nervously. By lion standards, it would have been too long; by raven standards, too short. "Briefly; yes." Worriz gave a start, glancing left and right across the field. "Y'mean he's gone already?" I heard Laval grind his teeth as he pawed the blade of his broken Valious. Ewar had yet to say a word, and I felt I knew why. "Er--Ewar? May I speak with you?" Everyone else was watching curiously as Ewar nodded slowly, his eyes averted from mine. And in those eyes one could see a strange mist, one I was certain I had seen before.... Worriz took a step forward. "What's--?" "Sh!" said Eris, glaring at him. Nodding gratefully, I followed Ewar some way away. And when at last he turned to look me in the eye, the mists that had hung in those yellow orbs had lifted. I was about to tell him how I hadn't believed for a moment that he was the lost ruler of Emerotopia, and how ridiculous it had been for Loradus to try to deceive us in that way when he said, "I knew." I blinked. "You--? I thought-- This whole time?" Ewar smiled faintly. "No--as soon as Loradus said the ruler had been sent forward in time." "But then--why did you ask him--?" "I just wanted to be sure." My mind took a whirl, and I kept myself from doing the same. "You...believe him?"
So Ewar was a super important character both in this story and my old stories, in different ways, but both involving time travel. Great minds think alike, eh?
"Of course. This explains why no one's been able to hurt--er, wound me, why Mount Cavora seems so familiar, and why I can't remember anything earlier than my twentieth star cycle of age." I continued to stare into his eyes, beginning to accept it at last. "You can remember nothing?" Ewar shook his head. "Nothing." The breeze blew into my face. I felt my mind calm down somewhat. "You associate good feelings with Mount Cavora?" "Yes...and no. I can't remember the events Loradus described, but...I definitely remember feelings. Emotions." "And you don't recall how you came to the castle? The Eagle Castle?" "As far as I could tell, I'd always been there. I guess I...sort of appeared. Never had a coming-of-age ceremony. "At first it seemed a little strange; but when Esmerald, the tribe leader then, gave me my first telescope and put me in an astronomy class with other eagles my age, I guess I forgot about my differences. He...he was very kind to me...Esmerald." Silent tears leaked from Ewar's eyes, and I noticed his claws were clasped tightly around the gold spyglass at his belt. "Eris was like a sister to me after--after--well--" He swallowed, blinking away his tears. "Sorry, this is hard." "You need not continue," I said softly, "but I believe our companions should know who you are." At this, Ewar looked worried. "Our companions....Rizzo, they're plotting against Loradus. They'll get us--well--" I glanced back at them; they did not appear to have moved since we had stepped to the side, as it were. "They can do nothing as long as Loradus remains absent." Ewar blinked again, seemingly in confusion. "He's really gone?" I nodded, though something was pulling at the back of my mind, something that would not let itself be known. A memory, perhaps? I tipped my head to one side. "I know this place," I said. "And with luck, we may be able to leave without Loradus' aid." "I'm listening."
Unbidden, the memories of times I had shared with everyone throughout the journey filled my mind. That night under the stars outside the Gatekeeper's dwelling, Laval had said to me: "You talk to the others a lot--so I thought you could help me." It was true--through the most difficult of times, my companions had come to me. But why they had was still a mystery to me. To them, and sometimes to myself, I felt I was a crazy, lonely, self-important, indifferent raven. Or was it only my eye that saw things this way anymore? The single eye that I had left uncovered. Still no one knew that I even had two eyes. Still I was keeping things from my companions; and to what end? Why had I even covered this eye in the first place? The pull at the back of my mind strengthened as my claws came to rest on the metal covering, to the point that it felt as if someone were ripping feathers out of my head; not all that painful, but insistent and irritating. I tried to ignore it, tracing the grating of the metal with a single claw. If my companions were to fully trust me, there was nothing else for it. I could hide this no longer. "First," I said to Ewar, "there is something I must show you--everyone. Come." I started back towards the rest of our company with him right behind. But that was when the situation spiraled out of control. For as we came within several paces of the others, Loradus blinked into existence among them, his arms loaded with Anti-Chi flowers. " Big guy," I heard Worriz say, "I shoulda known." Then his arms dropped to his sides and his fur stood on end. I stopped and stared, unsure of what had happened until I saw the glistening crimson orbs that were his eyes. Loradus turned a circle, further spreading the dust of the Anti-Chi through the air. Soon only Ewar and I were left untainted. And then Loradus turned to us.
"That thing you wanted to show me," said Ewar quickly. "Would it help at all right now?" I considered this, but not for very long. "Highly unlikely." "You could still try...." Loradus stepped out from within the ring of our companions--and dropped every last Anti-Chi flower to the ground. The pull at the back of my mind intensified a final time before stopping altogether, as if it had never been. Then I heard Loradus' voice: I gave you a warning; and still you didn't come to the aid of your 'friends'. Hmm.... I clenched my beak and took a deep breath. Ewar looked at me with concern, then to Loradus. "What are you doing to him?" Loradus took a breath himself. "Merely teaching him to face the dark truth." "Which is?" "That he doesn't care about you, or any of the others." But even as Loradus' eyes flashed strangely, rage darkened Ewar's features, and I saw the ruler of Emerotopia before me. "Nobody's perfect." "Sometimes he thinks he is." "Sometimes he thinks he isn't," I said. "I hardly think it a coincidence that you chose to return just as I was about to--" There are darker truths in your past. I winced; the words, though 'spoken' calmly, had arrived with the force of a shout. I felt Loradus sifting through my memories. It was not an agreeable sensation. The loss of your leg. How did that come about? Speedor crash, I thought, with the mental equivalent of a shrug. I sensed that Loradus disapproved somehow; but he did not pursue it further. I-- "What were you about to--?" Ewar began, but I flashed him a glance to tell him to stay silent on the matter. Thankfully, he did, swiftly changing the subject: "Did you alter the Anti-Chi somehow? With sorcery? Because our friends look a little...disfigured." Loradus looked at him oddly. "Call them persuader plants; it has a much nicer ring to it. They may be the antithesis of Chi, relatively speaking, but Anti-Chi sounds...rather derogatory."
"If you say so," I said, allowing myself a slight smile while desperately hoping that what I did next would work. "Er...what is to become of us?" Loradus' eye narrowed. "A troubling question indeed. You, after all, are the cause of the timeshift we felt back at the Fountain. In fact, each of you left an ethereal trace of yourselves at that time point, as you don't truly belong here, in my extra-dimensional field which conveniently exists outside of time." I was so shocked at this that I momentarily forgot my plan of action. Even when it returned to the front of my mind, I pushed it back, hoping to learn more from Loradus. "We--we were the cause, you say?" "We shifted time of our own free will," Ewar clarified. "That's what you're saying?" "You're meddlers, both of you," said Loradus. "Ewar, you should not be here; and Rizzo, you set the journey to 'Mount Cavora' in motion when it should never have happened. Each of you made it possible for the other to be here, and so neither of you should. And here you are." Ewar's beak fell open with a pop. "How do you know what should or shouldn't happen? You said it yourself: here we are. If this wasn't meant to happen, we wouldn't be here." Loradus widened his eye. "You misunderstand me. I believe I said you don't belong here." "But we are." "Not entirely...." "Loradus," I said, "what is happening?" He glanced at the ring of crimson-eyed creatures behind. "Knowing will put you in greater danger...." "From you?" I whispered. Of a sudden, his gaze hardened. "Yes?" said Ewar, his voice tinged with fear. Loradus drew his dagger with a flourish. "I may have to start a second war to resolve all of this... dastak paradoxes." I took an involuntary step back, then decided to wait no longer.
I shouted, "Laval, Razar, Gorzan, Eris, Worriz! I give to you my trust, in the hopes that you return it!" At this Loradus looked horrified; but, before he could move to stop me, I reached up and loosened the clamps of my metal eye-cover, letting it drop from my face to the grass at my feet. I blinked the eye several times, finding that, in its time of being concealed, it had gotten (strangely enough) farsighted. And, much to my surprise and relief, those whom I had called by name were breaking free of the Anti-Chi trance, shaking their heads and looking at me strangely. Then another idea came to me, and, since (I was certain) the spell had not been lifted entirely, I held up the Tears of the Chi Fountain I'd collected earlier and shattered them one by one, willing the spheres of energy to drift towards my companions-- Loradus stepped in and forced the energy into the ground; the surrounding grass grew to our knees. He then lifted an Anti-Chi flower from within the tall grass and spread the dust again, but by that time, the rest of the company was gone. Slowly, Loradus turned to me. "Every time you do something like this, you further detach yourself from the timeline you call 'home'. You drastically alter the course of your own life. And now...would you like to see how it ends?" He advanced on Ewar and I, dagger held tightly at his side. "You could have gotten away," I murmured to Ewar, but he shook his head so slightly that I barely noticed any motion; in fact, it may have been a trick of my new vision. "The trouble comes," said Loradus, snatching first Ewar's arm, then mine, "of not being able to see the outcome of your actions." "And--and you can?" said Ewar. Loradus' eye rolled back into his head, and the dagger lifted into the air before him, carving another doorway with blazing outlines. "Not again?" I said, trying to pull out of his grip.
Loradus' blank eye swiveled in my direction. I gulped. "Hello?" said Ewar. "Aren't we running out of time? Aren't you afraid of losing our friends?" Loradus' dagger flew back to the hand holding my arm, and his eye rolled back to its usual position. "Time is becoming a problem--but your friends will find themselves running in circles; I'll gather them in due time. Meanwhile, I'm more afraid of losing you." "Wait, wh--" Loradus dragged us into the doorway, and yet again I felt my physical form depart very painfully. I never could measure exactly how long I spent Travelling in the void (as a void), but it seemed both a blink and an eternity. At long last, and as soon as it had begun, the numb, hollow, emptiness receded, and I stood just inside my own doorway in the raven village. That, however, was all I knew, as my mind and senses were completely unresponsive as an effect of the Travel; though not so much as to inhibit my recognition of the place I had spent all of my early life. I waited for nothing in particular, dimly aware that my eyes were stuck open and my vision was terribly blurred. Then I felt the short stabs at my neck, the sides of my head, and betwixt my eyes, and everything came into focus. Not waiting for Loradus, I inhaled sharply, plucking the thorn from my neck and collapsing into my bed of twigs and moss. Loradus, as it turned out, was prodding the aforementioned points around Ewar's head, reviving him from 'Travel-shock'.
